And behold, Mark ii. 6. there were certain of the Scribes sitting there, reasoning in their hearts; Luke v. 21. and the Pharisees began to reason, saying Mark ii. 8. Matt. ix. 4. Luke v. 22. And immediately, when Jesus perceived in his Spirit he, answering, said unto them, Mark ii. 8. Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Matt, ix. 4. Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? for 5. whether is Mark ii. 9. 10. it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be for- walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins: Matt. ix. 6. (then saith he to the sick of the palsy) Mark ii. 11. Ì say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. Lake v. 12. And immediately he 25. rose up before them, and Mark ii. 12. took up the bed Luke v. 25. that whereon he lay, Mark ii. 12. and went forth before them all, Luke v. 25. and departed to his own house, glorifying God, Mark ii. 12. insomuch that, Matt. ix. 8. when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and Mark ii. 12. they were all amazed, Luke v. 26. and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day; Mark ii. 12. we never saw it on this fashion. Matt. ix. 8. and [they] glorified God, which had given such power unto men. MATT. ix. part of ver. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. ver. 7. and part of ver. 8. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsyand Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son-be forgiven thee. 3-certain of the Scribes said 4 And Jesus-said 5-easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins-Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But Capernaum. MARK ii. part of ver. 4. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 12. 4 And when let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay. 6 But 7-who can forgive sins but God only? 9 Whether is 10-(he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 12 arose and glorified God, saying- LUKE V. part of ver. 18. 20, 21, 22. ver. 23, 24. and part of 18-men brought in a bed 20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him 21 And the Scribes 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts-What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man bath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thine house. 25 And immediately-took up 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God Capernaum, SECTION XII. 30 The calling of Matthew 20. MATT. ix. 9. MARK ii. 13, 14.. LUKE V. 27, 28. Luke v. 27. And after these things Mark ii. 13. he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 30 Lightfoot, Archbishop Newcome, and Doddridge, place the calling of St. Matthew in its present order, and separate that event from the feast which was given afterwards in his house. They reason, from Luke viii. 41. and Mark v. 22. that many events occurred, and much time elapsed, from the calling of Matthew to the visit of Jairus, which took place at the feast, Matt. ix. 10-18. Michaelis, Pilkington, and Bedford in his Scripture Chronology, unite these events. I have preferred the former conclusion, for the reasons assigned by Lightfoot. Is it not probable that our Lord proposed some useful lesson by thus calling Matthew from the receipt of custom. The Jews expressed the utmost contempt and hatred of all those of their countrymen, who accepted the office now held by St. Matthew. In their opinion, vows made to thieves, murderers, and publicans, might be broken. These persons were regarded by them as profane, shepherds, almsgatherers, and publicans sidered very difficult. The Jerusalem Targum has the follow -Their repentance also was con .אלו מסולין וועין, נבאיו, זמוכסין חבר שנעשה נחיי רוחין אותו מחבור .3 .ing canon, Demai, fol. col A pharisce that becomes a publican, they remove him from his 9 And as Jesus passed forth-and he saith unto him, Follow me. 13 And MARK ii. part of ver. 13, 14. 14 he saw Levi-sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follw me. And he arose and followed him. LUKE V. 27. 27 -he went forth, and saw-sitting at the receipt of cus tom 175 Capernaum. Julian Pe SECTION XIII. The Infirm Man healed at the Pool of Bethesda. JOHN V. 1-15. 