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ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware 17 of men. For they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before 18 governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and

ed into the conflict. What an infallible evidence is here of his uprightness and honesty; his infinite removal from deception, or enthusiasm! The figure here used is found elsewhere, of comparing the bad to wolves and other wild beasts, and the innocent to sheep and lambs. Lam. iii. 10. Mat. vii. 15. Acts xx. 29. Is. xl. 11. John xxi. 15, 16.—Wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. The Apostles were to combine two qualities seldom found together; sagacity and simplicity; to imitate two animals most unlike each other; the one the most subtle, the other the most simple in nature. So the perfect character is even that which holds in the nicest equipoise varying traits; the lion heart and lamb-like innocence; the wisdom of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove. The Egyptians used the serpent as a symbol of wisdom. In their mission the Apostles would be exposed to difficulties requiring the utmost caution and prudence, and at the same time they were vehicles of a doctrine demanding entire sincerity and simplicity. Rom. xvi. 19.

17. Beware of men. Be on your guard against their plots, for they will seek to ensnare and destroy you. They will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. This was actually fulfilled upon many occasions afterwards. Acts iv. 5-7, 15. 40. 2 Cor. xi. 24. The councils were the Sanhedrim and other tribunals among the Jews. Scourging was a severe punishment, inflicted upon the body with rods or thongs. The number of blows was

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limited to forty among the Jews. Deut. xxv. 2, 3. Thirty-nine were usually given, a scourge of three cords being struck thirteen times, with greater or less force in proportion to the crime. The same punishment was in use among other nations, and the number of stripes proportioned to the offence committed. The punishment was a very painful one, as the blows fell upon the naked back and sides, and sometimes extended round to the breast, cutting up the skin and flesh. The victim stooped forward, and was sometimes bound to a low pillar, that the person inflicting the stripes might do it to better advantage. The sentence was executed sometimes in the synagogues. Mat. xxiii. 34. Mark xiii. 9. Acts xxii. 19. xxvi. 11. Our Saviour himself suffered under this brutal punishment, though unconvicted of any offence. Luke xxiii. 15. John xix. 1.

18. Before governors and kings. Though to all human appearance the cause of the Gospel was too humble to attract such notice, yet Jesus foresaw what agitation it was destined to produce, and that kingdoms and empires would not, in all their fancied strength, be able to shut it out or suppress it.-For my sake. For the sake of my Gospel. -For a testimony against them and the Gentiles. Or, a testimony to them and the Gentiles. The witness which the Apostles and disciples bore to the truth of Christianity, on those occasions when they were arraigned before the civil authorities, contributed materially to its advancement. The book of

19 the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour 20 what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of 21 your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall 22 rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that endur23 eth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this

Acts, and succeeding ecclesiastical history, establish this point with repeated instances, and show Jesus to have predicted nothing but what was fulfilled.

19, 20. See Luke xii. 11, 12. 19. Take no thought, &c. Be not anxious as to the matter or manner of your defence. They might well be alarmed, poor and unlearned as some of them were, at the prospect of being summoned before the great and powerful rulers and statesmen of the world, unless some assurance were given them that they would not be deserted at such crises. For it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. It would appear from the individuality of those speeches of the Apostles and disciples on record, that their inspiration was not of a kind to supersede the activity of their own minds. They were not passive mouth-pieces of the Divinity. But they were aided and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Conscious of the divine help and authority, they were lifted above all fear, and spoke with a force and point which none of their adversaries could gainsay.

20. It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father. Mat. ix. 13, and John xii. 44, bave like idioms. It is not so much ye that speak, as the spirit of God. Ex. iv. 12. A strong expression, to imply that they would be sustained on those trying occasions by supernatural il

luminations and endowments. God himself would aid them. They need not fear, therefore, kings or emperors. The encouragement was the more needed, as the people of the east look upon their rulers, kings, and governors with a superstitious awe, as if they were verily gods.

