vipers, who hath warned you come: [Luke iii. 7.] THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 43 come to las baptism, he said observation of human traditions; and that of the Sadducees, who, among other very ob- SECT. unto them, O generation of noxious notions, denied the existence of spirits, and a future state of rewards and punish16. to flee from the wrath to ments. Yet some of both these sects, out of curiosity or popular custom, or from some other unknown reason, attended on the preaching of this holy man and when he saw MATT. among the multitudes that came to be baptized by him, that many, both of the Pharisees III. 7 and Sadducees, were coming to receive his baptism as he well knew the open profaneness of the one, and the secret wickedness of the other, he did not flatter them at all in his address, but said unto them, as with some surprise, O ye abominable broods of vipers, crafty, malignant, mischievous creatures, who hath taught you to put on this form of humility and repentance, and admonished you to flee from the wrath which is surely and speedily to come? What is it that hath moved you to it, when you Pharisees think yourselves so secure from it, on account of the pretended sanctity of your lives; and you 8 Bring forth therefore fruits Sadducees imagine it to be no other than a mere fable and a dream? Let me exhort you, 8 met for: (of worthy of re- therefore, if you design to be baptized by me, to make it your serious and resolute care to pentance: [Luke iii. 8.] bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and to act like those that are penitents indeed, for9 And think not to say saking, as well as confessing, your sins: And, if you neglect this, do not presumptuously 9 Abraham to our father: for think it will be to any purpose for you to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our I say unto you, That God is father; relying on your descent from that holy patriarch, and your being that seed of his able of these stones to raise with whom a peculiar covenant was made: for I solemnly say, and declare it unto you as a certain and important truth, That God is able, of these very stones that are before your eyes, which he can animate and sanctify whenever he sees fit, to raise up those who, though not descended from human parents, shall be, in a much nobler sense than you, children to Abraham, as being made the heirs of his faith and obedience: and he would sooner work such a miracle as this, than he would suffer his promise to fail, or admit you to the blessings of his approaching kingdom, merely because you have the abused honour to descend from that peculiar favourite of heaven. within yourselves, We have up children unto Abraham. [Luke iii. 8.] 10 And now also the axe is These are truths of constant concern, and now particularly seasonable; for the patience 10 laid unto the root of the trees: of God will not much longer endure so provoking a people. You think of national therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit deliverance, but beware of national judgments; for I assure you that the hand of God is is hewn down, and cast into lifted up, and the are of divine justice is even now as it were applied to the very root of the the fire. [Luke iii. 9.] trees; and therefore, every tree that doth not produce good fruit, (even every one that, Upon this, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who expected to have been treated LUKE Ple asked him, saying, What with greater respect, were so provoked, that they turned their backs upon the prophet, and Luke iii. 10. And the peoShall we do then? refused to be baptised. (Compare Luke vii. 29, 30. and Matt, xxi. 25.) But it was other- 10 wise with the common people, who were alarmed by what he said, and the multitudes, who were more teachable, asked him, saying, What then shall we do, that we may be prepared for the kingdom of the Messiah, and may escape this dreadful condemnation and 11 He answereth and saith approaching wrath? And he answereth and saith unto them, Be careful not only to observe 11 unto them, He that hath two the ceremonies of religion, but to attend to the great duties of justice and of charity too, coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that which are incumbent upon you, as well as on the great and rich: and he, for instance, we meat, let him do like that hath two coats, let him impart one of them to him that hath none; and he that hath plenty of food, let him do the like. Wise. said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 19 Then came also pub Then there came also some of the publicans to be baptized. Now these publicans were 12 licans to be baptized, and a set of men, whose office it was to collect the taxes which the Romans had imposed on the Jews, and to pay them to others, who were called the chief of the publicans; and these people, being generally persons of an infamous character, for their injustice and oppression, applied themselves to John under a strong conviction of their guilt, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do to testify the sincerity of our repentance? 13 And he said unto them, And he said unto them, Though you are not absolutely required to quit your employment, 13 Exact no more than that which take care that you exact nothing more than is enjoined you by your principals, whose ser is appointed you. demanded of him, saying, vants you are in collecting the public money. 