CHAPTER 19. FAREWELL TO GALILEE. In Mt.'s narrative the journey of Jesus to the south, reported in Matthew 19:1, marks the close of the Galilean ministry. Not so obviously so in Mk.'s (see notes there), though no hint is given of a return to Galilee. It is not perfectly clear whether the incidents... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἐγένετο … λόγους τούτους : similar formulae after important groups of _logia_ in Matthew 7:28; Matthew 11:1; Matthew 13:53. μετῆρεν : also in Matthew 13:53, _vide_ notes there; points to a change of scene worthy of note, as to Nazareth, which Jesus rarely visited, or to Judaea, as here. ἀπὸ τ. Γ... [ Continue Reading ]
_Introductory_, _cf._ Mark 10:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἠκολούθησαν : the crowds follow as if there had been no interruption, in Mt.; in Mk., who knows of a time of hiding (Matthew 9:30), they reassemble (Matthew 10:1). ἐθεράπευσεν α. ἐκεῖ : a healing ministry commences in the south; in Mk. a teaching ministry (Matthew 10:1).... [ Continue Reading ]
φ. πειράζοντες : Pharisees again, tempting of course; could not ask a question at Jesus without sinister motives. εἰ ἔξεστιν : direct question in indirect form, _vide_ on Matthew 12:10. ἀπολῦσαι … κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν : the question is differently formulated in the two accounts, and the answer differen... [ Continue Reading ]
_The marriage question_ (Mark 10:2-9).... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε : the words quoted are to be found in Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24. ὁ κτίσας : the participle with article used substantively = the Creator. ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς goes along with what follows, Christ's purpose being to emphasise the primitive state of things. From the beginning God made man, male and... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ εἶπεν : _God_ said, though the words as they stand in Gen. may be a continuation of Adam's reflections, or a remark of the writer. ἕνεκεν τούτου : connected in Gen. with the story of the woman made from the rib of the man, here with the origin of sex. The sex principle imperiously demands that a... [ Continue Reading ]
ὥστε with indicative, expressing actual result as Christ views the matter. They _are_ no longer two, but one flesh, one spirit, one person. ὃ οὖν : inference from God's will to man's duty. The creation of sex, and the high doctrine as to the cohesion it produces between man and woman, laid down in G... [ Continue Reading ]
τί οὖν, etc.: such doctrine could not be directly gainsaid, but a difficulty might be raised by an appeal to Moses and his enactment about a bill of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1). The Pharisees seem to have regarded Moses as a patron of the practice of putting away, rather than as one bent on mitigatin... [ Continue Reading ]
πρὸς τ., with reference to. σκληροκαρδίαν : a word found here and in several places in O. T. (Sept [110]), not in profane writers; points to a state of heart which cannot submit to the restraints of a high and holy law, literally uncircumcisedness of heart (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4). ἐπέτρεψε... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 19:9, _ide_ notes on Matthew 5:31-32.... [ Continue Reading ]
αἰτία : a vague word. We should say: if such be the state of matters as between husband and wife, and that is doubtless what is meant. So interpreted, αἰτία would = _res, conditio_. (So Grotius.) Fritzsche regards the phrase ἡ αἰτία τ. ἀ. μ. τ. γ. as in a negligent way expressing the idea: if the re... [ Continue Reading ]
_Subsequent conversation with the disciples_. Christ's doctrine on marriage not only separated Him _totacœlo_ from Pharisaic opinions of all shades, but was too high even for the Twelve. It was indeed far in advance of all previous or contemporary theory and practice in Israel. Probably no one befor... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν. Jesus catches up the remark of the disciples, and attaches to it a deeper sense than they thought of. Their idea was that marriage was not worth having if a man must put up with all the faults and caprices of a woman, without possibility of escape, except by gross misconduct. He thinks o... [ Continue Reading ]
is an explanatory commentary on δέδοται. εὐνοῦχος : keeper of the bedchamber in an Oriental barem (from εὐνή, ed, and ἔχω), a jealous office, which could be entrusted only to such as were incapable of abusing their trust; hence one who has been emasculated. Jesus distinguishes three sorts, two physi... [ Continue Reading ]
τότε : if the order of the narrative reflect the order of events, this invasion by the children was a happy coincidence after those words about the sacred and indissoluble tie of marriage and the duty of subordinating even it to the claims of the kingdom. προσηνέχθησαν, passive, by whom brought not... [ Continue Reading ]
