23 Luke vi. 1. + belly, after three days confinement, was an eminent type of his resurrection, after as From Matth. long a continuance || of his body in the bowels of the earth: and thence he took occa- xii. 1. Mark ii. sion to remind them," that the inhabitants of Nineveh +2, a pagan city, and also the John v. 1. to queen of Sheba +3, should rise up in judgment +4 against that generation, and condemn Matth. xvii. 14. it, because the former repented at the preaching of Jonas, and the latter took a vast Luke ix. 37. journey to partake of the benefits of Solomon's wisdom, whereas they refused to hearken John vii. 1. to one who was incontestibly + greater than either Jonas or Solomon." While he was continuing his discourse in this manner, word was brought that his mother and some other kinsfolk were at the door, desiring to speak with him, (for fearing either that he might be too much transported by his ministry, or grow faint for The word in the original signifies not a whale, but any large fish; and some naturalists are of opinion, that it was not a whale, whose gullet is too narrow for that purpose, but rather what the Greek calls the lamia or dog-fish, (as we shewed elsewhere) whose throat is more capacious, that swallowed up Jonah. Vid. vol. ii. p. 3×6, &c. But how can our Saviour be said to have continued as long in the grave as Jonah did in the whale's belly, when there were no more than two nights and one whole day between his death and his resurrection? Now, for a resolution of this, we must observe, 1st, That the Hebrews began their computation of a natural day from the evening or night preceding; so that, from one sun set to another sun-set, they reckoned a complete day, even as Moses does, when he says, "The evening and the morning were the first day," Gen. i. 5.; 2dly, That it is a common thing with them, as well as other nations, to put part of a day for the whole; so that, whatever is done in any part of the day, is properly enough said to be done on that day; and, 3dly, That they usually reckon that to be done in so many days, or so many days and nights, which begins in any part of the first, and ends in any part of the last day. Now, allowing this manner of computation, and reckoning that the first day began on Thursday at sun set, and ended upon Friday at sun-set, since our Saviour died on Friday about three in the afternoon, by putting a part for the whole, here we have one day. Saturday is allowed on all hands to be another; and since the third day began on Saturday at sun set, and our Saviour rose on the morning following, that part of the day being likewise put for the whole, is fairly computed for the third. The Hebrew child, according to law, was to be circumcised the eighth day, but then the day of its birth and of its circumcision were both counted; and, in like manner, if we reckon the day on which Christ died for one, and that on which he rose for another, including withal the night belonging to the former, we may properly enough say, that, in imitation of the prophet Jonah," he was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Whitby's and Hammond's Annotations, and Bishop Kidder's Demonstration, lib. i. c. 8. This city is generally supposed to have been built by Nimrod, was situate upon the river Tigris, and famous once for being the metropolis of the first, i. e. the Assyrian empire. Wells's Geography of the New Testament, +3 Sheba, or Saba, is a province of Arabia Felix, lying to the south of Judea, and on the extreme part of the continent, and, being bounded by the ocean, is therefore said to be "the utmost part of the earth." Wells's Geography of the New Testament. + This is spoken in allusion to a custom among the Jews and Romans, which was for the witnesses to rise from their seats when they accused criminals, or gave any evidence against them. Beausobre's Annotations. + Since God had promised Solomon, that as there was "none like him before him, so after him, 66 none should arise like him" for wisdom, 1 Kings iii. 12. our Saviour's declaring, that in this respect he was greater than Solomon, must be plainly avowing himself to be more than man. Whitby's Annotations. + The words in the text are, "His mother and his brethren," Matth. xii. 46. but as the word brethren (according to the language of the Jews, Gen. xxix. 12. Levit. x. 4.) is of great latitude, these brothers are supposed to be either Joseph's sons by a former wife, and so our Saviour's brothers-in-law, or the children of Mary the wife of Cleophas, and so his cousins-german. There is, indeed, a tradition in the church, that before his espousing the Virgin Mary, Joseph had another wife whose name was Ischa, by whom he had six children, four sons, James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, and two daughters, whose names, some say, were Esther and Thamar, others, Mary and Salome. But whoever compares Matth. xiii. 55.-xxvii. 56. Mark xv. 40. and John xix. 25. together, will find, that the four persons there said to be our Saviour's brothers were the sons of Mary, the wife of Cleophas, (or Alpheus, for the name is all one) and sister to the Blessed Virgin, and so these brothers of his (as we said) were no more than his cousins-german. Others, however, strenuously maintain the former opinion, viz. That Mary, the mother of Jesus, was their mother, i. e. their step-mother, and they, consequently, his brothers-in-law; and that, 1st, Because this opinion retains the proper signification of the word brothers, in which the Jews always seem to use it, when they speak of our Lord's brothers and sisters; and, 2dly, Because it agrees with the sense of antiquity, which, ever before St Jerom's time, (says the learned Pearson) looked upon them as the brothers of our Lord, who lived with his mother, and are therefore so frequently found together, Matth. xii. 46. John ii. 12. Matth. xii. 46. John ii. 12. Calmet's Commentary, and Beausobre's and Whitby's Annotations, Mark ix. 14. &c. or 5410. 