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real purpose does not appear till he has prepared the mind for it. This is the way with all temptation. No wicked man would at once tempt another to be profane, to be drunk, to be an infidel, or to commit adultery. The principles are first corrupted. The confidence is secured. The affections are won. And then the allurement is by little and little presented, till the victim falls. How should every one be on his guard at the very first appearance of evil-at the first suggestion that may possibly lead to evil!

4. One of the best ways of meeting temptation is by applying Scripture. So our Saviour did; and they will always best succeed who best wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Eph. vi. 17.

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Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

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12. John was cast into prison. For an account of the imprisonment of John, see Matt. xiv. 1-13. He departed into Galilee. See Matt. ii. 22. The reasons why Jesus went then into Galilee were, probably, not that he might avoid danger-for he went directly into the dominions of Herod, and had nothing in particular to fear from Herod, as he had given him no cause of offence-but, 1. Because the attention of the people had been much excited by John's preaching, and it was more favourable for his own ministry. 2. It seemed desirable to have some one to second John in the work of reformation. 3. Judea was under the dominion of the Scribes, and Pharisees, and priests. They would naturally look with envy on any one who set up for a public teacher, and who should attract much attention there. It might be important, therefore, that the work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and known before he went to Jerusalem.

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

13. Leaving Nazareth. Because his townsmen cast him out, and rejected him. See Luke iv. 14-30. ¶ Came and dwelt in Capernaum. This was a city on the north-west corner of the sea of Tiberias. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but is repeatedly in the Gospels. Though it was once a city of renown, and the metropolis of all Galilee, the site it occupied is now uncertain. When Mr Fisk, an American missionary, travelled in Syria in 1823, he found 20 or 30 uninhabited Arab huts, occupying what are supposed to be the ruins of the once exalted city of Capernaum. In this place, and its neighbourhood, Jesus spent no small part of the three years of his public ministry. It is hence called his own city. Matt. ix. 1. Here he healed the nobleman's son (John iv. 47); Peter's wife's mother (Matt. viii. 14); the centurion's servant (Matt. viii. 5, 6); and the ruler's daughter (Matt. ix. 23-25). ¶ Upon the sea coast. The sea of Tiberias. In the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. These were two tribes of the children of Israel which were located in this part of the land of Canaan, and constituted, in the time of Christ, a part of Galilee. Compare Gen. xlix. 13; Joshua xix. 10-16, 32, 40. The word borders here means boundaries. Jesus came and dwelt in the boundaries or regions of Zabulon and Naphthali.

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14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

k Isa. ix. 1, 2.

14, 15. That it might be fulfilled, &c. This place is recorded in Isa. ix. 1, 2. Matthew has given the sense, but not the very words of the prophet. By the way of the sea. Which is near to the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea. Beyond Jordan. This does not mean to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or perhaps in the vicinity of the sources of the Jordan. See Deut. i. 1, iv. 49. ¶ Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee was divided into upper and lower Galilee. Upper Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles, because it was occupied chiefly by Gentiles. It was in the neighbourhood of Tyre, Sidon, &c. The word Gentiles includes, in the Scriptures, all who are not Jews. It means the same as nations, or, as we should say, the heathen nations.

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Isa. xlii. 7; Luke ii. 32.

16. The people which sat in darkness. This is an expression denoting great ignorance. As in darkness or night we can see nothing, and know not where to go, so those who are ignorant of God, and their duty, are said to be in darkness. The divine instruction which removes this ignorance is called light. See John iii. 19; 1 Peter ii. 9; 1 John i. 5, ii. 8. As ignorance is often connected with crime and vice, so darkness is sometimes used to denote sin. 1 Thess. v. 5; Eph. v. 11; Luke xxii. 53. ¶The region and shadow of death. This is a forcible and beautiful image, designed also to denote ignorance and sin. It is often used in the Bible, and is very expressive. A shadow is caused by an object coming between us and the sun. So the Hebrews imagined death as standing between us and the sun, and casting a long, dark, and baleful shadow abroad on the face of the nations, denoting their great ignorance, sin, and woe. It denotes a dismal, gloomy, and dreadful shade, where death and sin reign, like the chills, damps, and horrors of the dwelling-places of the dead. See Job x. 21, xvi. 16, xxxiv. 22; Ps. xxiii. 4; Jer. ii. 6. These expressions indicate that the country of Galilee was peculiarly ignorant and blind. We know that the people were proverbially so. They were distinguished for a coarse, vulgar manner of speech (Mark xiv. 70); and are represented as having been distinguished by a general profligacy of morals and manners. It shows the great compassion of the Saviour, that he went to preach to such poor and despised sinners. Instead of seeking the rich and the learned, he chose to minister to the needy, the ignorant, and the contemned. His office is to enlighten the ignorant; his delight to guide the wandering, and to raise up those that are in the shadow of death. In doing this, Jesus set an example for all his followers. It is their duty to seek out those who are sitting in the shadow of death, and to send the Gospel to them. No small part of the world is still lying in wickedness, as wicked and wretched as was the land of Zabulon and Nephthali in the time of Jesus. The Lord Jesus is able to enlighten them also. And every Christian should esteem it a privilege, as well as a duty, to imitate his Saviour in this, and be anxious to send to them the light of life. See Matt. xxviii. 19.

