To all ages it is like the vision of the bush burning, in which was the Presence of God. For it was, indeed, the most needful for them in view of the immediate future.
It is to the depression caused by His insistence on this terrible future, to the constant apprehension of near danger, and the consequent desire not to
Prominently, perhaps, as the summary of all, we have now the clear andemphatic repetition of the prediction of His Death and Resurrection. Thus viewed, there is, we submit, a moral purpose and spiritual instruction in the provision of the Stater out of the fish’s mouth.
The event next recorded in the Gospels took place partly on the way from the Mount of Transfiguration to Capernaum, and partly in Capernaum
IT was ‘the 1st, the great day of the Feast,’ and Jesus was once more in the Temple. And this He presently symbolised (and is not every miracle a symbol?) in the healing of the blind.
The Good Shepherd Who layeth down His life for His Sheep! What a contrast to a mere hireling, whose are not the sheep, and who fleeth at
It was a noble close of the series of those Discourses in the Temple, which had it for their object to show, that He was truly sent of God. Accordingly, this chapter will be devoted to the briefest summary of the Lord’s Discourses in Peraea, previous to His return to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. It is directed against the flimsy, superstitious, and unspiritual views entertained by Israel, alike of the Kingdom of evil and of that of God.
On the other hand, introduce the ideas of moral evil, of the concentration of its power in a kingdom of which Satan is the. Matthew Nay, by their own admission, the casting out of Satan was part of the work of Messiah.
But this recognition of the spiritual, which was the opposite of the sin against the Holy Ghost, was, as Christ had so lately explained in Jerusalem,
Satan, represents sin in its absolute completeness, and for which there can be no pardon, since the state of mind of which it is the outcome admits not the possibility of repentance, because its essence lies in this, to call that Satanic which is the very object of repentance. It were unduly to press the Words of Christ, to draw from them such inferences as, whether sins unforgiven in this world might or might not be forgiven in the next, since, manifestly, it was not the intention of Christ to teach on this subject. On the other hand, His Words seem to imply that, at least as regards this sin, there is no room for forgiveness in the other world.
For, the expression is not ‘the age to come’ swbl ryt[, but, ‘the world to come’ (akh µlw[ . or, ytar aml[), which, as we know, does not strictly refer to Messianic times. But this recognition of the spiritual, which was the opposite of the sinagainst the Holy Ghost, was, as Christ had so lately explained in Jerusalem,.
Both logically and morally the Words of Christ were unanswerable; and the Pharisees fell back on the old device of challenging proof of His Divine
But whereas on the former occasion Christ chiefly referred to Jonas’ preaching (of repentance), on this He rather pointed to the allegorical history of Jonas as the Divine attestation of his Mission. After three days and three nights ‘in the heart of the earth’, which is a Hebraism for ‘in the earth’ f1855 would His Resurrection Divinely attest to this generation His Mission. The Ninevites did not question, but received this attestation of Jonas; nay, an authentic report of the wisdom of Solomon had been sufficient to bring the Queen of Sheba from so far; in the one case it was, because they felt their sin; in the other, because she felt need and longing for better wisdom than she possessed.
But these were the very elements wanting in the men of this generation; and so both Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba would stand up, not only as mute witnesses against, but to condemn, them. For, the great Reality of which the preaching of Jonas had been only the type, and for which the wisdom of Solomon had been only the preparation, had been presented to them in Christ.
And so, having put aside this cavil, Jesus returned to His former
But they knew that demons were only manifestations of demoniac power, and that there was a Kingdom of evil. So this house, swept of the foulness of heathenism and adorned with all the self-righteousness of Pharisaism, but empty of God, would only become a more suitable and more secure habitation of Satan; because, from its cleanness and beauty, his presence and rule there as an evil spirit would not be suspected. So, to continue the illustrative language of Christ, he came back ‘with seven other spirits more wicked than himself’, pride, self- righteousness, unbelief, and the like, the number seven being general, and thus the last state, Israel without the foulness of gross idolatry and garnished with all the adornments of Pharisaic devotion to the study and practice of the Law, was really worse than had been the first with all its open repulsiveness.
Once more was the Discourse interrupted, this time by a truly Jewish incident. A woman in the crowd burst into exclamations about the
Jewish casuistry had it, that one blessing sufficed for the wine intended as part of the meal. In regard to the position of the guests, we know that the uppermost seats were occupied by the Rabbis. We have no difficulty now in understanding what passed at the table of the Pharisee.