21. We have in the prediction contained in this verse, which was afterwards frequently fulfilled to the letter during the persecutions of the Christians, another instance both of Christ's prophetic power and his open-mindedness. When in after years the Apostles were treated with every indignity and cruelty, and in some cases their own friends turned against them, they could not complain that they had not been forewarned of their difficulties. And if their Master's prophecies in relation to their earthly trials held so true, they might well believe that his promises of a better life after death would likewise be gloriously verified. History relates that their nearest friends and relatives sometimes betrayed the Christians, and consigned them to modes of torture and death too horrible to be described.

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22. Hated of all men. sally, not literally by every man.For my name's sake. Because they were Christians. 1 Peter iv. 14, 16.

He that endureth to the end shall be saved. This would be true in many ways. He who bore himself

city, flee ye into another. For verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. The 24 disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is 25 enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,

manfully to the last, and acted with dauntless courage, would be the most likely to find safety. Or, he who persevered in his Christian faith, despite the hatred of men, would be saved from the destruction of the Jews and their city, as actually happened. Or, he who was faithful unto death would obtain everlasting salvation. Let each judge which is the probable sense. Jesus addressed it to them as a motive to encourage them to hold out to the end.

23. Flee ye into another. Acts ix. 30. xvii. 10. They were not rashly and needlessly to lose their lives. When persecuted, they were to flee, if possible; and by thus doing they did not compromise or betray their cause, but helped it forward, inasmuch as wherever they were scattered they preached the truth. Thus the persecution mentioned in Acts viii. 4 gave a wider extension to the Gospel, and the purpose of its enemies was defeated.-Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, &c. Il treated in one place, they were to choose another as the sphere of their exertions. They would not in this way visit all the towns in Palestine before the coming of the Son of Man. -Till the Son of Man be come. Much obscurity envelopes this phrase, and many different interpretations have been advanced. But the most probable is that which regards the coming of the Son of Man as the time when, about forty years after the crucifixion, Jerusa Ïem was destroyed, the temple razed to the foundations, the Jew

ish festivals and the national rites and worship brought to an end, and Christianity established and confirmed. Mat. xvi. 28. xxiv. 30, 34. Mark ix. 1. Luke ix. 27. Jesus would thus urge their activity in proclaiming the Gospel, because the time was short, and the work great.

24. The disciple is not above his master, &c. These are proverbial phrases, which were in use among the Jewish teachers. It was to remind them that they need expect no better fate for themselves than their Master suffered. They should not repine under their trials, for their Lord had already endured the same or greater. John xv. 20. Similar language is also used for other purposes. Luke vi. 40. John xiii. 16.

25. It is enough for the disciple, &c. The disciple must be contented to suffer the same hardships and persecutions as his Master.-Beelzebub. To escape the necessity of acknowledging his divine authority, and yet being unable to deny the fact of Christ's miracles, the Scribes and Pharisees imputed them to the agency of evil spirits. "He casteth out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils." Mat. xii. 24, 27. The meaning of the name is lord of flies, or lord of filth. 2 Kings i. 2, 16. He is called the God of Ekron. The inhabitants of that region appear to have worshipped him as a protector from the insects which ravaged their land. "He' is never called a devil, or represented as a fallen angel." Little is known, however, of the connection be

26 how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be reveal27 ed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach 28 ye upon the house-tops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to de29 stroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your

tween the term as used in the Old Testament and in the New. It is sufficient to understand that it was a term of the deepest insult and scorn which Jewish hatred could devise to heap upon the head of Jesus. And the disciples could expect no milder treatment than their Master had received in this respect. 26-33. See Luke xii. 2-9.

