Mat. xvi.20. that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
MARK Viii. part of ver. 27, 28. and ver. 29, 30.
27 he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
28 And they-John the Baptist-and others, One of the pro-
phets.
29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
LUKE ix. part of ver. 18, 19. ver. 20. and part of ver. 21.
18 he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say,
Elias-
20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter
answering said, The Christ of God.
21 And-them-to tell no man that thing.
Christ astonishes the Disciples by declaring the necessity
of his Death, and Resurrection.
MATT. xvi. 21-28. MARK viii. 31. to the end.
Mat.xvi.21. from that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disci- Galilee. ples how that he,
Markviii.31. the Son of Man,
Mat. xvi.21. must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things,
Markviii.31. and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and
Mat. xvi.21. and be raised again the third day 20.
and, as far as the circumstances of the various Churches may
require, was continued to their episcopal successors.
power of binding and loosing is generally called the power of
the keys; and consists of authority to admit into the Church,
and to exclude from it; and it implies, as the words of our
Lord decidedly assert, the power to condemn for sin, and to
absolve from sin.
(a) Lightfoot's Harmony of the N. T. Works, folio, vol. i. p. 238.
(b) Vol. ii. p. 205. (c) Our Lord only asserts in very general terms,
that the apostles had power to decide what was approved or disap-
proved of God; but the Jews tanght (Jalhut Simeoni, part i. fol. 225.
1.) whoever is excommunicated one day on earth, although he be then
absolved, is not pardoned in heaven until after seven days-he who is
thus condemned on earth for seven days, is absolved in heaven at the
end of thirty. Schoetgen. Hor. Heb. vol. i. p. 145-6. (d) See also this
subject fully discussed in Potter's Church Government, chap. v. p.
330-361. Scott's Christian Life, folio edit. part ii. chap. vii. p. 492.
20 Having now, by the force of his miracles, elicited from his disciples the declaration, that he was the Messiah; and having confirmed the truth of that declaration by the authority which he committed to the apostles, our Lord proceeded im
Mark viii.32.
Mat. xvi.22.
And he spake that saying openly.
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying,
Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
mediately to reveal more explicitly the real and spiritual nature
of his kingdom. At this moment every errroneous opinion that
the Apostles, with all the Jewish nation, entertained respecting
the nature of the Messiah's kingdom, must have received the
fullest confirmation, and have given birth to the highest expec-
tations. Peter was promised the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
with authority to bind and to loose, to give laws, to pronounce
what was clean and unclean. The temporal power and majesty
of their Master, they supposed, were now to be developed, and
with it their own honour and aggrandizement. They had
seen his miracles; they had confessed their faith; they believed
in Him as the long expected Messiah; they anticipated the
establishment of his kingdom, and their own immediate eleva-
tion to wealth and dignity. (Sect. 15.)
It was under these circumstances (compare Matt. xvi. 20.
with v. 21.) that our Lord began to check the rising hopes of
his followers, by disclosing to them the object of his incarna.
tion-that He, the Son of Man, who had so abundantly demon-
strated his divine power, must go to Jerusalem, there suffer many
things, to be rejected by the chief priests and scribes, and,
finally, be killed, and raised again the third day. Peter, who
on all occasions was the principal speaker, and the most zea-
lous of all the apostles, could neither reconcile this assertion
with all that he had so lately seen and heard, nor could repress
his surprize and indignation at even the suggestion of such
conduct. Our Lord, who knew the thoughts of his heart, and
who read there the lurking desire of ambition and power, re-
proved him before the twelve for his erroneous notions, and
for his shrinking from the anticipation of humiliation and mis-
fortune. He then, in allusion to his own sufferings, addressed
the apostles and the multitude, in the words of the latter part
of the section. He assures his disciples of the absolute neces-
sity of their taking up the cross, and of sacrificing even their
lives for his sake and the Gospel's-He blends with these ex-
hortations the assurance that He was the predicted Son of
Man; and that though he called upon them now to suffer with
him, He would come again in the glory of his Father, the glory
of the Shechinah, with his holy angels, as Daniel had foretold;
and in his spiritual kingdom he would reward them for their
courage and devotion. It is not improbable that our Lord per-
ceived some expression of surprise, or incredulity, upon the
countenances of his disciples, for He immediately cautions
them against unbelief. He repeats his declaration, that He
will again come in his own glory, and in the glory of his Fa-
ther, and that even the present generation should witness it;
for there were some who were present, who should not die
till they had seen the Son of Man come in his kingdom. By
the term glory, in these passages doka, the Jews understood
the bright flame, and cloud, the glory of the Shechinab, in which
the Angel Jehovah was accustomed to appear to the ancient
fathers (a).
There is a beautiful passage in Habakkuk in which the prophet describes the appearance of the Shechinah which led the Israelites out of Egypt, into the wilderness of Paran. God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens. His brightness was as the light. In
But when he had turned about, and looked on his dis- Galilee. ciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan ;
Mat. xvi. 23. thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God,
Mark viii.33. but the things that be of men.
And when he had called the people unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them
Luke ix. 23. all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: Markviii.35. but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the Gospel's, the same shall save it.
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of
my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him
also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh
Luke ix. 26. in his own glory, and
Markviii.38. in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.
Luke ix. 26. and of the holy angels.
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that
these expressions the prophet seems to anticipate the des-
cription of the Evangelists. Bishop Horseley remarks, that
the description of Habakkuk in this passage is that of the
Shechinab; and he supposes that the expression (Habak. iii.
