<hi type="bold">13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother--</hi>Observe this form of expression, repeated in <reference osisRef="Matt.2.14">Mt 2:14</reference>--another indirect hint that Joseph was no more than the Child's guardian. Indeed, personally considered, Joseph has no spiritual significance, and very little place at all, in the Gospel history.

<hi type="bold">and flee into Egypt--</hi>which, being near, as Alford says, and a Roman province independent of Herod, and much inhabited by Jews, was an easy and convenient refuge. Ah! blessed Saviour, on what a checkered career hast Thou entered here below! At Thy birth there was no room for Thee in the inn; and now all Judea is too hot for Thee. How soon has the sword begun to pierce through the Virgin's soul (<reference osisRef="Luke.2.35">Lu 2:35</reference>)! How early does she taste the reception which this mysterious Child of hers is to meet with in the world! And whither is He sent? To "the house of bondage?" Well, it once was that. But Egypt was a house of refuge before it was a house of bondage, and now it has but returned to its first use.

<hi type="bold">and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him--</hi>Herod's murderous purpose was formed before the Magi had reached Bethlehem.

13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother-- Observe this form of expression, repeated in Mt 2:14--another indirect hint that Joseph was no more than the Child's guardian. Indeed, personally considered, Joseph has no spiritual significance, and very little place at all, in the Gospel history. and flee into Egypt-- which, being near, as Alford says, and a Roman province independent of Herod, and much inhabited by Jews, was an easy and convenient refuge. Ah! blessed Saviour, on what a checkered career hast Thou entered here below! At Thy birth there was no room for Thee in the inn; and now all Judea is too hot for Thee. How soon has the sword begun to pierce through the Virgin's soul (Lu 2:35)! How early does she taste the reception which this mysterious Child of hers is to meet with in the world! And whither is He sent? To "the house of bondage?" Well, it once was that. But Egypt was a house of refuge before it was a house of bondage, and now it has but returned to its first use. and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him-- Herod's murderous purpose was formed before the Magi had reached Bethlehem.


<hi type="bold">14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt--</hi>doubtless the same night.

14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt-- doubtless the same night.


<hi type="bold">15. And was there until the death of Herod--</hi>which took place not very long after this of a horrible disease; the details of which will be found in Josephus [Antiquities, 17.6.<reference osisRef="1Cor.5.7">1,5,7</reference>,8].

<hi type="bold">that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying--</hi>(<reference osisRef="Hos.11.1">Ho 11:1</reference>).

<hi type="bold">Out of Egypt have I called my son--</hi>Our Evangelist here quotes directly from the Hebrew, warily departing from the Septuagint, which renders the words, "From Egypt have I recalled his children," meaning Israel's children. The prophet is reminding his people how dear Israel was to God in the days of his youth; how Moses was bidden to say to Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born; and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born" (<reference osisRef="Exod.4.22">Ex 4:22</reference>, <reference osisRef="Exod.4.23">23</reference>); how, when Pharaoh refused, God having slain all his first-born, "called His own son out of Egypt," by a stroke of high-handed power and love. Viewing the words in this light, even if our Evangelist had not applied them to the recall from Egypt of God's own beloved, Only-begotten Son, the application would have been irresistibly made by all who have learnt to pierce beneath the surface to the deeper relations which Christ bears to His people, and both to God; and who are accustomed to trace the analogy of God's treatment of each respectively.

15. And was there until the death of Herod-- which took place not very long after this of a horrible disease; the details of which will be found in Josephus [Antiquities, 17.6.1,5,7,8]. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying-- (Ho 11:1). Out of Egypt have I called my son-- Our Evangelist here quotes directly from the Hebrew, warily departing from the Septuagint, which renders the words, "From Egypt have I recalled his children," meaning Israel's children. The prophet is reminding his people how dear Israel was to God in the days of his youth; how Moses was bidden to say to Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born; and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born" (Ex 4:22, 23); how, when Pharaoh refused, God having slain all his first-born, "called His own son out of Egypt," by a stroke of high-handed power and love. Viewing the words in this light, even if our Evangelist had not applied them to the recall from Egypt of God's own beloved, Only-begotten Son, the application would have been irresistibly made by all who have learnt to pierce beneath the surface to the deeper relations which Christ bears to His people, and both to God; and who are accustomed to trace the analogy of God's treatment of each respectively.


<hi type="bold">16. Then Herod, &c.--</hi>As Deborah sang of the mother of Sisera: "She looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Have they not sped?" so Herod wonders that his messengers, with pious zeal, are not hastening with the news that all is ready to receive him as a worshipper. What can be keeping them? Have they missed their way? Has any disaster befallen them? At length his patience is exhausted. He makes his inquiries and finds they are already far beyond his reach on their way home.

<hi type="bold">when he saw that he was mocked--</hi>was trifled with.

<hi type="bold">of the wise men--</hi>No, Herod, thou art not mocked of the wise men, but of a Higher than they. He that sitteth in the heavens doth laugh at thee; the Lord hath thee in derision. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong (<reference osisRef="Ps.2.4">Psa 2:4</reference>; <reference osisRef="Job.5.12">Job 5:12</reference>, <reference osisRef="Job.5.13">13</reference>). That blessed Babe shall die indeed, but not by thy hand. As He afterwards told that son of thine--as cunning and as unscrupulous as thyself--when the Pharisees warned Him to depart, for Herod would seek to kill Him--"Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (<reference osisRef="Luke.13.32">Lu 13:32</reference>, <reference osisRef="Luke.13.33">33</reference>). Bitter satire!

<hi type="bold">was exceeding wroth--</hi>To be made a fool of is what none like, and proud kings cannot stand. Herod burns with rage and is like a wild bull in a net. So he

<hi type="bold">sent forth--</hi>a band of hired murderers.

<hi type="bold">and slew all the children--</hi>male children.

<hi type="bold">that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof--</hi>environs.

<hi type="bold">from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently--</hi>carefully.

<hi type="bold">inquired of the wise men--</hi>In this ferocious step Herod was like himself--as crafty as cruel. He takes a large sweep, not to miss his mark. He thinks this will surely embrace his victim. And so it had, if He had been there. But He is gone. Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than thou shalt have that Babe into thy hands. Therefore, Herod, thou must be content to want Him: to fill up the cup of thy bitter mortifications, already full enough--until thou die not less of a broken heart than of a loathsome and excruciating disease. Why, ask skeptics and skeptical critics, is not this massacre, if it really occurred, recorded by Josephus, who is minute enough in detailing the cruelties of Herod? To this the answer is not difficult. If we consider how small a town Bethlehem was, it is not likely there would be many male children in it from two years old and under; and when we think of the number of fouler atrocities which Josephus has recorded of him, it is unreasonable to make anything of his silence on this.

16. Then Herod, &c.-- As Deborah sang of the mother of Sisera: "She looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Have they not sped?" so Herod wonders that his messengers, with pious zeal, are not hastening with the news that all is ready to receive him as a worshipper. What can be keeping them? Have they missed their way? Has any disaster befallen them? At length his patience is exhausted. He makes his inquiries and finds they are already far beyond his reach on their way home. when he saw that he was mocked-- was trifled with. of the wise men-- No, Herod, thou art not mocked of the wise men, but of a Higher than they. He that sitteth in the heavens doth laugh at thee; the Lord hath thee in derision. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong (Psa 2:4; Job 5:12, 13). That blessed Babe shall die indeed, but not by thy hand. As He afterwards told that son of thine--as cunning and as unscrupulous as thyself--when the Pharisees warned Him to depart, for Herod would seek to kill Him--"Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Lu 13:32, 33). Bitter satire! was exceeding wroth-- To be made a fool of is what none like, and proud kings cannot stand. Herod burns with rage and is like a wild bull in a net. So he sent forth-- a band of hired murderers. and slew all the children-- male children. that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof-- environs. from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently-- carefully. inquired of the wise men-- In this ferocious step Herod was like himself--as crafty as cruel. He takes a large sweep, not to miss his mark. He thinks this will surely embrace his victim. And so it had, if He had been there. But He is gone. Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than thou shalt have that Babe into thy hands. Therefore, Herod, thou must be content to want Him: to fill up the cup of thy bitter mortifications, already full enough--until thou die not less of a broken heart than of a loathsome and excruciating disease. Why, ask skeptics and skeptical critics, is not this massacre, if it really occurred, recorded by Josephus, who is minute enough in detailing the cruelties of Herod? To this the answer is not difficult. If we consider how small a town Bethlehem was, it is not likely there would be many male children in it from two years old and under; and when we think of the number of fouler atrocities which Josephus has recorded of him, it is unreasonable to make anything of his silence on this.


<hi type="bold">17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying--</hi>(<reference osisRef="Jer.31.15">Jr 31:15</reference>, from which the quotation differs but verbally).

