Page images
PDF
EPUB

vessel to the brim, which was before but partially filled; and the completion of a picture previously sketched. This idea fully accords with what follows; for our Lord first, in the most solemn manner, asserts the continued obligation of the moral law, by declaring that "whosoever should break one of these least commandments, and should teach men so, should be called least in the kingdom of heaven;" that is, be rejected from it; which could only be spoken of the moral law; for as to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law, his inspired apostles ultimately taught their followers to disregard them entirely. Secondly, he proceeds to give a more spiritual and extensive meaning to many of the moral precepts, than we find explicitly contained in any part of the Old Testament; and thereby showed that all the precepts of the law, even those which he does not specify, were to be understood as controlling the inward thoughts and desires of the heart; and thus he perfected or filled up the revelation of the moral law; and by this act he placed himself on an equality with the original Lawgiver. By the prophets we are also to understand, not those writings of the prophets which contained predictions of future events, and especially of the future Christ, though most evidently accomplished in and by him; but those PRECEPTIVE parts of their writings, in which the moral law was enforced, and other injunctions of a moral kind founded upon or suggested by it. That our Lord does not confine his expositions strictly to the law of the ten commandments is plain, from his selecting other points out of the juridical institutions of the Jews, (such, however, as have a manifest moral character and influence,) and either explaining or enlarging their sense, or else restraining them from misapplication. Such are those respecting divorce, swearing, and judicial retaliation. As to several other moral topics on which he dwells, such as almsgiving, ostentatious praying, covetousness, &c., they are also frequently adverted to in the reproofs and exhortations of the prophets; and these are placed by our Lord so manifestly

upon their true principles, and exhibited in so strong a light of simple, searching truth, and so sanctioned by promises and threatenings, that he may most emphatically be said to have perfected the moral law, as it appears in the prophets also, and thus to have presented to us a revelation of "the will of God," as to "our sanctification," more complete than was ever before given to mankind. He does not formally re-enact the ancient law, but he lays down its perpetual obligation; he teaches us to go more deeply into its meaning as a law, not merely for the regulation of the conduct, but the government of the heart. Both on this occasion, and at various times through the course of his ministry, he ADDED also many particular precepts. It is of the same law of which our Lord speaks, and with evident reference to his words in this passage, that the apostle Paul says, "Do we then make void THE LAW through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law," (Rom. iii. 31,) where he changes the term to complete or perfect, for that of " to establish," because it was the province, not of the servant but of the master, who was in fact the Lawgiver himself, to COMPLETE what was lacking in the former revelations of the law of God to man, by authorized exposition, and by additions standing upon the same right of the speaker to command, and the same obligation of the hearer to obey. This view of our Lord's meaning renders quite irrelevant much criticism, which has been expended upon the text when it is understood to comprehend the ceremonial law, to which our Lord indeed makes no allusion in the discourse which follows, and therefore cannot be supposed to have had any reference to it here. Dr. Marsh's attempt to prove that our Lord did not abolish even the Levitical law of Moses, or the outward forms of the Jewish religion, but left them to take their course, as not worthy his attention; whatever merit it may have, it has nothing to do with the text before us, which respects not the law of ceremonies, and affords therefore no illustration of it. There is, indeed, an important sense in which

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

k

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least

j Luke xvi. 17.

Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law; that is, its types, in his own person; for in his passion he realized them as fully as he accomplished the prophecies. Still this is not the point to which the text has respect; for by fulfilling the law of figures and shadows, he dissolved its obligation for ever; whereas, by fulfilling in the sense of perfecting or completing the moral law, he established it for ever.

Verse 18. For verily I say unto you, &c. -Aun is most frequently used in a PRECATIVE sense, as at the end of prayers, and then it signifies so let it be; and is therefore rendered yevoiro, fiat, by the LXX. In introducing a discourse, as here, and on many other occasions, by our Lord, who often repeats it, it is solemnly AFFIRMATIVE of the truth and importance of what follows, and has the sense of the Greek aλnews, the word used by St. Luke, and of our verily. An idle opinion has obtained among a few commentators, that the word amen, as employed by our Lord, has somewhat of the nature of an oath; to which they appear to have been led by observing it stated in Jewish writings, that he that says amen to an oath is equally bound with him that more formally makes it, and by the use of this word takes the oath upon himself. However casuistry might determine that question, is another consideration; but amen would, in that case, be used in its precative sense, and not as a mere affirmative, which is the case whenever it is employed by our Lord, as introductory to any of his sayings; and to make him affirm them in the form of an oath, is as uncritical as it is repulsive.

Till heaven and earth pass.-This is a proverbial expression to signify, through all time; to the end of the world.

One jot or one tittle.-One wra, iota, a Greek letter, which answers to the

k James ii. 10.

Hebrew, jod, the smallest of their alphabet. The "tittle," kepala, was with the Hebrews the slight mark at the angle of some of their letters, distinguishing them from others similar in form, as

from ; from 7; and so the meaning is, that not the smallest part of the law should be abolished; for the Jews, as Lightfoot remarks, use jod, their smallest letter, to express a short precept of their

law.