14 And the soldiers likewise And the soldiers also applied themselves to hims on the same occasion, and in like 14 And what shall we do. And manner asked him, saying, And as for us, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Terhe said unto them, Do vio rify no manh by a violent overbearing conduct, nor wrong [any] by false accusation, in ence to no man, neither ac- order to get a liberty of living upon him at free quarters; and be contented with your legal wages, or pay, not raising mutinies and seditions to get it increased. cuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. character he had no doubt maintained for strict and undissembled Fiety, all concurred with the causes mentioned in the paraphrase, to draw such vast multitudes after him. a Pharisees and Sadducees.] The most authentic account of these sects may be seen in Joseph. Antiq. Jud. lib. xviii, cap. 1. (al. . et Bell, Jud. lib. 1. cap. 8. [al. 7.1 Havercamp. All writers of Jewish Antiquities describe them largely; but I think, on the whole, none better than Dr. Prideaux, Connect. vol. ii. p. 335-343. Coming to receive his baptism.] I express it in this manner, for, though some understand the words En To BanTioua avrov, of their coming to oppose his baptism, I think the reasons for that interpretation not worth mentioning here, and refer my reader to Raphelius, who has Liven them a larger examination than they deserve. Annot, ex Xen, P. 7-11. ye broods of vipers.] Some think this is to be understood as if it bad been said, Ye wicked children of wicked parents: but such a reflection on their parents is not necessarily implied. The children of pious Eli are called sons of Belial, merely with reference to their own licentious characters, as they knew not the Lord. See 1 Sam. ii. 12.-The Word Ternuata may be used in the plural number, in reference to the different sentiments, and, if I may be allowed the expression, (familiar enough to the Jewish doctors,) the different families of these sects in question. d We have Abraham for our father.] Dr. Whitby well shows how great the presumption of the Jews on this relation to Abraham was, Munster, on this text, quotes a remarkable passage from the Talmud, 10 which it is said, "That Abraham sits next the gates of hell, and doth not permit any wicked Israelite to go down into it.' These Jews might perhaps pervert the promise in Jer. xxxi. 35, 36. to support this Vain and dangerous confidence, in opposition to such a multitude of Dost express and awful threatenings; particularly Deut. xxxii. 19, et seq. e Of these very stones that are before your eyes.] The many learned commentators, who refer this to God's calling the Gentiles, supposing some of them to be present here, seem to lose all the beauty of the expression, which I have paraphrased at large, because I think few, if any, have set it in so strong a light as it will well bear. It is a precarious conjecture, that the stones here referred to, were those set up in Gilgal. Josh. iv. 3, 20. t Is very certainly and quickly to be cut down.] It is expressed, in the original, in the present tense: and it may be of some importance to observe here, that in Scripture language, that which is very sure, and very near, is spoken of as if it was already done. Thus Christ speaks of himself, as if he was already in possession of his glory, while he was here on earth, John xvii. 24. and sinners too are represented as condemned already, John ini. 18. and saints are spoken of as already glorified, Eph. ii. 6. and Heb. xii, 22, 23. g The soldiers applied themselves to him.] There is no reason to believe that these were Gentile soldiers. Grotius has excellently proved, that the Jews in general did not scruple a military life; and a multitude of passages from Josephus might be added to the same purpose; and though most of the soldiers in Judea, which was now a province, might be Romans, yet those belonging to Galilee might probably be Jews. Had these been Gentiles, John would surely have begun his instructions to them with urging the worship of the true God. h Terrify no man.] The word diagetonte properly signifies "to take a man by the collar and shake him ;" and seems to have been used proverbially for that violent manner in which persons of this station of life are often ready to bully those about them, whom they imagine their inferiors in strength and spirit; though nothing is an argument of a meaner spirit, or more unworthy that true courage which constitutes so essential a part of a good military character. i With your legal wages or pay.] The word ovviors is well known to signify provision or foed; but, when applied to soldiers, it is generally 44 SECT. 16. III. 16 THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. mused in their hearts of John, whose shoes I am not worthy [MARK, stoop down and] with fire: [Matt. iii. 11. Mark And, as the people were in great suspense, and all were reasoning in their hearts with much 15 And as the people were solicitude concerning John, debating the matter with themselves, whether he were the in expectation, and all men Messiah or not, John answered all that put the question to him, in the most direct and whether he were the Christ LUKE positive manner, saying, I indeed baptize you with water, to engage you to the exercise of ornoo 16 John answered, saying repentance, which, by submitting to that rite, you solemnly