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goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:

t

ye

V

was

8

Rom. v, 17. xx7.

Pet. i. 4, 9: iii. 9. Rev.

t ch. xx. 23.
1 Cor. ii. 9.
Heb. xi. 16.
Isa. viii. 7.

James i. 27.

3 John 5. w James ii. 15,

16.

x 2 Tim. i. 16.

I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, "Ezek. xviii.7. and took me ye in: 36 w naked, and clothed me: I v Heb. xiii. 2. sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, y Inasmuch h have done it unto y Prov. xiv. 31: as ye one of the least of these my brethren, ye h have done it. Heb.

h render, did it.

34.] THE KING-here for the first and only time does the Lord give Himself this name: see Rev. xix. 16: Rom. xiv. 9. Come] Whatever of good these persons had done, was all from Him from whom cometh every good gift-and the fruit of his Spirit. And this Spirit is only purchased for man by the work of the Son, in whom the Father is well pleased and to whom all judgment is committed. And thus they are the blessed of the Father, and those for whom this kingdom is prepared. It is not to the purpose to say that those blessed of.

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must be the elect of God in the stricter sense (the Father)--and that, because the Kingdom has been prepared for them from the foundation of the world. For evidently this would, in the divine omniscience, be true of every single man who shall come to salvation, whether belonging to those who shall be found worthy to share the first resurrection or not. Scripture assures us of two resurrections: the first, of the dead in Christ, to meet Him and reign with Him, and hold (1 Cor. vi. 2) judgment over the world: the second, of all the dead, to be judged according to their works. And to what purpose would be a judgment, if all were to be condemned? And if any escape condemna. tion, to them might the words of this verse be used: so that this objection to the interpretation does not apply.

Election to life is the universal doctrine of Scripture; but not the reprobation of the wicked: see below, on ver. 41. On from the foundation of the world, see VOL. I.

xix. 17. ch.

John xvii. 24: 1 Pet. i. 20.
35. took
me in] the idea of the word is, 'numbered
me among your own circle.' 37-40.]
The answer of these righteous appears to
me to shew plainly that they are not to be
understood as being the covenanted ser-
vants of Christ. Such an answer it would
be impossible for them to make, who had
done all distinctly with reference to Christ,
and for his sake, and with his declaration
of ch. x. 40-42 before them. Such a sup-
position would remove all reality, as indeed
it has generally done, from our Lord's
description. See the remarkable difference
in the answer of the faithful servants, vv.
20, 22. The saints are already in His
glory-judging the world with Him (1
Cor. vi. 2)-accounted as parts of, repre-
sentatives of, Himself (ver. 40)-in this
judgment they are not the judged (John
v. 24: 1 Cor. xi. 31). But these who are
the judged, know not that all their deeds
of love have been done to and for Christ-
they are overwhelmed with the sight of
the grace which has been working in and
for them, and the glory which is now their
blessed portion. And notice, that it is not
the works, as such, but the love which
prompted them-that love which was their
faith, which felt its way, though in dark-
ness, to Him who is Love-which is com-
mended. 40. my brethren] Not neces-
sarily the saints with Him in glory-
though primarily those- but also any of
the great family of man. Many of those
here judged may never have had an oppor-
tunity of doing these things to the saints
of Christ properly so called.

N

In this

z Ps. vi. 8.
ch. vii. 23.
a ch. xiii. 40,

42.

b 2 Pet. ii. 4.

Jude 6.

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b

a

unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into i everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer [him], saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer Prov. xiv 31: them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. d Dan. xii. 2. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: Rom. ii. 7 ff. but the righteous into life eternal.

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xvii. 5. Zech.
ii. 8. Acts
ix. 5.

John v. 20.

XXVI. 1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished

i render, the eternal fire which hath been prepared.

komit.

