Matthew · Chapter 28

V. 1. Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1

Verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath] Oye de sabbatwn. After the end of the week: this is the translation given by several eminent critics; and in this way the word oye is used by the most eminent Greek writers. Thucydides, lib. iv. chap. 93, thv hmerav oye hn-the day was ended. Plutarch, oye twn basilewv cronwn-after the times of the king. Philostratus oye twn troikwn-after the Trojan war. See Rosenmuller. In general the Jews divided their natural day, which consisted of twenty-four hours, into day and night. Their artificial day began at the rising and ended at the setting of the sun; all the rest of the time, from the setting to the rising of the sun, they termed night: hence the same word, in Hebrew, signifies both evening and night. Genesis 1:5; Mark 6:47. Matthew has employed the word in this extensive sense here, pointing out the latter part of the Jewish night, that which immediately preceded the rising of the sun, and not that first part which we call the evening. The transaction mentioned here evidently took place early on the morning of the third day after our Lord’s crucifixion; what is called our Sunday morning, or first day of the next week.

Came-to see the sepulchre.] That is, they set out at this time in order to visit the tomb of our Lord, and also to weep there, John 11:31, and to embalm the body of our Lord, Luke 24:1. St. Matthew omits Mary Salome, mentioned by Mark; and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, mentioned by Luke. The other Mary was the wife of Cleopas, and mother of James and Joses, mentioned before, Matthew 27:56. Were not Mary and Salome two distinct persons?

Verse 1. In the end of the sabbath — Or rather, After the sabbath, as oye sabbatwn may be properly translated. Thus, in Philostratus, oye twn Trwikwn signifies, after the Trojan war; oye musthriwn, after the mysteries were ended. And in other authors, oye toutwn is, after these things; oye nuktov, after night; see many examples of this in Stephanus. And so this perfectly agrees with the other evangelists, who say what is here related was done when the sabbath was ended, Mark 16:1; or the first day of the week, Luke 24:1; John 20:1. And perhaps Matthew here mentions sabbatwn, sabbaths, in the plural, because there were two sabbaths in that week, the paschal sabbath on Friday, and the ordinary sabbath on Saturday. As it began to dawn toward, &c. — Th epifwskoush eiv mian sabbatwn, when it began to dawn into the first day of the week, that is, Sunday, or the Lord’s day; for mia twn sabbatwn always signifies the first day of the week, or the Lord’s day, or the day of his resurrection from the dead: and thus the word mia usually signifies in the Septuagint, when it is joined with days, weeks, or months; as Genesis 1:5, The evening and morning were, hmera mia, the first day: Exodus 40:2; Ezra 3:6, 10:17, hmera mia tou mhnov, is the first day of the month. See note on 1 Corinthians 16:2. On this day, in the evening, Christ appeared to the eleven, John 20:19; and again, verse 26; and to the two disciples, Luke 24:13.

Came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, (see on chap. 27:61,) to see the sepulchre — To see if all things were as they had left them the preceding evening. It appears from Mark 16:1, that they were accompanied by Salome: and from Luke 24:10, that they were soon joined by Joanna, and other female friends, who were to meet them there. These women had bought, and now brought with them, spices, which they had prepared to embalm the body of Jesus, to do which, it seems, was their principal reason for visiting the sepulchre so early this morning: from which it is evident, that notwithstanding Christ had repeatedly and explicitly foretold that he should rise from the dead the third day, they had no faith in his predictions. And yet they were truly pious women, and certainly genuine and very faithful followers of Jesus, evidently more attached to him than even the apostles themselves, and more bold and courageous in his cause. So slow of heart are the best disposed of mankind to believe what the Lord hath spoken.

Verse 1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week. Eiv mian Sabbatwn, towards the first of sabbaths. The Vulgate Latin reads the same: in prima sabbati. Calvin also says, Le premier des sabbaths. See Luke 24:1. These readings intimate that the sabbath, or first day, was appointed by the Lord himself, as the day of joyful repose in commemoration of his resurrection, when he began his new creation. The stone which the builders had rejected, being now made the head of the corner, the church were commanded to sing, “The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly; the right hand of the Lord bringeth wonderful things to pass. This is the day, the new sabbath, that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118. See additional remarks on Deuteronomy 5.

Mary Magdalene was a native of Galilee, because when Jesus went through the cities and villages of that district, he found her there. Luke 8:2. She was a demoniac, whom the Lord healed. Mark 16:9. She was also a woman of property, who in conjunction with the richer women among Christ’s disciples, made an offering out of their property. Cardinal Baronius thinks, she was Mary, sister of Lazarus, and called Magdalene from the word Magdala, a plaiter of hair, like other harlots. He thinks so, because otherwise this sister of Lazarus is not mentioned at all in the resurrection. But that is not likely, because the sister of Lazarus is mentioned as supping with Christ and her brother in Simon’s house, who was a nobleman, and had been a leper. It is also highly probable that she would sleep at Bethany in her own house. Hence others are of opinion, that Mary Magdalene received this surname from Magdala, a town on the sea of Galilee, for surnames are mostly derived from places. It is however the piety of this woman, recorded in the scriptures to encourage sinners in turning to God, with which we are chiefly concerned. After her conversion she was more distinguished for piety, than before she had been for sin. — Her piety was constant, for she followed the Lord to the end of his abode on earth, and we believe to a high throne of glory. — She loved much, having much forgiven, for it is highly probable that her affliction had been a punishment for her pride and wickedness. — She was liberal, and devoted her savings from worldly extravagances to God and the poor. She loved the Lord as much after he was crucified as she had done when the multitudes adored him; for true love does not abate when Christ is degraded and persecuted in his members by the wicked. — She was more distressed for Christ than the others. She hallowed and adored him in her heart. The more reverend of the scribes only called him “master:” so did some of the disciples till they were confirmed in his Godhead. But Mary, whose soul flowed in sorrows, said, They have taken away MY LORD. — Lastly, she was honoured above others, being made the first witness of his resurrection. Oh astonishing grace, grace unmerited and free!

Oh sinner, great and grievous sinner: oh woman of pride, and of every lascivious habit: yea thou, oh woman, who hast a front for a British theatre, and who conformest thy life to the manners of the great, here is a model for thee; and here is grace in Christ to make thee as great a saint as thou art now a sinner. Here is love divine to cover all thy shame, to restore thy soul to the perfection of love, to ennoble thy person, and to raise thee to an immortal throne. Now take thy choice between Christ and the world; but take it now, for the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, when the proud, yea and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble; it shall burn them up, and leave them neither root nor branch, saith the Lord of hosts. These words were addressed to the two women here named. St. Luke adds, Johanna, and other women with them, who had come up from Galilee to the passover.

1. Inspiration does not impart omniscience. A man may be stimulated or guarded by inspiration to know certain things, and to tell all he knows, and no more. That he did not know more, is no proof that he was not inspired to know, or at lest to tell, all he does tell.

1 Christ’s resurrection is declared by an angel to the women. 9 He himself appeareth unto them. 11 The high priests give the soldiers money to say that he was stolen out of his sepulchre. 16 Christ appeareth to his disciples, 19 and sendeth them to baptize and teach all nations.

CHAPTER 28. Verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath, &c. — Oye, with a genitive, signifies any past time; so that the words denote “after the Sabbath,” or, as St. Mark has it, “when the Sabbath was past,” which concluded at six o’clock on the Saturday evening. Sabbath here may, however, signify the week; for sabbatwn in the plural is used for a week, which closed with the proper Sabbath or seventh day: So that sabbatwn in the first clause of the sentence, will have the same signification as in the second; mia sabbatwm being the first day of the week, — the Jews calling the first, second, &c., days, the first, second, &c., of the Sabbath. The time when the two Marys came to see the sepulchre was as it began to dawn toward, or into, the first day of the week; which is explained by St. Luke to be “very early in the morning,” and by St. Mark, “at the rising of the sun.” The object of their visit was to complete the embalming of the body, for which purpose they brought “sweet spices.” St. Mark adds Salome to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James. Joanna and “other women” also joined them, as we learn from St. Luke; so strongly intent were all these female disciples to pay their final respect to their Lord, and perform the last sad offices of sacred friendship and duty. In the sepulchres of persons of superior rank among the Jews, there was first, says Lightfoot, a square floor within the cave, and on each side, deeper than the floor, caves to deposit the bodies.

V. 2. An angel of the Lord had rolled away the stone and sat upon it-St. Luke and St. John speak of two angels that appeared: but it seems as if only one of them had appeared sitting on the stone without the sepulchre, and then going into it, was seen with another angel, sitting, one where the head, the other where the feet of the body had lain.

Verse 2. A great earthquake] Seismov, a shaking or commotion of any kind: probably the word means no more than the confusion caused among the guards by the angel’s appearance. All this had taken place before the women reached the sepulchre.

The angel of the Lord descended from heaven] Matthew is very particular in this, to show that the word angel is not to be taken in the sense of an ordinary messenger, who might have come from Joseph of Arimathea, or from any other; but in the sense of an extraordinary messenger, who descended from GOD, out of heaven, for this very purpose. It is likely that the angel had descended, rolled away the stone, and was sitting on it, before the women reached the tomb.

Verse 2. And behold, there was a great earthquake — While the women were making these preparations for embalming the body of Jesus, he arose from the dead; his resurrection being preceded by the descent of an angel, whose appearance at the sepulchre was ushered in with a great earthquake and probably also a storm, the word seismov, here rendered earthquake, signifying any shaking, whether in the earth, air, or sea. Thus, chap. 8:24, seismov megav en th qallassh, is rightly rendered, a great tempest in the sea. And Ezekiel 3:12, LXX., fwnhn seismou megakou, is, the voice of a great rushing wind; and susseismov, is the word by which the LXX. denote a whirlwind, such as that wherein Elijah was caught up, 2 Kings, 2:1. Hammond and Le Clerc interpret the words seismov megav, in this passage, of a tempest only. For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven — Probably in sight of the guards; and came and rolled back the stone, &c. — “Jesus, by his miraculous power, could easily have rolled the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and therefore the descent of an angel was not necessary in order to that; but it was necessary, among other things, to throw the guards into a consternation before Jesus came forth, lest they should have been guilty of the impiety of offering to lay violent hands on him, as was done in the garden of Gethsemane, even after he had cast the whole party down on the ground. It is true, the divine wisdom and power could have intimidated the soldiers by a variety of methods, but the one pitched upon was certainly as proper as any.” — Macknight. And sat upon it — Luke and John speak of two angels that appeared; but it seems as if one only of them had appeared sitting on the stone without the sepulchre, and then, going into it, was seen with another angel, sitting, one where the head, the other where the feet of the body had lain.

TRANSACTIONS ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION, BEFORE THE FIRST VISIT AT THE SEPULCHRE, 2-4.

2. Earthquake — As there was darkness and earthquake at the death, so there is now earthquake and light at the resurrection. Both were given for the same purpose; namely, to manifest to the senses of men the mighty operations that were going on beyond the reach of sense. Death, and life, and power are secret and unseen principles; their manifestations are shown forth to mankind through the senses. The earthquake and the resurrection of course took place previous to the arrival of the women. Angels — The angel came not to awaken the corpse. That was done by the return of Jesus from his visitation to the spirit-world. No eye beheld his reviving body, warmed and loosened by the embraces of the soul. Rolled back the stone — Not that Jesus could not have burst the barrier; but the ministry of angels was necessary to give form to the transaction to human conception. Sat upon it — Upon the conquered thing as upon a triumphal throne.

3. His countenance — Rather, his whole figure. Raiment white — His body was a perfect splendour shining through his investiture.

4. As dead men — It is very probable that the splendour of a glorified body is always sufficient to overwhelm the senses and prostrate the strength of a living mortal. Such was the effect of the transfiguration upon the disciples. See also Daniel 8:27; Revelation 1:17. These men were not, therefore, eye-witnesses of the resurrection.

Verse 2. A great earthquake. — Not after they arrived, but before; by which, and by the appearance of the angel, the soldiers of the guard had become as dead men. This great concussion of the earth was probably confined to the neighbourhood of the tomb.

Verse 3. His countenance] His appearance, h idea autou; or, his face, for so the word is used in some of the best Greek writers. It seems, from Mark 16:5, that this angel had assumed the appearance of a young man.

Like lightning] Coruscations of glory continually flaming from his face. This might produce the confusion mentioned Matthew 28:2. His raiment white as snow] He was clothed in garments emblematical of the glad tidings which he came to announce. It would have been inconsistent with the message he brought, had the angel appeared in black robes, such as those preposterously wear who call themselves his successors in the ministry of a once suffering, but now risen and highly exalted, Saviour. But the world is as full of nonsense as of sin; and who can correct and bring it to reason and piety?

Verses 3, 4. His countenance was like lightning — Coruscations of light darting from his face; and his raiment white as snow — Glittering with an extraordinary lustre, beyond what any human eyes could bear; and for fear of him the keepers — Though Romans and soldiers; did shake, and became as dead men — Falling down on their faces in a most helpless condition; for they were effectually frightened by the majestic appearance of the angel, and especially by the lightning which flashed from his countenance. Quickly after, it appears, being recovered from their swoon, and finding the stone rolled away, and the sepulchre open, they fled to some distant place, to consult their own safety in so surprising an occurrence. This we have great reason to believe was the case, as nothing is said of any interview between them and the friends of Christ. It is not said at what particular instant Jesus arose, whether it was before the guards fell into this swoon, or after they recovered themselves and fled. Mark, indeed, by observing that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, may be thought to insinuate that the guards did not see him when he arose; yet the evangelist’s words do not necessarily imply this, for his meaning may be, that he appeared to Mary Magdalene first of all the disciples only. Besides, if the guards even did see him arise, it was, properly speaking, no appearance of Christ to them. However, be this as it may, it is certain that Jesus was arisen and gone before any of the women arrived at the sepulchre.

