d 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. d 1 Kin. xvii. 10. & xviii. 4. 2 Kin. iv. 8. e ch. xviii. 5, 6. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Head for His "most gracious and ready help," if he realizes that he is the representative, the ambassador of the Son of God, the underpastor of such a Pastor, the under-priest of such an High Priest. 41. "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet" [literally, "into the name," eis rò ovoμa]. Bishop Wordsworth remarks on this : Εἰς τό ὄνομα, is more forcible than ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι. It signifies an inward movement of love to, and, as it were, identification with, the prophet, and consequently a reception of his message into the soul. He who receives a minister of Christ because he is such, and with love and adhesion to Christ the true Prophet, shall partake in the reward of those who turn many to righteousness. .... "A prophet's reward . . . . a righteous man's reward." Because he shows, by his receiving the prophet or righteous man, that he is at one with him, and sympathizes with his work; though he be not able actively to engage in the work, he shall receive the reward due to the prophet or the righteous man: such seems the meaning of the words. 42. "These little ones." He probably here alludes to the Apostles, who, compared with the great and wise ones of this world, were as little children. So, it appears, the Rabbis called their disciples little ones or children. How very emphatic the Saviour is in declaring that He will be in no man's debt for the smallest trifle! Jesus Christ confirms this last promise with [what is to Him] an oath to the end we should not doubt, but that the poorest may exercise works of mercy, and that the least of such works will, sooner or later, be rewarded. CHAP. XI. ND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of A commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. a 2 Now when John had heard 'in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, a Luke vii. 18, 19, &c. b ch. xiv. 3. • Gen. xlix. 10. 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should Num. xxiv. 17. come, or do we look for another? Dan. ix. 24. 2. "He sent two of his disciples." So E., F., G., K., L., M., S., other later Uncials, most Cursives, Vulg., Copt., Eth. But &, B., C., D., Cursives (33, 124), Syriac, read "through," dà instead of do. Old Latin (a, b, c, f, h, k), and Cureton Syriac, simply 'disciples." " " to 1. “And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end . teach and preach in their cities." This seems to have been a journey taken by Himself alone, and it is probable that the words of verse 25 were spoken on the return of the disciples, when they had recounted to our Lord the signs of their success. 2. There are two probable reasons given why St. John the Baptist sent his disciples to Christ with this inquiry: one, that he had failed in attaching his own disciples to Jesus, as he had earnestly desired, and so he sent them to Christ Himself with a somewhat indirect question, which he foresaw that our Lord would answer by appealing to the works which He did, which were foretold in the prophet Isaiah as the tokens of the Messiah. This is the view taken by St. Chrysostom, who argues for it at great length. It is the view most consonant with the witness which St. John bare to our Lord as recorded in St. John's Gospel, particularly in John ch. iii. 25-36; and, above all, with our Lord's testimony to him as an unshaken witness of the truth, as unspotted by the world, and as coming in the spirit and power of Elias. It seems more in accordance with all this to suppose that he made this inquiry through [da] his disciples for their establishment in the faith rather than for his own; and yet, if we hold the more modern supposition, that it was to satisfy his own faith, which wavered somewhat, seeing that he was lying L 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: Is. xxix. 18. & xxxv. 4, 5, 6. & xlii. 7. John ii. 23. & 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame iii. 2. & v. 36. walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, & x. 25, 38. & • Ps. xxii. 26. f Is. vii. 14, 15. 1 Cor. i. 23. & ii. 14. Gal. v. 11. 1 Pet. ii. 8. e the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. in prison unnoticed by Him to Whom he had borne witness, it is only in accordance with the imperfections which the Scriptures discover in all the saints of God. If the faith of Abraham, of Jacob, of Job, of Moses, of St. Peter, was at times imperfect, why should we attribute absolute perfection to that of the Baptist? The evidence in favour of the more ancient view seems, however, to predominate. 5. "The blind receive their sight," &c. St. Luke adds, "in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight." But the sign above all others was, "the poor have the Gospel preached unto them." This, according to the Evangelical prophet, seems to have been the characteristic of the mission of the Messiah. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted-to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 6. "Blessed is he who shall not be offended in me." "Blessed is he who does not take offence because I am not the Messiah whom he expects, but the Messiah whom the prophets have foretold." The "offence of the cross never ceases. First, in our Lord's lifetime it was the offence of a spiritual rather than a carnal Messiah; then it was the offence of having to believe in One crucified; now it is the offence of having to take up the cross after Him, and "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts." 7. "As they departed." Lest they should think that in these last words He had cast any slight on the Baptist, He now ets forth the dignity of the man and the greatness of his mission. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? & Luke vii. 24. Eph. iv. 14. 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? say unto you, and more than a prophet. k 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. yea, I i ch. xiv. 5. & xxi. 26. Luke i. 76. & vii. 26. k Mal. iii. 1. Mark i. 2. Luke i. 76, & vii. 27. 7, 8. "To see" represents a different Greek word in each of these verses. Alford translates the first, "gaze upon." 9. "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet ?" So C., D., E., F., G., K., L., M., other later Uncials, almost all Cursives, &c.; but N, B., "Wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet?" 7. It has been suggested that under the figures of the reed shaken with the wind, He alludes to the reeds on the banks of Jordan, where the Baptist preached; and by the "men in soft raiment," the courtiers of Herod. John was no hunter after popularity who framed his teaching to catch the ears of the fickle multitudes, much less was he a time-server, laying himself out to please such a great man as Herod. He could not even be classed amongst the Prophets. He was far more than a prophet. He was as one from the dead. He came in the spirit and power of Elias. In him was fulfilled the words of Malachi, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare my way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple," and his other words with which the roll of the Old Testament closes, "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." By applying this prophecy to Himself our Lord asserts His own Godhead, for it was to prepare the way of the Lord the God of Israel, that the messenger was to be sent, of whose mission Malachi prophesies. 11. "He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." These words cannot mean greater in personal holiness, neither can they mean greater in eternal reward, neither can they 11 Verily 1 say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 1 Luke xvi. 16. Or, is gotten by force and they that thrust men. 1 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven || suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 11. "Least." Should be "less;" qui autem minor est. (Vulg.) 12. "Suffereth violence," in the sense of "is taken" or "gotten" by violence; cum violentia accipitur. (Syriac.) mean greater in his work, for what mission can be imagined to be greater than that which was to prepare the way for Christ ? They can only mean greater in spiritual and evangelical privileges; inasmuch as John was not a member of the mystical body of Christ, neither did he receive the Body and Blood of Christ, neither could he have understood His atoning work and the power of His Resurrection as those did who were enlightened by the descent of the Holy Spirit, Who was to lead men to all the truth. As Bengel has well said, "John did not know what in our days is known by children who have learned the Apostles' Creed." It can be only in these great things, and not in internal faith and holiness, that the least in the Church of Christ is greater than the Baptist. It should make us more faithfully use our own means of grace to think that the greatest of the saints before Christ had them not. 11. "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven," &c. This seems to mean that the kingdom of God and its privileges cannot be enjoyed by the listless, the frivolous, the wordly, the half-believing; but by the earnest, the determined, the persevering, those who pray as if they would take no denial; not by such as the young ruler (xix. 22), but by such as the Syrophenician woman (xv. 21), Zaccheus (Luke xix. 4, 8), the sons of thunder (Mark iii. 17). This earnestness first began under John's preaching, who inspired men with his own energy and enthusiasm. "Heaven is not to be taken but by the violence which a man does to his inclinations. . . . Happy those holy bands of penitents, those violent persons who take heaven by the force of their prayers, their ... |