Luke · Chapter 21

V. 1. He looked up-From those on whom his eyes were fixed before. Mark 12:41.

Verse 1. The rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.] See all this, from Luke 21:1-4, explained on Mark 12:41-44.

Verses 1-4. And he looked up — From those on whom his eyes were fixed before; and saw the rich men casting their gifts, &c. — See on Mark 12:41.

Verse 2. A certain poor widow] A widow miserably poor; this is the proper import of penicran, and her being miserably poor heightened the merit of the action.

Two mites.] Which Mark says, Mark 12:42, make a farthing or quadrans, the fourth part of an AS, or penny, as we term it. In Plutarch’s time we find the smallest piece of brass coin in use among the Romans was the quadrans, but it appears that a smaller piece of money was in circulation among the Jews in our Lord’s time, called here, and in Mark, Mark 12:42, a lepton, i.e. small, diminished, from leipo, I fail. In ancient times our penny used to be marked with a deep indented cross, dividing the piece into four equal parts, which, when broken in two, made the half-penny, and, when broken into four, made the fourthing, what we have corrupted into farthing. Probably the Roman quadrans was divided in this way for the convenience of the poor. Our term mite seems to have been taken from the animal called by that name; for as that appeared to our ancestors to be the smallest of all animals, so this being the smallest of all coins was called by its name. Junius says that mite was a small base coin among the Dutch. Our word mite seems to be a contraction of the Latin minutum, a small thing, whence the French miete, a crumb, a very small morsel. See Clarke’s note on “Mark 12:41”.

Verses 1-4. And he looked up — From those on whom his eyes were fixed before; and saw the rich men casting their gifts, &c. — See on Mark 12:41.

Verses 1-4. And he looked up — From those on whom his eyes were fixed before; and saw the rich men casting their gifts, &c. — See on Mark 12:41.

Verses 1-4. And he looked up — From those on whom his eyes were fixed before; and saw the rich men casting their gifts, &c. — See on Mark 12:41.

V. 5. Goodly stones-Such as no engines now in use could have brought, or even set upon each other. Some of them (as an eye witness who lately measured them writes) were forty-five cubits long, five high, and six broad; yet brought thither from another country.

And gifts-Which persons delivered from imminent dangers had, in accomplishment of their vows, hung on the walls and pillars. The marble of the temple was so white, that it appeared like a mountain of snow at a distance. And the gilding of many parts made it, especially when the sun shone, a most splendid and beautiful spectacle. Matthew 24:1; Mark 13:1.

Verse 5. Goodly stones] Or, costly stones. It has been thought by some that this relates not so much to the stones of which the temple was built, as to the precious stones with which it was decorated. For an account of the stones of the temple, see Clarke on “Mark 13:1”. And gifts] Or, consecrated things, anaqhmasi. anaqhma properly signifies a thing consecrated to sacred uses: anaqema signifies a thing devoted to a curse, or to destruction. They both come from the same root, anatiqhmi, I lay up, separate; and though two meanings cannot be more opposite than those assigned to these words, yet in the words themselves a short vowel (e) in the place of a long one (h) makes all the difference between blessing and cursing.

Verses 5, 6. And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones — Such as no engine now in use could have brought, or even set upon each other. Some of them (as an eye-witness who lately measured them writes) were forty-five cubits long, five high, and six broad, yet brought thither from another country. See this more fully elucidated Matthew 24:1, and Mark 13:2. And gifts — Which persons delivered from imminent dangers, had, in accomplishment of their vows, hung on the walls and pillars. The hanging up such anaqhmata, or consecrated gifts, was common in most of the ancient temples. Tacitus speaks of the immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem. (Hist. 5:8.) Among others of its treasures, there was a golden table, given by Pompey; and several golden vines, of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size; which some have thought referred to God’s representing the Jewish nation under the emblem of a vine, Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalms 80:8Psalm 80:8; Ezekiel 15:1Ezekiel 15:2, 6. He said, The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another — The accomplishment of this prediction is proved and illustrated, Matthew 24:2, and Mark 13:2.

Verse 5. Some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts. This conversation occurred as they were going out of the temple. Mark 13:1. On mount Olivet the Lord delivered the luminous predictions which follow in the rest of the chapter. Matthew 24:3. Like the holy patriarchs, he died overflowing with the prophetic spirit.

Verse 6. One stone upon another} This was literally fulfilled. See Matthew 24:2.

Verses 5, 6. And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones — Such as no engine now in use could have brought, or even set upon each other. Some of them (as an eye-witness who lately measured them writes) were forty-five cubits long, five high, and six broad, yet brought thither from another country. See this more fully elucidated Matthew 24:1, and Mark 13:2. And gifts — Which persons delivered from imminent dangers, had, in accomplishment of their vows, hung on the walls and pillars. The hanging up such anaqhmata, or consecrated gifts, was common in most of the ancient temples. Tacitus speaks of the immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem. (Hist. 5:8.) Among others of its treasures, there was a golden table, given by Pompey; and several golden vines, of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size; which some have thought referred to God’s representing the Jewish nation under the emblem of a vine, Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalms 80:8Psalm 80:8; Ezekiel 15:1Ezekiel 15:2, 6. He said, The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another — The accomplishment of this prediction is proved and illustrated, Matthew 24:2, and Mark 13:2.

Verses 7-10. They asked him, When shall these things be, &c. — All the particulars in these verses are noticed and explained, Matthew 24:3-8, and Mark 13:3-8.

V. 8. I am the Christ; and the time is near-When I will deliver you from all your enemies. They are the words of the seducers.

Verse 8. Many shall come in my name] Usurping my name: calling themselves the Messiah. See Matthew 24:5. Concerning this prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and its literal accomplishment, see the notes on Matthew 24:1-42.

Verses 7-10. They asked him, When shall these things be, &c. — All the particulars in these verses are noticed and explained, Matthew 24:3-8, and Mark 13:3-8.

8. The time draweth near—It must not be understood that our Lord here prophesies that the false Christs would assume to be Messiah returned to judgment. They could only claim that the Messiah’s kingdom was alone to be set up on earth; and the time of that event was, indeed, drawing near.

V. 9. Commotions-Intestine broils; civil wars.

Verse 9. Commotions] Seditions and civil dissensions, with which no people were more agitated than the Jews.

Verses 7-10. They asked him, When shall these things be, &c. — All the particulars in these verses are noticed and explained, Matthew 24:3-8, and Mark 13:3-8.

9. By and by—This phrase, which by a singular reverse of meaning now signifies after a while, meant in the old English of our translators, immediately.

Jerusalem’s destruction, and the dispersion of the Jewish races, 10-32.

Verses 7-10. They asked him, When shall these things be, &c. — All the particulars in these verses are noticed and explained, Matthew 24:3-8, and Mark 13:3-8.

V. 11. Fearful sights and signs from heaven-Of which Josephus gives a circumstantial account.

Verse 11. Fearful sights] What these were the reader will find in detail on Matthew 24:7.

Verse 11. Fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven — Of these, Josephus has given us a particular account, Bell., 7:12. “There was a comet in the form of a fiery sword, which for a year together did hang over the city. Before the first revolt and war, the people being gathered together to the feast of unleavened bread, on the 8th of April, at the 9th hour of the night, there was as much light about the altar and temple as if it had been bright day. This remained half an hour. At the same festival, the inner gate of the temple on the east side, being of massy brass, which required at least twenty men to shut it, was seen at midnight to open of its own accord. Not long after the feast-days, on the 21st of May, before the sun set, were seen in the air chariots and armies in battle array, passing along in the clouds and investing the city. And upon the feast of pentecost, at night, the priests, going into the inner temple to attend their wonted service, said, they first felt the place to move and tremble: after that they heard a voice which said, Let us depart hence. But that which was most wonderful of all, one Jesus, the son of Ananus, of the common people, four years before the war began, when the city flourished in peace and riches, coming to the celebration of the feast of tabernacles at Jerusalem, suddenly began to cry out thus: A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against men and women newly married, a voice against all this people. And thus crying, day and night, he went about all the streets of the city.” Josephus adds, “that he was scourged by some of the nobility, but, without speaking a word for himself, he persevered crying as before; that he was carried before Albinus, the Roman general, who caused him to be beaten till his bones appeared. But that he neither entreated nor wept, but, as well as he could, framing a weeping voice, he cried at every stroke, Wo, wo to Jerusalem:” that he went on thus crying, chiefly upon holydays, for the space of seven years and five months, till in the time of the siege, beholding what he had foretold, he ceased. And that then, once again going about the city, on the wall, “he cried with a loud voice, Wo, wo to the city, temple, and people; and lastly he said, Wo also to myself. Which words were no sooner uttered, than a stone thrown out of an engine smote him, and so he yielded up the ghost, lamenting them all.” See note on Isaiah 66:6.

V. 12. Mark 13:9.

Verse 12. Synagogues] Or, assemblies, &c. See these all explained on Mark 13:9.