Ver. 3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. The women saw the angel; they saw his face, and the whiteness of his robes. They heard his voice, his gracious words to calm and compose their minds. They received the angel’s commands —

TRANSACTIONS ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION, BEFORE THE FIRST VISIT AT THE SEPULCHRE, 2-4.

2. Earthquake — As there was darkness and earthquake at the death, so there is now earthquake and light at the resurrection. Both were given for the same purpose; namely, to manifest to the senses of men the mighty operations that were going on beyond the reach of sense. Death, and life, and power are secret and unseen principles; their manifestations are shown forth to mankind through the senses. The earthquake and the resurrection of course took place previous to the arrival of the women. Angels — The angel came not to awaken the corpse. That was done by the return of Jesus from his visitation to the spirit-world. No eye beheld his reviving body, warmed and loosened by the embraces of the soul. Rolled back the stone — Not that Jesus could not have burst the barrier; but the ministry of angels was necessary to give form to the transaction to human conception. Sat upon it — Upon the conquered thing as upon a triumphal throne.

3. His countenance — Rather, his whole figure. Raiment white — His body was a perfect splendour shining through his investiture.

4. As dead men — It is very probable that the splendour of a glorified body is always sufficient to overwhelm the senses and prostrate the strength of a living mortal. Such was the effect of the transfiguration upon the disciples. See also Daniel 8:27; Revelation 1:17. These men were not, therefore, eye-witnesses of the resurrection.

Verse 3. Like lightning. — Of intense, brightness, heightened by the snowy whiteness of his raiment. The word rendered countenance signifies form or aspect.

Verse 4. The keepers-became as dead men.] God can, by one and the same means, comfort his servants, and terrify his enemies. The resurrection of Christ is a subject of terror to the servants of sin, and a subject of consolation to the sons of God; because it is a proof of the resurrection of both, the one to shame and everlasting contempt-the other to eternal glory and joy.

Verses 3, 4. His countenance was like lightning — Coruscations of light darting from his face; and his raiment white as snow — Glittering with an extraordinary lustre, beyond what any human eyes could bear; and for fear of him the keepers — Though Romans and soldiers; did shake, and became as dead men — Falling down on their faces in a most helpless condition; for they were effectually frightened by the majestic appearance of the angel, and especially by the lightning which flashed from his countenance. Quickly after, it appears, being recovered from their swoon, and finding the stone rolled away, and the sepulchre open, they fled to some distant place, to consult their own safety in so surprising an occurrence. This we have great reason to believe was the case, as nothing is said of any interview between them and the friends of Christ. It is not said at what particular instant Jesus arose, whether it was before the guards fell into this swoon, or after they recovered themselves and fled. Mark, indeed, by observing that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, may be thought to insinuate that the guards did not see him when he arose; yet the evangelist’s words do not necessarily imply this, for his meaning may be, that he appeared to Mary Magdalene first of all the disciples only. Besides, if the guards even did see him arise, it was, properly speaking, no appearance of Christ to them. However, be this as it may, it is certain that Jesus was arisen and gone before any of the women arrived at the sepulchre.

TRANSACTIONS ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION, BEFORE THE FIRST VISIT AT THE SEPULCHRE, 2-4.

2. Earthquake — As there was darkness and earthquake at the death, so there is now earthquake and light at the resurrection. Both were given for the same purpose; namely, to manifest to the senses of men the mighty operations that were going on beyond the reach of sense. Death, and life, and power are secret and unseen principles; their manifestations are shown forth to mankind through the senses. The earthquake and the resurrection of course took place previous to the arrival of the women. Angels — The angel came not to awaken the corpse. That was done by the return of Jesus from his visitation to the spirit-world. No eye beheld his reviving body, warmed and loosened by the embraces of the soul. Rolled back the stone — Not that Jesus could not have burst the barrier; but the ministry of angels was necessary to give form to the transaction to human conception. Sat upon it — Upon the conquered thing as upon a triumphal throne.

3. His countenance — Rather, his whole figure. Raiment white — His body was a perfect splendour shining through his investiture.

4. As dead men — It is very probable that the splendour of a glorified body is always sufficient to overwhelm the senses and prostrate the strength of a living mortal. Such was the effect of the transfiguration upon the disciples. See also Daniel 8:27; Revelation 1:17. These men were not, therefore, eye-witnesses of the resurrection.

Verse 5. I know that ye seek Jesus] Speaking after the manner of men, these women deserved to be the first witnesses of the resurrection of Christ: during life they ministered to him, and in death they were not divided. They attended him to the CROSS, notwithstanding their attachment to him exposed them to the most imminent danger; and now they come to watch and weep at his TOMB. The common opinion is, that women are more fickle and less courageous than men. The reverse of this I believe to be the truth, in those who are thoroughly converted to God; and who, previously to conversion, whether man or woman, can be trusted in any case?

Verses 5, 6. And the angel said to the women, Fear not ye — The resurrection of Christ, which is the terror and confusion of his enemies, is the joy and consolation of his friends; the ground of their confidence and hope, and the source of their comfort and felicity, for time and eternity. For I know that ye seek Jesus that was crucified — I know you are friends to the cause of your late great Master, and I do not come to frighten, but to encourage you. The angel mentions his being crucified, the more to commend their love to him. As if he had said, You seek him still, though he was crucified; you retain your regard and affection for him, notwithstanding that instance of his humiliation. Observe, reader, that true believers love and seek Jesus not only though he was crucified, but because he was so treated. He is not here, for he is risen — To be told, He is not here, would have been no welcome news to those who sought him, if it had not been added, he is risen. Observe, it is matter of comfort to those who seek Christ, and miss of finding him where they expected, that he is risen, and that by his resurrection a firm foundation is laid for their faith, a foundation on which they are invited to build, however unworthy, however guilty; and to whom, as to a living stone, though disallowed of men, all must come that would build for eternity, for other foundation than this can no man lay. As he said — He said he would rise, and you know he is truth itself, and therefore had reason to expect that he would rise: why then should you be backward to believe that which he told you would take place? Reader, let us never be surprised at that, or think that strange, of which the word of Christ has raised our expectation, whether it has respect to the sufferings of this present time, or the glory that shall be revealed. If we remember what Christ hath said to us, we shall the less wonder at what he doth with us. This angel, when he said, He is not here, he is risen, makes it appear, that he preaches no other gospel than what they had already received; for he refers to the word of Christ as his authority for what he affirms; he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay — Probably, in speaking that he rose up, and, going before the women into the sepulchre, said, Come, see the place. This clearly reconciles what St. John relates, (John 20:12,) this being one of the two angels there mentioned.

Ver. 5. Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. While the angel of the Lord struck the bold Romans with terror, and spared their lives but to strike greater terror into the guilty council, he turned a smiling aspect towards the pious women, and said, Fear not ye. — These words may most aptly be improved to encourage and comfort penitent souls who seek the crucified Redeemer. The law appears with a terrific aspect, and menaces the guilty with death. But justice, losing her sternness in the smiles of mercy, addresses the sincerely penitent in all the promises of grace. Let us therefore gather a few hints from the case of these pious women.

They saw the haste in which the Lord was interred, but they knew not of Nicodemus’s hundred pounds weight of gum, cassia, and myrrh, nor of the guards around the sepulchre. They came in simplicity and sincerity to do the offices of decency for the dead. Let us see that we likewise be sincere and pious in our approaches to the Lord.

They sought him with sadness and with tears. Let all penitents likewise review their sins, and study their case till their hearts are deeply impressed, and till tears freely flow for sin.

They sought him while it was yet dark; but after walking through the streets, and reaching Calvary, the sun was just risen. Come gracious soul, come with all thy ignorance and darkness of mind; come and look into the Saviour’s sepulchre, and the sun of righteousness shall arise upon thee with healing in his wings.

They sought him with many fears: but fear not ye, said the angel. And aye, how many fears and scruples have seekers still. Their case is too bad, their sins are too many to be pardoned. They shall never find the Lord. But a voice says, fear not ye. Go on, go on, and the Lord will be better to you than all your fears.

They sought him with embarrassment, who shall roll us away the stone? Ah, these difficulties. This stony heart, this unbelief. Go on, go on, again I say, and on approaching Christ, all these impediments shall be rolled away. They sought him with balmy spices. Come, oh woman, with thy sighs, thy prayers, thy tears; and the angel of the covenant shall present them, with all the fruits of thy repentance, as incense to the Father. Come, oh come, all ye weeping company, and you shall find the Saviour, not in the sepulchre, not in the hands of his enemies, but at the Father’s right hand, able to anoint and comfort you. Come weeping soul for a pardon, and you shall return with joyful tidings to your brethren.

5. Angel… unto the women — By comparing Mark, we find that the angel who sat upon the stone to appal and stupefy the guards, had entered the sepulchre as the women drew nigh, doubtless to prevent their being deterred from approaching. The women entered the sepulchre and there the words of the angel were uttered to them. The fact that the women entered the sepulchre and were there addressed by the angel, is implied by Matthew in verse 6. We learn from Mark 16:9, that on their first entrance the women saw but one angel and he sitting, at which they were terrified. Luke adds that, a moment after, two angels stood before them, (the one being joined by a second, to confirm the truth by two witnesses,) so that the words were uttered standing; the first angel doubtless having risen and being speaker for both. Thus all three evangelists are reconciled in regard to the number and positions of the angels. Fear not — His purpose was to shed terror and stupefaction upon the guards, but to speak peace and courage to these mourning friends of Jesus. Luke furnishes further words of the angel, as he supplies the fact that there was another angel standing with him.

V. 6. Come, see the place where the Lord lay-Probably in speaking he rose up, and going before the women into the sepulchre, said, Come, see the place. This clearly reconciles what St. John relates, John 20:12, this being one of the two angels there mentioned.

Verse 6. Come, see the place] The tomb in which our Lord was laid was no doubt like the rest of the Jewish burying places, a receptacle for the several dead of a whole family, divided into separate niches, where each had his place. Come and see the place-was tantamount to, Come and see the niche in which he was laid-it is now empty; nor was there any other body in the place, for the tomb was a new one, in which no man had ever been laid, John 19:41; so there could be no deception in the case.

Verses 5, 6. And the angel said to the women, Fear not ye — The resurrection of Christ, which is the terror and confusion of his enemies, is the joy and consolation of his friends; the ground of their confidence and hope, and the source of their comfort and felicity, for time and eternity. For I know that ye seek Jesus that was crucified — I know you are friends to the cause of your late great Master, and I do not come to frighten, but to encourage you. The angel mentions his being crucified, the more to commend their love to him. As if he had said, You seek him still, though he was crucified; you retain your regard and affection for him, notwithstanding that instance of his humiliation. Observe, reader, that true believers love and seek Jesus not only though he was crucified, but because he was so treated. He is not here, for he is risen — To be told, He is not here, would have been no welcome news to those who sought him, if it had not been added, he is risen. Observe, it is matter of comfort to those who seek Christ, and miss of finding him where they expected, that he is risen, and that by his resurrection a firm foundation is laid for their faith, a foundation on which they are invited to build, however unworthy, however guilty; and to whom, as to a living stone, though disallowed of men, all must come that would build for eternity, for other foundation than this can no man lay. As he said — He said he would rise, and you know he is truth itself, and therefore had reason to expect that he would rise: why then should you be backward to believe that which he told you would take place? Reader, let us never be surprised at that, or think that strange, of which the word of Christ has raised our expectation, whether it has respect to the sufferings of this present time, or the glory that shall be revealed. If we remember what Christ hath said to us, we shall the less wonder at what he doth with us. This angel, when he said, He is not here, he is risen, makes it appear, that he preaches no other gospel than what they had already received; for he refers to the word of Christ as his authority for what he affirms; he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay — Probably, in speaking that he rose up, and, going before the women into the sepulchre, said, Come, see the place. This clearly reconciles what St. John relates, (John 20:12,) this being one of the two angels there mentioned.

6. Come, see the place where the Lord lay — Pointing doubtless to the particular cell in the wall of the tomb. This implies, in accordance with Mark, that the angel was in the tomb. The place was doubtless a cell or niche, usually cut horizontally in the perpendicular wall, so as to insert the corpse, with the head entering first and feet toward the court. Sometimes a shelf or bench was cut along the wall so as to allow the corpse to lie parallel to the wall and entirely visible. As Mary Magdalene saw two angels, “one at the head and the other at the feet” of Jesus, (John 20:12,) this must have been the method in which Jesus lay.

Verse 6. He is risen, as he said. — They had gone to the sepulchre perplexed who should roll away the stone, being ignorant both of its being sealed, and of a guard being set over it; but now they find the stone removed, see the angel sitting upon it, are saluted by him with encouraging words, and hear Christ’s actual resurrection announced. Yet this was not done without mild reproof: he is risen, AS HE SAID, — words of their Lord which they ought to have remembered and believed.

Come, see the place, &c. — They are invited into the area within the cave, that they may see the place, the cell below its level, where the Lord had been laid. See note on verse 1. Maundrell has an illustrative passage in describing a sepulchre, near the ancient Arphad: “The chamber is eight feet broad and ten long. In it are seven CELLS for corpses hewn out of the firm rock.”

V. 7. There shall ye see him-In his solemn appearance to them all together. But their gracious Lord would not be absent so long: he appeared to them several times before then.

Lo, I have told you-A solemn confirmation of what he had said.

Verse 7. Go quickly and tell his disciples] Thus these faithful women proclaim the Gospel to those who were afterwards to be the teachers of the whole human race! Behold what honour God puts upon those who persevere in his truth, and continue to acknowledge him before men! That he is risen from the dead] There is a remarkable saying of R. Judah Hakkodesh, which some critics quote on this subject: “After THREE DAYS the SOUL of the Messiah shall RETURN to its body, and he shall GO OUT of that STONE in which he shall be BURIED.”

Goeth before you into Galilee] As himself promised, Matthew 26:32.