Till all be fulfilled.—Εως αν παντα γενηται, till all things be done, or accomplished. Till the law, through the grace of the gospel, has effected its original purpose, to subject men to the dominion of God. That it is the end of the gospel, and a glorious display of its grace, to restore the dominion of the law over renewed minds, cannot be doubted by any who enter truly into the meaning of the words of St. Paul, " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that THE RIGHTEOUSNESS

OF THE LAW MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US,

who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Rom. viii. 3, 4.) Thus, the authority of the law, and willing and entire obedience to it, are established over the fully regenerated on earth; and still more perfectly shall its holy rules, and their absolute obedience, be established for ever in heaven, among the glorified redeemed; whilst the same authority shall be manifested in the punishment of the obstinately disobedient over whom its awful majesty, and the eternally binding character of its penalty, DEATH, shali be established for ever. This DOUBLE fulfilment or completion of the ends of law, is mentioned in the succeding verses.

Verse 19. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, &c

commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

-One of the least of these commandments would have been a clearer rendering. Whosoever shall break any commandment of God, great or small, that is, wilfully, and presuming that Christianity has set him free from the obligation to obey the moral law, which is adopted by Christ as the law of his dispensation, and as it is explained and enforced by him. And shall teach men so, under whatever pretence of exalting Christ and his righteousness antinomian teachers may contemn the law, and deny its obligation upon Christians as a rule of holiness. He shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. He shall be deemed unworthy to be ranked among the subjects of my kingdom. Those commentators (and they are not a few) who take "the kingdom of heaven" here to mean the Christian church, understand the phrase, "to be least in that kingdom," in the sense of not being esteemed in it. This is the view of Campbell, who follows many others. But what, then, we may ask, does our Lord mean when, in the very next verse, he declares that except our righteousness shall even exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, we shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven? The visible church on earth cannot, therefore, be intended; and we must refer the words to a future state into which that kingdom which Christ set up on earth extends. To be "the least in the kingdom of heaven," is only a softened form of expressing a strong truth, which yet, when rightly conceived, only serves to heighten the impression. So it was understood by Chrysostom; and this sense is necessarily attached to it by verse 20. Beside this, our Lord is evidently addressing himself to his disciples, and speaking of those who, under that character, would contend that their Master came to annul, or render indifferent, the moral law,-a heresy which has been, in fact, so frequent and so fatal in the church, that one

66

might expect our Lord, in his perfect prescience of the future, to set up a barrier against it. Into his church on earth such persons have unquestionably often "entered;" but our Lord declares that into his heavenly kingdom they shall not enter. Those also who think that there is in the words a reference to the violation of the precepts of the law by the Pharisees, under the influence of their corrupt traditions, appear to be in error. They are misled by the notion of Lightfoot, that reference is made in "every line" of this sermon to the perversions of the Jews; which is not true as to every part of the discourse, though it holds good in some. Were this theory to be applied throughout, it would but darken, and not illustrate, this divine discourse. With respect to the Pharisees, it is, indeed, indubitable, that, with great reverence and zeal for the law, that law was frequently violated by them; they made it void by their traditions;" and what Maimonides says, was probably applicable in our Lord's time,"that the Sanhedrim held, that it had power, for the time present, to make void an affirmative command, and to transgress a negative one, in order to turn many to their religion; or that, in order to prevent many of the Israelites from stumbling at other things, they might do whatever present circumstances rendered necessary." Thus, he adds, "The former wise men say, A man may profane one Sabbath in order to keep many Sabbaths." They therefore acted on the principle of doing evil that good might come; which has been the dishonest source of great moral corruption in churches. Much more might be added in illustration of this, as to the Jews; and it indeed proves, that a detestable and delusive method of dealing with matters of conscience very generally prevailed among their leading sects, which was afterwards copied by the teachers of corrupt Christian churches, and was espe

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

66

cially perfected by the order of Jesuits in the church of Rome. This " deceivableness of unrighteousness" is inseparable from a systematised superstition; and to all such cases the monitory and reproving words of the text may be justly applied. By all persons of this description some of the commandments of God, at least, are violated; and the very principle which leads to that prevents a spiritual and real observance of the others. Such violators of the law cannot, therefore, "enter the kingdom of heaven," that is, they cannot be saved; for although the rhetorical figure, μewσis, is used, shall be called LEAST in the kingdom of heaven," yet the plain import is, that they shall be found so little, so lightly esteemed," though in their own imagination great saints, so contemptible and base, as to be wholly excluded when Christ "shall come to be our Judge." Still, however, the direct and primary reference of the text is to the antinomian heresy, those persons being certainly intended, as the scope of the passage shows, who receive Christ under the notion that he came to annul the obligation of the moral law upon his disciples, and TEACH this fatal notion.