Verse 12. But before all these — Before the appearing of the false Christs — before the rumours of wars — the earthquakes, famines, and pestilences that were to be in divers places; they shall lay their hands on you, &c. — “How fully the particulars foretold in this verse were accomplished, we learn from the Roman historians, Tacitus and Suetonius, who have given an account of the persecution raised against the Christians by Nero. But the history of the Acts will throw the greatest light on this passage. For there we are told, that immediately after our Lord’s ascension, Peter and John were called before the Jewish senate, and beaten; (Acts 4:6, 7; 5:40;) that Stephen was brought before the same court; (Acts 6:12;) and put to death; (Acts 7:58;) that Saul made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women, committed them to prison; (Acts 8:3;) and punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, persecuted them unto strange cities; (Acts 26:11;) that James was brought before Herod, and by him put to death; who also laid Peter in prison, intending to kill him likewise; (Acts 12:2, 4;) that Paul, formerly himself a persecutor, but now converted, was, in his turn, frequently persecuted; that he and Silas were imprisoned and beaten in the synagogue at Philippi; (Acts 16:23;) that he was brought before the great synagogue of the Jews in Jerusalem; (Acts 22:30;) before King Agrippa and his wife, before the Roman governors, Gallio, Felix, and Festus; and last of all, before the Emperor Nero, in Rome, and his prefect, Helius Cæsariensis.” — Macknight.

V. 13. It shall turn to you for a testimony-Of your having delivered your own souls, and of their being without excuse.

Verse 13. It shall turn to you for a testimony.] That is, it shall turn out on your part for a testimony to them (your persecutors) that you are thoroughly persuaded of the truth of what you teach, and that you are no impostors.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

13. To you for a testimony—Your persecutions shall be, in the judgment day, a testimony to your faithfulness in behalf of Christ.

Verse 14. Settle it therefore, &c.] See Clarke on “Matthew 10:19”.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

Verse 15. I will give you a mouth and wisdom] stoma, a mouth, must appear plain to every person to be used here for a ready utterance, or eloquence in speaking. They shall have an abundance of wisdom to know what to say; and they shall have an irresistible eloquence to say what they ought.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

Ver. 15. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay. Proof of this we have in the apostles before the council. Acts 5:29-32. In Stephen’s defence before the sanhedrim. Acts 7. In Paul’s defence before Felix, and before Agrippa. Acts 24.-26. These were great occasions, and made the confessors truly great. Their eloquence commanded admiration. It was the same with the apologetic writers, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Minutius Felix. Their arguments are conclusive, and their eloquence incomparable. The apologies for the christian religion of the two latter, are truly astonishing productions, and seem to participate of divine inspiration.

15. A mouth to utter and wisdom in the matter of utterance.

V. 16. Matthew 10:21.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

V. 17. Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

V. 18. Not a hair of your head-A proverbial expression, shall perish-Without the special providence of God. And then, not before the time, nor without A full reward.

Verse 18. But there shall not a hair of your head perish.] A proverbial expression for, Ye shall not suffer any essential injury. Every genuine Christian shall escape when this desolation comes upon the Jewish state.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

18. Shall not a hair… perish—Although their lives should be taken, (verse 16,) yet not a drop of their blood should be shed in vain; not a hair should fail of its effect or go for naught.

V. 19. In your patience possess ye your souls-Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

Verse 19. In your patience] Rather, your perseverance, your faithful continuance in my word and doctrine. Ye will preserve your souls. Ye shall escape the Roman sword, and not one of you shall perish in the destruction of Jerusalem. Instead of kthsasqe, possess, or preserve ye, I read kthsesqe, ye shall preserve. This reading is supported by AB-B, five others; both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Æthiopic, Vulgate, all the Itala except two, Origen, Macarius, and Tertullian.

Verses 13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the Holy Ghost will assist you in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark 13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggest to you such sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your defences shall be unanswerable; and your adversaries shall be struck with them, especially when they find by your manner that you have spoken without premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul, especially before King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, wherever it was preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the preachers thereof were unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12, 13. There shall not a hair of your head perish — A proverbial expression denoting absolute safety. The special providence of God shall watch over you for your preservation, and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full reward. But the promise seems to refer especially to their preservation during the siege of Jerusalem; of which, see on verse 20. Thus Jesus encouraged all to steadfastness in the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience possess ye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

Verses 20, 21. And when ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, &c. — The admonition here given to them who were in the midst of Jerusalem to depart out of it, and to them who were in the countries not to enter thereinto, shows that the encompassing of Jerusalem with armies, spoken of in the prophecy, was such as would permit the inhabitants to flee out of it, and those who were in the countries to enter into it. Behold here the wonderful prescience of Jesus! Cestius Gallus, in the beginning of the war, invested Jerusalem, and took Betheza, or the lower town. Josephus, (Bell., 2:24,) says, “If he had continued the siege but a little longer, he would have taken the city. But, I think, God being angry with the wicked, would not suffer the war to end at that time. For Cestius removed his army, and having received no loss, very unadvisedly departed from the city.” And, chap. 25. of the same book, he further informs us, that “immediately after Cestius’s departure, many of the principal Jews daily fled from the city as from a sinking ship.” Among these, we may believe there were numbers of the Christians, who, remembering their Master’s admonition, and foreseeing what was to happen, embraced the opportunity thus afforded them of fleeing out of Judea, and so escaped the general ruin, as their Master had promised them, Matthew 24:13; Luke 21:18. To this agrees what Eusebius tells us, (Hist., 3:5,) “That the people of the church in Jerusalem, being ordered by an oracle, given to the faithful in that place, left the city before the war, and dwelt in a city of Perea, the name of which was Pella.” This oracle, of which he speaks, seems to have been our Lord’s prophecy and admonition, to which every circumstance of the history perfectly agrees.

V. 21. Let them that are in the midst of it-Where Jerusalem stands (that is, they that are in Jerusalem) depart out of it, before their retreat is cut off by the uniting of the forces near the city, and let not them that are in the adjacent countries by any means enter into it.

Verses 20, 21. And when ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, &c. — The admonition here given to them who were in the midst of Jerusalem to depart out of it, and to them who were in the countries not to enter thereinto, shows that the encompassing of Jerusalem with armies, spoken of in the prophecy, was such as would permit the inhabitants to flee out of it, and those who were in the countries to enter into it. Behold here the wonderful prescience of Jesus! Cestius Gallus, in the beginning of the war, invested Jerusalem, and took Betheza, or the lower town. Josephus, (Bell., 2:24,) says, “If he had continued the siege but a little longer, he would have taken the city. But, I think, God being angry with the wicked, would not suffer the war to end at that time. For Cestius removed his army, and having received no loss, very unadvisedly departed from the city.” And, chap. 25. of the same book, he further informs us, that “immediately after Cestius’s departure, many of the principal Jews daily fled from the city as from a sinking ship.” Among these, we may believe there were numbers of the Christians, who, remembering their Master’s admonition, and foreseeing what was to happen, embraced the opportunity thus afforded them of fleeing out of Judea, and so escaped the general ruin, as their Master had promised them, Matthew 24:13; Luke 21:18. To this agrees what Eusebius tells us, (Hist., 3:5,) “That the people of the church in Jerusalem, being ordered by an oracle, given to the faithful in that place, left the city before the war, and dwelt in a city of Perea, the name of which was Pella.” This oracle, of which he speaks, seems to have been our Lord’s prophecy and admonition, to which every circumstance of the history perfectly agrees.

V. 22. And things which are written-Particularly in Daniel.

Verse 22. These be the days of vengeance] See Clarke on “Matthew 24:21”.

V. 24. They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive-Eleven hundred thousand perished in the siege of Jerusalem, and above ninety thousand were sold for slaves. So terribly was this prophecy fulfilled!

And Jerusalem shall be trodden by the Gentiles-That is, inhabited. So it was indeed. The land was sold, and no Jew suffered even to come within sight of Jerusalem. The very foundations of the city were ploughed up, and a heathen temple built where the temple of God had stood. The times of the Gentiles-That is, the times limited for their treading the city; which shall terminate in the full conversion of the Gentiles.

Verse 24. They shall fall by the edge of the sword] Those who perished in the siege are reckoned to be not less than eleven hundred thousand. See Matthew 24:22.

And shall be led away captive] To the number of ninety-seven thousand. See Josephus, War, b. vi. c. ix. s. 2, 3, and on Matthew 24:31. Trodden down of the Gentiles] Judea was so completely subjugated that the very land itself was sold by Vespasian; the Gentiles possessing it, while the Jews were either nearly all killed or led away into captivity. Of the Gentiles be fulfilled.] Till the different nations of the earth, to whom God shall have given the dominion over this land, have accomplished all that which the Lord hath appointed them to do; and till the time of their conversion to God take place. But when shall this be? We know not. The nations are still treading down Jerusalem, and the end is known only to the Lord. See Clarke’s note on “Matthew 24:31”.