17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying-- (Jr 31:15, from which the quotation differs but verbally).


<hi type="bold">18. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not--</hi>These words, as they stand in Jeremiah, undoubtedly relate to the Babylonish captivity. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried in the neighborhood of Bethlehem (<reference osisRef="Gen.35.19">Ge 35:19</reference>), where her sepulchre is still shown. She is figuratively represented as rising from the tomb and uttering a double lament for the loss of her children--first, by a bitter captivity, and now by a bloody death. And a foul deed it was. O ye mothers of Bethlehem! methinks I hear you asking why your innocent babes should be the ram caught in the thicket, while Isaac escapes. I cannot tell you, but one thing I know, that ye shall, some of you, live to see a day when that Babe of Bethlehem shall be Himself the Ram, caught in another sort of thicket, in order that your babes may escape a worse doom than they now endure. And if these babes of yours be now in glory, through the dear might of that blessed Babe, will they not deem it their honor that the tyrant's rage was exhausted upon themselves instead of their infant Lord?

18. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not-- These words, as they stand in Jeremiah, undoubtedly relate to the Babylonish captivity. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried in the neighborhood of Bethlehem (Ge 35:19), where her sepulchre is still shown. She is figuratively represented as rising from the tomb and uttering a double lament for the loss of her children--first, by a bitter captivity, and now by a bloody death. And a foul deed it was. O ye mothers of Bethlehem! methinks I hear you asking why your innocent babes should be the ram caught in the thicket, while Isaac escapes. I cannot tell you, but one thing I know, that ye shall, some of you, live to see a day when that Babe of Bethlehem shall be Himself the Ram, caught in another sort of thicket, in order that your babes may escape a worse doom than they now endure. And if these babes of yours be now in glory, through the dear might of that blessed Babe, will they not deem it their honor that the tyrant's rage was exhausted upon themselves instead of their infant Lord?


<hi type="bold">19. But when Herod was dead--</hi>Miserable Herod! Thou thoughtest thyself safe from a dreaded Rival; but it was He only that was safe from thee; and thou hast not long enjoyed even this fancied security. See on <reference osisRef="Matt.2.15">Mt 2:15</reference>.

<hi type="bold">behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt--</hi>Our translators, somewhat capriciously, render the same expression "the angel of the Lord," <reference osisRef="Matt.1.20">Mt 1:20</reference>; 2:13; and "an angel of the Lord," as here. As the same angel appears to have been employed on all these high occasions--and most likely he to whom in Luke is given the name of "Gabriel," <reference osisRef="Luke.1.19">Lu 1:19</reference>, <reference osisRef="1Cor.1.26">26</reference>--perhaps it should in every instance except the first, be rendered "the angel."

19. But when Herod was dead-- Miserable Herod! Thou thoughtest thyself safe from a dreaded Rival; but it was He only that was safe from thee; and thou hast not long enjoyed even this fancied security. See on Mt 2:15. behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt-- Our translators, somewhat capriciously, render the same expression "the angel of the Lord," Mt 1:20; 2:13; and "an angel of the Lord," as here. As the same angel appears to have been employed on all these high occasions--and most likely he to whom in Luke is given the name of "Gabriel," Lu 1:19, 26--perhaps it should in every instance except the first, be rendered "the angel."


<hi type="bold">20. Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel--</hi>not to the land of Judea, for he was afterward expressly warned not to settle there, nor to Galilee, for he only went thither when he found it unsafe to settle in Judea but to "the land of Israel," in its most general sense; meaning the Holy Land at large--the particular province being not as yet indicated. So Joseph and the Virgin had, like Abraham, to "go out, not knowing whither they went," till they should receive further direction.

<hi type="bold">for they are dead which sought the young child's life--</hi>a common expression in most languages where only one is meant, who here is Herod. But the words are taken from the strikingly analogous case in <reference osisRef="Exod.4.19">Ex 4:19</reference>, which probably suggested the plural here; and where the command is given to Moses to return to Egypt for the same reason that the greater than Moses was now ordered to be brought back from it--the death of him who sought his life. Herod died in the seventieth year of his age, and thirty-seventh of his reign.

20. Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel-- not to the land of Judea, for he was afterward expressly warned not to settle there, nor to Galilee, for he only went thither when he found it unsafe to settle in Judea but to "the land of Israel," in its most general sense; meaning the Holy Land at large--the particular province being not as yet indicated. So Joseph and the Virgin had, like Abraham, to "go out, not knowing whither they went," till they should receive further direction. for they are dead which sought the young child's life-- a common expression in most languages where only one is meant, who here is Herod. But the words are taken from the strikingly analogous case in Ex 4:19, which probably suggested the plural here; and where the command is given to Moses to return to Egypt for the same reason that the greater than Moses was now ordered to be brought back from it--the death of him who sought his life. Herod died in the seventieth year of his age, and thirty-seventh of his reign.


<hi type="bold">21. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel--</hi>intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until the time should come when they would expect Him to occupy Jerusalem, "the city of the Great King."

21. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel-- intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until the time should come when they would expect Him to occupy Jerusalem, "the city of the Great King."


<hi type="bold">22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod--</hi>Archelaus succeeded to Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; but Augustus refused him the title of king till it should be seen how he conducted himself; giving him only the title of ethnarch [Josephus, Antiquities, 17.11,4]. Above this, however, he never rose. The people, indeed, recognized him as his father's successor; and so it is here said that he "reigned in the room of his father Herod." But, after ten years' defiance of the Jewish law and cruel tyranny, the people lodged heavy complaints against him, and the emperor banished him to Vienne in Gaul, reducing Judea again to a Roman province. Then the "scepter" clean "departed from Judah."

<hi type="bold">he was afraid to go thither--</hi>and no wonder, for the reason just mentioned.

<hi type="bold">notwithstanding--</hi>or more simply, "but."

<hi type="bold">being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside--</hi>withdrew.

<hi type="bold">into the parts of Galilee--</hi>or the Galilean parts. The whole country west of the Jordan was at this time, as is well known, divided into three provinces--Galilee being the northern, Judea the southern, and Samaria the central province. The province of Galilee was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, the brother of Archelaus, his father having left him that and Perea, on the east side of the Jordan, as his share of the kingdom, with the title of tetrarch, which Augustus confirmed. Though crafty and licentious, according to Josephus--precisely what the Gospel history shows him to be (see on <reference osisRef="Mark.6.14-Mark.6.30">Mr 6:14-30</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.13.31-Luke.13.35">Lu 13:31-35</reference>)--he was of a less cruel disposition than Archelaus; and Nazareth being a good way off from the seat of government, and considerably secluded, it was safer to settle there.

22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod-- Archelaus succeeded to Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; but Augustus refused him the title of king till it should be seen how he conducted himself; giving him only the title of ethnarch [Josephus, Antiquities, 17.11,4]. Above this, however, he never rose. The people, indeed, recognized him as his father's successor; and so it is here said that he "reigned in the room of his father Herod." But, after ten years' defiance of the Jewish law and cruel tyranny, the people lodged heavy complaints against him, and the emperor banished him to Vienne in Gaul, reducing Judea again to a Roman province. Then the "scepter" clean "departed from Judah." he was afraid to go thither-- and no wonder, for the reason just mentioned. notwithstanding-- or more simply, "but." being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside-- withdrew. into the parts of Galilee-- or the Galilean parts. The whole country west of the Jordan was at this time, as is well known, divided into three provinces--Galilee being the northern, Judea the southern, and Samaria the central province. The province of Galilee was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, the brother of Archelaus, his father having left him that and Perea, on the east side of the Jordan, as his share of the kingdom, with the title of tetrarch, which Augustus confirmed. Though crafty and licentious, according to Josephus--precisely what the Gospel history shows him to be (see on Mr 6:14-30; Lu 13:31-35)--he was of a less cruel disposition than Archelaus; and Nazareth being a good way off from the seat of government, and considerably secluded, it was safer to settle there.


<hi type="bold">23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth--</hi>a small town in Lower Galilee, lying in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and about equally distant from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east. Note--If, from <reference osisRef="Luke.2.39">Lu 2:39</reference>, one would conclude that the parents of Jesus brought Him straight back to Nazareth after His presentation in the temple--as if there had been no visit of the Magi, no flight to Egypt, no stay there, and no purpose on returning to settle again at Bethlehem--one might, from our Evangelist's way of speaking here, equally conclude that the parents of our Lord had never been at Nazareth until now. Did we know exactly the sources from which the matter of each of the Gospels was drawn up, or the mode in which these were used, this apparent discrepancy would probably disappear at once. In neither case is there any inaccuracy. At the same time it is difficult, with these facts before us, to conceive that either of these two Evangelists wrote his Gospel with that of the other before him--though many think this a precarious inference.

