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chix. 4. Rev. ii. 23.

John ii. 25.

David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, rch. ix. 24. This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand. 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they

and note.

render, This man.

some of the oldest MSS. read He. W render, sons.

24.] St. Mark states (iii. 22) that this accusation was brought by the "scribes who came down from Jerusalem;" Luke (xi. 15), by "some of them," i. e. of the multitude. On the charge itself, Trench remarks, A rigid monotheistic religion like the Jewish, left but one way of escape from the authority of miracles, which once were acknowledged to be indeed such, and not mere collusions and sleights of hand. There remained nothing to say but that which we find in the N. T. the adversaries of our Lord continually did say, namely, that these works were works of bell.' 25.] The Pharisees

said this covertly to some among the multitude; see Luke, vv. 15, 17. "There is at first sight a difficulty in the argument which our Saviour draws from the oneness of the kingdom of Satan: viz. that it seems the very idea of this kingdom, that it should be this anarchy; blind rage and hate not only against God, but each part of it warring against every other part. And this is most deeply true, that hell is as much in arms against itself as against Heaven: neither does our Lord deny that in respect of itself that kingdom is infinite contradiction and division: only He asserts that in relation to the kingdom of goodness it is at one: there is one life in it and one soul in relation to that. Just as a nation or kingdom may embrace within itself infinite parties, divisions, discords, jealousies, and heartburnings: yet, if it is to subsist as a nation at all, it must not, as regards other nations, have lost its sense of unity; when it does so, of necessity it falls to pieces and perishes." Trench, Miracles, p. 58. We may observe (1) that our Lord here in the most solemn manner re-asserts and confirms the truths respecting the kingdom of evil which the Jews also held. The kingdoms are so set parallel with one another, that the denial of the reality of the one with its chief, or the supposing it founded merely in assent

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on the part of our Lord to Jewish notions, inevitably brings with it the same conclusions with regard to the other. They are both real, and so is the conflict between them. (2) That our Lord here appeals not to an insulated case of casting out of devils, in which answer might have been made, that the craft of Satan might sometimes put on the garb and arts of an adversary to himself, for his own purposes,- but to the general and uniform tenor of all such acts on his part, in which He was found as the continual Adversary of the kingdom of Satan. (3) That our Lord proceeds to shew that the axiom is true of all human societies, even to a family, the smallest of such. (4) That He does not state the same of an individual man, Every man divided against himself falleth,' rests upon deeper grounds, which will be entered on in the notes on vv. 30, 31. 27.] The interpretation of this verse has been much disputed; viz. as to whether the casting out by the sons of the Pharisees (scholars,-disciples; see 2 Kings ii. 3 and passim) were real or pretended exorcisms. The occurrence mentioned Luke ix. 49 does not seem to apply; for there John says, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy Name, which hardly could have been the case with those here referred to. Nor again can the vagabond Jews, exorcists, of Acts xix. 13 be the same as these, inasmuch as they also named over the possessed the name of the Lord Jesus: or at all events it can be no such invocation which is here referred to. In Josephus (Antt. viii. 2. 5) we read that Solomon "left forms of exorcism, by which they cast out dæmons so that they never return. And," he adds, "this kind of cure is very common among us to this day." It is highly necessary to institute this enquiry as to the reality of their exorcisms: for it would leave an unworthy impression on the reader, and one very open to the cavils of unbelief, were we to sanction the

vii. 14. Luke

21.

u Isa. xlix. 24.

shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the t Dan, i ke Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 183: xvii. 20, 29 u Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me Luke xii. 10. scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, ▾ All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: * the Vatican MS. reads, you men.

v Mark iii. 28.

Heb. vi. 4,

&c. x. 26,

29. 1 John v. 16.