Verse 24. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations — The fulfilment of this part of the prophecy, we have Bell., 7:16, where Josephus describes the sacking of the city. “And now, rushing into every lane, they slew whomsoever they found without distinction, and burned the houses, and all the people who had fled into them. And when they entered for the sake of plunder, they found whole families of dead persons, and houses full of carcasses destroyed by famine; then they came out with their hands empty. And though they thus pitied the dead, they did not feel the same emotion for the living, but killed all they met, whereby they filled the lanes with dead bodies. The whole city ran with blood, insomuch that many things which were burning were extinguished by the blood.” Thus were the inhabitants of Jerusalem slain with the sword: thus was she laid even with the ground, and her children with her. Ibid. — “The soldiers being now wearied with killing the Jews, and yet a great number remaining alive, Cesar commanded that only the armed and they who resisted should be slain. But the soldiers killed also the old and infirm; and taking the young and strong prisoners, carried them into the women’s court in the temple. Cesar appointed one Fronto, his freedman and friend, to guard them, and to determine the fate of each. All the robbers and seditious he slew, one of them betraying another. But picking out such youths as were remarkable for stature and beauty, he reserved them for the triumph. All the rest that were above seventeen years old he sent bound into Egypt, to be employed in labour there. Titus also sent many of them into the provinces, to be slain in the theatres by beasts and the sword. And those who were under seventeen years of age were slain. And during the time Fronto judged them, one thousand died of hunger.” Chap. 17. — “Now the number of the captives that were taken during the time of the war, was ninety-seven thousand; and of all that died and were slain during the siege, was one million one hundred thousand, the most of them Jews by nation, though not inhabitants of the place; for being assembled together from all parts to the feast of unleavened bread, of a sudden they were environed with war.” Thus were the Jews led away captive into all nations. However, the falling by the edge of the sword, mentioned in the prophecy, is not to be confined to what happened at the siege. It comprehends all the slaughters that were made of the Jews in the different battles, and sieges, and massacres, both in their own land and out of it, during the whole course of the war. Such as at Alexandria, where fifty thousand perished; at Cesarea, ten thousand; at Scythopolis, thirteen thousand; at Damascus, ten thousand; at Ascalon, ten thousand; at Apheck, fifteen thousand; upon Gerizim, eleven thousand; and at Jotapa, thirty thousand. And thus was verified what our Lord told his disciples, the first time he uttered his prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, that wherever the carcass was, there the eagles should be gathered together, Luke 17:37. See notes on Deuteronomy 28:62; Matthew 24:15- 21; and Mark 13:14.

Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles — The accomplishment of this part of the prophecy is wonderful. For, after the Jews were utterly destroyed by death and captivity, Vespasian commanded the whole land of Judea to be sold. Bell., 7:26. — “At that time Cesar wrote to Bassus, and to Liberius Maximus, the procurator, to sell the whole land of the Jews; for he did not build any city there, but appropriated their country to himself, leaving there only eight hundred soldiers, and giving them a place to dwell in, called Emmaus, thirty stadia from Jerusalem; and he imposed a tribute upon all the Jews, wheresoever they lived, commanding every one of them to bring two drachms into the capitol, according as in former times they were wont to pay unto the temple of Jerusalem. And this was the state of the Jews at that time.” Thus was Jerusalem in particular, with its territory, possessed by the Gentiles, becoming Vespasian’s property, who sold it to such Gentiles as chose to settle there. That Jerusalem continued in this desolate state we learn from Dio: for he tells us, that the Emperor Adrian rebuilt it, sent a colony thither to inhabit it, and called it Ælia. But he altered its situation, leaving out Zion and Bezetha, and enlarging it so as to comprehend Calvary, where our Lord was crucified. Moreover, Eusebius informs us, that Adrian made a law, that no Jew should come into the region around Jerusalem. Hist., 21:6. So that the Jews being banished, such a number of aliens came into Jerusalem, that it became a city and colony of the Romans, Hist., 4:6. In later times, when Julian apostatized to heathenism, being sensible that the evident accomplishment of our Lord’s prophecy concerning the Jewish nation made a strong impression upon the Gentiles, and was a principal means of their conversion, he resolved to deprive Christianity of this support, by bringing the Jews to occupy their own land, and by allowing them the exercise of their religion, and a form of civil government. For this purpose he resolved to rebuild Jerusalem, and to rear up the temple upon its ancient foundations, because there only he knew they would offer prayers and sacrifices. In the prosecution of this design he wrote a letter to the community of the Jews, which is still extant among his other works, inviting them to return to their native country; for their encouragement, he says to them, among other things, “The holy city, Jerusalem, which of many years ye have desired to see inhabited, I will rebuild by mine own labour, and will inhabit it,” epist. 25. And now the emperor, having made great preparations, began the execution of his scheme with rebuilding the temple; but his workmen were soon obliged to desist, by an immediate and evident interposition of God. “He resolved,” says Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. 23., “to build, at an immense expense, a certain lofty temple at Jerusalem; and gave it in charge to Alypius of Antioch, to hasten the work. But when Alypius, with great earnestness, applied himself to the execution of it, and the governor of the province assisted him in it, terrible balls of fire bursting forth near the foundation, with frequent explosions, and divers times burning the workmen, rendered the place inaccessible. Thus the fire continually driving them away, the work ceased.” This fact is attested, likewise, by Zemuth David, a Jew, who honestly confesses that Julian was hindered by God in this attempt. It is attested, likewise, by Nazianzen and Chrysostom among the Greeks, by Ambrose and Ruffin among the Latins, who lived at the time when the thing happened; by Theodoret and Sozomon, of the orthodox persuasion; by Philistorgius, an Arian, in the extracts of his history made by Photius; (lib. 7. cap. 9;) and by Socrates, a favourer of the Novatians, who wrote his history within the space of fifty years after these things happened, and while the eye-witnesses thereof were yet alive. Thus, while Jews and heathen, under the direction of a Roman emperor, united their whole force to baffle our Lord’s prediction, they did but still the more conspicuously accomplish it. See notes on Deuteronomy 28:64-68. Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled — The time determined in the counsel of God for the conversion of the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul has given us a clear explication of this passage, Romans 11:25. This part of the prophecy answers to Daniel 9:27: He shall make it (Jerusalem) desolate, even until the consummation, namely, of wrath upon this people, and that determined be poured upon the desolate. The meaning of both passages is, that after the destruction here foretold, Jerusalem shall continue desolate, until God has poured upon it the whole wrath he has determined; and this wrath will not be finished until the Gentiles are converted.

Ver. 24. Until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. Our Joseph Mede interprets this difficult text as importing that the Turks shall tread down Jerusalem for the time of its sentence; and that the true church of Christ, till then, shall be among the gentiles. I like this better than any gloss I have found.

24. They shall fall by the edge of the sword—This most important verse is furnished by Luke alone. It forms the bridge by which the prophecy travels over the chasm of ages and brings us down to the termination of the rejection of Israel. At the same time it is a wonderful prophecy, whose fulfilment has been going on from the time of its first writing to the present era. When a distinguished general told Bishop Newton that the prophecies of Scripture were written after the event, the bishop brought him to sober thought by telling him that there are prophecies of Scripture which are being fulfilled at the present day. How wonderfully are the Jews fulfilling the prophecies of the Jesus they rejected, proving by their very rejection the truth of his mission! Led away captive into all nations—The sufferings of the Jews are those briefly described by Watson in his Theological Dictionary:

The Romans, under Vespasian, invaded the country, and took the cities of Galilee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, etc., where Christ had been especially rejected, and murdered numbers of the inhabitants. At Jerusalem the scene was most wretched of all. At the passover, when there might have been two or three millions of people in the city, the Romans surrounded it with troops, trenches, and walls, that none might escape. The three different factions within murdered one another. Titus did all in his power to persuade them to an advantageous surrender, but they scorned every proposal. The multitudes of unburied carcasses corrupted the air, and produced a pestilence. The people fed on one another; and even ladies, it is said, boiled their suckling infants, and ate them. After a siege of six months, the city was taken. The Romans murdered almost every Jew they met. Titus was bent to save the temple, but could not; six thousand Jews who had taken shelter in it were all burned or murdered. The whole city, except three towers, and a small part of the wall, was razed to the ground, and the foundations of the temple and other places were ploughed up. Soon after the forts of Herodian and Machaeron were taken, the garrison of Massada murdered themselves rather than surrender. At Jerusalem alone, it is said, one million one hundred thousand perished by sword, famine, and pestilence. In other places we hear of two hundred and fifty thousand that were cut off, besides vast numbers that were sent into Egypt, to labour as slaves. About fifty years after, the Jews murdered about five hundred thousand of the Roman subjects, for which they were severely punished by Trajan. About A.D. 130 one Barcocaba pretended that he was the Messiah, and raised a Jewish army of two hundred thousand, who murdered all the heathens and Christians that came in their way; but he was defeated by Adrian’s forces. In this war, it is said, about six hundred thousand Jews were slain, or perished by famine and pestilence. Adrian built a city on Mount Calvary, and erected a marble statue of a swine over the gate that led to Bethlehem. No Jew was allowed to enter the city, or to look to it at a distance, under pain of death.” Truly the Jew has been led a captive among all nations.