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17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon Pcalled Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

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18. Sea of Galilee. This was also called the sea of Tiberias, and the lake of Gennesareth, and also the sea of Chinnereth. Num. xxxiv. 11; Deut. iii. 17; Josh. xii. 3. It is about fifteen miles in length, and from six to nine in width. There is no part of Palestine, it is said, which can be compared in beauty with the environs of this lake. Many populous cities once stood on its shores, such as Tiberias, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Hippo, &c. The shores are described by Josephus as a perfect paradise, producing every luxury under heaven, at all seasons of the year. The river Jordan flows directly through the lake, it is said, without mingling with its waters, so that the course of the Jordan can be distinctly seen. The waters of the lake are sweet and pleasant to the taste, and clear. The lake still abounds with fish, and gives employment, as it did in the time of our Saviour, to those who live on its shores. It is, however, stormy, owing probably to the high hills by which it is surrounded. Simon called Peter. The name Peter means a rock, and is the same as Cephas. See Note, Matt. xvi. 18; also John i. 42; 1 Cor. xv. 5.

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

q Luke v. 10, 11.

19. Fishers of men. Ministers or preachers of the Gospel, whose business it shall be to win souls to Christ.

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

r Mark x. 28; Luke xviii. 28.

20. Straightway. Immediately-as all should do when the Lord Jesus calls them. ¶ Left their nets. Their nets were the means of their living, perhaps all their property. By leaving them immediately, and following him, they gave every evidence of sincerity. They showed (what we should be) that they were willing to forsake all for the sake of Jesus, and to follow him wherever he should lead them. They went forth to persecution and death, for the sake of Jesus; but also to the honour

of saving souls from death, and establishing a Church that shall continue to the end of time. Little did they know what awaited them, when they left their unmended nets to rot on the beach, and followed the unknown and unhonoured Jesus of Nazareth. So we know not what awaits us, when we become his followers; but we should cheerfully go, when our Saviour calls, willing to commit all into his hands-come honour or dishonour, sickness or health, riches or poverty, life or death. Be it ours to do our duty at once, and to commit the result to the great Redeemer who has called us. Compare Matt. vi. 33, viii. 21, 22; John xxi. 21, 22. Followed him. This is an expression denoting that they became his disciples. 2 Kings vi. 19.

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.

s Mark i. 19, 20; Luke v. 10.

22. Left their father. This showed how willing they were to follow Jesus. They left their father. They showed us what we ought to do. If necessary, we should leave father, and mother, and every friend. Luke xiv. 26. If they will go with us, and be Christians, it is well; if not, yet they should not hinder us. We should be the followers of Jesus; and while, in doing it, we should treat our friends tenderly and kindly, yet we ought at all hazards to obey God, and do our duty to him. We see here what humble instruments God makes use of to convert men. He chose fishermen to convert the world. He chose the foolish to confound the wise. And it shows that religion is true, and is the power of God, when he makes use of such instruments to change the hearts of men, and save their souls. 1 Cor. i. 26-28.

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

t Chap. ix. 33; Mark i. 21, 39; Luke iv. 15, 44. u Chap. xxiv. 14; Mark i. 14. r Mark i. 34.

23. All Galilee. See chap. ii. 22. Synagogues. Places of worship, or places where the people assembled together to worship God. The origin of synagogues is involved in much obscurity. The sacrifices of the Jews were appointed to be held in one place, at Jerusalem. But there was nothing to forbid the other services of religion to be performed at any place. Accordingly, the praises of God were sung in the schools of the prophets; and those who chose were assembled by the seers on the Sabbath, and the new-moons, for religious worship. 2 Kings iv. 23; 1 Sam. x. 5-11. The people would soon see the necessity of providing convenient places for their services, to shelter them from storms and heat; and this was probably the origin of synagogues. At what time they were commenced is unknown. They are mentioned by Josephus a considerable time before the coming of Christ; and in his time they were multiplied, not only in Judea, but wherever there were Jews. There were no less than 480 in Jerusalem alone, before it was taken by the Romans.