<hi type="bold">that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene--</hi>better, perhaps, "Nazarene." The best explanation of the origin of this name appears to be that which traces it to the word netzer in <reference osisRef="Isa.11.1">Is 11:1</reference>--the small twig, sprout, or sucker, which the prophet there says, "shall come forth from the stem (or rather, 'stump') of Jesse, the branch which should fructify from his roots." The little town of Nazareth, mentioned neither in the Old Testament nor in Josephus, was probably so called from its insignificance: a weak twig in contrast to a stately tree; and a special contempt seemed to rest upon it--"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (<reference osisRef="John.1.46">Joh 1:46</reference>)--over and above the general contempt in which all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that settled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of the Jews, debased it. Thus, in the providential arrangement by which our Lord was brought up at the insignificant and opprobrious town called Nazareth, there was involved, first, a local humiliation; next, an allusion to Isaiah's prediction of His lowly, twig-like upspringing from the branchless, dried-up stump of Jesse; and yet further, a standing memorial of that humiliation which "the prophets," in a number of the most striking predictions, had attached to the Messiah. <chapter eID="Matt.2"/>

23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth-- a small town in Lower Galilee, lying in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and about equally distant from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east. Note--If, from Lu 2:39, one would conclude that the parents of Jesus brought Him straight back to Nazareth after His presentation in the temple--as if there had been no visit of the Magi, no flight to Egypt, no stay there, and no purpose on returning to settle again at Bethlehem--one might, from our Evangelist's way of speaking here, equally conclude that the parents of our Lord had never been at Nazareth until now. Did we know exactly the sources from which the matter of each of the Gospels was drawn up, or the mode in which these were used, this apparent discrepancy would probably disappear at once. In neither case is there any inaccuracy. At the same time it is difficult, with these facts before us, to conceive that either of these two Evangelists wrote his Gospel with that of the other before him--though many think this a precarious inference. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene-- better, perhaps, "Nazarene." The best explanation of the origin of this name appears to be that which traces it to the word netzer in Is 11:1--the small twig, sprout, or sucker, which the prophet there says, "shall come forth from the stem (or rather, 'stump') of Jesse, the branch which should fructify from his roots." The little town of Nazareth, mentioned neither in the Old Testament nor in Josephus, was probably so called from its insignificance: a weak twig in contrast to a stately tree; and a special contempt seemed to rest upon it--"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (Joh 1:46)--over and above the general contempt in which all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that settled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of the Jews, debased it. Thus, in the providential arrangement by which our Lord was brought up at the insignificant and opprobrious town called Nazareth, there was involved, first, a local humiliation; next, an allusion to Isaiah's prediction of His lowly, twig-like upspringing from the branchless, dried-up stump of Jesse; and yet further, a standing memorial of that humiliation which "the prophets," in a number of the most striking predictions, had attached to the Messiah.


<title type="x-s2">CHAPTER 3</title> <title type="x-s3"><reference osisRef="Matt.3.1-Matt.3.12">Mt 3:1-12</reference>. Preaching and Ministry of John. ( = <reference osisRef="Mark.1.1-Mark.1.8">Mr 1:1-8</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.3.1-Luke.3.18">Lu 3:1-18</reference>).</title>
 For the proper introduction to this section, we must go to <reference osisRef="Luke.3.1">Lu 3:1</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.3.2">2</reference>. Here, as Bengel well observes, the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our Lord's own age is determined by it (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.23">Lu 3:23</reference>). No such elaborate chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar recommendation of his Gospel, that "he had traced down all things with precision from the very first" (<reference osisRef="Matt.1.3">Mt 1:3</reference>). Here evidently commences his proper narrative.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.1">Lu 3:1</reference>:

<hi type="bold">Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar--</hi>not the fifteenth from his full accession on the death of Augustus, but from the period when he was associated with him in the government of the empire, three years earlier, about the end of the year of Rome 779, or about four years before the usual reckoning.

<hi type="bold">Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea--</hi>His proper title was procurator, but with more than the usual powers of that office. After holding it for about ten years, he was summoned to Rome to answer to charges brought against him; but ere he arrived, Tiberius died (A.D. 35), and soon after miserable Pilate committed suicide.

<hi type="bold">And Herod being tetrarch of Galilee--</hi>(See on <reference osisRef="Mark.6.14">Mr 6:14</reference>).

<hi type="bold">and his brother Philip--</hi>a very different and very superior Philip to the one whose name was Herod Philip, and whose wife, Herodias, went to live with Herod Antipas (see on <reference osisRef="Mark.6.17">Mr 6:17</reference>).

<hi type="bold">tetrarch of Ituræa--</hi>lying to the northeast of Palestine, and so called from Itur or Jetur, Ishmael's son (<reference osisRef="1Chr.1.31">1Ch 1:31</reference>), and anciently belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh.

<hi type="bold">and of the region of Trachonitis--</hi>lying farther to the northeast, between Iturea and Damascus; a rocky district infested by robbers, and committed by Augustus to Herod the Great to keep in order.

<hi type="bold">and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene--</hi>still more to the northeast; so called, says Robinson, from Abila, eighteen miles from Damascus.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.2">Lu 3:2</reference>:

<hi type="bold">Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests--</hi>The former, though deposed, retained much of his influence, and, probably, as sagan or deputy, exercised much of the power of the high priesthood along with Caiaphas, his son-in-law (<reference osisRef="John.18.13">Joh 18:13</reference>; <reference osisRef="Acts.4.6">Ac 4:6</reference>). In David's time both Zadok and Abiathar acted as high priests (<reference osisRef="2Sam.15.35">2Sa 15:35</reference>), and it seems to have been the fixed practice to have two (<reference osisRef="2Kgs.25.18">2Ki 25:18</reference>).

<hi type="bold">the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness--</hi>Such a way of speaking is never once used when speaking of Jesus, because He was Himself The Living Word; whereas to all merely creature-messengers of God, the word they spoke was a foreign element. See on <reference osisRef="John.3.31">Joh 3:31</reference>. We are now prepared for the opening words of Matthew.

<hi type="bold">1. In those days--</hi>of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him.

<hi type="bold">came John the Baptist, preaching--</hi>about six months before his Master.

<hi type="bold">in the wilderness of Judea--</hi>the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 3 Mt 3:1-12. Preaching and Ministry of John. ( = Mr 1:1-8; Lu 3:1-18). For the proper introduction to this section, we must go to Lu 3:1, 2. Here, as Bengel well observes, the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our Lord's own age is determined by it (Lu 3:23). No such elaborate chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar recommendation of his Gospel, that "he had traced down all things with precision from the very first" (Mt 1:3). Here evidently commences his proper narrative. Lu 3:1: Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar-- not the fifteenth from his full accession on the death of Augustus, but from the period when he was associated with him in the government of the empire, three years earlier, about the end of the year of Rome 779, or about four years before the usual reckoning. Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea-- His proper title was procurator, but with more than the usual powers of that office. After holding it for about ten years, he was summoned to Rome to answer to charges brought against him; but ere he arrived, Tiberius died (A.D. 35), and soon after miserable Pilate committed suicide. And Herod being tetrarch of Galilee-- (See on Mr 6:14). and his brother Philip-- a very different and very superior Philip to the one whose name was Herod Philip, and whose wife, Herodias, went to live with Herod Antipas (see on Mr 6:17). tetrarch of Ituræa-- lying to the northeast of Palestine, and so called from Itur or Jetur, Ishmael's son (1Ch 1:31), and anciently belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh. and of the region of Trachonitis-- lying farther to the northeast, between Iturea and Damascus; a rocky district infested by robbers, and committed by Augustus to Herod the Great to keep in order. and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene-- still more to the northeast; so called, says Robinson, from Abila, eighteen miles from Damascus. Lu 3:2: Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests-- The former, though deposed, retained much of his influence, and, probably, as sagan or deputy, exercised much of the power of the high priesthood along with Caiaphas, his son-in-law (Joh 18:13; Ac 4:6). In David's time both Zadok and Abiathar acted as high priests (2Sa 15:35), and it seems to have been the fixed practice to have two (2Ki 25:18). the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness-- Such a way of speaking is never once used when speaking of Jesus, because He was Himself The Living Word; whereas to all merely creature-messengers of God, the word they spoke was a foreign element. See on Joh 3:31. We are now prepared for the opening words of Matthew. 1. In those days-- of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him. came John the Baptist, preaching-- about six months before his Master. in the wilderness of Judea-- the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.


<hi type="bold">2. And saying, Repent ye--</hi>Though the word strictly denotes a change of mind, it has respect here (and wherever it is used in connection with salvation) primarily to that sense of sin which leads the sinner to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy.