And Jerusalem shall be trodden down—Not merely trodden, but trodden down; subjugated and debased. Of the Gentiles—Jerusalem has repeatedly changed possessors, but has never been possessed by the Jews since the Romans destroyed it. Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled—The time of the exclusive Gentile dispensation and churchdom. The times of the Gentiles will have been fulfilled when Israel is gathered into the Christian Church; “and so all Israel shall be saved.” Romans 11:26. So in the same chapter Paul tells us that “blindness in part hath happened unto Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” We have here a striking resemblance between the language of Luke and Paul, confirming the opinion that Paul was Luke’s instructing apostle. By “the fulness of the Gentiles” is to be understood the full measure of Gentile conversion foreseen by God as to be, before the return of the Jews. That return of the Jews to God will be, as Paul says, as life from the dead. The restoration of the Jews shall redound to the happiness of the Gentiles. “For if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them be the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness?” Then shall there be one Shepherd and one fold, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Trodden down… until—The language until implies that when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled Jerusalem will cease to be trodden down, and recover her ancient glory. And it cannot but seem probable to every reflecting mind that the Jewish race is preserved for some great and providential reason.

The Coming of the Son of man, 25-27.

In contrast with the previous paragraph, describing the destruction and dispersion, we now have the Judgment Advent. These three verses are parallel with Matthew 24:29-31. The signs in the sun and moon are the effects of the Coming of the Son of man previous to his visibility. The use of the word signs here does not, therefore, contradict the repeated declaration that the Coming will be without warning and sudden. There is a great and fearful sublimity in the description of these two verses.

V. 25. And there shall be-Before the great day, which was typified by the destruction of Jerusalem:

signs-Different from those mentioned Luke 21:11, &c. Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24.

Verse 25. The sea and the waves roaring] Figuratively pointing out the immense Roman armies by which Judea was to be overrun and destroyed.

Verses 25, 26. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, &c. — These seem to be highly figurative expressions, signifying the decaying of all the glory, excellence, and prosperity of the nation; and the prevalence of universal sadness, misery, and confusion. And upon the earth — Or, upon the land, as the words may be rendered; distress of nations with perplexity — The Jewish tetrarchies shall be distressed and perplexed: the sea and the waves roaring — The roaring of the sea and the waves may be a metaphorical expression; for, in the first clause of this verse, the signs in the sun and the moon and the stars are plainly so, answering to what by Mark is expressed thus: The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall. For, though the darkening of the sun and the moon may be intepreted literally of eclipses, no reader can understand the falling of the stars literally. See on Mark 13:24-26, and Matthew 24:29-31. Men’s hearts failing them for fear — Greek, apoyucontwn anqrwpwn apo fobou, literally, men expiring through fear; and for looking after those things — Those dreadful calamities; which are coming on the earth — Or, on the land. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken — For this shall not be like former invasions, or captivities, which only produced some transient disorders in the state, or at most an interruption in the government for a few years; but it shall be attended with a total subversion of it; even of the whole Jewish polity, laws, and religion, which were the work of heaven, or which, containing in them the light of truth, are signified by the sun, moon, and stars in the preceding verse; and therefore might in this be called the powers of heaven. The consequence shall be such vast, extensive, and lasting ruin, that it shall be a most lively emblem of the desolation of the whole world at the last day. The above is the exposition commonly given of these verses, compared with the parallel passages in Matthew and Mark. And in consistency therewith, epi thv ghv, which our translation renders, upon the earth, is thought to be only intended of the land of Judea and Samaria. But Dr. Campbell thinks the prophecy is not to be confined to that country, and therefore he prefers the common version, for which he assigns the following reasons: “First, though what preceded seems peculiarly to concern the Jews, what follows appears to have a more extensive object, and to relate to the nations and the inhabitable earth in general. There we hear of sunoch eqnwn, distress, or anguish of nations, and of the things, epercomenwn th oikoumenh, coming upon the habitable world; not to mention what immediately follows, to wit, that the Son of man shall be seen coming in a cloud, with great glory and power. Nor is it all probable that, by the term, eqnwn, nations, used thrice in the preceding verse, manifestly for Gentiles, are meant in this verse only Jews and Samaritans. Secondly, the prediction which the verse under examination introduces, is accurately distinguished by the historian, as not commencing till after the completion of the former. It was not till after the calamities which were to befall the Jews should be ended; after their capital and temple, their last resource, should be invested and taken, and the wretched inhabitants destroyed, or carried captive into all nations; after Jerusalem should be trodden by the Gentiles; nay, and after the triumph of the Gentiles should be brought to a period; that the prophecy contained in this and the two subsequent verses should begin to take effect. The judicious reader, to be convinced of this, needs only give the passage an attentive perusal.”

Verse 26. Men’s hearts failing them for fear] Or, Men fainting away through fear, (apoyucontwn,) being ready to die.

Coming on the earth] Or, Coming upon this land, oikoumenh. See this translation of the word vindicated in Clarke’s note on “Luke 2:1”.

Verses 25, 26. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, &c. — These seem to be highly figurative expressions, signifying the decaying of all the glory, excellence, and prosperity of the nation; and the prevalence of universal sadness, misery, and confusion. And upon the earth — Or, upon the land, as the words may be rendered; distress of nations with perplexity — The Jewish tetrarchies shall be distressed and perplexed: the sea and the waves roaring — The roaring of the sea and the waves may be a metaphorical expression; for, in the first clause of this verse, the signs in the sun and the moon and the stars are plainly so, answering to what by Mark is expressed thus: The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall. For, though the darkening of the sun and the moon may be intepreted literally of eclipses, no reader can understand the falling of the stars literally. See on Mark 13:24-26, and Matthew 24:29-31. Men’s hearts failing them for fear — Greek, apoyucontwn anqrwpwn apo fobou, literally, men expiring through fear; and for looking after those things — Those dreadful calamities; which are coming on the earth — Or, on the land. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken — For this shall not be like former invasions, or captivities, which only produced some transient disorders in the state, or at most an interruption in the government for a few years; but it shall be attended with a total subversion of it; even of the whole Jewish polity, laws, and religion, which were the work of heaven, or which, containing in them the light of truth, are signified by the sun, moon, and stars in the preceding verse; and therefore might in this be called the powers of heaven. The consequence shall be such vast, extensive, and lasting ruin, that it shall be a most lively emblem of the desolation of the whole world at the last day. The above is the exposition commonly given of these verses, compared with the parallel passages in Matthew and Mark. And in consistency therewith, epi thv ghv, which our translation renders, upon the earth, is thought to be only intended of the land of Judea and Samaria. But Dr. Campbell thinks the prophecy is not to be confined to that country, and therefore he prefers the common version, for which he assigns the following reasons: “First, though what preceded seems peculiarly to concern the Jews, what follows appears to have a more extensive object, and to relate to the nations and the inhabitable earth in general. There we hear of sunoch eqnwn, distress, or anguish of nations, and of the things, epercomenwn th oikoumenh, coming upon the habitable world; not to mention what immediately follows, to wit, that the Son of man shall be seen coming in a cloud, with great glory and power. Nor is it all probable that, by the term, eqnwn, nations, used thrice in the preceding verse, manifestly for Gentiles, are meant in this verse only Jews and Samaritans. Secondly, the prediction which the verse under examination introduces, is accurately distinguished by the historian, as not commencing till after the completion of the former. It was not till after the calamities which were to befall the Jews should be ended; after their capital and temple, their last resource, should be invested and taken, and the wretched inhabitants destroyed, or carried captive into all nations; after Jerusalem should be trodden by the Gentiles; nay, and after the triumph of the Gentiles should be brought to a period; that the prophecy contained in this and the two subsequent verses should begin to take effect. The judicious reader, to be convinced of this, needs only give the passage an attentive perusal.”

26. The powers of heaven shall be shaken—As if that Coming would disturb for the time the fixedness of the planetary system. But the shaking may be apparent only; the words expressing optical or visible truth. The Parable of the Fig-tree, 28-33.

Verses 27, 28. Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud — They shall see the accomplishment of what Daniel foretold, by the figurative expression of, “the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven;” for the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Roman armies, and, in after ages, of other persecuting and antichristian powers, and the spreading of my gospel in consequence thereof, according to this my prediction, shall demonstrate to all unprejudiced persons, that I am the Son of man, prophesied of by Daniel, and that the conversion of the world to Christianity is the glorious universal kingdom which Daniel foretold was to be given to the Son of man; and this is the true sign from heaven, about which the Jews have been so solicitous. See note on Matthew 24:30,

31. With regard to the destruction of the Jewish nation, and the consequent downfall of their religious institutions, which they all along opposed to Christianity, it may be observed, that no events whatever could have contributed so effectually to the conversion of both Jews and Gentiles. “For it is a known fact, that while the Jewish constitution subsisted, the spreading of the gospel was hindered, both by the believing and unbelieving Jews; the former disgusting the Gentiles, by endeavouring to subject them to the law of Moses; and the latter, terrifying them by the persecutions which they raised against the disciples, even in heathen countries. But the abolition of the Mosaical institutions confuted the error of the one, and the destruction of the nation brake the power of the other. The success, therefore, of the gospel, depending in a great measure upon the downfall of the Jewish state, was very properly predicted as the natural consequence thereof. Moreover, as this prophecy described so minutely the catastrophe of the Jewish state, its accomplishment could not but make a strong impression upon the minds of the Gentiles, as we know in fact it did bring over many of them to Christianity.” When these things begin to come to pass — The things I have been predicting; then look up — With firm faith; and lift up your heads — With joy; for your redemption — Out of many troubles; draweth nigh — By God’s destroying your implacable enemies.

