Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

A

CHAPTER XIX.

Conversations of Jesus.

ND it came to pass, that, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, be2 yond Jordan. And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them: Have ye not read, that he,

some one else? Again, as we are told to imitate the Divine conduct in this particular, we must, according to the above doctrine, exact the full debt from our fellow-men; never forgive a transgression against ourselves, until our justice, or revenge, be appeased; in fact, imitate the inexorable creditor. Who does not shudder at such conclusions, which are the direct inferences from this prevalent corruption of Christianity?

CHAP. XIX.

1-9. Parallel to Mark x. 1-12. 1. He departed from Galilee. He did not visit Galilee again, till after his resurrection. We are told by Luke, that he now "steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem," as if he summoned up courage for his approaching fate.-Coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan. An obscurity rests upon this sentence, which has long perplexed the learned. For Judea proper did not extend east of the Jordan, or include the Peræa, or that region beyond the Jordan. It has been suggested that "beyond Jordan," or the Jordan, properly speaking, should be rendered, upon or by the side of the Jordan. John i. 28. But the more probable explanation is, that he came into Judea, from Galilee, not by the direct and customary route through Samaria, which he had been prevented

from taking by the inhospitality of the inhabitants, Luke ix. 52, 53, but by the more circuitous route through the Peræa so called, according to Mark, "the farther side of Jordan," and, as Matthew has it, "beyond Jordan."

3. To put away his wife for every cause. For any cause or fault whatever. It is probable, that this, like other questions proposed by the Pharisees, was asked, not for the sake of information, but to involve Jesus in difficulty. Two celebrated schools existed at this time among the Jews, called by the names of two great teachers, Hillel and Shammai, which held different views upon the dissolution of the marriage relation; that of Shammai contending that divorce was unlawful, except in the single case of infidelity in the connexion, whilst that of Hillel, more lax, permitted the union to be severed on any trivial ground, as that of dislike or discontent. Deut. xxiv. 1. answer of Jesus they supposed could not be framed without exposing him to the odium of one or the other of these parties. From verse 10, we infer that these questioners belonged to the school of Hillel.

The

4. But the usual wisdom of Jesus did not desert him. He refers them, beyond the quibbling and jargon of the schools, to the authority of the Great Lawgiver, and the purpose of

which made them at the beginning, made them male and female; and said: "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and 5 shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh"? Where- 6 fore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.- -They say unto him: Why 7

did Moses, then, command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them: Moses, because of the hard- 8 ness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives; but from

God, who made the sexes, and instituted marriage as a connexion not to be dissolved for any slight cause. Gen. i. 27, ii. 21, 22. "God created at first no more than a single pair, one of each sex, whom he united in the bond of marriage, and in so doing exhibited a standard of that union to all generations."Male and female. Rather, a male and a female.

5. And said. The nominative to this verb is doubtful. It may be God, or Moses, or the Scripture, or the verb may be impersonal.-For this cause. On account of the divine purpose, in making them of different sexes.-Twain. Two. The binding tenure of the relation is illustrated by the two facts, that the most intimate and early connections, as the filial and fraternal ones, are given up for this new one; and that two persons thus joined become as one flesh, one person, one soul, having like privileges and rights. The inference is, then, that no trivial cause should sunder such a riveted union.

6. Hath joined together. The verb in the original signifies yoked together, by a metaphor taken from the yoking of oxen. Indeed, in some countries, a yoke or chains are put upon the newly married couple, as emblems of their close connection. Jesus declares that the marriage bond is sanctioned by God, and not to be lightly sundered by human caprice or folly.

7. They objected to this reasoning, that Moses, in his law, permitted divorces. Deut. xxiv. 1—4.— Command to give a writing, &c. The command of Moses related not to the putting away, which he permitted for the reason stated in the next verse, but to the giving of a bill of divorce.

