90 xiv. Luke He conferreth with the doctors in the temple, SECT. rusalem, according to the usual custom of the feast, thought it proper to take him with them. to celebrate that glorious deliverance which God II. 42. had so many ages ago wrought for his people when he brought them out of Egypt, the memory of which was carefully to be transmitted to every succeeding generation. (Compare Exod. xii. 26, 27.) 43 un And when they had finished all the religious solemnities to be observed in the days of leavened bread, and were returning home, the child Jesus, charmed with the sacred entertainments of the temple, and eagerly desirous of improving in the knowledge of his Father's law, staid behind them in Jerusalem: and neither Jo44 seph nor his mother were aware of it.] But though they saw he was not with them, vet knowing his sociable temper, they supposed he was somewhere in the company (as several families travelled together on such occasions): And they went a whole day's journey before they missed him; and then, in the evening, they sought for him amongst their kindred and acquaintance, who were their companions in the journey, and with 45 whom they concluded he had been. And, not finding him with them, they returned immediately, and came back to Jerusalem, seeking him every where with great concern, and ready to suspect that some hostile assault might have been made upon him. 46 par 46 And it came to them, and asking them And, three days after their setting out", they found him in an apartment of the temple, where pass that, after three days, they found him the teachers of the law used to lecture upon it in the temple, sitting to the people; and where young persons in in the midst of the ticular were examined and had a liberty to ask doctors, both hearing what questions they thought proper for their questions. farther information. Here was Jesus sitting in the midst of the doctors, whose profession it was to teach on these occasions; for he had placed himself among others at their feet, and was, b Three days after their setting out.] The first day was spent in their journey homeward, the second in their return to Jerusalem, and the third in searching after Christ there.---The word eyevilo, it came to pass, is a mere expletive; and, not imagining that the rules of the most faithful and exact translation would oblige me always to retain it, I have frequently omited it. For their farther information.] All with these things are so well illustrated and confirmed by Dr. Lightfoot, in his Hor. Heb. on this place, that I cannot but refer the reader thither. See also Drusius's excellent note on this place. d Sitting at their feet.] I have often thought it a great injury to the character of our Blessed Redeemer, to represent this story, whether in pictures or words, as if Christ, at this tender age, went up into the seats of the doctors, and there disputed And accounts for it to his mother, when she found him. xiv. 91 with all possible diligence, both attending to them, SECT. and asking them such questions as he judged proper for the further illustration of what they Luke said. II. 46. And all who heard him, considering the ten- 47 derness of his age, were in a perfect transport of admiration at his understanding, and at the penetration which he shewed, both in the questions he put to them, and also in the answers he returned to what they asked him. And when he was discovered by his parents, 48 and they saw him thus employed, they likewise were struck with wonder: and his mother said unto him, O my son, why hast thou dealt thus with us? behold, this is now the third day that thy father and I have sought thee, from place to place, with inexpressible anxiety and distress. And he said unto them, What is the cause that 49 you have sought me with so much concern? and why is it, you were at such a loss where you should find me? Did ye not know that I ought to be at my Father's? and that wherever I was, I should be so employed in his service as to be secure of his protection? And they did not per- 50 fectly understand the words which he spake unto them upon this occasion, as being expressed in something of a concise and ambiguous manner. with them. Not one word is said of his distinting by the Evangelist, but only of his asking some questions and answering others, which was a very usual thing in these assemblies and indeed the very end of them. All was, no doubt, conducted with the utmost modesty and decorum. And if he were with others at the feet of these teachers (where learners generally sat, see Luke x. 39, and Acts xxii. 3.) he might be said to be in the midst of them, as they sat on benches of a semicircular form, raised above their auditors and disciples. e Were in a transport of admiration.] Every learned reader must know that the word als here, and λynov in the next verse, are much more forcible than our translation of them, and much more literally rendered here. f I ought to be at my Father's; EV TOLS TH walees me du ziva.] There is a known ambiguity in the original. I have chosen with Grotius, Capellus, Fuller, &c. to follow the Syriac version of the words, where it is rendered in my Father's house, which it is certain they will well bear; and so Josephus puts Tas T8 As for in Jupiter's temple; contra Apion. lib. i. § 18. p. 449. And Havere. (Compare John xix. 27. Esther 8 They did not perfectly understand the to 92 SECT. xiv. Reflections on the childhood of Jesus. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and And he went down into the country with them, and came to Nazareth; and there he did not asLuke sume any air of superiority on account of the was subject unto them: II. 51. extraordinary applause he had met with from but his mother kept all these sayings in her the people who had heard him in the temple, heart. but still continued subject to his parents, and respectful to them, as a most dutiful and obedient child. And his mother kept all these sayings and occurrences in her heart and often reflected very seriously upon them. 52 And Jesus advanced considerably in wisdom, as well as in age and stature, and grew proportionably in favour both with God and men; his behaviour being not only remarkably religious, but so benevolent and obliging, as to gain the friendship and affection of all that were about him. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. IMPROVEMENT. Ver. LET us, who are heads of families, take occasion from the 41, 42 story before us to renew our resolutions, that we and our house will serve the Lord, and remember that it is a part of our duty, not only to God but to our domestics, to engage them with us in his public worship; the pleasures of which will surely be increased when we see them, and, especially our dear children, joining with us in attendance on our great common Father. Let children view the example of the holy child Jesus with an humble desire to copy after it. Let them love the house and ordinances of God and thirst for the instructions of his good word. 43, 46 Let them think themselves happy if his servants in the ministry will bestow a part of their important time in those exercises which are especially suited for their instruction; and let them not only be careful to return the properest answers they can, but at convenient times, with modesty and respect, ask such questions as may be likely to improve them in knowledge and grace. 51 Let those children, whose genius is most promising and most admired, learn from the blessed Jesus to behave themselves in an humble and submissive manner to all their elders and especially to their parents; for though he was the Lord of all, yet was he subject not only to Mary his real mother, but to Joseph, though only supposed John was the Messiah's forerunner foretold by the prophets. xiv. 93 supposed to be his father. Such children may well hope that the SECT. grace of God will still be upon them; and, growing in wisdom as they do in stature, they will also advance in favour with God and Ver. men, and be the darlings of heaven as well as of earth. 40, 52 And, ob, that the greatest and wisest of us, those of the longest standing and of the most eminent stations in the church, might learn of this admirable and Divine Child; that, always remembering our relation to God, and ever intent on learning his will and 49 promoting his glory, we might, with humble acquiescence, accommodate ourselves to all the disposals of his providence! How easily could he, who discovered such early marks of a sublime genius and a lively wit, have relished the most elegant delights of 47 science and have eclipsed all the most celebrated poets, orators and philosophers of that learned and polite age! But he laid all those views aside, that he might pursue the duties of that humble rank of life which his heavenly Father's infinite wisdom had 51 assigned him; and joined, as it would seem, to assist in maintaining himself and his parents too by the daily labour of his hands. Let us learn from hence, that it is the truest greatness of soul to know our own place and office, and to deny ourselves those amusements of the mind', as well as those gratifications of the senses, which are inconsistent with the proper services of our different relations and callings. SECT. XV. The opening of John the Baptist's ministry. Mark I. 1-6. MARK I. 1. THE beginning of sus Christ the Son of God; MARK I. 1. XV. Mark the gospel of Je THE beginning of the gospel-history of Jesus SECT. Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, as it is recorded by the evangelist Mark, thus takes its rise from the first opening of John's ministry. I. 1. 2 As it is written in It was this John that came under the character the prophets, Behold, of the great forerunner of the Messiah; As it is 2 before thy face, which written in the prophets, and particularly in Mashall prepare thy way lachi (chap. iii. 1.) Behold, I will send my messenger before thy face, O my Anointed Son, who shall prepare thy way before thee; and, as I send my messenger before thee. the 94 XV. Mark John the Baptist enters on his ministry; SECT. the harbinger appointed to proclaim thy coming, shall, with remarkable solemnity, make it the business of his ministry to introduce thy 1.2. kingdom.” So also it was prophesied con3 cerning him by Isaiah (chap. xl. 3.) " There shall be heard the voice of one crying in the wilderness, and solemnly proclaiming to this purpose in the deserts of Judea, Prepare ye with readiness the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight and smooth by removing every thing which might prove an obstruction to his gracious appearance." These prophecies (as it will presently be seen) received a very signal and remarkable accomplishment in John, who, from his office, was surnamed the Baptist. III. 1. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. LUKE III. 1. Now in the fifteenth year of Cæsar, Pontius Pilate the reign of Tiberius dea, and Herod being and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea, and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Galilee, Luke Now this eminent person made his first public appearance in the fifteenth year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius Cæsar, (reckoning the beginning of his reign from the time when Augustus being governor of Jumade him his colleague in the empire) b, when Archelaus being banished, and his kingdom reduced into a Roman province, Pontius Pilate was governor, or procurator, of Judea; and, as the dominions of Herod the Great had been divided after his death, Herod Antipas, one of his sons, was tetrarch of Galilee, or governor of that fourth part of his dominions; and his brother Philip tetrarch of another fourth part, which was the region of Iturea and Trachonitis (the name now given to that tract of land on the other side Jordan which had formerly belonged a The voice of one crying in the wilder ness.] Most commentators have imagined these words originally to refer to the proclamation of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity: but there is no imaginable reason for supposing an immediate connection between the conclusion of the thirty-ninth chapter of Isaiah and the beginning of the fortieth; nor can I observe any thing in the process of this chapter which may not literally suit the evangelical sense here given it by Mark as well as Matthew and Luke. b Reckoning from the time when Augustus made him his colleague in the empire.] Supposing Christ was born A. U. C. 747. (as in note c) it is absolutely necessary to interpret the words thus; because the fifteenth year of Tiberius, if reckoned from the death of Augustus, began in August, 4. U. 781. and would thus be the thirty-fourth year of Christ's life, to the tetrarch of Abilene, which is plainly inconsistent with Luke iii. 23. (See Manne's Dissert. p. 156—140.) But if the birth of Christ be placed (as seems most probable) in September, A. U. 749. and Tiberius was admitted to a part in the empire (three years before Augustus died) in August, 764. the fifteenth year of Tiberius on this computation began In August 778. And if John entered on his ministry in the spring following, A. U. 779. in the same year of Tiberius; and, after he had preached about twelve months, baptized Jesus in the spring 780. then Jesus at his baptism would be but thirty years of age, and some odd months, which perfectly agrees with what St. Luke says of his being at that time about thirty years old. See Dr. Lardner's Credib. Part I. Vol. II. p. 838, 839. c Divided after his death.] See note ", on Mat. ii. 22. d Lysanias |