profess; but there is one unto them all. I indeed coming after me, even the Messiah himself, who is much more powerful and considerable repentance: but one mightier than I can pretend to be; (see John x. 41.) whose very shoes I am not worthy so much than I cometh, [after me, as to carry after him, [or] to stoop down and untie the latchet of [them,] but should esteem to bear,] the latchet of whose it as an honour to perform the humblest office of menial service for him. And, if you shoes I am not worthy to are indeed his people, he shall baptize you with a most plentiful effusion of the Holy Spirit, unloose: he shall baptize and with fire; causing his Spirit to descend upon his followers in the appearance of a you with the Holy Ghost and flame of fire, to represent its operating on the heart like fire, to kindle pious and devout i. 7, 8] affections, and to purify and enliven the souls of believers. (Compare Acts i. 5. and ii. 3.) 17 But you are to remember, this is an awful as well as an amiable Person, whose fan is 17 Whose fan is in his hand, in his hand, and he will thoroughly winnow and cleanse his church, which is, as it were, his floor, and will gather the and he will throughly purge his threshing-floor, and at present is covered with a mixture of wheat and chaff: for such wheat into his garner; but will be the nature of the doctrine he shall teach, as will effectually discover what is the the chaff he will burn with real disposition of the hearts of men, and perfectly distinguish between the hypocritical 12.) and the sincere. And happy will it be for those that stand the trial: for he will carefully gather them, as the wheat into his granary, and lay them up in heaven as his peculiar treasure: but as for the chaff which is found among them, as for those empty vain professors that are now mingled with his people, he will then treat them as men do the sweepings and the refuse of the floor, and burn them up as worthless and unprofitable trash; and I faithfully warn you, that it will be with unquenchable fire: let this excite you therefore to escape so terrible a doom. (Compare Isa. xli. 16. Jer. xv. 7. and Ezek. xxii. 15.) 18 MATT. fire unquenchable. [Matt. iii. Such was, in general, the tendency and purport of John's preaching: and, offering 18 And many other things, many other exhortations to them to the same effect, he published to the people these glad he unto the people. in his exhortation, preached tidings of the Messiah's approach, and endeavoured to prepare them to receive him in a proper manner; as will be more particularly shown hereafter. (See John i. 15, et seq. and iii. 28, et seq.) IMPROVEMENT. WHAT an excellent pattern of ministerial service does John exhibit in the passage before us! Blessed is that III. gospel preacher who, like him, seeks not his own ease and pleasure, and indulges not to luxurious and sensual 7 inclinations, but cheerfully accommodates himself to the state and circumstances which Providence hath assigned him, as infinitely more intent on the success of his ministry than on any little interest of his own that can interfere LUKE with it! Happy the man who, imitating the impartiality of this faithful servant of God, gives to every one his III. portion of meat in due season, and abhors the thoughts of flattering men in their vices, or buoying them up with 10-14 delusive hopes in their birth and profession, while they are destitute of real and vital religion! MATT. May this plain and awakening address be felt by every soul that hears it! And, in particular, let the children III. of religious parents, let those that enjoy the most eminent privileges, and that make even the strictest profession, weigh themselves in this balance of the sanctuary, lest they be found wanting in the awful decisive day. And if the warnings of the gospel have alarmed our hearts, and put us upon fleeing from the wrath to come, oh, let the 8 terrors of the Lord engage us, not only to confess, but to forsake, our sins, and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance! Let all to whom the gospel message comes, most attentively and seriously consider, in what alarming circumstances of danger and extremity impenitent sinners are here represented. The gospel is the last dispensation we 10 must ever expect; the axe is at the root of the unfruitful tree, and it must ere long be cut down and burnt, be its branches ever so diffusive, and its leaves ever so green. LUKE Christ hath a fan in his hand to winnow us, as well as the Jews. Oh that we may stand the trial! And oh III, that, as his wheat, we may be laid up in the storehouse of heaven, when that day cometh which shall burn as an oven, and when all that do wickedly shall be consumed as stubble, and be burnt up as chaff! (Mal. iv. 1.) 