1 render, eternal (the word is the same in both places).

is fulfilled the covenant of God to Abraham, "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth (so in LXX) be blessed." Gen. xxii. 18. 41-43.] It is very important to observe the distinction between the blessing, ver. 34, and the curse here. Blessed-of my Father-but not 'cursed of my Father.' because all man's salvation is of God-all his condemnation from himself. The Kingdom, prepared for you but the fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels' [greater definiteness could not be given than by the words in the original: that particular fire, that eternal fire, created for a special purpose]-not, for you: because there is election to life-but there is no reprobation to death: a book of Life -but no book of Death; no hell for man -because the blood of Jesus hath purchased life for all but they who will serve the devil, must share with him in the end.

The repetition of all these particulars shews how exact even for every individual the judgment will be. Stier excellently remarks, that the curse shews the termination of the High Priesthood of Christ, in which office He only intercedes and blesses. Henceforth He is King and Lord his enemies being now for ever put under his feet. 44, 45.] See note on ver. 37. The sublimity of this description surpasses all imaginationChrist, as the Son of Man, the Shepherd, the King, the Judge-as the centre and end of all human love, bringing out and rewarding his latent grace in those who

have lived in love-everlastingly punishing
those who have quenched it in an un-
loving and selfish life-and in the accom-
plishment of his mediatorial office, causing,
even from out of the iniquities of a rebel-
lious world, his sovereign mercy to re-
joice against judgment.
46.] See

John v. 28, 29; and as taking up the pro-
phetic history at this point, Rev. xxi.
1-8. Observe, the same epithet is used
in the original for punishment and life-
which are here contraries-for the life
here spoken of is not bare existence, which
would have annihilation for its opposite;
but blessedness and reward, to which
punishment and misery are antagonist
terms. As regards the interpretation of
this chapter, the coincidence of these por-
tions of Scripture prophecy with the pro-
cess of the great last things in Rev. xx.
and xxi. is never to be overlooked, and
should be our guide to their explanation,
however distrustful we may be of its cer-
tainty. Those who set this coincidence
aside, and interpret each portion by itself,
without connexion with the rest, are clearly
wrong. The only alternative view seems
to be that which regards this as the judg-
ment at the time of Israel's deliverance,
previous to the Millennium. This has been
urged on me lately by a very able cor-
respondent: but I cannot see how it
agrees with the great features of the
description as pointed out above.

CHAP. XXVI. 1, 2.] FINAL ANNOUNCE

MENT OF HIS SUFFERINGS, NOW CLOSE AT
HAND. Mark xiv. 1. Luke xxii. 1. The

all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that
after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of
man is m betrayed to be crucified. 3 a Then assembled a
together the chief priests, [" and the scribes,] and the elders
of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was
called Caiaphas, 4 and consulted that they might take
Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on
the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
6 b Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of

m delivered
or,

n omit.

с

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b John xi. 1, 2:

c ch. xxi. 17.

up: it is the same word as in ver. 15, 16, 21, &c.
render, during the feast.

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This gives no certainty as to the time when the words were said: we do not know whether the current day was included or otherwise. But thus much of importance we learn from them: that the delivery of our Lord to be crucified, and the taking place of the Passover, strictly coincided. The solemn mention of them in this connexion is equivalent to a declaration from Himself, if it were needed, of the identity, both of time and meaning, of the two sacrifices; and serves as the fixed point in the difficult chronological arrangement of the history of the Passion. The latter clause, and the Son of man depends on ye know

.....

as well as the former. Our Lord had doubtless before joined these two events together in His announcements to his disciples. To separate this clause from the former, seems to me to do violence to the construction. It would require and then the Son..

8-5.] CONSPIRACY OF THE Jewish AUTHORITIES. Mark xiv. 1. Luke xxii. 2. This assembling has no connexion with what has just been related, but follows rather on the end of ch. xxiii.

who was called Caiaphas is in Josephus, "Joseph, who is also Caiaphas." Valerius Gratus, Procurator of Judæa, had appointed him instead of Simon ben Kamith. He continued through the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate, and was displaced by the proconsul Vitellius, A.D. 37. See note on Luke iii. 2, and chrono

logical table in introduction to Acts.
who was called does not mean who was
'surnamed,' but (see ver. 14) implies that
some name is to follow, which is more
than, or different from, the real one of the
person. Not during the feast] This
expression must be taken as meaning the
whole period of the feast-the seven days.
On the feast-day (A. V.), i. e. the day on
which the passover was sacrificed, they
could not lay hold of and slay any one,
as it was a day of sabbatical obligation
(Exod. xii. 16). See note on ver. 17.