Verse 7. Go quickly, and tell his disciples — Mark says, and Peter — Communicate these glad tidings to his mourning disciples, and particularly to Peter, who is so much overwhelmed with sorrow on account of his late fall; and assure them further, that he is going before them into Galilee; and that there they shall see him — In his appearance to them all together. But their gracious Lord would not be absent so long from the eleven and several others; he appeared to them several times before then. Lo, I have told you — A solemn confirmation of what he had said. This message, as well as that from Jesus himself, verses 9, 10, was sent to all the disciples, and not to the apostles in particular. The reason may have been this: our Lord intending to visit his apostles that very evening, there was no occasion to order them into Galilee to see him. But as most of his disciples were now in Jerusalem, celebrating the passover, it may easily be imagined, that on receiving the news of their Master’s resurrection, many of them would resolve to tarry in expectation of meeting with him; a thing which must have been very inconvenient for them at that time of the year, when the harvest was about to begin, the sheaf of first-fruits being always offered on the second day of the passover-week. Wherefore, to prevent their being so long from home, the message mentioned was sent, directing them to return into Galilee, well assured that they should have the pleasure of seeing their Lord there, and by that means be happily relieved from the suspicion of his being an impostor, which no doubt had arisen in their minds when they saw him expire upon the cross. And they departed quickly, (Mark says, They went out quickly, and fled,) from the sepulchre — That is, after going into the tomb, as the angel desired them to do, that they might have full satisfaction respecting their Lord’s resurrection: with fear and great joy — Fear, caused by the appearance of the heavenly messenger, and the extraordinary nature of the things which they had seen; and great joy, at the happy news which they had received, and were thus commissioned to communicate. Mark mentions only their fear, which he paints in strong colours, saying, They trembled, were amazed, and sore afraid. It is probable, however, from what Matthew says, and from the nature of the events which had caused this strange mixture of contrary passions, that their joy predominated: And did run to bring his disciples word — With all the speed possible, rejoicing to be the messengers of such glad tidings.

Ver. 7. Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen. The balm of gospel comfort for the wounded mind must not be deferred. The women were commanded to remind the disconsolate disciples of the Saviour’s promise at the last supper, Matthew 26:32, that after his resurrection he would meet them in Galilee; yet their words seemed as mere reveries.

7. Goeth before you into Galilee — According to his promise, in 26:32. Jesus did meet the disciples there according to appointment, and gave them their great commission. But meantime he sustained their faith, above his promise, by several previous appearances unto them.

Verse 7. He goeth before you into Galilee. — There he had many disciples, and designed to make the most public manifestation of himself, and did appear “to five hundred brethren at once.” This message, as it has been well remarked, was sent to all the disciples then at Jerusalem, the greater part of whom were from Galilee, celebrating the passover in that city. To so many of them he did not intend, at that time, to appear; but only to a select few and the apostles, which he did that evening.

Verse 8. They departed quickly from the sepulchre] At the desire of the angel they went into the tomb, to have the fullest certainty of the resurrection.

Fear and great joy] Fear, produced by the appearance of this glorious messenger of God; and great joy occasioned by the glad tidings of the resurrection of their Lord and Master. At the mention of unexpected good news, fear and joy are generally intermingled.

----Vix sum apud me, ita animus commotus est metu, Spe, gaudio, mirando hoc tanto, tam repentino bono. TERANT. Andr. v. 945.

“I am almost beside myself, my mind is so agitated with fear, hope, and joy, at this unexpected good news.”

8. With fear — For in spite of the consoling words of the angel, the sense of an angel’s presence filled them with tremor. Great joy — In spite of the tremor, a joy at the thought that the Saviour had risen, thrilled their hearts and frames.

Verse 8. Fear and great joy. — Fear produced by the presence of so illustrious a supernatural being, and joy at the news he had announced. They “trembled,” says St. Mark, “were amazed, and sore afraid:” yet though women, not as the guards, who had become as dead; these emotions being restrained by the friendly aspect and voice of the heavenly visitant.

V. 9. Hail-The word in its primary sense means, "Rejoice:" in its secondary and more usual meaning, "Happiness attend you."

Verse 9. And as they went to tell his disciples] This clause is wanting in the Codex Vatican, and Codex Bezæ, and in twenty others, and in most of the versions. The omission is approved by Mill, Bengel, and Schmid. Griesbach leaves it in the text with a note of doubtfulness. It appears to be superfluous. To connect this with the next clause, the particle kai, and, is obliged to be suppressed in all the translations. I think the verse should begin with, And behold he goeth, &c., and the former clause be suppressed. Probabiliter delenda, says Professor White, in his Crisews Griesbachianæ, speaking of the preceding words.

Jesus met them] Christ bestows his graces and consolations by degrees, first by his angels, and then by himself. He does not reveal himself to incredulous and disobedient souls; he appears not even to these women till he has tried their faith and obedience by his ministering angels. All hail.] Anglo-Saxon, [Anglo-Saxon], Health be to you! cairete, Be ye safe, rejoice.

And they held him by the feet, and worshipped him.] This kind of reverence is in daily use among the Hindoos: when a disciple meets his religious guide in the public streets, he prostrates himself before him, and, taking the dust from his teacher’s feet, rubs it on his forehead, breast, &c. See WARD’S CUSTOMS.

Verses 9, 10. And as they went — Or, as they were going, on their way, Jesus met them — These zealous, good women not only heard the first tidings of their Lord, but had the first sight of him after his resurrection. The angel directed those that would see him to go to Galilee; and gave none any hopes of seeing him till they came thither. But Jesus is often better to his people than his word; but never worse; he often anticipates, but never frustrates their believing expectations: saying, All hail! — The old English form of salutation is here used, wishing all health, as the expression signifies. The Greek word here used, cairete, is literally, Rejoice; and answers to the form used by the Hebrews, Peace be unto you. They came and held him by the feet — As soon as they saw that it was Jesus, beginning to recover from their fear, they drew near to him, and in the most respectful manner, and with the greatest reverence, prostrated themselves before him, and embraced his feet, thus manifesting as well the affection they had to him as the greatness of the joy with which they were transported. This favour of embracing his knees Jesus granted to these women, because the angel’s words having strongly impressed their minds with the notion of his resurrection, they might have taken his appearing for an illusion of their own imagination, had he not permitted them to handle him, and convince themselves by the united report of their senses. Then said Jesus, Be not afraid — Fear not being imposed upon by these repeated notices of my resurrection; nor fear any hurt, either by the appearance of a messenger from heaven, or of one coming from the dead; for the news brought you, though strange, is both true and replete with comfort. Go tell my brethren — For I still own them as such, though they so lately disowned and forsook me. John (John 20:17) records our Lord’s using similar language to Mary Magdalene alone, when he sent her to them with the same message. Doubtless these affectionate friends of Christ were exact in reporting this circumstance, that their injured Lord called them his brethren still: and both Matthew and John, to whom the glad tidings were immediately brought, felt it strike so powerfully on their hearts, that they could not but record it. He, no doubt, saw it needful to give it them now to encourage them, knowing how much ashamed and distressed they were for having deserted him in his sufferings. And the appellation was now peculiarly consolatory, not only in that it assured them that they were freely forgiven for their past cowardice, but also in that it opened before them a prospect of such glory and felicity as, it appears, they had before no conception of. For as Jesus was now, by his resurrection, declared with power to be the Son of God and heir of all things, by styling his disciples his brethren, he assures them that they were children of God too, and joint heirs with him of all his joys and glories. By this appellation he also pointed out their duty to each other; for, being all his brethren, they were, of consequence, brethren one to another, and must love as brethren. And as his owning them for his brethren put a great honour upon them, so it also gave them an example of humility in the midst of that honour.

Ver. 9. Jesus met them, saying, all hail. This is a Gothic salutation of peace, health, and joy. The Greek is as in Luke 1:28. Cairete, rejoice. The word is rarely used now, except in poetry: it is of frequent occurrence in Dr. Beattie’s minstrel, and in Macpherson’s Homer.

§ 148. — SECOND APPEARANCE OF JESUS, 9, 10.

9. Jesus met them — According to John, Mary Magdalene left the company of women and brought John and Peter to the sepulchre, and then she saw the Lord. But this appearance to the women must apparently have taken place before she could have performed such a walk and returned, and therefore must have been the first of all. But if these women saw Jesus first, how says Mark (Mark 16:9) that Mary Magdalene saw the Lord first? See note on that passage.

V. 10. Go tell my brethren-I still own them as such, though they so lately disowned and forsook me.

Verse 10. Be not afraid] They were seized with fear at the sight of the angel; and this was now renewed by this unexpected appearance of Christ. See Clarke’s note on “Matthew 28:8”.

Go, tell my brethren] This is the first time our Lord called his disciples by this endearing name: they no doubt thought that their Lord would reproach them with their past cowardice and infidelity; but, in speaking thus, he gives them a full assurance, in the most tender terms, that all that was passed was as buried for ever.

Verses 9, 10. And as they went — Or, as they were going, on their way, Jesus met them — These zealous, good women not only heard the first tidings of their Lord, but had the first sight of him after his resurrection. The angel directed those that would see him to go to Galilee; and gave none any hopes of seeing him till they came thither. But Jesus is often better to his people than his word; but never worse; he often anticipates, but never frustrates their believing expectations: saying, All hail! — The old English form of salutation is here used, wishing all health, as the expression signifies. The Greek word here used, cairete, is literally, Rejoice; and answers to the form used by the Hebrews, Peace be unto you. They came and held him by the feet — As soon as they saw that it was Jesus, beginning to recover from their fear, they drew near to him, and in the most respectful manner, and with the greatest reverence, prostrated themselves before him, and embraced his feet, thus manifesting as well the affection they had to him as the greatness of the joy with which they were transported. This favour of embracing his knees Jesus granted to these women, because the angel’s words having strongly impressed their minds with the notion of his resurrection, they might have taken his appearing for an illusion of their own imagination, had he not permitted them to handle him, and convince themselves by the united report of their senses. Then said Jesus, Be not afraid — Fear not being imposed upon by these repeated notices of my resurrection; nor fear any hurt, either by the appearance of a messenger from heaven, or of one coming from the dead; for the news brought you, though strange, is both true and replete with comfort. Go tell my brethren — For I still own them as such, though they so lately disowned and forsook me. John (John 20:17) records our Lord’s using similar language to Mary Magdalene alone, when he sent her to them with the same message. Doubtless these affectionate friends of Christ were exact in reporting this circumstance, that their injured Lord called them his brethren still: and both Matthew and John, to whom the glad tidings were immediately brought, felt it strike so powerfully on their hearts, that they could not but record it. He, no doubt, saw it needful to give it them now to encourage them, knowing how much ashamed and distressed they were for having deserted him in his sufferings. And the appellation was now peculiarly consolatory, not only in that it assured them that they were freely forgiven for their past cowardice, but also in that it opened before them a prospect of such glory and felicity as, it appears, they had before no conception of. For as Jesus was now, by his resurrection, declared with power to be the Son of God and heir of all things, by styling his disciples his brethren, he assures them that they were children of God too, and joint heirs with him of all his joys and glories. By this appellation he also pointed out their duty to each other; for, being all his brethren, they were, of consequence, brethren one to another, and must love as brethren. And as his owning them for his brethren put a great honour upon them, so it also gave them an example of humility in the midst of that honour.

§ 148. — SECOND APPEARANCE OF JESUS, 9, 10.

9. Jesus met them — According to John, Mary Magdalene left the company of women and brought John and Peter to the sepulchre, and then she saw the Lord. But this appearance to the women must apparently have taken place before she could have performed such a walk and returned, and therefore must have been the first of all. But if these women saw Jesus first, how says Mark (Mark 16:9) that Mary Magdalene saw the Lord first? See note on that passage.

Verse 10. All hail. — A word of friendly and affectionate salutation. The Syriac has, “Peace be unto you.”

Held him by the feet. — An action which expressed the deepest reverence, mingled with the strongest affection. By embracing his feet they were also assured that it was not a phantom which they beheld, but the body of the real Jesus.

And worshipped him. — Although the original word will not of itself prove that this was an act of Divine worship, who can reasonably doubt it when his resurrection had indeed demonstrated him to be the SON OF GOD, a title to which all the Jews attached ideas of Divinity? Nor did Jesus, after his resurrection, prescribe that proper worship which we know the disciples publicly and constantly paid to him after his ascension; because it followed of course from his being thus proved to be what he had professed, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.

Verse 11. Some of the watch] Or guards. Probably the rest still remained at the tomb, waiting for orders to depart, and had sent these to intimate to their employers the things that had taken place.

Verse 11. Now when, or while they were going — While these extraordinary things were transacting, and the women were going to tell the disciples what they had heard and seen: behold, some of the watch — Some of the guards, who had fled from the sepulchre in great consternation, beginning a little to recollect themselves as to the excuse they should make for its being broken open, and the body being gone, as it would soon be known that it was; came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all that was done — That is, gave them an account of the earthquake, the vision, the rolling away of the stone: and moreover assured them that Jesus was actually risen from the dead. And they doubtless urged, at the same time, how impossible it was for them to make any opposition in the presence of the angel, who shook the very earth with the terror of his appearance, and therefore might be easily supposed to take away all power of resistance from them. Thus these ignorant and stupid heathen became, in effect, the first preachers of Christ’s resurrection, and were witnesses of the truth of it to the most inveterate of his enemies. It is justly observed here, by Dr. Doddridge, that “such news, coming from such persons, must undoubtedly throw the priests into inexpressible confusion; but it is remarkable, that neither the soldiers nor the priests were converted, by what the one saw or the other heard. Perhaps the soldiers might think that Jesus was, like some of their fabulous heroes, the son of some deity, who brought him to life again; but instead of imagining themselves concerned in the purposes of his resurrection, they might perhaps abuse their knowledge of it, to confirm their belief of some superstitious tales of their own priests, which bore some little resemblance to it; as those of Alcestis, Hippolytus, Hercules, and many others did. See Valer. Max., lib. 1. cap. 8. § 12; and Plin., Nat. Hist., lib. 7. cap. 52.