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idea that our Lord would have solemnly compared with his own miracles, and drawn inferences from, a system of imposture, which on that supposition, these Pharisees must have known to be such. I infer then that the sons of the Pharisees did really cast out devils, and I think this view is confirmed by what the multitudes said in ch. ix. 33, where upon the dumb speaking after the devil was cast out they exclaimed, "It never was so seen in Israel" meaning that this was a more complete healing than they had ever seen before. The difficulty has arisen mainly from forgetting that miracles, as such, are no test of truth, but have been permitted to, and prophesied of, false religions and teachers. See Exodus vii. 22; viii. 7: ch. xxiv. 24, &c.: Deut. xiii. 1-5. There is an important passage in Justin Martyr, in which he says that the Name of the Son of God Himself never failed to cast out dæmons, whereas those of the Jewish kings, prophets, and patriarchs, failed. "But," he adds, if you used the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, perhaps it might prevail." Irenæus says that by this invocation the Jews cast out dæmons even in his time. Jerome, Chrysostom, and others understood "your sons" to mean the Apostles. your judges, in the sense of convicting you of partiality. 28. by the Spirit of God] equivalent to "by the finger of God," Luke: see Exod. viii. 9. is come, emphatic in position: but merely, has come unto (upon) you: not is already upon you,' i. e. 'before you looked for it,'- -as Stier and Wesley. 29. Luke has the word "a stronger" applied to the spoiler in this verse; a title given to our Lord by the Baptist, ch. iii. 11 and parallels; see also Isa. xl. 10; xlix. 24, 25; liii. 12. Compare note on Luke xi. 21 f., which is the fuller report of this parabolic saying. 30.] These words have been variously understood. Chrysostom and Euthymius understand them to refer to the devil: Bengel, Schleiermacher, and Neander, to the Jewish exorcists

V

named above. Grotius and others understand it as merely a general proverb, and the "me" to mean any one,' and here to apply to Satan, the sense being, 'If I do not promote Satan's kingdom, which I have proved that I do not, then I must be his adversary.' But this is on all accounts improbable: see below on gathereth and scattereth. We must regard it as a saying setting forth to us generally the entire and complete disjunction of the two kingdoms, of Satan and God. There is and can be in the world no middle party: they who are not with Christ, who do not gather with Him,-are against Him and his work, and as far as in them lies are undoing it. See Rom. viii. 7. And thus the saying connects itself with the following verse-this being the case, Wherefore I say unto you,-the sin of an open belying of the present power of the Holy Spirit of God working in and for His Kingdom, assumes a character surpassingly awful. This saying is no way inconsistent with that in Mark ix. 40: Luke ix. 50. That is not a conversion of this, for the terms of the respective propositions are not the same. See note on Mark ix. 40. As usual, this saying of our Lord reached further than the mere occasion to which it referred, and spoke forcibly to those many half-persuaded hesitating persons who flattered themselves that they could strike out a line avoiding equally the persecution of men and the rejection of Christ. He informed them (and informs us also) of the impossibility of such an endeavour. In the gathereth there is an allusion to the idea of gathering the harvest: see ch. xiii. 30: John xi. 52, and for scattereth, John x. 12, in all which places the words exactly bear out their sense here. 31, 32.] Wherefore, because this is the case: see last note. Notice again the I say unto you, used by our Lord when He makes some revelation of things hidden from the sons of men: see ch. vi. 29, and xviii. 10, 19: and ver. 36 below. The distinction in these much

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xiii. 55. John

vii. 12, 52.

1 Tim. i. 13.

but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be w Acts vii. 51. forgiven [2 unto men]. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word xch. xi. 19: against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but, whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world. to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit z ch. vii. 17. good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt:

b

xxiii, 33.

for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O aa generation of a ch, iii. 7: vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for b Luke vi. 45. out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 7 render, of the Spirit. Z omitted by our two oldest MSS.

a render, offspring.

controverted verses seems to be, between
(1) the sin and blasphemy which arises
from culpable ignorance and sensual blind-
ness, as that of the fool who said in his
heartThere is no God,'-of those who,
e. g. Saul of Tarsus, opposed Jesus as not
being the Christ; which persons, to what-
ever degree their sin may unhappily ad-
vance, are capable of enlightenment, re-
pentance, and pardon:-and (2) the blas-
phemy of those who, acknowledging God,
and seeing his present power working by
his Holy Spirit, openly oppose themselves
to it, as did, or as were very near doing
(for our Lord does not actually imply that
they had incurred this dreadful charge),
these Pharisees. They may as yet have
been under the veil of ignorance; but this
their last proceeding, in the sight of Him
who knows the hearts, approximated very,
near to, or perhaps reached, this awful
degree of guilt. The principal misunder-
standing of this passage has arisen from
the prejudice which possesses men's minds
owing to the use of the words, the sin
against the Holy Ghost.' It is not a par-
ticular species of sin which is here con-
demned, but a definite act shewing a state
of sin, and that state a wilful determined
opposition to the present power of the
Holy Spirit; and this as shewn by its
fruit, blasphemy. The declaration, in sub-
stance, often occurs in the N. T. See
1 John v. 16, and note on "sin" there :
2 Tim. iii. 8: Jude 4, 12, 13: Heb. x.
26-31; vi. 4-8. No sure inference
can be drawn from the words neither in
the world to come-with regard to for-
giveness of sins in a future state. Olshau-
sen remarks that a parallel on the other
side is found in ch. x. 41, 42, where the
recognition of divine power in those sent
from God is accompanied with promise of
eternal reward. He himself however un-
derstands the passage (as many others
have done) to imply forgiveness on repent

