SECTION XXXVII. Christ dines with Matthew. MATT. ix. 10-17. MARK ii. 15-22. LUKE V. 29. to the end. Luke v. 29. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and Mark ii. 15. it came to pass, that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, Matt.ix. 10. behold, Luke v. 29. there was a great company of publicans and of others, Matt, v.10, and sinners came Luke v. 29. that sat down with them. Mark ii. 15. also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. 16. And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with Publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that Matt. ix. 11. your Master Mark ii. 16. eateth and drinketh with Publicans and sinners? Matt. ix, 12. But their Scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat with Publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, Luke v.31. Jesus answering, said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Matt. ix. 13. Luke v. 32. Mark ji. 18. Luke v. 33. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice : I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repen tance. And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast often, and make prayers; but thine eat and drink, Matt.ix. 14. (and) fast not? Luke v. 34. And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bride-chamber fast, [and] Matt, ix. 15. mourn, Luke v. 34. while the bridegroom is with them? Mark ii. 19. as long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. Luke v. 35. 36. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spake a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, Mark ii. 21. the new piece Mat. ix. 16. which is put in to fill it up, taketh Mark ii. 21. away from the old Mat. ix. 16. garment, and the rent is made worse; Luke v. 36. and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. 37. 38. 39. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is better. MATT. ix. part of ver. 10. ver. 11. part of ver. 12, 13. ver. 14. part of ver. 15, 16. and ver. 17. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the housemany publicans-and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12-he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, 13-for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber-as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment: for that-from the 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish : but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. MARK ii. part of ver. 15, 16. ver. 17, 18. part of ver. 19. ver. 20. part of ver. 21. and ver. 22. 15 And-many publicans and sinners sat 16-he 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? : 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?— 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else that filled it up taketh-and the rent is made worse. 22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred but new wine must be put into new bottles. Lukeviii.40. SECTION XXXVIII. Jairus Daughter is healed, and the infirm Woman". MATT. ix. 1. and xviii. 26. MARK V. 21. to the end. And it came to pass that Mark v. 21. when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, 71 One of the boldest, most unwarrantable, and mischievous opinions of the German commentator, Michaelis, is, that the present Gospel of St. Matthew is a translation, and an erroneous translation of the Gospel, which the Evangelist originally wrote in Hebrew. Michaelis renders into Hebrew a few passages of the Greek Gospel, and varying the expressions of the Evangelist, so as to suit his own ingenious but imaginary conjectures, he endeavours to prove that St. Matthew used the Hebrew words into which Michaelis translates his Greek, and that St. Matthew's translator actually misunderstood the meaning of his original. The inspiration of St. Matthew is thus destroyed at once. The boldest conjectures of the most adventurous of our English critics sink into insignificance when compared with this effort. Bowyer and Markland would have been terrified. Even the editors of the new and improved version would have seen, without regret, their star-like lustre eclipsed by the superior splendour of this baleful metcor. Michaelis, however, has provided his reader with arguments against his own error. In the preceding section he reasons against the possibility of proving the existence of any mistakes of translation in the Greek Gospel of St. Matthew: and he there observes, "that no one can shew any such mistakes ;" and, "if the Greek Gospel is a translation, the original is lost; and therefore a comparison between them, which alone can determine the question, cannot take place." I may observe here, that Michaelis, though a learned and useful authority in many instances, must be read with caution, and many of his conclusions rejected. Bishop Randolph wrote a tract on this subject, which did justice to the learned German, while it pointed out his errors (a). The opinion of Michaelis on the evangelical narrative of the raising of Jairus's daughter, is contained in that part of his work to which I am now referring. In Matt. ix. 18. he observes, that "Jairus says of his daughter, äpri kreλevrnoe, she is already dead; whereas, according to St. Mark, v. 23, he says, toxάrws Exe, she is at the point of