THE WATCH REPORT, AND ARE BRIBED TO FALSEHOOD, 11-15.

11. The watch — We suppose the quaternion or guard of four soldiers. While the women departed to inform the disciples, they departed to inform the Jews of the disappearance of the body. They bear no report to Pilate, for fear of punishment. They resort for aid and safety to those in whose behalf they have been serving. Chief priests — Annas and Caiaphas. All the things that were done — How great must have been the consternation of these men to find that after all the matter was not to die with the crucifixion; and that “the last error,” which they had feared as “worse than the first,” had truly taken place.

Verse 11. Some of the watch came into the city. — It may be remarked that St. Matthew states only the leading facts of the resurrection, and a few only of the appearances of Jesus afterward, and these briefly; his main object being to refute the tale circulated respecting the stealing of the body of Jesus which he now introduces. He gives all that is necessary to establish the facts, and to show that he was acquainted with the manner in which the slanderous attempt to account for the absence of our Lord from the tomb originated. This having been sufficiently done by him, the other evangelists record other particulars; for all the gospels have respect to each other. How long it was before the soldiers of the Roman guard recovered from that overwhelming terror, which probably dispersed them, and overcame for a time their faculties, does not appear. It would seem, however, that some time did elapse before they came into the city, and that then they arrived in scattered companies: Some of the watch came into the city, &c.

Verse 12. With the elders] That is, the senators of the great Sanhedrin or Jewish council of state, elsewhere called the elders of the people; they could now meet, as the Sabbath was over.

Verses 12-14. And when they were assembled, &c. — The chief priests, having received this report, called the whole senate together, and they consulted among themselves what they should do in this perplexing emergency: and in particular, as may be reasonably supposed, whether they should dismiss the guards with a charge to conceal the story they had told them, or should accuse them to the governor, and attempt to get them punished for neglect of duty. But, considering the manner in which the governor had appeared to be affected toward Jesus, and the many prodigies which had attended his death, and also knowing they had no positive proof of any negligence or treachery in the soldiers; they resolved to decline commencing a prosecution against them, and even to pass the affair over without any complaint; but, apprehending that the most effectual method they could take would be to endeavour to pervert the evidence of these soldiers, they gave them large money, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept — To prevail with them to propagate this lie, they would doubtless urge, that in whatever way this strange occurrence which they reported might be accounted for, whether by supposing some diabolical operation in the case, or an illusion of their senses, it was necessary for the public safety that it should be concealed, because that otherwise the whole nation would be deluded and undone. The priests certainly could not but foresee what judgment any reasonable persons would form of such a report. At best, it could only be considered as the conjecture of the soldiers, who, by their own confession, being asleep when the supposed fact was said to take place, could tell no more of it than other people; or, if they pretended to say more, it was absurd, for how could they know what was doing, and by whom, while they were asleep? or, knowing it, why did they not prevent it? But this lie implies divers other absurdities: 1st, It was not probable that a Roman guard should be off their watch at all, much less that they should be asleep, since for such a neglect of duty, according to the Roman military laws, if discovered, they would have been liable to be punished with death. 2d, If even some of them had slept, it was not credible that they all should, especially in the open air, and at one time. 3d, If so improbable a thing as that had happened, it was still more incredible that they should all fall into such a sound sleep that not one of them should be awaked by the noise which must necessarily have been made by removing so large a stone, and carrying away the body; neither of which things could possibly have been done silently, or by men walking on tiptoes, to prevent discovery. 4th, It was equally incredible that our Lord’s disciples, or any persons, should have had time to come to the sepulchre to do all this, and return, carrying away the body, without being perceived by any one, and that during the time of the passover, when it was full moon, and when Jerusalem was very full of people, great numbers of whom would doubtless be walking in the suburbs and environs of the city, at all hours of the night. The absurdity of the tale, that the disciples took away the body, will still further and more clearly appear if we attend to their temper, and some other circumstances of the case. “Far from entertaining any expectation of their Master’s rising again from the dead, they understood none of the predictions which he uttered concerning it. And when they were informed of it by the women, their words appeared to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Nay, when Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, they were terrified, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. In this temper, is it probable that they would form the design of imposing upon the world the belief of their Master’s resurrection; an event which they had not the least expectation of themselves? Further, when Jesus was apprehended, his disciples were so full of fears for their own safety, that they all forsook him and fled. One of the most courageous of them, who followed him into the high-priest’s house, being asked if he was one of his disciples, was so terrified, that he denied three times, and with oaths, his having any knowledge of him. The rest, during his punishment, skulked among the crowd, except John, who ventured to appear among the women at his cross. In the whole, they were only eleven; a handful of men who had not been trained to arms. To suppose that a company of this sort either formed or executed the project of stealing away their Master’s body, from a sepulchre hewn out of a rock, to which there was only one entry, and that guarded by a numerous band of armed soldiers, is altogether improbable. Again, the stealing away of the body by the disciples is absurd for this reason likewise, that though they had, contrary to all probability, been successful in their design, it would have answered no purpose in the world. The disciples had all along considered the Messiah as a great temporal prince; and they had followed their Master in hopes that he would become this great prince, and raise them to the first posts in his kingdom. Accordingly, when they saw him expire on the cross, their hopes were all blasted at once. This they themselves honestly confessed; We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. Wherefore, to have stolen away the dead body of their Master, could have served none of the views by which they were now actuated, even though thereby they could have imposed the belief of his resurrection upon the world. It did not raise him to universal dominion; it did not put them in possession of riches or power. And with respect to the use which they made afterward of their Master’s resurrection, in converting the world, they had not the most distant conception of it at the time they fixed for his resurrection. Upon the whole, the stealing away of the body by the disciples while the guards slept, is, in all the lights wherein it can be viewed, the most idle, inconsistent, and improbable story imaginable.” — Macknight.

12. Assembled with the elders — This was no doubt an informal meeting, not of the full Sanhedrim, but of the special enemies of Jesus. Gave large money — That is, amply sufficient to secure their fidelity. This might not require so very much, for it is plain that their security from punishment for remissness depended on the success of the Jews in keeping Pilate uninformed or propitiated.

Verse 12. When they were assembled, and had taken counsel. — The absurd fiction which was invented was therefore the work of the sanhedrim or great council, the same that had condemned our Lord. Their incredulity and obduracy are indeed astonishing; but scarcely more so than that they had all along manifested; and we must take into account that they were men judicially given up by God to the blind and malevolent passions of their own bad hearts. That they were guilty of both a wicked and a clumsy fiction is seen from this, that afterward they manifestly appear to have been ashamed of avowing it, and that it was adopted in haste as a temporary expedient. Of this we have a striking, though an incidental proof in the words of Gamaliel, in this very council, who, when Peter and the other apostles were brought before them for preaching the very fact of Christ’s resurrection, and they were disposed to put them to death, said, “If this counsel and work be of men, it will come to naught; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it,” Acts 5:38, 39; — words which presupposed that the resurrection might be true, and which could not have been uttered had the council continued to maintain the story they taught to the Roman soldiers. Still, it was something that they had originated, a tale which ignorance and prejudice made long current among the vulgar; for the evangelist adds, And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews to this day. Unwilling to believe so clearly a demonstrated truth, like all those who love error, they were given up “to believe a lie,” the absurdities of which they obstinately overlooked. For, as the obvious remark has been often made, if the whole sixty soldiers slept, how should they know how the body was taken away? if only a part of them, they would alarm the rest; and if the whole were awake, their force was sufficient to resist, the attempt. Yet infidels, and infidel Biblical critics too, of the present time, believe equal absurdities in framing theories to refute or to explain away “the supernaturalism,” as it is called, of the Holy Scriptures. Thus human nature, in all ages, is true to itself; and the objections which have been urged against the miracles and the resurrection of Christ, from the very unbelief of the Jews of the same, are solved by the moral phenomena which the human heart in every age exhibits.

V. 13. Say, his disciples came by night, and stole him while we slept-Is it possible, that any man of sense should digest this poor, shallow inconsistency? If ye were awake, why did you let the disciples steal him? If asleep, how do you know they did?

Verse 13. His disciples came by night] This was as absurd as it was false. On one hand, the terror of the disciples, the smallness of their number (only eleven;) and their almost total want of faith; on the other, the great danger of such a bold enterprise, the number of armed men who guarded the tomb, the authority of Pilate and of the Sanhedrin, must render such an imposture as this utterly devoid of credit.

Stole him away while we slept.] Here is a whole heap of absurdities. 1st. Is it likely that so many men would all fall asleep, in the open air, at once? 2dly. Is it at all probable that a Roman guard should be found off their watch, much less asleep, when it was instant death, according to the Roman military laws, to be found in this state? 3dly. Could they be so sound asleep as not to awake with all the noise which must be necessarily made by removing the great stone, and taking away the body? 4thly. Is it at all likely that these disciples could have had time sufficient to do all this, and to come and return, without being perceived by any person? And 5thly. If they were asleep, how could they possibly know that it was the disciples that stole him, or indeed that any person or persons stole him?-for, being asleep, they could see no person. From their own testimony, therefore, the resurrection may be as fully proved as the theft.

Verses 12-14. And when they were assembled, &c. — The chief priests, having received this report, called the whole senate together, and they consulted among themselves what they should do in this perplexing emergency: and in particular, as may be reasonably supposed, whether they should dismiss the guards with a charge to conceal the story they had told them, or should accuse them to the governor, and attempt to get them punished for neglect of duty. But, considering the manner in which the governor had appeared to be affected toward Jesus, and the many prodigies which had attended his death, and also knowing they had no positive proof of any negligence or treachery in the soldiers; they resolved to decline commencing a prosecution against them, and even to pass the affair over without any complaint; but, apprehending that the most effectual method they could take would be to endeavour to pervert the evidence of these soldiers, they gave them large money, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept — To prevail with them to propagate this lie, they would doubtless urge, that in whatever way this strange occurrence which they reported might be accounted for, whether by supposing some diabolical operation in the case, or an illusion of their senses, it was necessary for the public safety that it should be concealed, because that otherwise the whole nation would be deluded and undone. The priests certainly could not but foresee what judgment any reasonable persons would form of such a report. At best, it could only be considered as the conjecture of the soldiers, who, by their own confession, being asleep when the supposed fact was said to take place, could tell no more of it than other people; or, if they pretended to say more, it was absurd, for how could they know what was doing, and by whom, while they were asleep? or, knowing it, why did they not prevent it? But this lie implies divers other absurdities: 1st, It was not probable that a Roman guard should be off their watch at all, much less that they should be asleep, since for such a neglect of duty, according to the Roman military laws, if discovered, they would have been liable to be punished with death. 2d, If even some of them had slept, it was not credible that they all should, especially in the open air, and at one time. 3d, If so improbable a thing as that had happened, it was still more incredible that they should all fall into such a sound sleep that not one of them should be awaked by the noise which must necessarily have been made by removing so large a stone, and carrying away the body; neither of which things could possibly have been done silently, or by men walking on tiptoes, to prevent discovery. 4th, It was equally incredible that our Lord’s disciples, or any persons, should have had time to come to the sepulchre to do all this, and return, carrying away the body, without being perceived by any one, and that during the time of the passover, when it was full moon, and when Jerusalem was very full of people, great numbers of whom would doubtless be walking in the suburbs and environs of the city, at all hours of the night. The absurdity of the tale, that the disciples took away the body, will still further and more clearly appear if we attend to their temper, and some other circumstances of the case. “Far from entertaining any expectation of their Master’s rising again from the dead, they understood none of the predictions which he uttered concerning it. And when they were informed of it by the women, their words appeared to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Nay, when Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, they were terrified, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. In this temper, is it probable that they would form the design of imposing upon the world the belief of their Master’s resurrection; an event which they had not the least expectation of themselves? Further, when Jesus was apprehended, his disciples were so full of fears for their own safety, that they all forsook him and fled. One of the most courageous of them, who followed him into the high-priest’s house, being asked if he was one of his disciples, was so terrified, that he denied three times, and with oaths, his having any knowledge of him. The rest, during his punishment, skulked among the crowd, except John, who ventured to appear among the women at his cross. In the whole, they were only eleven; a handful of men who had not been trained to arms. To suppose that a company of this sort either formed or executed the project of stealing away their Master’s body, from a sepulchre hewn out of a rock, to which there was only one entry, and that guarded by a numerous band of armed soldiers, is altogether improbable. Again, the stealing away of the body by the disciples is absurd for this reason likewise, that though they had, contrary to all probability, been successful in their design, it would have answered no purpose in the world. The disciples had all along considered the Messiah as a great temporal prince; and they had followed their Master in hopes that he would become this great prince, and raise them to the first posts in his kingdom. Accordingly, when they saw him expire on the cross, their hopes were all blasted at once. This they themselves honestly confessed; We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. Wherefore, to have stolen away the dead body of their Master, could have served none of the views by which they were now actuated, even though thereby they could have imposed the belief of his resurrection upon the world. It did not raise him to universal dominion; it did not put them in possession of riches or power. And with respect to the use which they made afterward of their Master’s resurrection, in converting the world, they had not the most distant conception of it at the time they fixed for his resurrection. Upon the whole, the stealing away of the body by the disciples while the guards slept, is, in all the lights wherein it can be viewed, the most idle, inconsistent, and improbable story imaginable.” — Macknight.

13. Disciples… stole him away — It has been strangely doubted, even by Olshausen, whether this narrative of the setting the watch and their bribery by the Jews is truly authentic, because he could not conceive that the Jewish Sanhedrim could be so lost to honour as thus plainly to propose a shameful falsehood. But it is not so clear that they deemed it to be a falsehood. It was a rationalistic solution of the strange phenomenon. Whether the soldiers admitted it or not, the Sanhedrim might claim to believe this as truth, and only bribe the men to assent to this version of the story. While we slept — The testimony of sleeping men to the fact of the disciples’ participation in the matter was of course not very valid evidence. They earned their money in fathering so poor and so self-criminating a falsehood.