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ance in the imperfect state of the dead before the judgment, and considers it to be cognate with 1 Pet. iii. 18 ff. Augustine speaks very strongly : "It could not be said with truth of any, that it shall not be forgiven them neither in this world nor either in the world to come,' unless there were some who are to be forgiven not in this world, but in the world to come." See, on the whole subject, note on 1 Pet. iii. 18 ff. In the almost entire silence of Scripture on any such doctrine, every principle of sound interpretation requires that we should hesitate to support it by two difficult passages, in neither of which does the plain construction of the words absolutely require it. The expressions this world (equivalent to "this present world," Tit. ii. 12: 2 Tim. iv. 10; "this time," Mark x. 30; "the course (age) of this world," Eph. ii. 2; this present evil world," Gal. i. 4) and the world to come (see Mark x. 30; equivalent to "that world," Luke xx. 35; "the ages to come," Eph. ii. 7) were common among the Jews, and generally signified respectively the time before and after the coming of the Messiah. In the N. T. these significations are replaced by-the present life, and that to come: the present mixed state of wheat and tares, and the future completion of Messiah's Kingdom after the great harvest. These terms seem to differ from "the kingdom of heaven," or "of God," in never being spoken of, or as in, individuals, but as an age of time belonging to the universal Church. 33, 34.] not, as generally understood, equivalent to represent. . as for then the clause for out &c.' loses its meaning:but literally, make. The verse is a parable, not merely a similitude. There are but two ways open: either make the tree and its fruit both good, or both bad: for by the fruit the tree is known.' How

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35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle a word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 38 Then certain of the scribes and of 1 Cor. i. 22. the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; John iv. 48. and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the bread, his good treasure.

ch. xvi. 1.

John ii. 18.

d Isa. lvii. 3. ch. xvi. 4.

d render, saying.

make, the parable does not say: but let us remember, the Creator speaks, and sets forth a law of his own creation, with which our judgments must be in accord. This verse resumes again the leading argument, and sets forth the inconsistency of the Pharisees in representing Him as in league with evil, whose works were uniformly good. But the words have a double reference: to our Lord Himself, who could not be evil, seeing that His works were good; and (which leads on to the next verse) to the Pharisees, who could not speak good things, because their works were evil. 35-37.] The treasure spoken of is that inner storehouse of good and evil only seen by God and (partially) by ourselves. And on that account-because words, so lightly thought of by the world and the careless, spring from the inner fountains of good and ill, therefore they will form subjects of the judgment of the great day, when the whole life shall be unfolded and pronounced upon. See James iii. 2-12.

idle is perhaps best taken here in its milder and negative sense, as not yet determined on till the judgment: so that our Lord's declaration is a deduction "a minori," and if of every idle saying, then how much more of every wicked saying!

37.] The speech, being the overflow of the heart, is a specimen of what is within is the outward utterance of the man, and on this ground will form a subject of strict enquiry in the great day, being a considerable and weighty part of our works. 38.] St. Luke (xi. 15, 16) places the accusation of casting out devils by Beelzebub and this request together, and then the discourse follows. It seems that the first part of the discourse gave rise, as here related, to the request for a sign (from Heaven); but, as we

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© render, his.

might naturally expect, and as we learn
from St. Luke, on the part of different
persons from those who made the accusa-
tion. In consequence of our Lord de-
claring that His miracles were wrought
by the Holy Ghost, they wish to see some
decisive proof of this by a sign, not from
Himself, but from Heaven.
The ac-
count in ch. xvi. 1-4 manifestly relates
to a different occurrence: see notes there.
Cf. John vi. 30, 31; xii. 28.
39.1
adulterous (see reff.), because they had
been the peculiar people of the Lord, and
so in departing from Him had broken the
covenant of marriage, according to the
similitude so common in the prophets.

