Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 18:10

ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφ.: μὴ with the subj. in an object clause after a verb meaning to take heed; common N. T. usage; vide Matthew 24:4; Acts 13:40, etc. ἑνὸς, one, again. λέγω γὰρ : something solemn to be said. οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν, etc. In general abstract language, the truth Jesus solemnly declares is that God, His Father, takes a special interest in the little ones in all senses of the word. This truth is expressed in terms of the current Jewish belief in guardian angels. In the later books of O. T. (Daniel), there are guardian angels of nations; the extension of the privilege to individuals was a further development. Christ's words are not to be taken as a dogmatic endorsement of this post-exilian belief exemplified in the story of Tobit (chap. 5). The same remark applies to the passages in which the law is spoken of as given through angelic mediation (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). The λέγω γὰρ does not mean “this belief is true,” but “the idea it embodies, God's special care for the little, is true”. This is an important text for Christ's doctrine of the Fatherhood. It teaches that, contrary to the spirit of the world, which values only the great, the Father-God cares specially for that which is apt to be despised. βλέπουσι τ. πρ. In Eastern courts it is the confidential servants who see the face of the king. The figure is not to be pressed to the extent of making God like an Eastern despot.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 18:10

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