V. 28. Now when these things-Mentioned Luke 21:8, 10, &c, begin to come to pass, look up with firm faith, and lift up your heads with joy: for your redemption out of many troubles draweth nigh, by God's destroying your implacable enemies.

Verses 27, 28. Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud — They shall see the accomplishment of what Daniel foretold, by the figurative expression of, “the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven;” for the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Roman armies, and, in after ages, of other persecuting and antichristian powers, and the spreading of my gospel in consequence thereof, according to this my prediction, shall demonstrate to all unprejudiced persons, that I am the Son of man, prophesied of by Daniel, and that the conversion of the world to Christianity is the glorious universal kingdom which Daniel foretold was to be given to the Son of man; and this is the true sign from heaven, about which the Jews have been so solicitous. See note on Matthew 24:30,

31. With regard to the destruction of the Jewish nation, and the consequent downfall of their religious institutions, which they all along opposed to Christianity, it may be observed, that no events whatever could have contributed so effectually to the conversion of both Jews and Gentiles. “For it is a known fact, that while the Jewish constitution subsisted, the spreading of the gospel was hindered, both by the believing and unbelieving Jews; the former disgusting the Gentiles, by endeavouring to subject them to the law of Moses; and the latter, terrifying them by the persecutions which they raised against the disciples, even in heathen countries. But the abolition of the Mosaical institutions confuted the error of the one, and the destruction of the nation brake the power of the other. The success, therefore, of the gospel, depending in a great measure upon the downfall of the Jewish state, was very properly predicted as the natural consequence thereof. Moreover, as this prophecy described so minutely the catastrophe of the Jewish state, its accomplishment could not but make a strong impression upon the minds of the Gentiles, as we know in fact it did bring over many of them to Christianity.” When these things begin to come to pass — The things I have been predicting; then look up — With firm faith; and lift up your heads — With joy; for your redemption — Out of many troubles; draweth nigh — By God’s destroying your implacable enemies.

28. These things.—The these things of the apostles’ question, Matthew 24:3, namely, the destruction of the temple and city.

V. 29. Behold the fig tree and all the trees-Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were.

Verse 29. He spake to them a parable] Illustrated all these predicted facts by the simile of a fig tree. See this explained, Clarke “Matthew 24:32”.

Verses 29-33. Behold the fig-tree — Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were. When they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves — Though none teach you; that summer is now nigh at hand — See note on Matthew 24:32-35. So when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh — The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the establishment of the gospel dispensation, and the advancement of my kingdom. Verily, this generation shall not pass, &c., till all be fulfilled — Greek, ewv an panta genhtai, till all things be effected, all that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish constitution in church and state, to which things the question, verse 7, relates; and which is treated of from the eighth to the twenty-fourth verse; in other words, till every article of this prophecy is accomplished. Our Lord, on other occasions, spake of his own coming, as what was to happen in that age. See Mark 9:1; and Matthew 26:64. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — You may expect a dissolution of the frame of nature sooner than the least iota of this prophecy to fail of being fulfilled, within the time I have just now mentioned. This is the most astonishing part of the whole, for it determines the time of the completion of all the particulars mentioned, to the lives of the men of the age then in being; and it determines this, not simply, but with an asseveration, both to make the disciples attentive, and to strike future ages with admiration, when they should read this prophecy, and see every circumstance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, with its consequences, even in the remotest ages, clearly foretold, and the time in which it was to happen precisely marked. Thus our Lord, in the fullest manner, showed the greatness of his own foreknowledge, and, by consequence, demonstrated the divinity of his mission. For, as the Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing state, the events here foretold were altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly particular, and the language in which the whole is conceived is without the least ambiguity. It is, therefore, a prophecy of such a kind as could, not possibly be forged by an impostor; and every thinking person, who compares the events with this prediction, must do violence to his conscience if he do not acknowledge Jesus to be a prophet commissioned of God. It appears, however, that our Lord’s disciples did not then understand any part of this prophecy; which is the more to be wondered at, as it was both plain and particular, and had been delivered once before, Luke 17:20. Probably they applied all the dreadful passages of it to the heathen nations, especially the Romans, whose ambition they thought would lead them to oppose the erection of their Master’s kingdom, with all the forces of their empire. See Macknight. An observation of Mr. West’s, relating to the authors by whom this prophecy, so plain and circumstantial, is recorded, is worthy of the reader’s particular attention, namely, that Matthew and Mark were incontestably dead before the events here predicted took place, as Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived them, it is remarkable that he says nothing of them, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the events happened. See West on the Resurrection, p. 393.

V. 30. Ye know of yourselves-Though none teach you.

Verses 29-33. Behold the fig-tree — Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were. When they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves — Though none teach you; that summer is now nigh at hand — See note on Matthew 24:32-35. So when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh — The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the establishment of the gospel dispensation, and the advancement of my kingdom. Verily, this generation shall not pass, &c., till all be fulfilled — Greek, ewv an panta genhtai, till all things be effected, all that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish constitution in church and state, to which things the question, verse 7, relates; and which is treated of from the eighth to the twenty-fourth verse; in other words, till every article of this prophecy is accomplished. Our Lord, on other occasions, spake of his own coming, as what was to happen in that age. See Mark 9:1; and Matthew 26:64. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — You may expect a dissolution of the frame of nature sooner than the least iota of this prophecy to fail of being fulfilled, within the time I have just now mentioned. This is the most astonishing part of the whole, for it determines the time of the completion of all the particulars mentioned, to the lives of the men of the age then in being; and it determines this, not simply, but with an asseveration, both to make the disciples attentive, and to strike future ages with admiration, when they should read this prophecy, and see every circumstance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, with its consequences, even in the remotest ages, clearly foretold, and the time in which it was to happen precisely marked. Thus our Lord, in the fullest manner, showed the greatness of his own foreknowledge, and, by consequence, demonstrated the divinity of his mission. For, as the Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing state, the events here foretold were altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly particular, and the language in which the whole is conceived is without the least ambiguity. It is, therefore, a prophecy of such a kind as could, not possibly be forged by an impostor; and every thinking person, who compares the events with this prediction, must do violence to his conscience if he do not acknowledge Jesus to be a prophet commissioned of God. It appears, however, that our Lord’s disciples did not then understand any part of this prophecy; which is the more to be wondered at, as it was both plain and particular, and had been delivered once before, Luke 17:20. Probably they applied all the dreadful passages of it to the heathen nations, especially the Romans, whose ambition they thought would lead them to oppose the erection of their Master’s kingdom, with all the forces of their empire. See Macknight. An observation of Mr. West’s, relating to the authors by whom this prophecy, so plain and circumstantial, is recorded, is worthy of the reader’s particular attention, namely, that Matthew and Mark were incontestably dead before the events here predicted took place, as Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived them, it is remarkable that he says nothing of them, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the events happened. See West on the Resurrection, p. 393.

V. 31. The kingdom of God is nigh-The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the advancement of my kingdom.

Verse 31. The kingdom of God is nigh at hand.] After the destruction of the Jewish state, the doctrine of Christ crucified shall be preached every where, and every where prevail.

Verses 29-33. Behold the fig-tree — Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were. When they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves — Though none teach you; that summer is now nigh at hand — See note on Matthew 24:32-35. So when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh — The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the establishment of the gospel dispensation, and the advancement of my kingdom. Verily, this generation shall not pass, &c., till all be fulfilled — Greek, ewv an panta genhtai, till all things be effected, all that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish constitution in church and state, to which things the question, verse 7, relates; and which is treated of from the eighth to the twenty-fourth verse; in other words, till every article of this prophecy is accomplished. Our Lord, on other occasions, spake of his own coming, as what was to happen in that age. See Mark 9:1; and Matthew 26:64. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — You may expect a dissolution of the frame of nature sooner than the least iota of this prophecy to fail of being fulfilled, within the time I have just now mentioned. This is the most astonishing part of the whole, for it determines the time of the completion of all the particulars mentioned, to the lives of the men of the age then in being; and it determines this, not simply, but with an asseveration, both to make the disciples attentive, and to strike future ages with admiration, when they should read this prophecy, and see every circumstance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, with its consequences, even in the remotest ages, clearly foretold, and the time in which it was to happen precisely marked. Thus our Lord, in the fullest manner, showed the greatness of his own foreknowledge, and, by consequence, demonstrated the divinity of his mission. For, as the Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing state, the events here foretold were altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly particular, and the language in which the whole is conceived is without the least ambiguity. It is, therefore, a prophecy of such a kind as could, not possibly be forged by an impostor; and every thinking person, who compares the events with this prediction, must do violence to his conscience if he do not acknowledge Jesus to be a prophet commissioned of God. It appears, however, that our Lord’s disciples did not then understand any part of this prophecy; which is the more to be wondered at, as it was both plain and particular, and had been delivered once before, Luke 17:20. Probably they applied all the dreadful passages of it to the heathen nations, especially the Romans, whose ambition they thought would lead them to oppose the erection of their Master’s kingdom, with all the forces of their empire. See Macknight. An observation of Mr. West’s, relating to the authors by whom this prophecy, so plain and circumstantial, is recorded, is worthy of the reader’s particular attention, namely, that Matthew and Mark were incontestably dead before the events here predicted took place, as Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived them, it is remarkable that he says nothing of them, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the events happened. See West on the Resurrection, p. 393.