_Children brought for a blessing_ (Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄφετε, μὴ κωλύετε : visits of the children never unseasonable; Jesus ever delighted to look on the living emblems of the true citizen of the Kingdom of God; pleased with them for what they were naturally, and for what they signified. τοιούτων, of such, _i.e._, the child- _like_; repetition of an old... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπορεύθη ἐκεῖθεν; He departed thence, no indication whence or whither. The results of this meeting are conceivable. Christians may have come out of that company. Mothers would not forget Him who blessed their children on the way to His cross, or fail to speak of the event to them when they were olde... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδού, lo! introduces a story worth telling. εἷς : one, singled out from the crowd by his approach towards Jesus, and, as the narrative shows, by his spiritual state. Διδάσκαλε : this reading, which omits the epithet ἀγαθέ, doubtless gives us the true text of Mt., but in all probability not the exact... [ Continue Reading ]
_A man in quest of the “summum bonum”_ (Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23). A phenomenon as welcome to Jesus as the visit of the mothers with their children: a man not belonging to the class of self-satisfied religionists of whom He had had ample experience; with moral ingenuousness, an open mind, and a... [ Continue Reading ]
τί με ἐρωτᾷς, etc.: it seems as if Jesus thought the question superfluous (so Weiss and Meyer), but this was only a teacher's way of leading on a pupil = “of course there is only one answer to that: God is the one good being, and His revealed will shows us the good He would have us do”. A familiar o... [ Continue Reading ]
ποίας; not = τίνας (Grotius), but what sort of commands: out of the multitude of commands divine and human, which do you mean? He had a shrewd guess doubtless, but wanted to be sure. Christ's reply follows in this and subsequent verse, quoting in direct form prefaced with τό the sixth, seventh, eigh... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ νεανίσκος, the _youth_; whence known? from a special tradition (Meyer); an inference from the expression ἐκ νεότητός μου in Mark 10:20 (Weiss). ἐφύλαξα (- άμην). Kypke and Elsner take pains to show that the use of this verb (and of τηρεῖν, Matthew 19:17) in the sense of obeying commands is good Gr... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰ θέλες τέλειος εἶναι (on τέλειος _vide_ Matthew 5:48): if you wish to reach your end, the true life and the rest it brings. ὕπαγε, etc.: go, sell off, distribute to the poor, and then come, follow me such is the advice Christ gives: His final lesson for this inquirer. It is a subjective counsel re... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀπῆλθεν : he would have to go away in any case, even if he meant to comply with the advice in order to carry it into effect. But he went away λυπούμενος, in genuine distress, because placed in a dilemma between parting with wealth and social position, and forfeiting the joy of disciplehood under an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Conversation ensuing_ (Mark 10:23-27; Luke 18:24-27).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀμὴν, introduces as usual a solemn utterance. πλούσιος : the rich man is brought on the stage, not as an object of envy or admiration, which he is to the worldly-minded, but as an object of commiseration. δυσκόλως εἰσελεύσεται, etc.: because with difficulty shall he enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This... [ Continue Reading ]
πάλιν δὲ λέγω : reiteration with greater emphasis. The strong language of Jesus here reveals a keen sense of disappointment at the loss of so promising a man to the ranks of disciplehood. He sees so clearly what he might be, were it not for that miserable money. εὐκοπώτερον, etc.: a comparison to ex... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξεπλήσσοντο σφόδρα : the severity of the Master's doctrine on wealth as on divorce (Matthew 19:12) was more than the disciples could bear. It took their breath away, so to speak. τίς ἄρα, etc.: it seemed to them to raise the question as to the possibility of salvation generally. The question may re... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐμβλέψας denotes a look of observation and sympathy. Jesus sees that He has made too deep an impression, depressing in effect, and hastens to qualify what He had said: “with mild, meek eye soothing their scared mind, and relieving their distress” (Chrys., _Hom._ lxiii.). παρὰ ἀνθρώποις, etc.: practi... [ Continue Reading ]
εἶπεν δὲ Π.: from depression the disciples, represented by Peter, pass to self-complacent buoyancy their natural mood. ἰδοὺ points to a fact deserving special notice in view of the recent incident. ἡμεῖς, _we_, have done what that man failed to do: left all and followed Thee. τί ἄρα, etc.: a questio... [ Continue Reading ]
_A reaction_ (Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀμὴν : introducing a solemn statement. ὑμεῖς οἱ ἀκ.: not a nominative absolute (Palairet, _Observ._), but being far from the verb, ὑμεῖς is repeated (with καὶ) after καθίσεσθε. ἐν τ. παλινγενεσίᾳ to be connected with καθίσεσθε following. This is a new word in the Gospel vocabulary, and points to the... [ Continue Reading ]
eneral promise for all faithful ones. ἀδελφούς, etc.: detailed specification of the things renounced for Christ. πολλαπλασίονα λήψεται : shall receive manifoldly the things renounced, _i.e._, in the final order of things, in the new-born world, as nothing is said to the contrary. Mk. and Lk. make th... [ Continue Reading ]
πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται, etc., but many first ones shall be last, and last ones first. Fritzsche reverses the meaning = many being last shall be first, so making it accord with Matthew 20:16. The words are so arranged as to suggest taking πρῶτ. ἔσχ. and ἔσχ. πρῶτ. as composite ideas, and rendering: many s... [ Continue Reading ]