death; and receives the first intelligence of her death as he was returning home, accompanied by Christ. Various artifices have been used by the harmonists to reconcile this contradiction, and with very little success: but as soon as we reflect on the words, which must have stood in the original, all difficulty vanishes on this head. For nnnny may signify either, she is now dead,' or,' she is now dying.' St. Matthew's translator rendered the word according to the former punctuation, whereas he ought rather to have adopted the latter; as appears from what is related by the two other evangelists." To this, Archbishop Lawrence, in his Sermon upon Philological Speculation, observes, that the ή θυγάτηρ μὲ ἄρτι ἐτελεύ Tηov, is sufficiently explained by commentators, (in order to reconcile it with St. Mark's account) in the sense of "my Matt. ix. 1. He came into his own city; Lukeviii.40. [and] when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him, Mark v. 21. much people gathered unto him, And Matt. ix. 18. While he spake these things unto them, Mark v. 22. behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, Lukeviii.41. down at Jesus feet, and besought him Matt. ix. 18. and worshipped him, Mark v. 23. And besought him greatly, Lukeviii.41. that he would come into his house: Mark v. 23, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death, I pray thee come and lay thine hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. Lukeviii.42. Matt. ix. 19. Mark v. 24. For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. And Jesus arose, And Jesus went with him; and Matt, ix. 19. so did his disciples. Lukeviii.42. But as he went, the people thronged him. daughter is (perhaps) by this time dead: but, even taking it in the strongest point of view, it can only be considered as one of those minute variations which tend to prove that the Evangelists did not write in concert. But, as Bishop Marsh remarks, it is not St. Matthew alone who on this occasion uses the past tense; for St. Luke has the perfectly synonymous expression aжεOvŋokey. With the points, 3 pers. sing. perf. fæm, signifies mortua est; and, past fæm, signifies moriens (a). I have rejected the points of the various Hebrew words used in the several quotations in these notes: because the arguments which may satisfy us of their antiquity, do not entirely prove their authority. I cannot but think that we are required to ascertain the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures in the words of the original; as we examine the meaning of Greek words, independently of their digamma, or accents, &c. &c. &c. In the fifth volume, 4to edit. p. 332-372. of Lardner's works, is a long and admirable vindication of the three miracles of our Saviour the raising the widow's son, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus; it is too long to abridge. Among the Barrington papers I find an enquiry into the circumstances of this miracle. It is contained in a letter to Dr. Lardner, dated Dec. 30, 1729. Among the papers prefixed to the Life of Dr. Lardner, in the beginning of the first volume, is a reply throughout. As it is probable these papers of Lord Barrington may be eventually submitted to the approbation of the public, it is not worth while entering, at present, into any farther discussion on this subject. (a) See Bishop Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iii. part i. p. 151-2. and Archbishop Lawrence's notes to the Sermon on Philological Speculation, p. 34. (b) Vide Bishop Marsh's note, Michaelis, vol. iii, part ii. p. 127. R Mark v. 24. much people followed him, and thronged him. Matt. ix. 20. behold, Mark v. 25. a certain woman, Matt. ix. 20 which was diseased Mark v. 25. which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26. And had suffered many things of many physicians, and Lukeviii.43. upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 27. Matt, ix. 20. touched the hem of his garment: Mark v. 28. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Lukeviii.44. and immediately her issue of blood stanched. Mark v. 29. 30. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31. And Lukeviii.45. When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Mark v. 31. his disciples said unto him, Lukeviii.45. Master, Mark v. 31. Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, Lukeviii.45. and press thee, Mark v. 31. and sayest thou, Who touched me? Lukeviii.46. And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. Mark v. 32. 33. And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman Lukeviii.47. when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came Mark v. 33. fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. Lukeviii.47. she declared unto him, before all the people, for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. Matt. ix. 22. and when he saw her, he said Lukeviii.48. unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: Mark v. 34. Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. Matt.ix. 22. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Mark v. 35. Lukeviii.50. Mark v. 36. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any farther? But when Jesus heard it, As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, |