8. Because of the hardness of your hearts. On account of your intractable disposition, referring to the Jewish people in general. We here have an explicit admission, that some laws and customs among the chosen people were in themselves imperfect, but were necessary, in that peculiar and semi-barbarous period. Had the Jews not been permitted to put away their wives in many cases, they might have treated them with great cruelty, and even put them to death. Thus civil laws, in all periods, present no perfect standard of right, but are necessarily mixed with imperfections in their accommodation to the age and the people. The civil regulations of the great Hebrew legislator, in this respect, shared the common fate of all political institutions. They were, for the time, best suited to the wants of the Jewish nation, but destined to be outgrown and superseded by a jurisprudence more nearly in accordance with immutable right. In saying that "from the beginning it was not so," Jesus asserts that the original purpose, in the Divine establishment of the relation,

9 the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoso marrieth her which is put away 10 doth commit adultery.— His disciples say unto him: If the case of 11 the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them: All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is 12 given. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb; and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

13

Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should

was, that it should be perpetual. The influence of his religion has given, wherever it has gone, new sanctity to marriage, and thus elevated woman and home.

9. I say unto you. There is in these words a lofty tone of unborrowed and original authority, as if he were speaking from heaven, and not of himself. See note on Mat. v. 32. Luke xvi. 18. According to Mark, these words were uttered in private, to the disciples, after they had retired from the crowd. A divorce is permitted by Christ in the single case of conjugal unfaithfulness.

10. If the case of the man be so with his wife, &c. If such be the condition of the husband with his wife. The disciples talked as Jews, full of the notions of their times. If, said they, marriage has this binding tenure, it is better to remain single. It is a striking proof of the truth of the Gospels, that there is no concealment of the errors, and follies, and sins of the Apostles; but they are depicted just as they were, obtuse and blinded, but honest.

11. All men cannot receive this saying. All cannot practise this saying, and abstain from marriage. -Save they to whom it is given. Or, who are disinclined, from their nat

ural constitution, or other causes, to marry. 1 Cor. vii. 7.

12. Were so born. Those who were indisposed to marriage from their birth. Which were made, &c. The word eunuchs is here used in its literal sense; but in the previous and subsequent places figuratively.--Which have made themselves, &c. Who have, from choice, from religious motives, for the sake of promoting God's kingdom, by their greater exemption from private cares, abstained from marriage. No personal violence is spoken of here. It is supposed that reference was made, in this clause, to the Essenes, who voluntarily lived in celibacy.-Able to receive it. Referring to the words above, in verse 11. Let him who can live without marriage, if such be his preference, live without it. No peculiar holiness is here attached to an unmarried life by Jesus.

13-29. Parallel to Mark x. 1330. Luke xviii, 15-30.

13. That he should put his hands on them, and pray. It was customary among the Jews, to lay the hands on a person's head, in whose behalf a prayer was offered. Gen. xlviii. 14. 2 Kings v. 11. This is one of the most beautiful passages in our Saviour's history. Though

put his hands on them, and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said: Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto 14 me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on 15 them, and departed thence.

And, behold, one came and said unto him: Good Master, what good 16 thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him: 17

occupied with healing the sick, preaching to the multitude, disciplining his followers, and, chief of all, with the fearful anticipation of his hastening fate at Jerusalem, he yet had time and affectionate thoughts to bestow on those little innocents, that were the purest images of his divine kingdom. But the disciples, perhaps impatient under the interruption, or deeming it beneath their Master's dignity to notice and caress children, repulsed them. They may have been stimulated the more to this harshness, from the lesson, which had been before deduced from childhood, against their ambition. Mat. xviii. 2. The sight of children had become distasteful.

14. A similar sentiment is taught in Mat. xviii. 5.—Of such is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is composed of such as have a childlike simplicity, affection, and purity. Mark writes, that Jesus was "much displeased" that his disciples rebuked them.-Children can no more be carried to receive the Saviour's benediction, as in olden time, but they may be taken to the altar and baptismal font of his religion, to be dedicated, in all their loveliness, to his service.