The synagogues were built in elevated places-in any place where ten men were found who were willing to associate for the purpose; and were the regular customary places of worship. In them the law, that is, the Old Testament, was divided into suitable portions, was read, prayers were offered, and the Scriptures were expounded. The law was so divided, that the five books of Moses, and portions of the prophets, could be read through each year. The Scriptures, after being read, were expounded. This was done, either by the officers of the synagogues, or by any person who might be invited to it by the officiating minister. Our Saviour and the apostles were in the habit of attending at those places constantly, and of speaking to the people. Luke iv. 15-22; Acts xiii. 14, 15 The synagogues were built in imitation of the temple, with a centre building, supported by pillars, and a court surrounding it. See Note, Matt. xxi. 12. In the centre building, or chapel, was a place prepared for the reading of the law. The law was kept in a chest, or ark, near to the pulpit. The uppermost seats (Matt. xxiii. 6), were those nearest to the pulpit. The people sat round, facing the pulpit. When the law was read, the person officiating rose; when it was expounded, he was seated. Our Saviour imitated their example, and was commonly seated in addressing the people. Matt. v. 1, xiii. 1. Teaching. Instructing the people, or explaining the Gospel. The gospel of the kingdom. The good news respecting the kingdom which he was about to set up; or the good news respecting the coming of the Messiah and the nature of his kingdom. Preaching. See chap. iii, 1. All manner of sickness. All kinds of sickness.

24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

24. And his fame went throughout all Syria. It is not easy to fix the exact bounds of Syria in the time of our Saviour. It was, perhaps, the general name for the country lying between the Euphrates on the east, and the Mediterranean on the west; and between mount Taurus on the north, and Arabia on the south. Through all this region his celebrity was spread by his power of working miracles; and, as might have been expected, the sick from every quarter were brought to him, in the hope that he would give relief. Those possessed with devils. Much difficulty exists, and much has been written, respecting those in the New Testament said to be possessed with the devil. It has been maintained by many, that the sacred writers meant only by this expression to denote those who were melancholy or epileptic, or afflicted with some other grievous disease. This opinion has been supported by arguments too long to be repeated here. On the other hand, it has been supposed that the persons so described were under the influence of evil spirits, who had complete possession of the faculties, and who produced many symptoms of disease not unlike melancholy, and madness, and epilepsy. That such was the fact, will appear from the following considerations:-1. That Christ and the apostles spoke to them, and of them, as such; that they addressed them, and managed them, precisely as if they were so possessed, leaving their hearers to infer, beyond a doubt, that such was their real opinion. 2. They spake, conversed, asked questions, gave answers, and expressed their knowledge of Christ, and their fear of him-things that certainly could not be said of diseases. Matt. viii. 28; Luke viii. 27. 3. They are represented as going out of the persons possessed, and entering the bodies of others. Matt. viii. 32. 4. Jesus spoke to them, and asked their name, and they answered him. He threatened them, commanded them to be silent, to depart, and not to return. Mark i. 25, v. 8, ix. 25. 5. Those possessed are said to know Christ-to be acquainted with the Son of God. Luke iv. 34; Mark i. 24. This could not be said of diseases. 6. The early fathers of the Church interpreted these passages in the same way. They derived their opinions probably from the apostles themselves, and their opinions on this point may be taken as a fair interpretation of the apostles' sentiments. 7. If it may be denied that Christ believed in such possessions, it does not appear why any other clear sentiment of his may not in the same way be disputed. There is, perhaps, no subject on which he expressed himself more clearly, or acted more uniformly, or which he left more clearly impressed on the minds of his disciples.

Nor is there any absurdity in the opinion, that those persons were really under the influence of devils. For, 1. It is no more absurd to suppose that an angel, or many angels, should have fallen and become wicked, than that so many men should. 2. It is no more absurd that Satan should have possession of the human faculties, or inflict diseases, than that men should do it—a thing which is done every day. What more frequent, than for a wicked man to corrupt the morals of others, or by inducing them to become intemperate, to produce a state of body and mind quite as bad as to be possessed with a devil? 3. We still see a multitude of cases that no man can prove not to be produced by the presence of an evil spirit. 4. It afforded an opportunity for Christ to show his power over the enemies of himself and of man, and thus to evince himself qualified to meet every enemy, and triumphantly to redeem his people. He came to destroy the power of Satan. Acts xxvi. 18; Rom. xvi. 20, 21. Those that were lunatick. This name is given to the disease from the Latin name of the moon (Luna). It has the same origin in Greek. It was given, because it was formerly imagined that it was affected by the increase or the decrease of the moon. The name is still retained, although it is not certain that the moon has any effect on the disease. On this point physicians are not determined, but no harm arises from the use of the name. It is mentioned only in this place, and in Matt. xvii. 15. It was probably the falling sickness, or the epilepsy. And those that had the palsy. Many infirmities were included under this general name of palsy, in the New Testament. 1. The paralytic shock, affecting the whole body. 2. The hemiplegy, affecting only one side of the body; the most frequent form of the disease. 3. The paraplegy, affecting all the system below the neck. 4. The catalepsy. This is caused by a contraction of the muscles in the whole or a part of the body, and is very dangerous. The effects are very violent and fatal. For instance, if, when a person is struck, he happens to have his hand extended, he is unable to draw it back; if not extended, he is unable to stretch it out. It appears diminished in size, and dried up in appearance. Hence it was called the withered hand. Matt. xii. 5. The cramp. This, in eastern countries, is a fearful malady, and by no means unfrequent. It originates from chills in the night. The limbs, when seized with it, remain immovable, and the