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The expression there shall no sign be given to it does not, as has been maintained, exclude our Lord's miracles from being signs: but is the direct answer to their request in the sense in which we know they used the word, a sign, not wrought by Him, and so able to be suspected of magic art, but one from Heaven.' Besides, even if this were not so, how can the refusing to work a miracle to satisfy them, affect the nature or signification of those wrought on different occasions, and with a totally different view? The sign of Jonas is the most remarkable foreshadowing in the O. T. of the resurrection of our Lord. It was of course impossible that His resurrection should be represented by an actual resurrection, as his birth was by births (Isaac, Samson, Samuel, Mahershalalhashbaz), and His death by deaths (Abel; the substitute for Isaac; Zechariah the prophet; the daily and occasional sacrifices); so that we find the events symbolic of his resurrection (Joseph's history; Isaac's sacrifice; Daniel's and Jonah's deliverance), representing it in a figure (lit., " a parable," Heb. xi. 19). In the case before us the figure was very

e

Ezek. xvi. 51, 52. Rom. ii.

g Jonah iii. 5.

prophet Jonas: 40 e for as Jonas was three days and three e Jonah i. 17. nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this fee Jer. iii. 11. generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented 27 at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 h The queen of the south shall rise up in h1 Kings x. 1. the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 43 g When the unclean spirit is gone out of

e render, there is more than Jonas here. more than Solomon here.

:-see

remarkable, and easily to be recognized in the O. T. narrative. For Jonah himself calls the belly of the sea monster (Jonah ii. 2), the belly of Hades,' = the heart of the earth here. And observe, that the type is not of our Lord's body being deposited in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathæa, for neither could that be called the heart of the earth,' nor could it be said that 'the Son of Man' was there during the time; but of our Lord's personal descent into the place of departed souls:Eph. iv. 9: 1 Pet. iii. 19, and note on Luke xxiii. 43. 40.] If it be necessary to make good the three days and nights during which our Lord was in the heart of the earth, it must be done by having recourse to the Jewish method of computing time. In the Jerusalem Talmud (cited by Lightfoot) it is said "that a day and night together make up a day (night-day), and that any part of such a period is counted as the whole." See Gen. xl. 13, 20: 1 Sam. xxx. 12, 13: 2 Chron. x. 5, 12: Hos. vi. 2. 41.] In this verse there is no reference to the sign of Jonas spoken of above, but to a different matter, another way in which he should be a sign to this generation. See Luke xi. 29 f., and note. (But the preaching of Jonas to the Ninevites was a sign after his resurrection: so shall the preaching of the Son of Man by His Spirit in His Apostles be after His resurrection. Stier.)

On the adjective, here and ver. 42, being in the neuter, see above, ver. 6, note. There is more than Jonas here] No matter so worthy of arousing repentance had ever been revealed or preached as the Gospel: no matter so worthy of exciting the earnest attention of all. And the Lord Himself, the Announcer of this Gospel, is greater than all the sons of men: his preaching,

2 Chron. ix. 1.

f render, there is g render, But when. greater than that of Jonah: his wisdom, than that of Solomon. 42. The queen

of the south] Josephus calls her the woman who then reigned over Egypt and Ethiopia, i. e. over Meroe (whose queens were usually called Candace. Plin. Hist. vi. 29). Abyssinian tradition agrees with this account, calls her Maqueda, and supposes her to have embraced the Jewish religion in Jerusalem. The Arabians on the other hand also claim her, calling her Balkis, which latter view is probably nearer the truth, Sheba being a tract in Arabia Felix, near the shores of the Red Sea, near the present Aden, abounding in spice and gold and precious stones. 43.] This important parable, in the similitude itself, sets forth to us an evil spirit driven out from a man, wandering in his misery and restlessness through desert places, the abodes and haunts of evil spirits (see Isa. xiii. 21, 22; xxxiv. 14), and at last determining on a return to his former victim, whom he finds so prepared for his purposes, that he associates with himself seven other fiends, by whom the wretched man being possessed, ends miserably. In its interpretation we may trace three distinct references, each full of weighty instruction. (1) The direct application of the parable is to the Jewish people, and the parallel runs thus:-The old dæmon of idolatry brought down on the Jews the Babylonish captivity, and was cast out by it. They did not after their return fall into it again, but rather endured persecution, as under Antiochus Epiphanes. The emptying, sweeping, and garnishing may be traced in the growth of Pharisaic hypocrisy and the Rabbinical schools between the return and the coming of our Lord. The re-possession by the one, and accession of seven other spirits more

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