31, &c. A. M. 4035, want of eating, or be endangered by the throng, they came to get him away); but, Ann. Dom being dissatisfied with their unseasonable interruption, he took occasion to inform the audience," that all worldly relations were of less consideration than the ties of duty. and religion; that the names † of mother and brother, which are sanctified by the laws of God and nature, were made much more sacred when a spiritual kindred does supervene;" and so turning to his disciples, he declared," that they were his truest relations who heard the word of God and practised it." Vulg. Fr. 29. The same day he went out of the house where he commonly abode, and, for the greater conveniency of teaching the people, repaired to the sea-shore, where being followed by the same multitudes, to avoid the throng he went on board a vessel, and from thence taught them in parables, (an usual way of instruction among the Jews, but what he had not practised before), thereby to engage the attention and accommodate himself to the capacity of those that heard him. By the parable of the sower, he represented the different successes of the Gospel, according to the different dispositions of its hearers; by the tares growing among the good seed, the mixture of the wicked and godly under the same profession of Christianity; by the grain of mustard seed, and the little piece of leaven, the wonderful increase and propagation of the Gospel from small beginnings; by the treasure in the field, and the pearl of great price, the inestimable benefits that would accrue to the true professors of religion; but that the profession of it would include a mixt multitude, and be therefore like a net cast into the sea, which incloses fishes of all kinds, some good and some bad; the good to be preserved, but the bad cast away. This is the explication which our Lord gave his disciples of these several parables; and when, by their answer, he perceived that they understood them all, he concluded his discourse with one similitude more, viz. That (a) "every Gospelteacher ought to resemble a well furnished house-keeper +2, who brings all things out of his repository, both old and new, according to the occasions of his guests." He had not continued long in Capernaum before he resolved to cross the lake or sea of Galilee; and to that purpose had ordered his disciples to prepare a vessel for We have another speech of our Saviour's, much And what this house-keeper was in his own fa- and profane. "To bring out of his treasure (or storehouse) things new and old," was a kind of proverbial saying among the Hebrews, and denoted a man's giving a plentiful or liberal entertainment to his friends, and such as came about him. And therefore as the householder, if a man of substance and sufficiency, of a large stock, and as large a mind, will entertain his friends and guests with plenty and variety of provisions, answerable to the difference of mens palates, as well as to the difference of the seasons; so our Gospel-scribe, or teacher, in the entertainment of his spiritual guests, is not always to set before them only the main substantials of religion, whether for belief or practice, but, as the matter shall require, to add also illustration to the one and enforcement to the other, sometimes persuading, sometimes terrifying; and accordingly addressing himself to the afflicted and desponding with gospel-lenitives, and to the hard and obstinate with legal corrosives; and since the relish of all is not the same, he is to apply to the vulgar, with plain familiar similitudes, and to the learned with greater choice of language and closeness of argument, and so suit his discourses to the various cir. cumstances, tempers, and apprehensions of his hearers. Calmet's Commentary, and South's Sermons, vol. iv. 23. Luke vi. 1. him But just as he was going on board, a certain scribe † came, and offered to attend From Matth. him wherever he went; but when he understood that no temporal emolument was to xii. 1. Mark ii. be obtained by such attendance, he very probably retracted. A disciple of his own at John v. 1. to the same time desired leave † to bury his father before he went along with him, but Matth. xvii. 14. he commanded him to follow him, and to leave such offices to the children f3 of this Luke ix 37. world; and, when another was for taking leave of his family, and disposing of his effects John vii. 1. before he went, our Saviour let him know, (a) "that whoever laid his hand on the plough, and looked back, was not fit for the kingdom of God". While the ship was under sail, and Jesus asleep in the stern, there arose a most terrible storm, so violent and impetuous that the whole ship was almost swallowed up by the waves. Hereupon his disciples, in great consternation, awoke him; and when he arose, at his rebuking the waves they obeyed his command, and immediately composed themselves into a profound calm †, to the no small astonishment of every one that saw it. What might possibly be the motive of this scribe's offering to attend our Saviour, the conjectures of commentators have been different. Some think that he did it with a sincere desire to become his disciple; others with a design to turn spy upon him; some out of a spirit of vanity, to distinguish himself, by being a retainer to a master in so great reputation among the people; and