17 16 And to conclude that we may be prepared for that final trial, let us be earnest in our applications to our gracious Redeemer, that as we are baptized with water in his name, he would also baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fire; that, by the operations of his Holy Spirit on our cold and stupid hearts, he would enkindle and quicken that divine life, that sacred love, that flaming, yet well-governed zeal for his glory, which distinguishes the true christian from the hypocritical professor, and is indeed the seal of God set upon the heart, to mark it for eternal happiness. SECT. 17. JOHN 1. SECTION XVII. The testimony John the Baptist gave to Christ is taken notice of by John the evangelist, and his own testimony added to confirm it. AS the Messiah now was shortly to appear, and the time just at hand in which he was to JOIN bare witness of him, enter on his public ministry, the way (as we have seen) was opened for his coming by and cried, saying, This was John the Baptist's being sent to preach the doctrine of repentance: and when the people 15 came in crowds from every part to hear him, John bore his testimony of him in a public used to signify the pay that was allotted for their subsistence. (Compare Rom, vi. 23. where it is rendered wages; and 1 Cor. ix. 7. where we translate it charges.) The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.] There is in what the Baptist here declares, an evident allusion to the custom of burning the chaff after winnowing, that it might not be blown back again, and so be mingled with the wheat: and, though it may in part refer to the calamities to come upon the Jewish nation for rejecting Christ, (as Bishop Chandler has observed in his Defence of Christianity, p. 85.) yet it seems chiefly to intend the final destruction of all sinners in hell, which alone is properly opposed to the gathering the wheat into the garner: (compare Matt. xiii. 40-42.) and howsoever it be certain that the word axrpov in Greek authors does generally signify all that is left of the corn when the grain is separated, including the straw; (see Raphael. Annot, es Xen, in loc, and Gen. xxiv. 25, 32. Septuag.) yet I apprehend, that in this place it must be equivalent to xvous, and sig. nify chay as distinguished from straw. since one can hardly imagine either that any thing so useful as straw would be made the symbol of these worthless reprobates, or that it would be represented as burnt up.As to the phrase of burning the chaff with unquenchable fire, Mr. Horberry has observed, with his usual accuracy of judgment. (Inquiry into the Duration of Future Punishment, chap. i. No. 1, 2.) that it is absolutely inconsistent with all views of the restoration of the wicked; and that, however the phrase of being consumed like chaff might seem to favour the doctrine of their annihilation, (which nevertheless it is certain no punishment of mind or body can of itself effect,) the epithet of unquenchable given to this fire, is so far from proving it, that it cannot, by any easy and just interpretation, be reconciled with it. 1 Published these glad tidings.] EvneλIČETO has plainly this import; and as it was a very imperfect intination, rather than a full discovery of the gospel that was given by the Baptist, it does not seem so proper here to render it by preaching the gospel, though the word has often that signification; see Matt. xi. 5. Luke iv. 18, and Acts viii. 4, &c. before me: for he was before me.. THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE APOSTLE. 1. 45 he of whom I spake, He that declaration of the dignity of his person, and of the great design for which he was to come; SECT. cometh after me is preferred which, though it was at first expressed in general terms, yet did he afterwards apply it in 17. particular to Jesus of Nazareth, pointing him out to be the person he had spoken of; and, with an earnestness that suited the importance of this grand occasion, he openly proclaimed JOHN him to be the promised Messiah, and cried, saying, This is the person that I told you of; and this was he of whom I said before, (Matt. iii. 11.) He that cometh after me, as to the 15 time of his appearance in the world, and of his entrance on the stage of public life, is upon all accounts superior to me, and is deservedly preferred before me; for, though indeed as to his human birth he is younger than me, and did not come into the world till a little after me, yet, in a much more noble and exalted kind of being, he existed long before me, or even before the production of any creature whatsoever. 16 And of his fulness have grace. And I, John the apostle, who had the honour of being numbered among his most 16 all we received, and grace for intimate friends, would, with pleasure, in my own name, and that of my brethren, add my testimony to that of the Baptist, as I and they have the greatest reason to do for of his overflowing fulness have we all received whatever we possess, as men, as christians, or as apostles; and he hath given us even grace upon grace, a rich abundance and variety of favours, which will ever make his name most dear and precious to our souls. 17 For the law was given came by Jesus Christ. For the law was given by Moses, and we own it an honour to our nation to have received 17 by Moses, but grace and truth it, and to that holy man to have been the messenger of it: yet to the sinner it is a dispensation of death, and passes an awful sentence of condemnation upon him; [but] the Redeemer whom we celebrate is worthy of much more affectionate regards; for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,e who gives us an ample declaration of pardon, and an abundant effusion of the Spirit, those substantial blessings of which the Mosaic dispensation was but a 18 No man hath seen God shadow. His gospel therefore should be received with the most cheerful consent; for no 18 ten Son, which is in the bosom man hath ever seen God, nor indeed can see him, as he is an incorporeal, and therefore an of the Father, he hath de- invisible Being; but the