V. 32. Till all things be effected-All that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, to which the question, Luke 21:7, relates: and which is treated of from Luke 21:8-24.

Verse 32. This generation] This race of men; but see on Matthew 24:34, and Mark 13:30.

Verses 29-33. Behold the fig-tree — Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were. When they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves — Though none teach you; that summer is now nigh at hand — See note on Matthew 24:32-35. So when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh — The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the establishment of the gospel dispensation, and the advancement of my kingdom. Verily, this generation shall not pass, &c., till all be fulfilled — Greek, ewv an panta genhtai, till all things be effected, all that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish constitution in church and state, to which things the question, verse 7, relates; and which is treated of from the eighth to the twenty-fourth verse; in other words, till every article of this prophecy is accomplished. Our Lord, on other occasions, spake of his own coming, as what was to happen in that age. See Mark 9:1; and Matthew 26:64. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — You may expect a dissolution of the frame of nature sooner than the least iota of this prophecy to fail of being fulfilled, within the time I have just now mentioned. This is the most astonishing part of the whole, for it determines the time of the completion of all the particulars mentioned, to the lives of the men of the age then in being; and it determines this, not simply, but with an asseveration, both to make the disciples attentive, and to strike future ages with admiration, when they should read this prophecy, and see every circumstance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, with its consequences, even in the remotest ages, clearly foretold, and the time in which it was to happen precisely marked. Thus our Lord, in the fullest manner, showed the greatness of his own foreknowledge, and, by consequence, demonstrated the divinity of his mission. For, as the Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing state, the events here foretold were altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly particular, and the language in which the whole is conceived is without the least ambiguity. It is, therefore, a prophecy of such a kind as could, not possibly be forged by an impostor; and every thinking person, who compares the events with this prediction, must do violence to his conscience if he do not acknowledge Jesus to be a prophet commissioned of God. It appears, however, that our Lord’s disciples did not then understand any part of this prophecy; which is the more to be wondered at, as it was both plain and particular, and had been delivered once before, Luke 17:20. Probably they applied all the dreadful passages of it to the heathen nations, especially the Romans, whose ambition they thought would lead them to oppose the erection of their Master’s kingdom, with all the forces of their empire. See Macknight. An observation of Mr. West’s, relating to the authors by whom this prophecy, so plain and circumstantial, is recorded, is worthy of the reader’s particular attention, namely, that Matthew and Mark were incontestably dead before the events here predicted took place, as Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived them, it is remarkable that he says nothing of them, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the events happened. See West on the Resurrection, p. 393.

32. This generation—Dr. Nast, in his excellent Commentary, would render the word as synonymous with race. And this would make the verse affirm that the Jewish race would last through all these troubles. Dr. Clarke also favours that rendering; and it has been current among maintainers of an approaching Second Advent for the last thirty years. Few scholars, however, would agree to escape the difficulties of this discourse by such a philology. Dr. Alexander, in his commentary on Mark 13:30, thus strongly treats this view of the word: “But although some English writers still adhere to that interpretation, others of the same class, and the German philologists, almost without exception, treat it as a sheer invention, without any authority, either in classical or Hellenistic usage, so that some of the best lexicons do not give this definition even to condemn it. Of the few alleged examples, chiefly in the Septuagint version, all admit of being taken in one of the acknowledged senses, which in the New Testament are three in number, all reducible to one and the same radical idea, that of a contemporary race, or the aggregate of those living at the same time. This is the direct sense in the great majority of cases, (such as Mark 8:12, 38; 9:19; Matthew 11:16; 12:39-45; 16:4; 23:36; Luke 7:31; 16:8; 17:25; Acts 2:40; 13:36; <504415> Philippians 2:15; Hebrews 3:10,) and is scarcely modified when transferred from men to time, (as in Acts 14:16; 15:2l; Ephesians 3:5, 21; Colossians 1:26,) or to the stages of descent and degrees of genealogical succession, (as in Matthew 1:17.) Common to all these cases is the radical idea of contemporaneous existence, which it would be monstrous, therefore, to exclude in that before us, as we must do if we understand it of the whole race in its successive generations. It follows, therefore, that unless we forge a meaning for the word in this place, which is not only unexampled elsewhere, but directly contradictory to its essential meaning everywhere, we must understand our Lord as saying that the contemporary race or generation, that is, those then living, should not pass away or die till all these prophecies had been accomplished.” We may add that specially unequivocal are the parallel passages, Matthew 23:36 and Luke 11:50,

51. In the former of these two passages it is a very strange interpretation which makes the Saviour say that all the blood of the martyrs, from Abel to Zacharias, shall fall upon the Jewish race, and not upon some other race. The clear meaning is, that the penalty of the accumulated guilt of all the preceding generations should finally fall upon that generation. And the admission of this fixes of course the sense of the present passage. Our Lord must be understood as maintaining in all three passages, that that generation should be the object of hereditary penalty.

Verses 34-36 give the compressed substance of Matthew 25:1-30.

Verses 29-33. Behold the fig-tree — Christ spake this in the spring, just before the passover; when all the trees were budding on the mount of Olives, where they then were. When they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves — Though none teach you; that summer is now nigh at hand — See note on Matthew 24:32-35. So when ye see these things, know that the kingdom of God is nigh — The destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and religion, to make way for the establishment of the gospel dispensation, and the advancement of my kingdom. Verily, this generation shall not pass, &c., till all be fulfilled — Greek, ewv an panta genhtai, till all things be effected, all that has been spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish constitution in church and state, to which things the question, verse 7, relates; and which is treated of from the eighth to the twenty-fourth verse; in other words, till every article of this prophecy is accomplished. Our Lord, on other occasions, spake of his own coming, as what was to happen in that age. See Mark 9:1; and Matthew 26:64. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — You may expect a dissolution of the frame of nature sooner than the least iota of this prophecy to fail of being fulfilled, within the time I have just now mentioned. This is the most astonishing part of the whole, for it determines the time of the completion of all the particulars mentioned, to the lives of the men of the age then in being; and it determines this, not simply, but with an asseveration, both to make the disciples attentive, and to strike future ages with admiration, when they should read this prophecy, and see every circumstance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, with its consequences, even in the remotest ages, clearly foretold, and the time in which it was to happen precisely marked. Thus our Lord, in the fullest manner, showed the greatness of his own foreknowledge, and, by consequence, demonstrated the divinity of his mission. For, as the Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing state, the events here foretold were altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly particular, and the language in which the whole is conceived is without the least ambiguity. It is, therefore, a prophecy of such a kind as could, not possibly be forged by an impostor; and every thinking person, who compares the events with this prediction, must do violence to his conscience if he do not acknowledge Jesus to be a prophet commissioned of God. It appears, however, that our Lord’s disciples did not then understand any part of this prophecy; which is the more to be wondered at, as it was both plain and particular, and had been delivered once before, Luke 17:20. Probably they applied all the dreadful passages of it to the heathen nations, especially the Romans, whose ambition they thought would lead them to oppose the erection of their Master’s kingdom, with all the forces of their empire. See Macknight. An observation of Mr. West’s, relating to the authors by whom this prophecy, so plain and circumstantial, is recorded, is worthy of the reader’s particular attention, namely, that Matthew and Mark were incontestably dead before the events here predicted took place, as Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived them, it is remarkable that he says nothing of them, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the events happened. See West on the Resurrection, p. 393.

V. 34. Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be overloaded with gluttony and drunkenness-And was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is reason to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise, if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin:

and so that day-Of judgment or of death, come upon you, even you that are not of this world-Unawares. Matthew 24:42; Mark 13:33; Luke 12:35.

Verse 34. Take heed to yourselves] See our Lord’s parable, relative to this matter, explained, Mark 13:34.

Be overcharged] Literally, be made heavy, as is generally the case with those who have eaten or drank too much. Take heed that ye be not rendered secure by an improper use of lawful things: do not make this earth your portion: expect its dissolution, and prepare to meet your God.

Verses 34-36. Take heed, &c. — Here our Lord cautions them against the security and sensuality, to which, if they should yield, they would unfit themselves for the trying times that were approaching, and would render those times a great surprise and terror to them; nay, and involve themselves in the ruin about to come on others of their countrymen. By this we learn, 1st, That Christ’s promises of deliverance to his disciples and the first Christians were conditional, and only to be fulfilled, provided that, through divine grace, they made it their care to guard against those sins which would have exposed them to God’s judgments: and, 2d, That there is a close connection between our duty and safety; between our obedience to God and the divine aid and providence, for our preservation, whether temporal or spiritual: and that we are not to expect preservation immediately from his hand, without the use of those means which he has put it into our power to use in order to it. Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c. — The original word barunqwsin, here rendered overcharged, properly signifies burdened, or, pressed down, and so very elegantly and strongly expresses the hateful consequences of intemperance; and the load which it brings on those rational faculties, which are the glory of the human nature. Thus Horace,

— corpus onustum

Hesternis vitiis animum quoque prægravat unà,

Atque affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ.

SAT. 2. lib. 2. lin. 77.

