Matthew 19:1-2. Jesus goes to Judæa from Galilee Mark 10:1 1. _came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan_ From the parallel passage in Mark we learn that this means: Came into Judæa by the trans-Jordanic route through Peræa, thus avoiding Samaria. It does not mean that any portion of Judæa lay be... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?_ The words "for every cause" are omitted in Mark. In Matthew they contain the pith of the question: "Is the husband's right to divorce his wife quite unlimited?" The school of Shammai allowed divorce in the case of adultery, the school of... [ Continue Reading ]
The Question of Marriage and Divorce Mark 10:2-9 Matthew 19:10 are peculiar to Matthew. St Mark mentions the part of the conversation contained in Matthew 19:9 as having taken place "in the house," Matthew 19:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_at the beginning_ An appeal from the law of Moses to a higher and absolute law, which has outlived the law of Moses.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For this cause_ The lesson of Nature is the lesson of God, "Nunquam aliud Natura aliud Sapientia dicit." Juv. _Sat._xiv. 321.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a writing of divorcement_ See ch. Matthew 5:31-32.... [ Continue Reading ]
_because of the hardness of your hearts_ Literally, HAVING RESPECT TO, with a view to the hardness of your hearts towards God. So the law was relatively good, not absolutely. A great principle. Even now all are not capable of the higher religious life or of the deepest truths. Some interpret "hardne... [ Continue Reading ]
See ch. Matthew 5:32. _and shall marry another_ Omitted in the Sinaitic MS. The reading "causeth her to commit adultery," instead of "committeth adultery," has high MS. authority. The Sinaitic MS. also omits _and whoso … adultery_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_If the case of the man be so with his wife_ If these are the conditions of marriage. _it is not good to marry_ Nothing could prove more clearly the revolution in thought brought to pass by Christ than this. Even the disciples feel that such a principle would make the yoke of marriage unbearable.... [ Continue Reading ]
_this saying_ viz. that it is not good to marry.... [ Continue Reading ]
_eunuchs_= "unmarried." _for the kingdom of heaven's sake_ In old days some men abstained from marriage in order to devote themselves to the study of the law, in later times men have done so for the furtherance of Christianity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then were there brought unto him little children_ It appears that it was customary for Jewish infants to be taken to the synagogue to be blessed by the Rabbi. Smith's _Dict. of Bible_, Art. "Synagogue," note E.... [ Continue Reading ]
Little Children are brought to Christ Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17. In Luke the incident is placed immediately after the parable of the Pharisee and Publican; there it is an illustration of humility. Here, and in Mark, the connection between the purity of married life and the love of little childr... [ Continue Reading ]
_of such is the kingdom of heaven_ Love, simplicity of faith, innocence, and above all, humility, are the ideal characteristics of little children, and of the subjects of the kingdom.... [ Continue Reading ]
_laid his hands on them_ No unmeaning act, therefore infants are capable of receiving a blessing, though not _conscious_of an obligation.... [ Continue Reading ]
_one came_ "Came one running, and kneeled to him" (Mark). "A certain ruler," i. e. one of the rulers of the synagogue, like Jairus. The "decemvirate" (see ch. Matthew 4:23) of the synagogue were chosen from "men of leisure" (Hebr. _Batlanin_, cp. our "_scholars_"), who were free from the necessity o... [ Continue Reading ]
The Young Rich Ruler Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23. From Luke alone we learn that he was a "_ruler;_" from Matthew alone that he was _young_. Each of the three Synoptists states that "he was very rich" (Luke); "had great possessions" (Matthew and Mark).... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why callest thou me good?_ Here, but not in the parallel passages in Mark and Luke, the leading MSS. read, "Why askest thou me about what is good? He who is good is one." With either reading the drift of our Lord's answer is to cause reflection. "In a single breath thou hast twice used the word goo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which?_ Accurately "what sort of commandments." Comp. this enumeration with that in ch. Matthew 15:19. Here, as there, the commandments proceed in order from the 6th to the 9th. Here, as there, the enumeration stops at covetousness the rich ruler's special failing. Neither St Mark nor St Luke pres... [ Continue Reading ]
_All these things have I kept_ Like St Paul he was "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Philippians 3:6. _from my youth up_ These words which seem unsuitable to the "young man" are omitted here, but not in the parallel passages, by the oldest MSS. They might be translated "f... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou wilt be perfect_ i. e. "if thou desirest to be perfect." _go and sell that thou hast_ Jesus does indeed bid him do something, but to _do_that would be a proof of _being_perfect, it is _the_test for his special case, not a universal rule. With many it is more difficult to use wealth for Chr... [ Continue Reading ]
_sorrowful_ A conflict of opposite desires vexed his soul. He wished to serve God and mammon. He was sorrowful because he saw that the special sacrifice required to win eternal life was too great for him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_hardly_ i. e. with difficulty.... [ Continue Reading ]
Of Riches, and the Kingdom of God Mark 10:23-27; Luke 18:24-27. These reflections follow naturally on the last incident.... [ Continue Reading ]
_easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle_ An expression familiar to Jews of our Lord's time. The exaggeration is quite in the Eastern style. It is unnecessary to give other explanations, as that _camel_is a Greek word meaning "a rope," or that "the eye of a needle" is a gate so called.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who then can be saved?_ Salvation seemed to belong by right to the rulers of synagogues and other rich people. It was a notable fact that the gospel should be preached to the poor. The thought of the disciples still lives. Wealth and intellect make men _seem_better, "Sometimes even supplying the ab... [ Continue Reading ]
The Claim of the Disciples Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30. 27. _what shall we have therefore_ Peter, still not perfect in the Spirit of Christ, suggests a lower motive for following Christ. The answer of Christ shews that all true sacrifice shall have its reward, but all that looks like sacrifice is... [ Continue Reading ]
_the regeneration_ "The renewal of things," "the return to a perfect state," otherwise called "the restitution of all things," nearly= the Kingdom of God. Cp. ch. Matthew 17:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath forsaken_ Bp Thirlwall remarks, "Strange as it may sound, there is a sense in which it is a most certain truth that a man may leave that which he keeps, and keep that which he leaves. And there can be no doubt that this is the sense in which our Lord meant to be understood. For it is clear tha... [ Continue Reading ]