only-begotten Son, who is always in the bosom of the Father, and at any time; the only-begot clared him. ever favoured with the most endearing and intimate converse with him, he hath revealed IMPROVEMENT. HAPPY are they, that, (like this beloved apostle,) when they hear the praises of Christ uttered by others, can Ver. 16 echo back the testimony from their own experience, as having themselves received of his fulness! May an abundance of grace be communicated from him to us! We are not straitened in him : oh, may we not be straitened in ourselves; but daily renewing our application to him as our Living Head, may vital influences be continually imparted to our souls from him! With pleasure let us compare the dispensation of Jesus with that of Moses, and observe the excellency of its 17 superior grace and of its brighter truth; but let us remember, as a necessary consequence of this, that if the despisers of Moses's law died without mercy, they shall be thought worthy of a much sorer punishment, and a more aggravated condemnation, who tread under foot the Son of God. (Heb. x. 28, 29.) May we ever regard him as the only-begotten of the Father; and, since he hath condescended so far as to come 18 down from his very bosom to instruct us in his nature and will, let us with all humility receive his dictates, and earnestly pray, that under his revelations and teachings, we may so know God, as faithfully to serve him now and at length eternally to enjoy him. SECTION XVIII. Christ is baptized by John, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him in a visible form. Mark i. 9-11. Matt. iii. 13, to the end; Luke iii. 21-23. SECT. MARK i. 9. MARK i. 9. AND it came to pass in those AND it came to pass in those days, when great numbers of all ranks and professions among days, [LUKE, when all the the Jewish people were baptized, that Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee,Þ a This was he of whom I said.] This probably might happen at the fine when Jesus made his first appearance among those that came to be baptized by John; when at his offering to receive his baptism, though Job before had been a stranger to him, and knew him not by any persenal acquaintance with him, yet, by some powerful impression on his mind, he presently discerned that this was he who he before had taught the people to expect, and of whose person he had given them so high a character. For it was plainly from his knowledge of him, that John at first would have declined baptizing him, as an honour of which he looked upon himself to be unworthy. Nor is it to be doubted, but that, when first he knew the person of whose appearance he had raised such expectations by his preaching, he would immediately be ready to quaint his hearers, that this was he, who was intended by him; which they themselves might have been ready to conclude, froin the uncommon Veneration and respect with which the Baptist treated him, who had been always used to treat men with the greatest plainness. And upon Es account it may be proper, that this testimony of him should be troduced (as I have placed it here) before the particular account that the other evangelists have given of his baptisin. Compare Matt. iii. 14. and John i. 27, 30. p. 161. Next to this, I should prefer Grotius's interpretation, who would render it, grace of mere grace; that is, the freest grace imaginable. e Came by Jesus Christ.] I cannot lay so much stress on the word eveTo here, as opposed to edon, as to suppose it, with Erasmus, to imply, that whereas Moses was only the messenger of the law, Christ was the original of the grace and truth he brought into the world by the gospel, since all that is intended by eyevero is nothing more, than that it was, or that it came by Jesus Christ, according to the sense in which the word is often used in other places; and da here is used of Christ as well as of Moses: so that both are represented as messengers, though of very different dispensations. f In the bosom of the Father.] Critics generally agree, this is one of the places in which es is put for ev; but had it here been rendered near his Father's bosom, it might as well have answered the design of the original, and would, I think, have been as expressive of that intimate converse and entire friendship, which the phrase implies.-Elsner here cites a passage from Plato, concerning the regard due to the authority of a Son of God when speaking of his Father; and it is indeed surprisingly opposite. Elsn. Observ, vol. i. p. 296. a When all the people were baptized.] John continued baptizing so long after this, that it is very evident the word all must be taken with the restriction used in the paraphrase, as it is oftentimes in other places. b Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee.] The learned Dr. Thomas Jackson, in his elaborate examination of this context, (see his Works, vol. ii. p. 515–519.) supposes, that John the Baptist, inquiring into. and hearing the name of Jesus, and the place from whence he came, and comparing it in his own mind with that celebrated prophecy, Isa. xi. 1, 2. concluded, that this Jesus, or divine Saviour, as the word may signify, (see note d, on Matt. i. 21. p. 27.) coming from Nazareth, the town of Rods, as the etymology of that name imports, was the Rod out of the stem of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit should descend, and rest like a dove on a branch. And thus