"Happy were they, the mothers, in whose
sight

Ye grew, fair children! hallowed from that hour
By your Lord's blessing! Surely thence a shower
Of heavenly beauty, a transmitted light,
Hung on your brows and eyelids, meekly bright,
Through all the after years, which saw ye move
Lowly, yet still majestic, in the might,
The conscious glory, of the Saviour's love!
And honored be all childhood for the sake
Of that high love! Let réverential care
Watch to behold the immortal spirit wake,

And shield its first bloom from unholy air;
Owning, in each young suppliant glance, the sign
Of claims upon a heritage divine."

What opinion our Saviour enter-
tained of human nature is evident
from the benediction here pro-
nounced upon it in its infantile,
Could he
unsophisticated state.
have believed that those tender be-
ings were originally and totally de-
praved in their nature, when he
thus held them up as the types of
his spiritual kingdom? Far from it.

15. Laid his hands on them. Mark has more: "Took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." This action revealed the amiable and affectionate disposition of Jesus.

16. One came. He was a young man, verse 20, and a ruler, Luke He approached Jesus xviii. 18. with the signs of the greatest respect, kneeling to him, Mark x. 17. His motive was good, and he proposed the greatest of questions, What he should do to have eternal life. Probably he had been confounded by the instructions of the Jewish doctors, in their subtleties, and division of the commands of God, calling some lighter and some weightier. Hence, he asks, “What good thing shall I do?" His address, "Good Master," or Teacher, was the common title of the day, in speaking to religious instructers. We learn that the doctrine of immortality was not unknown to him, as he inquires how he might gain its blessedness.

17. Jesus first discards these empty titles, according to the direc

Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 18 But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him: Which? Jesus said: "Thou shalt do no murder; Thou shalt 19 not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not bear false

witness; Honor thy father and thy mother;" and: "Thou shalt love 20 thy neighbor as thyself." The young man saith unto him: All these 21 things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet? Jesus said

unto him: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and 22 follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went 23 away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus

tion given to his disciples. Mat. xxiii. 8.-Why callest thou me good, &c. According to the reading of Griesbach, Why askest thou me concerning good? One is good. But in Mark the text remains unaltered. In this passage, Jesus asserts that God alone is good, originally, absolutely, and perfectly, thus disclaiming his own title to such a character as many of his disciples have attributed to him, that of uncreated perfection. The word God is of Saxon or Teutonic derivation, and signifies the Good, the essentially, infinitely Good Being. The young man hoped, perhaps, to secure his salvation, by observing some new rite or command which Jesus might enjoin. But the Saviour referred him to God, as the sum of all excellence, and to his commandments, as the way of life eternal.

one

18, 19. Which? This question shows that he wished to fix on some particular one as of saving efficacy. Have we not here an instance of a desire that has appeared in all ages, of doing some thing to save the soul, rather than of complying with the whole circle of God's laws?-Thou shalt do no murder, &c. Ex. xx. 12-16. Lev. xix. 18. The Saviour here gives specimens of the commandments, rather than enumerates all that were essential.-Thy neighbor as thyself.

As means comparatively, not absolutely like.

20. Kept from my youth up. Rather, from my childhood up; for he was yet a young man. He thought well of himself, but yet felt the want of something more, and, with the spirit of inquiry, rather than of boasting, he asked, What lack I yet? From Mark we learn, that Jesus, when he heard this evidence of his exemplary life," beholding him, loved him," but said, "One thing thou lackest.”

21. If thou wilt be perfect, &c. If thou wilt attain to the very highest spiritual excellence, and be complete in character, greater sacrifices are required. Renounce the gratifications of wealth, distribute your property amongst the destitute, and thus attain leisure from worldly concerns to serve as my disciple in preaching the Gospel, and thou shalt possess a richer treasure in heaven than any earthly fortune. No more was required of bin in selling all that he had, than of the other persons whom Jesus had called to be his attendants and Apostles, except that his estate was larger. Matthew left all, Luke v. 28, and Peter says the same of the whole company, verse 27.

A

22. Went away sorrowful. graphic stroke of the Evangelist's pencil. The young man had been

« AnteriorContinuar »