The immoderate use of meat and drink not only burdens the mind with the guilt thereby contracted, but it renders it dull, stupid, and lifeless in duty, and indeed unfit for prayer and praise, for the exercise of any grace, and the practice of any virtue: nay, it stupifies the conscience, and renders the heart unaffected with those things that are most affecting. And cares of this life — Anxious cares about visible and temporal things, and the inordinate pursuit of them. The former is the snare of those that are given to their pleasures; this is the snare of the men of business that will be rich. Observe, reader, we have need to guard against both, also against all other temptations, lest at any time our hearts should be thus overcharged. Our caution against sin, and our care of our own souls, must be constant. But was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is need to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin. And so that day — That awful and important time, of which he had been speaking, when these dreadful calamities should come upon that nation; and overwhelm the unwary and carnally secure. For as a snare, &c. — For the character of the generality of people in the Jewish nation, at that time, would be such that this ruin would come on all — Or on the greatest part of all; that dwelt on the face of the whole earth — Or, of the whole land, as a snare upon a thoughtless bird, which, in the midst of its security, finds itself inextricably taken. Thus should we take heed, lest either the hour of death or day of judgment should come upon us, when we neither expect nor are prepared for such awful events. Watch ye, therefore — This is the general conclusion of all that precedes. Watch against every temptation to negligence and sin, and against every thing which might lull you into a dangerous security; and pray always — With the most fervent importunity; that ye may be accounted worthy — Through pardoning mercy, and the renewing, assisting grace of God; to escape all these things — Those calamitous and destructive events; that shall assuredly come to pass — In the very manner I have described them. And stand before the Son of man — With courage and acceptance, acquitted and approved as his servants, and may not fall before him as his enemies in that day of awful visitation. In Romans 14:4, standing and falling are terms used to signify the being approved or condemned. Those of our Lord’s disciples who followed his directions, and were faithful to the grace they had received, not only escaped the destruction coming on the great body of the Jewish nation, but were acknowledged as his servants, and appointed to be the ministers of his word, and the heralds of his grace and mercy to the Gentile nations. The expression, kataxiwqhte, here rendered accounted worthy, sometimes implies an honour conferred on a person, as when the apostles are said to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, Acts 5:41; some times the being meet or fit for any thing, or suitable thereto, as when John the Baptist exhorts to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, Luke 3:8. And so to be accounted worthy to escape, is, to have the honour of it, and to be fitted, or prepared for it. “The reader will observe that Luke’s account of this discourse is very short, in comparison with that of Matthew and Mark, for this obvious reason, that he had given the chief heads of it before, partly in a discourse of our Lord’s last coming, which was delivered to a very numerous assembly in Galilee, (Luke 12:35- 48,) and partly in another discourse, relating only to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was delivered in his journey thither, at the feast of dedication, Luke 17:20, &c. Here, therefore, he chooses to omit what had been inserted on either of those occasions; as John, who probably wrote after the accomplishment of this prophecy, entirely omits it, as already so largely recorded by the former three, from whom, considering the circumstances of time, it came with infinitely better grace, than it could afterward have done from him.” — Doddridge. See notes on Matthew 24:42-51; and Mark 13:33-37.

Ver. 34. Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness; It is high time to awake out of sleep, to watch, and be ready. Here is the constant alarum of Christ. We know not how soon the watchman may sound his trumpet for war, for famine, or for the pestilence. How can christians dream of rest, in a world which crucified their Master.

V. 35. That sit-Careless and at ease.

Verse 35. The face of the whole earth.] Or, of this whole land. The land of Judea, on which these heavy judgments were to fall. See Luke 21:25; see also Luke 2:1.

Verses 34-36. Take heed, &c. — Here our Lord cautions them against the security and sensuality, to which, if they should yield, they would unfit themselves for the trying times that were approaching, and would render those times a great surprise and terror to them; nay, and involve themselves in the ruin about to come on others of their countrymen. By this we learn, 1st, That Christ’s promises of deliverance to his disciples and the first Christians were conditional, and only to be fulfilled, provided that, through divine grace, they made it their care to guard against those sins which would have exposed them to God’s judgments: and, 2d, That there is a close connection between our duty and safety; between our obedience to God and the divine aid and providence, for our preservation, whether temporal or spiritual: and that we are not to expect preservation immediately from his hand, without the use of those means which he has put it into our power to use in order to it. Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c. — The original word barunqwsin, here rendered overcharged, properly signifies burdened, or, pressed down, and so very elegantly and strongly expresses the hateful consequences of intemperance; and the load which it brings on those rational faculties, which are the glory of the human nature. Thus Horace,

— corpus onustum

Hesternis vitiis animum quoque prægravat unà,

Atque affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ.

SAT. 2. lib. 2. lin. 77.

The immoderate use of meat and drink not only burdens the mind with the guilt thereby contracted, but it renders it dull, stupid, and lifeless in duty, and indeed unfit for prayer and praise, for the exercise of any grace, and the practice of any virtue: nay, it stupifies the conscience, and renders the heart unaffected with those things that are most affecting. And cares of this life — Anxious cares about visible and temporal things, and the inordinate pursuit of them. The former is the snare of those that are given to their pleasures; this is the snare of the men of business that will be rich. Observe, reader, we have need to guard against both, also against all other temptations, lest at any time our hearts should be thus overcharged. Our caution against sin, and our care of our own souls, must be constant. But was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is need to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin. And so that day — That awful and important time, of which he had been speaking, when these dreadful calamities should come upon that nation; and overwhelm the unwary and carnally secure. For as a snare, &c. — For the character of the generality of people in the Jewish nation, at that time, would be such that this ruin would come on all — Or on the greatest part of all; that dwelt on the face of the whole earth — Or, of the whole land, as a snare upon a thoughtless bird, which, in the midst of its security, finds itself inextricably taken. Thus should we take heed, lest either the hour of death or day of judgment should come upon us, when we neither expect nor are prepared for such awful events. Watch ye, therefore — This is the general conclusion of all that precedes. Watch against every temptation to negligence and sin, and against every thing which might lull you into a dangerous security; and pray always — With the most fervent importunity; that ye may be accounted worthy — Through pardoning mercy, and the renewing, assisting grace of God; to escape all these things — Those calamitous and destructive events; that shall assuredly come to pass — In the very manner I have described them. And stand before the Son of man — With courage and acceptance, acquitted and approved as his servants, and may not fall before him as his enemies in that day of awful visitation. In Romans 14:4, standing and falling are terms used to signify the being approved or condemned. Those of our Lord’s disciples who followed his directions, and were faithful to the grace they had received, not only escaped the destruction coming on the great body of the Jewish nation, but were acknowledged as his servants, and appointed to be the ministers of his word, and the heralds of his grace and mercy to the Gentile nations. The expression, kataxiwqhte, here rendered accounted worthy, sometimes implies an honour conferred on a person, as when the apostles are said to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, Acts 5:41; some times the being meet or fit for any thing, or suitable thereto, as when John the Baptist exhorts to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, Luke 3:8. And so to be accounted worthy to escape, is, to have the honour of it, and to be fitted, or prepared for it. “The reader will observe that Luke’s account of this discourse is very short, in comparison with that of Matthew and Mark, for this obvious reason, that he had given the chief heads of it before, partly in a discourse of our Lord’s last coming, which was delivered to a very numerous assembly in Galilee, (Luke 12:35- 48,) and partly in another discourse, relating only to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was delivered in his journey thither, at the feast of dedication, Luke 17:20, &c. Here, therefore, he chooses to omit what had been inserted on either of those occasions; as John, who probably wrote after the accomplishment of this prophecy, entirely omits it, as already so largely recorded by the former three, from whom, considering the circumstances of time, it came with infinitely better grace, than it could afterward have done from him.” — Doddridge. See notes on Matthew 24:42-51; and Mark 13:33-37.

Ver. 35. As a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole (ghv) earth. It would seem from the whole of our Saviour’s predictions, that the word cannot be confined to Judea, but must be understood, in a succession of wars and troubles, to extend to the whole Roman empire. And are we in England prepared for the more tremendous visitations of providence? Have not calamities burst upon nations like thunder-storms, on the finest days of national prosperity? The Saviour exhorts us to pray that we may escape those disasters, and stand before the Son of man with joy at his appearing. So be it. Amen. — For Reflections see Matthew 24.

V. 36. Watch ye therefore-This is the general conclusion of all that precedes.

That ye may be counted worthy-This word sometimes signifies an honour conferred on a person, as when the apostles are said to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, Acts 5:41. Sometimes meet or becoming: as when John the Baptist exhorts, to bring fruits worthy of repentance, Luke 3:8. And so to be counted worthy to escape, is to have the honour of it, and to be fitted or prepared for it. To stand-With joy and triumph: not to fall before him as his enemies.

Verse 36. Watch ye therefore, and pray always] Perhaps we should connect ev panti kairw, continually, with agrupneite, watch, as it appears to be the most natural order. Indeed the word continually belongs equally to both watch and pray; and no man is safe, at any time, who does not attend to this advice as literally as possible.

That shall come to pass] That is, the tribulations which are on their way to overwhelm and destroy the Jewish people. These are sufficiently stated in the preceding verses.

