18.

Isai. 48.2.

& 52. 1. ch. 27. 53.

5 Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy A. D. 27. city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, b Neh. 11 1, 6 and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Psalm 91. 11, 12.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Deut. 6. 16.

8 Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

Rev. 11. 2.

'soul's food, they stand first, and the wants of the body I leave to God.' We are at once reminded here of our Lord's words at Jacob's well, "I "have meat to eat that ye know not of," and "My meat is to do the will "of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (St. John iv. 32, 34.).

5. "Pinnacle." This was probably the top of the high porch to the Temple which looked to the East, and overhung the valley of Jehoshaphat and the brook Cedron (See on xxi. 1.). The devil seems to have been permitted to have power over our Lord's Body, so as to carry Him where he could best present his temptation.

6. "If Thou be" &c. The second temptation is of a higher and more refined sort than the first. That was a temptation to satisfy the wants of the body by a needless miracle. This is a temptation to try and prove God's power and love by a needless exposure to danger. To have cast Himself down, as the devil desired, would have been in our Lord the act of spiritual pride and presumption. See how Satan himself can quote Scripture for his own bad ends. The beautiful promise in the 91st Psalm is plainly meant to comfort and encourage those who are in danger. It is not meant to embolden men to rush into danger. The devil often tempts by suggesting the blessed promises of God's word to those who have no right to rely on them. In the present case it is remarkable that he omits the very words which give the true meaning of the promise, namely, "to keep thee in all thy ways," that is, 'as 'thou goest in the ways appointed for thee.'

7. "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." That is, thou shalt not try God's forbearance by a false and presumptuous trust in Him. We must guard against supposing our Lord to use these words of Satan's temptation of Him. Moses used them of the Israelites trying God's patience by their sinful murmurings.

8. "Again, the devil taketh Him" &c. The third temptation is that of worldly greatness and glory. St. Luke tells us that the devil shewed our Lord "all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time"; which proves that it was a vision, rather than any real scene, which he displayed before Him. We find also from St. Luke's account that the devil, who is "a liar from the beginning," claimed the power to bestow all the earthly power and glory which he shewed. Though indeed prince of this world in its evil, yet he had no power to fulfil this boastful promise. How often does the devil tempt in like manner now. How often does

Á. D. 27.

9 and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thзe, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.

с

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Josh. 24.14. Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.

1 Sam. 7. 3.

d Heb. 1. 14.

A. D. 28.

Deut. 6. 13. & 10. 20.

11 Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.

e

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was 2nd Year 2 cast into prison, He departed into Galilee;

of our Lord's life.

e Luke 3. 20.

13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in &4.14, 31. Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borJohn 4. 43. ders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

2 Or,

delivered up. 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

he promise wealth or power or pleasure or fame by a little compliance with his will, a little serving of him instead of God.

Observe how our Lord's threefold temptation answers to the threefold description of sin given by St. John, "the lust of the flesh, and the lust "of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 St. John ii. 16.); the order of these words being that of the temptations as given by St. Luke. Again mark how the three temptations answer to the three enemies against which we are all pledged to fight,-the world, the flesh, and the devil. For as the first temptation had its power through the flesh, and the third through the world, so the second was a temptation specially befitting the devil himself, as being of a more entirely spiritual nature.

11. "Angels came and ministered unto Him." To minister to another means to serve and wait upon him. Probably these angels brought Him food.

12-25. Jesus returns to Galilee, calls His first disciples, and begins His public ministry.

13. "Capernaum." A large and important town at the north-west corner of the beautiful lake known as the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord left Nazareth, where He had been brought up, to dwell at Capernaum, because He was rejected by the people of Nazareth (see St. Luke iv. 28-31.), and possibly also in part because Nazareth was a small place, and at Capernaum more people would hear His teaching and witness His

12. Considerable space of time must be allowed for between the temptation and the imprisonment of St. John the Baptist. St. Matthew probably passes on quickly to those events of which he had been an eye-witness, and which he therefore was the more fitted to relate. The history which lies between the eleventh and twelfth verses here will be found in the earlier chapters of

St. John's gospel (See Note on St. John iv. 3.).

"John was cast into prison." For the account of this see xiv. 3-12.

Departed." We do not know where Jesus was when He thus departed, whether in Judæa, or, as some suppose, at Sychar, where He spent two days after His conversation with the Samaritan

woman.

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Neph- A. D. 28, thalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles;

Isai. 42. 7.

16 the people which sat in darkness saw Luke 2. 32. great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Isai. 9. 1, 2. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his bro-h ther, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

ch. 3. 2.

& 10. 7.

John 1. 42.

miracles. We read that our Lord was dwelling at Capernaum at the time when He was asked for the tribute money (xvii. 25.), and Capernaum is also called "His own city" (ix. 1.).

15. "The land of Zabulon, &c." The tribes of Zabulon and Nephthalim met on the borders of the Sea of Galilee. This portion of the land was the first which was carried away into captivity by the Assyrians (See 2 Kings xv. 29.). From that time it lay for long in darkness, both as to temporal and as to spiritual things. But Isaiah comforts the people by the prophecy of a great outpouring of light on this very region, which was indeed fulfilled when the "Sun of righteousness" arose unto them "with healing in His wings."

18. "The sea of Galilee." This is a beautiful fresh-water lake, about. thirteen miles in length, bounding Galilee on the east. The river Jordan flows through this lake, entering it at the northern and leaving it at the southern end. It is also called the Lake of Gennesareth, Sea of Tiberias, and Sea of Chinnereth, from places on its shore. The trade of fishing was largely carried on in its waters. It is subject to severe gusts of wind, which blow through the valleys in the surrounding hills.