he would reconcile John's address to Christ as so extraordinary a person, Matt. iii. 14. with his declaring (John i. 31, 33.) that he knew him not before; but this seems a very precarious solution, considering how possible it might be, that in so large a place as Nazareth, there might be several persons of the name of Jesus, or Joshua, so very common among the Jews. It appears therefore much more reasonable to have recourse to the solution given secret intimation given him who it was that came to be baptized by him; and all that this very ingenious writer has said, to show the vari ous marks by which John might know Christ, without supposing such a bHe existed long before me; рOTOS us nv.] This must undoubtedly 18. MARK 46 III. 14 THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST. Jesus came from Nazareth baptized of him,] and was [Matt. iii. 13. Luke iii. 21.] forbad him, saying, I have SECT. where he had lived for many years in a retired manner with his parents, to the river Jor- people were baptized,] that 18. dan; and applied himself to John, that he might be baptized by him and was accordingly of Galilee, funto John, to be baptized by John, in Jordan, near Bethabara. (See John i. 28. § 20.) MATT. Now the providence of God had so ordered it, to prevent all appearance of a combina- baptized of John in Jordan. tion between them, that John was personally a stranger to Christ. (John i. 33.) But never- Matt. iii. 14. But John theless, as soon as he saw him, he received a secret intimation from above, that this was need to be baptized of thee, the Messiah, upon whom the Spirit should visibly descend. (See the note on John i. 33. and comest thou to me § 21.) And, upon this account, such was the modesty of John, that he was ready to decline the service, and would have hindered him from doing what he proposed; and accordingly said unto him, Thou art so much my superior, that I have need to be baptized by thee with that far nobler baptism which thou art to administer; and dost thou come to me on such an occasion as this? I am confounded at the thought, and cannot but con15 sider it as too high an honour for me. And Jesus, replying, said unto him, Though it be 15 And Jesus, answering, really as thou sayest, yet do not go about to hinder me, but permit [it] now; for, however said unto him, Suffer it to be unable thou mayst be at present to enter into the particular reasons of it, yet, in submission us to fulfil all righteousness. to the divine appointments, it is decent for us thus to comply with all the duties of reli- Then he suffered him. gion, and in this manner it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness and upon this account, as it is a part of my duty to attend this institution, it is therefore a part of thine to administer it. Then, as John knew that it became him not to debate the matter any further, he permitted him to be baptized. 16 LUKE : so now; for thus it becometh And after Jesus was baptized, as soon as he ascended out of the water to the bank of 16 And Jesus, when he was Jordan, behold, the heavens were immediately opened unto him, and in a wondrous way way out of the water: and, baptized, went up straightappeared as if they had been rent asunder directly over his head : and at that very instant, lo, the heavens were opened as he was looking up, and praying in a devout and holy rapture; and as John was also tized, and praying,) and he unto him, [LUKE, being bapfixing his eyes upon this wonderful sight, he saw the Spirit of God, in a corporeal form, saw the Spirit of God descending [LUKE, in a bodily shape] as a glorious and splendid appearance of fire, descending with a hovering motion like a like a dove, and lighting upon dove, and coming upon him; as a visible token of those secret operations of that Blessed him, Mark i. 10. Luke iii. 21, 22.) Spirit on his mind, by which, according to the intimations God had given in his word, he was anointed in a peculiar manner, and abundantly fitted for his public work. (Compare Psal. xlv. 7. and Isa. Ixi. 1.) And, as a further testimony of the Divine regard to Christ, and of the glorious dignity Luke iii. 2. And [lo] a Voice came from heaven, of his person, this was attended with a very memorable event; for, behold, a loud and awful which said, Thou art my be 22 voice came out of heaven, when it was thus opened, which said, Thou art my beloved Son,h in loved Son; in thee I am well thee I am well pleased; that is, I perfectly approve thy character, and acquiesce in thee pleased. (Matt. iii. 17. Mark as the Great Mediator, through whom I will show myself favourable unto sinful creatures. (Compare Isa. xlii. 1.) 23 MATT. 11.] 23 And Jesus himself be of age. And Jesus, at that time when he received the baptism of John, and was beginning the public exercise of [his ministry,] was about thirty years old; at which time he chose to gan to be about thirty years quit his retirement, being then in the full vigour of nature, and having attained the age in which the priests used to begin their ministrations in the temple. (Compare Numb. iv. 3-47. and 1 Chron. xxiii. 3.) IMPROVEMENT. LET our Lord's submitting himself to baptism, teach us a holy exactness and care in the observance of those III. positive institutions which owe their obligation merely to a divine command; for thus it also becometh us to fulfil Ver. 15 all righteousness; lest by breaking one of the least of Christ's commandments, and teaching others to do it, we become unworthy of a part in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. v. 19.) 