_Now in the fifteenth year of Tiberius_ Reckoning from the time when Augustus made him his colleague in the empire: _Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea_ He was made governor in consequence of Archelaus being banished, and his kingdom reduced into a Roman province. See note on Matthew 2:22. _And... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he came into all the country about Jordan_ He made his first public appearance in the wilderness of Judea, Matthew 3:1; that is, in the uncultivated and thinly-inhabited parts of the hill-country round Hebron, where his father dwelt; Luke 1:39; but after his fame was spread abroad, and many cam... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said he to the multitude, O generation of vipers_ See note on Matthew 3:7. _Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance_ The Baptist did not stop at preaching repentance, and rest satisfied with the people's making a profession thereof, but he insisted on the necessity of their bringin... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the people asked him, What shall we do then?_ To avoid the judgments of God. _He answereth, He that hath two coats_, &c. Be careful, not only to observe the ceremonies of religion, but to attend to the great duties of justice, mercy, and charity. The sum of all is: _Cease to do evil, learn to d... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as all the people were in expectation_, &c. The austerity of John's life, the important subjects of his sermons, the fervency of his exhortations, and the freedom, impartiality, and courage with which he rebuked all classes of sinners, raised him very high in the esteem of the generality of peo... [ Continue Reading ]
_And many other things preached he unto the people_ In this manner did John inculcate the doctrine of repentance, and declare his Master's greatness. But his sermons were not confined to these matters. He discoursed also on many other important subjects, according as he knew they would be profitable... [ Continue Reading ]
_When all the people were baptized_ If we reflect on the number of the people who followed John, and were baptized by him, and the regard they expressed for him before and after his death, and yet that no sect was produced in consequence of such belief and baptism, it will afford a very good argumen... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jesus_ John's beginning was computed by the years of princes: our Saviour's by the years of his own life, as a more august era: _began to be about thirty years of age_ The Greek here, και αυτος ην ο Ιησους ωσει ετων τριακοντα αρχομενος, should rather be rendered, (as many commentators understan... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which was the son of Cainan_ “There is no mention made of this Cainan in either of the genealogies which Moses gives, Genesis 10:24; Genesis 11:12; but Salah is there said to be the son of Arphaxad. Cainan must therefore have been introduced here from the translation of the Seventy interpreters, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_Adam, which was the son of God_ Adam, being descended from no human parents, but formed by the power of a divine creating hand, might with peculiar propriety be called _the son of God_, having, in his original state, received immediately from God, whatever the sons of Adam receive from their parent... [ Continue Reading ]