others out of a principle of self-interest, that he might attain some post of honour and advantage upon our Lord's advancement to his kingdom. This indeed seems to be the most probable ground of his resolution; and accordingly the design of our Saviour's answer is to discourage him from being his disciple upon such secular views, "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his own head," Matth. viii. 20. And therefore much less any accommodation or prospect of preferment for his followers. Calmet's Commentary, and Whitby's An notations. + Some are of opinion, that the disciple who requested this was St Philip, who was the first that adjoined himself to Jesus, and that his father was not actually dead, but only grown so very old that he could not live long; and therefore the purport of his address to Christ is, "That for the small remainder of his father's life he might be permitted to live with him, but that after he had paid his last offices to him, he would not fail to return again, and devote himself entirely to his service:" But others under stand the words in a literal sense. Calmet's Commentary. +3 The words in the text are," Let the dead bury the dead," Mat. viii. 22. which is a form of speech common in all sorts of authors, when in the same place they use the same words twice, though very frequently in different senses. Thus the Psalmist, speaking of God, says, " with the froward thou shalt shew thyself froward," Psal. xviii. 26. even as Mo ses introduces God spe king of himself, " If ye walk contrary to me, I will also walk contrary to you," Lev. xxvi. 23, 24. where the words froward and contrary, as they relate to God, denote the punishments which he intended to bring upon the obstinate, and are the rather used, because the same words went be fore. And, in like manner, " Let the dead bury +4" To put the hand to the plough," is a prover + The stilling of the raging of the sea was so pe Mark ix. 14. A. M. 4035, Ann. Dom. 31, &c. The next morning, as our Lord landed on the east side of the lake, in that part of &c. or 5440. the province of Trachonitis †, which is called the country of the Gadarens, † two demoniacs, most grievously distracted, with some poor rags about them, came running Vulg. Er. 29. towards him, and fell at his feet, and worshipped him. Hideous spectacles were they both; but one, much fiercer than the other, made dismal outcries both day and night, and cut his flesh with sharp stones; and though he had been often bound with fetters and chains, yet he as often broke them to pieces, ranging (with his companion) among the rocks f3 and tombs, and so very furious and outrageous, that no traveller durst pass that way. Upon their approach to Jesus, the devils (who spake by their mouths) declared him to be the Son of God, and expressed their fear of his being come to "torment them before their time". They acknowledged their number to be vastly great, and (if he cast them out of the possesed persons) implored him to suffer them to enter into a herd of swine that were feeding on the mountains not far off. Accordingly he permitted them: Whereupon the whole herd, to the number of two culiar a prerogative of God, Psal. lxxxix. 9. and cvii. 25. 29. that it is not at all wonderful that our Saviour's disciples should be convinced of a Divine power residing in him who was able to do this with the breath of his command. Whitby's Annotations. This country, which is so called by the Greeks from its rough and craggy mountains, together with Ituræa, made in our Saviour's time one tetrarchy, i. e. one fourth part, or rather division, (for they were not equal parts) of the kingdom of Herod the Great when he died. It was anciently called Argob, Deut. iii. 13. and, according to the best account, is bounded to the east by Arabia Deserta; to the west, by Batanæa; to the south, by Ituræa; and to the north, by the country of Damascus: And as it was a province full of rocky hills, which served for an harbour to a great number of thieves and robbers, it often found employment for Herod the Great (as we may see in the history of Josephus) to expel them. Wells's Geography of the New Testament, and Whitby's Table. This, in St Matthew, is called the country of the Gergesens, because it lay in the neighbourhood of the two cities, Gadara and Gergesa, which were both situated within the district of Decapolis. Gadara, which took its name from the tribe of Gad (to whom it fell by lot in the division of the land), was a famous city beyond Jordan, the capital of Paraa (as Josephus de Bello, lib. v. c. 3. tells us), and stood eastward of the sea of Tiberias, about sixty furlongs from the shore. Gergesa was a place of some importance likewise, according to the same historian; and the adjacency of these two towns made the evangelists call the country that lay between them sometimes by one name and sometimes by another. Wells's Geography of the New Testament. There is some difference between the evangelists in their account of this cure: For whereas St Mark, chap. v. 2. and St Luke, chap. viii. 27. take notice only of one demoniac, St Matthew, chap. viii. 28. makes mention of two Now to reconcile this seeming difference, Dr Lightfoot ingeniously conjectures that one of these two was a Gergesen, and a Jew, and so in casting the devil out of him, our Lord did no more than what he had frequently done in Judea ; but the other a Gadaren, i. e. one of an heatlien city, as Josephus testifies; for which reason St Mark St Luke take chiefly notice of him as a more remark able instance, because he and the Syrophoenician woman were the only two heathens we read of that our Saviour cured. But