Verse 14. If this came to the governor’s ears] Pilate-we will persuade him that it is for his own interest and honour to join in the deception; and we will render you secure-we will take care that you shalt not suffer that punishment for this pretended breach of duty which otherwise you might expect.

Verses 12-14. And when they were assembled, &c. — The chief priests, having received this report, called the whole senate together, and they consulted among themselves what they should do in this perplexing emergency: and in particular, as may be reasonably supposed, whether they should dismiss the guards with a charge to conceal the story they had told them, or should accuse them to the governor, and attempt to get them punished for neglect of duty. But, considering the manner in which the governor had appeared to be affected toward Jesus, and the many prodigies which had attended his death, and also knowing they had no positive proof of any negligence or treachery in the soldiers; they resolved to decline commencing a prosecution against them, and even to pass the affair over without any complaint; but, apprehending that the most effectual method they could take would be to endeavour to pervert the evidence of these soldiers, they gave them large money, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept — To prevail with them to propagate this lie, they would doubtless urge, that in whatever way this strange occurrence which they reported might be accounted for, whether by supposing some diabolical operation in the case, or an illusion of their senses, it was necessary for the public safety that it should be concealed, because that otherwise the whole nation would be deluded and undone. The priests certainly could not but foresee what judgment any reasonable persons would form of such a report. At best, it could only be considered as the conjecture of the soldiers, who, by their own confession, being asleep when the supposed fact was said to take place, could tell no more of it than other people; or, if they pretended to say more, it was absurd, for how could they know what was doing, and by whom, while they were asleep? or, knowing it, why did they not prevent it? But this lie implies divers other absurdities: 1st, It was not probable that a Roman guard should be off their watch at all, much less that they should be asleep, since for such a neglect of duty, according to the Roman military laws, if discovered, they would have been liable to be punished with death. 2d, If even some of them had slept, it was not credible that they all should, especially in the open air, and at one time. 3d, If so improbable a thing as that had happened, it was still more incredible that they should all fall into such a sound sleep that not one of them should be awaked by the noise which must necessarily have been made by removing so large a stone, and carrying away the body; neither of which things could possibly have been done silently, or by men walking on tiptoes, to prevent discovery. 4th, It was equally incredible that our Lord’s disciples, or any persons, should have had time to come to the sepulchre to do all this, and return, carrying away the body, without being perceived by any one, and that during the time of the passover, when it was full moon, and when Jerusalem was very full of people, great numbers of whom would doubtless be walking in the suburbs and environs of the city, at all hours of the night. The absurdity of the tale, that the disciples took away the body, will still further and more clearly appear if we attend to their temper, and some other circumstances of the case. “Far from entertaining any expectation of their Master’s rising again from the dead, they understood none of the predictions which he uttered concerning it. And when they were informed of it by the women, their words appeared to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Nay, when Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, they were terrified, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. In this temper, is it probable that they would form the design of imposing upon the world the belief of their Master’s resurrection; an event which they had not the least expectation of themselves? Further, when Jesus was apprehended, his disciples were so full of fears for their own safety, that they all forsook him and fled. One of the most courageous of them, who followed him into the high-priest’s house, being asked if he was one of his disciples, was so terrified, that he denied three times, and with oaths, his having any knowledge of him. The rest, during his punishment, skulked among the crowd, except John, who ventured to appear among the women at his cross. In the whole, they were only eleven; a handful of men who had not been trained to arms. To suppose that a company of this sort either formed or executed the project of stealing away their Master’s body, from a sepulchre hewn out of a rock, to which there was only one entry, and that guarded by a numerous band of armed soldiers, is altogether improbable. Again, the stealing away of the body by the disciples is absurd for this reason likewise, that though they had, contrary to all probability, been successful in their design, it would have answered no purpose in the world. The disciples had all along considered the Messiah as a great temporal prince; and they had followed their Master in hopes that he would become this great prince, and raise them to the first posts in his kingdom. Accordingly, when they saw him expire on the cross, their hopes were all blasted at once. This they themselves honestly confessed; We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. Wherefore, to have stolen away the dead body of their Master, could have served none of the views by which they were now actuated, even though thereby they could have imposed the belief of his resurrection upon the world. It did not raise him to universal dominion; it did not put them in possession of riches or power. And with respect to the use which they made afterward of their Master’s resurrection, in converting the world, they had not the most distant conception of it at the time they fixed for his resurrection. Upon the whole, the stealing away of the body by the disciples while the guards slept, is, in all the lights wherein it can be viewed, the most idle, inconsistent, and improbable story imaginable.” — Macknight.

14. If this come to the governor’s ears — As Pilate would soon return to Cesarea it was not likely to come to his ears. Persuade — Appease.

Verse 14. Persuade him. — Conciliate or appease him; because it was death for the sentinel to sleep upon his post.

Verse 15. Until this day.] That is to say, the time in which Matthew wrote his Gospel; which is supposed by some to have been eight, by others eighteen, and by others thirty years after our Lord’s resurrection.

Verse 15. So they took the money — They did not, either on the score of conscience, or on account of the palpable falsehood of the story they were to propagate, refuse the bribe that was offered them by the chief priests. Their love of money, as is common with wicked men, pushed them on headlong, so that they did not mind the many improbabilities implied in the lie, nor the horrid iniquity of it. And, though they had been greatly confounded with the vision of the angels, and the earthquake, the panic was by this time worn off. Besides, they did not consider the vision as connected with morality; or, if they did, the priests would endeavour to persuade them that it was nothing real, but the mere effect of their own imagination, terrified by seeing one rise from the dead. The only objection, therefore, made by the soldiers, to their complying with the desire of the priests, was, that by publishing such a story, they would acknowledge such a gross neglect of duty as would expose them to severe punishment, if the governor should hear of it. But to make them easy on this head, the priests promised to give such a representation of the matter to Pilate, that no harm should befall them. This only obstacle, therefore, being removed, the soldiers did as they were desired. They told everywhere the lie which the priests had put into their mouths: a lie the most impudent and barefaced that could be contrived, but which the priests and other members of the council were anxious to have propagated, because they hoped it would be swallowed by many without examination. Nor were they deceived in their expectation; for, improbable as the story was, it gained general credit among the enemies of Jesus, and was currently reported, as Matthew here tells us, at the time he wrote his gospel. Unluckily, however, for the cause of infidelity, it was only some of the watch who came to the chief priests; the rest had gone to their garrison, where no doubt they told their comrades what had happened. And even those who came to the chief priests would not be backward to speak of the extraordinary event as they passed along the streets, if they chanced to meet with any of their acquaintance. Far less would they conceal the matter in the high-priest’s palace, while they waited to be called in. None can doubt this who attend to the nature and operation of human passions, and the eagerness which all men naturally have to tell a wonderful story, not to mention the desire which these soldiers must have felt to justify themselves for quitting their posts. The truth, therefore, that Jesus was actually risen, in spite of all the endeavours of the chief priests to suppress it, came abroad, and doubtless became a subject of consideration and inquiry with many, who had not been Christ’s disciples; and the more they considered the evidences of it, and compared it with the false story which the priests had prevailed on some of the guard to propagate, the more such as were unprejudiced must be inclined to believe the former and reject the latter, which latter it was evident the priests themselves did not believe. For if they had believed it, doubtless, with a view to prove it, and justify themselves in their hostility to Christ and his cause, they would have narrowly examined where the apostles had been all that night, and would have made search for Christ’s body, which, if found, would at once have confuted the testimony of the apostles respecting his resurrection, and have proved their great guilt in endeavouring, by its removal, to palm a lie upon mankind, and establish an imposture of a most heinous nature and pernicious tendency. It is probable, therefore, that an impression in favour of the truth was made on the minds of many persons, and gained ground daily, and that this had considerable influence in preparing them for the reception of the gospel: which circumstance may, partly at least, account for the wonderful success of the ministry of Peter and the other apostles at and after the day of pentecost. To counteract, however, every impression of this kind, and confirm the Jews, whether in Jerusalem or elsewhere, in their prejudices against Christianity, the chief priests and elders were unwearied in their endeavours. “They even” (says Justin Martyr, Dialog. cum Tryph., p. 368) “sent chosen men of considerable rank over all the world, not only in the general to represent the Christians as an impious sect, but to assert that the body of Jesus was torn out of his tomb by night, and the persons who thus fraudulently conveyed it away, took occasion from thence to report that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.” Which message is spoken of as having been sent before the destruction of Jerusalem.

15. This saying — This solution of the disappearance of the body. Commonly reported — Diffused among the Jewish nation. It is still held by many modern so-called rationalists. Until this day — Until the time that Matthew wrote, which was probably some eight years after the fact. Meanwhile the apostles had been constantly preaching the fact at Jerusalem from the day of its occurrence, and they had no doubt encountered this solution at every turn.

V. 16. To the mountain where Jesus had appointed them-This was probably Mount Tabor, where, (it is commonly supposed,) he had been before transfigured. It seems to have been here also, that he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once.

Verse 16. Then the eleven disciples went] When the women went and told them that they had seen the Lord, and that he had promised to meet them in Galilee. From the eleventh to the fifteenth verse inclusive, should be read in a parenthesis, as the sixteenth verse is the continuation of the subject mentioned in the tenth.

Verse 16. Then — Not immediately after what is related in the preceding verses, but after several appearances of Christ, and events connected therewith, recorded in the last chapter of Luke and Mark, and in the last two chapters of John; where see the notes: the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, &c. — That Christ promised after his resurrection to go before them into Galilee, we read Matthew 26:32; thither the angel here, verse 7, and Christ himself verse 10, direct them to go to see him; but there is not the least mention of any mountain in Galilee to which he bade them go to meet him; and therefore the following words, where Christ had appointed them, must refer, not to the mountain, but to Galilee; but there being a mountain which Christ had frequented, and on which he had been before transfigured, this, it seems, moved the disciples to go to that mountain. Moreover, it is observable that they did not go into Galilee till above eight days after Christ’s resurrection, for Christ appeared to them at Jerusalem eight days after, John 20:19; and when they went, doubtless, they went not alone, but the curiosity of those that were with them, Luke 24:9, 33, would probably move them to go to the place where he had appointed to be seen. It is true, the evangelist does not say that there were more present at this appearance than the eleven; nevertheless, the circumstances of the case direct us to believe that it had many witnesses. “This appearance was known beforehand; the place where it was to happen was pointed out by Jesus himself; and it was represented in such a light as if the appearances which were to take place before it were of small importance in comparison of it. The report, therefore, of his being to appear in Galilee, must have spread abroad, and brought many to the place at the appointed time. In short, it is reasonable to think that most of the disciples now enjoyed the happiness of beholding personally their Master raised from the dead. What confirms this supposition is, that Paul says expressly, Jesus, after his resurrection, was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 1 Corinthians 16:6, for that number of witnesses mentioned by Paul agrees better to the appearance on the mountain in Galilee described by Matthew than to any other. Galilee having been the principal scene of Christ’s ministry, the greatest part of his followers lived there; for which reason he chose to make what may be called his most solemn and public appearance after his resurrection on a mountain in that country; an appearance to which, as we have seen, a general meeting of all his disciples was summoned, not only by the angels who attended his resurrection, but by our Lord himself, the very day on which he arose.”

Ver. 16. Then the eleven went away into a mountain. St. Paul says, that the number of brethren assembled there was about five hundred. The brief way in which Matthew names this, and all the other appearances, proves that he regarded this appearance, as the grand seal of truth and joy to the church. But some, for time, doubted, and resisted the testimony of those that had seen him; others were afraid, and indeed terrified, till composed and encouraged by the Saviour. He chose the saints to confess him, and imposed silence on demons.

APPEARANCE OF CHRIST TO THE DISCIPLES IN GALILEE, 16-20.

Matthew, omitting all the other accounts of the appearance of Jesus after the resurrection, hastens to the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise to go before them into Galilee. There the Saviour, in the plenitude of his power in his new kingdom, gives them authority as apostles to spread his kingdom through the world.

16. The eleven — One alone, the “son of perdition,” is not among them. He has fallen like a star from heaven, and left his place vacant.

Verse 16. Went away to Galilee. — Not immediately, but some time after; the brevity of St. Matthew omitting the intermediate appearances of Christ, as recorded by the other evangelists.

Verse 17. But some doubted.] That is, Thomas only at first doubted. The expression simply intimates, that they did not all believe at that time. See the same form noticed on Matthew 26:8, and Matthew 27:44.

Verse 17. When they saw him, they worshipped — The greatest part were so fully convinced that the person they saw was their Master, that they worshipped him; but some doubted — But with respect to a few, their joy, on seeing the Lord, put them into a kind of perturbation, and their desire that it might be him. made them afraid it was not. This reason is assigned by Luke for the unbelief of some on a former occasion, Matthew 24:41. They believed not for joy and wonder; and therefore it may fitly be offered to account for the unbelief of others on this. “Besides, the thing is agreeable to nature, men being commonly afraid to believe what they vehemently wish, lest they should indulge themselves in a false joy, which they must soon lose. Hence the saying in Terence, Misera mens incredula est: quo plus cupio, minus credo. ‘My anxious mind is incredulous: the more I wish, the less I believe.’ The case of the disciples, whose desire and joy made them doubt the truth of what they saw, may be illustrated by the instance of the states of Greece and Asia, whose joy and surprise on hearing a Roman herald declare them all free, and at liberty to use their own laws, had a similar effect upon them, as the story is beautifully told by Livy, lib. 33. cap. 35.” The Prussian editors, however, who are followed by some others, render the clause thus, — even those who had doubted. “Probably at this appearance the apostles received orders to return to Jerusalem; for from Acts 1:3-12, compared with Luke 24:50, it is plain that our Lord’s discourses, before his ascension, related Mark 16:15, and Luke 24:44, were delivered in or near to the city. Besides, he ascended from the mount of Olives, as we shall see in the subsequent evangelists. Wherefore, if the orders for the apostles to repair to Jerusalem were not given at this appearance, Jesus must have showed himself again, which indeed is not impossible, as it is evident from 1 Corinthians 15:7 that he showed himself somewhere, after his appearance to the five hundred brethren, to the Apostle James alone, though none of the evangelists have given the least hint of this appearance. Among the apostles there were two persons of that name: one the brother of John, who was killed by Herod, another the brother or cousin of Jesus. Perhaps it was to James the brother of John that our Lord appeared after his resurrection. His being to suffer martyrdom so early, might make this special favour necessary.”