<hi type="bold">for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--</hi>This sublime phrase, used in none of the other Gospels, occurs in this peculiarly Jewish Gospel nearly thirty times; and being suggested by Daniel's grand vision of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days, to receive His investiture in a world-wide kingdom (<reference osisRef="Dan.7.13">Da 7:13</reference>, <reference osisRef="Dan.7.14">14</reference>), it was fitted at once both to meet the national expectations and to turn them into the right channel. A kingdom for which repentance was the proper preparation behooved to be essentially spiritual. Deliverance from sin, the great blessing of Christ's kingdom (<reference osisRef="Matt.1.21">Mt 1:21</reference>), can be valued by those only to whom sin is a burden (<reference osisRef="Matt.9.12">Mt 9:12</reference>). John's great work, accordingly, was to awaken this feeling and hold out the hope of a speedy and precious remedy.

2. And saying, Repent ye-- Though the word strictly denotes a change of mind, it has respect here (and wherever it is used in connection with salvation) primarily to that sense of sin which leads the sinner to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy. for the kingdom of heaven is at hand-- This sublime phrase, used in none of the other Gospels, occurs in this peculiarly Jewish Gospel nearly thirty times; and being suggested by Daniel's grand vision of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days, to receive His investiture in a world-wide kingdom (Da 7:13, 14), it was fitted at once both to meet the national expectations and to turn them into the right channel. A kingdom for which repentance was the proper preparation behooved to be essentially spiritual. Deliverance from sin, the great blessing of Christ's kingdom (Mt 1:21), can be valued by those only to whom sin is a burden (Mt 9:12). John's great work, accordingly, was to awaken this feeling and hold out the hope of a speedy and precious remedy.


<hi type="bold">3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying--</hi>(<reference osisRef="Matt.11.3">Mt 11:3</reference>).

<hi type="bold">The voice of one crying in the wilderness--</hi>(See on <reference osisRef="Luke.3.2">Lu 3:2</reference>); the scene of his ministry corresponding to its rough nature.

<hi type="bold">Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight--</hi>This prediction is quoted in all the four Gospels, showing that it was regarded as a great outstanding one, and the predicted forerunner as the connecting link between the old and the new economies. Like the great ones of the earth, the Prince of peace was to have His immediate approach proclaimed and His way prepared; and the call here--taking it generally--is a call to put out of the way whatever would obstruct His progress and hinder His complete triumph, whether those hindrances were public or personal, outward or inward. In Luke (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.5">Lu 3:5</reference>, <reference osisRef="Luke.3.6">6</reference>) the quotation is thus continued: "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Levelling and smoothing are here the obvious figures whose sense is conveyed in the first words of the proclamation--"Prepare ye the way of the Lord." The idea is that every obstruction shall be so removed as to reveal to the whole world the salvation of God in Him whose name is the "Saviour." (Compare <reference osisRef="Ps.98.3">Psa 98:3</reference>; <reference osisRef="Isa.11.10">Is 11:10</reference>; <reference osisRef="Isa.49.6">49:6</reference>; <reference osisRef="Isa.52.10">52:10</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.2.31">Lu 2:31</reference>, 32; <reference osisRef="Acts.13.47">Ac 13:47</reference>).

3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying-- (Mt 11:3). The voice of one crying in the wilderness-- (See on Lu 3:2); the scene of his ministry corresponding to its rough nature. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight-- This prediction is quoted in all the four Gospels, showing that it was regarded as a great outstanding one, and the predicted forerunner as the connecting link between the old and the new economies. Like the great ones of the earth, the Prince of peace was to have His immediate approach proclaimed and His way prepared; and the call here--taking it generally--is a call to put out of the way whatever would obstruct His progress and hinder His complete triumph, whether those hindrances were public or personal, outward or inward. In Luke (Lu 3:5, 6) the quotation is thus continued: "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Levelling and smoothing are here the obvious figures whose sense is conveyed in the first words of the proclamation--"Prepare ye the way of the Lord." The idea is that every obstruction shall be so removed as to reveal to the whole world the salvation of God in Him whose name is the "Saviour." (Compare Psa 98:3; Is 11:10; 49:6; 52:10; Lu 2:31, 32; Ac 13:47).


<hi type="bold">4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--</hi>woven of it.

<hi type="bold">and a leathern girdle about his loins--</hi>the prophetic dress of Elijah (<reference osisRef="2Kgs.1.8">2Ki 1:8</reference>; and see <reference osisRef="Zech.13.4">Zec 13:4</reference>).

<hi type="bold">and his meat was locusts--</hi>the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (<reference osisRef="Lev.11.22">Le 11:22</reference>).

<hi type="bold">and wild honey--</hi>made by wild bees (<reference osisRef="1Sam.14.25">1Sa 14:25</reference>, <reference osisRef="1Sam.14.26">26</reference>). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.

4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair-- woven of it. and a leathern girdle about his loins-- the prophetic dress of Elijah (2Ki 1:8; and see Zec 13:4). and his meat was locusts-- the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Le 11:22). and wild honey-- made by wild bees (1Sa 14:25, 26). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.


<hi type="bold">5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan--</hi>From the metropolitan center to the extremities of the Judean province the cry of this great preacher of repentance and herald of the approaching Messiah brought trooping penitents and eager expectants.

5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan-- From the metropolitan center to the extremities of the Judean province the cry of this great preacher of repentance and herald of the approaching Messiah brought trooping penitents and eager expectants.


<hi type="bold">6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins--</hi>probably confessing aloud. This baptism was at once a public seal of their felt need of deliverance from sin, of their expectation of the coming Deliverer, and of their readiness to welcome Him when He appeared. The baptism itself startled, and was intended to startle, them. They were familiar enough with the baptism of proselytes from heathenism; but this baptism of Jews themselves was quite new and strange to them.

6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins-- probably confessing aloud. This baptism was at once a public seal of their felt need of deliverance from sin, of their expectation of the coming Deliverer, and of their readiness to welcome Him when He appeared. The baptism itself startled, and was intended to startle, them. They were familiar enough with the baptism of proselytes from heathenism; but this baptism of Jews themselves was quite new and strange to them.


<hi type="bold">7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them--</hi>astonished at such a spectacle.

<hi type="bold">O generation of vipers--</hi>"Viper brood," expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stern prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the nation's religious principles. In <reference osisRef="Matt.12.34">Mt 12:34</reference>; <reference osisRef="Matt.23.33">23:33</reference>, this strong language of the Baptist is anew applied by the faithful and true Witness to the Pharisees specifically--the only party that had zeal enough actively to diffuse this poison.

<hi type="bold">who hath warned you--</hi>given you the hint, as the idea is.

<hi type="bold">to flee from the wrath to come?--</hi>"What can have brought you hither?" John more than suspected it was not so much their own spiritual anxieties as the popularity of his movement that had drawn them thither. What an expression is this, "The wrath to come!" God's "wrath," in Scripture, is His righteous displeasure against sin, and consequently against all in whose skirts sin is found, arising out of the essential and eternal opposition of His nature to all moral evil. This is called "the coming wrath," not as being wholly future--for as a merited sentence it lies on the sinner already, and its effects, both inward and outward, are to some extent experienced even now--but because the impenitent sinner will not, until "the judgment of the great day," be concluded under it, will not have sentence publicly and irrevocably passed upon him, will not have it discharged upon him and experience its effects without mixture and without hope. In this view of it, it is a wrath wholly to come, as is implied in the noticeably different form of the expression employed by the apostle in <reference osisRef="1Thess.1.10">1Th 1:10</reference>. Not that even true penitents came to John's baptism with all these views of "the wrath to come." But what he says is that this was the real import of the step itself. In this view of it, how striking is the word he employs to express that step--fleeing from it--as of one who, beholding a tide of fiery wrath rolling rapidly towards him, sees in instant flight his only escape!

7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them-- astonished at such a spectacle. O generation of vipers-- "Viper brood," expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stern prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the nation's religious principles. In Mt 12:34; 23:33, this strong language of the Baptist is anew applied by the faithful and true Witness to the Pharisees specifically--the only party that had zeal enough actively to diffuse this poison. who hath warned you-- given you the hint, as the idea is. to flee from the wrath to come?-- "What can have brought you hither?" John more than suspected it was not so much their own spiritual anxieties as the popularity of his movement that had drawn them thither. What an expression is this, "The wrath to come!" God's "wrath," in Scripture, is His righteous displeasure against sin, and consequently against all in whose skirts sin is found, arising out of the essential and eternal opposition of His nature to all moral evil. This is called "the coming wrath," not as being wholly future--for as a merited sentence it lies on the sinner already, and its effects, both inward and outward, are to some extent experienced even now--but because the impenitent sinner will not, until "the judgment of the great day," be concluded under it, will not have sentence publicly and irrevocably passed upon him, will not have it discharged upon him and experience its effects without mixture and without hope. In this view of it, it is a wrath wholly to come, as is implied in the noticeably different form of the expression employed by the apostle in 1Th 1:10. Not that even true penitents came to John's baptism with all these views of "the wrath to come." But what he says is that this was the real import of the step itself. In this view of it, how striking is the word he employs to express that step--fleeing from it--as of one who, beholding a tide of fiery wrath rolling rapidly towards him, sees in instant flight his only escape!