there is a farther reason for the evangelists taking notice of one rather than the other, and that is, That the one, in his behaviour, was more remarkable than the other; was possessed of an unclean spirit, called himself legion, and could not be bound with fetters or chains; went about naked, and cutting himself with stones; and when he was cured, distinguished himself by desiring to follow Christ; circumstances all which St Matthew omits, but St Mark and St Luke have particularly related, and upon these accounts might very likely think that he fell more properly under their consideration than the other. Whitby's and Beausobre's Annotations, and Appendix to Dissertation I. of this Book. +3 The tombs, which the evangelists here mention, are said to be in the mountains, and in the wilder. ness: For the custom of the Jews was, to have their tombs, like so many little cells, cut out in the sides of caverns, and hollow parts of rocks and mountains, at some distance from their towns, and usually in very lonely and desert places; into which it was usual for the devils to compel those whom they possessed, in order to confirm men in the vain persuasion, that the souls of those who died in any crime were, after death, turned into devils. Hammond's Annotations. * St Jerom, upon the passage now before us, is apt to imagine, that as slaves who have a long while run from their master, no sooner see his face but they bethink themselves of the punishment which, they have deserved; so the devils, finding our Saviour upon earth, thought at first sight that he was come to judge, and condemn them; and therefore they ask, "art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" i. e. before the time of the last judgment, when they expect no other than to be eternally pu nished, or (as the Scripture expresses it)" to be c.st into the lake of fire and brimstone for ever. Calmet's Commentary. thousand, ran violently upon the rocks, and, casting themselves headlong into the lake, From Matth. were all drowned and utterly lost. xii. 1. Mark ii. 23. Luke vi. 1. Mark ix. 14. The keepers of the swine fled in the utmost fright, and reported this strange acci-John v. 1. to dent in the city of Gadara and the neighbouring villages, which brought great multi- Matth. xvii. 14. tudes to the place, where they found the man (who had been the more furious of the Luke ix. 37. two) sitting at our Saviour's feet, cloathed, and in his perfect senses. But whether it John vii. 1. was that they took amiss the destruction of the swine, or thought themselves unworthy of his Divine presence, so it was that they intreated our Lord to depart out of their country; which accordingly he did: † but instead of permitting the man (out of whom he had cast the most devils) to go along with him as he desired, he ordered him (a) to "return to his house, and his friends, and there to declare what wonderful things the Lord had done for him." As soon as our Lord had repassed the lake, and was returned to Capernaum, the people came flocking about him as usual; and while he was teaching them, one Jairus †o, a chief ruler of the synagogue, falling prostrate at his feet, humbly besought him to come and cure his daughter, who was at the point of death; not doubting but that, if I laid his hands upon her, she would instantly recover. The forwardness of the ruler's faith claimed our Saviour's compassion and assistance; and therefore he immediately rose, and followed him : But as he was on the way, and pressed with great throngs of people, a certain woman †3, who had been diseased with an unnatural flux of blood for twelve years, and (in hopes of a cure) had in vain spent all her estate upon physicians, being nowconfident, that if she could but come to touch the hem of his garment she should be healed, pressed forward: and having got a touch of it privately (as she thought) found herself perfectly sound. But she was not unknown to Jesus; and therefore, when he, perceiving that "virtue was gone out of him," turned about in the throng, and † One reason, as some imagine, why this man desired to be with Christ, was his fear lest the devil at his departure might seize upon him again; and it was partly to avoid the suspicion of vain glory, whereof our Lord might have given some umbrage, had he carried about with him all those upon whom his greatest miracles were wrought, and partly to shew, that in his absence he was able to protect such as believe and trust in him, from the malice of evil spirits, that he would not accept of his company. Whitby's Annotations. (b) Mark v. 19. + Some learned men are of opinion, that this ruler of the synagogue was the president of the consistory of the twenty-three judges, who were appointed in every city to punish such offences as were not capital; but it is more generally thought that he was not a civil magistrate, but a leading man in the syna gogue of Capernaum, who had, in a great measure, under his direction such things as related to the service of God. We are to observe, however, that the word exiσuváyoyos is sometimes taken in a strict sense for the person who was the president, the head and master of the synagogue, who (according to this acceptation) was but one; and at other times, in a larger sense, so as to comprehend the presbyters and elders likewise, in which sense the rulers of the synagogue were more than one. How many they were, it is nowhere defined, because that depended upon the largeness of the city, and the number of those who frequented the place of Divine worship; only we may VOL. III. R observe, that Jarius was not the chief president, be- +3 Eusebius tells us for a certainty, that this wo- |