17. And when they saw him — At the first and more distant perception of his person. They worshipped him — That is, some of them recognized him with faith, and worshipped him as their Lord. Some doubted — They distrusted whether it was really he until a nearer approach.

Verse 17. Some doubted. — Not of the apostles, but of the disciples then with them; for now our Lord fulfilled his promise, to appear to his disciples generally in Galilee; and this was probably the time when he was seen of “the five hundred brethren at once.” They doubted whether it was he, when he first appeared; but when he came and spake to them, as it follows in the next verse, they doubted no longer.

V. 18. All power is given to me-Even as man. As God, he had all power from eternity.

Verse 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them] It is supposed by some that the reason why any doubted was, that when they saw Jesus at first, he was at a distance; but when he came up, drew near to them, they were fully persuaded of the identity of his person.

All power is given unto me] Or, All authority in heaven and upon earth is given unto me. One fruit of the sufferings and resurrection of Christ is represented to be, his having authority or right in heaven to send down the Holy Spirit-to raise up his followers thither-and to crown them in the kingdom of an endless glory: in earth, to convert sinners; to sanctify, protect, and perfect his Church; to subdue all nations to himself; and, finally, to judge all mankind. If Jesus Christ were not equal with the Father, could he have claimed this equality of power, without being guilty of impiety and blasphemy? Surely not; and does he not, in the fullest manner, assert his Godhead, and his equality with the Father, by claiming and possessing all the authority in heaven and earth?-i.e. all the power and authority by which both empires are governed?

Verse 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them — Even unto those mentioned in the last clause, who at first doubted, but whose doubts were afterward fully removed, and probably by his drawing near, and speaking familiarly with them. “It tended much to the honour of Christ,” says Henry, “that [some of] the disciples doubted before they believed, for, in consequence of this, it cannot be said that they were credulous, and willing to be imposed upon, inasmuch as they first questioned and proved all things, and then embraced and held fast that which they found to be true.” Christ, however, on this occasion, came and spake, not only to them that had doubted, but to all the disciples then assembled, and particularly to the apostles, whom it especially concerned to be fully satisfied of his resurrection, of which they were to be witnesses to mankind, and their knowledge of the truth of which they were to seal with their blood, and to whom the following commission was chiefly given. He therefore did not stand at a distance, but came near and gave them all such convincing proofs of his resurrection, as both turned the wavering scale of such as were slow of heart to believe, making their faith to triumph over their doubts, and gave perfect and lasting confirmation to the faith of the rest, particularly of his chosen witnesses, who certainly from this time never called in question in any degree, either the resurrection of their Lord, or the nature and importance of the commission he now gave them. Saying, All power is given unto me — Gr. pasa exousia, all authority. It is manifest, as Beza observes, that “authority and power differ from each other; for many are not able to perform those things which they have a right to do; and, on the contrary, many have power to do those things which they have no right to do.” Our Lord’s authority, however, implies power also. It is the exaltation of our Lord’s human nature that is here chiefly intended, in union, however, with the divine. His meaning is fully explained in the following words: Because he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: therefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at his name every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess him Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Philippians 2:7-11. God hath raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and put all things under his feet, and given him to be the head over all things to (that is, for the benefit of) the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all, Ephesians 1:20-23. See the notes on these passages, and also on John 5:26, 27; and Romans 14:9. The authority and power intended is that which Christ exercises as Son of man and Mediator; but it is evident, if he did not possess all divine perfections, he could not exercise it. Thus Dr. Whitby, “He to whom any office is duly committed, must have sufficient power and wisdom to discharge that office. Now to govern all things in heaven and earth belongs only to him who is the Lord and Maker of them, and therefore is known by this title, both in Scripture and by the heathen. To have power over death, and to be able to raise the dead, is to have that power which is proper to God alone: and to have power over the souls of men, and the knowledge of all hearts, belongs to God alone.” Our Lord, therefore, is invested with, and exercises this authority and power, although as the Son of man, yet not as a mere man, for as such it would have been impossible for him to exercise it, but as a man in whom dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Now Christ being about to send out his apostles as his ambassadors to the nations, with authority to propose to them terms of peace and reconciliation; being about to deliver to them the great charter of his kingdom in the world, and commission them to go forth and gather subjects to him everywhere, and to give laws to and govern those subjects; or to feed and rule his flock; and being about to do these things as Son of man; he first, with great propriety, shows them by what authority he acts, and who gave him that authority. He had indeed said, in effect, more than once before, all he now says, (see Matthew 11:27; John 5:20-29,) namely, that all things were delivered unto him of his Father; that the Father had given him authority to execute judgment; yea, had committed all judgment unto him, that all men should honour him, the Son, even as they honour the Father. But though he had a right to, and was invested with, this power before, even during the whole time of his personal ministry; yet, he was not in a condition to exercise it, nor could he have exercised it with propriety, while he was in his state of humiliation, and bore the form of a servant; as he was to exercise it now, being raised from the dead, clothed with immortality and glory, and immediately to be exalted to the right hand of the throne of the divine Majesty in the heavens, Hebrews 8:1.

Ver. 18. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. As Mediator, all judgment was committed to the Son. Therefore he spake like himself, and sent forth his servants as the plenipotentiaries of heaven. He allowed them not to ask leave of kings, whether they should declare his gospel in their territories; that would have been to make earthly princes greater than their heavenly Lord. He clothed them, as in Mark 16., with celestial powers, to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to take up serpents, and fortified them against all the deadly effects of poisonous draughts.

18. And Jesus came and spake — And as he came and spake in the fulness of his power, all shadow of doubt disappeared from every mind. All power is given unto me — His death had finished the old dispensation. It had brought in the new. Thereby the kingdom of God had come with power. Jesus, returning from paradise, came in the glory of his kingdom. All power is given unto him. Eleven disciples had not tasted death until they had seen him come in his kingdom, endowed with “all power.” See note on Matthew 16:28. This was the completion of the First Coming, or Advent. The second will be his Advent to judge the world. See on Matthew 10:23, and 16:27. But the coming seen in vision by Daniel (chapter vii) is not his coming to our world. It is a scenic picture of his endowment with “all power” by his Father in heaven. His ascension put him in complete possession of that kingdom; or, rather, this his coming as seen by his apostles, and that his coming as seen in vision by Daniel, are different glimpses of the same great coming. Of that coming the part seen by the apostles is rather at or after his resurrection, when he came from hades and the grave to the world. That seen by Daniel is rather the completing part at his ascension to the presence and right hand of God. As Paul says: “He raised him from the dead, and set him… far above all principality,” etc. Ephesians 1:20, 21. “He became obedient unto death… wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,” etc. Philippians 2:8, 9. “Peter standing up with the eleven… said… Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:14, 36. “To this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” Romans 14:9. “He hath raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come,” etc. Ephesians 1:19, 20. Of this last passage, Daniel 7:13, is a visionary, pictorial, prophetic representation. These and other texts prove that Christ’s resurrection and ascension were a full coming in his kingdom.

It seems to me the plain doctrine of Scripture, that at the death of Christ his kingdom came with power, and by his resurrection, he came in his kingdom. Matthew 16:28.

Verse 18. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. — Our Lord’s dominion therefore comprehends angels, men, and devils. “All things are put under him,” saving, as St. Paul observes, “that he is excepted which did put all things under him.” Every creature, through the wide realms of space, is subjected to the rule of THE GOD-MAN MEDIATOR; all are made subservient to the working out of his grand design, the restoration of our world from sin and misery, rendered wretched by sin; and the manifestation, through successive ages, of his own rectoral justice, boundless mercy, and infinite wisdom. And this his authority shall, in the fulness of time, be acknowledged even by those who have most rebelliously struggled against it. By the conquests of GRACE or POWER all shall be subdued, “that at his name every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father,” Philippians 2:10, 11.

V. 19. Disciple all nations-Make them my disciples. This includes the whole design of Christ's commission. Baptizing and teaching are the two great branches of that general design. And these were to be determined by the circumstances of things; which made it necessary in baptizing adult Jews or heathens, to teach them before they were baptized; in discipling their children, to baptize them before they were taught; as the Jewish children in all ages were first circumcised, and after taught to do all God had commanded them. Mark 16:15.

Verse 19. Go ye therefore] Because I have the authority aforesaid, and can send whomsoever I will to do whatsoever I please:-teach, maqhteusate, make disciples of all nations, bring them to an acquaintance with God who bought them, and then baptize them in the name of the Father. It is natural to suppose that adults were the first subjects of baptism; for as the Gospel was, in a peculiar manner, sent to the Gentiles, they must hear and receive it, before they could be expected to renounce their old prejudices and idolatries, and come into the bonds of the Christian covenant. But, certainly, no argument can be drawn from this concession against the baptism of children. When the Gentiles and Jews had received the faith and blessings of the Gospel, it is natural enough to suppose they should wish to get their children incorporated with the visible Church of Christ; especially if, as many pious and learned men have believed, baptism succeeded to circumcision, which I think has never yet been disproved. The apostles knew well that the Jews not only circumcised the children of proselytes, but also baptized them; and as they now received a commission to teach and proselyte all the nations, and baptize them in the name of the holy Trinity, they must necessarily understand that infants were included: nor could they, the custom of their country being considered, have understood our Lord differently, unless he had, in the most express terms, said that they were not to baptize children, which neither he nor his apostles ever did. And as to the objection, that the baptized were obliged to profess their faith, and that, therefore, only adults should be baptized, there is no weight at all in it; because what is spoken of such refers to those who, only at that period of life, heard the Gospel, and were not born of parents who had been Christians; therefore they could not have been baptized into the Christian faith, forasmuch as no such faith was at their infancy preached in the world. That the children and even infants, of proselytes, were baptized among the Jews, and reputed, in consequence, clean, and partakers of the blessings of the covenant, see proved at large by Wetstein, in his note on Matthew 3:16. See Clarke’s note on “Matthew 3:6”, and particularly see Clarke “Mark 16:16”. In the name of the Father, &c.] Baptism, properly speaking, whether administered by dipping or sprinkling, signifies a full and eternal consecration of the person to the service and honour of that Being in whose name it is administered; but this consecration can never be made to a creature; therefore the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are not creatures. Again, baptism is not made in the name of a quality or attribute of the Divine nature; therefore the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are not qualities or attributes of the Divine nature. The orthodox, as they are termed, have generally considered this text as a decisive proof of the doctrine of the holy Trinity: and what else can they draw from it? Is it possible for words to convey a plainer sense than these do? And do they not direct every reader to consider the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as three distinct persons? “But this I can never believe.” I cannot help that-you shall not be persecuted by me for differing from my opinion. I cannot go over to you; I must abide by what I believe to be the meaning of the Scriptures. Dr. Lightfoot has some good thoughts on this commission given to the apostles:-

“I. Christ commands them to go and baptize the nations: but how much time was past before such a journey was taken! And when the time was now come that this work should be begun, Peter doth not enter upon it without a previous admonition given him from heaven. And this was occasioned hereby, that, according to the command of Christ, the Gospel was first to be preached to Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.

“II. He commands them to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; but among the Jews, they baptized only in the name of Jesus. See Acts 2:38; 8:16; 19:5. For this reason, that thus the baptizers might assert, and the baptized confess, Jesus to be the true Messias; which was chiefly controverted by the Jews. Of the same nature is that apostolic blessing, Grace and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Where then is the Holy Ghost? He is not excluded, however he be not named. The Jews did more easily consent to the Spirit of the Messias, which they very much celebrate, than to the person of the Messias. Above all others they deny and abjure Jesus of Nazareth. It belonged to the apostles, therefore, the more earnestly to assert Jesus (to be the Messias) by how much the more vehemently they opposed him: which being once cleared, the acknowledging of the Spirit of Christ would be introduced without delay or scruple. Moses, (in Exodus 6:14,) going about to reckon up all the tribes of Israel, goes no farther than the tribe of Levi; and takes up with that to which his business and story at that present related. In like manner, the apostles, for the present, baptize in the name of Jesus, and bless in the name of the Father and of Jesus, that thereby they might more firmly establish the doctrine of Jesus, which met with such sharp and virulent opposition; which doctrine being established among them, they would soon agree about the Holy Ghost.

“III. Among the Jews, the controversy was about the true Messias; among the Gentiles, about the true God. It was therefore proper among the Jews to baptize in the name of Jesus, that he might be vindicated to be the true Messias. Among the Gentiles, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that they might be hereby instructed in the doctrine of the true God.-Let this be particularly noted.

“IV. The Jews baptized proselytes into the name of the Father, that is, into the profession of God, whom they called by the name of Father. The apostles baptize the Jews into the name of Jesus the Son, and the Gentiles, into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

“V. The Father hath revealed himself in the old covenant; the Son in the new; in human flesh by his miracles, doctrine, resurrection and ascension; the Holy Ghost in his gifts and miracles. Thus the doctrine of the ever blessed Trinity grew by degrees to full maturity. For the arriving to the acknowledgment of which, it was incumbent upon all who professed the true God to be three in one to be baptized into his name.” LIGHTFOOT’S Works, vol. ii. p. 274.