26. Therefore. Better, nevertheless, fear them not.-For there is, &c. The reason why they were not to fear contempt and persecution was, that the truth was great, and would prevail; Christianity would gloriously triumph, and their course of conduct would be justified in the eyes of all mankind; and when the secrets of all hearts were revealed, they would be recompensed with eternal life for all they had labored and suffered on earth. Eccles. xii. 14. 1 Cor. iv. 5. 27. What I tell you in darkness, &c. The instructions I give you in private are to be publicly proclaimed. What I teach you in obscurity is to go forth in light and glory, and fill the earth. Jesus had not one doctrine for the initiated, and another for the ignorant, like the priests and philosophers of old, but his teachings were alike intended for all conditions of men.-What ye hear in the ear, &c. This is thought to refer to a Jewish custom. The doctors of the law had interpreters, who received what they said by its being

whispered in the ear, and then made it public to the audience.— House-tops. The houses of the east had flat roofs, which in mild weather were much frequented at certain hours of the day. The minister of the synagogue, according to Lightfoot, gave notice of the coming of the Sabbath by sounding with a trumpet six times from a high house-top. Among the Turks the hour of prayer is similarly announced by a crier. The phrase denotes therefore that what was spoken secretly should be proclaimed in the most public manner.

28. While you are thus conspicuously preaching, fear not, Jesus says, human scoffers and persecutors; rather stand in awe before Him who is not only master of our present, but also of our eternal destiny, and who can punish in the severest manner not only body, but soul, in the future world. Let the fear of him conquer all other fears. The disciples would be tempted by temporal hopes and apprehensions, but these were to be subdued by motives drawn from God and eternity.

29. Farthing. Equal to about seven mills of our currency.—One of them, &c. Two sparrows were worth but a farthing, and not one of those creatures, thus cheap in the eyes of men, was neglected by the kind Creator. The beautiful argument is, If God takes such in

Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 30 Fear ye not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. 31 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess 32 also before my Father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall de- 33 ny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came 34

terest and care of the least of birds, how much more will he guard his dear child, man,-Without your Father. Without his oversight and permission. "Not one of them is forgotten before God."

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30. Another illustration of the minuteness of the Divine Providence. God's care extends, as well as his knowledge, to the smallest particulars. How surely then will he protect and bless his human offspring, his saints, his Apostles! If their hairs are numbered, how much more will their heads be shielded, and their souls strengthened! 1 Sam. xiv. 45.

31. Mat. vi. 26. Since the Divine Being provides for animals, much more will he for his moral creatures, made in his likeness, useful in advancing his designs, and destined to rise and improve forever. Watching over the sparrow, he is pledged not to neglect man. Such considerations were eminently fitted to soothe and cheer the disciples of Jesus in their approaching trials; and they are equally adapted now to comfort the lonely and suffering, and strengthen all our hearts for the dangers and trials of life.

32. This verse is connected with the 27th. The intervening portion consists of encouragements to the persecuted. What Jesus taught his disciples privately, they were to preach in the most public manner. They were to acknowledge themselves his followers openly, before the world. In every scene, and

every act, Christ may be confessed. We are to manifest everywhere that we are his disciples, by obeying his commandments and breathing his spirit. In the church, in the family, in the scenes of business, in the festival, and at the funeral, we are to show ourselves Christians, by trusting, following, loving, imitating our blessed Master. Thus confessing him to be our Saviour before men, we are assured that he will acknowledge us as his disciples in the presence of God, and in the realms of the blest.

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33. But on the other hand, if his disciples did not adhere to him through evil report and through good report, if they denied him, he would of course not acknowledge them to be his followers, unless, like Peter, they repented again, and professed to be his disciples. The declaration in these two served to animate and warn his followers and others at that time, and they are not less applicable now. If we confess Christ before men, he will confess us before his Father and our Father. If we deny him before men, he will deny us before God and all good beings. Let the promise cheer us, and the admonition warn us.

34. Think not that I am come, &c. The effect of the coming of our Lord is here put, by a strong figure of speech, for the object or purpose of that coming. It certainly never was the direct aim of Jesus to send strife into families or communities. His intentions were pa

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