16 Jesus had no sin to confess or wash away, yet he was baptized; and God owned that ordinance so far as to make it the season of pouring forth the Spirit upon him. And where can we expect this sacred effusion, but in a conscientious and humble attendance on divine appointments? Let us remember in how distinguishing a sense Jesus is the Christ, the anointed of God, to whom the Father hath not given the Spirit by measure, but hath poured it out upon him in the most abundant degree. Let us trace MARK the workings of this Spirit in Jesus, not only as a spirit of miraculous power, but of the richest grace and holiness; earnestly praying that this holy unction may, from Christ our head, descend upon our souls! May his enliven10 ing Spirit kindle its sacred flame there, with such vigour, that many waters may not be able to quench it, nor floods of temptation and corruption to drown it. 1. particular revelation as is there suggested, does but confirm me the more d The heavens were immediately opened.] I think it plain, (as Grotius vol. iii. p. 66.) supposes to have been all. Dr. Owen and Grotins think it was a bright flame in the shape of a dove; and Justin Martyr (who adds, that all Jordan shone with the reflection of the light) says, that it was eV EIDEL TEPLOTEрas; and Jerome calls it parua opritos, the appearance of a dove. Both these phrases are much more determinate than the original; but I choose to leave this, and many other things, in the same latitude as I find them. h Thou art my beloved Son.] Both Mark and Luke express it thus; which inclines me to follow those copies of Matthew which agree with them, rather than the more common reading there. This is my beloved Son. Evdoknσa properly expresses an entire acquiescence in him. i And Jesus, when beginning [his ministry] was about thirty years old.] Of the age of Jesus at this time, see note b, on Luke iii. 1. p. 41.—I can recollect no sufficient authority to justify our translators in rendering ην ώσει έτων τριάκοντα αρχομένος, δegan to be about thirty years of age, or was now entering on his thirtieth year. To express that sense, it should have been my apxouevos ervar, &c. as Epiphanius, probably by a mistake, has quoted it. The learned author of the Vindication of the beginning of Matthere's and Luke's Gospel, extremely dissatisfied with all the common versions and explication of these words, would render them, And Jesus was obedient or lived in subjection [to his parents] about thirty years: and produces several passages from approved Greek writers, in which apxouevos signities subject. But in all those places it is used in some connexion, or opposition, which determines the sense; and therefore none of thein are instances parallel to this. Luke evidently uses aprouevov, chap. xxi. 28. in the sense we suppose it to have here; and since he had before expressed our Lord's subjection to his parents by the word boradσouevos, chap. ii. 51. there is great reason to believe he would have used the same word here, had he intended to give us the same idea. And indeed, if apxouevos be allowed to have the signification which this accurate critic (for such undoubtedly he is) contends for here, since there is nothing in the text to limit it, the phrase would intimate, he was subject to none after this time; an assertion which I should think both groundless and dangerous.-This clause of Luke has been already mentioned in another place, where it was only inserted (out of its proper order) to complete the sentence: see § 9. p. 29, 30. CHRIST'S TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS. 47 18. Behold God's beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased! As such let us honour and love him; and as such let SECT. our souls acquiesce in him, as in every respect such a Saviour as our wishes might have asked, and our necessities required. With what amazement should we reflect upon it, that the blessed Jesus, though so early ripened for the most LUKE extensive services, should live in retirement even till his thirtieth year! That he deferred his ministry so long, Ver. 23 should teach us not to thrust ourselves forward to public stations till we are qualified for them, and plainly discover a Divine call: that he deferred it no longer, should be an engagement to us to avoid unnecessary delays, and to give God the prime and vigour of our life. Our great Master attained not, as it seems, to the conclusion of his thirty-fifth year, if he so much as entered upon it; yet what glorious achievements did he accomplish within those narrow limits of time! Happy that servant, who with any proportionable zeal despatches the great business of life! so much the more happy, if his sun go down at noon; for the space that is taken from the labours of time, will be added to the rewards of eternity. SECTION XIX. Christ's victory over the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. Luke iv. 1-13. Matt. iv. 1-11. Mark i. 12, 13. LUKE IV. 1. 