"Called Peter." This name, which means 'Rock,' or 'Stone,' was given to Simon by our Lord when he was first brought to Him by his brother Andrew, as we read in the first chapter of St. John. It was probably given as expressing his boldness and courage; but our Lord at a later time makes a different use of the name (See xvi. 18.).

19. "Follow Me." We must not confound this call of the four disciples to follow Christ with the account given in the first chapter of St. John. That account tells us how they first became disciples of Christ, having before been disciples of St. John the Baptist. They do not seem at that time to have given up their old trade of fishing. We now find them called to cast in their lot more entirely with their Lord, and to leave all to follow Him. We may probably conclude from St. Luke that the first miraculous draught of fishes took place at the time of this fuller calling of the two pairs of brothers. Their ready obedience to Christ's call is set before us as an example for our imitation in the beautiful Collect for St. Andrew's Day.

15." Galilee of the Gentiles." The northern part of Galilee, joining the country of Tyre and Sidon. It was so called because it was in part inhabited by Gentiles,a mixed people of various races having dwelt in it from the time of the captivity.

17. "Repent." See on ch. iii. 2.

66

18. Casting a net &c." This may either be washing their nets (St. Luke v. 2.), or a brief way of saying that they were engaged in their business of fishing.

A. D. 28.

i Mark 10. 28. Luke 18. 28.

k ch. 9. 35.

39.

19 And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.

21 And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in Mark 1.21, their synagogues, and preaching 'the gospel of the kingdom, mand healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Luke 4. 15,

44. 1 ch.24. 14.

m Mark 1. 34.

24 And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were

"Fishers of men." To catch men in the net of the Kingdom of heaven (xiii. 47, 48.). The miracle wrought on this occasion would be a great encouragement to the disciples in their new work. They would doubtless see in it a type of the success with which their Lord would bless their fishing for men. The net of Christ's Kingdom gathers "of "every kind," bad as well as good. Christ's ministers can only spread that net, and stretch it around those whom God would call. When the net is full, it will be drawn to shore, and the good and bad will be separated for ever.

23. "Synagogues." The places of worship among the Jews, answering in some respects to Parish Churches among ourselves. There were synagogues in all the towns and larger villages. We must notice how constantly during the three years of His public ministry our Lord was engaged in teaching, both publicly and privately. He came to be our Prophet, as well as our Priest, and our King. A Prophet was an inspired teacher, one who spoke in God's name. And Christ was the very Word of God. God, who "spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, "hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son" (Heb. i. 1, 2.). That Jesus was allowed to teach and preach in the synagogues shows us that He was looked upon as a religious teacher and leader.

The

Ruler of the Synagogue' had the power to permit any he pleased to read and explain the law. This was generally done by the Rabbis or Doctors, who were trained for the purpose, and admitted to the office by a sort of degree. But it seems from several places that the Jews regarded our Lord and His Apostles as thus qualified, calling them 'Rabbi.' The office of teaching was, among the Jews, kept quite distinct from that of the priesthood. Many were allowed to teach publicly, who had no part in the sacred duties of the priestly office.

"The gospel of the kingdom." That is, the good tidings of the kingdom of heaven,-the good news that the time was come for that kingdom to be set up on the earth (See on St. Luke viii. 1.).

24. "Syria." This was the country joining the Holy Land to the north and east.

taken with divers diseases and torments, and those A. D. 28. which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.

25 "And there followed Him great multitudes of a Mark 3. 7. people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judæa, and from beyond

Jordan.

CHAPTER V.

1 Christ beginneth His sermon in the mount: 3 declaring who are blessed, 13 who are the salt of the earth, 14 the light of the world, the city on an hill, 15 the candle: 17 that He came to fulfil the law. 21 What it is to kill, 27 to commit adultery, 33 to swear: 38 exhorteth to suffer wrong, 44 to love even our enemies, 48 and to labour after perfectness.

a

a

AND ND seeing the multitudes, He went up into a Mark 3. 13. mountain and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him:

2 and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, 3¶Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is

the kingdom of heaven.

CHAPTER V.

b See Ps. 51.

V.-VII. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

St. Luke vi. 17-49.

1, 2. Introduction.

St. Luke vi. 17-20.

17.

Prov. 16. 19.

& 29. 23.

Isai. 57. 15. & 66. 2.

1. "A mountain." We are not told what this mountain was, nor can we for certain tell, though a mountain is pointed out, near the spot where Capernaum probably stood, as the 'Mount of Beatitudes,' which may have been the true site of this great scene. We can hardly help being struck with the fact that, as the old Law was given on a mountain, so the new Law, or rather the new declaring of the Law, was also given on a mountain. That was given in thunders and lightnings and clouds and thick darkness: this in the gentle tones of divine love. That was written on tables of stone; this on the fleshy tables of the heart.

3-12. The Beatitudes.

St. Luke vi. 20-23.

3. "Poor in spirit." Those who think lowlily, humbly, of themselves; the opposite to those who are proud, self-satisfied, self-sufficient. "The kingdom of heaven." This expression is oftenest used, as in chap. xiii., of that kingdom while in its imperfect state on earth. Here it seems used in its widest sense, and would mean not only the privileges and blessings of Christ's kingdom here below, but also the joy and glory of that kingdom hereafter above.

"Possessed with derils." See on viii. 28. 25." Decapolis." This word means 'Ten 'cities,' and was the name of a district on the farther side of the Jordan from Galilee, in which ten towns were situated.

CHAPTER V.

1. The question as to whether the Sermon on the Mount is the same discourse as that related in St. Luke vi. will be considered in that place.