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews"; and Je- Jerusaleın. riod, 4740. sus went up to Jerusalem. Vulgar Era, 27. writer of the first Gospel; and he was an eye-witness also of In addition to the reasons assigned by Lightfoot for separat- I have not thought it deserving of consideration, whether Matthew and Levi were different persons. It is the general, and, I cannot but think the correct opinion, that they were the same. I insert the words of Rosenmüller, as expressing my own opinion. An diversa tantum sint nomina unius ejusdemque personæ, an vero duo portitores simul vocati sint a Christoequidem definire non ausim. Quum tamen Marcus et Lucas in plerisque cum Matthæo consentiant, et alii etiam apostoli binomines fuerint (Simon Petrus, et Lebbæus Thaddeus) præferenda esse videtur eorum sententia, qui Levin et Matthæum diversa tantum esse nomina unius ejusdemque personæ existimant-Rosenmüller, Scholia N. T. vol. i. p. 193. (a) See Talmud in Nedarim per 3. halac 4. and Sanhed. per 1. fol. 24. ap Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 660. "There are four passages in St. John's Gospel which are Julian Pe- 2 Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep-market, a Jerusalem. riod, 4740, pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, Vulgar Æra, 27. having five porches. considered, by the majority of harmonizers, as intending to ex- ii. 13. καὶ ἐγγὺς ἦν τὸ πάσχα τῶν Ιεδαίων, καὶ ἀνέβη εις Ιερο- In all the other three passages, St. John uses the words rò 5. μὴ ἐν τῇ εορτή. xxvii. 15. κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἑορτὴν. Mark xiv. 1. ἦν δὲ τὸ πάσχα, &c. 2. μὴ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ. The exception referred to is, xν. 6. κατὰ δὲ ἑορτὴν. Luke ii. 41. τῇ ἑορτῇ το Πάσχα. But in John in this instance only uses the word toprn, without the These passages, in which toprn, without the article, may denote the feast of the passover, may in fact be considered as the same: and it may be observed, therefore, that the expression kal oprηv is an idiomatical phrase, similar and equivalent to κατ' ἔτος, the construction of which depends on πᾶς, οι ἕκασος, understood. In this manner we must supply the ellipsis by St. Luke, who uses the expression κarà πāv σábbarov, (Acts xiii. 27.) καθ' ἑορτὴν therefore will mean κατὰ πᾶσαν ἑορτὴν, or feast by feast; as Kar' Toç, signifies year by year: and as the propriety of the latter expression would be destroyed by the insertion of the article rò, so, to render the phrase ka̸ľ ¿oprýv, analogous in its construction, it was necessary that the article Jalian Pe 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of Jerusalem. riod, 4740. blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. Vulgar Æra, 27. should be omitted. This therefore is done, and though some The course of St. John's history seems to imply rather that On the other hand it has been argued, that the feast, mentioned in ver. 1. was a passover, from what Jesus says to his disciples at Sychar, (John iv. 35.) "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest" From this expression it is supposed that it then wanted four months to harvest; that is, to the passover, at which time the Jews' barley harvest began, (Lev. xxiii. 11, &c.); consequently the next of the three great feasts of the Jews would be that of the passover; and as Christ had so lately left Jerusalem for fear of the Jews, it is concluded, by those who maintain this opinion, that no other inducement but that of a great feast would have carried him thither so soon again. In reply to this, it is said, that our Saviour in these words merely alluded to a proverbial expression among the Jews, that between the seed-time and harvest there elapsed a period of four months. And, from the context, we are still more induced to suppose it was a prevailing idiom, signifying there was no necessity for delay; that the fields were already ripe, and ready for the labourers to begin their work, figuratively alluding to his reception among the Samaritans. The words, "lift up your eyes and look upon the fields, for they are white already to harvest," seems most pointedly to refer to the actual appearance of the surrounding country; for it does not appear probable, particularly as our Saviour was accustomed to draw his illustrations from surrounding objects, that he would have adopted this metaphor had he been encompassed with the desolation of winter, or that season of the year which preceded harvest. The history, therefore, of this portion of our Lord's ministry, is as follows: at his first passoever he went up to Jerusalem, and continued in Judea for two or three weeks after it, baptizing, “though he himself baptized not, but his disciples," (John iv. 2.) His rapid and extensive success having excited the observation of the Pharisees, he thought it prudent to quit Judea, and passing through Samaria in the midst of the harvest, impressed upon his disciples the readiness of the Samaritans to receive his doctrines, by an illustration very beautifully drawn from the scenes and operations which were passing before them. He then continued his journey into Galilee (it was but a three day's journey from Jerusalem to Galilee,) and after re N |