6-13.] THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY.
Mark xiv. 3-9. John xii. 1-8. On
Luke vii. 36-50, see note there. This
history of the anointing of our Lord is here
inserted out of its chronological place.
It occurred six days before the Passover,
John xii. 1. It perhaps can hardly be
said that in its position here, it accounts
in any degree for the subsequent ap-
plication of Judas to the Sanhedrim
(vv. 14-16), since his name is not even
mentioned in it: but I can hardly doubt
that it originally was placed where it
here stands by one who was aware of
its connexion with that application. The
paragraphs in the beginning of this
chapter come in regular sequence, thus:
Jesus announces his approaching Passion:
the chief priests, &c. meet and plot His
capture, but not during the feast: but
when Jesus was in Bethany, &c. occasion
was given for an offer to be made to
them, which led to its being effected, after
all, during the feast. On the rebuke given,
to Judas at this time having led to his
putting into effect his intention of betray-
ing our Lord, see note on John xii. 4.
The trace of what I believe to have been
the original reason of the anointing being
inserted in this place, is still further lost
in St. Mark, who instead of when Jesus
was... has "and being" . just as

....

Simon the leper, 7 there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when his disciples. saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9 For this [Pointment] might have been sold

for much, and given to the poor. 10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? d Deut. xv. 11. for she hath wrought a good work upon me. 11 d For ye

20: xxviii.

20. John

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19: xvi. 5,

28: xvii. 11.

e see ch. xviii. have the poor always with you; but e me ye have not xiv. always. 12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Pomit.

if the narrative were continued; and at the end, instead of our then.. Judas went.... has "and Judas

...

went"

as if there were no connexion between the two. It certainly cannot be said of St. Matthew, that he relates the anointing as taking place two days before the Passover: of St. Mark it might be said. It may be observed that St. Luke relates nothing of our Lord's visits to Bethany. 6. Simon the leper] Not at this time a leper, or he could not be at his house receiving guests. It is at least possible, that he may have been healed by our Lord. Who he was, is wholly uncertain. From Martha serving (John xii. 2), it would appear as if she were at home in the house (Luke x. 38 sqq.); and that Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat need not necessarily imply that he was a guest properly so called. He had been probably (see John xii. 9) absent with Jesus at Ephraim, and on this account, and naturally for other reasons, would be an object of interest, and one of the sitters at table.

7. an

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as

John xiii. 23,-may not have observed it.
If so, the independent origin of the two
accounts is even more strikingly shewn.
waste] Bengel remarks, that the
word (literally, perdition) is the same
that by which Judas himself is
called. John xvii. 12. 9. for much]
300 denarii (John),-even more than that
(Mark). On the singular relation which
these three accounts bear to one another,
see notes on Mark.
10.] It was not
only a good work,' but a noble act of
love, which should be spoken of in all the
churches to the end of time. On ver. 11,
see notes on Mark, where it is more fully
expressed. 12. I can hardly think
that our Lord would have said this, unless
there had been in Mary's mind a distinct
reference to His burial, in doing the act.
All the company surely knew well that
His death, and that by crucifixion, was
near at hand: can we suppose one who
so closely observed his words as Mary, not
to have been possessed with the thought
of that which was about to happen? The
"she is come aforehand to anoint" of
Mark (xiv. 8), and the "against the day
of my burying hath she kept this" of John
(xii. 7), point even more strongly to her
intention.
13.] The only case in
which our Lord has made such a pro-
mise. We cannot but be struck with
the majesty of this prophetic announce-
ment introduced with the peculiar and
weighty verily I say unto you,-con-
veying, by implication, the whole mystery
of the gospel which should go forth from
His Death as its source,-looking forward
to the end of time, when it shall have

f

ch. xxvii. 3.