Verse 19. Go ye therefore, and teach — Greek, maqhteusate, disciple, or make disciples of, or, as Dr. Doddridge renders it, proselyte all nations. This includes the whole design of Christ’s commission. Baptizing and teaching are the two great branches of that general design: and these were to be determined by the circumstances of things; which made it necessary, in baptizing adult Jews or heathen, to teach them before they were baptized; in disciplining their children, to baptize them before they were taught, as the Jewish children in all ages were first circumcised, and after taught to do all God had commanded them. It must be observed, that the word rendered teaching, in the next verse, (namely, didaskontev,) though in our translation confounded with the word used in this verse, yet is a word of a very different sense: and properly implies instructing, which the word used in this verse does not necessarily imply, but, as has been observed, merely to proselyte, or make disciples. The argument, therefore, that some draw from this verse, as if our Lord enjoined all to be taught before they were to be baptized, is without foundation. Our Lord’s words, taken together, in both verses, distinctly enjoin three things, and that in the following order, maqhteuein, bartizein, didaskein, that is, to proselyte men to Christ, to baptize, and to teach them. It is true, however, that adult persons, before they can be made Christ’s disciples, or be proselyted, must be instructed and brought to believe the great essential truths of Christianity, and even to profess their faith in them. But the case is different with infants, who may be admitted to baptism, as the children of the Jews were to the rite of circumcision, and be instructed afterward. And, as Dr. Doddridge justly observes, if Christ had sent out these missionaries to propagate Judaism in the world, he might have used the same, or similar language: “Go and proselyte all nations, circumcising them in the name of the God of Israel, and teaching them to observe all that Moses commanded.” The whole tenor of the succeeding books of the New Testament shows, that Christ designed, by this commission, that the gospel should be preached to all mankind without exception; not only to the Jews, but to the idolatrous Gentiles: but the prejudices of the apostles led them, at first, to mistake the sense of it, and to imagine that it referred only to their going to preach the gospel to the Jews among all nations, or to those who should be willing to become Jews.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, &c. — Concerning the general nature of baptism, see note on Matthew 3:6. But we are here instructed respecting the appropriation of this institution to the Christian dispensation, in its most complete form. The apostles, and their successors in the ministry of the word, are ordered to baptize those whom they made Christ’s disciples, eiv to onoma, into the name, (not names,) of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — Words which have been considered, in all ages of the Christian Church, as a most decisive proof of the doctrine of the Trinity; implying not only the proper personality and Deity of the Father, but also those of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For it would be absurd to suppose that either a mere creature, or a mere quality, or mode of existence of the Deity, should be joined with the Father in the one name into which all Christians are baptized. “To be baptized into the name of any one implies a professed dependance on him, and devoted subjection to him; to be baptized, therefore, into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, implies a professed dependance on these three divine persons, jointly and equally, and a devoting of ourselves to them as worshippers and servants. This is proper and obvious, upon the supposition of the mysterious unity of three coequal persons in the unity of the Godhead; but not to be accounted for upon any other principles.” — Scott. “Our Lord,” says Mr. Fletcher, “enjoining us to be equally baptized in the name (equally consecrated to the service) of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaches us to honour the Son as we honour the Father, and to honour the Holy Ghost as we do the Son; and when the Socinians assert that the Son is a mere man, they indirectly tell us, that he is as improperly joined with the Father to be the great object of our faith in baptism, as a taper would improperly be joined with the sun to enlighten the universe. And when they represent the Holy Ghost as a mere power, and a power whereby we must not now hope to be influenced, they might as well tell us, that he is as unfit to have a place among the — Three who bear record in heaven; as their power of motion, or the energy of their minds, would be absurdly mentioned as parties in a contract, where their names and persons are particularly specified. — Thus, they take from us the two Comforters, with whom we are particularly blessed under the gospel. If we believe them, the one is a mere man, who cannot hear us; and the other is a mere property, or an unconscious energy, by which we shall be no way benefited, and as insensible to our faith as to our unbelief: and when our Lord bids all nations to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, (if the word Son do not mean the proper Son of God; if it mean only, the son of the carpenter, Joseph, and if the Holy Ghost be only the Father’s energy, and an energy whereby we can neither be quickened nor comforted,) this gospel charter is far more extraordinary than would be the royal patents by which gentlemen are created lords, if they all began thus: Be it enacted, in the name, or by the supreme authority, of King George the Third, of Josiah the carpenter’s son, and of the royal power or energy, that A.B., Esq., be numbered among the peers of the realm. Such is the wisdom displayed by philosophers, who call the divinity of the Son the leading corruption of Christianity, and who pretend to reform all the Reformed Churches!” See his Works, vol. 9. p. 26, octavo edit. Though perhaps, we ought not to assert that the use of these very words is essential to Christian baptism, yet surely, as Dr. Doddridge observes, “the expression must intimate the necessity of some distinct regard to each of the Sacred Three, which is always to be maintained in the administration of this ordinance; and consequently it must imply, that more was said to those of whose baptism we read in the Acts than is there recorded, before they were admitted to it. The Christian Church, in succeeding ages, has acted a wise and safe part in retaining these words; and they contain so strong an intimation that each of these persons is properly called God, and that worship is to be paid, and glory ascribed to each, that I cannot but hope they will be a means of maintaining the belief of the one, and the practice of the other, among the generality of Christians, to the end of the world.”

Ver. 19. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations. Whatever I have said in private conversations, or in the public ministry, that proclaim as from the house-top. He that heareth your sayings, heareth mine. Unfold all the grace of ordinances, and all the cares of discipline, that with an enlightened mind and a willing heart, they may come to baptism, and make an open profession of my name. These words, as joined with others spoken at this time, mark the sovereignty of Christ in heaven to confer the power; and the sovereignty of Christ on earth to remove the sentence of darkness from the gentiles.

Baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Philosophy, now offered to us as a substitute for the bible, has no hidingplace here. De Rossi can find no variations in manuscripts reputed ancient. The three hypostases or triune nature of Deity is here declared. The true sense of the Elohim, as in the prophets, shines out. Christ is the Son of God; the Word, the Wisdom, the arm or power of Jehovah. The Spirit is the breath of his mouth. Psalm 33:6. 110:1. Proverbs 8:22. 30:4. Isaiah 49. 63. The Saviour declares his omnipresence and eternity, when he adds, Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world. As to the nature of baptism, and designations of the ordinance, Matthew Poole speaks thus.

“(1) It distinguishes the professors of christianity from the heathen world.

(2) It is an introduction into the church, and by consequence a privilege.

(3) It is a seal of the divine truth of the covenant, or the promises.” Romans 4:11. See Dr. Wall on Infant Baptism.

On the practice of baptism, this author also adds, “that children are included in the covenant, being part of their parents, as Levi paid tithes in the loins of Abraham. Genesis 17. It was always the practice of the jews to baptize the children of heathen parents, and the gentiles devoted their children to idols by lustrations.”

Irenæus speaking of Christ, says, “As he was a master, he had also the age of a master, not disdaining, nor walking in a higher path than human nature, nor violating in his own person the laws prescribed to mankind, but hallowed all its ages by the resemblance they have to himself; for he came to save all persons by himself. By all, I mean all who are by him regenerated to God; viz. infants, little ones, children, youths, and aged persons. Therefore he passed the several ages; — for infants, he was made an infant, sanctifying infancy. For little ones, he was made a little one, sanctifying those of early age, by giving them an example of piety, justice, and filial obedience. To young men, he was the pattern of youth,” finishing his course in the meridian of his days.

The whole of this parting scene is full of grace, full of majesty, and of celestial glory. See more on Mark 16:15.

19. Go ye therefore — Therefore, that is, because all power is given unto me. Being, as I am now, the fountain of all authority; crowned, as I now am, with a rightful dominion, go forth and win it to a willing subjection by grace. All nations — Both organically and individually. Teach — Literally, Disciple them. And he shows how: First, by baptizing them into the faith, and then teaching. Of course, if they are at responsible age, they must become willing subjects of a true conversion. And a true baptism cannot take place unless the subject be a justified person, either by faith, or, as an infant, without faith. As infants are a large part of all nations, they are to be discipled by baptism, and subsequent teaching as soon as susceptible of it. Upon this we may remark, 1. That our Lord here adds baptism to the Lord’s Supper as permanent institutes of the Christian Church. He is commissioning his apostles to preach among all nations. He is confirming them in their duty to that effect by a promise that shows that he is commissioning to the end of the world. To the end of the world their commission includes baptism. 2. Baptism, being the first part of the process of disciplining, is the proper initiating rite into the Christian Church. It is to circumcision what the Lord’s Supper is to the passover — the substitution of a milder rite to answer the same purpose. 3. As baptism and the Lord’s Supper are obligatory institutions in the Christian Church, binding upon every individual Christian, so it is the obligation of every Christian to be a member of the visible Church of God. There are those who imagine that they can be good Christians just as well without the Church as in. Such persons are probably self-deceived. They imagine to themselves a religion which does not intend to obey the plain commands of Christ. So far as they are concerned, the ordinances of Christ would perish. The death of Christ would never be commemorated. A piety of so loose a kind is never-likely to save the soul.

In regard to the inclusion of all nations, we may remark that it includes the idea that all nations, and every creature, as another evangelist expresses it, shall be discipled, baptized, and taught. As Christ is a universal Saviour, so his Gospel is framed to be a universal Gospel, and his religion a universal religion. It knows no distinction of race, clime, or colour. It belongs to man, and holds that humanity is a unit; and claiming to be a blessing for all, and to possess a right over all, it designs to spread that blessing and assert that right.

Verse 19. Teach all nations. — Make disciples of all nations; which means, instruct them in the faith, and persuade them to the belief and reception of it; for how else should men be made disciples but by instructing them in the doctrine held out to their acceptance?

Baptizing them, &c. — So that instruction as to those capable of it, which is manifestly implied, must precede baptism; this being a rational ordinance to be submitted to on knowledge and conviction, and not that to which it has often been debased, something little better than a superstitious charm and ceremony.

On this great rite it may be remarked,

1. That it is of universal obligation; all who are made disciples are to be baptized.

2. That it is designed as a public profession of faith in the trinity in unity; that is, in the Deity as revealed in the Holy Scriptures; the doctrine of which, that there is one Divine essence, and that “in the unity of this Godhead there are three persons of one substance, power, and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;” which profession of faith is also an acknowledgment of their various rights, relations, and offices, and of entire submission to them.

3. That it is the initiatory rite by which we enter the covenant of grace. The old covenant had circumcision for its initiatory rite; and if Christian baptism is not to be regarded as taking its place, then has this new and better covenant no initiatory rite at all, since the Lord’s supper is not initiatory, but of regular and habitual observance. But as the entrance into the Jewish Church was by circumcision, so the entrance into the Christian Church is by baptism. Hence its administration is here prescribed to those who are made disciples, and as such disposed to become formally the members of Christ’s Church. Hence it derives its federal or covenant character, and is rightly considered as a mystery or sacrament. Of the blessings of this covenant it is the SIGN, holding forth the washing away of sin, and the pouring out of the Holy Ghost; and it is the SEAL, inasmuch as, being administered under the command of Christ, it is a constant PLEDGE of his unchangeably gracious intentions to those that believe and are baptized; while our submission to this rite is that act by which we accept and make ourselves parties to this covenant of grace and salvation, claiming its blessings, and binding ourselves to fulfil its conditions.

4. The rite of baptism, instituted by Christ, differs both from that of John and that which was administered by the disciples of Jesus before his resurrection. John baptized into a belief of the speedy appearing of Messiah; the disciples in the name of Jesus, which was a profession of faith in him as the Messiah; but the rite as instituted by our Lord, was baptism in the name, into the name, of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, — into the belief and worship of the triune God as above stated, including faith in the incarnation and offices of the Son, and the offices and operations of the Holy Spirit. All these are the objects of distinct profession, and where these are not acknowledged there can be no truly Christian baptism; men stumble at the very threshold, and cannot enter into the Church of God and covenant of grace.

5. Baptism is therefore a standing testimony to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and the offices of each person in the economy of redemption. the name is ONE, not names; the persons, THREE, each of whom is manifestly represented as coequal, because the common objects of trust, obedience, and worship, and the source of blessing. Thus is the absolute unity and the Divine character of that sacred Three unequivocally marked, in a rite by which they become our ONE and ONLY God, and we become HIS people. It has been questioned whether these words prescribe the formula to be used in baptism, or merely express the end and intention of the rite. If the former, the latter is necessarily included in it as its reason; but should the latter only have been intended by our Lord, yet when used as a formula, they do no more than audibly declare the real import of the rite, which is never truly performed but when the trinity in unity, with the relations and glories of each of the three persons as revealed in the Scriptures, is acknowledged. Nothing therefore can be so proper as the use of words which publicly declare the intention of the rite; and it may be traced up to the first ages of the Christian Church. Arguments for and against the baptism of infants have been deduced from these words. “How,” say some, “are all nations to be baptized, if children are to be excluded?” “How,” says the antipædo-baptist, “should children be included, if baptism is to follow instruction and believing?” The truth is, that adults could only be spoken of in the text; and the right of the children of believers rests on other grounds, and may be sufficiently established by them.

Verse 20. Teaching them to observe all things] Men are ignorant of Divine things, and must be taught. Only those can be considered as proper teachers of the ignorant who are thoroughly instructed in whatsoever Christ has commanded. Persons who are entrusted with the public ministry of the word should take care that they teach not human creeds and confessions of faith, in place of the Sacred Writings; but those things, and those only, which Jesus has commanded.

And, lo, I am with you alway] kai idou egw mequmwn eimi pasav tav hmerav-literally, Behold, I am with you every day. A minister of Christ should consider, that while his soul simply and uniformly follows Jesus, he shall be made a constant instrument of bringing many sons and daughters to glory. The dark, it is true, must be enlightened, the ignorant instructed, the profligate reclaimed, the guilty justified, and the unholy sanctified; and who is sufficient for this work? HE with whom the Son of God is EVERY DAY, and none other.