To stand before the Son of man.] To be acquitted, and to be condemned, are expressed, in Romans 14:4, by standing and falling. Those who were faithful to the grace they had received were not only not destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem, but became heralds of the grace and mercy of God to the nations. Thus they were counted worthy to stand before the Son of man-to minister salvation in his name.

Verses 34-36. Take heed, &c. — Here our Lord cautions them against the security and sensuality, to which, if they should yield, they would unfit themselves for the trying times that were approaching, and would render those times a great surprise and terror to them; nay, and involve themselves in the ruin about to come on others of their countrymen. By this we learn, 1st, That Christ’s promises of deliverance to his disciples and the first Christians were conditional, and only to be fulfilled, provided that, through divine grace, they made it their care to guard against those sins which would have exposed them to God’s judgments: and, 2d, That there is a close connection between our duty and safety; between our obedience to God and the divine aid and providence, for our preservation, whether temporal or spiritual: and that we are not to expect preservation immediately from his hand, without the use of those means which he has put it into our power to use in order to it. Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c. — The original word barunqwsin, here rendered overcharged, properly signifies burdened, or, pressed down, and so very elegantly and strongly expresses the hateful consequences of intemperance; and the load which it brings on those rational faculties, which are the glory of the human nature. Thus Horace,

— corpus onustum

Hesternis vitiis animum quoque prægravat unà,

Atque affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ.

SAT. 2. lib. 2. lin. 77.

The immoderate use of meat and drink not only burdens the mind with the guilt thereby contracted, but it renders it dull, stupid, and lifeless in duty, and indeed unfit for prayer and praise, for the exercise of any grace, and the practice of any virtue: nay, it stupifies the conscience, and renders the heart unaffected with those things that are most affecting. And cares of this life — Anxious cares about visible and temporal things, and the inordinate pursuit of them. The former is the snare of those that are given to their pleasures; this is the snare of the men of business that will be rich. Observe, reader, we have need to guard against both, also against all other temptations, lest at any time our hearts should be thus overcharged. Our caution against sin, and our care of our own souls, must be constant. But was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is need to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin. And so that day — That awful and important time, of which he had been speaking, when these dreadful calamities should come upon that nation; and overwhelm the unwary and carnally secure. For as a snare, &c. — For the character of the generality of people in the Jewish nation, at that time, would be such that this ruin would come on all — Or on the greatest part of all; that dwelt on the face of the whole earth — Or, of the whole land, as a snare upon a thoughtless bird, which, in the midst of its security, finds itself inextricably taken. Thus should we take heed, lest either the hour of death or day of judgment should come upon us, when we neither expect nor are prepared for such awful events. Watch ye, therefore — This is the general conclusion of all that precedes. Watch against every temptation to negligence and sin, and against every thing which might lull you into a dangerous security; and pray always — With the most fervent importunity; that ye may be accounted worthy — Through pardoning mercy, and the renewing, assisting grace of God; to escape all these things — Those calamitous and destructive events; that shall assuredly come to pass — In the very manner I have described them. And stand before the Son of man — With courage and acceptance, acquitted and approved as his servants, and may not fall before him as his enemies in that day of awful visitation. In Romans 14:4, standing and falling are terms used to signify the being approved or condemned. Those of our Lord’s disciples who followed his directions, and were faithful to the grace they had received, not only escaped the destruction coming on the great body of the Jewish nation, but were acknowledged as his servants, and appointed to be the ministers of his word, and the heralds of his grace and mercy to the Gentile nations. The expression, kataxiwqhte, here rendered accounted worthy, sometimes implies an honour conferred on a person, as when the apostles are said to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, Acts 5:41; some times the being meet or fit for any thing, or suitable thereto, as when John the Baptist exhorts to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, Luke 3:8. And so to be accounted worthy to escape, is, to have the honour of it, and to be fitted, or prepared for it. “The reader will observe that Luke’s account of this discourse is very short, in comparison with that of Matthew and Mark, for this obvious reason, that he had given the chief heads of it before, partly in a discourse of our Lord’s last coming, which was delivered to a very numerous assembly in Galilee, (Luke 12:35- 48,) and partly in another discourse, relating only to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was delivered in his journey thither, at the feast of dedication, Luke 17:20, &c. Here, therefore, he chooses to omit what had been inserted on either of those occasions; as John, who probably wrote after the accomplishment of this prophecy, entirely omits it, as already so largely recorded by the former three, from whom, considering the circumstances of time, it came with infinitely better grace, than it could afterward have done from him.” — Doddridge. See notes on Matthew 24:42-51; and Mark 13:33-37.

V. 37. Now by day-In the day time, he was teaching in the temple-This shows how our Lord employed his time after coming to Jerusalem: but it is not said, he was this day in the temple, and next morning the people came. It does not therefore by any means imply, that he came any more after this into the temple.

Verse 37. And in the day time] Or, every day-tav hmerav. This probably relates to the four last days of his life already mentioned. Abode in the mount] He taught all day in the temple, and withdrew every evening, and lodged in Bethany; a town at the foot, or on the declivity of the mount of Olives. See Clarke’s note on “Matthew 21:17”.

Verses 37, 38. And in the day-time he was teaching in the temple — “His daily custom at this, and it may be at other passovers, was to spend the day in the city, most commonly in the temple, where he always found a great concourse of hearers, and in the evening to retire to the mount of Olives, where he lodged in the villages, or in the gardens, or in the open air among the trees. He chose to lodge at night in such places as these, that he might avoid falling into the hands of his enemies. For though they durst not attack him in the midst of his followers by day, they probably would have apprehended him during the silence and darkness of the night, had he lodged anywhere within the walls of the town. Accordingly they did not venture to lay hands on him, till Judas Iscariot, one of his own disciples, betrayed him to them, in the absence of the multitude, by conducting an armed band to the place of his retirement.” — Macknight. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple — The evangelist does not say, that the people came and heard Jesus preach in the temple after this time, for Jesus himself had declared that he never was to preach to them any more, Matthew 23:38, 39. But having described in what manner our Lord spent his time at this passover, the evangelist adds, that his ministry sustained no damage by his leaving the city at night, because he did not fail to return every morning to the temple, and because a great number of people came thither early to be instructed by him, knowing that it was his custom to be there betimes. “How much happier,” says Dr. Doddridge, “were his disciples in these early lectures, than the slumbers of the morning would have made them on their beds! Let us not scruple to deny ourselves the indulgence of unnecessary sleep, that we may, morning after morning, place ourselves at his feet, and lose no opportunity of receiving the instructions of his word, and seeking those of his Spirit.”

37. See note on Matthew 21:17. Mount of Olives—Probably at Bethany, which was on the eastern slope of that mount.

V. 38. And all the people came early in the morning to hear him-How much happier were his disciples in these early lectures, than the slumbers of the morning could have made them on their beds! Let us not scruple to deny ourselves the indulgence of unnecessary sleep, that we may morning after morning place ourselves at his feet, receiving the instructions of his word, and seeking those of his Spirit.

Verse 38. The people came early] He returned early from the mount of Olives, and the people came early in the morning to the temple to hear his teaching. For practical observations on the awful subject of this chapter, see Matt. 24 at the end. See Clarke “Matthew 24:51” ST. LUKE

Verses 37, 38. And in the day-time he was teaching in the temple — “His daily custom at this, and it may be at other passovers, was to spend the day in the city, most commonly in the temple, where he always found a great concourse of hearers, and in the evening to retire to the mount of Olives, where he lodged in the villages, or in the gardens, or in the open air among the trees. He chose to lodge at night in such places as these, that he might avoid falling into the hands of his enemies. For though they durst not attack him in the midst of his followers by day, they probably would have apprehended him during the silence and darkness of the night, had he lodged anywhere within the walls of the town. Accordingly they did not venture to lay hands on him, till Judas Iscariot, one of his own disciples, betrayed him to them, in the absence of the multitude, by conducting an armed band to the place of his retirement.” — Macknight. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple — The evangelist does not say, that the people came and heard Jesus preach in the temple after this time, for Jesus himself had declared that he never was to preach to them any more, Matthew 23:38, 39. But having described in what manner our Lord spent his time at this passover, the evangelist adds, that his ministry sustained no damage by his leaving the city at night, because he did not fail to return every morning to the temple, and because a great number of people came thither early to be instructed by him, knowing that it was his custom to be there betimes. “How much happier,” says Dr. Doddridge, “were his disciples in these early lectures, than the slumbers of the morning would have made them on their beds! Let us not scruple to deny ourselves the indulgence of unnecessary sleep, that we may, morning after morning, place ourselves at his feet, and lose no opportunity of receiving the instructions of his word, and seeking those of his Spirit.”

38. Early in the morning—According to eastern custom, as thus described in Dr. Hackett’s Biblical Illustrations: “During the greater part of the year, in Palestine, the heat becomes so great a few hours after sunrise, as to render any strenuous labour inconvenient. The early morning, therefore, is the proper time for work; midday is given up, as far as possible, to rest, or employments which do not require exposure to the sun. The arrangements of life adjust themselves to this character of the climate. It happened to me often to observe how universal was the habit of early rising. Men and women may be seen going forth to their labours in the field or starting on journeys at the earliest break of day.”—P. 124. See Luke 22:66; Mark 15:1; Genesis 22:3; 28:18; Exodus 34:41.