<hi type="bold">8. Bring forth therefore fruits--</hi>the true reading clearly is "fruit";

<hi type="bold">meet for repentance--</hi>that is, such fruit as befits a true penitent. John now being gifted with a knowledge of the human heart, like a true minister of righteousness and lover of souls here directs them how to evidence and carry out their repentance, supposing it genuine; and in the following verses warns them of their danger in case it were not.

8. Bring forth therefore fruits-- the true reading clearly is "fruit"; meet for repentance-- that is, such fruit as befits a true penitent. John now being gifted with a knowledge of the human heart, like a true minister of righteousness and lover of souls here directs them how to evidence and carry out their repentance, supposing it genuine; and in the following verses warns them of their danger in case it were not.


<hi type="bold">9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father--</hi>that pillow on which the nation so fatally reposed, that rock on which at length it split.

<hi type="bold">for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham--</hi>that is, "Flatter not yourselves with the fond delusion that God stands in need of you, to make good His promise of a seed to Abraham; for I tell you that, though you were all to perish, God is as able to raise up a seed to Abraham out of those stones as He was to take Abraham himself out of the rock whence he was hewn, out of the hole of the pit whence he was digged" (<reference osisRef="Isa.51.1">Is 51:1</reference>). Though the stern speaker may have pointed as he spoke to the pebbles of the bare clay hills that lay around (so Stanley's Sinai and Palestine), it was clearly the calling of the Gentiles--at that time stone-dead in their sins, and quite as unconscious of it--into the room of unbelieving and disinherited Israel that he meant thus to indicate (see <reference osisRef="Matt.21.43">Mt 21:43</reference>; <reference osisRef="Rom.11.20">Ro 11:20</reference>, <reference osisRef="Rom.11.30">30</reference>).

9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father-- that pillow on which the nation so fatally reposed, that rock on which at length it split. for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham-- that is, "Flatter not yourselves with the fond delusion that God stands in need of you, to make good His promise of a seed to Abraham; for I tell you that, though you were all to perish, God is as able to raise up a seed to Abraham out of those stones as He was to take Abraham himself out of the rock whence he was hewn, out of the hole of the pit whence he was digged" (Is 51:1). Though the stern speaker may have pointed as he spoke to the pebbles of the bare clay hills that lay around (so Stanley's Sinai and Palestine), it was clearly the calling of the Gentiles--at that time stone-dead in their sins, and quite as unconscious of it--into the room of unbelieving and disinherited Israel that he meant thus to indicate (see Mt 21:43; Ro 11:20, 30).


<hi type="bold">10. And now also--</hi>And even already.

<hi type="bold">the axe is laid unto--</hi>"lieth at."

<hi type="bold">the root of the trees--</hi>as it were ready to strike: an expressive figure of impending judgment, only to be averted in the way next described.

<hi type="bold">therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire--</hi>Language so personal and individual as this can scarcely be understood of any national judgment like the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, with the breaking up of the Jewish polity and the extrusion of the chosen people from their peculiar privileges which followed it; though this would serve as the dark shadow, cast before, of a more terrible retribution to come. The "fire," which in another verse is called "unquenchable," can be no other than that future "torment" of the impenitent whose "smoke ascendeth up for ever and ever," and which by the Judge Himself is styled "everlasting punishment" (<reference osisRef="Matt.25.46">Mt 25:46</reference>). What a strength, too, of just indignation is in that word "cast" or "flung into the fire!"

 The third Gospel here adds the following important particulars in <reference osisRef="Luke.3.10-Luke.3.16">Lu 3:10-16</reference>.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.10">Lu 3:10</reference>:

<hi type="bold">And the people--</hi>the multitudes.

<hi type="bold">asked him, saying, What shall we do then?--</hi>that is, to show the sincerity of our repentance.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.11">Lu 3:11</reference>:

<hi type="bold">He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat--</hi>provisions, victuals.

<hi type="bold">let him do likewise--</hi>This is directed against the reigning avarice and selfishness. (Compare the corresponding precepts of the Sermon on the Mount, <reference osisRef="Matt.5.40-Matt.5.42">Mt 5:40-42</reference>).

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.12">Lu 3:12</reference>:

<hi type="bold">Then came also the publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master--</hi>Teacher.

<hi type="bold">what shall we do?--</hi>In what special way is the genuineness of our repentance to be manifested?

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.13">Lu 3:13</reference>:

<hi type="bold">And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you--</hi>This is directed against that extortion which made the publicans a byword. (See on <reference osisRef="Matt.5.46">Mt 5:46</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.15.1">Lu 15:1</reference>).

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.14">Lu 3:14</reference>:

<hi type="bold">And the soldiers--</hi>rather, "And soldiers"--the word means "soldiers on active duty."

<hi type="bold">likewise demanded--</hi>asked.

<hi type="bold">of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man--</hi>Intimidate. The word signifies to "shake thoroughly," and refers probably to the extorting of money or other property.

<hi type="bold">neither accuse any falsely--</hi>by acting as informers vexatiously on frivolous or false pretexts.

<hi type="bold">and be content with your wages--</hi>or "rations." We may take this, say Webster and Wilkinson, as a warning against mutiny, which the officers attempted to suppress by largesses and donations. And thus the "fruits" which would evidence their repentance were just resistance to the reigning sins--particularly of the class to which the penitent belonged--and the manifestation of an opposite spirit.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.15">Lu 3:15</reference>:

<hi type="bold">And as the people were in expectation--</hi>in a state of excitement, looking for something new

<hi type="bold">and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not--</hi>rather, "whether he himself might be the Christ." The structure of this clause implies that they could hardly think it, but yet could not help asking themselves whether it might not be; showing both how successful he had been in awakening the expectation of Messiah's immediate appearing, and the high estimation and even reverence, which his own character commanded.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.16">Lu 3:16</reference>:

<hi type="bold">John answered--</hi>either to that deputation from Jerusalem, of which we read in <reference osisRef="John.1.19">Joh 1:19</reference>, &c., or on some other occasion, to remove impressions derogatory to his blessed Master, which he knew to be taking hold of the popular mind.

<hi type="bold">saying unto them all--</hi>in solemn protestation.

 (We now return to the first Gospel.)

10. And now also-- And even already. the axe is laid unto-- "lieth at." the root of the trees-- as it were ready to strike: an expressive figure of impending judgment, only to be averted in the way next described. therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire-- Language so personal and individual as this can scarcely be understood of any national judgment like the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, with the breaking up of the Jewish polity and the extrusion of the chosen people from their peculiar privileges which followed it; though this would serve as the dark shadow, cast before, of a more terrible retribution to come. The "fire," which in another verse is called "unquenchable," can be no other than that future "torment" of the impenitent whose "smoke ascendeth up for ever and ever," and which by the Judge Himself is styled "everlasting punishment" (Mt 25:46). What a strength, too, of just indignation is in that word "cast" or "flung into the fire!" The third Gospel here adds the following important particulars in Lu 3:10-16. Lu 3:10: And the people-- the multitudes. asked him, saying, What shall we do then?-- that is, to show the sincerity of our repentance. Lu 3:11: He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat-- provisions, victuals. let him do likewise-- This is directed against the reigning avarice and selfishness. (Compare the corresponding precepts of the Sermon on the Mount, Mt 5:40-42). Lu 3:12: Then came also the publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master-- Teacher. what shall we do?-- In what special way is the genuineness of our repentance to be manifested? Lu 3:13: And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you-- This is directed against that extortion which made the publicans a byword. (See on Mt 5:46; Lu 15:1). Lu 3:14: And the soldiers-- rather, "And soldiers"--the word means "soldiers on active duty." likewise demanded-- asked. of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man-- Intimidate. The word signifies to "shake thoroughly," and refers probably to the extorting of money or other property. neither accuse any falsely-- by acting as informers vexatiously on frivolous or false pretexts. and be content with your wages-- or "rations." We may take this, say Webster and Wilkinson, as a warning against mutiny, which the officers attempted to suppress by largesses and donations. And thus the "fruits" which would evidence their repentance were just resistance to the reigning sins--particularly of the class to which the penitent belonged--and the manifestation of an opposite spirit. Lu 3:15: And as the people were in expectation-- in a state of excitement, looking for something new and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not-- rather, "whether he himself might be the Christ." The structure of this clause implies that they could hardly think it, but yet could not help asking themselves whether it might not be; showing both how successful he had been in awakening the expectation of Messiah's immediate appearing, and the high estimation and even reverence, which his own character commanded. Lu 3:16: John answered-- either to that deputation from Jerusalem, of which we read in Joh 1:19, &c., or on some other occasion, to remove impressions derogatory to his blessed Master, which he knew to be taking hold of the popular mind. saying unto them all-- in solemn protestation. (We now return to the first Gospel.)