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person afflicted with it resembles one undergoing a torture. This was probably the disease of the servant of the centurion. Matt. viii. 6; Luke vii. 2. Death follows from this discase in a few days. ¶ And he healed them. This was done evidently by a miraculous power. A miracle is an effect produced by Divine power above, or opposed to what are regular effects of the laws of nature. It is not a violation of the laws of nature, but is a suspension of their usual operation, for some important purpose. For instance, the regular effect of death is that the body returns to corruption. This effect is produced by the appointed laws of nature; or, in other words, God usually produces this effect. When he suspends that regular effect, and gives life to a dead body for some important purpose, it is a miracle. Such an effect is clearly the result of Divine power. No other being but God can do it. When, therefore, Christ and the apostles exerted this power, it was clear evidence that God approved of their doctrines, that he had commissioned them, and that they were authorised to declare his will. He would not give this attestation to a false doctrine. Most or all of these diseases were incurable. When Christ cured them by a word, it was the clearest of all proofs that he was sent from heaven. This is one of the many external evidences of Christianity.

25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.

y Mark iii. 7.

25. From Decapolis. Decapolis was the name of a region of country in the bounds of the half tribe of Manasseh, mainly on the east of Jordan. It was so called, because it included ten cities— the meaning of the word Decapolis in Greek. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities, and was the only one of them west of the Jordan; that Hippo (Hippos), Gadara, Dion (or Dios), Pelea (or Pella), Gerasa (or Gergesa), Philadelphia, and Raphana (or Raphane), were seven of the remaining nine; and the other two were either Kanatha and Capitolias, or Damascus and Otopos. These cities were inhabited chiefly by foreigners (Greeks) in the days of our Saviour, and not by Jews. Hence the keeping of swine by the Gergesenes (Matt. viii. 30-33), which was forbidden by the Jewish law.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS.

1. Our Lord Jesus Christ was not only holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; but he was also incapable of committing any sin-of being seduced by any temptation. It does not follow that he felt it no hardship to be tempted by the devil. Inasmuch as he could not by any possibility be overcome, it was no hardship. Still we are told that he suffered, being tempted. During the days of his humiliation, he had constantly in view the great work he came to perform. That work was the destruction of the power of the devil, by which this world has been made desolate, the souls of men drawn from the love and service of God, and made to rival the apostate angels in rebellion and wickedness. They have thus been brought under the condemnation of the broken law, and are, in their unconverted estate, exposed to the miseries of this life, death itself, and the pains of hell for ever. Our Saviour, then, having had his appointed work constantly in view, and having proceeded steadily and without interruption in the performance of it, we can easily suppose that it would be infinitely abhorrent to him to be brought into immediate contact, as he was in the wilderness, with the author of all evil. We can suppose that sin would then appear to him in its most loathsome deformity-would stir up indignation in his holy soul, as well as affect it painfully with feelings of disgust-when Satan actually, and in so many words, proposed to him that he should abandon the work to which he had been appointed from before the foundations of the world, and, moreover, that he should fall down and worship him whom he came to destroy.

2. The believer may learn much from the history of Christ in the wilderness. It was immediately after the most copious outpouring of the Spirit upon him that Christ was assaulted by the devil; and the follower of Jesus may expect the fiercest onsets of temptation, when he has been specially refreshed with the graces of the same Spirit, and been privileged, for a season, with some peculiarly bright manifestation of his Redeemer's love-some extraordinary degree of heavenly-mindedness. There is much truth in the remark of an old commentator, "The arch-pirate lets the empty ships pass, but lays wait for them when they return richest laden;" or as has been remarked by another, "The devil is so crafty a highwayman that he lets those going to the bank pass, and seizes them when they return with their money."

3. Think not, when temptations beset you, that any thing wonderful has befallen. “My brethren," says James (i. 2), “count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations," when you have had no hand in entangling yourself. He who travels a dangerous path has enough to do

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