It was an insult to himself, a defiance of Jewish Law, a revolt against the most cherished tradltions of the. The ‘Scribes’ were the exponents of the traditional law; those who bound and loosed in Israel.
The second Discourse recorded in this connection was occasioned by a request for judicial interposition on the part of Christ. This He answered by
The second Discourse recorded in this connection was occasioned by arequest for judicial interposition on the part of Christ. Of deepest importance is the final consolation, to dismiss all care and anxiety, since the Father was pleased to give to this ‘little flock’ the Kingdom. This conclusion of Christ’s Discourse, also, confirms the inference that it was delivered near the terrible time of the end.
Most seasonable would be here the repetition, though in slightly different language, of an admonition, given in the beginning of Christ’s Galilean Ministry, {St. Closely connected with, and yet quite distinct from, the previousDiscourse is that about the waiting attitude of the disciples in regard to.
Closely connected with, and yet quite distinct from, the previous Discourse is that about the waiting attitude of the disciples in regard to
The Master is supposed to be absent, at a wedding, a figure which must not be closely pressed, not being one of the essentials in the Parable. At most, it points to a joyous occasion, and its mention may chiefly indicate that such a feast might be protracted, so that the exact time of the Master’s return could not be known to the servants who waited at home. The ‘Parable’ now passes into another aspect of the case, which is again referred to in the last Discourses of Christ.
From the implied, for it is not an express answer of the Lord, we infer, that. Besides these Discourses, two events are recorded before Christ’sdeparture to the ‘Feast of the Dedication.’ Each of these led to a brief.
Besides these Discourses, two events are recorded before Christ’s departure to the ‘Feast of the Dedication.’ Each of these led to a brief
Having thus answered the implied objection, the Lord next showed, in the Parable of the Fig-tree, {St. It is the preaching of the Law which awakens in the mind a sense of sin. But the emphasis of the Parable and its lesson are in the word ‘every one’.
Allegorically, the fig-tree served in the Old Testament as emblem of the Jewish nation {Joel, 1. They all proceed on the view that the work of the Father and of Christ, as regards ‘the Kingdom,’.
In proceeding to the second Parable, that of the Lost Drachm, we must keep in mind that in the first the danger of being lost arose from the natural
Of these three things we think: of the lost sheep; of the Good Shepherd, seeking, finding, bearing, rejoicing; and of the sympathy of all who are truly friends, like-minded with Him. And to mark the terrible contrast between the teaching of Christ and that of the Pharisees; to mark also, how directly from heaven must have been the message of Jesus, and how poor sinners must have felt it such, we put down in all its nakedness the message which Pharisaism brought to the lost. In proceeding to the second Parable, that of the Lost Drachm, we mustkeep in mind that in the first the danger of being lost arose from the natural.
And so there is joy in the presence of the Angels over one sinner that repenteth. If it has already appeared that the two first Parables are not merely arepetition, in different form, of the same thought, but represent two.
If it has already appeared that the two first Parables are not merely a repetition, in different form, of the same thought, but represent two
Perfect love casteth out fear,’ and the hard thoughts concerning himself and his deserts on the part of the returning sinner were banished by the love of the father. There are three Parables of the Unrighteous: the Unrighteous Steward, the Unrighteous Owner, and the Unrighteous Dispenser, or Judge. True, the Parable of the Unjust Steward was primarily spoken ‘to His disciples,’ {ver 1.} that of Dives and Lazarus to the Pharisees.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward., In accordance with the canon of interpretation just laid down, we distinguish, 1. And the lesson is the more practical, that those primarily addressed had hitherto been among these men of the world.
The suitableness both of the Parable and of its application to the audience of Christ appears from its similarity to what occurs in Jewish
The words of Christ had touched more than one sore spot in the hearts of the Pharisees. But we leave for the prseent the comparative analysis of the Parable to return to the introductory words of Christ. To the entrance of the Temple, but no farther, did the Pharisee and the Publican go together.
The second picture, or scene, in the Parable sets before us the reverse state of feeling from that of the Pharisee. Evangelists, confirming the conclusion, arrived at on other grounds, that the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant belongs to the Peraean series, and closes it.