<hi type="bold">11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance--</hi>(See on <reference osisRef="Matt.3.6">Mt 3:6</reference>);

<hi type="bold">but he that cometh after me is mightier than I--</hi>In Mark and Luke this is more emphatic--"But there cometh the Mightier than I" (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.7">Mr 1:7</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.3.16">Lu 3:16</reference>).

<hi type="bold">whose shoes--</hi>sandals.

<hi type="bold">I am not worthy to bear--</hi>The sandals were tied and untied, and borne about by the meanest servants.

<hi type="bold">he shall baptize you--</hi>the emphatic "He": "He it is," to the exclusion of all others, "that shall baptize you."

<hi type="bold">with the Holy Ghost--</hi>"So far from entertaining such a thought as laying claim to the honors of Messiahship, the meanest services I can render to that 'Mightier than I that is coming after me' are too high an honor for me; I am but the servant, but the Master is coming; I administer but the outward symbol of purification; His it is, as His sole prerogative, to dispense the inward reality." Beautiful spirit, distinguishing this servant of Christ throughout!

<hi type="bold">and with fire--</hi>To take this as a distinct baptism from that of the Spirit--a baptism of the impenitent with hell-fire--is exceedingly unnatural. Yet this was the view of Origen among the Fathers; and among moderns, of Neander, Meyer, De Wette, and Lange. Nor is it much better to refer it to the fire of the great day, by which the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Clearly, as we think, it is but the fiery character of the Spirit's operations upon the soul--searching, consuming, refining, sublimating--as nearly all good interpreters understand the words. And thus, in two successive clauses, the two most familiar emblems--water and fire--are employed to set forth the same purifying operations of the Holy Ghost upon the soul.

11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance-- (See on Mt 3:6); but he that cometh after me is mightier than I-- In Mark and Luke this is more emphatic--"But there cometh the Mightier than I" (Mr 1:7; Lu 3:16). whose shoes-- sandals. I am not worthy to bear-- The sandals were tied and untied, and borne about by the meanest servants. he shall baptize you-- the emphatic "He": "He it is," to the exclusion of all others, "that shall baptize you." with the Holy Ghost-- "So far from entertaining such a thought as laying claim to the honors of Messiahship, the meanest services I can render to that 'Mightier than I that is coming after me' are too high an honor for me; I am but the servant, but the Master is coming; I administer but the outward symbol of purification; His it is, as His sole prerogative, to dispense the inward reality." Beautiful spirit, distinguishing this servant of Christ throughout! and with fire-- To take this as a distinct baptism from that of the Spirit--a baptism of the impenitent with hell-fire--is exceedingly unnatural. Yet this was the view of Origen among the Fathers; and among moderns, of Neander, Meyer, De Wette, and Lange. Nor is it much better to refer it to the fire of the great day, by which the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Clearly, as we think, it is but the fiery character of the Spirit's operations upon the soul--searching, consuming, refining, sublimating--as nearly all good interpreters understand the words. And thus, in two successive clauses, the two most familiar emblems--water and fire--are employed to set forth the same purifying operations of the Holy Ghost upon the soul.


<hi type="bold">12. Whose fan--</hi>winnowing fan.

<hi type="bold">is in his hand--</hi>ready for use. This is no other than the preaching of the Gospel, even now beginning, the effect of which would be to separate the solid from the spiritually worthless, as wheat, by the winnowing fan, from the chaff. (Compare the similar representation in Mal 3:1-3).

<hi type="bold">and he will throughly purge his floor--</hi>threshing-floor; that is, the visible Church.

<hi type="bold">and gather his wheat--</hi>His true-hearted saints; so called for their solid worth (compare <reference osisRef="Amos.9.9">Am 9:9</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.22.31">Lu 22:31</reference>).

<hi type="bold">into the garner--</hi>"the kingdom of their Father," as this "garner" or "barn" is beautifully explained by our Lord in the parable of the wheat and the tares (<reference osisRef="Matt.13.30">Mt 13:30</reference>, <reference osisRef="Matt.13.43">43</reference>).

<hi type="bold">but he will burn up the chaff--</hi>empty, worthless professors of religion, void of all solid religious principle and character (see <reference osisRef="Ps.1.4">Psa 1:4</reference>).

<hi type="bold">with unquenchable fire--</hi>Singular is the strength of this apparent contradiction of figures:--to be burnt up, but with a fire that is unquenchable; the one expressing the utter destruction of all that constitutes one's true life, the other the continued consciousness of existence in that awful condition.

 Luke adds the following important particulars (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.18-Luke.3.20">Lu 3:18-20</reference>):

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.18">Lu 3:18</reference>:

<hi type="bold">And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people--</hi>showing that we have here but an abstract of his teaching. Besides what we read in <reference osisRef="John.1.29">Joh 1:29</reference>, 33, 34; 3:27-36, the incidental allusion to his having taught his disciples to pray (<reference osisRef="Luke.11.1">Lu 11:1</reference>)--of which not a word is said elsewhere--shows how varied his teaching was.

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.19">Lu 3:19</reference>:

<hi type="bold">But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done--</hi>In this last clause we have an important fact, here only mentioned, showing how thoroughgoing was the fidelity of the Baptist to his royal hearer, and how strong must have been the workings of conscience in that slave of passion when, notwithstanding such plainness, he "did many things, and heard John gladly" (<reference osisRef="Mark.6.20">Mr 6:20</reference>).

 <reference osisRef="Luke.3.20">Lu 3:20</reference>:

<hi type="bold">Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison--</hi>This imprisonment of John, however, did not take place for some time after this; and it is here recorded merely because the Evangelist did not intend to recur to his history till he had occasion to relate the message which he sent to Christ from his prison at Machærus (<reference osisRef="Luke.7.18">Lu 7:18</reference>, &c.).
 <title type="x-s3"><reference osisRef="Matt.3.13-Matt.3.17">Mt 3:13-17</reference>. Baptism of Christ and Descent of the Spirit upon Him Immediately Thereafter. ( = <reference osisRef="Mark.1.9-Mark.1.11">Mr 1:9-11</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.3.21">Lu 3:21</reference>, <reference osisRef="Luke.3.22">22</reference>; <reference osisRef="John.1.31-John.1.34">Joh 1:31-34</reference>).</title>
 Baptism of Christ (<reference osisRef="Matt.3.13-Matt.3.15">Mt 3:13-15</reference>).

12. Whose fan-- winnowing fan. is in his hand-- ready for use. This is no other than the preaching of the Gospel, even now beginning, the effect of which would be to separate the solid from the spiritually worthless, as wheat, by the winnowing fan, from the chaff. (Compare the similar representation in Mal 3:1-3). and he will throughly purge his floor-- threshing-floor; that is, the visible Church. and gather his wheat-- His true-hearted saints; so called for their solid worth (compare Am 9:9; Lu 22:31). into the garner-- "the kingdom of their Father," as this "garner" or "barn" is beautifully explained by our Lord in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13:30, 43). but he will burn up the chaff-- empty, worthless professors of religion, void of all solid religious principle and character (see Psa 1:4). with unquenchable fire-- Singular is the strength of this apparent contradiction of figures:--to be burnt up, but with a fire that is unquenchable; the one expressing the utter destruction of all that constitutes one's true life, the other the continued consciousness of existence in that awful condition. Luke adds the following important particulars (Lu 3:18-20): Lu 3:18: And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people-- showing that we have here but an abstract of his teaching. Besides what we read in Joh 1:29, 33, 34; 3:27-36, the incidental allusion to his having taught his disciples to pray (Lu 11:1)--of which not a word is said elsewhere--shows how varied his teaching was. Lu 3:19: But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done-- In this last clause we have an important fact, here only mentioned, showing how thoroughgoing was the fidelity of the Baptist to his royal hearer, and how strong must have been the workings of conscience in that slave of passion when, notwithstanding such plainness, he "did many things, and heard John gladly" (Mr 6:20). Lu 3:20: Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison-- This imprisonment of John, however, did not take place for some time after this; and it is here recorded merely because the Evangelist did not intend to recur to his history till he had occasion to relate the message which he sent to Christ from his prison at Machærus (Lu 7:18, &c.). Mt 3:13-17. Baptism of Christ and Descent of the Spirit upon Him Immediately Thereafter. ( = Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21, 22; Joh 1:31-34). Baptism of Christ (Mt 3:13-15).