[ocr errors]

Verse 20. Except your righteousness shall exceed, &c.-Here the Pharisees are brought in for the sake of illustration. So far are Christ's disciples from being allowed to break any commandment, though accounted the least, their righteousness is to exceed even that of the Pharisees, who were the advocates of the perpetual obligation of the law, though on wrong principles, and greatly extended its strictness. It is to exceed or to abound more than theirs in UNIVERSALITY: they violated some of the commands; we are to keep them all. And it is to exceed theirs in depth, having its root in a renewed heart, and controlling the very thoughts: for the Pharisees did not extend the law of God to the thoughts; so that with them evil desires and purposes were not sin

ful, if they did not express themselves in overt acts, even though this were prevented by mere circumstances, and not by conscience and self-denial Several proofs of this have been collected from their writings; of which Kimshi's comment upon Psalm lxvi. 18, may be given as a pregnant instance The words of David are, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me ;" that is, says this unblushing interpreter, 66 He will not impute it to me for sin; for God does not look upon an evil thought as sin, unless it be conceived against God and religion;" meaning, unless it be either blasphemous or idolatrous; for these only were excepted. It was to this lax view of the obli. gation of the law, no doubt, that our Lord alludes, when he charges the Pharisees with making clean "the outside” of the vessel only.

This part of the discourse, therefore, forms an appropriate introduction to that spiritual exposition of the intent and obligation of the divine law which follows.

The Scribes.-For an account of the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees see note on chap. iii. 7. The Scribes were either civil or ecclesiastical. The former were keepers of registers, genealogies, and muster-rolls, copyists of various writings, and were remarkable for fine writing. They were of various degrees of rank, just as amanuenses, secretaries, and registrars are among us. The Scribes who were employed merely in civil offices, and who used the art of writing as a profession, do not appear to be mentioned in the New Testament. The ecclesiastical Scribes are supposed at first to have been chiefly employed as copiers of the law and the other sacred books, on which great pains and care were bestowed. Afterwards they became instructers of the people in the written law, and public readers of it. During our Saviour's ministry they were looked up to as the most qualified expounders both of the law and the pro

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his 1 Exod. xx. 13; Deut. v. 17.

• Or, to them.

[ocr errors]

phets, and were of great influence and authority among the Jews. Scribes," "doctors of the law," and "lawyers," were only different names for the same persons. They were public teachers, and had disciples, and were, for the most part, of the sect of the Pharisees. See note on chap. ii. 4.

Ye shall in no case enter, &c.—“ In no case," ovun, an emphatic negative, signifying, not at all, not by any means. See note on verse 19.

Verse 21. Ye have heard that it was said. -Some of our principal commentators think that Christ did not here intend to give a more spiritual and extensive exposition of the law of Moses, but only to correct those false glosses which, on the authority of their traditions, the Scribes and Pharisees had put upon these precepts. But if our Lord had principally referred to such traditions, he would scarcely have used the phrase, "of old time," because, at the farthest, such traditions could only have sprung up subsequently to the close of the order of prophets, who, whilst they continued, were the inspired and acknowledged expositors of the law. These two views are not, however, in opposition to each other. The law was always understood spiritually by spiritual men; and allusions to its office to regulate the whole heart, as well as the conduct, often appear in the Psalms and the writings of the prophets; but, till our Lord entered upon his office as the great Teacher of the law, the import of those of its precepts which forbade certain outward acts, considered as equally prohibitory of the evil principles and affections which tend to produce them, was never so expressly, and with such authority, laid down as the law of heaven. It was the absence of this express manner of stating the import of these commands which gave occasion to those wretched

G

casuists in the Jewish church, who separated morals from their principles, to adopt and teach such interpretations as quite destroyed the obligations of internal holiness. Our Lord, therefore, at one and the same time, refutes their misleading doctrines, maintains the original spirituality of the decalogue, gives to his explicit exposition of it the force of the original law, by a formal enunciation of its meaning, and branches it out into more particular precepts; so that by this means, as above stated, he fulfilled or completed it.

By them of old time.-Rather, To them of old time, according to the Fathers and the ancient versions; that is, to the Israelites, who received the law from Sinai; cppen being always joined to a dative case, Rom. ix. 12; Gal. iii. 16, &c. So also the Greek Fathers understood the passage.

Shall be in danger of the judgment.— Liable to the punishment which the law inflicts upon murder. Our Lord joins the prohibition of the crime of murder in the moral law, with its penalty in their juridical law, which also was delivered to them of old time.”

[ocr errors]

Verse 22. But I say unto you.-Here our Lord expressly assumes the character of a lawgiver, not as a delegated servant, but as having an original inherent authority to command; "but I say," &c. This, surely, is not the style of a mere man, and can only be justified on the ground of his true and proper divinity, of which, indeed, it is a powerful proof. Thus, though in this discourse, as St. Basil observes,

"GOD WITH MAN delivered not his law

amidst the terrors of Sinai, the sound of a trumpet, and circling fire; but mildly and gently, as possessing the same nature as those to whom he delivered it;" yet, amidst all this lowliness, the concealed majesty breaks forth; and this manner of speaking, so different from that of human

« PreviousContinue »