Unto the end of the world.] Some translate, ewv thv sunteleiav tou aiwnov, to the end of this age; meaning the apostolic age, or Jewish dispensation; and then they refer the promise of Christ’s presence to the working of miracles, and explain this by Mark 16:17-19. By my name they shall cast out demons, &c., &c. But though the words are used in this sense in several places, see Matthew 13:39, 40, Matthew 13:49; 24:3, yet it is certain they were repeatedly used among the primitive ecclesiastical writers to denote the consummation of all things; and it is likely that this is the sense in which they are used here, which the Anglo-Saxon has happily expressed: [Anglo-Saxon]-And I, be with you all days, until world ending; and this is indispensably necessary, because the presence and influence of Jesus Christ are essentially requisite in every age of the world, to enlighten, instruct, and save the lost. The promise takes in not only the primitive apostles, but also all their successors in the Christian ministry, as long as the earth shall endure.

Amen.] This word is omitted by some of the oldest and most authentic MSS., and by some versions and fathers. When it is considered that the word amen simply means so be it! we may at once perceive that it could not be added by our Lord. For our Lord could not pray that his own will might be done, or his own promise fulfilled. The word is, therefore, utterly impertinent as a part of the sacred text, and could neither have been added by our Lord, nor by the evangelist. The amens at the end of the sacred books have no other authority than what they derive from the transcribers of copies; and, at best, are only to be considered as the pious wish of the writer, or of the Church, that the promises contained in the sacred volume may be accomplished. Indeed, it seems often to have no other meaning than our finis at the end of our books.

In the MSS. and versions there are various subscriptions, or epigraphs, to this Gospel: the following are the principal:-

“The Gospel according to Matthew-written by him in Jerusalem-in Palestine-in the east-in the Hebrew dialect-in Hebrew-eight years after the ascension of Christ-interpreted by John-by James the brother of the Lord.”

The subscription in some copies of the Arabic version is very full: “The end of the copy of the Gospel of Matthew the Apostle. He wrote it in the land of Palestine, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the Hebrew tongue, eight years after the bodily ascension of Jesus the Messiah into heaven, in the first year of the reign of Claudius Cæsar, king of Rome.” These are sufficient to show how little credit should be attached to the subscriptions found at the end of the sacred books, either in the MSS., or in the versions.

1. IN concluding my notes on this evangelist, I cannot express myself better than in the words of the late Mr. Wakefield, to whom this commentary has been in many instances indebted. “I have now finished my observations on the Gospel of Matthew: a piece of history, it must be acknowledged, the most singular in its composition, the most wonderful in its contents, and the most important in its object, that was ever exhibited to the notice of mankind. For simplicity of narrative, and an artless relation of facts, without any applause or censure, or digressive remarks, on the part of the historian, upon the characters introduced in it; without any intermixture of his own opinion, upon any subject whatsoever; and for a multiplicity of internal marks of credibility, this Gospel certainly has no parallel among human productions.”

2. One thing the pious and intelligent reader has, no doubt, already noticed: there is not one truth, or doctrine, in the whole oracles of God, which is not taught in this evangelist. The outlines of the whole spiritual system are here correctly laid down: even Paul himself has added nothing; he has amplified and illustrated the truths contained in this Gospel; but, even under the direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost, neither he nor any other of the apostles have brought to light any one truth, the prototype of which has not been found in the words or acts of our blessed Lord, as related by Matthew, in the work which has already passed under review. The Gospel by St. Matthew is the grand text-book of Christianity; the other Gospels are collateral evidences of its truth, and the apostolic epistles are comments on the text. In the commencement of this work, I stated my wish, “to assist my fellow labourers in the vineyard to lead men to HIM who is the fountain of all excellence, goodness, truth, and happiness;-to magnify his LAW, and make it honourable;-to show the wonderful provision made in his GOSPEL for the recovery and salvation of a sinful world;-to prove that God’s great design is to make his creatures HAPPY; and that such a salvation as it becomes God to give, and such as man needs to receive, is within the grasp of every human soul.”--General Preface, before Genesis. And having thus far done what I could, in reference to these great and important purposes, here I register my thanks to the ever-blessed God, Father, Word, and Holy Spirit, that he has permitted me to cast my mite into this sacred treasury, to add my feeble testimony to his Eternal Truth; and has spared me, in the midst of many infirmities and oppressive labours, to see the conclusion of this Gospel, a consummation which I had long devoutly wished, but which I had scarcely hoped ever to see realized. May the Divine Author of this sacred book give the reader a heart-felt experience of all the truths it contains; make and keep him wise unto salvation; build him up in this most holy faith; and give him an inheritance among the blessed, through Christ Jesus, the Friend of mankind, and the Saviour of sinners, who is the object and end of this glorious system of truth! And to Him, with the Father and Eternal Spirit, be glory and dominion, thanksgiving and obedience, for ever and ever, Amen and amen!

Verse 20. Teaching them to observe all things, &c. — Here we have, 1st, The duty of the apostles and ministers of Christ, which is, to teach his disciples to observe all things that he has commanded; that is, they must instruct them in all the doctrines and precepts taught by Christ, and inculcate upon them the necessity of understanding and believing the former, and obeying the latter; and must assist them in applying Christ’s general commands to particular cases. They must teach them, not their own or any man’s fancies and inventions, but the truths and institutions of Christ; to them they must religiously adhere, and in the knowledge of them must train up his followers. As Christ does not here command any thing to be taught which he himself had not taught, we may infer that every thing fundamental and essential to salvation may be found in the gospels, and that even the apostles themselves had not a right to teach any thing as necessary to salvation which Christ himself had not asserted to be so. 2d, The duty of Christ’s disciples, of all that are dedicated to him in baptism; they must observe all things whatsoever that he has commanded, and in order thereto, must submit to the teaching of those whom he sends. Our admission into the visible church is in order to something further; namely, our being prepared for and employed in his service. By our baptism we are obliged, 1st, To make the doctrines of Christ the rule of our faith, and his commands the directory of our practice. We are under the law to Christ, and must obey, and in all our obedience must have an eye to the command, and do what we do as unto the Lord. 2d, To observe all things that he hath commanded without exception; all the moral duties, and all the instituted ordinances. Our obedience to the laws of Christ is not sincere if it be not universal; we must stand complete in his whole will. And, lo, I am with you alway — Here our Lord gives his apostles, and all the ministers of his gospel, truly sent by him, an assurance of his spiritual presence with them in the execution of this commission unto the end of time; and this exceeding great and precious promise he ushers in with idou, Lo! or behold! to strengthen their faith and engage their regard to it. As if he had said, Take notice of this; it is what you may assure yourselves of and rely upon. “I am with you; I, the eternal Son of God; I, who have the angels at my command, and make the devils tremble by my frown; I, who in your sight have caused the storms to cease, the blind to see, the lame to walk, the dead to rise, only with the word of my mouth; I, who have all power in heaven and earth committed to me — am with you; not, I will be with you, but, I am with you, and that alway, Gr. pasav tav hmerav, all the days, or every day: Wheresoever you are, and whensoever you do any thing toward the executing of the commission which I have given you, I am with you in the doing of it, and that too to the very end of the world: that is, so long as I have a church upon earth, which shall be till my coming again to judge the world, all this while I promise to be with you, and consequently as long as the world shall last.” — Bishop Beveridge, On Christ’s Presence with his Ministers. Some would translate ewv thv sonteleiav tou aiwnov, until the conclusion of the age; understanding by the expression the dissolution of the Jewish state. But as Christ’s presence with his surviving apostles and other ministers was as necessary after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish commonwealth, as before these events, nothing can be more unreasonable than to limit these words by such an interpretation. Nor indeed can they with any propriety be interpreted in any other than the most extensive sense; the influence of Christ’s Spirit being essentially necessary to the success of the gospel in every age and nation; and our Lord, in the last discourse which he delivered to his disciples before his passion, having graciously promised it, saying, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter to abide with you; eov ton aiwna, for ever. Our Lord could not mean that this other Comforter should abide merely with the persons to whom he then spoke, they being to die quickly: but that he should abide with them during their lives, and with their successors afterward; or with them and all the ministers of the gospel in the several ages of the church; with all to whom this commission extends; with all, that, being duly called and sent, thus baptize and thus teach. When the end of the world is come, and the kingdom is delivered up to God even the Father, there will then be no further need of ministers and their ministration; but till then they shall continue, and the great intentions of the institution shall be answered. This is a most encouraging word to all the faithful ministers of Christ; that what was said to the apostles was, and is, said to them all. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. May this gracious promise cause us to gird up the loins of our minds, and increase our zeal, fervour, and diligence; inducing us to account no labour too great, no service too much, no suffering too severe, so that we may but finish our course with joy, and fulfil the ministry we are engaged in!

Two solemn farewells we find our Lord Jesus giving to his church; and his parting word at both of them is very encouraging; one was here, when he closed up his personal converse with them, and then his parting word was, Lo, I am with you alway; I leave you, yet still I am with you. The other was, when he closed up the canon of the Scripture by the pen of his beloved disciple, and then his parting word was, Surely I come quickly. I leave you for awhile, but I will be with you again shortly, Revelation 22:20. By this it appears that his love to his church continues the same, though she is deprived of his visible and bodily presence; and that it is his will we should maintain both our communion with him, and our expectation of him. The word amen, with which this gospel concludes, is wanting in four MSS., and in the Vulgate, Coptic, and Armenian versions. It is probable, however, that it was inserted by the evangelist, not only as an intimation of the conclusion of his book, but as an asseveration of the certain truth of the things contained in it. And, considering the connection of the word with the preceding promise, which was undoubtedly the greatest strength and joy of St. Matthew’s heart: “it is very natural,” says Dr. Doddridge, “to suppose that it has some such reference as this to that promise: ‘Amen! blessed Jesus, — so may it indeed be; and may this important promise be fulfilled to us and to our successors to the remotest ages, in its full extent!’ St. John uses the like term in more express language, in the last verse but one of the Revelation: Surely I come quickly, Amen! Even so come, Lord Jesus.”

20. Lo, I am with you — That is, with the ministry he commissions. From which we infer three things: 1. That there is an order of men commissioned by Christ to continue, by some sort of succession, to the end of the world.

2. We have a test by which the Church and the world can estimate a true ministry. Christ is with them. If Christ be not with them they are not in the true succession, however well signed their ministerial diploma or well traced their ordination pedigree. Ordaining hands cannot convey by a mechanical or muscular conductor the presence of Christ. To test whether the presence of Christ be with them, our Saviour gives a new rule: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” A wicked minister can never, therefore, be in Christ’s true succession. 3. We have a blessed promise for the truly commissioned minister. Christ’s presence is with him! And for a holy ministry collectively, whose duty is to convert the world, Christ’s presence is with them in the length and breadth of that great enterprise. Unto the end of the world — The word here is aiwn and not kosmov. The latter signifies the world more properly as a material fabric; the former refers more to the living world. It is often equivalent to age, or dispensation. It here signifies the present human system, the living world. It is equivalent, then, in duration, to the sacramental promise: “Ye do show forth the Lord’s death until he come.” 1 Corinthians 11:26. Note to Matthew 8:2, page 107.

That Matthew places the healing of the leper in its true chronological position appears probable from the following considerations: 1. Mark’s account does not assign it any place or date. Luke gives no chronological sign, but says (and this is the only reason for questioning Matthew’s chronology) it was “when he was in a certain city;” or more literally, When he was in one of their cities. But by Matthew’s account Jesus was on his way from the Mount to Capernaum, which was one of their cities. He may have arrived at the precincts of that city before the leper could acquire courage to come forth and state his case, and the miracle be performed in the presence of the multitudes. 2. The words of Matthew imply the immediate succession of the three points, namely, that Jesus came down; that the multitudes followed him toward Capernaum; and that the leper came from the crowds. 3. It seems not only most appropriate, but most natural, and apparently the writer’s intention, to view the miracle as a confirmation of the sermon; and therefore occurring immediately after it. Note to Matthew 10:28, page 135.

“The valley of the son of Hinnom,” (Joshua 15:8,) so called from some unknown person in very early times, running east and west, intersects the Kedron at the southeast corner of the city. At this place the idolatrous Israelites “burnt their children in the fire” (Jeremiah 7:31) unto Moloch, a deity represented by a brass image with the face of a bull. The drum (toph) which was used to drown the cry of the victim gave the place the name of Tophet, (Jeremiah 19:6.) The deep “gorge” of Gehenna (as its Greek name is written) is described by Prof. Hackett as “almost terrific.” “A wall of frowning rocks and precipices hangs over us on the left, and the southern extremity of Zion rises so steeply on the right that one must almost look up into the zenith in order to scale the top of it with the eye… I found myself oppressed, at length, with a feeling so desolate and horror-stricken, that it was a relief to get through with my task, and come forth where I could see and hear again the sights and sounds of a living world.” The name of this ancient gloomy yet fiery recess was fifty used to designate hell.

Verse 20. Teaching them to observe, &c. — To make disciples implies, as above observed, teaching, in order to knowledge and faith; but this is elementary teaching, and is not intended to supersede the more copious and constant teaching which is to succeed baptism. A stronger word, didaskw, is therefore used; and the object of this patient and official instruction assigned to ministers is, to lead the baptized to OBSERVE all things whatsoever I have commanded you, — to practise universal obedience without separating one duty from another, and to do this perseveringly to the end of life. Thus we have the threefold end of the Christian ministry, to convert men to the faith, by making them disciples of Christ, to bring them to a public profession and cordial reception of it by baptism, and to train them up to the practice of universal holiness, as their preparation for heaven.

And, lo, I am with you, &c. — As no men had so high a work assigned them as the conversion and sanctification of men, so these words reminded them of two great truths: that it was not a work of man but of God, so that the Divine invisible presence of Christ with them was necessary to their success; and also that his presence should be ever with his faithful ministers both to aid and comfort them, and to give efficacy to their labours. Alway. — Pasav tav hmerav, all the days, that is daily, or constantly, without interruption.

Unto the end of the world. — Unto the consummation of all things; which shows that the ministry was to be perpetuated throughout all time, and that the words of Christ in these verses were not addressed to the apostles only, but to their successors throughout all full ages.

Amen. — This was either added by Christ in confirmation of his promise, or by the evangelist to express his joyful concurrence and earnest wish.