19. AND Jesus being full of the THEN Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit, with which he had been just anointed in so SECT. Holy Ghost, returned from extraordinary a manner, returned from Jordan, where he had been baptized; and immeJondan, and [MARK, immediately) was led by the Spirit diately after this, was led, by the strong impulse of that Spirit on his mind, into that desolate MARK, the Spirit driveth and solitary place, the wilderness;a that he might there be exercised and tempted by the LUKE bim into the wilderness [to be tempted of the devil). [Matt. most violent assaults of the devil; and, by conquering him, might afford an illustrious iv. 1. Mark i. 12.] example of heroic virtue, and lay a foundation for the encouragement and support of his people, in their future combats with that malignant adversary. Mark i. 13. And he was days, tempted of Satan; and 1 IV. I. And he was there in the wilderness forty days: and during that time he was tempted by MARK there in the wilderness forty Satan; and also was surrounded with a variety of the most savage and voracious kinds of was with the wild beasts; wild beasts; but they were so overawed by his presence, that (as in the case of Daniel 13 [and in those days he did eat when in the den of lions, Dan. vi. 22.) none of them offered him the least injury: and in nothing.] [Luke iv. 2.] all those days he did eat nothing at all. Matt. iv. 2. And when he had fasted forty days and b IV. And when he had thus fasted forty days and forty nights, as Moses the giver of the law, MATT. (Exod. xxxiv. 28.) and Élias the great restorer of it, had done before him, (1 Kings xix. ward an hungred. [Luke 8.) having been thus far miraculously borne above the appetites of nature, at length he felt 2 them, and was very hungry, but was entirely unprovided with any proper food. forty nights, he was afr 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou And, just at that time, the tempter coming to hime in a visible form, (putting on a human 3 be the Son of God, comminand appearance, as one that desired to inquire further into the evidences of his mission,) said, that these stones be made If thou art the Son of God, in such an extraordinary manner as thou hast been declared bread. (Luke iv. 3.] to be, and art indeed the promised Messiah, who is expected under that character, command that these stones become loaves [of bread] to relieve thy hunger; for in such a circumstance it will undoubtedly be done. 4 But (Jesus] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Luke iv. 4.] 5 Then the devil taketh him up into Jerusalem] the holy But Jesus answered, and said unto him, It is written in the sacred volume, (Deut. viii. 4 3.) "Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of God, or by whatever he shall appoint for the preservation of his life." He can therefore support me without bread, as he fed the Israelites in the wilderness; and, on the other hand, even bread itself, if these stones were turned into it, could not nourish me without his blessing; which I could not expect, were I to attempt a miracle of this kind, merely in compliance with thy suggestions, without any intimation of my Father's will. Then, as the devil found it was in vain that he had tempted Christ to a distrust of Pro- 5 city, and setteth him on a vidence, he was for trying to persuade him to presumption: and to this end, he taketh him temple; along with him to Jerusalem, which, being the place where God dwelt in so distinguishing a manner, was commonly called the holy city; and there he setteth him on one of the battlements of the temple, which, in some parts of it, and particularly over the porch, 6 And saith unto him. If was so exceeding high, that one could hardly bear to look down from it. And as he 6 thou be the Son of God, cast stood upon the brink of this high precipice, the tempter saith unto him, If thou art indeed for it is written, He shall give the Son of God, cast thyself down courageously from hence, and mingle with those that are he angels charge concerning assembled for the worship of God in yonder court. The sight of such a miracle will untheir hands they shall bear deniably convince them of the truth of thy pretensions; and thou canst have no room to thee up, lest at any time thou doubt of thy safety; for thou well knowest it is written, (Psal. xci. 11, 12.) " He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee; and they shall bear thee up in thyself down [from hence]: thee [to keep thee]: and in That the Jews supposed the Messiah would be in a very extraordinary ment. e As he fed the Israelites in the wilderness.] It is to this the passage a Into the wilderness.] Christ probably intended this as a devout re- P. 45. The tempter coming to him.] Our translation, which, in its render. of these words, is not so literal as the version I have given, seems to tinate, what is not any where asserted in the sacred story, that this Was the first time the tempter came unto him; a circumstance which taa hardly be supposed. g The holy city.] This is a phrase that frequently and very properly is used to express Jerusalem. (Compare Neh. xi, 1. Isa. lit. 1. Dan. ix. 24. and Matt, xxii. 53.). The heathen writers, in like manner, often call those cities hely, in which any of their deities were supposed to hold their special residence, and from whence their oracles were delivered. (See Elsner, Observ, vol. i. p. 17, 18.), k Charge concerning thee, to keep thee.] Many (after Jerom) have observed that Satan made his advantage of quoting Scripture merely by scraps, leaving out those words, in all thy ways. The cause of truth, and sometimes of common sense, hath suffered a great deal by those who have followed his example. |