11.)" at the sight of thine arrows they went, and at the shining
of thy glittering spear," refers to the darting forth of the rays of
light from the body of the flame of the Shechinah, which might
resemble that of the streamers of the Aurora Borealis.
passage" it shall be as" is in the Biblical Criticisms, but I do not
recollect the volume and page. Whether the Shechinah in which
the Angel Jehovah, the Lord Jesus, shall come to judgment, shall
be of this description, or whether it shall be as the self-in-
volving flame which was stationed at the gate of Paradise, or
the bright cloud which on the day of the transfiguration over-
shadowed the disciples and their Lord, we cannot now decide.
But of this we may be assured, that we shall all behold this great
and wonderful, and divine personage. Like his disciples, we
must become his associates, or we shall be banished from that
presence as unworthy its sublime contemplation.
(a) See on the identity of the glory in which our Lord appeared, with
the glory of the Shechinah, Schoetgen Horæ Hebraicæ, vol. i. p. 324.
and particularly p. 542. on Rom. ix. 4. on the words kai ʼn dóža—
Hac voce intelligitur Shechina sive majestas divina quæ alias a Græcis
doža vocabatur. See also Dan Heinsius Exercitationes Sacræ, p. 220.
and particularly 198 in Johan. where this is proved at great length.
Witsius de Glorificatione in Monte, Melet. Leidens. sect. 30.
Mat.xvi. 28. there be some of them that stand here, which shall not Galilee.
Mark ix. 1. taste of death", till thay have seen
the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
the kingdom of God come with
MATT. XVI. part of ver. 21. 23. and ver. 24, 25, 26. and part of
21 of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan-but those that be of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see
21 Bishop Porteus remarks, that this passage is commonly supposed to refer to the signal manifestation of Christ's power in the destruction of Jerusalem. But, he continues, we know of no one of Christ's disciples that survived this event but St. John; and our Saviour speaks of more than one. In the 27th verse we read, the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, to reward every man according to his works, which undoubtedly relates to Christ's final advent. When, therefore, it immediately follows in the next verse, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom; is it not most natural, is it not almost necessary, to understand these similar expressions as relating to the same great event. Now as Christ could not here mean to say, that some of his disciples should live till the day of judgment, He only meant to intimate that a few of them, before his death, should be favoured with a representation of the glorious appearance of Christ and his saints, as they should be seen in the air, on that awful day. And this promise was fulfilled a few days after, when he was transfigured before them on the mountain.
The whole transaction is described in the same terms, as St. John in the Revelation applies to the Son of Man in his state of glory in heaven, (Rev. i. 13-16.) St. Luke calls his appearance, after being transfigured, his glory. St. John uses the same expression, We beheld his glory, as of the only begotten of the Father; and St. Peter, the other witness, refers to it in a similar manner, 2 Pet. i. 16, 17, 18. Bishop Porteus's Lectures, p. 56.
Whitby reasons at some length against this interpretation of the account of the transfiguration. He would refer it rather to the day of judgment. On considering, however, the parallel passages, as they are placed together in this arrangement, I cannot think bis conclusions correct. The manner in which our Lord appeared at his transfiguration, undoubtedly appears to have been the same as that in which he will again descend from heaven. In this sense, his glorifying at the transfiguration may be considered the type of his future glory; and Christ may be said to have come at that time in the glory of his future kingdom.
Mat. xvii. 1.
Luke ix. 28.
MARK viii. part of ver. 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35.
31 he began to teach them, that-must suffer many things -and after three days rise again.
32 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
33 for thou savourest not the things that be of God
34 -Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
LUKE ix. ver. 22. part of ver. 23. 26. and ver. 27.
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
23 And he said to them-the same shall save it.
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come-and in his Father's
27 But I tell you of a truth, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.
SECTION XVII.
The Transfiguration of Christ 22.
MARK ix. 2-13. LUKE ix. 28-36.
And after six days
And it came to pass about eight days after these say-
ings,
22 Having now prepared the minds of his disciples for his
approaching sufferings and death, our Lord, for the greater
confirmation of their faith in all the predicted trials that await-
ed them, determines to manifest himself to them in his glorified
state in that state, we may believe, in which He was before
the world began, in which He is at present, in which also
He will appear to an assembled world. He sets before them, as
his custom was, by a significant action, a demonstration of the
truth of what he had told them, that some of them should see
their king in his glory. The transfiguration of Christ, like his
resurrection and ascension, appears as it were to draw back for
a moment the veil from the invisible world. The impenetrable
barrier is passed; a light seems to dart from heaven to disperse
the thick clouds that hang over the valley of the shadow of
death, and we are admitted into the presence of the Judge of
the world, and see with the eye of faith, the spirits of the just
made perfect, before we are called upon to resign this cor-
ruptible body to the shroud and to the tomb. Where the spirits
of the departed exist, what their condition, or what their laws
of consciousness, or means of happiness, man must die before
he can ascertain. But it is not improbable that the invisible
world is so mysteriously connected with this visible diurnal
sphere, that the cessation of our consciousness as to present
things, is but the commencement of our consciousness of all
those unknown realities of the other world. Who can say, that
we are not at this moment surrounded-that we are not at
every period of our lives encompassed with a cloud of angelic
spirits, the anxious witnesses of our thoughts and actions.
"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep:
and it is only the fragile veil of this body that prevents us
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