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 and said unto them, What will Zech. xi. 2. ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

been preached in the whole world,—and specifying the fact that this deed should be recorded wherever it is preached. We may notice (1) that this announcement is a distinct prophetic recognition by our Lord of the existence of written records, in which the deed should be related; for in no other conceivable way could the universality of mention be brought about: (2) that we have here (if indeed we needed it) a convincing argument against that view of our three first Gospels which supposes them to have been compiled from an original document; for if there had been such a document, it must have contained this narrative, and no one using such a Gospel could have failed to insert this narrative, accompanied by such a promise, in his own work,-which St. Luke has not done: (3) that the same consideration is equally decisive against St. Luke having used, or even seen, our present Gospels of Matthew and Mark. (4) As regards the practical use of the announcement, we see that though the honourable mention of a noble deed is thereby recognized by our Lord as a legitimate source of joy to us, yet by the very nature of the case all regard to such mention as a motive is excluded. The motive was love alone.

14-16.] COMPACT OF JUDAS WITH THE CHIEF PRIESTS TO BETRAY HIM. Mark xiv. 10, 11. Luke xxii. 3-6. (See also John xiii. 2.) When this took place, does not appear. In all probability, immediately after the conclusion of our Lord's discourses, and therefore coincidently with the meeting of the Sanhedrim in ver. 3. As these verses bring before us the first overt act of Judas's treachery, I will give here what appears to me the true estimate of his character and motives. In the main, my view agrees with that given by Neander. I believe that Judas at first became attached to our Lord with much the same view as the other Apostles. He appears to have been a man with a practical talent for this world's business, which gave occasion to his being appointed the Treasurer, or Bursar, of the company (John xii. 6; xiii. 29). But the self-seeking, sensuous element, which his character had in common with that of the other Apostles, was deeper rooted in him; and the spirit and love of Christ gained no such influence over him

16 And

as over the others, who were more disposed to the reception of divine things. In proportion as he found our Lord's progress disappoint his greedy anticipations, did his attachment to Him give place to coldness and aversion. The exhibition of miracles alone could not keep him faithful, when once the deeper appreciation of the Lord's divine Person failed. We find by implication a remarkable example of this in John vi. 60-66, 70, 71, where the denunciation of the one unfaithful among the Twelve seems to point to the (then) state of his mind, as already beginning to be scandalized at Christ. Add to this, that latterly the increasing clearness of the Lord's announcements of His approaching passion and death, while they gradually opened the eyes of the other Apostles to some terrible event to come, without shaking their attachment to Him, was calculated to involve in more bitter disappointment and disgust one so disposed to Him as Judas

was.

The actually exciting causes of the deed of treachery at this particular time may have been many. The reproof administered at Bethany (on the Saturday evening probably),-disappointment at seeing the triumphal entry followed, not by the adhesion, but by the more bitter enmity of the Jewish authorities,-the denunciations of our Lord in ch. xxii. xxiii. rendering the breach irreparable,-and perhaps His last announcement in ver. 2, making it certain that his death would soon take place, and sharpening the eagerness of the traitor to profit by it :-all these may have influenced him to apply to the chief priests as he did. With regard to his motive in general, I cannot think that he had any design but that of sordid gain, to be achieved by the darkest treachery. See further on this the note on ch. xxvii. 3.

15.] The verb rendered covenanted ...for, may mean either weighed out, or appointed. That the money was paid to Judas (ch. xxvii. 3) is no decisive argument for the former meaning; for it may have been paid on the delivery of Jesus to the Sanhedrim. The "covenanted" of St. Luke and "promised" of St. Mark would lead us to prefer the other. thirty pieces of silver] Thirty shekels, the price of the life of a servant, Exod. xxi. 32. Between three and four pounds of our money. St. Matthew

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