<hi type="bold">13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him--</hi>Moses rashly anticipated the divine call to deliver his people, and for this was fain to flee the house of bondage, and wait in obscurity for forty years more (<reference osisRef="Exod.2.11">Ex 2:11</reference>, &c.). Not so this greater than Moses. All but thirty years had He now spent in privacy at Nazareth, gradually ripening for His public work, and calmly awaiting the time appointed of the Father. Now it had arrived; and this movement from Galilee to Jordan is the step, doubtless, of deepest interest to all heaven since that first one which brought Him into the world. Luke (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.21">Lu 3:21</reference>) has this important addition--"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus being baptized," &c.--implying that Jesus waited till all other applicants for baptism that day had been disposed of, ere He stepped forward, that He might not seem to be merely one of the crowd. Thus, as He rode into Jerusalem upon an ass "whereon yet never man sat" (<reference osisRef="Luke.19.30">Lu 19:30</reference>), and lay in a sepulchre "wherein was never man yet laid" (<reference osisRef="John.19.41">Joh 19:41</reference>), so in His baptism, too. He would be "separate from sinners."

13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him-- Moses rashly anticipated the divine call to deliver his people, and for this was fain to flee the house of bondage, and wait in obscurity for forty years more (Ex 2:11, &c.). Not so this greater than Moses. All but thirty years had He now spent in privacy at Nazareth, gradually ripening for His public work, and calmly awaiting the time appointed of the Father. Now it had arrived; and this movement from Galilee to Jordan is the step, doubtless, of deepest interest to all heaven since that first one which brought Him into the world. Luke (Lu 3:21) has this important addition--"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus being baptized," &c.--implying that Jesus waited till all other applicants for baptism that day had been disposed of, ere He stepped forward, that He might not seem to be merely one of the crowd. Thus, as He rode into Jerusalem upon an ass "whereon yet never man sat" (Lu 19:30), and lay in a sepulchre "wherein was never man yet laid" (Joh 19:41), so in His baptism, too. He would be "separate from sinners."


<hi type="bold">14. But John forbade him--</hi>rather, "was (in the act of) hindering him," or "attempting to hinder him."

<hi type="bold">saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?--</hi>(How John came to recognize Him, when he says he knew Him not, see on John 1. 31-34.) The emphasis of this most remarkable speech lies all in the pronouns: "What! Shall the Master come for baptism to the servant--the sinless Saviour to a sinner?" That thus much is in the Baptist's words will be clearly seen if it be observed that he evidently regarded Jesus as Himself needing no purification but rather qualified to impart it to those who did. And do not all his other testimonies to Christ fully bear out this sense of the words? But it were a pity if, in the glory of this testimony to Christ, we should miss the beautiful spirit in which it was borne--"Lord, must I baptize Thee? Can I bring myself to do such a thing?"--reminding us of Peter's exclamation at the supper table, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" while it has nothing of the false humility and presumption which dictated Peter's next speech. "Thou shalt never wash my feet" (<reference osisRef="John.13.6">Joh 13:6</reference>, <reference osisRef="John.13.8">8</reference>).

14. But John forbade him-- rather, "was (in the act of) hindering him," or "attempting to hinder him." saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?-- (How John came to recognize Him, when he says he knew Him not, see on John 1. 31-34.) The emphasis of this most remarkable speech lies all in the pronouns: "What! Shall the Master come for baptism to the servant--the sinless Saviour to a sinner?" That thus much is in the Baptist's words will be clearly seen if it be observed that he evidently regarded Jesus as Himself needing no purification but rather qualified to impart it to those who did. And do not all his other testimonies to Christ fully bear out this sense of the words? But it were a pity if, in the glory of this testimony to Christ, we should miss the beautiful spirit in which it was borne--"Lord, must I baptize Thee? Can I bring myself to do such a thing?"--reminding us of Peter's exclamation at the supper table, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" while it has nothing of the false humility and presumption which dictated Peter's next speech. "Thou shalt never wash my feet" (Joh 13:6, 8).


<hi type="bold">15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now--</hi>"Let it pass for the present"; that is, "Thou recoilest, and no wonder, for the seeming incongruity is startling; but in the present case do as thou art bidden."

<hi type="bold">for thus it becometh us--</hi>"us," not in the sense of "me and thee," or "men in general," but as in <reference osisRef="John.3.11">Joh 3:11</reference>.

<hi type="bold">to fulfil all righteousness--</hi>If this be rendered, with Scrivener, "every ordinance," or, with Campbell, "every institution," the meaning is obvious enough; and the same sense is brought out by "all righteousness," or compliance with everything enjoined, baptism included. Indeed, if this be the meaning, our version perhaps best brings out the force of the opening word "Thus." But we incline to think that our Lord meant more than this. The import of circumcision and of baptism seems to be radically the same. And if our remarks on the circumcision of our Lord (see on <reference osisRef="Luke.2.21-Luke.2.24">Lu 2:21-24</reference>) are well founded, He would seem to have said, "Thus do I impledge Myself to the whole righteousness of the Law--thus symbolically do enter on and engage to fulfil it all." Let the thoughtful reader weigh this.

<hi type="bold">Then he suffered him--</hi>with true humility, yielding to higher authority than his own impressions of propriety.

 Descent of the Spirit upon the Baptized Redeemer (<reference osisRef="Matt.3.16">Mt 3:16</reference>, <reference osisRef="Matt.3.17">17</reference>).

15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now-- "Let it pass for the present"; that is, "Thou recoilest, and no wonder, for the seeming incongruity is startling; but in the present case do as thou art bidden." for thus it becometh us-- "us," not in the sense of "me and thee," or "men in general," but as in Joh 3:11. to fulfil all righteousness-- If this be rendered, with Scrivener, "every ordinance," or, with Campbell, "every institution," the meaning is obvious enough; and the same sense is brought out by "all righteousness," or compliance with everything enjoined, baptism included. Indeed, if this be the meaning, our version perhaps best brings out the force of the opening word "Thus." But we incline to think that our Lord meant more than this. The import of circumcision and of baptism seems to be radically the same. And if our remarks on the circumcision of our Lord (see on Lu 2:21-24) are well founded, He would seem to have said, "Thus do I impledge Myself to the whole righteousness of the Law--thus symbolically do enter on and engage to fulfil it all." Let the thoughtful reader weigh this. Then he suffered him-- with true humility, yielding to higher authority than his own impressions of propriety. Descent of the Spirit upon the Baptized Redeemer (Mt 3:16, 17).


<hi type="bold">16. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water--</hi>rather, "from the water." Mark has "out of the water" (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.10">Mr 1:10</reference>). "and"--adds Luke (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.21">Lu 3:21</reference>), "while He was praying"; a grand piece of information. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water--His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer continued likely as He stepped out of the stream, and again stood upon the dry ground; the work before Him, the needed and expected Spirit to rest upon Him for it, and the glory He would then put upon the Father that sent Him--would not these fill His breast, and find silent vent in such form as this?--"Lo, I come; I delight to do Thy will, O God. Father, glorify Thy name. Show Me a token for good. Let the Spirit of the Lord God come upon Me, and I will preach the Gospel to the poor, and heal the broken-hearted, and send forth judgment unto victory." While He was yet speaking--

<hi type="bold">lo, the heavens were opened--</hi>Mark says, sublimely, "He saw the heavens cleaving" (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.10">Mr 1:10</reference>).

<hi type="bold">and he saw the Spirit of God descending--</hi>that is, He only, with the exception of His honored servant, as he tells us himself (<reference osisRef="John.1.32-John.1.34">Joh 1:32-34</reference>); the by-standers apparently seeing nothing.

<hi type="bold">like a dove, and lighting upon him--</hi>Luke says, "in a bodily shape" (<reference osisRef="Luke.3.22">Lu 3:22</reference>); that is, the blessed Spirit, assuming the corporeal form of a dove, descended thus upon His sacred head. But why in this form? The Scripture use of this emblem will be our best guide here. "My dove, my undefiled is one," says the Song of Solomon (<reference osisRef="Song.6.9">So 6:9</reference>). This is chaste purity. Again, "Be ye harmless as doves," says Christ Himself (<reference osisRef="Matt.10.16">Mt 10:16</reference>). This is the same thing, in the form of inoffensiveness towards men. "A conscience void of offense toward God and toward men" (<reference osisRef="Acts.24.16">Ac 24:16</reference>) expresses both. Further, when we read in the Song of Solomon (<reference osisRef="Song.2.14">So 2:14</reference>), "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs (see <reference osisRef="Isa.60.8">Is 60:8</reference>), let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely"--it is shrinking modesty, meekness, gentleness, that is thus charmingly depicted. In a word--not to allude to the historical emblem of the dove that flew back to the ark, bearing in its mouth the olive leaf of peace (<reference osisRef="Gen.8.11">Ge 8:11</reference>)--when we read (<reference osisRef="Ps.68.13">Psa 68:13</reference>), "Ye shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold," it is beauteousness that is thus held forth. And was not such that "holy, harmless, undefiled One," the "separate from sinners?" "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever!" But the fourth Gospel gives us one more piece of information here, on the authority of one who saw and testified of it: "John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and IT ABODE UPON Him." And lest we should think that this was an accidental thing, he adds that this last particular was expressly given him as part of the sign by which he was to recognize and identify Him as the Son of God: "And I <hi type="bold">knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending AND REMAINING ON Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God" (<reference osisRef="John.1.32-John.1.34">Joh 1:32-34</reference>). And when with this we compare the predicted descent of the Spirit upon Messiah (<reference osisRef="Isa.11.2">Is 11:2</reference>), "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him," we cannot doubt that it was this permanent and perfect resting of the Holy Ghost upon the Son of God--</hi>now and henceforward in His official capacity--that was here visibly manifested.

16. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water-- rather, "from the water." Mark has "out of the water" (Mr 1:10). "and"--adds Luke (Lu 3:21), "while He was praying"; a grand piece of information. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water--His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer continued likely as He stepped out of the stream, and again stood upon the dry ground; the work before Him, the needed and expected Spirit to rest upon Him for it, and the glory He would then put upon the Father that sent Him--would not these fill His breast, and find silent vent in such form as this?--"Lo, I come; I delight to do Thy will, O God. Father, glorify Thy name. Show Me a token for good. Let the Spirit of the Lord God come upon Me, and I will preach the Gospel to the poor, and heal the broken-hearted, and send forth judgment unto victory." While He was yet speaking-- lo, the heavens were opened-- Mark says, sublimely, "He saw the heavens cleaving" (Mr 1:10). and he saw the Spirit of God descending-- that is, He only, with the exception of His honored servant, as he tells us himself (Joh 1:32-34); the by-standers apparently seeing nothing. like a dove, and lighting upon him-- Luke says, "in a bodily shape" (Lu 3:22); that is, the blessed Spirit, assuming the corporeal form of a dove, descended thus upon His sacred head. But why in this form? The Scripture use of this emblem will be our best guide here. "My dove, my undefiled is one," says the Song of Solomon (So 6:9). This is chaste purity. Again, "Be ye harmless as doves," says Christ Himself (Mt 10:16). This is the same thing, in the form of inoffensiveness towards men. "A conscience void of offense toward God and toward men" (Ac 24:16) expresses both. Further, when we read in the Song of Solomon (So 2:14), "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs (see Is 60:8), let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely"--it is shrinking modesty, meekness, gentleness, that is thus charmingly depicted. In a word--not to allude to the historical emblem of the dove that flew back to the ark, bearing in its mouth the olive leaf of peace (Ge 8:11)--when we read (Psa 68:13), "Ye shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold," it is beauteousness that is thus held forth. And was not such that "holy, harmless, undefiled One," the "separate from sinners?" "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever!" But the fourth Gospel gives us one more piece of information here, on the authority of one who saw and testified of it: "John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and IT ABODE UPON Him." And lest we should think that this was an accidental thing, he adds that this last particular was expressly given him as part of the sign by which he was to recognize and identify Him as the Son of God: "And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending AND REMAINING ON Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God" (Joh 1:32-34). And when with this we compare the predicted descent of the Spirit upon Messiah (Is 11:2), "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him," we cannot doubt that it was this permanent and perfect resting of the Holy Ghost upon the Son of God-- now and henceforward in His official capacity--that was here visibly manifested.


<hi type="bold">17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is--</hi>Mark and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art." (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.11">Mr 1:11</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.3.22">Lu 3:22</reference>).

<hi type="bold">my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased--</hi>The verb is put in the aorist to express absolute complacency, once and for ever felt towards Him. The English here, at least to modern ears, is scarcely strong enough. "I delight" comes the nearest, perhaps, to that ineffable complacency which is manifestly intended; and this is the rather to be preferred, as it would immediately carry the thoughts back to that august Messianic prophecy to which the voice from heaven plainly alluded (<reference osisRef="Isa.42.1">Is 42:1</reference>), "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, IN WHOM My soul delighteth." Nor are the words which follow to be overlooked, "I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." (The Septuagint perverts this, as it does most of the Messianic predictions, interpolating the word "Jacob," and applying it to the Jews). Was this voice heard by the by-standers? From Matthew's form of it, one might suppose it so designed; but it would appear that it was not, and probably John only heard and saw anything peculiar about that great baptism. Accordingly, the words, "Hear ye Him," are not added, as at the Transfiguration. <chapter eID="Matt.3"/>

17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is-- Mark and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art." (Mr 1:11; Lu 3:22). my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased-- The verb is put in the aorist to express absolute complacency, once and for ever felt towards Him. The English here, at least to modern ears, is scarcely strong enough. "I delight" comes the nearest, perhaps, to that ineffable complacency which is manifestly intended; and this is the rather to be preferred, as it would immediately carry the thoughts back to that august Messianic prophecy to which the voice from heaven plainly alluded (Is 42:1), "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, IN WHOM My soul delighteth." Nor are the words which follow to be overlooked, "I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." (The Septuagint perverts this, as it does most of the Messianic predictions, interpolating the word "Jacob," and applying it to the Jews). Was this voice heard by the by-standers? From Matthew's form of it, one might suppose it so designed; but it would appear that it was not, and probably John only heard and saw anything peculiar about that great baptism. Accordingly, the words, "Hear ye Him," are not added, as at the Transfiguration.


<title type="x-s2">CHAPTER 4</title> <title type="x-s3"><reference osisRef="Matt.4.1-Matt.4.11">Mt 4:1-11</reference>. Temptation of Christ. ( = <reference osisRef="Mark.1.12">Mr 1:12</reference>, <reference osisRef="1Cor.1.13">13</reference>; <reference osisRef="Luke.4.1-Luke.4.13">Lu 4:1-13</reference>).</title>

<hi type="bold">1. Then--</hi>an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.12">Mr 1:12</reference>) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (<reference osisRef="Luke.4.1">Lu 4:1</reference>).

<hi type="bold">was Jesus led up--</hi>that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.

<hi type="bold">of the Spirit--</hi>that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led," &c. Mark's expression has a startling sharpness about it--"Immediately the Spirit driveth Him" (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.12">Mr 1:12</reference>), "putteth," or "hurrieth Him forth," or "impelleth Him." (See the same word in <reference osisRef="Mark.1.43">Mr 1:43</reference>; 5:40; <reference osisRef="Matt.9.25">Mt 9:25</reference>; <reference osisRef="Matt.13.52">13:52</reference>; <reference osisRef="John.10.4">Joh 10:4</reference>). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew's more gentle expression, "was led up," intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was.

<hi type="bold">into the wilderness--</hi>probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days--"an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain" [Robinson, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable.

<hi type="bold">to be tempted--</hi>The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, <reference osisRef="Gen.22.1">Ge 22:1</reference>, "It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham," or put his faith to a severe proof. (See <reference osisRef="Deut.8.2">De 8:2</reference>). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one--"the tempter" (<reference osisRef="Matt.4.3">Mt 4:3</reference>). Accordingly "to be tempted" here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (<reference osisRef="Jas.1.13-Jas.1.17">Jas 1:13-17</reference>).

<hi type="bold">of the devil--</hi>The word signifies a slanderer--one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (<reference osisRef="Rev.12.10">Re 12:10</reference>), "The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night." Mark (<reference osisRef="Mark.1.13">Mr 1:13</reference>) says, "He was forty days tempted of Satan," a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability "to succor them that are tempted" (<reference osisRef="Heb.2.18">He 2:18</reference>). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days' fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period.

 First Stage:

CHAPTER 4 Mt 4:1-11. Temptation of Christ. ( = Mr 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1-13). 1. Then-- an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (Mr 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1). was Jesus led up-- that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot. of the Spirit-- that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led," &c. Mark's expression has a startling sharpness about it--"Immediately the Spirit driveth Him" (Mr 1:12), "putteth," or "hurrieth Him forth," or "impelleth Him." (See the same word in Mr 1:43; 5:40; Mt 9:25; 13:52; Joh 10:4). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew's more gentle expression, "was led up," intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was. into the wilderness-- probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days--"an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain" [Robinson, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable. to be tempted-- The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, Ge 22:1, "It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham," or put his faith to a severe proof. (See De 8:2). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one--"the tempter" (Mt 4:3). Accordingly "to be tempted" here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jas 1:13-17). of the devil-- The word signifies a slanderer--one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (Re 12:10), "The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night." Mark (Mr 1:13) says, "He was forty days tempted of Satan," a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability "to succor them that are tempted" (He 2:18). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days' fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period. First Stage: