Matthew 16 commentary

The Pharisees and Sadducees were opposed to each other in principles and in conduct; yet they joined against Christ. But they desired a sign of their own choosing: they despised those signs which relieved the necessity of the sick and sorrowful, and called for something else which would gratify the curiosity of the proud. It is great hypocrisy, when we slight the signs of God's ordaining, to seek for signs of our own devising.

Christ speaks of spiritual things under a similitude, and the disciples misunderstand him of carnal things. He took it ill that they should think him as thoughtful about bread as they were; that they should be so little acquainted with his way of preaching. Then understood they what he meant. Christ teaches by the Spirit of wisdom in the heart, opening the understanding to the Spirit of revelation in the word.

Peter, for himself and his brethren, said that they were assured of our Lord's being the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. This showed that they believed Jesus to be more than man. Our Lord declared Peter to be blessed, as the teaching of God made him differ from his unbelieving countrymen. Christ added that he had named him Peter, in allusion to his stability or firmness in professing the truth. The word translated “rock,” is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning. Nothing can be more wrong than to suppose that Christ meant the person of Peter was the rock. Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other! Peter's confession is this rock as to doctrine. If Jesus be not the Christ, those that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. Our Lord next declared the authority with which Peter would be invested. He spoke in the name of his brethren, and this related to them as well as to him. They had no certain knowledge of the characters of men, and were liable to mistakes and sins in their own conduct; but they were kept from error in stating the way of acceptance and salvation, the rule of obedience, the believer's character and experience, and the final doom of unbelievers and hypocrites. In such matters their decision was right, and it was confirmed in heaven. But all pretensions of any man, either to absolve or retain men's sins, are blasphemous and absurd. None can forgive sins but God only. And this binding and loosing, in the common language of the Jews, signified to forbid and to allow, or to teach what is lawful or unlawful.

Christ reveals his mind to his people gradually. From that time, when the apostles had made the full confession of Christ, that he was the Son of God, he began to show them of his sufferings. He spake this to set right the mistakes of his disciples about the outward pomp and power of his kingdom. Those that follow Christ, must not expect great or high things in this world. Peter would have Christ to dread suffering as much as he did; but we mistake, if we measure Christ's love and patience by our own. We do not read of any thing said or done by any of his disciples, at any time, that Christ resented so much as this. Whoever takes us from that which is good, and would make us fear to do too much for God, speaks Satan's language. Whatever appears to be a temptation to sin, must be resisted with abhorrence, and not be parleyed with. Those that decline suffering for Christ, savour more of the things of man than of the things of God.

A true disciple of Christ is one that does follow him in duty, and shall follow him to glory. He is one that walks in the same way Christ walked in, is led by his Spirit, and treads in his steps, whithersoever he goes. “Let him deny himself.” If self-denial be a hard lesson, it is no more than what our Master learned and practised, to redeem us, and to teach us. “Let him take up his cross.” The cross is here put for every trouble that befalls us. We are apt to think we could bear another's cross better than our own; but that is best which is appointed us, and we ought to make the best of it. We must not by our rashness and folly pull crosses down upon our own heads, but must take them up when they are in our way. If any man will have the name and credit of a disciple, let him follow Christ in the work and duty of a disciple. If all worldly things are worthless when compared with the life of the body, how forcible the same argument with respect to the soul and its state of never-ending happiness or misery! Thousands lose their souls for the most trifling gain, or the most worthless indulgence, nay, often from mere sloth and negligence. Whatever is the object for which men forsake Christ, that is the price at which Satan buys their souls. Yet one soul is worth more than all the world. This is Christ's judgment upon the matter; he knew the price of souls, for he redeemed them; nor would he underrate the world, for he made it. The dying transgressor cannot purchase one hour's respite to seek mercy for his perishing soul. Let us then learn rightly to value our souls, and Christ as the only Saviour of them.

Matthew 16:1. And the Pharisees came. Mark says that they began to dispute, from which we may conjecture that, when they had been vanquished in argument, this was their last resource; as obstinate men, whenever they are reduced to extremities, to avoid being compelled to yield to the truth, are accustomed to introduce something which is foreign to the subject. Though the nature of the dispute is not expressed, yet I think it probable that they debated about the calling of Christ, why he ventured to make any innovation, and why he made such lofty pretensions, as if by his coming he had fully restored the kingdom of God. Having nothing farther to object against his doctrine, they demand that he shall give them a sign from heaven. But it is certain that a hundred signs would have no greater effect than the testimonies of Scripture. Besides, many miracles already performed had placed before their eyes the power of Christ, and had almost enabled them to touch it with their hands. Signs, by which Christ made himself familiarly known, are despised by them; and how much less will they derive advantage from a distant and obscure sign? Thus the Papists of our own day, as if the doctrine of the Gospel had not yet been proved, demand that it be ascertained by means of new miracles.

The Pharisees, together with the Sadducees. It deserves our attention that, though the Sadducees and the Pharisees looked upon each other as enemies, and not only cherished bitter hatred, but were continually engaged in hostilities, yet they enter into a mutual league against Christ. In like manner, though ungodly men quarrel among themselves, their internal broils never prevent them from conspiring against God, and entering into a compact for joining their hands in persecuting the truth.

Tempting. By this word the Evangelists mean that it was not with honest intentions, nor from a desire of instruction, but by cunning and deceit, that they demanded what they thought that Christ would refuse, or at least what they imagined was not in his power. Regarding him as utterly mean and despicable, they had no other design than to expose his weakness, and to destroy all the applause which he had hitherto obtained among the people. In this manner unbelievers are said to tempt God, when they murmur at being denied what their fancy prompted them to ask, and charge God with want of power.

2. About the commencement of the evening. By these words Christ reminds them that his power had been sufficiently manifested, so that they must have recognised the time of their visitation, (Luke 19:44,) had they not of their own accord shut their eyes, and refused to admit the clearest light. The comparison which he employs is beautiful and highly appropriate; for, though the aspect of the sky is changeable, so that sometimes a storm unexpectedly arises, and sometimes fair weather springs up when it was not expected, yet the instructions of nature are sufficient to enable men to predict from signs whether the day will be fair or cloudy. Christ therefore asks why they do not recognize the kingdom of God, when it is made known by signs not less manifest; for this proved clearly that they were excessively occupied with earthly and transitory advantages, and cared little about any thing that related to the heavenly and spiritual life, and were blinded not so much by mistake as by voluntary malice.

3. Hypocrites, you can judge. He calls them hypocrites, because they pretend to ask that which, if it were exhibited to them, they are resolved not to observe. The same reproof applies nearly to the whole world; for men direct their ingenuity, and apply their senses, to immediate advantage; and therefore there is scarcely any man who is not sufficiently well qualified in this respect, or at least who is not tolerably acquainted with the means of gaining his object. How comes it then that we feel no concern about the signs by which God invites us to himself? Is it not because every man gives himself up to willing indifference, and extinguishes the light which is offered to him? The calling of Christ, and the immediate exhibition of eternal salvation, were exhibited to the scribes both by the Law and the Prophets, and by his own doctrine, to which miracles were added.

There are many persons of the same description in the present day, who plead that on intricate subjects they have a good right to suspend their judgment, because they must wait till the matter is fully ascertained. They go farther, and believe that it is a mark of prudence purposely to avoid all inquiry into the truth; as if it were not an instance of shameful sloth that, while they are so eagerly solicitous about the objects of the flesh and of the earth, they neglect the eternal salvation of their souls, and at the same time contrive vain excuses for gross and stupid ignorance.

A very absurd inference is drawn by some ignorant persons from this passage, that we are not at liberty to predict from the aspect of the sky whether we shall have fair or stormy weather. It is rather an argument which Christ founds on the regular course of nature, that those men deserve to perish for their ingratitude, who, while they are sufficiently acute in matters of the present life, yet knowingly and willfully quench the heavenly light by their stupidity.

Matthew 16:4. A wicked and adulterous nation. This passage was explained See page 93 of this volume. under Matthew 12:38. The general meaning is, that the Jews are never satisfied with any signs, but are continually tickled by a wicked desire to tempt God. He does not call them an adulterous nation merely because they demand some kind of sign, (for the Lord sometimes permitted his people to do this,) but because they deliberately provoke God; and therefore he threatens that, after he has risen from the dead, he will be a prophet like Jonah. So Matthew at least says — for Mark does not mention Jonah — but the meaning is the same; for, strictly speaking, this was intended to serve as a sign to them, that Christ, when he had risen from the dead, would in every place cause the voice of his Gospel to be distinctly heard.

Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:14-21; Luke 12:1

Matthew 16:5-12

Mark 8:14-21

Luke 12:1

5. And his disciples, when they had come to the opposite bank, through neglect had not taken bread. “Et quand les disciples furent venus outre, ils avoyent oublie a prendre les pains;” — “and when the disciples were come across, they had forgotten to take bread.” 6. And Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7. But they considered within themselves, saying, We have not taken bread. “[C’est pource que] nous n’avons point prins de pains;” — “[it is because] we have not taken bread.” 8. And when Jesus knew this, he said to them, Why do you think within yourselves, O you of little faith, that you have not taken bread? 9. Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember those five loaves, when there were five thousand men, and how many baskets you carried away? 10. Nor those seven loaves, when there were four thousand men, and how many baskets you carried away? 11. How comes it that you do not understand that it was not about bread that I told you to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12. Then they understood that he did not bid them beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

14. And they had neglected to take bread, and had not more than one loaf with them in the ship. 15. And he charged them saying, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16. And they reasoned within themselves, saying, We have not bread. “[C’est pource que] nous n’avons point prins de pains;” — “[it is because] we have not taken bread.” 17. And Jesus, perceiving this, said to them, Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you not yet consider or understand? Have you your heart yet blinded? 18. Having eyes, do you not see? and having ears, do you not hear? and do you not remember? 19. When I broke the five thousand men, how many baskets full of fragments did you carry away? They say to him, Twelve. 20. And when [I broke] the seven among four thousand, how many baskets of the remains of the fragments did you carry away? And they said, Seven. 21. And he said to them, How is it that you do not understand?

1. And when an innumerable multitude had assembled, “Cependant une multitude s’estant assemblee a milliers;” — “mean while, a multitude having assembled by thousands.” so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples, Above all, beware “En premier lieu, donnez-vous garde;” — “in the first place, beware.” of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy

Matthew 16:5. And when his disciples came. Here Christ takes occasion from the circumstance that had just occurred “Ici Christ prenant occasion des propos precedens;” — “here Christ taking occasion from the former discourse.” to exhort his disciples to beware of every abuse that makes an inroad on sincere piety. The Pharisees had come a little before; the Sadducees joined them; and apart from them stood Herod, a very wicked man, and an opponent and corrupter of sound doctrine. In the midst of these dangers it was very necessary to warn his disciples to be on their guard; for, since the human mind has a natural inclination towards vanity and errors, when we are surrounded by wicked inventions, spurious doctrines, and other plagues of the same sort, nothing is more easy than to depart from the true and simple purity of the word of God; and if we once become entangled in these things, it will never be possible for the true religion to hold an entire sway over us. But to make the matter more clear, let us examine closely the words of Christ.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Along with the Pharisees Matthew mentions the Sadducees Instead of the latter, Mark speaks of Herod Luke takes no notice of any but the Pharisees, (though it is not absolutely certain that it is the same discourse of Christ which Luke relates,) and explains the leaven to be hypocrisy In short, he glances briefly at this sentence, as if there were no ambiguity in the words. Now the metaphor of leaven, which is here applied to false doctrine, might have been employed, at another time, to denote the hypocrisy of life and conduct, or the same words might even have been repeated a second time. But there is no absurdity in saying, that those circumstances which are more copiously detailed by the other two Evangelists, in the order in which they took place, are slightly noticed by Luke in a manner somewhat different, and out of their proper place or order, but without any real contradiction. If we choose to adopt this conjecture, hypocrisy will denote here something different from a pretended and false appearance of wisdom. It will denote the very source and occasion of empty display, which, though it holds out an imposing aspect to the eyes of men, is of no estimation in the sight of God. For, as Jeremiah (5:3) tells us that the eyes of the Lord behold the truth, so they that believe in his word are instructed to maintain true godliness in such a manner as to cleave to righteousness with an honest and perfect heart; as in these words,

An now, O Israel, what doth the Lord require from thee, but that thou shouldst cleave to him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul? (Deuteronomy 10:12.)

On the other hand, the traditions of men, while they set aside spiritual worship, wear a temporary disguise, as if God could be imposed upon by such deceptions; for to whatever extent outward ceremonies may be carried, they are, in the sight of God, nothing more than childish trifles, unless so far as they assist us in the exercise of true piety.

We now perceive the reason why hypocrisy was viewed by Luke as equivalent to doctrines invented by men, and why he included under this name the leavens of men, which only puff up, and in the sight of God contain nothing solid, and which even draw aside the minds of men from the right study of piety to empty and insignificant ceremonies. But it will be better to abide by the narrative of Matthew, which is more copious. The disciples, after having been reproved by our Lord, came at length to understand that he had charged them to be on their guard against certain doctrine. It was plainly, therefore, the intention of Christ to fortify them against prevailing abuses, by which they were attacked on all sides. The Pharisees and Sadducees were expressly named, because those two sects maintained at that time a tyrannical sway in the Church, and held opinions so utterly subversive of the doctrine of the Law and the Prophets, that almost nothing remained pure and entire.

But Herod did not in any way profess to teach; and a question arises, why does Mark class him with false teachers? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and Of The Leaven Of Herod. I reply: he was half a Jew, was mean and treacherous, and availed himself of every contrivance that was within his reach to draw the people to his side; for it is customary with all apostates to contrive some mixture, for the purpose of establishing a new religion by which the former may be abolished. It was because he was laboring craftily to subvert the principles of true and ancient piety, and thus to give currency to a religion that would be exceedingly adapted to his tyranny, or rather because he was endeavoring to introduce some new form of Judaism, that our Lord most properly charged them to beware of his leaven. From the temple of God the scribes disseminated their errors, and the court of Herod was another workshop of Satan, in which errors of a different kind were manufactured.

Thus in our own day we find that not only from Popish temples, and from the dens of sophists and monks, does Antichrist vomit out her impostures, but that there is a Theology of the Court, which lends its aid to prop up the throne of Antichrist, so that no stratagem is left untried. But as Christ opposed the evils which then prevailed, and as he aroused the minds of his followers to guard against those which were the most dangerous, let us learn from his example to make a prudent inquiry what are the abuses that may now do us injury. Sooner shall water mix with fire than any man shall succeed in reconciling the inventions of the Pope with the Gospel. Whoever desires to become honestly a disciple of Christ, must be careful to keep his mind pure from those leavens; and if he has already imbibed them, he must labor to purify himself till none of their polluting effects remain. There are restless men, on the other hand, who have endeavored in various ways to corrupt sound doctrine, and, in guarding also against such impostures, believers must maintain a strict watch, that they may keep a perpetual Passover

with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, (1 Corinthians 5:8.)

And as on every hand there now rages an impiety like that of Lucian, “L’mpiete des Lucianistes et des Atheistes;” — “the impiety of the Lucianists and Atheists.” Lucian, a celebrated Greek writer, of the second century of the Christian era, author of Dialogues of the Dead, is here alluded to as the type of scoffers and Atheists. His subject naturally led him to treat with sportive humor the solenmities of death and the future judgment; and the wit and elegance of his pen, had it been guided by ordinary caution, would have been readily — far too readily — sustained as an apology for the tone of his work. But in defiance of the ordinary feelings of mankind, he attacked so fearlessly the most sacred truths, and offended the ear of modesty by such indecent allusions, that his character as a man has been stamped with infamy. Modern times have scarcely produced so daring an infidel, with the exception perhaps of Voltaire, who took no pains to conceal his intense hatred of Christianity and of good men. Had he appeared earlier, his name might perhaps have been substituted for that of Lucian, as the representative of his class. — Ed. a most pernicious leaven, or rather a worse than deadly poison, let them exercise this very needful caution, and apply to it all their senses.

8. Why do you think within yourselves, etc.? The disciples again show how little they had profited by the instructions of their Master, and by his wonderful works. What he had said about being on their guard against the leaven is rashly interpreted by them as if Christ intended only to withdraw them from outward intercourse. As it was customary among the Jews not to take food in company with irreligious men, the disciples imagine that the Pharisees were classed with such persons. This ignorance might perhaps have been endured; but they are forgetful of a favor which they lately received, and do not consider that Christ has the remedy his power to hinder them from being compelled to pollute themselves by meat and drink, and therefore he reproves them sharply, as they deserved. And certainly it was shameful ingratitude that, after having seen bread created out of nothing, and in such abundance as to satisfy many thousands of men, and after having seen this done twice, they are now anxious about bread, as if their Master did not always possess the same power. From these words we infer that all who have once or twice experienced the power of God, and distrust it for the future are convicted of unbelief; for it is faith that cherishes in our hearts the remembrance of the gifts of God, and faith must have been laid asleep, if we allow them to be forgotten.

12. Then they understood. The word leaven is very evidently used by Christ as contrasted with the pure and uncorrupted word of God. In a former passage, (Matthew 13:33,) Christ had used the word in a good sense, when he said that the Gospel resembled leaven; See page 127 of this volume. but for the most part this word is employed in Scripture to denote some foreign substance, by which the native purity of any thing is impaired. In this passage, the naked truth of God, and the inventions which men contrive out of their own brain, are unquestionably the two things that are contrasted. The sophist must not hope to escape by saying that this ought not to be understood as applicable to every kind of doctrine; for it will be impossible to find any doctrine but what has come from God that deserves the name of pure and unleavened Hence it follows that leaven is the name given to every foreign admixture; as Paul also tells us that faith is rendered spurious, as soon as we are

drawn aside from the simplicity of Christ, (2 Corinthians 11:3.)

It must now be apparent who are the persons of whose doctrine our Lord charges us to beware. The ordinary government of the Church was at that time in the hands of the scribes and priests, among whom the Pharisees held the highest rank. As Christ expressly charges his followers to beware of their doctrine, it follows that all who mingle their own inventions with the word of God, or who advance any thing that does not belong to it, must be rejected, how honorable soever may be their rank, or whatever proud titles they may wear. Accursed and rebellious, therefore, is the obedience of those who voluntarily submit to the inventions and laws of the Pope.

Mark 8:22-26

Mark 8:22-26

22. And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring to him a blind man, and implore him to touch him. 23. Then taking the blind man by the hand, he led him out of the village. And when he had spat on his eyes, and laid his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw any thing. 24. And he looking up said, I see men; for I perceive them walking as if they were trees. 25. Then he again laid his hands upon his eyes, and desired him to look; and he was restored, so that he saw them all clearly. 26. And he sent him away to his own house, saying, Neither enter into the village, nor tell it to any one in the village.

Matthew 16:13. And when Jesus came to the coasts of Cesarea Philippi. Mark says that this conversation took place during the journey. Luke says that it took place while he was praying, and while there were none in company with him but his disciples. Matthew is not so exact in mentioning the time. All the three unquestionably relate the same narrative; and it is possible that Christ may have stopped at a certain place during that journey to pray, and that afterwards he may have put the question to his disciples. There were two towns called Cesarea, of which the former was more celebrated, and had been anciently called The Tower of Strato; while the latter, which is mentioned here, was situated at the foot of Mount Lebanon, not far from the river Jordan. It is for the sake of distinguishing between these two towns that Philippi is added to the name; for though it is conjectured by some to have been built on the same spot where the town of Dan formerly stood, yet, as it had lately been rebuilt by Philip the Tetrarch, it was called Philippi “On la nommoit Cesaree de Philippe;” — “it was named Cesarea of Philip.”

Who do men say that I am? This might be supposed to mean, What was the current rumor about the Redeemer, who became the Son of man? But the question is quite different, What do men think about Jesus the Son of Mary? He calls himself, according to custom, the Son of man, as much as to say, Now that clothed in flesh I inhabit the earth like other men, what is the opinion entertained respecting me? The design of Christ was, to confirm his disciples fully in the true faith, that they might not be tossed about amidst various reports, as we shall presently see.

14. Some [say,] John the Baptist. This inquiry does not relate to the open enemies of Christ, nor to ungodly scoffers, but to the sounder and better part of the people, who might be called the choice and flower of the Church. Those only are mentioned by the disciples who spoke of Christ with respect; and yet, though they aimed at the truth, not one of them reaches that point, but all go astray in their vain fancies. Hence we perceive how great is the weakness of the human mind; for not only is it unable of itself to understand what is right or true, but even out of true principles it coins errors. Besides, though Christ is the only standard of harmony and peace, by which God gathers the whole world to himself, the greater part of men seize on this subject as the occasion of prolonged strife. Among the Jews, certainly, the unity of faith related solely to Christ; and yet they who formerly appeared to have some sort of agreement among themselves now split into a variety of sects.

We see too how one error quickly produces another; for a preconceived opinion, which had taken a firm hold of the minds of the common people, that souls passed from one body to another, made them more ready to adopt this groundless fancy. But though, at the time of Christ’s coming, the Jews were divided in this manner, such a diversity of opinions ought not to have hindered the godly from desiring to attain the pure knowledge of him. For if any man, under such a pretense, had given himself up to sloth, and neglected to seek Christ, we would have been forced to declare that there was no excuse for him. Much less then will any man escape the judgment of God who is led by the variety of sects to entertain a dislike of Christ, or who, disgusted by the false opinions of men, does not deign to attach himself to Christ.

15. But who do you say that I am? Here Christ distinguishes his disciples from the rest of the crowd, to make it more fully evident that, whatever differences may exist among others, we at least ought not to be led aside from the unity of faith. They who shall honestly submit to Christ, and shall not attempt to mix with the Gospel any inventions of their own brain, will never want the true light. But here the greatest vigilance is necessary, that, though the whole world may be carried away by its own inventions, believers may continually adhere to Christ. As Satan could not rob the Jews of the conviction which they derived from the Law and the Prophets, that Christ would come, he changed him into various shapes, and, as it were, cut him in pieces. His next scheme was, to bring forward many pretended Christs, that they might lose sight of the true Redeemer. By similar contrivances, he continued ever afterwards either to tear Christ in pieces, or to exhibit him under a false character. Among the confused and discordant voices of the world, let this voice of Christ perpetually sound in our ears, which calls us away from unsettled and wavering men, that we may not follow the multitude, and that our faith may not be tossed about amongst the billows of contending opinions.

16. Thou art the Christ. The confession is short, but it embraces all that is contained in our salvation; for the designation Christ, or Anointed, includes both an everlasting Kingdom and an everlasting Priesthood, to reconcile us to God, and, by expiating our sins through his sacrifice, to obtain for us a perfect righteousness, and, having received us under his protection, to uphold and supply and enrich us with every description of blessings. Mark says only, Thou art the Christ. Luke says, Thou art the Christ of God But the meaning is the same; for the Christs (χριστοί) of God was the appellation anciently bestowed on kings, who had been anointed by the divine command. See Harmony, vol. 1, p. 92, n. 2; p. 142, n. 2. And this phrase had been previously employed by Luke, (2:26,) when he said that Simeon had been informed by a revelation from heaven that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ For the redemption, which God manifested by the hand of his Son, was clearly divine; and therefore it was necessary that he who was to be the Redeemer should come from heaven, bearing the impress of the anointing of God. Matthew expresses it still more clearly, Thou art the Son of the living God; for, though Peter did not yet understand distinctly in what way Christ was the begotten of God, he was so fully persuaded of the dignity of Christ, that he believed him to come from God, not like other men, but by the inhabitation of the true and living Godhead in his flesh. When the attribute living is ascribed to God, it is for the purpose of distinguishing between Him and dead idols, who are nothing, (1 Corinthians 8:4.)

17. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. As

this is life eternal, to know the only true God, and him whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ, (John 17:3,)

Christ justly pronounces him to be blessed who has honestly made such a confession. This was not spoken in a peculiar manner to Peter alone, but our Lord’s purpose was, to show in what the only happiness of the whole world consists. That every one may approach him with greater courage, we must first learn that all are by nature miserable and accursed, till they find a remedy in Christ. Next, we must add, that whoever has obtained Christ wants nothing that is necessary to perfect happiness, since we have no right to desire any thing better than the eternal glory of God, of which Christ puts us in possession.

Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee. In the person of one man Christ reminds all that we must ask faith from the Father, and acknowledge it to the praise of his grace; for the special illumination of God is here contrasted with flesh and blood. Hence we infer, that the minds of men are destitute of that sagacity which is necessary for perceiving the mysteries of heavenly wisdom which are hidden in Christ; and even that all the senses of men are deficient in this respect, till God opens our eyes to perceive his glory in Christ. Let no man, therefore, in proud reliance on his own abilities, attempt to reach it, but let us humbly suffer ourselves to be inwardly taught by the Father of Lights, (James 1:17,) that his Spirit alone may enlighten our darkness. And let those who have received faith, acknowledging the blindness which was natural to them, learn to render to God the glory that is due to Him.

18. And I say to thee. By these words Christ declares how highly he is delighted with the confession of Peter, since he bestows upon it so large a reward. For, though he had already given to his disciple, Simon, the name of Peter, (Matthew 10:2; John 1:42,) and had, out of his undeserved goodness, appointed him to be an apostle, yet these gifts, though freely bestowed, “Ces dons qui estoyent procedez de sa pure liberalite;” — “those gifts which had proceeded altogether from his liberality.” are here ascribed to faith as if they had been a reward, which we not unfrequently find in Scripture. Peter receives a twofold honor, the former part of which relates to his personal advantage, and the latter to his office as an Apostle.

Thou art Peter. By these words our Lord assures him that it was not without a good reason that he had formerly given him this name, because, as a living stone (1 Peter 2:5) in the temple of God, he retains his stedfastness. This extends, no doubt, to all believers, each of whom is a temple of God, (l Corinthians 6:19,) and who, united to each other by faith, make together one temple, (Ephesians 2:21.) But it denotes also the distinguished excellence of Peter above the rest, as each in his own order receives more or less, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, (Ephesians 4:7.)

And on this rock. Hence it is evident how the name Peter comes to be applied both to Simon individually, and to other believers. It is because they are founded on the faith of Christ, and joined together, by a holy consent, into a spiritual building, that God may dwell in the midst of them, (Ezekiel 43:7.) For Christ, by announcing that this would be the common foundation of the whole Church, intended to associate with Peter all the godly that would ever exist in the world. “You are now,” said he, “a very small number of men, and therefore the confession which you have now made is not at present supposed to have much weight; but ere long a time will arrive when that confession shall assume a lofty character, and shall be much more widely spread.” And this was eminently fitted to excite his disciples to perseverance, that though their faith was little known and little esteemed, yet they had been chosen by the Lord as the first-fruits, that out of this mean commencement there might arise a new Church, which would prove victorious against all the machinations of hell.

Shall not prevail against it. The pronoun it (αὐτὢς) may refer either to faith or to the Church; but the latter meaning is more appropriate. Against all the power of Satan the firmness of the Church will prove to be invincible, because the truth of God, on which the faith of the Church rests, will ever remain unshaken. And to this statement corresponds that saying of John,

This is the victory which overcometh the world, your faith, (1 John 5:4.)

It is a promise which eminently deserves our observation, that all who are united to Christ, and acknowledge him to be Christ and Mediator, will remain to the end safe from all danger; for what is said of the body of the Church belongs to each of its members, since they are one in Christ. Yet this passage also instructs us, that so long as the Church shall continue to be a pilgrim on the earth, she will never enjoy rest, but will be exposed to many attacks; for, when it is declared that Satan will not conquer, this implies that he will be her constant enemy. While, therefore, we rely on this promise of Christ, feel ourselves at liberty to boast against Satan, and already triumph by faith over all his forces; let us learn, on the other hand, that this promise is, as it were, the sound of a trumpet, calling us to be always ready and prepared for battle. By the word gates (πύλαι) is unquestionably meant every kind of power and of weapons of war.

19. And I will give thee the keys Here Christ begins now to speak of the public office, that is, of the Apostleship, which he dignifies with a twofold title. First, he says that the ministers of the Gospel are porters, so to speak, of the kingdom of heaven, because they carry its keys; and, secondly, he adds, that they are invested with a power of binding and loosing, which is ratified in heaven. “Laquelle est receue et advouee es cieux;” — “which is received and acknowledged in heaven.” The comparison of the keys is very properly applied to the office of teaching; as when Christ says (Luke 11:52) that the scribes and Pharisees, in like manner, have the key of the kingdom of heaven, because they are expounders of the law. We know that there is no other way in which the gate of life is opened to us than by the word of God; and hence it follows that the key is placed, as it were, in the hands of the ministers of the word.

Those who think that the word keys is here used in the plural number, because the Apostles received a commission not only to open but also to shut, have some probability on their side; but if any person choose to take a more simple view of the meaning, let him enjoy his own opinion. “Ie n’y contredi point;” — “I do not contradict him in it.” Here a question arises, Why does the Lord promise that he will give to Peter what he appeared to have formerly given him by making him an Apostle? But this question has been already answered, Harmony, vol. 1, p. 437. when I said that the twelve were at first (Matthew 10:5) nothing more than temporary preachers, “Ambassadeurs ou prescheurs temporels;” — “temporary messengers or preachers.” and so, when they returned to Christ, they had executed their commission; but after that Christ had risen from the dead, they then began to be appointed to be ordinary teachers of the Church. It is in this sense that the honor is now bestowed for the future.

Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth. The second metaphor, or comparison, is intended directly to point out the forgiveness of sins; for Christ, in delivering us, by his Gospel, from the condemnation of eternal death, looses the cords of the curse by which we are held bound. The doctrine of the Gospel is, therefore, declared to be appointed for loosing our bonds, that, being loosed on earth by the voice and testimony of men, we may be actually loosed in heaven. But as there are many who not only are guilty of wickedly rejecting the deliverance that is offered to them, but by their obstinacy bring down on themselves a heavier judgment, the power and authority to bind is likewise granted to the ministers of the Gospel. It must be observed, however, that this does not belong to the nature of the Gospel, but is accidental; as Paul also informs us, when, speaking of the vengeance which he tells us that he has it in his power to execute against all unbelievers and rebels, he immediately adds,

When your obedience shall have been fulfilled, (2 Corinthians 10:6.)

For were it not that the reprobate, through their own fault, turn life into death, the Gospel would be to all the power of God to salvation, (Romans 1:16;) but as many persons no sooner hear it than their impiety openly breaks out, and provokes against them more and more the wrath of God, to such persons its savor must be deadly, (2 Corinthians 2:16.)

The substance of this statement is, that Christ intended to assure his followers of the salvation promised to them in the Gospel, that they might expect it as firmly as if he were himself to descend from heaven to bear testimony concerning it; and, on the other hand, to strike despisers with terror, that they might not expect their mockery of the ministers of the word to remain unpunished. Both are exceedingly necessary; for the inestimable treasure of life is exhibited to us in earthen vessels, (2 Corinthians 4:7,) and had not the authority of the doctrine been established in this manner, the faith of it would have been, almost every moment, ready to give way. “D’heure en heure elle seroit revoquee en doute;” — “from hour to hour it would be called in question.” The reason why the ungodly become so daring and presumptuous is, that they imagine they have to deal with men. Christ therefore declares that, by the preaching of the Gospel, is revealed on the earth what will be the heavenly judgment of God, and that the certainty of life or death is not to be obtained from any other source.

This is a great honor, that we are God’s messengers to assure the world of its salvation. It is the highest honor conferred on the Gospel, that it is declared to be the embassy of mutual reconciliation between God and men, (2 Corinthians 5:20.) In a word, it is a wonderful consolation to devout minds to know that the message of salvation brought to them by a poor mortal man is ratified before God. Meanwhile, let the ungodly ridicule, as they may think fit, the doctrine which is preached to them by the command of God, they will one day learn with what truth and seriousness God threatened them by the mouth of men. Finally, let pious teachers, resting on this assurance, encourage themselves and others to defend with boldness the life-giving grace of God, and yet let them not the less boldly thunder against the hardened despisers of their doctrine.

Hitherto I have given a plain exposition of the native meaning of the words, so that nothing farther could have been desired, had it not been that the Roman Antichrist, wishing to cloak his tyranny, has wickedly and dishonestly dared to pervert the whole of this passage. The light of the true interpretation which I have stated would be of itself sufficient, one would think, for dispelling his darkness; but that pious readers may feel no uneasiness, I shall briefly refute his disgusting calumnies. First, he alleges that Peter is declared to be the foundation of the Church. But who does not see that what he applies to the person of a man is said in reference to Peter’s faith in Christ? There is no difference of meaning, I acknowledge, between the two Greek words Πέτρος (Peter) and πέτρα, (petra, a stone or rock,) “Ie confesse bien qu’en la langue Grecque il n’y a pas grande difference entre le mot qui signifie une pierre, et celuy qui signifie un homme nomme Pierre;” — “I readily acknowledge that, in the Greek language, there is no great difference between the word that signifies a stone, and that which signifies a man named Peter.” except that the former belongs to the Attic, and the latter to the ordinary dialect. But we are not to suppose that Matthew had not a good reason for employing this diversity of expression. On the contrary, the gender of the noun was intentionally changed, to show that he was now speaking of something different. “A fin de monstrer qu’au second lieu il parloit de quelque autre chose que de la personne de Pierre;” — “in order to show that, in the latter clause, he was speaking of something totally different from the person of Peter.” A distinction of the same sort, I have no doubt, was pointed out by Christ in his own language; By Christ’s own language is meant the Syriac — a dialect of Hebrew — which is supposed to have been the vernacular language of Palestine in the time of our Lord, and consequently to have been spoken by him and his apostles. It is enough for our present purpose that CALVIN adopted this hypothesis, whatever may be the result of a controversy in which the claims of the Greek language above the Syriac, as familiarly spoken and written in Syria at that period, have been urged with vast learning and ability. — Ed. and therefore Augustine judiciously reminds the reader that it is not πέτρα (petra, a stone or rock) that is derived from Πέτρος, (Peter,) but Πέτρος (Peter) that is derived from πέτρα, (petra, a stone or rock )

But not to be tedious, as we must acknowledge the truth and certainty of the declaration of Paul, that the Church can have no other foundation than Christ alone, (1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20,) it can be nothing less than blasphemy and sacrilege when the Pope has contrived another foundation. And certainly no words can express the detestation with which we ought to regard the tyranny of the Papal system on this single account, that, in order to maintain it, the foundation of the Church has been subverted, that the mouth of hell might be opened and swallow up wretched souls. Besides, as I have already hinted, that part does not refer to Peter’s public office, but only assigns to him a distinguished place among the sacred stones of the temple. The commendations that follow relate to the Apostolic office; and hence we conclude that nothing is here said to Peter which does not apply equally to the others who were his companions, for if the rank of apostleship was common to them all, whatever was connected with it must also have been held in common.

But it will be said, Christ addresses Peter alone: he does so, because Peter alone, in the name of all, had confessed Christ to be the Son of God, and to him alone is addressed the discourse, which applies equally to the rest. And the reason adduced by Cyprian and others is not to be despised, that Christ spake to all in the person of one man, in order to recommend the unity of the Church. They reply, “Les Romanisques repliquent a l’encontre;” — “the Romanists reply on the other hand.” that he to whom this privilege was granted in a peculiar manner is preferred to all others. But that is equivalent to saying that he was more an apostle than his companions; for the power to bind and to loose can no more be separated from the office of teaching and the Apostleship than light or heat can be separated from the sun. And even granting that something more was bestowed on Peter than on the rest, that he might hold a distinguished place among the Apostles, it is a foolish inference of the Papists, that he received the primacy, and became the universal head of the whole Church. Rank is a different thing from power, and to be elevated to the highest place of honor among a few persons is a different thing from embracing the whole world under his dominion. And in fact, Christ laid no heavier burden on him than he was able to bear. He is ordered to be the porter of the kingdom of heaven; he is ordered to dispense the grace of God by binding and loosing; that is, as far as the power of a mortal man reaches. All that was given to him, therefore, must be limited to the measure of grace which he received for the edification of the Church; and so that vast dominion, which the Papists claim for him, falls to the ground.

But though there were no strife or controversy about Peter, “Mais mettons le cas que ce qu’ils disent de Pierre soit hors de doute;” — “but let us suppose that what they say about Peter were beyond a doubt.” still this passage would not lend countenance to the tyranny of the Pope. For no man in his senses will admit the principle which the Papists take for granted, that what is here granted to Peter was intended to be transmitted by him to posterity by hereditary right; for he does not receive permission to give any thing to his successors. So then the Papists make him bountiful with what is not his own. Finally, though the uninterrupted succession were fully established, still the Pope will gain nothing by it till he has proved himself to be Peter’s lawful successor. And how does he prove it? Because Peter died at Rome; as if Rome, by the detestable murder of the Apostle, had procured for herself the primacy. But they allege that he was also bishop there. How frivolous “Combien cela est faux et frivole;” — “how false and frivolous it is.” that allegation is, I have made abundantly evident in my Institutes, (Book 4, Chapter 6,) to which I would willingly send my reader for a complete discussion of this argument, rather than annoy or weary him by repeating it in this place. Yet I would add a few words. Though the Bishop of Rome had been the lawful successor of Peter, since by his own treachery he has deprived himself of so high an honor, all that Christ bestowed on the successors of Peter avails him nothing. That the Pope’s court resides at Rome is sufficiently known, but no mark of a Church there can be pointed out. As to the pastoral office, his eagerness to shun it is equal to the ardor with which he contends for his own dominion. Certainly, if it were true that Christ has left nothing undone to exalt the heirs of Peter, still he was not so lavish as to part with his own honor to bestow it on apostates.

Matthew 16:20-28; Mark 8:30-38, 9:1; Luke 9:21-27

Matthew 16:20-28

Mark 8:30-37

Luke 9:21-27

20. Then he charged his disciples “Lors il commanda expressement a ses disciples;” — “then he expressly commanded his disciples.” not to tell any one that he was Jesus the Christ. 21. From that time Jesus began to make known to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and be raised again on the third day. 22. And Peter, taking him aside, “L’ayant prins a part;” — “have taken him aside.” began to rebuke him, saying, Lord, spare thyself; “Seigneur, aye pitie de toy;” — “Lord, have pity on thyself.” this shall not happen to thee. 23. But he turning said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offense to me; for thou relishest not those things which are of God, but those which are of men. 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any man chooses to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and on the other hand, whosoever shall lose his life on my account shall find it. 26. For what doth it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give, that, in exchange for it, he may redeem his soul? 27. For the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every one according to his actions. 28. Verily I say to you, There are some standing here, who will not taste death till they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

30. And he threatened, and forbade them to tell any one concerning him. “Et il leur defendit avec menace qu’ils ne dissent [cela] de luy a personne;” — “and he forbade them with threatening to tell [this] concerning him to any one.” 31. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32. And he spoke that saying openly, and Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33. But he turning and looking upon his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou relishest not the things that are of God, but those that are of men. 34. And when he had called the multitude to him along with his disciples, he said to them, Whosoever would follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, shall save it, 36. For what will it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? 37. Or what shall a man give as a ransom for his soul? 38. For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him likewise will the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Mark 9:1

1. And he said to them, Verily, I say to you, There are some among those who stand here “Il y en d’aucuns de ceux qui sont ici presens;” — “there are some of those who are here present.” that will not taste death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

21. And he threatening charged them not to tell this to any one, “Adonc usant de menaces il leur commanda qu’ils ne le dissent a personne;” — “Then employing threatenings, he commanded them not to tell it to any one.” 22. Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and rise again on the third day. 23. And he said to all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up hi cross daily, “De iour en iour;” — “day by day.” and follow me. 24. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life on my account shall save it. 25. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and be ruined and lost? 26. For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my saying, of him likewise will the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own majesty, and in the majesty of his Father, and of the holy angels. 27. And I say to you, There truly are some standing here who will not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God. “Iusqu’a taut qu’ils ayent veu le regne de Dieu;” — “till they have seen the kingdom of God.”

Having given a proof of his future glory, Christ reminds his disciples of what he must suffer, that they also may be prepared to bear the cross; for the time was at hand when they must enter into the contest, to which he knew them to be altogether unequal, if they had not been fortified by fresh courage. And first of all, it was necessary to inform them that Christ must commence his reign, not with gaudy display, not with the magnificence of riches, not with the loud applause of the world, but with an ignominious death. But nothing was harder than to rise superior to such an offense; particularly if we consider the opinion which they firmly entertained respecting their Master; for they imagined that he would procure for them earthly happiness. This unfounded expectation held them in suspense, and they eagerly looked forward to the hour when Christ would suddenly reveal the glory of his reign. So far were they from having ever adverted to the ignominy of the cross, that they considered it to be utterly unsuitable that he should be placed in any circumstances from which he did not receive honor. “Que rien luy peust advenir qui ne fust honorable et magnifique;” — “that any thing should happen to him which was not honorable and magnificent.” To them it was a distressing occurrence that he should be rejected by the elders and the scribes, who held the government of the Church; and hence we may readily conclude that this admonition was highly necessary. But as the bare mention of the cross must, of necessity, have occasioned heavy distress to their weak minds, he presently heals the wound by saying, that on the third day he will rise again from the dead. And certainly, as there is nothing to be seen in the cross but the weakness of the flesh, till we come to his resurrection, in which the power of the Spirit shines brightly, our faith will find no encouragement or support. In like manner, all ministers of the Word, who desire that their preaching may be profitable, ought to be exceedingly careful that the glory of his resurrection should be always exhibited by them in connection with the ignominy of his death.

But we naturally wonder why Christ refuses to accept as witnesses the Apostles, whom he had already appointed to that office; for why were they sent but to be the heralds of that redemption which depended on the coming of Christ? The answer is not difficult, if we keep in mind the explanations which I have given on this subject: first, that they were not appointed teachers for the purpose of bearing full and certain testimony to Christ, but only to procure disciples for their Master; that is, to induce those who were too much the victims of sloth to become teachable and attentive; and; secondly, that their commission was temporary, for it ended when Christ himself began to preach. As the time of his death was now at hand, and as they were not yet fully prepared to testify their faith, but, on the contrary, were so weak in faith, that their confession of it would have exposed them to ridicule, the Lord enjoins them to remain silent till others shall have acknowledged him to be the conqueror of death, and till he shall have endued them with increased firmness.

Matthew 16:22. And Peter, taking him aside, began to rebuke him. It is a proof of the excessive zeal of Peter, that he reproves his Master; though it would appear that the respect he entertained for him was his reason for taking him aside, because he did not venture to reprove him in presence of others. Still, it was highly presumptuous in Peter to advise our Lord to spare himself, as if he had been deficient in prudence or self-command. But so completely are men hurried on and driven headlong by inconsiderate zeal, that they do not hesitate to pass judgment on God himself, according to their own fancy. Peter views it as absurd, that the Son of God, who was to be the Redeemer of the nation, should be crucified by the elders, and that he who was the Author of life should be condemned to die. He therefore endeavors to restrain Christ from exposing himself to death. The reasoning is plausible; but we ought without hesitation to yield greater deference to the opinion of Christ than to the zeal of Peter, whatever excuse he may plead.

And here we learn what estimation in the sight of God belongs to what are called good intentions. So deeply is pride rooted in the hearts of men, that they think wrong is done them, and complain, if God does not comply with every thing that they consider to be right. With what obstinacy do we see the Papists boasting of their devotions! But while they applaud themselves in this daring manner, God not only rejects what they believe to be worthy of the highest praise, but even pronounces a severe censure on its folly and wickedness. Certainly, if the feeling and judgment of the flesh be admitted, Peter’s intention was pious, or at least it looked well. And yet Christ could not have conveyed his censure in harsher or more disdainful language. Tell me, what is the meaning of that stern reply? How comes it that he who so mildly on all occasions guarded against breaking even a bruised reed, (Isaiah 42:3,) thunders so dismally against a chosen disciple? The reason is obvious, that in the person of one man he intended to restrain all from gratifying their own passions. Though the lusts of the flesh, as they resemble wild beasts, are difficult to be restrained, yet there is no beast more furious than the wisdom of the flesh. It is on this account that Christ reproves it so sharply, and bruises it, as it were, with an iron hammer, to teach us that it is only from the word of God that we ought to be wise.

23. Get thee behind me, Satan. It is idle to speculate, as some have done, about the word (ὀπίσω) behind; as if Peter were ordered to follow, and not to go before; for, in a passage which we have already considered, Luke (4:8) informs us that our Lord used those very words in repelling the attacks of Satan, and the verb ὕπαγε (from which the Latin word Apage is derived) signifies to withdraw “Le mot Grec signifie simplement se reculer et s’en aller;” — “the Greek word simply means to withdraw and go away.” Christ therefore throws his disciple to a distance from him, because, in his inconsiderate zeal, he acted the part of Satan; for he does not simply call him adversary, but gives him the name of the devil, as an expression of the greatest abhorrence.

Thou art an offense to me; for thou relishest not those things which are of God, but those which are of men. We must attend to this as the reason assigned by our Lord for sending Peter away from him. Peter was an offense to Christ, so long as he opposed his calling; for, when Peter attempted to stop the course of his Master, it was not owing to him that he did not deprive himself and all mankind of eternal salvation. This single word, therefore, shows with what care we ought to avoid every thing that withdraws us from obedience to God. And Christ opens up the original source of the whole evil, when he says that Peter relishes those things which are of men. “Que Pierre s’arreste a la sagesse de l’homme;” — “that Peter rests satisfied with the wisdom of man.” Lest we and our intentions should be sent away by our heavenly Judge to the devil, “Et pourtant de peur que le Iuge celeste ne nous renvoye au diable avec nos bonnes affections et intentions;” — “and then lest our heavenly Judge should send us away to the devil with our good feelings and intentions.” let us learn not to be too much attached to our own views, but submissively to embrace whatever the Lord approves. Let the Papists now go and extol their notions to the skies. They will one day learn, when they appear before the judgment-seat of God, what is the value of their boasting, which Christ declares to be from Satan And with regard to ourselves, if we do not, of our own accord, resolve to shut ourselves out from the way of salvation by deadly obstacles, let us not desire to be wise in any other manner than from the mouth of God.

24. Then Jesus said to his disciples. As Christ saw that Peter had a dread of the cross, and that all the rest were affected in the same way, he enters into a general discourse about bearing the cross, and does not limit his address to the twelve apostles, but lays down the same law for all the godly. “A tous fideles;” — “to all believers.” We have already met with a statement nearly similar, (Matthew 10:38.) Harmony, vol. 1 p. 472. But in that passage the apostles were only reminded of the persecution which awaited them, as soon as they should begin to discharge their office; while a general instruction is here conveyed, and the initiatory lessons, so to speak, inculcated on all who profess to believe the Gospel.

If any man will come after me. These words are used for the express purpose of refuting the false views of Peter “Pour refuter l’imagination que Pierre avoit en son corveau;” — “to refute the imagination which Peter had in his brain.” Presenting himself to every one as an example of self-denial and of patience, he first shows that it was necessary for him to endure what Peter reckoned to be inconsistent with his character, and next invites every member of his body to imitate him. The words must be explained in this manner: “If any man would be my disciple, let him follow me by denying himself and taking up his cross, or, let him conform himself to my example.” The meaning is, that none can be reckoned to be the disciples of Christ unless they are true imitators of him, and are willing to pursue the same course.

He lays down a brief rule for our imitation, in order to make us acquainted with the chief points in which he wishes us to resemble him. It consists of two parts, self-denial and a voluntary bearing of the cross. Let him deny himself. This self-denial is very extensive, and implies that we ought to give up our natural inclinations, and part with all the affections of the flesh, and thus give our consent to be reduced to nothing, provided that God lives and reigns in us. We know with what blind love men naturally regard themselves, how much they are devoted to themselves, how highly they estimate themselves. But if we desire to enter into the school of Christ, we must begin with that folly to which Paul (1 Corinthians 3:18) exhorts us, becoming fools, that we may be wise; and next we must control and subdue all our affections.

And let him take up his cross. He lays down this injunction, because, though there are common miseries to which the life of men is indiscriminately subjected, yet as God trains his people in a peculiar manner, in order that they may be conformed to the image of his Son, we need not wonder that this rule is strictly addressed to them. It may be added that, though God lays both on good and bad men the burden of the cross, yet unless they willingly bend their shoulders to it, they are not said to bear the cross; for a wild and refractory horse cannot be said to admit his rider, though he carries him. The patience of the saints, therefore, consists in bearing willingly the cross which has been laid on them. “A porter la croix qua Dieu leur met sur les epaules;” — “in bearing the cross which God lays on their shoulders.” Luke adds the word daily — let him take up his cross Daily — which is very emphatic; for Christ’s meaning is, that there will be no end to our warfare till we leave the world. Let it be the uninterrupted exercise of the godly, that when many afflictions have run their course, they may be prepared to endure fresh afflictions.

25. For he that would save his life shall lose it. It is a most appropriate consolation, that they who willingly suffer death for the sake of Christ “Ceux qui meurent alaigrement pour Christ;” — “those who die cheerfully for Christ.” do actually obtain life; for Mark expressly states this as the motive to believers in dying — for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel — and in the words of Matthew the same thing must be understood. It frequently happens that irreligious men are prompted by ambition or despair to despise life; and to such persons it will be no advantage that they are courageous in meeting death. The threatening, which is contrasted with the promise, has also a powerful tendency to shake off carnal sloth, when he reminds men who are desirous of the present life, that the only advantage which they reap is, to lose life. There is a contrast intended here between temporal and eternal death, as we have explained under Matthew 10:39, where the reader will find the rest of this subject. Harmony, vol. 1 p. 472.

26. For what doth it profit a man? The word soul is here used in the strictest sense. Christ reminds them that the soul of man was not created merely to enjoy the world for a few days, but to obtain at length its immortality in heaven. What carelessness and what brutal stupidity is this, that men are so strongly attached to the world, and so much occupied with its affairs, as not to consider why they were born, and that God gave them an immortal soul, in order that, when the course of the earthly life was finished, they might live eternally in heaven! And, indeed, it is universally acknowledged, that the soul is of higher value than all the riches and enjoyments of the world; but yet men are so blinded by carnal views, that they knowingly and willfully abandon their souls to destruction. That the world may not fascinate us by its allurements, let us remember the surpassing worth of our soul; for if this be seriously considered, it will easily dispel the vain imaginations of earthly happiness.

27. For the Son of man will come. That the doctrine which has just been laid down may more deeply affect our minds, Christ places before our eyes the future judgment; for if we would perceive the worthlessness of this fading life, we must be deeply affected by the view of the heavenly life. So tardy and sluggish is our mind, that it needs to be aided by looking towards heaven. Christ summons believers to his judgment-seat, to lead them to reflect at all times that they lived for no other object than to long after that blessed redemption, which will be revealed at the proper time. The admonition is intended to inform us, that they do not strive in vain who set a higher value on the confession of faith than on their own life. “Place your lives fearlessly,” says he, “in my hand, and under my protection; for I will at length appear as your avenger, and will fully restore you, though for the time you may seem to have perished.”

In the glory of the Father, with his angels. These are mentioned to guard his disciples against judging of his kingdom from present appearances; for hitherto he was unknown and despised, being concealed under the form and condition of a servant. He assures them that it will be far otherwise when he shall appear as the Judge of the world. As to the remaining part of the passage in Mark and Luke, the reader will find it explained under the tenth chapter of Matthew. Harmony, vol. 1 p. 466.

And then will he render to every one according to his actions. The reward of works has been treated by me as fully as was necessary under another passage. “Alibi is a general reference, but en un autre passage is more specific; and the passage to which he probably refers the reader for a distinct exhibition of his views, and in which, so far as I remember, he handles this subject more fully than in any other part of the Gospels, is John 4:36.” — Ed. It amounts to this: When a reward is promised to good works, their merit is not contrasted with the justification which is freely bestowed on us through faith; nor is it pointed out as the cause of our salvation, but is only held out to excite believers to aim at doing what is right, “A faire bonnes oeuvres;” — “to do good works.” by assuring them that their labor will not be lost. There is a perfect agreement, therefore, between these two statements, that we are justified freely, (Romans 3:24,) because we are received into God’s favor without any merit; “Sans que nous en soyons dignes, ou l’ayons meritd;” — “without being worthy of it, or having deserved it.” and yet that God, of his own good pleasure, bestows on our works a reward which we did not deserve.

28. Verily, I say to you. As the disciples might still hesitate and inquire when that day would be, our Lord animates them by the immediate assurance, that he will presently give them a proof of his future glory. We know the truth of the common proverb, that to one who is in expectation even speed looks like delay; but never does it hold more true, than when we are told to wait for our salvation till the coming of Christ. To support his disciples in the meantime, our Lord holds out to them, for confirmation, an intermediate period; as much as to say, “If it seem too long to wait for the day of my coming, I will provide against this in good time; for before you come to die, you will see with your eyes that kingdom of God, of which I bid you entertain a confident hope.” This is the natural import of the words; for the notion adopted by some, that they were intended to apply to John, is ridiculous.

Coming in his kingdom. By the coming of the kingdom of God we are to understand the manifestation of heavenly glory, which Christ began to make at his resurrection, and which he afterwards made more fully by sending the Holy Spirit, and by the performance of miracles; for by those beginnings he gave his people a taste of the newness of the heavenly life, when they perceived, by certain and undoubted proofs, that he was sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36

Matthew 17:1-8

Mark 9:2-8

Luke 9:28-36

1. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John his brother, and leadeth them to a high mountain apart; 2. And was transfigured before them: and his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. 3. And, lo, there appeared to them “Et voyci, ils veirent Moyse et Elie parlans avec luy;” — “and, lo, they saw Moses and Elijah talking with him.” Moses and Elijah talking with him. 4. And Peter answering said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 5. While he was speaking, lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and, lo, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him. 6. And having heard this, the disciples fell on their face, “Ce qu’ayant ouy les disciples cheurent sur leur face en terre;” — “which the disciples having heard, fell on their face to the earth.” and were exceedingly afraid. 7. Then Jesus approaching touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man but Jesus only.

2. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them to a high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. 3. And his garments became shining, exceedingly white as snow, so white as no fuller on earth could make them. 4. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. 5. And Peter answering said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 6. For he knew not what he said; for they were terrified. 7. And there came a cloud that overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son; hear him. 8. And suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no other person, but Jesus alone with them.

28. And it happened about eight days after these words, and he took Peter, and James, and John, and went up to a mountain to pray. 29. And while he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was changed, and his raiment became white and dazzling. “Resplendissant comme un esclair;” — “dazzling like lightning.” 30. And, lo, two men talked with him; who were Moses and Elijah; 31. Who appeared in a majestic form, and spoke of the decease which he would accomplish at Jerusalem. 32. And Peter, and they that were with him, were overpowered with sleep; and when they awoke, they saw his glory, and the two men who were with him. 33. And it happened, while they were departing from him, “Et adveint quarid ceux-la furent departis d’avec luy;” — “and it happened when those men had departed from him.” Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said. 34. And while he was speaking these words, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son; hear him. 36. And while the voice was uttered, Jesus was found alone.

CHAPTER 16

Mt 16:1-12. A Sign from Heaven Sought and Refused--Caution against the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

For the exposition, see on Mr 8:11-21.

Mt 16:13-28. Peter's Noble Confession of Christ and the Benediction Pronounced upon Him--Christ's First Explicit Announcement of His Approaching Sufferings, Death, and Resurrection--His Rebuke of Peter and Warning to All the Twelve. ( = Mr 8:27; 9:1; Lu 9:18-27).

The time of this section--which is beyond doubt, and will presently be mentioned--is of immense importance, and throws a touching interest around the incidents which it records.

Peter's Confession, and the Benediction Pronounced upon Him. (Mt 16:13-20).

13. When Jesus came into the coasts--"the parts," that is, the territory or region. In Mark (Mr 8:27) it is "the towns" or "villages."

of Cæsarea Philippi--It lay at the foot of Mount Lebanon, near the sources of the Jordan, in the territory of Dan, and at the northeast extremity of Palestine. It was originally called Panium (from a cavern in its neighborhood dedicated to the god Pan) and Paneas. Philip, the tetrarch, the only good son of Herod the Great, in whose dominions Paneas lay, having beautified and enlarged it, changed its name to Cæsarea, in honor of the Roman emperor, and added Philippi after his own name, to distinguish it from the other Cæsarea (Ac 10:1) on the northeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea. [Josephus, Antiquities, 15.10,3; 18.2,1]. This quiet and distant retreat Jesus appears to have sought with the view of talking over with the Twelve the fruit of His past labors, and breaking to them for the first time the sad intelligence of His approaching death.

he asked his disciples--"by the way," says Mark (Mr 8:27), and "as He was alone praying," says Luke (Lu 9:18).

saying, Whom--or more grammatically, "Who"

do men say that I the Son of man am?--(or, "that the Son of man is"--the recent editors omitting here the me of Mark and Luke [Mr 8:27; Lu 9:18]; though the evidence seems pretty nearly balanced)--that is, "What are the views generally entertained of Me, the Son of man, after going up and down among them so long?" He had now closed the first great stage of His ministry, and was just entering on the last dark one. His spirit, burdened, sought relief in retirement, not only from the multitude, but even for a season from the Twelve. He retreated into "the secret place of the Most High," pouring out His soul "in supplications and prayers, with strong crying and tears" (He 5:7). On rejoining His disciples, and as they were pursuing their quiet journey, He asked them this question.

14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist--risen from the dead. So that Herod Antipas was not singular in his surmise (Mt 14:1, 2).

some, Elias--(Compare Mr 6:15).

and others, Jeremias--Was this theory suggested by a supposed resemblance between the "Man of Sorrows" and "the weeping prophet?"

or one of the prophets--or, as Luke (Lu 9:8) expresses it, "that one of the old prophets is risen again." In another report of the popular opinions which Mark (Mr 6:15) gives us, it is thus expressed, "That it is a prophet [or], as one of the prophets": in other words, That He was a prophetical person, resembling those of old.

15. He saith unto them, But whom--rather, "who."

say ye that I am?--He had never put this question before, but the crisis He was reaching made it fitting that He should now have it from them. We may suppose this to be one of those moments of which the prophet says, in His name, "Then I said, I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain" (Is 49:4): Lo, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree; and what is it? As the result of all, I am taken for John the Baptist, for Elias, for Jeremias, for one of the prophets. Yet some there are that have beheld My glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, and I shall hear their voice, for it is sweet.

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God--He does not say, "Scribes and Pharisees, rulers and people, are all perplexed; and shall we, unlettered fishermen, presume to decide?" But feeling the light of his Master's glory shining in his soul, he breaks forth--not in a tame, prosaic acknowledgment, "I believe that Thou art," &c.--but in the language of adoration--such as one uses in worship, "Thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!" He first owns Him the promised Messiah (see on Mt 1:16); then he rises higher, echoing the voice from heaven--"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; and in the important addition--"Son of the Living God"--he recognizes the essential and eternal life of God as in this His Son--though doubtless without that distinct perception afterwards vouchsafed.

17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou--Though it is not to be doubted that Peter, in this noble testimony to Christ, only expressed the conviction of all the Twelve, yet since he alone seems to have had clear enough apprehensions to put that conviction in proper and suitable words, and courage enough to speak them out, and readiness enough to do this at the right time--so he only, of all the Twelve, seems to have met the present want, and communicated to the saddened soul of the Redeemer at the critical moment that balm which was needed to cheer and refresh it. Nor is Jesus above giving indication of the deep satisfaction which this speech yielded Him, and hastening to respond to it by a signal acknowledgment of Peter in return.

Simon Bar-jona--or, "son of Jona" (Joh 1:42), or "Jonas" (Joh 21:15). This name, denoting his humble fleshly extraction, seems to have been purposely here mentioned, to contrast the more vividly with the spiritual elevation to which divine illumination had raised him.

for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee--"This is not the fruit of human teaching."

but my Father which is in heaven--In speaking of God, Jesus, it is to be observed, never calls Him, "our Father" (see on Joh 20:17), but either "your Father"--when He would encourage His timid believing ones with the assurance that He was theirs, and teach themselves to call Him so--or, as here, "My Father," to signify some peculiar action or aspect of Him as "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

18. And I say also unto thee--that is, "As thou hast borne such testimony to Me, even so in return do I to thee."

That thou art Peter--At his first calling, this new name was announced to him as an honor afterwards to be conferred on him (Joh 1:43). Now he gets it, with an explanation of what it was meant to convey.

and upon this rock--As "Peter" and "Rock" are one word in the dialect familiarly spoken by our Lord--the Aramaic or Syro-Chaldaic, which was the mother tongue of the country--this exalted play upon the word can be fully seen only in languages which have one word for both. Even in the Greek it is imperfectly represented. In French, as Webster and Wilkinson remark, it is perfect, Pierre--pierre.

I will build my Church--not on the man Simon Bar-jona; but on him as the heavenly-taught confessor of a faith. "My Church," says our Lord, calling the Church His Own; a magnificent expression regarding Himself, remarks Bengel--nowhere else occurring in the Gospels.

and the gates of hell--"of Hades," or, the unseen world; meaning, the gates of Death: in other words, "It shall never perish." Some explain it of "the assaults of the powers of darkness"; but though that expresses a glorious truth, probably the former is the sense here.

19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven--the kingdom of God about to be set up on earth

and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven--Whatever this mean, it was soon expressly extended to all the apostles (Mt 18:18); so that the claim of supreme authority in the Church, made for Peter by the Church of Rome, and then arrogated to themselves by the popes as the legitimate successors of St. Peter, is baseless and impudent. As first in confessing Christ, Peter got this commission before the rest; and with these "keys," on the day of Pentecost, he first "opened the door of faith" to the Jews, and then, in the person of Cornelius, he was honored to do the same to the Gentiles. Hence, in the lists of the apostles, Peter is always first named. See on Mt 18:18. One thing is clear, that not in all the New Testament is there the vestige of any authority either claimed or exercised by Peter, or conceded to him, above the rest of the apostles--a thing conclusive against the Romish claims in behalf of that apostle.

20. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ--Now that He had been so explicit, they might naturally think the time come for giving it out openly; but here they are told it had not.

Announcement of His Approaching Death and Rebuke of Peter (Mt 16:21-28).

The occasion here is evidently the same.

21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples--that is, with an explicitness and frequency He had never observed before.

how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things--"and be rejected," (Mr 8:31; Lu 9:22).

of the elders and chief priests and scribes--not as before, merely by not receiving Him, but by formal deeds.

and be killed, and be raised again the third day--Mark (Mr 8:32) adds, that "He spake that saying openly"--"explicitly," or "without disguise."

22. Then Peter took him--aside, apart from the rest; presuming on the distinction just conferred on him; showing how unexpected and distasteful to them all was the announcement.

and began to rebuke him--affectionately, yet with a certain generous indignation, to chide Him.

saying, Be it far from thee: this shall not be unto thee--that is, "If I can help it": the same spirit that prompted him in the garden to draw the sword in His behalf (Joh 18:10).

23. But he turned, and said--in the hearing of the rest; for Mark (Mr 8:33) expressly says, "When He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter"; perceiving that he had but boldly uttered what others felt, and that the check was needed by them also.

Get thee behind me, Satan--the same words as He had addressed to the Tempter (Lu 4:8); for He felt in it a satanic lure, a whisper from hell, to move Him from His purpose to suffer. So He shook off the Serpent, then coiling around Him, and "felt no harm" (Ac 28:5). How quickly has the "rock" turned to a devil! The fruit of divine teaching the Lord delighted to honor in Peter; but the mouthpiece of hell, which he had in a moment of forgetfulness become, the Lord shook off with horror.

thou art an offence--a stumbling-block.

unto me--"Thou playest the Tempter, casting a stumbling-block in My way to the Cross. Could it succeed, where wert thou? and how should the Serpent's head be bruised?"

for thou savourest not--thou thinkest not.

the things that be of God, but those that be of men--"Thou art carried away by human views of the way of setting up Messiah's kingdom, quite contrary to those of God." This was kindly said, not to take off the sharp edge of the rebuke, but to explain and justify it, as it was evident Peter knew not what was in the bosom of his rash speech.

24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples--Mark (Mr 8:34) says, "When He had called the people unto Him, with His disciples also, He said unto them"--turning the rebuke of one into a warning to all.

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25. For whosoever will save--is minded to save, or bent on saving.

his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it--(See on Mt 10:38,39). "A suffering and dying Messiah liketh you ill; but what if His servants shall meet the same fate? They may not; but who follows Me must be prepared for the worst."

26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul--or forfeit his own soul?

or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?--Instead of these weighty words, which we find in Mr 8:36 also, it is thus expressed in Lu 9:25: "If he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away," or better, "If he gain the whole world, and destroy or forfeit himself." How awful is the stake as here set forth! If a man makes the present world--in its various forms of riches, honors, pleasures, and such like--the object of supreme pursuit, be it that he gains the world; yet along with it he forfeits his own soul. Not that any ever did, or ever will gain the whole world--a very small portion of it, indeed, falls to the lot of the most successful of the world's votaries--but to make the extravagant concession, that by giving himself entirely up to it, a man gains the whole world; yet, setting over against this gain the forfeiture of his soul--necessarily following the surrender of his whole heart to the world--what is he profited? But, if not the whole world, yet possibly something else may be conceived as an equivalent for the soul. Well, what is it?--"Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Thus, in language the weightiest, because the simplest, does our Lord shut up His hearers, and all who shall read these words to the end of the world, to the priceless value to every man of his own soul. In Mark and Luke (Mr 8:38; Lu 9:26) the following words are added: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words [shall be ashamed of belonging to Me, and ashamed of My Gospel] in this adulterous and sinful generation" (see on Mt 12:39), "of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels." He will render back to that man his own treatment, disowning him before the most august of all assemblies, and putting him to "shame and everlasting contempt" (Da 12:2). "O shame," exclaims Bengel, "to be put to shame before God, Christ, and angels!" The sense of shame is founded on our love of reputation, which causes instinctive aversion to what is fitted to lower it, and was given us as a preservative from all that is properly shameful. To be lost to shame is to be nearly past hope. (Zep 3:5; Jr 6:15; 3:3). But when Christ and "His words" are unpopular, the same instinctive desire to stand well with others begets that temptation to be ashamed of Him which only the expulsive power of a higher affection can effectually counteract.

27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels--in the splendor of His Father's authority and with all His angelic ministers, ready to execute His pleasure.

and then he shall reward, &c.

28. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here--"some of those standing here."

which shall not taste of death, fill they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom--or, as in Mark (Mr 9:1), "till they see the kingdom of God come with power"; or, as in Luke (Lu 9:27), more simply still, "till they see the kingdom of God." The reference, beyond doubt, is to the firm establishment and victorious progress, in the lifetime of some then present, of that new kingdom of Christ, which was destined to work the greatest of all changes on this earth, and be the grand pledge of His final coming in glory.

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees - Though a short account of these has been already given in a note on Mat 3:7, yet, as one more detailed may be judged necessary, I think it proper to introduce it in this place.

The Pharisees were the most considerable sect among the Jews, for they had not only the scribes, and all the learned men of the law of their party, but they also drew after them the bulk of the people. When this sect arose is uncertain. Josephus, Antiq. lib. v. c. xiii. s. 9, speaks of them as existing about 144 years before the Christian era. They had their appellation of Pharisees, from פרש parash, to separate, and were probably, in their rise, the most holy people among the Jews, having separated themselves from the national corruption, with a design to restore and practice the pure worship of the most High. That they were greatly degenerated in our Lord's time is sufficiently evident; but still we may learn, from their external purity and exactness, that their principles in the beginning were holy. Our Lord testifies that they had cleansed the outside of the cup and the platter, but within they were full of abomination. They still kept up the outward regulations of the institution, but they had utterly lost its spirit; and hypocrisy was the only substitute now in their power for that spirit of piety which I suppose, and not unreasonably, characterized the origin of this sect.

As to their religious opinions, they still continued to credit the being of a God; they received the five books of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the hagiographa. The hagiographa or holy writings, from αγιος holy, and γραφω I write, included the twelve following books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. These, among the Jews, occupied a middle place between the law and the prophets, as divinely inspired. The Pharisees believed, in a confused way, in the resurrection, though they received the Pythagorean doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls. Those, however, who were notoriously wicked, they consigned, on their death, immediately to hell, without the benefit of transmigration, or the hope of future redemption. They held also the predestinarian doctrine of necessity, and the government of the world by fate; and yet, inconsistently, allowed some degree of liberty to the human will. See Prideaux.

The Sadducees had their origin and name from one Sadoc, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho, president of the Sanhedrin, and teacher of the law in one of the great divinity schools in Jerusalem, about 264 years before the incarnation.

This Antigonus having often in his lectures informed his scholars, that they should not serve God through expectation of a reward, but through love and filial reverence only, Sadoc inferred from this teaching that there were neither rewards nor punishments after this life, and, by consequence, that there was no resurrection of the dead, nor angel, nor spirit, in the invisible world; and that man is to be rewarded or punished here for the good or evil he does.

They received only the five books of Moses, and rejected all unwritten traditions. From every account we have of this sect, it plainly appears they were a kind of mongrel deists, and professed materialists. See Prideaux, and the authors he quotes, Connex. vol. iii. p. 95, and 471, etc., and see the note on Mat 3:7.

In Mat 22:16, we shall meet with a third sect, called Herodians, of whom a few words may be spoken here, It is allowed on all hands that these did not exist before the time of Herod the Great, who died only three years after the incarnation of our Lord. What the opinions of these were is not agreed among the learned. Many of the primitive fathers believed that their distinguishing doctrine was, that they held Herod to be the Messiah; but it is not likely that such an opinion could prevail in our Savior's time, thirty years after Herod's death, when not one characteristic of Messiahship had appeared in him during his life. Others suppose that they were Herod's courtiers, who flattered the passions of their master, and, being endowed with a convenient conscience, changed with the times; but, as Herod was now dead upwards of thirty years, such a sect could not exist in reference to him; and yet all allow that they derived their origin from Herod the Great.

Our Lord says, Mar 8:15, that they had the leaven of Herod, i.e. a bad doctrine, which they received from him. What this was may be easily discovered:

1. Herod subjected himself and his people to the dominion of the Romans, in opposition to that law, Deu 17:15, Thou shalt not set a king over thee - which is not thy brother, i.e. one out of the twelve tribes.

2. He built temples, sat up images, and joined in heathenish worship, though he professed the Jewish religion; and this was in opposition to all the law and the prophets.

From this we may learn that the Herodians were such as, first, held it lawful to transfer the Divine government to a heathen ruler; and, secondly, to conform occasionally to heathenish rites in their religious worship. In short, they appear to have been persons who trimmed between God and the world - who endeavored to reconcile his service with that of mammon - and who were religious just as far as it tended to secure their secular interests. It is probable that this sect was at last so blended with, that it became lost in, the sect of the Sadducees; for the persons who art called Herodians, Mar 8:15, are styled Sadducees in Mat 16:6. See Prideaux, Con. vol. iii. p. 516, etc., and Josephus, Antiq. b. xv. c. viii. s. i. and x. s. iii. But it is very likely that the Herodians, mentioned c. xxii. 10, were courtiers or servants of Herod king of Galilee. See the note there.

Show them a sign - These sects, however opposed among themselves, most cordially unite in their opposition to Christ and his truth. That the kingdom of Satan may not fall, all his subjects must fight against the doctrine and maxims of the kingdom of Christ.

Tempting - him - Feigning a desire to have his doctrine fully proved to them, that they might credit it, and become his disciples; but having no other design than to betray and ruin him.

When it is evening - There are certain signs of fair and foul weather, which ye are in the constant habit of observing, and which do not fail. - The signs of the times: the doctrine which I preach, and the miracles which I work among you, are as sure signs that the day-spring from on high has visited you for your salvation; but if ye refute to hear, and continue in darkness, the red and gloomy cloud of vindictive justice shall pour out such a storm of wrath upon you as shalt sweep you from the face of the earth.

The sky is red and lowering - The signs of fair and foul weather were observed in a similar manner among the Romans, and indeed among most other people. Many treatises have been written on the subject: thus a poet: -

Caeruleus pluviam denunciant, Igneus euros

Sin Maculae incipient Rutilo immiscerier Igni,

Omnia tunc pariter Vento Nimbisque videbis

Fervere Virg. Geor. i. l. 453 "If fiery red his glowing globe descends,

High winds and furious tempests he portends:

But if his cheeks are swoll'n with livid blue,

He bodes wet weather, by his watery hue

If dusky spots are varied on his brow,

And streak'd with red a troubled color show,

That sullen mixture shall at once declare,

Wind, rain, and storms, and elemental war

Dryden.

Wicked and adulterous generation - The Jewish people are represented in the Sacred Writings as married to the Most High; but, like a disloyal wife, forsaking their true husband, and uniting themselves to Satan and sin. Seeketh after a sign, σημειον επιζητει, seeketh sign upon sign, or, still another sign. Our blessed Lord had already wrought miracles sufficient to demonstrate both his Divine mission and his divinity; only one was farther necessary to take away the scandal of his cross and death, to fulfill the Scriptures, and to establish the Christian religion; and that was, his resurrection from the dead, which, he here states, was typified in the case of Jonah.

Come to the other side - Viz. the coast of Bethsaida, by which our Lord passed, going to Caesarea, for he was now on his journey thither. See Mat 16:13, and Mar 8:22, Mar 8:27.

Beware of the leaven - What the leaven of Pharisees and Sadducees was has been already explained, see Mat 16:1. Bad doctrines act in the soul as leaven does in meal; they assimulate the whole Spirit to their own nature. A man's particular creed has a greater influence on his tempers and conduct than most are aware of. Pride, hypocrisy, and worldly-mindedness, which constituted the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, ruin the major part of the world.

They reasoned - For, as Lightfoot observes, the term leaven was very rarely used among the Jews to signify doctrine, and therefore the disciples did not immediately apprehend his meaning. In what a lamentable state of blindness is the human mind? Bodily wants are perceived with the utmost readiness, and a supply is sought with all speed. But the necessities of the soul are rarely discovered, though they are more pressing than those of the body, and the supply of them of infinitely more importance.

When Jesus perceived, he said - Αυτοις, unto them, is wanting in BDKLMS, and twenty others; one of the Syriac, the Armenian, Ethiopia, Vulgate, and most of the Itala; also in Origen, Theophylact, and Lucifer Calaritanus. Mill approves of the omission, and Griesbach has left it out of the text.

O ye of little faith - There are degrees in faith, as well as in the other graces of the Spirit. Little faith may be the seed of great faith, and therefore is not to be despised. But many who should be strong in faith have but a small measure of it, because they either give way to sin, or are not careful to improve what God has already given.

Do ye not yet understand - the five loaves - neither the seven - See the notes on Mat 14:14, etc. How astonishing is it that these men should have any fear of lacking bread, after having seen the two miracles which our blessed Lord alludes to above! Though men quickly perceive their bodily wants, and are querulous enough till they get them supplied, yet they as quickly forget the mercy which they had received; and thus God gets few returns of gratitude for his kindnesses. To make men, therefore, deeply sensible of his favors, he is induced to suffer them often to be in want, and then to supply them in such a way as to prove that their supply has come immediately from the hand of their bountiful Father.

How is it that ye do not understand - We are not deficient in spiritual knowledge, because we have not had sufficient opportunities of acquainting ourselves with God; but because we did not improve the advantages we had. How deep and ruinous must our ignorance be, if God did not give line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little! They now perceived that he warned them against the superstition of the Pharisees, which produced hypocrisy, pride, envy, etc., and the false doctrine of the Sadducees, which denied the existence of a spiritual world, the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and the providence of God.

Caesarea Philippi - A city, in the tribe of Naphtali, near to Mount Libanus, in the province of Iturea. Its ancient name was Dan, Gen 14:14; afterwards it was called Lais, Jdg 18:7. But Philip the tetrarch, having rebuilt and beautified it, gave it the name of Caesarea, in honor of Tiberius Caesar, the reigning emperor: but to distinguish it from another Caesarea, which was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and to perpetuate the fame of him who rebuilt it, it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philip.

When Jesus came - Ελθων δε ο Ιησους - when Jesus was coming. Not, when Jesus came, or was come, for Mark expressly mentions that it happened εν τη οδω, in the way to Caesarea Philippi, Mar 8:27, and he is Matthew's best interpreter. - Wakefield.

Whom do men say - He asked his disciples this question, not because he was ignorant what the people thought and spoke of him; but to have the opportunity, in getting an express declaration of their faith from themselves, to confirm and strengthen them in it: but see on Luk 9:20 (note). Some, John the Baptist, etc. By this and other passages we learn, that the Pharisaic doctrine of the Metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, was pretty general; for it was upon this ground that they believed that the soul of the Baptist, or of Elijah, Jeremiah, or some of the prophets, had come to a new life in the body of Jesus.

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God - Every word here is emphatic - a most concise, and yet comprehensive, confession of faith.

The Christ, or Messiah, points out his divinity, and shows his office; the Son - designates his person: on this account it is that both are joined together so frequently in the new covenant. Of the living God Του Θεου, του ζωντος, literally, of God the Living One. The C. Bezae has for Του ζωντος the Living One, Του σωζοντος, the Savior, and the Cant. Dei Salvatoris, of God the Savior.

Living - a character applied to the Supreme Being, not only to distinguish him from the dead idols of paganism, but also to point him out as the source of life, present, spiritual, and eternal. Probably there is an allusion here to the great name יהוה Yeve, or Yehovah, which properly signifies being or existence.

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona - Or Simon, son of Jonah; so Bar-jonah should be translated, and so it is rendered by our Lord, Joh 1:42. Flesh and blood - i.e. Man; - no human being hath revealed this; and though the text is literal enough, yet every body should know that this is a Hebrew periphrasis for man; and the literal translation of it here, and in Gal 1:16, has misled thousands, who suppose that flesh and blood signify carnal reason, as it is termed, or the unregenerate principle in man. Is it not evident, from our Lord's observation, that it requires an express revelation of God in a man's soul, to give him a saving acquaintance with Jesus Christ; and that not even the miracles of our Lord, wrought before the eyes, will effect this? The darkness must be removed from the heart by the Holy Spirit, before a man can become wise unto salvation.

Thou art Peter - This was the same as if he had said, I acknowledge thee for one of my disciples - for this name was given him by our Lord when he first called him to the apostleship. See Joh 1:42.

Peter, πετρος, signifies a stone, or fragment of a rock; and our Lord, whose constant custom it was to rise to heavenly things through the medium of earthly, takes occasion from the name, the metaphorical meaning of which was strength and stability, to point out the solidity of the confession, and the stability of that cause which should be founded on The Christ, the Son of the Living God. See the notes at Luk 9:62.

Upon this very rock, επι ταυτη τη πετρα - this true confession of thine - that I am The Messiah, that am come to reveal and communicate The Living God, that the dead, lost world may be saved - upon this very rock, myself, thus confessed (alluding probably to Psa 118:22, The Stone which the builders rejected is become the Head-Stone of the Corner: and to Isa 28:16, Behold I lay a Stone in Zion for a Foundation) - will I build my Church, μου την εκκλησιαν, my assembly, or congregation, i.e. of persons who are made partakers of this precious faith. That Peter is not designed in our Lord's words must be evident to all who are not blinded by prejudice. Peter was only one of the builders in this sacred edifice, Eph 2:20 who himself tells us, (with the rest of the believers), was built on this living foundation stone: 1Pet 2:4, 1Pet 2:5, therefore Jesus Christ did not say, on thee, Peter, will I build my Church, but changes immediately the expression, and says, upon that very rock, επι ταυτη τη πετρα, to show that he neither addressed Peter, nor any other of the apostles. So, the supremacy of Peter, and the infallibility of the Church of Rome, must be sought in some other scripture, for they certainly are not to be found in this. On the meaning of the word Church, see at the conclusion of this chapter.

The gates of hell, πυλαι Αδου i. e, the machinations and powers of the invisible world. In ancient times the gates of fortified cities were used to hold councils in, and were usually places of great strength. Our Lord's expression means, that neither the plots, stratagems, nor strength of Satan and his angels, should ever so far prevail as to destroy the sacred truths in the above confession. Sometimes the gates are taken for the troops which issue out from them: we may firmly believe, that though hell should open her gates, and vomit out her devil and all his angels, to fight against Christ and his saints, ruin and discomfiture must be the consequence on their part; as the arm of the Omnipotent must prevail.

The keys of the kingdom - By the kingdom of heaven, we may consider the true Church, that house of God, to be meant; and by the keys, the power of admitting into that house, or of preventing any improper person from coming in. In other words, the doctrine of salvation, and the full declaration of the way in which God will save sinners; and who they are that shall be finally excluded from heaven; and on what account. When the Jews made a man a doctor of the law, they put into his hand the key of the closet in the temple where the sacred books were kept, and also tablets to write upon; signifying, by this, that they gave him authority to teach, and to explain the Scriptures to the people. - Martin. This prophetic declaration of our Lord was literally fulfilled to Peter, as he was made the first instrument of opening, i.e. preaching the doctrines of the kingdom of heaven to the Jews, Act 2:41; and to the Gentiles, Act 10:44-47; Act 11:1; Act 15:7.

Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth - This mode of expression was frequent among the Jews: they considered that every thing that was done upon earth, according to the order of God, was at the same time done in heaven: hence they were accustomed to say, that when the priest, on the day of atonement, offered the two goats upon earth, the same were offered in heaven. As one goat therefore is permitted to escape on earth, one is permitted to escape in heaven; and when the priests cast the lots on earth, the priest also casts the lots in heaven. See Sohar. Leviticus fol. 26; and see Lightfoot and Schoettgen. These words will receive considerable light from Lev 13:3, Lev 13:23 : The priest shall look upon him (the leper) and pronounce him unclean. Hebrew וטמא אתו vetime otho, he shall pollute him, i.e. shall declare him polluted, from the evidences mentioned before. And in Lev 13:23 : The priest shall pronounce him clean, וטהרו הכה vetiharo hacohen, the priest shall cleanse him, i.e. declare he is clean, from the evidences mentioned in the verse. In the one case the priest declared the person infected with the leprosy, and unfit for civil society; and, in the other, that the suspected person was clean, and might safely associate with his fellows in civil or religious assemblies. The disciples of our Lord, from having the keys, i.e. the true knowledge of the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, should be able at all times to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, and pronounce infallible judgment; and this binding and loosing, or pronouncing fit or unfit for fellowship with the members of Christ, being always according to the doctrine of the Gospel of God, should be considered as proceeding immediately from heaven, and consequently as Divinely ratified.

That binding and loosing were terms in frequent use among the Jews, and that they meant bidding and forbidding, granting and refusing, declaring lawful or unlawful, etc., Dr. Lightfoot, after having given numerous instances, thus concludes: - "To these may be added, if need were, the frequent (shall I say?) or infinite use of the phrases, אסור ומותר bound and loosed, which we meet with thousands of times over. But from these allegations the reader sees, abundantly enough, both the frequency and the common use of this phrase, and the sense of it also; namely, first, that it is used in doctrine, and in judgments, concerning things allowed or not allowed in the law. Secondly, that to bind is the same with, to forbid, or to declare forbidden. To think that Christ, when he used the common phrase, was not understood by his hearers in the common and vulgar sense, shall I call it a matter of laughter, or of madness?

To this, therefore, do these words amount: When the time was come wherein the Mosaic law, as to some part of it, was to be abolished, and left off, and, as to another part of it, was to be continued and to last for ever, he granted Peter here, and to the rest of the apostles, Mat 18:18, a power to abolish or confirm what they thought good, and as they thought good; being taught this, and led by the Holy Spirit: as if he should say, Whatsoever ye shall bind in the law of Moses, that is, forbid, it shall be forbidden, the Divine authority confirming it; and whatsoever ye shall loose, that is, permit, or shall teach that it is permitted and lawful, shall be lawful and permitted. Hence they bound, that is forbade, circumcision to the believers; eating of things offered to idols, of things strangled, and of blood, for a time, to the Gentiles; and that which they bound on earth was confirmed in heaven. They loosed, that is, allowed purification to Paul, and to four other brethren, for the shunning of scandal; Act 21:24 and, in a word, by these words of Christ it was committed to them, the Holy Spirit directing, that they should make decrees concerning religion, as to the use or rejection of Mosaic rites and judgments, and that either for a time, or for ever. "Let the words be applied by way of paraphrase to the matter that was transacted at present with Peter: 'I am about to build a Gentile Church,' saith Christ, and to thee, O Peter, do I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that thou mayest first open the door of faith to them; but if thou askest by what rule that Church is to be governed, when the Mosaic rule may seem so improper for it, thou shalt be so guided by the Holy Spirit, that whatsoever of the law of Moses thou shalt forbid them shall be forbidden; whatsoever thou grantest them shall be granted; and that under a sanction made in heaven.' Hence, in that instant, when he should use his keys, that is, when he was now ready to open the gate of the Gospel to the Gentiles, Acts 10, he was taught from heaven that the consorting of the Jew with the Gentile, which before had been bound, was now loosed; and the eating of any creature convenient for food was now loosed, which before had been bound; and he in like manner looses both these. "Those words of our Savior, Joh 20:23, Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted to them, for the most part are forced to the same sense with these before us, when they carry quite another sense. Here the business is of doctrine only, not of persons; there of persons, not of doctrine. Here of things lawful or unlawful in religion, to be determined by the apostles; there of persons obstinate or not obstinate, to be punished by them, or not to be punished. "As to doctrine, the apostles were doubly instructed. 1. So long sitting at the feet of their Master, they had imbibed the evangelical doctrine. "2. The Holy Spirit directing them, they were to determine concerning the legal doctrine and practice, being completely instructed and enabled in both by the Holy Spirit descending upon them. As to the persons, they were endowed with a peculiar gift, so that, the same Spirit directing them, if they would retain and punish the sins of any, a power was delivered into their hands of delivering to Satan, of punishing with diseases, plagues, yea, death itself, which Peter did to Ananias and Sapphira; Paul to Elymas, Hymeneus, and Philetus, etc."

After all these evidences and proofs of the proper use of these terms, to attempt to press the word, into the service long assigned them by the Church of Rome, would, to use the words of Dr. Lightfoot, be "a matter of laughter or of madness." No Church can use them in the sense thus imposed upon them, which was done merely to serve secular ends; and least of all can that very Church that thus abuses them.

Then charged he his disciples - ΔιεϚειλατο, he strictly charged them. Some very good MSS. have επετιμησεν, he severely charged - comminatus est, - he threatened. These are the readings of the Cod. Bezae, both in the Greek and Latin.

The Christ - The common text has Jesus the Christ; but the word Jesus is omitted by fifty-four MSS., some of which are not only of the greatest authority, but also of the greatest antiquity. It is omitted also by the Syriac, later Persic, later Arabic, Slavonic, six copies of the Itala, and several of the fathers. The most eminent critics approve of this omission, and Griesbach has left it out of the text in both his editions. I believe the insertion of it here to be wholly superfluous and improper; for the question is, Who is this Jesus? Peter answers, He is, ὁ ΧριϚος, the Messiah. The word Jesus is obviously improper. What our Lord says here refers to Peter's testimony in Mat 16:16 : Thou art the Christ - Jesus here says, Tell no man that I am the Christ, i.e. the Messiah; as the time for his full manifestation was not yet come; and he was not willing to provoke the Jewish malice, or the Roman envy, by permitting his disciples to announce him as the Savior of a lost world. He chose rather to wait, till his resurrection and ascension had set this truth in the clearest light, and beyond the power of successful contradiction.

From that time forth began Jesus, etc. - Before this time our Lord had only spoken of his death in a vague and obscure manner, see Mat 12:40, because he would not afflict his disciples with this matter sooner than necessity required; but now, as the time of his crucifixion drew nigh, he spoke of his sufferings and death in the most express and clear terms. Three sorts of persons, our Lord intimates, should be the cause of his death and passion: the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. Pious Quesnel takes occasion to observe from this, that Christ is generally persecuted by these three descriptions of men: rich men, who have their portion in this life; ambitious and covetous ecclesiastics, who seek their portion in this life; and conceited scholars, who set up their wisdom against the wisdom of God, being more intent on criticising words than in providing for the salvation of their souls. The spirit of Christianity always enables a man to bear the ills of life with patience; to receive death with joy; and to expect, by faith, the resurrection of the body, and the life of the world to come.

Then Peter took him - Προσλαβομενος - took him up - suddenly interrupted him, as it were calling him to order - see Wakefield. Some versions give προσλαβομενος the sense of calling him aside. The word signifies also to receive in a friendly manner - to embrace; but Mr. Wakefield's translation agrees better with the scope of the place. A man like Peter, who is of an impetuous spirit, and decides without consideration upon every subject, must of necessity be often in the wrong.

Be it far from thee Lord - Ιλεως σοι Κυριε. Be merciful to thyself Lord. Pity thyself - So I think the original should be rendered. Peter knew that Christ had power sufficient to preserve himself from all the power and malice of the Jews; and wished him to exert that in his own behalf which he had often exorted in the behalf of others. Some critics of great note think the expression elliptical, and that the word Θεος, God, is necessarily understood, as if Peter had said, God be merciful to thee! but I think the marginal reading is the sense of the passage. The French, Italian, and Spanish, render it the same way. Blind and ignorant man is ever finding fault with the conduct of God. Human reason cannot comprehend the incarnation of the Almighty's fellow, (Zac 13:7), nor reconcile the belief of his divinity with his sufferings and death. How many Peters are there now in the world, who are in effect saying, This cannot be done unto thee - thou didst not give thy life for the sin of the world - it would be injustice to cause the innocent to suffer thus for the guilty. But what saith God? His soul shall be made an offering for sin - he shall taste death for every man - the iniquities of us all were laid upon him. Glorious truth! May the God who published it have eternal praises!

Get thee behind me, Satan - Υπαγε οπισω μου σατανα. Get behind me, thou adversary. This is the proper translation of the Hebrew word שטן Satan, from which the Greek word is taken. Our blessed Lord certainly never designed that men should believe he called Peter, Devil, because he, through erring affection, had wished him to avoid that death which he predicted to himself. This translation, which is literal, takes away that harshness which before appeared in our Lord's words.

Thou art an offense unto me - Σκανδαλον μου ει - Thou art a stumbling-block in my way, to impede me in the accomplishment of the great design.

Thou savourest not - That is, dost not relish, ου φρονεις, or, thou dost not understand or discern the things of God - thou art wholly taken up with the vain thought that my kingdom is of this world. He who opposes the doctrine of the atonement is an adversary and offense to Christ, though he be as sincere in his profession as Peter himself was. Let us beware of false friendships. Carnal relatives, when listened to, may prove the ruin of those whom, through their mistaken tenderness, they wish to save. When a man is intent on saving his own soul, his adversaries are often those of his own household.

Will come after me - i.e. to be my disciple. This discourse was intended to show Peter and the rest of the disciples the nature of his kingdom; and that the honor that cometh from the world was not to be expected by those who followed Christ.

The principles of the Christian life are:

First. To have a sincere desire to belong to Christ - If any man be Willing to be my disciple, etc.

Secondly. To renounce self-dependence, and selfish pursuits - Let him deny Himself.

Thirdly. To embrace the condition which God has appointed, and bear the troubles and difficulties he may meet with in walking the Christian road - Let him take up His Cross.

Fourthly. To imitate Jesus, and do and suffer all in his spirit - Let him Follow Me.

Let him deny himself - Απαρνησασθω may well be interpreted, Let him deny, or renounce, himself fully - in all respects - perseveringly. It is a compounded word, and the preposition απο abundantly increases the meaning. A follower of Christ will need to observe it in its utmost latitude of meaning, in order to be happy here, and glorious hereafter. A man's self is to him the prime cause of most of his miseries. See the note on Mar 8:34.

For whosoever will save his life - That is, shall wish to save his life - at the expense of his conscience, and casting aside the cross, he shall lose it - the very evil he wishes to avoid shall overtake him; and he shall lose his soul into the bargain. See then how necessary it is to renounce one's self! But whatsoever a man loses in this world, for his steady attachment to Christ and his cause, he shall have amply made up to him in the eternal world.

Lose his own soul - Or, lose his life, την ψυχην αυτου. On what authority many have translated the word ψυχη, in the 25th verse, life, and in this verse, soul, I know not, but am certain it means life in both places. If a man should gain the whole world, its riches, honors, and pleasures, and lose his life, what would all these profit him, seeing they can only be enjoyed during life? But if the words be applied to the soul, they show the difficulty - the necessity - and importance of salvation. The world, the devil, and a man's own heart are opposed to his salvation; therefore it is difficult. The soul was made for God, and can never be united to him, nor be happy, till saved from sin: therefore it is necessary. He who is saved from his sin, and united to God, possesses the utmost felicity that the human soul can enjoy, either in this or the coming world: therefore, this salvation is important. See also the note on Luk 9:25 (note).

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father - This seems to refer to Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14. "Behold, one like the Son of man came - to the ancient of Days - and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve him." This was the glorious Mediatorial kingdom which Jesus Christ was now about to set up, by the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity, and the diffusion of his Gospel through the whole world. If the words be taken in this sense, the angels or messengers may signify the apostles and their successors in the sacred ministry, preaching the Gospel in the power of the Holy Ghost. It is very likely that the words do not apply to the final judgment, to which they are generally referred; but to the wonderful display of God's grace and power after the day of pentecost.

There be some - which shall not taste of death - This verse seems to confirm the above explanation, as our Lord evidently speaks of the establishment of the Christian Church after the day of pentecost, and its final triumph after the destruction of the Jewish polity; as if he had said, "Some of you, my disciples, shall continue to live until these things take place." The destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish economy, which our Lord here predicts, took place about forty-three years after this: and some of the persons now with him doubtless survived that period, and witnessed the extension of the Messiah's kingdom; and our Lord told them these things before, that when they came to pass they might be confirmed in the faith, and expect an exact fulfillment of all the other promises and prophecies which concerned the extension and support of the kingdom of Christ.

To his kingdom, or in his kingdom. Instead of βασιλεια, kingdom, four MSS., later Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Saxon, and one copy of the Itala, with several of the primitive fathers, read δοξη, glory: and to this is added, του πατρος αυτου, of his Father, by three MSS. and the versions mentioned before. This makes the passage a little more conformable to the passage already quoted from Daniel; and it must appear, very clearly, that the whole passage speaks not of a future judgment, but of the destruction of the Jewish polity, and the glorious spread of Christianity in the earth, by the preaching of Christ crucified by the apostles and their immediate successors in the Christian Church.

1. The disciples, by being constantly with their Master, were not only guarded against error, but were taught the whole truth: we should neglect no opportunity of waiting upon God; while Jesus continues to teach, our ear and heart should be open to receive his instructions. That what we have already received may be effectual, we must continue to hear and pray on. Let us beware of the error of the Pharisees! They minded only external performances, and those things by which they might acquire esteem and reputation among men; thus, humility and love, the very soul of religion, were neglected by them: they had their reward - the approbation of those who were as destitute of vital religion as themselves. Let us beware also of the error of the Sadducees, who, believing no other felicity but what depended on the good things of this world, became the flatterers and slaves of those who could bestow them, and so, like the Pharisees, had their portion only in this life. All false religions and false principles conduct to the same end, however contrary they appear to each other. No two sects could be more opposed to each other than the Sadducees and Pharisees, yet their doctrines lead to the same end - they are both wedded to this world, and separated from God in the next.

2. From the circumstance mentioned in the conclusion of this chapter, we may easily see the nature of the kingdom and reign of Christ: it is truly spiritual and Divine; having for its object the present holiness and future happiness of mankind. Worldly pomp, as well as worldly maxims, were to be excluded from it. Christianity forbids all worldly expectations, and promises blessedness to those alone who bear the cross, leading a life of mortification and self-denial. Jesus Christ has left us an example that we should follow his steps. How did he live? - What views did he entertain? - In what light did he view worldly pomp and splendor? These are questions which the most superficial reader may, without difficulty, answer to his immediate conviction. And has not Christ said that the disciple is not Above the Master? If He humbled himself, how can he look upon those who, professing faith in his name, are conformed to the world and mind earthly things? These disciples affect to be above their Lord; and as they neither bear his cross, nor follow him in the regeneration, they must look for another heaven than that in which he sits at the right hand of God. This is an awful subject; but how few of those called Christians lay it to heart!

3. The term Church in Greek εκκλησια, occurs for the first time in Mat 16:18. The word simply means an assembly or congregation, the nature of which is to be understood from connecting circumstances; for the word εκκλησια, as well as the terms congregation and assembly, may be applied to any concourse of people, good or bad; gathered together for lawful or unlawful purposes. Hence, it is used, Act 19:32, for the mob, or confused rabble, gathered together against Paul, εκκλησια συγκεχυμενη, which the town-clerk distinguished, Act 19:39, from a lawful assembly, εννομω εκκλεσια. The Greek word εκκλησια seems to be derived from εκκαλεω, to call out of, or from, i.e. an assembly gathered out of a multitude; and must have some other word joined to it, to determine its nature: viz. the Church of God; the congregation collected by God, and devoted to his service. The Church of Christ: the whole company of Christians wheresoever found; because, by the preaching of the Gospel, they are called out of the spirit and maxims of the world, to live according to the precepts of the Christian religion. This is sometimes called the Catholic or universal Church, because constituted of all the professors of Christianity in the world, to whatever sects or parties they may belong: and hence the absurdity of applying the term Catholic, which signifies universal, to that very small portion of it, the Church of Rome. In primitive times, before Christians had any stated buildings, they worshipped in private houses; the people that had been converted to God meeting together in some one dwelling-house of a fellow-convert, more convenient and capacious than the rest; hence the Church that was in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, Rom 16:3, Rom 16:5, and 1Cor 16:19, and the Church that was in the house of Nymphas, Col 4:15. Now, as these houses were dedicated to the worship of God, each was termed κυριου οικος kuriou oikos, the house of the Lord; which word, in process of time, became contracted into κυριοικ kurioik, and κυριακη, kuriake; and hence the kirk of our northern neighbors, and kirik of our Saxon ancestors, from which, by corruption, changing the hard Saxon c into ch, we have made the word church. This term, though it be generally used to signify the people worshipping in a particular place, yet by a metonymy, the container being put for the contained, we apply it, as it was originally, to the building which contains the worshipping people.

In the proper use of this word there can be no such thing as The church, exclusively; there may be A church, and the Churches, signifying a particular congregation, or the different assemblies of religious people: and hence, the Church of Rome, by applying it exclusively to itself, abuses the term, and acts as ridiculously as it does absurdly. Church is very properly defined in the 19th article of the Church of England, to be "a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered, according to Christ's ordinance."

A sign from heaven - Such they imagined Satan could not counterfeit. Mark 8:11; Matt 12:38.

Luke 12:54.

The signs of the times - The signs which evidently show, that this is the time of the Messiah.

A wicked and adulterous generation - Ye would seek no farther sign, did not your wickedness, your love of the world, which is spiritual adultery, blind your understanding.

Mark 8:14.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees - That is, of their false doctrine: this is elegantly so called; for it spreads in the soul, or the Church, as leaven does in meal. Luke 12:1.

They reasoned among themselves - What must we do then for bread, since we have taken no bread with us?

Why reason ye - Why are you troubled about this? Am I not able, if need so require, to supply you by a word?

How do ye not understand - Beside, do you not understand, that I did not mean bread, by the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?

And Jesus coming - There was a large interval of time between what has been related, and what follows. The passages that follow were but a short time before our Lord suffered. Mark 8:27; Luke 9:18.

Jeremiah, or one of the prophets - There was at that time a current tradition among the Jews, that either Jeremiah, or some other of the ancient prophets would rise again before the Messiah came.

Peter - Who was generally the most forward to speak.

Flesh and blood - That is, thy own reason, or any natural power whatsoever.

On this rock - Alluding to his name, which signifies a rock, namely, the faith which thou hast now professed; I will build my Church - But perhaps when our Lord uttered these words, he pointed to himself, in like manner as when he said, Destroy this temple, John 2:19; meaning the temple of his body. And it is certain, that as he is spoken of in Scripture, as the only foundation of the Church, so this is that which the apostles and evangelists laid in their preaching. It is in respect of laying this, that the names of the twelve apostles (not of St. Peter only) were equally inscribed on the twelve foundations of the city of God, Rev 21:14. The gates of hell - As gates and walls were the strength of cities, and as courts of judicature were held in their gates, this phrase properly signifies the power and policy of Satan and his instruments. Shall not prevail against it - Not against the Church universal, so as to destroy it. And they never did. There hath been a small remnant in all ages.

I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven - Indeed not to him alone, (for they were equally given to all the apostles at the same time, John 20:21,22,23;) but to him were first given the keys both of doctrine and discipline. He first, after our Lord's resurrection, exercised the apostleship, Acts 1:15. And he first by preaching opened the kingdom of heaven, both to the Jews, Acts 2:14 &c., and to the Gentiles, Acts 10:34 &c. Under the term of binding and loosing are contained all those acts of discipline which Peter and his brethren performed as apostles: and undoubtedly what they thus performed on earth, God confirmed in heaven. Matt 18:18.

Then charged he his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ - Jesus himself had not said it expressly even to his apostles, but left them tb infer it from his doctrine and miracles. Neither was it proper the apostles should say this openly, before that grand proof of it, his resurrection. If they had, they who believed them would the more earnestly have sought to take and make him a king: and they who did not believe them would the snore vehemently have rejected and opposed such a Messiah.

From that time Jesus began to tell his disciples, that he must suffer many things - Perhaps this expression, began, always implied his entering on a set and solemn discourse. Hitherto he had mainly taught them only one point, That he was the Christ. From this time he taught them another, That Christ must through sufferings and death enter into his glory. From the elders - The most honourable and experienced men; the chief priests - Accounted the most religious; and the scribes - The most learned body of men in the nation. Would not one have expected, that these should have been the very first to receive him? But not many wise, not many noble were called. Favour thyself - The advice of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to every one of our Lord's followers. Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22.

Get thee behind me - Out of my sight. It is not improbable, Peter might step before him, to stop him. Satan - Our Lord is not recorded to have given so sharp a reproof to any other of his apostles on any occasion. He saw it was needful for the pride of Peter's heart, puffed up with the commendation lately given him. Perhaps the term Satan may not barely mean, Thou art my enemy, while thou fanciest thyself most my friend; but also, Thou art acting the very part of Satan, both by endeavouring to hinder the redemption of mankind, and by giving me the most deadly advice that can ever spring from the pit of hell. Thou savourest not - Dost not relish or desire. We may learn from hence, That whosoever says to us in such a case, Favour thyself, is acting the part of the devil: That the proper answer to such an adviser is, Get thee behind me: That otherwise he will be an offence to us, an occasion of our stumbling, if not falling: That this advice always proceeds from the not relishing the things of God, but the things of men. Yea, so far is this advice, favour thyself, from being fit for a Christian either to give or take, that if any man will come after Christ, his very first step is to deny, or renounce himself: in the room of his own will, to substitute the will of God, as his one principle of action.

If any man be willing to come after me - None is forced; but if any will be a Christian, it must be on these terms, Let him deny himself, and take up his cross - A rule that can never be too much observed: let him in all things deny his own will, however pleasing, and do the will of God, however painful. Should we not consider all crosses, all things grievous to flesh and blood, as what they really are, as opportunities of embracing God's will at the expense of our own? And consequently as so many steps by which we may advance toward perfection? We should make a swift progress in the spiritual life, if we were faithful in this practice. Crosses are so frequent, that whoever makes advantage of them, will soon be a great gainer. Great crosses are occasions of great improvement: and the little ones, which come daily, and even hourly, make up in number what they want in weight. We may in these daily and hourly crosses make effectual oblations of our will to God; which oblations, so frequently repeated, will soon amount to a great sum. Let us remember then (what can never be sufficiently inculcated) that God is the author of all events: that none is so small or inconsiderable, as to escape his notice and direction. Every event therefore declares to us the will of God, to which thus declared we should heartily submit. We should renounce our own to embrace it; we should approve and choose what his choice warrants as best for us. Herein should we exercise ourselves continually; this should be our practice all the day long. We should in humility accept the little crosses that are dispensed to us, as those that best suit our weakness. Let us bear these little things, at least for God's sake, and prefer his will to our own in matters of so small importance. And his goodness will accept these mean oblations; for he despiseth not the day of small things. Matt 10:38.

Whosoever will save his life - At the expense of his conscience: whosoever, in the very highest instance, that of life itself, will not renounce himself, shall be lost eternally. But can any man hope he should be able thus to renounce himself, if he cannot do it in the smallest instances? And whosoever will lose his life shall find it - What he loses on earth he shall find in heaven. Matt 10:39; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:25.

For the Son of man shall come - For there is no way to escape the righteous judgment of God.

And as an emblem of this, there are some here who shall live to see tho Messiah coming to set up his mediatorial kingdom, with great power and glory, by the increase of his Church, and the destruction of the temple, city, and polity of the Jews.

1 THe Pharisees also with the Sadduces came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

What these Pharisees and Sadduces were, we have had an occasion to shew before in our Annotations on Ch. 3. v. 7. there was a great Opposition betwixt them, as we may learn from Acts 23.7, 8. The Pharisees and Scribes were great Zealots for their Traditions. The Sadduces valued them not, The Pharisees held, the Resurrection, Angels and Spirits. The Sadduces denied all. But they were both Enemies to Christ, and Combine in their designs against him. They came to him Tempting, that is, desirous to make a tryal of him, they desire that he would shew them a Sign from Heaven. Such a one as Moses shewed them, Ioh. 6.30, 31. bringing down Bread from Heaven. They had seen our Saviour shewing many Signs, but they had taught the People, that these things might be done by the Power of the Devil, or by the Art of Man, therefore they challenge our Saviour to shew them another kind of Sign, a Sign from Heaven, that they might know he was sent of God. See Mark 8.11.

Marginal references: Chap. 12.38.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day, for the sky is red, and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

You can, saith our Saviour, make Observations upon the Works of God in nature, and common Providence, and from such Observations you can make Conclusions; if you see the Sky red in the Evening, you can conclude from thence, that the morrow will be fair, because you think that the Redness of the Sky at Night speakes the Clouds thin, and the Air pure, and on the other side, the Redness of it in the Morning, speaks the Clouds thick, so as the Sun cannot disperse them, or because you observe that generally it so proveth, tho nothing be more mutable then the Air, But you cannot discern the Signs of the Times. You are only dull at making Observations upon the Scriptures, and the Will of God revealed in them concerning me: you might observe, that all the Signs of the Messias are fulfilled in me. I was Born of a Virgin, as was prophesied by Isaiah. Chap. 7.14. in Bethlehem Iudah, as was prophesied by Micah, Chap. 5.2. At a time, when the Scepter was departed from Iudah, and the Lawgiver from his Feet, as was Prophesied by Iacob, Gen. 49.10. That Iohn the Baptist [illegible: 1 word] come in the Power and Spirit of Elias, to prepare my way before me, as was prophesied by Malachy, Mal. 4.5. That there is one come, who openeth the Eyes of the Blind, and unstopeth the Ears of the Deaf, and maketh the Lame to leap as an Hart, and the Tongue of the Dumb to Sing, according to the Prophesie, Isa. 35.5, 6. all these are the Signs of the time, when the Messiah was to come, but these things you cannot discern, but like a Company of Hypocrites, who pretend one thing, and do another, you come and ask a Sign, that you might believe in me, when you have so many, and yet will not believe.

4 A wicked, and adulterous generation, seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed.

We meet with the same Answer, given to the Pharisees, Chap. 12.39. you pretend your selves to be the Children of Abraham, but you are Bastards rather than his Children; he saw my Day afar off, and rejoyced, you will not believe, tho you see me amongst you and at your Doors; he believed without any Sign, you will not believe, tho I have shewed you many Signs. You shall have no such Sign as you would have, the Sign of the Prophet Ionah is enough: But in our Lords former reference of them to the Prophet Ionah, he instanced in one particular, viz. his being three Days, and three Nights in the Belly of the Whale; here he seemeth more generally to refer to Ionah, as a Type of him in more respects, which indeed he was▪ Chemnitius reckons them up thus. 1. Ionas was thrown into the Sea by the Mariners, to whom he had betrusted himself: Christ was delivered to Death by the Iews, to whom he was specially promised. 2. Ionas was willingly thrown into the Sea. Christ laid down his Life, and Man took it not from him. 3. Ionas by being cast into the Sea, saved those in the Ship. Christ by his Death saved the Children of Men. 4. Ionas after he had been in the Whales Belly three days, was cast up on dry Land: Christ after three Days, rose again from the dead. 5. The Ninivites, tho upon the Preaching of Ionah they made a shew of Repentance, yet returning to their former Sins, were soon after destroyed; so were the Jews within Forty years after Christs Ascension. So as Ionas was many ways an Eminent Sign, and Type of Christ. Our Lord having referred them to Study this Sign, would entertain no more Discourse with them, but leaves, and departeth from them. Mark saith, Chap. 8. v. 13. that he entring into the Ship again, departed to the other side, (the Ship which brought him to Dalmanutha, or, Magdala) and went into the Coasts of Galilee again.

7 And they reasoned amongst themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

Mark saith, Chap. 8. v. 14, 15, 16. Now the Disciples had forgotten to take Bread, neither had they in the Ship with them more than one Loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed and beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoning amongst themselves, said, It is because we have no Bread. The Disciples went into the Ship, without taking a due care for Provision for the[illegible: 1 letter] Bodies, which they were sensible of, when they came on shore on the other side. Christ happened in the mean time, to give them a caution against the Doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadduces, and Herodians, which he properly expresseth (tho Metaphorically) under the Notion of Leaven, this they understood not, but fancied that he had spoken this to them with reference to their want of Bread, as if he had only given them warning, that for the making of Bread to supply their necessity, they should not go to the Pharisees, or Sadduces, or Herodians, for leaven; or that they should not go to buy any Bread of the Pharisees, or of the Sadduces. So dull are we to understand Spiritual things, and so soon had they forgot the Doctrine which our Saviour had so lately taught them, Ch. 15.17, 18. That those things which are Forraign to a Man, and come not out of his Heart, do not defile a Man, but those things only which proceed out of his Heart.

12 Then understood they, how that he bad them not beware of the leave[illegible: 1 letter] of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadduces.

Mark giving us an account of this passage, Chap, 8.17, 18, 19. useth some harsher Expre[illegible: 2 letters]ions. And when Iesus knew it, he said unto them, Why Reason ye, because ye have no Bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand, have ye your Eyes yet hardened? Having Eyes, see you not, and having Ears, hear you not? And do you not yet remember? When I brake the five Loaves, amongst the five Thousand, how many Baskets full took you up? They say unto him twelve. And when the seven amongst four Thousand, how many Baskets full of Fragments took you up? and they said seven. And he said unto them, how is it that you do not understand? Our Saviour here Chargeth them, with three things, Ignorance, Vnbelief, Forgetfulness. Ignorance in that they did not understand, that his usu[illegible: 1 letter]l way was to Discourse spiritual things to them, under Earthly Similitudes, and so by Leaven he must understand something else than Leaven, with which Men use to Leaven their Bread. Vnbelief, That they having seen the Power, and Goodness of the Lord and Master, to feed four Thousand, with seven Loves, and five Thousand with five Loves, leaving a great remainder, and that he did this for a mixed multitude, out of a meer Compassion to the Wants, and Cravings of humane Nature, should not judge, that he was able to provide for them, altho they had brought no Bread: Or, doubt whether he would do it or no for them, who were much dearer to him. 3. Forgetfulness, which is often in Scripture made the Mother of Unbelief and Disobedience, Deut. 4.9.23. & 25. v. 19. Psal. 78.11. There is nothing of Difficulty in the terms, only from this History we may learn these things. 1. That God expecteth that we should, not only hear and see, but understand. 2. That he looks we should not only hear for the present time, but for the time to come; Christ expected that his Disciple[illegible: 1 letter] should have learned from his Doctrine, about washing of Hands, that he could not mean the Leaven of Bread, but something else, which might defile them. 3. That he is much displeased with his own People, when he discerns Blindness, and Ignorance in them, after their more than ordinary means of Knowledge. 4. That former Experiences, of Gods Power and Goodness manifested for us, or to us, ought to strengthen our Faith in him, when we come under the like Circumstances, and a disputing, or doubting after such Experiences argueth but a little, and very weak Faith, and an hardness of Heart, that the Mercies of God have not made a just impression on our Souls. Then understood they that he bid them not beware of the Leaven of Bread, but of the Doctrine of the Pharisees, and of the Sadduces. Mark instead of, and of the Sadduces, hath, and of the Leaven of Herod, [illegible: 1 letter]hich hath made some think, that Herod was a Sadduce. The Doctrine of the Pharisees is reducible to two Heads, Iustification by the works of the Law, and those Works too according to that imperfect Sense of the Law they gave. 2. The Obligation of the Tradition of the Elders: Whose Traditions were also (as we have heard) some of them of that Nature, that they made the Law of God of no Effect. The Doctrine of the Sadduces, we are in part told, Acts 23.8. They said, there was no Resurrection, nor Angel, nor Spirit: These were Principles excellently suted to Men of Atheistical Hearts and Lives, and it is more than probable, that Herod and his Courtiers, and some of his Lords, and great Captains, had suckt in some of these Principles, and these were the Herodians mentioned, Mat. 22.16. & Mar. 3.6. These Doctrines are by our Saviour compared to Leaven, not only because of the sower Nature of it, but also, because Hereticks words (as the Apostle saith) Eat as doth a Canker, and are of a Contagious Nature; as Leaven doth diffuse its Quality into the whole Mass of Meat. Our Saviour Ch. 13.33. had upon this Account compared the Gospel to Leaven, because by his Blessing upon it, it should influence the World as we heard, Ch. 13.

14 And they said, Some say that thou art, John the Baptist, some Elias, and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

This, and the following part of this Discourse, is related both by Mark and Luke: Mark hath it, Ch. 8.27. And Iesus went out, and his Disciples, into the Town of Cesarea Philippi, and by the way he asked his Disciples, saying unto them: Whom do Men say that I am? And they answered, Iohn the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others, one of the Prophets. Luke saith, Ch. 9.18, 19. And it came to pass, as he was alone Praying, his Disciples were with him, and he asked them saying, whom say the People that I am. They answering him, said Iohn the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others say, That one of the Old Prophets is risen again. Matthew and Mark name the place, whither our Saviour was going, viz. Cesarea Philippi: It is so called partly, to destinguish it from another Cesarea, and partly, because it was built to the Honour of Tiberius Caesar, by Philip the Tretrach. It was a City at the bottom of Lebanon, and upon the River of Iordan. Mark saith, this Discourse was in the way, Luke saith, As he was alone Praying, but As must there signifie after, for we cannot think that our Saviour would interrupt himself in Prayer by this Discourse, nor could he be alone Praying, if his Disciples were with him, both which Luke s[illegible: 1 letter]ith, So that [non-Latin text not transcribed], were certainly translated better. After he had been praying alone, his Disciples were with him, so that this D[illegible: 1 letter]sco[illegible: 1 letter]rse might be (as Mark saith) in the Way, before they came to Cesarea Philippi, whither he was going. He asked his Disciples, saying, whom do men (or the People, as Luke hath it) say that I am? Not that our Saviour who knew the Hearts of all, did not know, but to draw out Peters following Confession. And they said unto him, some say, thou art Iohn the Baptist, we heard before that Herod said so, others Elias. This respected the Prophecy, Mal. 4.4, 5. the Iews had a Tradition, that before the coming of the Messias, Elias should come, Ioh. 1.21. Some say Ieremias, this is only in Matthew, or one of the Prophets. The Iews seeing Christ do such wonderful Works, could not resolve themselves wh[illegible: 1 letter] he was. Herod and his Court-party said: That he was Iohn the Baptist risen from the dead. They had it seems, an Opinion of some extraordinary Vertues, or Powers, in such as were risen from the dead. Many Interpreters agree that the Iews had an Opinion, that Good mens Souls when they died, went into other Bodies, this made them guess that our Saviour was one of the Old Prophets.

Marginal references: Chap. 14▪2.

16 And Simon Peter answered, and said, Thou art Christ the son of the living God.

Mark saith, Ch. 8. v. 29. Thou art the Christ, Luke saith, v. 9.20. Peter answered, and said, The Christ of God, that is, the Messiah; you that are my Disciples and Apostles, what is your Opinion of me? Our Lord expects not only Faith in our Hearts, but the Confession of our Lips, Rom. 10.10. And Simon Peter answered, not because he had any Priority amongst the Apostles, but he was of a more quick, and fervid Temper than the rest, and so speaketh first, they silently agreed to what he said. What he saith is but little, but of that Nature, that it is the very Foundation of the Gospel. Thou art Christ the annointed, the Person of old promised to the World, under the Name of the Messiah, Dan. 9.24, 25. the Son, not by Adoption, but by Nature, for they believed Iohn the Baptist, Elias, and the Old Prophets, the Sons of God by Grace: It is plain, Peter means more than that. Of the Living God. Our Lord had asked, W[illegible: 1 letter]om do Men say that I the Son of Man am? And in the same Sense he speaks to the Disciples; Whom do ye say, that I the Son of Man am? Lord saith Peter we believe, that thou the Son of Man art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. God is often in Scripture called the Living God, in opposition to Idols which had Eyes, and saw not, Ears and heard not, nor had any Life in them, Gen. 16.14. Heb. 3.12. & 9.14. &c. So as here we have a full and plain Confession of that Doctrine, which is the Foundation of the Gospel.

Marginal references: Joh. 6.69. & 11.27. Act. 8.37. & 9.20. 1 Joh. 4.15. & 5.5.

17 And Jesus answered, and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed It unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Our Lord appeareth here to be mightily pleased with this Confession of Peter, and the rest of his Disciples, (for we shall observe in the Gospel, that Peter was usually the first in speaking, Io. 6.68.) He pronounceth him Blessed, and giveth the reason of it afterward. Simon Bar-Iona, that is, Simon Son of Iona, or as some would have it Son of Iohn, (they think Iona is a Contraction of Iohanna.) Our Lord gives him the same Name, Ioh. 21.15. For Flesh and Blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven. By Flesh and Blood, our Saviour meaneth Man, and the Reason and Wisdom of Man. Thus it is often used in Scripture, Isa. 40.5. Gal. 1.16. Eph. 6.12. Some note it always signifieth so when it is in Scripture opposed to God. Thou hast not learned this by Tradition, or any Dictates from Man, nor yet by any humane Ratiocination, but from my Father which is in Heaven. This confirmeth what we have, Eph. 2.8. That Faith is the Gift of God, Ioh. 6.44. No Man cometh to the Son, but he whom the Father draweth. Men may assent to things from the reports of Men: Or, from the evidence of Reason, but neither of these is Faith. Faith must be an Assent to a Proposition, upon the Authority of God revealing it. Nor doth any Man truly, and savingly believe, that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God, and the Saviour of the World, but he in whom God hath wrought such a perswasion; yet is not the Ministry of the Word needless in the Case, because as the Apostle saith, Faith comes by Hearing, and Ministers are Gods Instruments by whom Men believe. No Faith makes a Soul blessed, but that which is of the Operation of God.

Marginal references: 1 Cor. 2.20.

18 And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I say unto thee also. Thou art Peter, Christ gave him this Name, Ioh. 1.42. when his Brother Andrew [illegible: 1 letter]ir[illegible: 1 letter]t brought him to Christ: I did not give thee the Name of Cephas or Peter for nothing (for what Cephas signifieth in the Syriack. Peter signifieth in the Greek ▪ I called thee Cephas, and thou art Peter, a Rock. Thou shall be a Rock. This our Lord made good afterward, when he told him; That Satan had desired to Winnow him like Weat, but he had prayed, that his Faith might not fail. Luke 22.32. Thou hast made a Confession of Faith, which is a Rock even such a Rock as was mentioned, Ch. 7.25. And thou thy self art a Rock, a steady firm Believer. [And upon this Rock will I build my Church.] Here is a Question amongst Interpreters, what, or whom, our Saviour here meaneth by this Rock. Some think that he meaneth himself, as he saith, Io. 2.19, Destroy this Temple (meaning his own Body) God is often called a Rock. Deut. 32.18. Psal. 18.2. & 31.3. and it is certain, Christ is the Foundation of the Church, Isa. 28.16. 1 Cor. 3.11. 1 Pet. 2.6. But this Sense seemeth a little hard, that our Saviour speaking to Peter, and telling him he was a Stone, or a Rock, should with the same Breath pass to himself, and not say, Upon my self, but upon this Rock will I build my Church. 2. The Generality of Protestant Writers, not without the suffrage of divers of the Ancients, say Peters Confession which he had made, is the Rock here spoken of. And indeed the Doctrine contained in his Confession, is the Foundation of the Gospel. The whole Christian Church is built upon it. 3. Others think in regard that our Saviour directeth his Speech not to all the Apostles, but to Peter, and doth not say, Blessed are you, but Blessed art thou Simon, Bar-Iona. That here is something promised to Peter in special, but they do not think this is any Priority, much less any Iurisdiction, more than the rest had, but that Christ would make a more Eminent, and special use of him, in the building of his Church, than of the rest; and they observe, that God did make a more Eminent use of Peter, in raising his Gospel-Church, both amongst the Iews, Acts 2. and the Gentiles, Acts 15. But yet this soundeth a little harshly, to interpret Vpon this Rock, By this Rock. I do therefore, rather incline to interpret it in the second Sense. Vpon this Rock, upon this solid and unmoveable Foundation of Truth, which thou hast first publickly made, I will build my Church. It is true, Christ is the Foundation of the Church, and other Foundation can no man lay. But tho Christ be the Foundation in one Sense, the Apostles are so called in another Sense, Eph. 2.20. Rev. 21.14. Not the Apostles Persons, but the Doctrine which they Preached. They by their Doctrine which they Preached, (The Sum or great Point of which was, what Peter here professed) They laid the Foundation of the Christian Church, as they were the first Preachers of it to the Gentiles. In which Sense soever it be taken, it makes nothing for the Papists Superiority, or Jurisdiction of St. Peter, or his Successors. It follows, [I will build my Church.] By Church is here plainly meant, the whole Body of Believers, who all agree in this one Faith. It is observable, that Christ calls it his Church, not Peters, and saith, I will Build, not thou shalt Build. The working of Faith in Souls is Gods work Men are but Ministers, by whom others believe. They have but a Ministry towards, not a Lord-ship over the Church o[illegible: 1 letter] God. [And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.] That is the Power of the Devil, and all his Instruments shall never prevail against it utterly to extinguish it, neither to extinguish true Faith in the Heart, of any particular Believer, nor to Root the Gospel out of the World. The Gates is here put for the Persons that sit in the Gates. It was their Custom to have the Rulers, to sit in the Gates, Ruth. 4.1.11. 2 Sam. 19.8. neither doth Hell signifie here the place of the damned, [non-Latin text not transcribed], no where (except in one place, and as to that it is questionable, Luk. 16.23.) signifies so, but either Death, or the Graves, or the State of the Dead: Yet, the Devil is also understood here, as he that hath the Power of Death, Heb. 2.14. The plain Sense is, That our Lord would build the Christian Church upon this Proposition of Truth. That he was the Christ, the Son of God. That Peter should be an eminent Instrument in converting Men to this Faith, and where this Faith obtained in the World, he would so far protect it, that tho the Devil and his Instruments should by all means imaginable attempt the extinguishing of it, by the Total Extirpation of it, the Professors of it, and might as to particular places prevail, yet they should never so prevail, but to the end of the World, he would have a Church, a number of People called out by his Apostles, and those who should succeed in their Ministry, who should uphold this great Truth. So as this is a plain Promise, for the Continuance of the Gospel-Church, to the end of the World.

19 And I will give unto thee, the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.

And I will give unto thee] Not unto thee Exclusively, that is to thee, and no others; for as we no where read of any such Power used by Peter, so our Saviours first Question, Whom think you that I am? Letteth us know, that his Speech, tho directed to Peter only (who in the Name of the re[illegible: 1 letter]t first answered) concerned the rest of the Apostles, as well as Peter. Besides, as we know, that the other Apostles had as well as he the Key of Knowledge and Doctrine, and by their Preaching opened the Kingdom of Heaven to Men; so the Key of Discipline also, was committed to the rest, as well as unto him: Ioh. 20.22, 23. Whose sins soever you remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained. [The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven] the whole Administration of the Gospel, both with reference to the Publication of the Doctrine of it, and the dispensing out the Ordinances of it. We read of the Key of Knowledge, which the Scribes and Pharisees took away, Luk. 11.52. and the Key of Government: The Key of the House of David, will I lay upon his Shoulder, Isa. 22.22. v. 21. I will commit thy Government into his Hand, which is applyed to Christ, Rev. 3.7. The Sense is; Peter! I will betrust thee, and the rest of my Apostles, with the whole Administration of my Gospel; you shall lay the Foundat[illegible: 1 letter]on of the Christian Church, and Administer all the Affairs of it, opening the Truths of my Gospel to the World, and governing those who shall receive the Faith of the Gospel. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth, shall be loosed in Heaven. Some very learned Interpreters think that our Saviour here speaketh according to the Language then in use amongst the Iews: Who by Binding understood the determining and declaring a thing unlawful, and by Loosing, declaring by Doctrine, or determining by Iudgment a thing unlawful, that is such, as no Mens Consciences were bound to do, or to avoid. So as by this Text, an Authority was given to these first Planters of the Gospel, to determine (by Vertue of their infallible Spirit, breathed upon them, Ioh. 20.21.) concerning things to be done, and to be avoided. Thus Act. 15.28, 29. they loosed the Gentiles from the Observation of the Ceremonial Law. Some think, that by this Phrase our Saviour gave to his Apostles, and not to them only, but to the succeeding Church, to the end of the World, a Power of Excommunication, and Absolution to admit in, and to cast out of the Church, and promiseth to ratifie, what they do of this Nature in Heaven, and that this Text is expounded, by Ioh. 20.23. Whose sins soever you remit, they are remitted, and whose sins soever you retain, they are retained. And that the Power of the Church, and of Ministers in the Church as to this, is more than Declarative, that the Church hath a Power in a due Order, and for just Causes, to cast Persons out of its Communion, is plain enough from other Texts. But that the Church, hath a Power to remit sins committed against God, more than Declaratively, that is, declaring that upon Mens Repentance, and Faith, God hath remitted, I cannot see founded in this Text. Certain it is, that Christ doth not here bind himself to confirm the Erroneous Actions of Men, either in Excommunications, or Absolutions. Nor to Authorize all such Actions of this Nature as they do. I do therefore, rather incline to think that our Saviour, by this Promise declared his Will, that his Apostles should settle the Affairs of the Gospel-Church, determining what should be lawful, and unlawful, and setting Rules, according to which all succeeding Ministers, and Officers in his Church should Act, which our Lord would confirm in Heaven. And that the ordinary Power of Churches in Censures, is rather to be derived from other Texts of Scripture, than this, tho I will not deny, but that in the General it may be here included, but I cannot think that the Sense of Binding and Loosing here, is Excommunicating and Absolving, but a Doctrinal, or Iudicial Determination of things Lawful, and Vnlawful granted to the Apostles. The not obeying, or living up to whose Determinations and Decisions, may be ind[illegible: 1 letter]ed a just Cause of casting Persons out of the Communion of the Church: As the contrary Obedience, and Conformity to them, a good Ground of receiving them in again. But whether in this Text, be not granted to the Apostles a further Power than Agrees to any Ministers since their Age. I much doubt, and am very prone to believe that there is.

Marginal references: Chap. 18.18.

20 Then charged he his disciples, that they should tell no man, that he was Jesus the Christ.

We met with some Charges of this Nature before, given to those whom he had miraculously Cured, that they should tell no Man of it, Mat. 8.4. & 9.30. but this seemeth to differ from them. There he only forbad the Publication of his Miracles: Here he forbids them Preaching, that Iesus was the Christ, a Doctrine necessary to be believed, in order to Peoples Salvation. We are not able to give an Account of all our Saviours particular Actions. 1. We are sure this was a Precept, but of a Temporary Force and Obligation, for we know that afterward they did sufficiently publish this abroad, only for a time, he would not have it published by his Disciples. We cannot certainly determine whether he forbid them. 1. Because they were not as yet fit to publish so gre[illegible: 1 letter]t a Truth. Or, 2. Because the time was not yet co[illegible: 1 letter]e, for the Publication of it. Or, 3. He would not have it published, till he rose again fro[illegible: 1 letter] the dead, having Triumphed over Death, lest People hearing of it before, should have had their Faith shaken by his Death; which seemeth very probable, because in the next Words, he begins to speak of his Death. Or, 4. That he might hereby (as much as might be) avoid the Odium and Envy of the Pharisees. Or, 5. That himself might publish first this great truth of the Gospel, and confirm it by his Miracles.

Marginal references: Chap. 1[illegible: 1 letter].[illegible: 1 letter] ▪ Mar. 8.3[illegible: 1 letter]. Luk. 9.21.

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Our Lord taught his Hearers by degrees, as they were able to hear, and to bear his Instruction. He therefore first instructeth them in the Truth of his Divine Nature, and bringeth them to a firm, and steady Assent to this Proposition, That he was the Christ, the Son of God; lest they should have this Faith of their's shaken by his Sufferings, and Death, he beginneth to instruct them, as to those things, that when they saw it come to pass, they might not be offended, but wait for his Resurrection from the Dead.

Marginal references: Chap. 20.17. Mark 9.31. & 10.33. Luke 18.31. & 24.7.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.

Peter took our Lord aside, as we do our Friend, to whom we would speak something, which we would not have all to hear, and began to Rebuke him [non-Latin text not transcribed] to reprove him, as Men often do their Familiar Friends, when they judge they have spoken something beneath them, or that might turn to their prejudice, saying, Be it far from thee Lord. This shall not be unto thee. The Words in the Greek want the Verb, so leave us in doubt, whether we should translate them, Be Merciful to thy self, spare thy self, or let God, or God shall be merciful unto thee. The last Words Expound them, This shall not be unto thee, God shall be Merciful unto thee, and help thee, this shall not betide thee. These Words were undoubtedly spoken by Peter, out of a good intention, and with a singular affection to his Master, but. 1. They spake him as yet ignorant of the Redemption of Mankind, by the Death of Christ, of the Doctrine of the Cross, and of the Will of the Father concerning Christ. 2. They spake great Weakness in him, to contradict him, whom he had but now acknowledged to be the Christ, the Son of God. Good Intentions, and good Affections, will not justifie evil Actions, Christ takes him up smartly.

Marginal references: Gr. Pity thy self.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan, thou art an offence unto me, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Peter, thou thinkest that by this Discourse, thou shewest some kindness unto me, like a Friend, but thou art in this an Adversary to me (for so the Word Satan doth signify) and is therefore ordinarily applyed to the Devil, who is the Grand Adversary of Mankind.) Get thee behind me. I abominate such Advice, I told thee I must suffer. It was the Determinate Counsel of God, it is my [illegible: 1 letter]athers Will. He is mine Enemy that dissuadeth me from a Free, and Chearful Obedience to it. I will hear no more such Discourse. For thou savourest not the things of God, but those that be of Man. The Word is [non-Latin text not transcribed], and it may be, were better Translated, Thou thinkest not of, or, thou understandest not The things that be of God, that is, the Counsels of God in this matter, as to the Redemption of Mankind, thou considerest me only as thy Master, and thy Friend, and wouldst have no harm come to me: thou doest not mind, or think of me, as the Saviour of the World, or the Redeemer of Mankind, which canno[illegible: 1 letter] be Redeemed otherwise than by my Death. Tho by thy intemporate Affection to me, thou wouldest hinder the Redemption of Mankind, this is not in this thing to mind, think on, or savour the things of God, but to suffer thy self to be seduced by thy Carnal Affection. It is a mistaken kindness to our Friends, to dissuade them for our Personal advantage, to do what they cannot do in consistency with their Obedience to the Will of God.

Marginal references: See 2 Sam. 19.12.

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 me.

Mark hath the same, Chap. 8.34. and Luke Chap. 9.23. only Mark saith, when he had called the People to him with his Disciples, Luke saith. He said to them all. He spake it to his Disciples, but not privately, but before all the rest of the people, who at that time were present. If any Man will come [illegible: 1 letter]f[illegible: 1 letter]er me, that is, if any Man will be my Disciple, so it is Expounded by Luke, Chap. 14.26, 27. which is a Text much of the same import with this▪ only what Matthew here calleth a denying of himself, Luke calleth hating. The Disciples of others are called the followers of them Let him deny himself. To deny ourselves, is to put off our Natural Affections towards the good things of this Life, let them be Pleasures, Pro[illegible: 1 letter]it, Honours, Relations▪ life or [illegible: 2 letters]y thing which would keep us fro[illegible: 1 letter] our Obedience to the W[illegible: 1 letter]ll o[illegible: 1 letter] God. Thus Christ did, the Apostle saith▪ He pleased [illegible: 1 word] himse[illegible: 1 letter]f, and Io. 5.30. I seek no[illegible: 1 letter] my own Will, but the Will [illegible: 1 letter]f him that sent me. Ioh. 4.34. and tak[illegible: 1 letter] up his Cross, willingly▪ and chearfully be[illegible: 1 letter]r those Tryals, and Afflictio[illegible: 1 letter]s▪ wh[illegible: 2 letters]h t[illegible: 1 letter]e P[illegible: 1 letter]ovidence of God brings him under, for o[illegible: 1 letter]ning and [illegible: 2 letters]anding to his Profe[illegible: 1 letter]sion, (all which come under the Name of the Cross) with respect to Christ[illegible: 1 letter]s Cr[illegible: 1 letter]ss, on whic[illegible: 1 letter] he suffered▪ an[illegible: 1 letter] follow me in his taking up the Cross, he shall b[illegible: 1 letter]t do [illegible: 1 letter]s I shall [illegible: 1 letter]wodr[illegible: 1 letter] ▪ following my Example▪ Or else this may be lookt upo[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 1 letter]s a third Term of Christs Discip[illegible: 1 letter]esh[illegible: 1 letter]p▪ viz. yielding an Universal Obedience to the Co[illegible: 1 letter]mandments of Chri[illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 span] as near as we can to the Example of Christ. 1. Pet. 1.15. This Doctrine our Saviour Preacheth to them, upon occasion of Peters moving him, to spare himself, by which he did b[illegible: 1 letter]t indulge his own Carnal Affection, without respect to the W[illegible: 1 letter]ll of God, as to what Christ was to s[illegible: 3 letters]er for the Rede[illegible: 1 letter]ption of Mankind.

Marginal references: Chap. 10.38.

25 For whosoever will save his life, shall los[illegible: 1 letter] it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

We met with these Words, Chap. 10.30. see the Notes there.

Marginal references: Luke 17.33. Joh. 12▪25

26 For what is a man pro[illegible: 1 letter]ited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own Soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul?

Our Interpreters by Translating the same Word Soul, in the Verse which they had Translated Life, v. 25. let us know that they understood it here of that Essential part of Man, which we call the Soul, in which Sense it could not be understood in that Verse, for it is impo[illegible: 1 letter]sible in that Sense to los[illegible: 1 letter] our Soul, for Christ's sake. Some think that it hath the sa[illegible: 1 letter]e Sense here, as in that Verse, and that our Saviour argueth here, from the less to the greater thus, Men will lose any thing, rather than their Lives. Skin for Skin, and all that a Man hath for his Life, and this is but reasonable, for if a Man lose his Life to get the World, what will the World gotten do him good? what can [illegible: 1 letter]e a proportionable Exc[illegible: 1 letter]ange, or Co[illegible: 1 letter]pensation to him for that? Now if you value your Te[illegible: 1 letter]pory Life at that rate, how much more ought you to value yo[illegible: 1 letter]r Eternal Being and Existence? It cometh much to the same▪ only the Sense is pl[illegible: 1 letter]iner, if we take it as our Tran[illegible: 1 letter]lators have taken it, for otherwise p[illegible: 1 letter]rt of the Argument is not expre[illegible: 2 letters]ed▪ but left to be understood, or supplyed from the next Verse. So as the Sense is this, Besides Bodies which may be killed by Persecu[illegible: 1 letter]ors, you carry about with you Immort[illegible: 1 letter]l Souls of infinite more value, and besides a temporal Life, of which you are in possession, there is an Eternal State, which awaiteth yo[illegible: 1 letter]. You are Creatures ordained to an Eternal Exi[illegible: 1 letter]tence, either in Misery, or in Happiness. Admit you could by plea[illegible: 1 letter]ing your selves, denying me, Shifting the Cross, declining a Life according to my Precepts, and Example▪ prolong your Te[illegible: 1 letter]poral Life, yet what will you get by it, considering t[illegible: 1 letter]at by it yo[illegible: 1 letter] must suffer loss as to yo[illegible: 1 letter]r Eternal happy Exi[illegible: 1 letter]te[illegible: 1 letter]ce, for I shall then deny you be[illegible: 1 letter]ore my Father▪ and his Angels, c[illegible: 1 letter]n any thing you can get or save in this World, be a proportionable Exchange for Eternal happiness?

Marginal references: Psal. 49.7, 8

27 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.

This Verse makes it plain, that our Saviour by [non-Latin text not transcribed] in the former Verse understood the Soul of Man or Eternal Life, that blessed State which is prep[illegible: 1 letter]red for the Saints of God. For he here mindeth them, that there shall be a last Iudgment, and gives them a little Description of it. 1. As to the Iudge, the Son of Man, him whom yo[illegible: 1 letter] now see in the shape of a Man, and whom Men vilify, and contemn under that Notion. He is to be the Iudge of the quick and of the dead▪ Acts 10.42. 2 Tim. 4.1, 2. As to the Splendor of it, He sh[illegible: 1 letter]ll come in the Glory of his Father: It is also his Glory, Iohn 17.5. he calls it the G[illegible: 1 letter]ory of his Father, because by his Eternal Generation, he received it together with the Divine Nature from his Father, and it was co[illegible: 2 letters]on to him with his Father. Or because his Commission for Judgment was from his Father, Iohn 5 22. For the Father Iudgeth n[illegible: 1 letter] Man, but hath committed all Iud[illegible: 1 letter]ment to the Son, with his Angels, his holy Angels. 1 T[illegible: 1 letter]es. 1.7. And then he shall reward every Man according to his Work ▪ not for his Work. O[illegible: 1 letter]r Savio[illegible: 1 letter]r [illegible: 1 letter]s not here speaking of the Cause of the reward, b[illegible: 1 letter]t the Rule, and measure of it, according to his deeds, Rom. 2.6. according to his labour ▪ 1 Cor. 3.8. according to what he hath done. 2 Cor. 5.10. Not according to his Faith, but Works, for Faith without Works is dead, but these Works must Spring out of a Root of Faith, without which it is impo[illegible: 1 letter]sible to please God. He shall reward him, by a reward of Grace, not of Debt, Rom. 4.4. Works shall be rewarded, but not as with a Penny for a Pennyworth, but of Grace.

Marginal references: Chap. 26.64. Mark [illegible: 1 letter].38.; Zech. 14▪ [illegible: 1 letter]. C[illegible: 2 letters]p 2[illegible: 1 letter].[illegible: 1 letter]1. Ju[illegible: 1 letter]e 14.; Job [illegible: 1 letter]4.11. Psal. 62.12. Rev. 2.23.

28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, who shall not tast of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Mark saith, Chap. 9.1. t[illegible: 2 letters]l they have seen the Kingdom of God come with Power, Luke Chap. 9.27. saith, no more than [illegible: 1 letter]ill t[illegible: 1 letter]ey have seen the Kingdom of God. T[illegible: 1 letter]ere be some standing here, that shall not tast of Death, that is, that shall not dye, Heb. 2.9. It is the same with not seeing Death, Iohn 8.51, 52. Heb. 11.5. The great que[illegible: 1 letter]tion is, What is here meant by the Son [illegible: 1 letter]f Man coming in his Kingdom. It cannot be [illegible: 1 word] of his second coming to Judgment, spoken of immediately before, for all who [illegible: 2 letters]ood there have long since tasted of Death. Yet is not that Day come. Some understand it of that sight of Christs Glory, which Peter, and Iames and Iohn had at Christs Transfiguration, of which we shall read in the next Chapter, and I should be very inclinable to this Sense, (for there was a Glymps of the Glory of the Father mentioned, v. 27.) were it not for those Words added by Luke, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with Power. This inclineth others to think, that it is to be understood of Christs shewing forth his Power in the Destruction of Ierusalem. But the most generally received Opinion, and which seemeth to be best is, that the coming of the Son of Man here meant, is, his Resurrection from the dead, his Ascension into Heaven, and sending the holy Spirit, after which the Kingdom of Grace, came with a mighty Power, subduing all Nations to the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 1.4. he was declared, or determined to be the Son of God with Power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the Resurrection from the Dead. And when after his Resurrection from the Dead, they asked him, Acts 1.6. whether he would at that time restore the Kingdom to Israel. He puts them off, and tells them for an Answer, v. 8. But you shall receive Power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be Witnesses unto me, both in Ierusalem, and in all Iudea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the Earth. And then v. 9. He in their sight ascended up into Heaven. Then did the Kingdom of the Son of Man come with Power, Acts 2.33, 34, 35, 36. they knowing assuredly that the Son of Man, whom the Jews had crucified, was made both Lord and Christ, as v. 36. and as v. 34, 35. set at Gods right Hand (according to the Prophesie of David, Psal. 110. v. 1.) until his Enemies should be made his Foot-stool.

The Sign of the Prophet Jonas.

1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

We have here Christ's discourse with the Pharisees and Sadducees, men at variance among themselves, as appears Acts xxiii. 7, 8, and yet unanimous in their opposition to Christ; because his doctrine did equally overthrow the errors and heresies of the Sadducees, who denied the existence of spirits and a future state; and the pride, tyranny, and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who were the great imposters of the traditions of the elders. Christ and Christianity meet with opposition on all hands. Observe,

I. Their demand, and the design of it.

1. The demand was of a sign from heaven; this they desired him to show them; pretending they were very willing to be satisfied and convinced, when really they were far from being so, but sought excuses from an obstinate infidelity. That which they pretended to desire was,

(1.) Some other sign than what they had yet had. They had great plenty of signs; every miracle Christ wrought was a sign, for no man could do what he did unless God were with him. But this will not serve, they must have a sign of their own choosing; they despised those signs which relieved the necessity of the sick and sorrowful, and insisted upon some sign which gratify the curiosity of the proud. It is fit that the proofs of divine revelation should be chosen by the wisdom of God, not by the follies and fancies of men. The evidence that is given is sufficient to satisfy an unprejudiced understanding, but was not intended to please a vain humour. And it is an instance of the deceitfulness of the heart, to think that we should be wrought upon by the means and advantages which we have not, while we slight those which we have. If we hear not Moses and the prophets, neither would we be wrought upon though one rose from the dead.

(2.) It must be a sign from heaven. They would have such miracles to prove his commission, as were wrought at the giving of the law upon mount Sinai: thunder, and lightening, and the voice of words, were the sign from heaven they required. Whereas the sensible signs and terrible ones were not agreeable to the spiritual and comfortable dispensation of the gospel. Now the word comes more nigh us (Rom. x. 8), and therefore the miracles do so, and do not oblige us to keep such a distance as these did, Heb. xii. 18.

2. The design was to tempt him; not to be taught by him, but to ensnare him. If he should show them a sign from heaven, they would attribute it to a confederacy with the prince of the power of the air; if he should not, as they supposed he would not, they would have that to say for themselves, why they did not believe on him. They now tempted Christ as Israel did, 1 Cor. x. 9. And observe their perverseness; then, when they had signs from heaven, they tempted Christ, saying, Can he furnish a table in the wilderness? Now that he had furnished a table in the wilderness, they tempted him, saying, Can he give us a sign from heaven?

II. Christ's reply to this demand; lest they should be wise in their own conceit, he answered these fools according to their folly, Prov. xxvi. 5. In his answer,

1. He condemns their overlooking of the signs they had, v. 2, 3. They were seeking for the signs of the kingdom of God, when it was already among them. The Lord was in this place, and they knew it not. Thus their unbelieving ancestors, when miracles were their daily bread, asked, Is the Lord among us, or is he not?

To expose this, he observes to them,

(1.) Their skilfulness and sagacity in other things, particularly in natural prognostications of the weather; "You know that a red sky over-night is a presage of fair weather, and a red sky in the morning of foul weather." There are common rules drawn from observation and experience, by which it is easy to foretel very probably what weather it will be. When second causes have begun to work, we may easily guess at their issue, so uniform is nature in its motions, and so consistent with itself. We know not the balancing of the clouds (Job xxxvii. 16), but we may spell something from the faces of them. This gives no countenance at all to the wild and ridiculous predictions of the astrologers, the star-gazers, and the monthly prognosticators (Isa. xlvii. 13) concerning the weather long before, with which weak and foolish people are imposed upon; we are sure, in general, that seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, shall not cease. But as to the particulars, till, by the weather-glasses, or otherwise, we perceive the immediate signs and harbingers of the change of weather, it is not for us to know, no, not that concerning the times and seasons. Let it suffice, that it shall be what weather pleases God; and that which pleases God, should not displease us.

(2.) Their sottishness and stupidity in the concerns of their souls; Can ye not discern the signs of the times?

[1.] "Do you not see that the Messiah is come?" The sceptre was departed from Judah, Daniel's weeks were just expiring, and yet they regarded not. The miracles Christ wrought, and the gathering of the people to him, were plain indications that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, that this was the day of their visitation. Note, First, There are signs of the times, by which wise and upright men are enabled to make moral prognostications, and so far to understand the motions and methods of Providence, as from thence to take their measures, and to know what Israel ought to do, as the men of Issachar, as the physician from some certain symptoms finds a crisis formed. Secondly, There are many who are skilful enough in other things, and yet cannot or will not discern the day of their opportunities, are not aware of the wind when it is fair for them, and so let slip the gale. See Jer. viii. 7; Isa. i. 3. Thirdly, It is great hypocrisy, when we slight the signs of God's ordaining, to seek for signs of our own prescribing.

[2.] "Do not you foresee your own ruin coming for rejecting him? You will not entertain the gospel of peace, and can you not evidently discern that hereby you pull an inevitable destruction upon your own heads?" Note, It is the undoing of multitudes, that they are not aware what will be the end of their refusing Christ.

2. He refuses to give them any other sign (v. 4), as he had done before in the same words, ch. xii. 39. Those that persist in the same iniquities, must expect to meet with the same reproofs. Here, as there, (1.) He calls them an adulterous generation; because, while they professed themselves of the true church and spouse of God, they treacherously departed from him, and brake their covenants with him. The Pharisees were a generation pure in their own eyes, having the way of the adulterous woman, that thinks she has done no wickedness, Prov. xxx. 20. (2.) He refuses to gratify their desire. Christ will not be prescribed to; we ask, and have not, because we ask amiss. (3.) He refers them to the sign of the prophet Jonas, which should yet be given them; his resurrection from the dead, and his preaching by his apostles to the Gentiles; these were reserved for the last and highest evidences of his divine mission. Note, Though the fancies of proud men shall not be humoured, yet the faith of the humble shall be supported, and the unbelief of them that perish left for ever inexcusable, and every mouth shall be stopped.

This discourse broke off abruptly; he left them and departed. Christ will not tarry long with those that tempt him, but justly withdraws from those that are disposed to quarrel with him. He left them as irreclaimable; Let them alone. He left them to themselves, left them in the hand of their own counsels; so he gave them up to their own hearts' lust.

Of the Leaven of the Pharisees.

5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

We have here Christ's discourse with his disciples concerning bread, in which, as in many other discourses, he speaks to them of spiritual things under a similitude, and they misunderstand him of carnal things. The occasion of it was, their forgetting to victual their ship, and to take along with them provisions for their family on the other side of the water; usually they carried bread along with them, because they were sometimes in desert places; and when they were not, yet they would not be burthensome. But now they forgot; we will hope it was because their minds and memories were filled with better things. Note, Christ's disciples are often such as have no great forecast for the world.

I. Here is the caution Christ gave them, to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. He had now been discoursing with the Pharisees and Sadducees, and saw them to be men of such a spirit, that it was necessary to caution his disciples to have nothing to do with them. Disciples are in most danger from hypocrites; against those that are openly vicious they stand upon their guard, but against Pharisees, who are great pretenders to devotion, and Sadducees, who pretend to a free and impartial search after truth, they commonly lie unguarded: and therefore the caution is doubted, Take heed, and beware.

The corrupt principles and practices of the Pharisees and Sadducees are compared to leaven; they were souring, and swelling, and spreading, like leaven; they fermented wherever they came.

II. Their mistake concerning this caution, v. 7. They thought Christ hereby upbraided them with their improvidence and forgetfulness, that they were so busy attending to his discourse with the Pharisees, that therefore they forgot their private concerns. Or, because having no bread of their own with them, they must be beholden to their friends for supply, he would not have them to ask it of the Pharisees and Sadducees, nor to receive of their alms, because he would not so far countenance them; or, for fear, lest, under pretence of feeding them, they should do them a mischief. Or, they took it for a caution, not to be familiar with the Pharisees and Sadducees, not to eat with them (Prov. xxiii. 6), whereas the danger was not in their bread (Christ himself did eat with them, Luke vii. 36; xi. 37; xiv. 1), but in their principles.

III. The reproof Christ gave them for this.

1. He reproves their distrust of his ability and readiness to supply them in this strait (v. 8); "O ye of little faith, why are ye in such perplexity because ye have taken no bread, that ye can mind nothing else, that ye think your Master is as full of it as you, and apply every thing he saith to that?" He does not chide them for their little forecast, as they expected he would. Note, Parents and masters must not be angry at the forgetfulness of their children and servants, more than is necessary to make them take more heed another time; we are all apt to be forgetful of our duty. This should serve to excuse a fault, Peradventure it was an oversight. See how easily Christ forgave his disciples' carelessness, though it was in such a material point as taking bread; and do likewise. But that which he chides them for is their little faith.

(1.) He would have them to depend upon him for supply, though it were in a wilderness, and not to disquiet themselves with anxious thoughts about it. Note, Though Christ's disciples be brought into wants and straits, through their own carelessness and incogitancy, yet he encourages them to trust in him for relief. We must not therefore use this as an excuse for our want of charity to those who are really poor, that they should have minded their own affairs better, and then they would not have been in need. It may be so, but they must not therefore be left to starve when they are in need.

(2.) He is displeased at their solicitude in this matter. The weakness and shiftlessness of good people in their worldly affairs is that for which men are apt to condemn them; but it is not such an offence to Christ as their inordinate care and anxiety about those things. We must endeavour to keep the mean between the extremes of carelessness and carefulness; but of the two, the excess of thoughtfulness about the world worst becomes Christ's disciples. "O ye of little faith, why are ye disquieted for want of bread?" Note, To distrust Christ, and to disturb ourselves when we are in straits and difficulties, is an evidence of the weakness of our faith, which, if it were in exercise as it should be, would ease us of the burthen of care, by casting it on the Lord, who careth for us.

(3.) The aggravation of their distrust was the experience they had so lately had of the power and goodness of Christ in providing for them, v. 9, 10. Though they had no bread with them, they had him with them who could provide bread for them. If they had not the cistern, they had the Fountain. Do ye not yet understand, neither remember? Note, Christ's disciples are often to be blamed for the shallowness of their understandings, and the slipperiness of their memories. "Have ye forgot those repeated instances of merciful and miraculous supplies; five thousand fed with five loaves, and four thousand with seven loaves, and yet they had enough and to spare? Remember how many baskets ye took up." These baskets were intended for memorials, by which to keep the mercy in remembrance, as the pot of manna which was preserved in the ark, Exod. xvi. 32. The fragments of those meals would be a feast now; and he that could furnish them with such an overplus then, surely could furnish them with what was necessary now. That meat for their bodies was intended to be meat or their faith (Ps. lxxiv. 14), which therefore they should have lived upon, now that they had forgotten to take bread. Note, We are therefore perplexed with present cares and distrusts, because we do not duly remember our former experiences of divine power and goodness.

2. He reproves their misunderstanding of the caution he gave them (v. 11); How is it that you do not understand? Note, Christ's disciples may well be ashamed of the slowness and dulness of their apprehensions in divine things; especially when they have long enjoyed the means of grace; I spake it not unto you concerning bread. He took it ill, (1.) That they should think him as thoughtful about bread as they were; whereas his meat and drink were to do his Father's will. (2.) That they should be so little acquainted with his way of preaching, as to take that literally which he spoke by way of parable; and should thus make themselves like the multitude, who, when Christ spoke to them in parables, seeing, saw not, and hearing, heard not, ch. xiii. 13.

IV. The rectifying of the mistake by this reproof (v. 12); Then understood they what he meant. Note, Christ therefore shows us our folly and weakness, that we may stir up ourselves to take things right. He did not tell them expressly what he meant, but repeated what he had said, that they should beware of the leaven; and so obliged them, by comparing this with his other discourses, to arrive at the sense of it in their own thoughts. Thus Christ teaches by the Spirit of wisdom in the heart, opening the understanding to the Spirit of revelation in the word. And those truths are most precious, which we have thus digged for, and have found out after some mistakes. Though Christ did not tell them plainly, yet now they were aware that by the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he meant their doctrine and way, which were corrupt and vicious, but, as they managed them, very apt to insinuate themselves into the minds of men like leaven, and to eat like a canker. They were leading men, and were had in reputation, which made the danger of infection by their errors the greater. In our age, we may reckon atheism and deism to be the leaven of the Sadducees, and popery to be the leaven of the Pharisees, against both which it concerns all Christians to stand upon their guard.

Christ's Conference with His Disciples.

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

We have here a private conference which Christ had with his disciples concerning himself. It was in the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, the utmost borders of the land of Canaan northward; there in that remote corner, perhaps, there was less flocking after him than in other places, which gave him leisure for this private conversation with his disciples. Note, When ministers are abridged in their public work, they should endeavour to do the more in their own families.

Christ is here catechising his disciples.

I. He enquires what the opinions of others were concerning him; Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?

1. He calls himself the Son of man; which may be taken either, (1.) As a title common to him with others. He was called, and justly, the Son of God, for so he was (Luke i. 35); but he called himself the Son of man; for he is really and truly "Man, made of a woman." In courts of honour, it is a rule to distinguish men by their highest titles; but Christ, having now emptied himself, though he was the Son of God, will be known by the style and title of the Son of man. Ezekiel was often so called to keep him humble; Christ called himself so, to show that he was humble. Or, (2.) As a title peculiar to him as Mediator. He is made known, in Daniel's vision, as the Son of man, Dan. vii. 13. I am the Messiah, that Son of man that was promised. But,

2. He enquires what people's sentiments were concerning him: "Who do men say that I am? The Son of man?" (So I think it might better be read). "Do they own me for the Messiah?" He asks not, "Who do the scribes and Pharisees say that I am?" They were prejudiced against him, and said that he was a deceiver and in league with Satan; but, "Who do men say that I am?" He referred to the common people, whom the Pharisees despised. Christ asked this question, not as one that knew not; for if he knows what men think, much more what they say; nor as one desirous to hear his own praises, but to make the disciples solicitous concerning the success of their preaching, by showing that he himself was so. The common people conversed more familiarly with the disciples than they did with their Master, and therefore from them he might better know what they said. Christ had not plainly said who he was, but left people to infer it from his works, John x. 24, 25. Now he would know what inferences the people drew from them, and from the miracles which his apostles wrought in his name.

3. To this question the disciples have him an answer (v. 14), Some say, thou art John the Baptist, &c. There were some that said, he was the Son of David (ch. xii. 23), and the great Prophet, John vi. 14. The disciples, however, do not mention that opinion, but only such opinions as were wide of the truth, which they gathered up from their countrymen. Observe,

(1.) They are different opinions; some say one thing, and others another. Truth is one; but those who vary from that commonly vary one from another. Thus Christ came eventually to send division, Luke xii. 51. Being so noted a Person, every one would be ready to pass his verdict upon him, and, "Many men, many minds;" those that were not willing to own him to be the Christ, wandered in endless mazes, and followed the chase of every uncertain guess and wild hypothesis.

(2.) They are honourable opinions, and bespeak the respect they had for him, according to the best of their judgment. These were not the sentiments of his enemies, but the sober thoughts of those that followed him with love and wonder. Note, It is possible for men to have good thoughts of Christ, and yet not right ones, a high opinion of him, and yet not high enough.

(3.) They all suppose him to be one risen from the dead; which perhaps arose from a confused notion they had of the resurrection of the Messiah, before his public preaching, as of Jonas. Or their notions arose from an excessive value for antiquity; as if it were not possible for an excellent man to be produced in their own age, but it must be one of the ancients returned to life again.

(4.) They are all false opinions, built upon mistakes, and wilful mistakes. Christ's doctrines and miracles bespoke him to be an extraordinary Person; but because of the meanness of his appearance, so different from what they expected, they would not own him to be the Messiah, but will grant him to be any thing rather than that.

[1.] Some say, thou art John the Baptist. Herod said so (ch. xiv. 2), and those about him would be apt to say as he said. This notion might be strengthened by an opinion they had, that those who died as martyrs, should rise again before others; which some think the second of the seven sons refers to, in his answer to Antiochus, 2 Macc. vii. 9, The King of the world shall raise us up, who have died for his laws, unto everlasting life.

[2.] Some Elias; taking occasion, no doubt, from the prophecy of Malachi (ch. iv. 5), Behold, I will send you Elijah. And the rather, because Elijah (as Christ) did many miracles, and was himself, in his translation, the greatest miracle of all.

[3.] Others Jeremias: they fasten upon him, either because he was the weeping prophet, and Christ was often in tears; or because God had set him over the kingdoms and nations (Jer. i. 10), which they thought agreed with their notion of the Messiah.

[4.] Or, one of the prophets. This shows what an honourable idea they entertained of the prophets; and yet they were the children of them that persecuted and slew them, ch. xxiii. 29. Rather than they would allow Jesus of Nazareth, one of their own country, to be such an extraordinary Person as his works bespoke him to be, they would say, "It was not he, but one of the old prophets."

II. He enquires what their thoughts were concerning him; "But who say ye that I am? v. 15. Ye tell me what other people say of me; can ye say better?" 1. The disciples had themselves been better taught than others; had, by their intimacy with Christ, greater advantages of getting knowledge than others had. Note, It is justly expected that those who enjoy greater plenty of the means of knowledge and grace than others, should have a more clear and distinct knowledge of the things of God than others. Those who have more acquaintance with Christ than others, should have truer sentiments concerning him, and be able to give a better account of him than others. 2. The disciples were trained up to teach others, and therefore it was highly requisite that they should understand the truth themselves: "Ye that are to preach the gospel of the kingdom, what are your notions of him that sent you?" Note, Ministers must be examined before they be sent forth, especially what their sentiments are of Christ, and who they say that he is; for how can they be owned as ministers of Christ, that are either ignorant or erroneous concerning Christ? This is a question we should every one of us be frequently putting to ourselves, "Who do we say, what kind of one do we say, that the Lord Jesus is? Is he precious to us? Is he in our eyes the chief of ten thousand? Is he the Beloved of our souls?" It is well or ill with us, according as our thoughts are right or wrong concerning Jesus Christ.

Well, this is the question; now let us observe,

(1.) Peter's answer to this question, v. 16. To the former question concerning the opinion others had of Christ, several of the disciples answered, according as they had heard people talk; but to this Peter answers in the name of all the rest, they all consenting to it, and concurring in it. Peter's temper led him to be forward in speaking upon all such occasions, and sometimes he spoke well, sometimes amiss; in all companies there are found some warm, bold men, to whom a precedency of speech falls of course; Peter was such a one: yet we find other of the apostles sometimes speaking as the mouth of the rest; as John (Mark ix. 38), Thomas, Philip, and Jude, John xiv. 5, 8, 22. So that this is far from being a proof of such primacy and superiority of Peter above the rest of the apostles, as the church of Rome ascribes to him. They will needs advance him to be a judge, when the utmost they can make of him, is, that he was but foreman of the jury, to speak for the rest, and that only pro hâc vice—for this once; not the perpetual dictator or speaker of the house, only chairman upon this occasion.

Peter's answer is short, but it is full, and true, and to the purpose; Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Here is a confession of the Christian faith, addressed to Christ, and so made an act of devotion. Here is a confession of the true God as the living God, in opposition to dumb and dead idols, and of Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, whom to know is life eternal. This is the conclusion of the whole matter.

[1.] The people called him a Prophet, that Prophet (John vi. 14); but the disciples own him to be the Christ, the anointed One; the great Prophet, Priest, and King of the church; the true Messiah promised to the fathers, and depended on by them as He that shall come. It was a great thing to believe this concerning one whose outward appearance was so contrary to the general idea the Jews had of the Messiah.

[2.] He called himself the Son of Man; but they owned him to be the Son of the living God. The people's notion of him was, that he was the ghost of a dead man, Elias, or Jeremias; but they know and believe him to be the Son of the living God, who has life in himself, and has given to his Son to have life in himself, and to be the Life of the world. If he be the Son of the living God, he is of the same nature with him: and though his divine nature was now veiled with the cloud of flesh, yet there were those who looked through it, and saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now can we with an assurance of faith subscribe to this confession? Let us then, with a fervency of affection and adoration, go to Christ, and tell him so; Lord Jesus, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

(2.) Christ's approbation of his answer (v. 17-19); in which Peter is replied to, both as a believer and as an apostle.

[1.] As a believer, v. 17. Christ shows himself well pleased with Peter's confession, that it was so clear and express, without ifs or ands, as we say. Note, The proficiency of Christ's disciples in knowledge and grace is very acceptable to him; and Christ shows him whence he received the knowledge of this truth. At the first discovery of this truth in the dawning of the gospel day, it was a mighty thing to believe it; all men had not this knowledge, had not this faith. But,

First, Peter had the happiness of it; Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona. He reminds him of his rise and original, the meanness of his parentage, the obscurity of his extraction; he was Bar-jonas—The son of a dove; so some. Let him remember the rock out of which he was hewn, that he may see he was not born to this dignity, but preferred to it by the divine favour; it was free grace that made him to differ. Those that have received the Spirit must remember who is their Father, 1 Sam. x. 12. Having reminded him of this, he makes him sensible of his great happiness as a believer; Blessed art thou. Note, True believers are truly blessed, and those are blessed indeed whom Christ pronounces blessed; his saying they are so, makes them so. "Peter, thou art a happy man, who thus knowest the joyful sound," Ps. lxxxix. 15. Blessed are your eyes, ch. xiii. 16. All happiness attends the right knowledge of Christ.

Secondly, God must have the glory of it; "For flesh and blood have not revealed it to thee. Thou hadst this neither by the invention of thy own wit and reason, nor by the instruction and information of others; this light sprang neither from nature nor from education, but from my Father who is in heaven." Note, 1. The Christian religion is a revealed religion, has its rise in heaven; it is a religion from above, given by inspiration of God, not the learning of philosophers, nor the politics of statesmen. 2. Saving faith is the gift of God, and, wherever it is, is wrought by him, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for his sake, and upon the score of his mediation, Phil. i. 29. Therefore thou art blessed, because my Father has revealed it to thee. Note, The revealing of Christ to us and in us is a distinguishing token of God's good will, and a firm foundation of true happiness; and blessed are they that are thus highly favoured.

Perhaps Christ discerned something of pride and vain-glory in Peter's confession; a subtle sin, and which is apt to mingle itself even with our good duties. It is hard for good men to compare themselves with others, and not to have too great a conceit of themselves; to prevent which, we should consider that our preference to others is no achievement of our own, but the free gift of God's grace too us, and not to others; so that we have nothing to boast of, Ps. cxv. 1; 1 Cor. iv. 7.

[2.] Christ replies to him as an apostle or minister, v. 18, 19. Peter, in the name of the church, had confessed Christ, and to him therefore the promise intended for the church is directed. Note, There is nothing lost by being forward to confess Christ; for those who honour him, he will honour.

Upon occasion of this great confession made of Christ, which is the church's homage and allegiance, he signed and published this royal, this divine charter, by which that body politic is incorporated. Such is the communion between Christ and the church, the Bridegroom and the spouse. God had a church in the world from the beginning, and it was built upon the rock of the promised Seed, Gen. iii. 15. But now, that promised Seed being come, it was requisite that the church should have a new charter, as Christian, and standing in relation to a Christ already come. Now here we have that charter; and a thousand pities it is, that this word, which is the great support of the kingdom of Christ, should be wrested and pressed into the service of antichrist. But the devil has employed his subtlety to pervert it, as he did that promise, Ps. xci. 11, which he perverted to his own purpose, ch. iv. 6, and perhaps both that scripture and this he thus perverted because they stood in his way, and therefore he owed them a spite.

Now the purport of this charter is,

First, To establish the being of the church; I say also unto thee. It is Christ that makes the grant, he who is the church's Head, and Ruler, to whom all judgment is committed, and from whom all power is derived; he who makes it pursuant to the authority received from the Father, and his undertaking for the salvation of the elect. The grant is put into Peter's hand; "I say it to thee." The Old Testament promises relating to the church were given immediately to particular persons, eminent for faith and holiness, as to Abraham and David; which yet gave no supremacy to them, much less to any of their successors; so the New-Testament charter is here delivered to Peter as an agent, but to the use and behoof of the church in all ages, according to the purposes therein specified and contained. Now it is here promised,

1. That Christ would build his church upon a rock. This body politic is incorporated by the style and title of Christ's church. It is a number o the children of men called out of the world, and set apart from it, and dedicated to Christ. It is not thy church, but mine. Peter remembered this, when he cautioned ministers not to lord it over God's heritage. The church is Christ's peculiar, appropriated to him. The world is God's, and they that dwell therein; but the church is a chosen remnant, that stands in relation to God through Christ as Mediator. It bears him image and superscription.

(1.) The Builder and Maker of the church is Christ himself; I will build it. The church is a temple which Christ is the Builder of, Zech. vi. 11-13. Herein Solomon was a type of Christ, and Cyrus, Isa. xliv. 28. The materials and workmanship are his. By the working of his Spirit with the preaching of his word he adds souls to his church, and so builds it up with living stones, 1 Pet. ii. 5. Ye are God's building; and building is a progressive work; the church in this world is but in fieri—in the forming, like a house in the building. It is a comfort to all those who wish well to the church, that Christ, who has divine wisdom and power, undertakes to build it.

(2.) The foundation on which it is built is, this Rock. Let the architect do his part ever so well, if the foundation be rotten, the building will not stand; let us therefore see what the foundation is, and it must be meant of Christ, for other foundation can no man lay. See Isa. xxviii. 16.

[1.] The church is built upon a rock; a firm, strong, and lasting foundation, which time will not waste, nor will it sink under the weight of the building. Christ would not build his house upon the sand, for he knew that storms would arise. A rock is high, Ps. lxi. 2. Christ's church does not stand upon a level with this world; a rock is large, and extends far, so does the church's foundation; and the more large, the more firm; those are not the church's friends that narrow its foundation.

[2.] It is built upon this rock; thou art Peter, which signifies a stone or rock; Christ gave him that name when he first called him (John i. 42), and here he confirms it; "Peter, thou dost answer thy name, thou art a solid, substantial disciple, fixed and stayed, and one that there is some hold of. Peter is thy name, and strength and stability are with thee. Thou art not shaken with the waves of men's fluctuating opinions concerning me, but established in the present truth," 2 Pet. i. 12. From the mention of this significant name, occasion is taken for this metaphor of building upon a rock.

First, Some by this rock understand Peter himself as an apostle, the chief, though not the prince, of the twelve, senior among them, but not superior over them. The church is built upon the foundation of the apostles, Eph. ii. 20. The first stones of that building were laid in and by their ministry; hence their names are said to be written in the foundations of the new Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 14. Now Peter being that apostle by whose hand the first stones of the church were laid, both in Jewish converts (Acts ii.), and in the Gentile converts (Acts x.), he might in some sense be said to be the rock on which it was built. Cephas was one that seemed to be a pillar, Gal. ii. 9. But it sounds very harsh, to call a man that only lays the first stone of a building, which is a transient act, the foundation on which it is built, which is an abiding thing. Yet if it were so, this would not serve to support the pretensions of the Bishop of Rome; for Peter had no such headship as he claims, much less could he derive it to his successors, least of all to the Bishops of Rome, who, whether they are so in place or no, is a question, but that they are not so in the truth of Christianity, is past all question.

Secondly, Others, by this rock, understand Christ; "Thou art Peter, thou hast the name of a stone, but upon this rock, pointing to himself, I will build my church." Perhaps he laid his hand on his breast, as when he said, Destroy this temple (John ii. 19), when he spoke of the temple of his body. Then he took occasion from the temple, where he was, so to speak of himself, and gave occasion to some to misunderstand him of that; so here he took occasion from Peter, to speak of himself as the Rock, and gave occasion to some to misunderstand him of Peter. But this must be explained by those many scriptures which speak of Christ as the only Foundation of the church; see 1 Cor. iii. 11; 1 Pet. ii. 6. Christ is both its Founder and its Foundation; he draws souls, and draws them to himself; to him they are united, and on him they rest and have a constant dependence.

Thirdly, Others by this rock understand this confession which Peter made of Christ, and this comes all to one with understanding it of Christ himself. It was a good confession which Peter witnessed, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God; the rest concurred with him in it. "Now," saith Christ, "this is that great truth upon which I will build my church." 1. Take away this truth itself, and the universal church falls to the ground. If Christ be not the Son of God, Christianity is a cheat, and the church is a mere chimera; our preaching is vain, your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins, 1 Cor. xv. 14-17. If Jesus be not the Christ, those that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. 2. Take away the faith and confession of this truth from any particular church, and it ceases to be a part of Christ's church, and relapses to the state and character of infidelity. This is articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesia—that article, with the admission or the denial of which the church either rises or falls; "the main hinge on which the door of salvation turns;" those who let go this, do not hold the foundation; and though they may call themselves Christians, they give themselves the lie; for the church is a sacred society, incorporated upon the certainty and assurance of this great truth; and great it is, and has prevailed.

2. Christ here promises to preserve and secure his church, when it is built; The gates of hell shall not prevail against it; neither against this truth, nor against the church which is built upon it.

(1.) This implies that the church has enemies that fight against it, and endeavour its ruin overthrow, here represented by the gates of hell, that is, the city of hell; (which is directly opposite to this heavenly city, this city of the living God), the devil's interest among the children of men. The gates of hell are the powers and policies of the devil's kingdom, the dragon's head and horns, by which he makes war with the Lamb; all that comes out of hell-gates, as being hatched and contrived there. These fight against the church by opposing gospel truths, corrupting gospel ordinances, persecuting good ministers and good Christians; drawing or driving, persuading by craft or forcing by cruelty, to that which is inconsistent with the purity of religion; this is the design of the gates of hell, to root out the name of Christianity (Ps. lxxxiii. 4), to devour the man-child (Rev. xii. 9), to raze this city to the ground.

(2.) This assures us that the enemies of the church shall not gain their point. While the world stands, Christ will have a church in it, in which his truths and ordinances shall be owned and kept up, in spite of all the opposition of the powers of darkness; They shall not prevail against it, Ps. cxxix. 1, 2. This gives no security to any particular church, or church-governors that they shall never err, never apostatize or be destroyed; but that somewhere or other the Christian religion shall have a being, though not always in the same degree of purity and splendour, yet so as that the entail of it shall never be quite cut off. The woman lives, though in a wilderness (Rev. xii. 14), cast down but not destroyed (2 Cor. iv. 9). Corruptions grieving, persecutions grievous, but neither fatal. The church may be foiled in particular encounters, but in the main battle it shall come off more than a conqueror. Particular believers are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5.

Secondly, The other part of this charter is, to settle the order and government of the church, v. 19. When a city or society is incorporated, officers are appointed and empowered to act for the common good. A city without government is a chaos. Now this constituting of the government of the church, is here expressed by the delivering of the keys, and, with them, a power to bind and loose. This is not to be understood of any peculiar power that Peter was invested with, as if he were sole door-keeper of the kingdom of heaven, and had that key of David which belongs only to the Son of David; no, this invests all the apostles and their successors with a ministerial power to guide and govern the church of Christ, as it exists in particular congregations or churches, according to the rules of the gospel. Claves regni cælorum in B. Petro apostolo cuncti suscepimus sacerdotes—All we that are priests, received, in the person of the blessed apostle Peter, the keys of the kingdom of heaven; so Ambrose De Dignit. Sacerd. Only the keys were first put into Peter's hand, because he was the first that opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, Acts x. 28. As the king, in giving a charter to a corporation, empowers the magistrates to hold courts in his name, to try matters of fact, and determine therein according to law, confirming what is so done regularly as if done in any of the superior courts; so Christ, having incorporated his church, hath appointed the office of the ministry for the keeping up of order and government, and to see that his laws be duly served; I will give thee the keys. He doth not say, "I have given them," or "I do now;" but "I will do it," meaning after his resurrection; when he ascended on high, he gave those gifts, Ephes. iv. 8; then this power was actually given, not to Peter only, but to all the rest, ch. xxviii. 19, 20; John xx. 21. He doth not say, The keys shall be given, but, I will give them; for ministers derive their authority from Christ, and all their power is to be used in his name, 1 Cor. v. 4.

Now, 1. The power here delegated is a spiritual power; it is a power pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, that is, to the church, that part of it which is militant here on earth, to the gospel dispensation; that is it about which the apostolical and ministerial power is wholly conversant. It is not any civil, secular power that is hereby conveyed, Christ's kingdom is not of this world; their instructions afterward were in things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Acts i. 3.

2. It is the power of the keys that is given, alluding to the custom of investing men with authority in such a place, by delivering to them the keys of the place. Or as the master of the house gives the keys to the steward, the keys of the stores where the provisions are kept, that he may give to every one in the house his portion of meat in due season (Luke xii. 42), and deny it as there is occasion, according to the rules of the family. Ministers are stewards, 1 Cor. iv. 1; Tit. i. 7. Eliakim, who had the key of the house of David, was over the household, Isa. xxii. 22.

3. It is a power to bind and loose, that is (following the metaphor of the keys), to shut and open. Joseph, who was lord of Pharaoh's house, and steward of the stores, had power to bind his princes, and to teach his senators wisdom, Ps. cv. 21, 22. When the stores and treasures of the house are shut up from any, they are bound, interdico tibi aquâ et igne—I forbid thee the use of fire and water; when they are opened to them again, they are loosed from that bond, are discharged from the censure, and restored to their liberty.

4. It is a power which Christ has promised to own the due administration of; he will ratify the sentences of his stewards with his own approbation; It shall be bound in heaven, and loosed in heaven: not that Christ hath hereby obliged himself to confirm all church-censures, right or wrong; but such as are duly passed according to the word, clave non errante—the key turning the right way, such are sealed in heaven; that is, the word of the gospel, in the mouth of faithful ministers, is to be looked upon, not as the word of man, but as the word of God, and to be received accordingly, 1 Thess. ii. 13; John xii. 20.

Now the keys of the kingdom of heaven are,

(1.) The key of doctrine, called the key of knowledge. "Your business shall be to explain to the world the will of God, both as to truth and duty; and for this you shall have your commissions, credentials, and full instructions to bind and loose:" these, in the common speech of the Jews, at that time, signified to prohibit and permit; to teach or declare a thing to be unlawful was to bind; to be lawful, was to loose. Now the apostles had an extraordinary power of this kind; some things forbidden by the law of Moses were now to be allowed, as the eating of such and such meats; some things allowed there were now to be forbidden, as divorce; and the apostles were empowered to declare this to the world, and men might take it upon their words. When Peter was first taught himself, and then taught others, to call nothing common or unclean, this power was exercised. There is also an ordinary power hereby conveyed to all ministers, to preach the gospel as appointed officers; to tell people, in God's name, and according to the scriptures, what is good, and what the Lord requires of them: and they who declare the whole counsel of God, use these keys well, Acts xx. 27.

Some make the giving of the keys to allude to the custom of the Jews in creating a doctor of the law, which was to put into his hand the keys of the chest where the book of the law was kept, denoting his being authorized to take and read it; and the binding and loosing, to allude to the fashion about their books, which were in rolls; they shut them by binding them up with a string, which they untied when they opened them. Christ gives his apostles power to shut or open the book of the gospel to people, as the case required. See the exercise of this power, Acts xiii. 46; xviii. 6. When ministers preach pardon and peace to the penitent, wrath and the curse to the impenitent, in Christ's name, they act then pursuant to this authority of binding and loosing.

(2.) The key of discipline, which is but the application of the former to particular persons, upon a right estimate of their characters and actions. It is not legislative power that is hereby conferred, but judicial; the judge doth not make the law, but only declares what is law, and upon an impartial enquiry into the merits of the cause, gives sentence accordingly. Such is the power of the keys, wherever it is lodged, with reference to church-membership and the privileges thereof. [1.] Christ's ministers have a power to admit into the church; "Go, disciple all nations, baptizing them; those who profess faith in Christ, and obedience to him, admit them and their seed members of the church by baptism." Ministers are to let in to the wedding-feast those that are bidden; and to keep out such as are apparently unfit for so holy a communion. [2.] They have a power to expel and cast out such as have forfeited their church-membership, that is binding; refusing to unbelievers the application of gospel promises and the seals of them; and declaring to such as appear to be in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, that they have no part or lot in the matter, as Peter did to Simon Magus, though he had been baptized; and this is a binding over to the judgment of God. [3.] They have a power to restore and to receive in again, upon their repentance, such as had been thrown out; to loose those whom they had bound; declaring to them, that, if their repentance be sincere, the promise of pardon belongs to them. The apostles had a miraculous gift of discerning spirits; yet even they went by the rule of outward appearances (as Acts viii. 21; 1 Cor. v. 1; 2 Cor. ii. 7; 1 Tim. i. 20), which ministers may still make a judgment upon, if they be skilful and faithful.

Lastly, Here is the charge which Christ gave his disciples, to keep this private for the present (v. 20); They must tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. What they had professed to him, they must not yet publish to the world, for several reasons; 1. Because this was the time of preparation for his kingdom: the great thing now preached, was, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand; and therefore those things were now to be insisted on, which were proper to make way for Christ; as the doctrine of repentance; not this great truth, in and with which the kingdom of heaven was to be actually set up. Every thing is beautiful in its season, and it is good advice, Prepare thy work, and afterwards build, Prov. xxiv. 27. 2. Christ would have his Messiahship proved by his works, and would rather they should testify of him than that his disciples should, because their testimony was but as his own, which he insisted not on. See John v. 31, 34. He was so secure of the demonstration of his miracles, that he waived other witnesses, John x. 25, 38. 3. If they had known that he was Jesus the Christ, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. ii. 8. 4. Christ would not have the apostles preach this, till they had the most convincing evidence ready to allege in confirmation of it. Great truths may suffer damage by being asserted before they can be sufficiently proved. Now the great proof of Jesus being the Christ was his resurrection: by that he was declared to be the Son of God, with power; and therefore the divine wisdom would not have this truth preached, till that could be alleged for proof of it. 5. It was requisite that the preachers of so great a truth should be furnished with greater measures of the Spirit than the apostles as yet had; therefore the open asserting of it was adjourned till the Spirit should be poured out upon them. But when Christ was glorified and the Spirit poured out, we find Peter proclaiming upon the house-tops what was here spoken in a corner (Acts ii. 36), That God hath made this same Jesus both Lord and Christ; for, as there is a time to keep silence, so there is a time to speak.

Christ Reproves Peter.

21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

We have here Christ's discourse with his disciples concerning his own sufferings; in which observe,

I. Christ's foretelling of his sufferings. Now he began to do it, and from this time he frequently spake of them. Some hints he had already given of his sufferings, as when he said, Destroy this temple: when he spake of the Son of man being lifted up, and of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood: but now he began to show it, to speak plainly and expressly of it. Hitherto he had not touched upon this, because the disciples were weak, and could not well bear the notice of a thing so very strange, and so very melancholy; but now that they were more ripe in knowledge, and strong in faith, he began to tell them this. Note, Christ reveals his mind to his people gradually, and lets in light as they can bear it, and are fit to receive it.

From that time, when they had made that full confession of Christ, that he was the Son of God, then he began to show them this. When he found them knowing in one truth, he taught them another; for to him that has, shall be given. Let them first be established in the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and then go on to perfection, Heb. vi. 1. If they had not been well grounded in the belief of Christ's being the Son of God, it would have been a great shaking to their faith. All truths are not to be spoken to all persons at all times, but such as are proper and suitable to their present state. Now observe,

1. What he foretold concerning his sufferings, the particulars and circumstances of them, and all surprising.

(1.) The place where he should suffer. He must go to Jerusalem, the head city, the holy city, and suffer there. Though he lived most of his time in Galilee, he must die at Jerusalem; there all the sacrifices were offered, there therefore he must die, who is the great sacrifice.

(2.) The persons by whom he should suffer; the elders, and chief priests, and scribes; these made up the great sanhedrim, which sat at Jerusalem, and was had in veneration by the people. Those that should have been most forward in owning and admiring Christ, were the most bitter in persecuting him. It was strange that men of knowledge in the scripture, who professed to expect the Messiah's coming, and pretended to have something sacred in their character, should use him thus barbarously when he did come. It was the Roman power that condemned and crucified Christ, but he lays it at the door of the chief priests and scribes, who were the first movers.

(3.) What he should suffer; he must suffer many things, and be killed. His enemies' insatiable malice, and his own invincible patience, appear in the variety and multiplicity of his sufferings (he suffered many things) and in the extremity of them; nothing less than his death would satisfy them, he must be killed. The suffering of many things, if not unto death, is more tolerable; for while there is life, there is hope; and death, without such prefaces, would be less terrible; but he must first suffer many things, and then be killed.

(4.) What should be the happy issue of all his sufferings; he shall be raised again the third day. As the prophets, so Christ himself, when he testified beforehand his sufferings, testified withal the glory that should follow, 1 Pet. i. 11. His rising again the third day proved him to be the Son of God, notwithstanding his sufferings; and therefore he mentions that, to keep up their faith. When he spoke of the cross and the shame, he spoke in the same breath of the joy set before him, in the prospect of which he endured the cross, and despised the shame. Thus we must look upon Christ's suffering for us, trace in it the way to his glory; and thus we must look upon our suffering for Christ, look through it to the recompence of reward. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him.

2. Why he foretold his sufferings. (1.) To show that they were the product of an eternal counsel and consent; were agreed upon between the Father and the Son from eternity; Thus is behoved Christ to suffer. The matter was settled in the determinate counsel and foreknowledge, in pursuance of his own voluntary susception and undertaking for our salvation; his sufferings were no surprise to him, did not come upon him as a snare, but he had a distinct and certain foresight of them, which greatly magnifies his love, John xviii. 4. (2.) To rectify the mistakes which his disciples had imbibed concerning the external pomp and power of his kingdom. Believing him to be the Messiah, they counted upon nothing but dignity and authority in the world; but here Christ reads them another lesson, tells them of the cross and sufferings; nay, that the chief priests and the elders, whom, it is likely, they expected to be the supports of the Messiah's kingdom, should be its great enemies and persecutors; this would give them quite another idea of that kingdom which they themselves had preached the approach of; and it was requisite that this mistake should be rectified. Those that follow Christ must be dealt plainly with, and warned not to expect great things in this world. (3.) It was to prepare them for the share, at least, of sorrow and fear, which they must have in his sufferings. When he suffered many things, the disciples could not but suffer some; if their Master be killed, they will be seized with terror; let them know it before, that they may provide accordingly, and, being fore-warned, may be fore-armed.

II. The offence which Peter took at this he said, Be it far from thee, Lord: probably he spake the sense of the rest of the disciples, as before, for he was chief speaker. He took him, and began to rebuke him. Perhaps Peter was a little elevated with the great things Christ had how said unto him, which made him more bold with Christ than did become him; so hard is it to keep the spirit low and humble in the midst of great advancements!

1. It did not become Peter to contradict his Master, or take upon him to advise him; he might have wished, that, if it were possible, this cup might pass away, without saying so peremptorily, This shall not be, when Christ had said, It must be. Shall any teach God knowledge? He that reproveth God, let him answer it. Note, When God's dispensations are either intricate or cross to us, it becomes us silently to acquiesce in, and not to prescribe to, the divine will; God knows what he has to do, without our teaching. Unless we know the mind of the Lord, it is not for us to be his counsellors, Rom. xi. 34.

2. It savoured much of fleshly wisdom, for him to appear so warmly against suffering, and to startle thus at the offence of the cross. It is the corrupt part of us, that is thus solicitous to sleep in a whole skin. We are apt to look upon sufferings as they relate to this present life, to which they are uneasy; but there are other rules to measure them by, which, if duly observed, will enable us cheerfully to bear them, Rom. viii. 18. See how passionately Peter speaks: "Be it far from thee, Lord. God forbid, that thou shouldst suffer and be killed; we cannot bear the thoughts of it." Master, spare thyself: so it might be read; hileos soi, kyrie—"Be merciful to thyself, and then no one else can be cruel to thee; pity thyself, and then this shall not be to thee." He would have Christ to dread suffering as much as he did; but we mistake, if we measure Christ's love and patience by our own. He intimates, likewise, the improbability of the thing, humanly speaking; "This shall not be unto thee. It is impossible that one who hath so great an interest in the people as thou hast, should be crushed by the elders, who fear the people: this can never be; we that have followed thee, will fight for thee, if occasion be; and there are thousands that will stand by us."

III. Christ's displeasure against Peter for this suggestion of his, v. 23. We do not read of any thing said or done by any of his disciples, at any time, that he resented so much as this, though they often offended.

Observe, 1. How he expressed his displeasure: He turned upon Peter, and (we may suppose) with a frown said, Get thee behind me, Satan. He did not so much as take time to deliberate upon it, but gave an immediate reply to the temptation, which was such as made it to appear how ill he took it. Just now, he had said, Blessed art thou, Simon, and had even laid him in his bosom; but here, Get thee behind me, Satan; and there was cause for both. Note, A good man may by a surprise of temptation soon grow very unlike himself. He answered him as he did Satan himself, ch. iv. 10. Note, (1.) It is the subtlety of Satan, to send temptations to us by the unsuspected hands of our best and dearest friends. Thus he assaulted Adam by Eve, Job by his wife, and here Christ by his beloved Peter. It concerns us therefore not to be ignorant of his devices, but to stand against his wiles and depths, by standing always upon our guard against sin, whoever moves us to it. Even the kindnesses of our friends are often abused by Satan, and made use of as temptations to us. (2.) Those who have their spiritual senses exercised, will be aware of the voice of Satan, even in a friend, a disciple, a minister, that dissuades them from their duty. We must not regard who speaks, so much as what is spoken; we should learn to know the devil's voice when he speaks in a saint as well as when he speaks in a serpent. Whoever takes us off from that which is good, and would have us afraid of doing too much for God, speaks Satan's language. (3.) We must be free and faithful in reproving the dearest friend we have, that saith or doth amiss, though it may be under colour of kindness to us. We must not compliment, but rebuke, mistaken courtesies. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Such smitings must be accounted kindnesses, Ps. cxli. 5. (4.) Whatever appears to be a temptation to sin, must be resisted with abhorrence, and not parleyed with.

2. What was the ground of this displeasure; why did Christ thus resent a motion that seemed not only harmless, but kind? Two reasons are given:

(1.) Thou art an offence to me—Skandalon mou ei—Thou art my hindrance (so it may be read); "thou standest in my way." Christ was hastening on in the work of our salvation, and his heart was so much upon it, that he took it ill to be hindered, or tempted to start back from the hardest and most discouraging part of his undertaking. So strongly was he engaged for our redemption, that they who but indirectly endeavoured to divert him from it, touched him in a very tender and sensible part. Peter was not so sharply reproved for disowning and denying his Master in his sufferings as he was for dissuading him from them; though that was the defect, this the excess, of kindness. It argues a very great firmness and resolution of mind in any business, when it is an offence to be dissuaded, and a man will not endure to hear any thing to the contrary; like that of Ruth, Entreat me not to leave thee. Note, Our Lord Jesus preferred our salvation before his own ease and safety; for even Christ pleased not himself (Rom. xv. 3); he came into the world, not to spare himself, as Peter advised, but to spend himself.

See why he called Peter Satan, when he suggested this to him; because, whatever stood in the way of our salvation, he looked upon as coming from the devil, who is a sworn enemy to it. The same Satan that afterward entered into Judas, maliciously to destroy him in his undertaking, here prompted Peter plausibly to divert him from it. Thus he changes himself into an angel of light.

Thou art an offence to me. Note, [1.] Those that engage in any great good work must expect to meet with hindrance and opposition from friends and foes, from within and from without. [2.] Those that obstruct our progress in any duty must be looked upon as an offence to us. Then we do the will of God as Christ did, whose meat and drink it was to do it, when it is a trouble to us to be solicited from our duty. Those that hinder us from doing or suffering for God, when we are called to it, whatever they are in other things in that they are Satans, adversaries to us.

(2.) Thou savourest not the things that are of God, but those that are of men. Note, [1.] The things that are of God, that is, the concerns of his will and glory, often clash and interfere with the things that are of men, that is, with our own wealth, pleasure, and reputation. While we mind Christian duty as our way and work, and the divine favour as our end and portion, we savour the things of God; but if these be minded, the flesh must be denied, hazards must be run and hardships borne; and here is the trial which of the two we savour. [2.] Those that inordinately fear, and industriously decline suffering for Christ, when they are called to it, savour more of the things of man than of the things of God; they relish those things more themselves, and make it appear to others that they do so.

The Value of the Soul.

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 me. 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? 27 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. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Christ, having shown his disciples that he must suffer, and that he was ready and willing to suffer, here shows them that they must suffer too, and must be ready and willing. It is a weighty discourse that we have in these verses.

I. Here is the law of discipleship laid down, and the terms fixed, upon which we may have the honour and benefit of it, v. 24. He said this to his disciples, not only that they might instruct others concerning it, but that by this rule they might examine their own security. Observe,

1. What it is to be a disciple of Christ; it is to come after him. When Christ called his disciples, this was the word of command, Follow me. A true disciple of Christ is one that doth follow him in duty, and shall follow him to glory. He is one that comes after Christ, not one that prescribes to him, as Peter now undertook to do, forgetting his place. A disciple of Christ comes after him, as the sheep after the shepherd, the servant after his master, the soldiers after their captain; he is one that aims at the same end that Christ aimed at, the glory of God, and the glory of heaven: and one that walks in the same way that he walked in, is led by his Spirit, treads in his steps, submits to his conduct, and follows the Lamb, whithersoever he goes, Rev. xiv. 4.

2. What are the great things required of those that will be Christ's disciples; If any man will come, ei tis thelei—If any man be willing to come. It denotes a deliberate choice, and cheerfulness and resolution in that choice. Many are disciples more by chance or the will of others than by any act of their own will; but Christ will have his people volunteers, Ps. cx. 3. It is as if Christ had said, "If any of the people that are not my disciples, be steadfastly minded to come to me, and if you that are, be in like manner minded to adhere to me, it is upon these terms, these and no other; you must follow me in sufferings as well as in other things, and therefore when you sit down to count the cost, reckon upon it."

Now what are these terms?

(1.) Let him deny himself. Peter had advised Christ to spare himself, and would be ready, in the like case, to take the advice; but Christ tells them all, they must be so far from sparing themselves, that they must deny themselves. Herein they must come after Christ, for his birth, and life, and death, were all a continued act of self-denial, a self-emptying, Phil. ii. 7, 8. If self-denial be a hard lesson, and against the grain to flesh and blood, it is no more than what our Master learned and practised before us and for us, both for our redemption and for our instruction; and the servant is not above his lord. Note, All the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ must deny themselves. It is the fundamental law of admission into Christ's school, and the first and great lesson to be learned in this school, to deny ourselves; it is both the strait gate, and the narrow way; it is necessary in order to our learning all the other good lessons that are there taught. We must deny ourselves absolutely, we must not admire our own shadow, nor gratify our own humour; we must not lean to our own understanding, nor seek our own things, nor be our own end. We must deny ourselves comparatively; we must deny ourselves for Christ, and his will and glory, and the service of his interest in the world; we must deny ourselves for our brethren, and for their good; and we must deny ourselves for ourselves, deny the appetites of the body for the benefit of the soul.

(2.) Let him take up his cross. The cross is here put for all sufferings, as men or Christians; providential afflictions, persecutions for righteousness' sake, every trouble that befals us, either for doing well or for not doing ill. The troubles of Christians are fitly called crosses, in allusion to the death of the cross, which Christ was obedient to; and it should reconcile us to troubles, and take off the terror of them, that they are what we bear in common with Christ, and such as he hath borne before us. Note, [1.] Every disciple of Christ hath his cross, and must count upon it; as each hath his special duty to be done, so each hath his special trouble to be borne, and every one feels most from his own burthen. Crosses are the common lot of God's children, but of this common lot each hath his particular share. That is our cross which Infinite Wisdom has appointed for us, and a Sovereign Providence has laid on us, as fittest for us. It is good for us to call the cross we are under our own, and entertain it accordingly. We are apt to think we could bear such a one's cross better than our own; but that is best which is, and we ought to make the best of it. [2.] Every disciple of Christ must take up that which the wise God hath made his cross. It is an allusion to the Roman custom of compelling those that were condemned to be crucified, to carry their cross: when Simon carried Christ's cross after him, this phrase was illustrated. First, It is supposed that the cross lies in our way, and is prepared for us. We must not make crosses to ourselves, but must accommodate ourselves to those which God has made for us. Our rule is, not to go a step out of the way of duty, either to meet a cross, or to miss one. We must not by our rashness and indiscretion pull crosses down upon our own heads, but must take them up when they are laid in our way. We must so manage an affliction, that it may not be a stumbling-block or hindrance to us in any service we have to do for God. We must take it up out of our way, by getting over the offence of the cross; None of these things move me; and we must then go on with it in our way, though it lie heavy. Secondly, That which we have to do, is, not only to bear the cross (that a stock, or a stone, or a stick may do), not only to be silent under it, but we must take up the cross, must improve it to some good advantage. We should not say, "This is an evil, and I must bear it, because I cannot help it;" but, "This is an evil, and I will bear it, because it shall work for my good." When we rejoice in our afflictions, and glory in them, then we take up the cross. This fitly follows upon denying ourselves; for he that will not deny himself the pleasures of sin, and the advantages of this world for Christ, when it comes to the push, will never have the heart to take up his cross. "He that cannot take up the resolution to live a saint, has a demonstration within himself, that he is never likely to die a martyr;" so Archbishop Tillotson.

(3.) Let him follow me, in this particular of taking up the cross. Suffering saints must look unto Jesus, and take from him both direction and encouragement in suffering. Do we bear the cross? We therein follow Christ, who bears it before us, bears it for us, and so bears it from us. He bore the heavy end of the cross, the end that had the curse upon it, that was a heavy end, and so made the other light and easy for us. Or, we may take it in general, we must follow Christ in all instances of holiness and obedience. Note, The disciples of Christ must study to imitate their Master, and conform themselves in every thing to his example, and continue in well-doing, whatever crosses lie in their way. To do well and to suffer ill, is to follow Christ. If any man will come after me, let him follow me; that seems to be idem per idem—the same thing over again. What is the difference? Surely it is this, "If any man will come after me, in profession, and so have the name and credit of a disciple, let him follow me in truth, and so do the work and duty of a disciple." Or thus, "If any man will set out after me, in good beginnings, let him continue to follow me with all perseverance." That is following the Lord fully, as Caleb did. Those that come after Christ, must follow after him.

II. Here are arguments to persuade us to submit to these laws, and come up to these terms. Self-denial, and patient suffering, are hard lessons, which will never be learned if we consult with flesh and blood; let us therefore consult with our Lord Jesus, and see what advice he gives us; and here he gives us,

1. Some considerations proper to engage us to these duties of self-denial and suffering for Christ. Consider,

(1.) The weight of that eternity which depends upon our present choice (v. 25); Whosoever will save his life, by denying Christ, shall lose it: and whosoever is content to lose his life, for owning Christ, shall find it. Here are life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, set before us. Observe,

[1.] The misery that attends the most plausible apostasy. Whosoever will save his life in this world, if it be by sin, he shall lose it in another; he that forsakes Christ, to preserve a temporal life and avoid a temporal death, will certainly come short of eternal life, and will be hurt of the second death, and eternally held by it. There cannot be a fairer pretence for apostasy and iniquity than saving the life by it, so cogent is the law of self-preservation; and yet even that is folly, for it will prove in the end self-destruction; the life saved is but for a moment, the death shunned is but as a sleep; but the life lost is everlasting, and the death run upon is the depth and complement of all misery, and an endless separation from all good. Now, let any rational man consider of it, take advice and speak his mind, whether there is any thing got, at long run, by apostasy, though a man save his estate, preferment, or life, by it.

[2.] The advantage that attends the most perilous and expensive constancy; Whosoever will lose his life for Christ's sake in this world, shall find it in a better, infinitely to his advantage. Note, First, Many a life is lost, for Christ's sake, in doing his work, by labouring fervently for his name; in suffering work, by choosing rather to die than to deny him or his truths and ways. Christ's holy religion is handed down to us, sealed with the blood of thousands, that have not known their own souls, but have despised their lives (as Job speaks in another case), though very valuable ones, when they have stood in competition with their duty and the testimony of Jesus, Rev. xx. 4. Secondly, Though many have been losers for Christ, even of life itself, yet never any one was, or will be, a loser by him in the end. The loss of other comforts, for Christ, may possibly be made up in this world (Mark x. 30); the loss of life cannot, but it shall be made up in the other world, in an eternal life; the believing prospect of which hath been the great support of suffering saints in all ages. An assurance of the life they should find, in lieu of the life they hazarded, hath enabled them to triumph over death in all its terrors; to go smiling to a scaffold, and stand singing at a stake, and to call the utmost instances of their enemies' rage but a light affliction.

[3.] The worth of the soul which lies at stake, and the worthlessness of the world in comparison of it (v. 26). What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? ten psychen autou; the same word which is translated his life (v. 25), for the soul is the life, Gen. ii. 7. This alludes to that common principle, that, whatever a man gets, if he lose his life, it will do him no good, he cannot enjoy his gains. But it looks higher, and speaks of the soul as immortal, and a loss of it beyond death, which cannot be compensated by the gain of the whole world. Note, First, Every man has a soul of his own. The soul is the spiritual and immortal part of man, which thinks and reasons, has a power of reflection and prospect, which actuates the body now, and will shortly act in a separation from the body. Our souls are our own not in respect of dominion and property (for we are not our own, All souls are mine, saith God), but in respect of nearness and concern; our souls are our own, for they are ourselves. Secondly, It is possible for the soul to be lost, and there is danger of it. The soul is lost when it is eternally separated from all the good to all the evil that a soul is capable of; when it dies as far as a soul can die; when it is separated from the favour of God, and sunk under his wrath and curse. A man is never undone till he is in hell. Thirdly, If the soul be lost, it is of the sinner's own losing. The man loses his own soul, for he does that which is certainly destroying to it, and neglects that which alone would be saving, Hos. xiii. 9. The sinner dies because he will die; his blood is on his own head. Fourthly, One soul is worth more than all the world; our own souls are of greater value to us than all the wealth, honour, and pleasures of this present time, if we had them. Here is the whole world set in the scale against one soul, and Tekel written upon it; it is weighed in the balance, and found too light to weigh it down. This is Christ's judgment upon the matter, and he is a competent Judge; he had reason to know the price of souls, for he redeemed them; nor would he under-rate the world, for he made it. Fifthly, The winning of the world is often the losing of the soul. Many a one has ruined his eternal interest by his preposterous and inordinate care to secure and advance his temporal ones. It is the love of the world, and the eager pursuit of it, that drowns men in destruction and perdition. Sixthly, The loss of the soul is so great a loss, that the gain of the whole world will not countervail it, or make it up. He that loses his soul, though it be to gain the world, makes a very bad bargain for himself, and will sit down at last an unspeakable loser. When he comes to balance the account, and to compare profit and loss, he will find that, instead of the advantage he promised himself, he is ruined to all intents and purposes, is irreparably broken.

What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Note, If once the soul be lost, it is lost for ever. There is no antallagma—counter-price, that can be paid, or will be accepted. It is a loss that can never be repaired, never be retrieved. If, after that great price which Christ laid down to redeem our souls, and to restore us to the possession of them, they be so neglected for the world, that they come to be lost, that new mortgage will never be taken off; there remains no more sacrifice for sins, nor price for souls, but the equity of redemption is eternally precluded. Therefore it is good to be wise in time, and do well for ourselves.

2. Here are some considerations proper to encourage us in self-denial and suffering for Christ.

(1.) The assurance we have of Christ's glory, at his second coming to judge the world, v. 27. If we look to the end of all these things, the period of the world, and the posture of souls then, we shall thence form a very different idea of the present state of things. If we see things as they will appear then, we shall see them as they should appear now.

The great encouragement to steadfastness in religion is taken from the second coming of Christ, considering it,

[1.] As his honour; The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels. To look upon Christ in his state of humiliation, so abased, so abused, a reproach of men, and despised of the people, would discourage his followers from taking any pains, or running any hazards for him; but with an eye of faith to see the Captain of our salvation coming in his glory, in all the pomp and power of the upper world, will animate us, and make us think nothing too much to do, or too hard to suffer, or him. The Son of man shall come. He here gives himself the title of his humble state (he is the Son of man), to show that he is not ashamed to own it. His first coming was in the meanness of his children, who being partakers of flesh, he took part of the same; but his second coming will be in the glory of his Father. At his first coming, he was attended with poor disciples; at his second coming, he will be attended with glorious angels; and if we suffer with him, we shall be glorified with him, 2 Tim. ii. 12.

[2.] As our concern; Then he shall reward every man according to his works. Observe, First, Jesus Christ will come as a Judge, to dispense rewards and punishments, infinitely exceeding the greatest that any earthly potentate has the dispensing of. The terror of men's tribunal (ch. x. 18) will be taken off by a believing prospect of the glory of Christ's tribunal. Secondly, Men will then be rewarded, not according to their gains in this world, but according to their works, according to what they were and did. In that day, the treachery of backsliders will be punished with eternal destruction, and the constancy of faithful souls recompensed with a crown of life. Thirdly, The best preparative for that day is to deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and follow Christ; for so we shall make the Judge our Friend, and these things will then pass well in the account. Fourthly, The rewarding of men according to their works is deferred till that day. Here good and evil seem to be dispensed promiscuously; we see not apostasy punished with immediate strokes, nor fidelity encouraged with immediate smiles, from heaven; but in that day all will be set to rights. Therefore judge nothing before the time, 2 Tim. iv. 6-8.

(2.) The near approach of his kingdom in this world, v. 28. It was so near, that there were some attending him who should live to see it. As Simeon was assured that he should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ come in the flesh; so some here are assured that they shall not taste death (death is a sensible thing, its terrors are seen, its bitterness is tasted) till they had seen the Lord's Christ coming in his kingdom. At the end of time, he shall come in his Father's glory; but now, in the fulness of time, he was to come in his own kingdom, his mediatorial kingdom. Some little specimen was given of his glory a few days after this, in his transfiguration (ch. xvii. 1); then he tried his robes. But this points at Christ's coming by the pouring out of his Spirit, the planting of the gospel church, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the taking away of the place and nation of the Jews, who were the most bitter enemies to Christianity. Here was the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Many then present lived to see it, particularly John, who lived till after the destruction of Jerusalem, and saw Christianity planted in the world. Let this encourage the followers of Christ to suffer for him, [1.] That their undertaking shall be succeeded; the apostles were employed in setting up Christ's kingdom; let them know, for their comfort, that whatever opposition they meet with, yet they shall carry their point, shall see of the travail of their soul. Note, It is a great encouragement to suffering saints to be assured, not only of the safety, but of the advancement of Christ's kingdom among men; not only notwithstanding their sufferings, but by their sufferings. A believing prospect of the success of the kingdom of grace, as well as of our share in the kingdom of glory, may carry us cheerfully through our sufferings. [2.] That their cause shall be pleaded; their deaths shall be revenged, and their persecutors reckoned with. [3.] That this shall be done shortly, in the present age. Note, The nearer the church's deliverances are, the more cheerful should we be in our sufferings for Christ. Behold the Judge standeth before the door. It is spoken as a favour to those that should survive the present cloudy time, that they should see better days. Note, It is desirable to share with the church in her joys, Dan. xii. 12. Observe, Christ saith, Some shall live to see those glorious days, not all; some shall enter into the promised land, but others shall fall in the wilderness. He does not tell them who shall live to see this kingdom, lest if they had known, they should have put off the thoughts of dying, but some of them shall; Behold, the Lord is at hand. The Judge standeth before the door; be patient, therefore, brethren.

CHAP. XVI.

Verse 1. The Pharisees also with the Sadduces came. CAme forth, saith S. Marke, to wit out of the coasts of Magdala, [non-Latin text not transcribed] so soon as ever our Saviour arrived there, to quarr[illegible: 1 letter]ll him, and keep him from doing good. So active are the devils instruments to hinder the Kingdom of God, and the good of souls. Truth never wants an adversary; she goes seldom without a scratcht face, as the Proverbe is. The Pharisees and Sadduces, though at deadly difference betwixt themselves, yet can easily combine against Christ. So at this day, the Priests disparage the Jesuits, the Jesuits the Priests, the Priests again the Monks, the Monks the Friers, but they can all conspire against Protestants, whom they jointly persecute. Doggs though they fight never so fierce, and mutually entertear one another; yet, if a hare run by, they give over, and run after her. Martial makes mention of a hare on the Sicilian shore, that having hardly escaped the hounds that hunted her, was devoured by a sea dog; whereupon he brings her in thus complaining; In me omnis terrae que avium que maris que rapina est:Martial. Epigram For sitan & coeli, si canis astra tenet. Tempting, desired him] Or questioned him to and fro, sifted [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 3 words]. him by interrogatories, pretending to be his friends, and to seek satisfaction only. All this savours strongly of putid hypocrisie, quae ipsis domestica [illegible: 1 word] virtus, as one saith of them. Socinus didAretius. in like sort set upon Zanchius. He was, saith Zanchius, a learned Homo suit plenus diver sarum [illegible: 1 word], quas tamen [illegible: 3 words] nisi [illegible: 1 word] causâ, & [illegible: 2 words] quasi [illegible: 1 word] doceri. Zanch. [illegible: 1 word]. ad [illegible: 1 word] operi suo de [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. ipsis. q. solu. man, and of unblameable conversation, but full of heresies, which yet he never propounded to me otherwise then by way of question; as seeming desirous to be better informed. By this subtle means, he drew away many, and sought to work upon Zanchius, as did also Matthaeus Gribaldus and some such others. But when they could not prevail, they brake friendship with him, and he with them, for the which he praiseth God from the bottom of his heart. Shew them a signe] Them, by all means, as more worshipfull men then the multidude, such as might merit an extraordinary signe. See here their Satanicall arrogance. So Herod would see our Saviour, that he might see a signe from him. He looked upon him no otherwise then upon some common juggler, that would sure shew him his best tricks. Thus these hypocrites here would gladly be gratified, but they were deceived.

Verse 2. When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair, &c.] q. d. Are you so weather-wise (which yet is not your profession?) are ye so skilfull in nature, and yet so ignorant of scripture, as not to know, that now is the time for the Messias, to come, and that I am He? surely you are either notorious sots, or deep dissemblers, or both, in seeming so curiously to search after the truth, which yet you [illegible: 1 word] care to know, nor obey.

Verse 3. Can ye not discerne the signe of the times? The men of Issachar were in great account with David, because they had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to doe, 1 Chron. 12. 32. A prudent man foreseeth an evil, and hideth himself, Prov. 22. 3. He foreseeth it; not by divination, or starregazing, but by a judicious collection and connection of causes and [illegible: 1 word]: as, if God be the same that ever, as holy, just, powerfull, &c. If sin be the same that ever, as foul, loathsome, pernicious, &c. then such and such events will follow upon such and such [illegible: 1 word]. As God hath given us signes and fore-tokens of a tempest, so he hath also of an ensuing judgement, and blames those that take not notice thereof; sending them to school to the stork and swallow, Jer 87. If Elias see but a cloud as a hand, arising from Carmel, he can tell that a great store of rain will follow, that the whole heaven will anon be covered. Finer tempers are [illegible: 1 word] sensible of change of weather. Moses, as more acquainted with God, spies his wrath at first setting out: so might we have done ere it came to this, and have redeemed a great part of our present sorrows, had we had our eyes in our heads, Eccles. 2. 14 had we not been of those wilfull ones, who seek straws to put out their eyes withall, as Bernard hath it, or that wink for the nonce, saith [illegible: 1 word] Qui [illegible: 1 word] quaerunt unde oculos [illegible: 2 words] Bern. Martyr, that they may not see, when some unsavoury potion is ministred unto them.

Verse 4. A wicked and adulterous generation] See the Notes [non-Latin text not transcribed]. on Chap. 12. 39. The same wedge [illegible: 1 word], the same knot. They shall have no new answer from Christ, till they have made [illegible: 1 word] use of the old: Let them return to thee, not thou to them, Jer. 15. 19. And [illegible: 1 word] left them, and departed] Because he saw his sweet words were even spilt upon them. Frustrà lavantur AEthiopes, & certatur cum hypocritis: none are more obstinate and obdurate.

Verse 5. They had forgotten to take bread] As wholly transported with fervour in following Christ the bread of life. This is the fault of but a few now-adayes: worldly cares eat up heavenly desires, as the lean kine in Pharoahs dream, did the fat.

Verse 6. Take heed and beware of the leaven] Or take knowledge [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 2 words] est [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 2 words]. of, and then take heed of false doctrine; which is fitly called leaven, because it sowreth, swelleth, spreadeth, corrupteth the whole lump, and all this secretly, slily, easily, suddenly; neither can our eyes discern it from dowe by the colour, but only our pallate by the tast. Now the [illegible: 1 word] trieth words, as the mouth trieth meat, Job 343. Try all things before you trust any thing. Those that sow [illegible: 1 word] doctrine, are somewhere in the Acts called [non-Latin text not transcribed], pests, Acts 24. 5. botches, for their danger of infection: some can carry their collusion so cleanly, that if possible the very elect might be deceived; like serpents, they can sting without hissing; like cur-doggs, suck your bloud without biting. Nota est Arry [non-Latin text not transcribed], saith one, quâ [non-Latin text not transcribed] ponentes [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. [illegible: 1 word] de fide Ni [illegible: 1 word] elusit examen, by the cogging of a dye, by the adding of one Iota, they corrupted the sense of the Habuerunt [illegible: 1 word] quo [illegible: 2 words] quam [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. whole Synod. The Valentinians had a trick to perswade before they taught. The ancient Antiirinitarians set forth a base book of their doctrines under [illegible: 1 word] name, and sold it dog-cheap, that men might the sooner [illegible: 1 word] it, and be led by it, as Ruffinus complains. Take heed and beware of such: ye are not ignorant of their wiles. Of the Pharisees, and of the Sadduces.] [non-Latin text not transcribed],Erasm. [illegible: 1 word]. Never a barrel better herring. Howbeit the Sadduces affected, by their very name, to be held the only just men; haplyJoseph. lib. 17. cap 3. & 18. cap. 1. because they held, that all the reward that righteous men are to look for, is here in this world. The occasion of this [illegible: 1 word] is said to be this. When Antigonus taught, that we must not serve God for wages, his scholars understood him, as if he had utterly denied allGodwin. [illegible: 1 word]. future rewards or recompence attending a godly life: and thence framed their heresie, denying the Resurrection, world to come, Angels, devils, and lived as Epicures and Libertines.

Verse 7. It is because we have taken no bread] Oh the dullnesse that is in the best to receive or retain heavenly mysteries! Surely, as Owls see best by night, and are blinde by day: so in deeds of darknesse we are sharpsighted, wise to doe evil; but in spirituals, we are blinder then beetles, our wits serve us not, we are singularly [illegible: 1 word] and stubborn.

Verse 8. O ye of little faith!] Fides famem non formidat. It was want of faith that made them fear they should perish in the wildernesse for lack of bread: God was better to them then their fears. He makes the best living of it, that lives by faith: Feed on faith: So Tremellius reads that, Psal. 37. 3. Why reason ye amongst your selves?] [illegible: 1 word] likely laid the [non-Latin text not transcribed]; Disserere [illegible: 1 word], ac [illegible: 1 word] interse disceptare. fault of forgetfullnesse one upon another: but none found fault with himself for his unbelief, and carnall reasoning.

Verse 9. Neither remember] Tantum didicimus, quantum [illegible: 1 word]. So much we learn as we remember. Our memories Discere, voluit Socrates nihil aliud esse [illegible: 1 word] recordari. Cic. Tusc. [illegible: 1 word]. are naturally like hour-glasses, no sooner filled with good instructions and experiments, then running out again. It must be our prayer to God, that he would put his finger upon the hole, and so make our memories like the pot of Mannah, preserving holy truths in the Ark of the soul.

Verse 10. Neither the seven loaves] Learn to lay up experiences.D. Sibbs. If we were well read in the story of our own lives (saith a Reverent man) we might have a Divinity of our own. The Philosopher saith, that experience is multiplex memoria, because, of the [illegible: 1 word] of the same thing often done, ariseth experience, which should be the nurse of confidence.

Verse. 11. How is it that ye understand not?] Ignorance under means is a blushfull sin. The Scripture calls such, Horses, Asses, [illegible: 1 word], and sends them to school to unreasonable creatures.

Verse 12. Then understood they how, &c.] This chiding then was well bestowed. So was that, Luk. 24, [illegible: 1 word]. upon the two [illegible: 1 word] going to Emaus, and that upon the Virgin Mary, Joh. 2. 5. she laid her hand upon her mouth and replied not. And that upon the Corinthians for conniving at the incestuous [illegible: 1 word], and that upon the Laodiceans, Rev. 3. 14. for Eusebius telleth us, that in his time it continued to be a flourishing Church. It is said of [illegible: 1 word], In [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. that he took not content in any thing so much, as in a plain and faithfull reproof from his friend. It is a commendation to [illegible: 1 word] the words of exhortation, Heb. 13.

Verse 13. Whom do men say that I, &c.] This Question Christ asked, not as tickled with ambition to hear his own commendation [non-Latin text not transcribed] Xenopbon. (which yet is held and said to be the only sweet hearing) but as taking occasion to make way for their Christian confession, and likewise for their further information. The sonne of man am?] So he was called. 1. Because a true man. 2. Because he passed for no more then an ordinary man. How can this man give us his flesh to [illegible: 1 word]? Joh. 6. 3. Because as man born of a woman, he was of few daies and full of trouble: yea, he was the man that had seen affliction by the rod of Gods wrath.

Verse 14. Some say that thou art John, &c.] His body they saw was not Johns, but they held then (and the Jews at this day hold) the Pythagorean transanimation, or passing of souls out of one body into another. So, because they received not the love of the truth, God gave them up to the efficacy of errour, even the better sort of them: for there were that held [illegible: 2 words] 2. 11. Christ neither the Baptist, nor Elias, but a drunkard, a demoniack, &c. Who now can think to escape variety of censures? And why should any stumble at the diversity of opinions touching Christ and his kingdom?

Verse 15. But whom say ye that I am?] q. d. It behoveth you to say something, that is, better to the purpose, [illegible: 1 word] the vulgar saith and censureth. God will take that of some that he will not of others. Christ would not have his to stand doubtfull, and to [illegible: 1 word] to nothing certainly: to be in religion as idle beggars are in their way, ready to go which way soever the staff [illegible: 1 word]: but to strive to a plerophory, a full assurance of knowledge, a certainty, as Luke hath it, chap. 1. 4. and to be [illegible: 1 word] perswaded, vers. 1. A conjecturall confidence, a generall faith, the Colliers faith, [illegible: 1 word] they call it, sufficeth not, To believe as the Church believes, &c. And yet Thomas Aquinas, that great Schoolman had no better a faith to support him at the last hour of his life: nor could he have any rest within, till he had taken up the Bible, and clipping it in his arms, said, Lord, I believe all that is written in this holy book.

Verse 16. Simon Peter answered, &c.] As the mouth of the company, and one that being, haply, [illegible: 1 word], and surely bolder then the rest, spake thus for them. But what a [illegible: 1 word] mouth of blasphemy opened those two Popes (Peters pretended successours) Leo Petrum in consortium individuae [illegible: 1 word] assumptum [illegible: 1 word] ârunt, Renius the first, and Nicolas the third, that boasted, that Peter was taken into fellowship of the individuall Trinity? Neither can that be excused that Hierom commenteth on the former verses (Whom [illegible: 2 words] say that I am? But whom say [illegible: 1 word] that I am?) that our Saviour there purposely opposeth his Disciples to men, to intimate that they were something more then men. This is some thing like that Note of a Latine Postiller upon Exo. 30. 31. where, because it is said, vers. 32. Upon mans flesh the holy ointment shall not be poured, thou [illegible: 1 word] anoint Aaron and his sonnes therewith, thence infers, that Priests are Angels, and have not humane flesh. These were humane [illegible: 1 word], and savoured as little of Gods meaning, as that unsavoury speech of Peter, v. 22. of this Chapter, for the which he [illegible: 1 word], Get thee behinde me, Satan: thou savourest not, &c. Verse Thou art Christ the Sonne of the living God] A short [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Singulae [illegible: 1 word] suos [illegible: 2 words] [non-Latin text not transcribed] adjectos. Arct. confession, but such as in few, containeth whatsoever we believe concerning the person and osfice of Christ, Brevis & longa plane que aurea est baec confessio. [illegible: 2 words] we say of it, as St Bartholomew (quoted by Dionysius) did of the Doctrine of Divinity, that it is, [non-Latin text not transcribed], Little and yet large.

Verse 17. Blessed art thou, Simon] These and the following words of our Saviour to Peter, were meant to all the Apostles also, Joh. 20. 22, 23. Christ took his beginning of one, to teach unity in his Church, in the confession of faith. Note this against the Papists, who miserably wrest, and [illegible: 1 word] this text, to the proving of the [illegible: 1 word] Monarchy. Gregory the great, though he stiled himself a servant of Gods servants, and detested the Pope of Censtantinople for arrogating the title of [illegible: 2 words], during the raign of Mauritius: yet when he was [illegible: 1 word], and succeeded by the traitour Phocas, he ceased not to flatter the same Phocas, to commend unto him the care of the Church of Rome, and to exhort [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. him to remember this saying of our Saviour, Thou art Peter, &c. and for no other end, then that he might extend his power by the favour of the parricide.

Verse 18. Thou art Peter] i. e. Thou art a living stone in the spirituall Temple, like as `Peter saith all other Christians are, 1 Pet. 2. 5. And here Christ tels Peter why at first he gave him that name. Upon this Rock] That is, upon this thy Rocky, thy solid and substantiall confession of me. Austin saith, the rock is Christ, not [illegible: 1 word] verb. Dem. Serm 13. Peter, But this, saith [illegible: 1 word], is, humanus lapsus in Augustino. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 6. c. 3. So the Schoolmen say, that St Austin stood so much for grace, that [illegible: 1 word] yeelded too little to free-will. But it was a true saying of learned D. Whitakers in his answer to Campian, Patres in [illegible: 1 word] sunt nostri, in multis [illegible: 1 word], in minimis vestri. I will build my Church] Christ cals not the Church [non-Latin text not transcribed], or [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 2 words], [illegible: 1 word] populo age. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. [non-Latin text not transcribed], which is properly a convention of Lords and Statesmen, [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed], which is an Assembly of the common people, even those of the lower rank and condition according to that 1 Cor. 1. 26. and Luk. 1. 48. he hath regarded the low estate of his [illegible: 1 word]-[illegible: 1 word]. And the gates of hell, &c.] That is, all the power and policy of hell combined. The devil lendeth his instruments, the Churches [illegible: 1 word], his seven heads to plot, and his ten horns to push. Craft and cruelty go together in them, as the Asp never wanders alone: and as the Scripture speaks of those birds of prey, Isa. 34. 16. None of them wants his mate. But yet all this shall not prevail: the devil may shake his chain at the Saints, not set his [illegible: 1 word] in them. For why? they stand upon a rock that is higher then they, so that the floods of [illegible: 1 word] and oppositions cannot come so much as at their feet: or if they reach to the heel, yet they come not at the head, or if they should dash higher upon them, yet they break themselves. Shall not prevail against it] No, though the devil should discharge at the Church his [illegible: 1 word] ordinance: say they were as big [illegible: 1 word] vally of [illegible: 1 word]. 127. as those two cast by Alphonsus Duke of Ferrara, the one whereof he called the earthquake, and the other Grandiabolo, or the great devil. Whether may the Catholike Church erre in fundamentals? [illegible: 1 word]. It is answered, that [illegible: 1 word] the [illegible: 1 word] Church of Christ,Ans. taken for his mysticall to [illegible: 1 word] upon earth, and complete number of h select, cannot erre in matters fundamentall, yet the externallD. [illegible: 1 word]. visible part of the Church may erre, because the truth of God may be locked up within the hearts of such a company, as in competition of suffrages, cannot make a greater part in a generall Councel: so that the sentence decreed therein, may be a fundamentall errour.

Verse 19. And I will give unto thee the keyes] i. e. I will make thee and all my Ministers stewards in my hous; 1 Cor. 4. 1. such as Obadiah was in Ahabs house, as Eliakim in Hezekiahs, upon whose shoulder God laid the key of the house of David, so that he opened and none shut, and shut and none opened, Isa. 22. 22. Now let a man so think of us Ministers, how mean soever, and we shall not want for respect.

Verse 20. That they should tell no man] viz. Till the due time. Every thing is beautifull in its season, saith Solomon. Taciturnity inEccles. 3. some cases is a vertue, as here. The Disciples might preach that Christ the Son of David was come to save the world: though they might not particularly point himout, as the Son of the living God: which when Pilate himself heard, he was afraid, saith the text, and sought to deliver him.

Verse 21. How that he must go to Jerusalem] He must, necessitate non simplici, sed ex supposito. It being supposed that God had decreed this way (and no other) to glorifie himself in mans salvation by the death of his dear Son (wherein the naked bowels of his [illegible: 1 word] were laid open to us, as in an anatomy) it was necessary that Christ should be killed and raised again at the third day, Voluntu Dei, necessitas rei. And be killed and raised again] That we might live and raign with him for ever, who else had been killed with death, as the [illegible: 1 word] is, Rev. 2. 23. that is, had come under the [illegible: 1 word] of the second death. David wished he might have died for Absolom, such was his love to him. Arsinoe interposed her self between the [illegible: 1 word] weapons, sent by [illegible: 1 word] her brother, to kill her children. The [illegible: 1 word] not only feeds her young with her own bloud, but with invincible constancy abides the flames of fire for their preservation. Christ is that good shepherd, who gave his life for his [illegible: 1 word]. He is that true Pellican, who saw the wrath of God burning about his young ones, and cast himself into the midst thereof, that he might quench it. He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification, which began in his death, butRom. 4 25. was perfected by his resurrection.

Verse 22. Then Peter took him] Took him by the hand, & led him apart, as we do those we are most [illegible: 1 word] with, in great courtesy and secrecy, to impart to them things of greatest importance. Peter was strongly possest with a fond conceit of an earthly kingdom; and as Joseph dreamt of his preferment, but not at all of his imprisonment: so neither could Peter think or hear of Christs being killed, whom he had even now confessed to be the Christ, the son of the living God. See here how easily we slide, by the deceitfulnesse of our hearts, from the mean to the extream. Peter having made a notable profession of his faith, and being therefore much commended by Christ, presently takes occasion to fall from the true holinesse of faith, to the [illegible: 1 word] of presumption, in advising his Master to decline the crosse. And began to rebuke him, saying] No, he did not rebuke him, saith Maldonat the Jesuite, but friendly counselled him only, asNon tantum significat reprebend re & increpare, sed etiā [illegible: 1 word] & interdicere. if [non-Latin text not transcribed] were not to chide and charge, as masters do their servants, even with threatnings and menaces. But these patrons of Peter (as they pretend) will not abide that he should be blamed for any thing. Baronius blusheth not to say (and so to put the lie upon the holy Ghost himself) that Paul was out in reprovingGerh. Baron. Annal. Sands his Rel. of West. Relig. Peter, Gal. 2. 14. and that it had been better manners for him to have held his tongue. Others of them have blasphemously censured S. Paul in their Sermons, as a hot-headed person, of whose assertions no great [illegible: 1 word] was to be made by the sober-[illegible: 1 word] and that he was not secure of his preaching, [illegible: 1 word] by conference with S. Peter, neither durst he publish his Epistles, till S. Peter had allowed them.

Verse 23. Get thee behinde me, Satan] Come behinde as a [illegible: 1 word] ciple, go not before me as a teacher: understand thy distance, and hold thee to thy duty, by moving in thine own sphear; that [illegible: 1 word] be not thus [illegible: 1 word] eccentrick, another Satan, who sets thee a work thus to tempt me, as he once did Eve to seduce Adam: here Maldonat is hard put to't, to save [illegible: 1 word] blamelesse, and saith, that, Get thee behinde me is an Hebrew phrase, and imports no more then Follow me. But when he comes to consider that Christ calls him Satan, and that it would not be [illegible: 1 word] that Christ should bid Satan follow him, he is [illegible: 1 word] to confesse that it is the speech of one that bids another be packing out of his presence with indignation, like that of Christ to the tempter, Mat. 4. Get thee hence, Satan. Prosit [illegible: 1 word] sternutatio [illegible: 1 word], Maldonate. [illegible: 1 word] art an offence unto me] Thou doest thy good will to [illegible: 1 word] me in the course of my calling, as Mediatour, wherein, say some, he sinned more grievously then afterwards he did in denying his Master, and was therefore so sharply rebuked. So when [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Act [illegible: 1 word] Mon. fol. 1153. [illegible: 1 word] was sollicited by Criton to break prison, and save his life by flight; Friend Criton, said he, thine earnestnesse herein were much worth, if it were consistent with uprightnesse: but being not so, the greater it is, the more trouble [illegible: 1 word]. I know not (said that [illegible: 1 word] Martyr) by what reason they so called them my friends, which so greatly laboured to convert (pervert) me. Neither will I more esteem them then the Midianites, which [illegible: 1 word] times past called the children of Israel to do sacrifice to their Idols. But the things that be of men] Erewhile it was of Satan, now of [illegible: 1 word]. How [illegible: 1 word] is it to descry a devil in our best friends sometimes, as [illegible: 1 word] the French Martyr did in his parents? Satan suborns such as may do much with us, and works in them effectually for our hurt, as a Smith doth in his forge, Ephes. 2. 2. They were [illegible: 1 word], and thereby tormented, saith the Apostle of those [illegible: 1 word], Heb. 11. 37. Satan speaks to us sometimes by our friends, as thorow [non-Latin text not transcribed]. trunks and canes.

Verse 24. If any man will come after me] Not step before me, [illegible: 1 word] to me, as Peter attempted to do, whose fault herein is purposely recorded, that be might not be (as by the Papists, for [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. respects, he is) over-much magnified, [illegible: 1 word], as is above observed, and made collaterall, a very copesmate to Christ himself. Let him deny himself] Abdicet seipsum, Let him abrenounce himself flatly, peremptorily, again and again (as the word importeth) with a stout and stiff deniall to so unreasonable a request, as self will be sure to make to a man, his whole [illegible: 1 word] throughout. Every one hath many a self within himself to say nay to, though never so dear to him. Levi said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his [illegible: 1 word], nor knew [illegible: 1 word] own children, that he might observe Gods Word, and keep his [illegible: 1 word], Deut. 33 9. This was much. But he that will be Christs Disciple, must do more then this. He must deny himself, his own reason, will, affections, appetite, aims, ends, acts, [illegible: 1 word], &c. He must utterly renounce himself, as much as if he had nothing at all to do with himself. Yea, he must condemn and cast away himself, as God doth those reprobates, whom he denieth, disowneth and disavoweth for ever. Horreo quicquid de meo est ut sim meus, saith Bernard. Ita cave tibi ut caveas [illegible: 1 word], saith another. So take heed to your [illegible: 1 word], that you take heed of your self. Oh misery! saith a third; we could not suffer a Lord, O [illegible: 4 words] non [illegible: 1 word], conservo [illegible: 1 word]. mus. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. lib 12. and yet we sustain to serve our fellow-servant, self. [illegible: 1 word] the Emperour dying, affirmed, that he was proud of one of his victories only, viz. That he had overcome his own flesh, that worst of enemies. Of all slaveries none so grievous to a good heart, as to be slave to himself. And this yoke of slavery, it is an easie matter to shake off, saith Seneca; but he is fouly deceived. For a man will sooner say nay to all the world, then to himself. This made Robert Smith the Martyr write thus to his wife, Be alwaies Act. and Mon. [illegible: 1 word]. 1545. an enemy to the devil and the world, but specially to your own flesh. There are some diseases that will not be cured, till we be let bloud ad deliquium animae, till the patient [illegible: 1 word]; and such is sin: it is corruptio totius substantiae, the sinner must be unmade, taken all asunder, ere the new creature can be made up in him: he must be stark dead to sin [illegible: 1 word] he can live to [illegible: 1 word], as S. Peter [non-Latin text not transcribed], 1 [illegible: 1 word]. 2. 24. hath it: and the word he [illegible: 1 word] there implieth, that the old frame must be utterly [illegible: 1 word], and the whole man done to death, and [illegible: 1 word] for a whole burnt-offering. Instead of a [illegible: 1 word], saith Origen, we must kill our [illegible: 1 word] passions: in stead of a Goat, our unclean affections: in stead of slying fowls, our idle thoughts and evil imaginations. Loe this is that evangelicall sacrifice, that rationall service so much commended and called for, Rom. 12. 1. Do this, and thou shale live: leave it [illegible: 1 word], and thou art undone for ever. Pray therefore with him, Domine, libera me à malo homine, meipso, Lord, free [illegible: 1 word] from an ill man, my self. And take up his crosse] Where [illegible: 1 word] is renounced, the crosse is [illegible: 1 word] born. It is self (saith one) [illegible: 1 word] the crosse pinch. Things puft up with winde, break when they come to the fire: so [illegible: 1 word] that are puffed up, and filled with self, will [illegible: 1 word] nothing. Privation is one of the principles of naturall generation, so is self-deniall of holy [illegible: 1 word]. Pain would this flesh make strange of that which the Spirit doth embrace (said M. [illegible: 1 word], Martyr, in a letter written to his wife out of the prison.) O Lord, how loth is this loitering [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word] forth in Gods [illegible: 1 word]! It fancieth, Act and [illegible: 2 words]. [illegible: 1 word]. forsooth, much fear of fray-bugs, &c. Take up the crosse, and follow me thorow thick and thin, thorow fire and water; Oh this is an hard saying, saith another Martyr. But if thereIbid 1494. be any way on horse-back to heaven, surely this is the way. Only we must take up our crosse, be active in it, and not stay till it be laid upon us, whether we will or no. And then bear it patiently, not grin under the burden of it, as antick pictures [illegible: 1 word] to do under the weight of the house-side, [illegible: 1 word] they are fastened. Drink [illegible: 1 word] Gods cup willingly, and at the first (saith M. Bradford)Ibid. 1483. and when it is full: lest peradventure if we linger, we drink at length of the dregs with the wicked, if at the beginning we drink not with his children. We must take up our crosses (saith another) and when God bids us yoke, he is the [illegible: 1 word] man thatM. [illegible: 1 word]. yeelds his neck most willingly. And follow me] Without sciscitation; let him go blinde-fold [illegible: 4 words] `[non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 1 word]. whether I lead him, as Abraham did. Neither may he leap over the hedge of the command, for avoiding the foul way of affliction, Sed [illegible: 1 word] quocun que Christus vocârit, [illegible: 1 word] in ea loca migrandum [illegible: 1 word] —Pigris ubi nulla campis [illegible: 1 word] lib. 1 Od. [illegible: 1 word]. Arbor [illegible: 1 word] â recreatur aurâ; Quod [illegible: 1 word] mundi nebulae, malus que Jupiter urget. God hath [illegible: 1 word] us to be conformed to [illegible: 1 word] image of his Sonne, in sufferings also, Rom. 8. 29. Crux pendentis, Cathedra docentis. Plato was crook-backt, and his scholars counted it an ornament to go crooked like him. Aristotle [illegible: 1 word], and his scholars thought it honour to lisp. Shall not we hold our [illegible: 1 word] honoured that may suffer with Christ, and then be [illegible: 1 word] fied also with him?

Verse 25. For whosoever will save his life] That is [illegible: 1 word] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. of it, when Christ cals him [illegible: 1 word] be prodigall of [illegible: 1 word]. Man is naturally [illegible: 5 words]. a life loving creature. What man is he that desireth life? I doe, and I, and I, as Augustine brings men in, making [illegible: 1 word] answer. Life is sweet, we say, and every creature makes much of it, from the highest Angel to the lowest worm, as that [illegible: 2 words]. But life in Gods displeasure is worse then death, as d ath in [illegible: 1 word] true [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 5 words]. is true life, said Bradford to Gardiner: for such a death [illegible: 4 words] life, as S. Paul hath it, [illegible: 1 word] Tim. 6. 19. or (as [illegible: 2 words] read it) upon life indeed. For, aeterna vita, vera vita, saith Augustine. None to that, as David said of Goliahs [illegible: 1 word]. None but Christ, none but Christ, as that [illegible: 1 word] cried in the flames. This love of Christ made them sacrifice their dearest lives to his Act. [illegible: 1 word] Mon. fol. 438. name, yea professe, as John Ardely did to Bonner, That if every hair of his head were a man, he would suffer death in them all for his sweet Christs sake. My wife and my children are so dearly beloved unto me, that they cannot be bought from me for all the riches and possessions of the Duke of [illegible: 1 word]; But for the love of my Lord God I will willingly forsake them, said George Carpenter, who was burnt at Munchen in Ibid 807. Bavaria.

Verse 26. For what is a man profited] If there could (saith a reverend Divine) be such a bargain made, that he might have theM Ley his Monitour [illegible: 2 words]. whole world for the sale of his soul, he should (for all that) be a looser by it. For he might (notwithstanding) be a bankrupt, a beggar, begging in vain, though but for a drop of cold water to cool his tongue. Is it nothing then to loose an immortall soul? to purchase an everliving death? The losse of the soul is in this verse set forth to be: 1. Incomparable. 2. Irreparable. If therefore to loose the life for money be a [illegible: 1 word], what then the soul? What wise man would fetch gold out of a fiery crucible? hazard himself to [illegible: 2 words] for a few waterish pleasures? give his soul to the devil, as some Popes did for the short enjoyment of the Papall dignity? What was this but to win Venice, and then toNon magis [illegible: 1 word], quam qui [illegible: 2 words], ipse vero [illegible: 1 word] ad Portam, ut est in prover bio. Par in [illegible: 1 word]. be hanged at the gates thereof, as the Proverb is. In great fires men look first to their jewels, then to their lumber: fo should these, see first to their [illegible: 1 word], to secure them: and then take care of the outward man. The souldier cares not how his buckler speeds, so his body be kept thereby from deadly thrusts. The Pope perswading Maximilian (King of Bohemia, afterwards Emperour) to be a good Catholike, with many promises of profits and [illegible: 1 word], was answered by the King that he thanked his Holinesse: but that his souls health was more dear to him then all the things in the world. Which answer they said in Rome was a Lutheran form of speech, and signified an alienation from the obedienceHist. of the Coun [illegible: 1 word] Tren. fol. 419. of that Sea: and they began to discourse what would happen after the old Emperours death. Or what shall a man give in exchange] He would give any thing in the world, yea 10000 worlds if he had them, to be delivered. But out of hell there's no redemption. Hath the extortioner pilled, or the robber spoiled thy goods? By labour and leisure thou maist recover thy self again. But the soul once lost is irrecoverable. Which when the guilty soul at death thinks of, oh what a dreadfull shreek gives it, to see it self lanching into an infinite Ocean of scalding lead, and must swim naked in it for ever! How doth it trembling warble out that dolefull ditty of dying Adrian the Emperour. [illegible: 1 word], vagula, blandula, Hospes comes que corporis, Qua nunc abibis in loca Horridula, sordida, tristia, [illegible: 1 word], ut soles, [illegible: 2 words]?

Verse 27. In the glory of his father with his Angels] Great will be the glory of the man Christ Jesus at his second coming. He shall come riding on the clouds (not that he needs them, but to shew2 Thess 1. 8. his soveraignty) environed with flaming fire, mounted on a statelyMat. 25 31. throne, attended by an innumerable company of Angels (for they shall all come with him, not one of them left in heaven) who shall minister unto him in this great work irresistibly, justly, speedily, Rev. 15. 6. Christ himself shining in the midst of them, with such an exuberancy and excesse of glory, as that the Sun shall seem but a snuff to him. This glory, howsoever it is here called, the glory of the father, because he is the fountain, as of the Deity, so of the divine glory wherewith Christ is crowned, Phil. 2. 9. 1 Tim. 3. 16. yet is it his own glory (as he is one with the Father and the holy Ghost) and so it is called, Mat. 25. 31. Joh. 17. 5. Now if Israel so shouted for joy of Solomons coronation, and in the day of [illegible: 1 word] espousals,1 King 1. that the earth rang again. If the Grecians so cried out [illegible: 1 word]. 3. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word], Soter, to Flaminius the Roman Generall, when he had set them at liberty, that the very birds, [illegible: 1 word] at the noise, fell down to the earth: Oh how great shall be the Saints joy to see Christ the King in his beauty and bravery at the last judgment?

Verse 28. Which shall not taste of death] The Saints do but taste of death only: they do no more but sip of that bitter cup, which for tasting of that forbidden fruit in the Garden, they should have been swilling and swallowing down for ever. Till they see the Son of man, &c.] This verse is to be referred to the transfiguration recorded in the next Chapter, where some of them had the happines to see Christ in his kingdom, that is in his [illegible: 1 word] glory, whereof they had a glimpse.

See also Mk 8:11,12. The Pharisees also with the Saducees. Mt 3:7.

Tempting. That is, trying him --feigning a desire to see evidence that he was the Messiah, but with a real desire to see him make the attempt to work a miracle and fail, that they might betray and ruin him.

A sign from heaven. Some miraculous appearance in the sky. Such appearances had been given by the prophets; and they supposed, if he was the Messiah, that his miracles would not all be confined to the earth, but that he was able to give some signal miracle from heaven. Samuel had caused it to thunder, 1Sam 12:16-18. Isaiah had caused the shadow to go back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz, Isa 38:8 and Moses had sent them manna from heaven, Ex 16:4, Jn 6:31. It is proper to say, that though Christ did not choose then to show such wonders, yet far more stupendous signs from heaven than these were exhibited at his death.

(c) "sign from heaven" Mt 12:38, Mk 8:11, Lk 11:16, 12:54-56, 1Cor 1:22

He answered, etc. The meaning of this answer is, There are certain indications by which you judge about the weather. In the evening you think you can predict the weather tomorrow. You have evidence in the redness of the sky by which you judge. So there are sufficient indications on which you should judge concerning me and these times. My miracles, and the state of affairs in Judea, are an indication by which you should judge of these times.

Is red. Almost all nations have observed this as an indication of the weather.

In the morning--the sky is red and lowering. That is, there are threatening clouds in the sky, which are made red by the rays of the rising sun. This, in Judea, was a sign of a tempest. In other places, however, the signs of a storm may be different.

The face of the sky. The appearance of the sky.

A wicked and adulterous generation, etc. Mt 12:38-40. Mark adds, Mk 8:12 that he sighed deeply in spirit, he did not say this without feeling, he was greatly affected with their perverseness and obstinacy, Mt 16:6-12. This account is recorded also in Mk 8:14-21.

(d) "prophet Jonas" Jonah 1:17

And when his disciples were come to the other side. That is, to the other side of the sea of Galilee. Mark says that he entered into a ship again, and departed to the other side. The conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees had been on the east of the sea of Galilee. They crossed from that side again to the west.

Had forgotten to take bread. That is, had forgotten to lay in a sufficient supply. They had, it seems, not more than one loaf, Mk 8:14.

Take heed, etc. That is, be cautious, be on your guard.

The leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Leaven is used in making bread. Its use is to pass through the flour, and cause it to ferment or to swell, and become light. It passes secretly, silently, but certainly. None can see its progress. So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines, they instilled them secretly into the mind, and they pervaded all the faculties, like leaven.

They reasoned, etc. The disciples did not understand him as referring to their doctrine, because the word leaven was not often used among the Jews to denote doctrines--no other instance of the use of the word occurring in the Scriptures. Besides, the Jews had many particular rules about the leaven which might be used in making bread. Many held that it was not lawful to eat bread made by the Gentiles; and the disciples, perhaps, supposed that he was cautioning them not to procure a supply from the Pharisees and Sadducees.

O ye of little faith. Jesus, in reply, said that they should not be so anxious about the supply of their wants. They should not have supposed, after the miracles that he had wrought in feeding so many, that HE would caution them to be anxious about procuring bread for their necessities. It was improper, then, for them to reason about a thing like that, but they should have supposed he referred to something more important. The miracles had been full proof that he could supply all their wants without such anxiety.

(e) "take them" Lk 12:1 (f) "???" 1Cor 5:6-8, Gal 5:9, 2Ti 2:16,17

Mt 16:6

(g) "unto them" Mt 6:30, 8:26, 14:31

Then understood they, etc. After this explanation, they immediately saw that he referred to their doctrines. Erroneous doctrines are like leaven in the following respects:

(1.) They are, at first, slight and unimportant in appearance.

(2.) They are insinuated into the soul unawares and silently, and are difficult of detection.

(3.) They act gradually.

(4.) They act most certainly.

(5.) They will pervade all the soul, and bring in all the faculties under their control.

(k) "the doctrine" Mt 15:1-9

See also Mk 8:27-29, Lk 9:18-20. Caesarea Philippi: There were two cities in Judea called Caesarea. One was situated on the borders of the Mediterranean and the other was the one mentioned here. It was also called Paneas, was greatly enlarged and ornamented by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod, and called Caesarea in honour of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish it from the other Caesarea, the name of Philip was added to it, and called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philip. It was situated in the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali, near Mount Lebanon, and was in the most northern part of Judea. It now contains about two hundred houses, and is inhabited chiefly by Turks.

When Jesus came. The original is, when Jesus was coming. Mark says Mk 8:27 that this conversation took place when they were in the way, and this idea should have been retained in translating Matthew. While in the way, Jesus took occasion to call their attention to the truth that he was the Messiah. This truth it was of much consequence that they should fully believe and understand; and it was important, therefore, that he should often learn their views, and establish them if right, and correct them if wrong. He began, therefore, by inquiring what was the common report respecting him.

Whom do men say, etc. This passage has been variously rendered. Some have translated it. "Whom do men say that I am? The Son of Man? Others. "Whom do men say that I am--I, who am the Son of man, i.e., the Messiah?" The meaning of all is nearly the same. He wished to obtain the sentiments of the people respecting himself.

(l) "Whom do" Mk 8:27, Lk 9:18

And they said, etc. Mt 11:14. They supposed he might be John the Baptist, as Herod did, risen from the dead. See Mt 14:2. He performed many miracles, and strongly resembled John in his manner of life, and in the doctrines which he taught.

(m) "they said" Mt 14:2, Lk 9:7-9

And Simon Peter answered, etc. Peter, expressing the views of the apostles, with characteristic forwardness, answered the question proposed to them by Jesus: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The Christ. The Messiah, the Anointed of God. Mt 11:14.

The Son. That is, the Son by way of eminence, in a peculiar sense. Mt 1:17. This appellation was understood as implying Divinity, Jn 10:29-36.

Of the living God. The term living, was given to the true God, to distinguish him from idols, that are dead or lifeless--blocks and stones. He is also the Source of life--temporal, spiritual, and eternal. The term living is often given to him in the Old Testament, Josh 3:10, 1Sam 17:26,36, Jer 10:9,10 etc. In this noble confession, Peter expressed the full belief of himself and his brethren that he was the long-expected Messiah. Other men have very different opinions of him, but they were satisfied, and were not ashamed to confess it.

(n) "and said" Ps 2:7, Mt 14:33, Jn 1:49, Acts 9:20, Heb 1:2,5

And Jesus answered--Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona is the same as Simon son of Jona. Bar is a Syriac word, signifying son. The father of Peter, therefore, was Jona, or Jonas, Jn 1:42, 21:16,17.

Blessed. That is, happy, honoured, evincing a proper spirit, and entitled to the approbation of God.

For flesh and blood. This phrase commonly signifies man, (see Gal 1:16, Eph 6:12; and it has been commonly supposed that he meant to say that man had not revealed it. But Jesus seems rather to have referred to himself. "This truth you have not learned from my lowly appearance, from my human nature, from my apparent rank and standing in the world. You, Jews, were expecting to know the Messiah by his external splendour, his pomp and power as a man. But you have not learned me in this manner. I have shown no such indication of my Messiahship. Flesh and blood have not shown it. In spite of my appearance--my lowly state-- my want of resemblance to what you have expected--you have learned it, taught by God." This they had been taught by his miracles, his instructions, and the direct teachings of God on their minds. To reveal is to make known, or communicate something that was unknown, or secret.

(o) "flesh and blood" 1Cor 2:10, Gal 1:16, Eph 2:8 (p) "but my Father" 1Jn 4:15, 5:20

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter. The word Peter, in Greek, means a rock. It was given to Simon by Christ when he called him to be a disciple, Jn 1:42. Cephas is a Syriac word, meaning the same as Peter--a rock, or stone. The meaning of this phrase may be thus expressed: "Thou, in saying that I am the Son of God, hast called me by a name expressive of my true character. I, also, have given to thee a name expressive of your character. I have called you Peter, a rock, denoting firmness, solidity; and your confession has shown that the name is appropriate. I see that you are worthy of the name, and will be a distinguished support of my religion.

And upon this rock, etc. This passage has given rise to many different interpretations. Some have supposed that the word ROCK refers to Peter's confession; and that he meant to say, upon this rock-- this truth that thou hast confessed, that I am the Messiah--and upon confessions of this from all believers, I will build my church. Confessions like this shall be the test of piety; and in such confessions shall my church stand amidst the flames of persecution--the fury of the gates of hell. Others have thought that he referred to himself. Christ is called a rock, Isa 28:16, 1Pet 2:8. And it has been thought that he turned from Peter to himself, and said: "Upon this rock, this truth that I am the Messiah--upon myself as the Messiah--I will build my church." Both these interpretations, though plausible, seem forced upon the passage to avoid the main difficulty in it. Another interpretation is, that the word rock refers to Peter himself. This is the obvious meaning of the passage; and had it not been that the church of Rome has abused it, and applied it to what was never intended, no other would have been sought for. "Thou art a rock. Thou hast shown thyself firm in and fit for the work of laying the foundation of the church. Upon thee will I build it. Thou shalt be highly honoured; thou shalt be first in making known the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles." This was accomplished. See Acts 2:14-36, where he first preached to the Jews, and Acts 10:1 and following, where he preached the gospel to Cornelius and his neighbours, who were Gentiles. Peter had thus the honour of laying the foundation of the church among the Jews and Gentiles. And this is the plain meaning of this passage. See also Gal 2:9. But Christ did not mean, as the Roman Catholics say he did, to exalt Peter to supreme authority above all the other apostles, or to say that he was the only one on whom he would rear his church. See Acts 15, where the advice of James, and not of Peter, was followed. See also Gal 2:11, where Paul withstood Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed--a thing which could not have happened if Christ, as the Roman Catholics say, meant that Peter should be absolute and infallible. More than all, it is not said here or anywhere else in the Bible, that Peter should have infallible successors who should be the vicegerents of Christ, and the head of the church. The whole meaning of the passage is this: "I will make you the honoured instrument of making known my gospel first to Jews and Gentiles, and will make you a firm and distinguished preacher in building my church." Will build my Church. This refers to the custom of building, in Judea, on a rock or other very firm foundation. Mt 7:24. The word church means, literally, those called out, and often means an assembly or congregation. See Acts 19:32; Gr.; Acts 7:38. It is applied to Christians as being called out from the world. It means, sometimes, the whole body of believers, Ep 1:22, 1Cor 10:32. This is its meaning in this place. It means, also, a particular society of believers, worshipping in one place, Acts 8:1, 9:31, 1Cor 1:2, etc. Sometimes, also, a society in a single house, as Rom 16:5. In common language, it means the church visible--ie. all who profess religion; or invisible, i.e. all who are real Christians, professors or not.

And the gates of hell, etc. Ancient cities were surrounded by walls. In the gates, by which they were entered, were the principal places for holding courts, transacting business, and deliberating on public matters. Mt 7:13. The word gates, therefore, is used for counsels, designs, machinations, evil purposes. Hell means, here, the place of departed spirits, particularly evil spirits. And the meaning of the passage is, that all the plots, stratagems, and machinations, of the enemies of the church, should not be able to overcome it--a promise that has been remarkably fulfilled.

(q) "Peter" Jn 1:42 (r) "and upon" Eph 2:20, Rev 21:14 (s) "gates of hell" Psa 9:13 (t) "prevail against it" Isa 54:17

And I will give unto thee, etc. A key is an instrument for opening a door. He that is in possession of it has the power of access, and has a general care and administration of a house. Hence, in the Bible, a key is used as a symbol of superintendence, an emblem of power and authority. See Isa 22:22; Rev 1:18, 3:7. The kingdom of heaven here means, doubtless, the church on earth, Mt 3:2. When he says, therefore, he will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he means that he will make him the instrument of opening the door of faith to the world--the first to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. This was done, Acts 2:14-36, 10:1. The "power of the keys" was given to Peter alone solely for this reason; the power of "binding and loosing" on earth was given to the other apostles with him. See Mt 18:18. The only pre-eminence, then, that Peter had, was the honour of first opening the doors of the gospel to the world.

Whatsoever thou shalt bind, etc. The phrase to bind and to loose was often used by the Jews. It meant to prohibit and to permit. To bind a thing was to forbid it; to loose it, to allow it to be done. Thus they said about gathering wood on the sabbath day. "The school of Shammei binds it"--i, e. forbids it; "the school of Hillel looses it"--i. e. allows it. When Jesus gave this power to the apostles, he meant that whatsoever they forbid in the church should have Divine authority; whatever they permitted, or commanded, should also have Divine authority--that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven, or meet the approbation of God. They were to be guided infallibly in the organization of the church,

(1.) by the teaching of Christ, and

(2.) by the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

This does not refer to persons, but to things--"whatsoever," not whosoever. It refers to rites and ceremonies in the church. Such of the Jewish customs as they should forbid were to be forbidden; and such as they thought proper to permit were to be allowed. Such rites as they should appoint in the church were to have the force of Divine authority. Accordingly, they forbid circumcision and the eating of things offered to idols, and strangled, and blood, Acts 15:20. They founded the church, and ordained its rites, as of Divine authority.

(u) "whatsoever thou" Mt 18:18

Then charged, etc. That is, he then commanded them. Mark Mk 8:30 and Luke Lk 9:21 (Greek) that he strictly or severely charged them. He laid emphasis on it, as a matter of much importance. The reason of this seems to be that his time had not fully come; he was not willing to rouse the Jewish malice, and to endanger his life, by having it proclaimed that he was the Messiah. The word Jesus is wanting in many manuscripts, and should probably be omitted. "Then he charged them strictly to tell no man that he was the Christ or Messiah."

(v) "Then charged" Mk 8:30

See also Mk 7:31-33, Lk 9:22. From that time forth. This was the first intimation that he gave that he was to die in this cruel manner. He had taken much pains to convince them that he was the Messiah; he saw by the confession of Peter that they were convinced; and he then began to prepare theft minds for the awful event which was before him. Had he declared this when he first called them, they would never have followed him. Their minds were not prepared for it. They expected a temporal, triumphant prince, as the Messiah. He first, therefore, convinced them that he was the Christ; and then, with great prudence, began to correct their apprehensions of the proper character of the Messiah.

Elders. The men of the great council, or sanhedrim. Mt 5:7.

Chief Priests and Scribes. Mt 3:7.

(w) "From that time" Lk 9:22, 18:31, 24:6,7, 1Cor 15:3,4

Then Peter took him. This may mean, either to interrupt him, or to take him aside, or to take him by the hand, as a friend. This latter is probably the true meaning. Peter was strongly attached to him. He could not bear to think of his death. He expected, moreover, that he would be the triumphant Messiah. He could not hear, therefore, that his death was so near. In his ardour, and confidence, and strong attachment, he seized him by the hand as a friend, and said, "Be it far from thee." This phrase might have been translated, "God be merciful to thee; this shall not be unto thee." It expressed Peter's strong desire that it might not be. The word rebuke here means to admonish, or earnestly to entreat, as in Lk 17:3. It does not mean that Peter assumed authority over Christ; but that he earnestly expressed his wish that it might not be so. Even this was improper. He should have been submissive, and not have interfered.

(1) "Be it far from them" or, "pity thyself"

Get thee behind me, Satan. The word Satan means, literally, an adversary, or one that opposes us in the accomplishment of our designs. It is applied to the devil commonly, as the opposer or adversary of man. But there is no evidence that the Lord Jesus meant to apply this term to Peter, as signifying that he was Satan or the devil, or that he used the term in anger. He may have used it in the general sense which the word bore, as an adversary or opposer; and the meaning may be, that such sentiments as Peter expressed then were opposed to him and his plans. His interference was improper. His views and feelings stood in the way of the accomplishment of the Saviour's designs. There was, undoubtedly, a rebuke in this language; for the conduct of Peter was improper; but the idea which is commonly attached to it, and which, perhaps, our translation conveys, implies a more severe and harsh rebuke than the Saviour intended, and than the language which he used would express.

Thou art an offence. That is, a stumbling-block: Your advice and wishes are in my way. If followed, they would prevent the very thing for which I came.

Thou savourest not. That is, thou thinkest not. You think that those things should not be done which God wishes to be done. You judge of this matter as men do, who are desirous of honour; and not as God, who sees it best that I should die, to promote the great interests of mankind.

(x) "Satan:" 2Sam 19:22 (y) "an offence" Rom 14:13

This discourse is also recorded in Mk 8:34-38, 9:1 and Lk 9:23-27

Let him deny himself. That is, let him surrender to God his will, affections, body, and soul. Let him not seek his own happiness as the supreme object, but be willing to renounce all, and lay down his life also, if required.

Take up his cross. Mt 10:38.

(x) "any man" Mt 10:38, Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23, 14:27, Acts 14:22, 1Thes 3:3

Whosoever will save his life, etc. Mt 10:39

(a) "For whosoever" Jn 12:25, Est 4:14

For what is a man profited, etc. To gain the whole world means to possess it as our own--all its riches, honours, and pleasures. To lose his own soul means to be cast away, to be shut out from heaven, to be sent to hell. Two things are implied by Christ in these questions:

1st, that they who are striving to gain the world, and are unwilling to give it up for the sake of religion, will lose their souls; and

2nd, that if the soul is lost, nothing can be given in exchange for it, or it can never after be saved. There is no redemption in hell.

(b) "or what" Ps 49:7,8

For the Son of man, etc. That is, the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to judge the world. He will come in glory--the glory of his Father--the majesty with which God is accustomed to appear, and which befits God. He will be attended by angels. He will judge all men.

Reward. The word reward means recompense, or do justice to. He will deal with them according to their character. The righteous he will reward in heaven, with glory and happiness. The wicked he will send to hell, as a reward or recompense for their evil works, This fact, that he will come to judgment, he gives as a reason why we should be willing to deny ourselves and follow him. Even though now it should be attended with contempt and suffering, yet then he will reward his followers for all their shame and sorrows, and receive them to his kingdom. He adds, Mk 8:38, that if we are ashamed of him here, he will be ashamed of us there. That is, if we reject and disown him here, he will reject and disown us there.

(c) "For the Son" Dan 7:9,10, Zech 14:5, Jude 1:14 (d) "and then" Rev 22:12

Verily I say unto you, etc. To encourage them, he assured them that though his kingdom was now obscure and despised--though he was cast out and little known--yet the time was near when he should be regarded in a different manner, and his kingdom be established with great power. This cannot refer to the end of the world, and there is no need of referring it to the destruction of Jerusalem.

Taste of death. That is, die. Before they die they shall see this.

Son of man coming in his kingdom. Mark and Luke have explained this. Mk 9:1, "Until they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Lk 9:27, "Till they see the kingdom of God." The meaning evidently is, till they should see my kingdom, that is, my church, now small, feeble, and despised, greatly enlarged, established, and spreading with great rapidity and extent. All this was accomplished. All these apostles, except Judas, lived to see the wonders of the day of Pentecost; some of them, John particularly, saw the Jewish nation scattered, the temple destroyed, the gospel established in Asia, Rome, Greece, and in a large part of the known world.

(e) "There be" Mk 9:1 (f) "taste of death" Heb 2:9

REMARKS ON MATTHEW CHAPTER 16

(1.) Men will often judge far more correctly about natural than spiritual things, Mt 16:1-3. About natural objects they are watchful. In them they feel a deep interest. And they watch for every sign that may affect their interest. They are too much concerned to judge falsely. But they feel no such interest in religious things. Hence it happens that men who have good sense, and much wisdom in regard to worldly concerns, are exceedingly foolish in regard to religion. They often believe reports respecting religion, revivals, and missions, which they would despise on any other subject. They read and believe newspapers and other publications, which they would hold in contempt on any other topic but religion.

(2.) It is of importance to watch the signs of the times, Mt 16:3. days of Christ, it was the duty of the people to look at the evidence that he was the Messiah. It was plain. It is also important to look at the signs of the times in which we live. They are clear also. Much is doing; and the spread of the Bible, the labours among the heathen, the distribution of tracts, and, perhaps above all, the institution of Sabbath schools--all betoken an eventful age, and are an indication that brighter days are about to dawn on the world. We should watch these signs that we may rejoice, that we may pray with more fervour, and that we may do our part to advance the kingdom of God. Little children should grow up believing that they live in an important age, that they enjoy many peculiar privileges, and that they may and must do much to spread the gospel through the earth. Even when children, they should pray, and they should give to benefit others; and, most of all, they should give themselves to Christ, that they may benefit others with a right spirit.

(3.) Sinners should be addressed with deep feeling and faithfulness, Mk 8:12. Jesus sighed deeply. So should we. We should not be harsh, or sour, or without feeling. We should weep over them, and pray for them, and speak to them, not as if we were better than they, but with an earnest desire for their salvation. Comp. Acts 20:31, Php 3:18.

(4.) Men easily mistake plain instruction, Mt 16:7. And especially is this the case where there is any chance of giving a worldly turn to the instruction. If men's thoughts--even those of Christians-- were more off from the world, and they thought less of the supply of their wants, they would understand the truths of religion much better than they do. No man can understand the doctrines of religion aright, whose principal concern is what he shall eat, and drink, and wear. Hence even Christians are often strangely ignorant of the plainest truths of religion. And hence the importance of teaching those truths to children before their thoughts become engrossed by the world. And hence, too, the importance of Sabbath schools.

(5.) We should not have undue anxiety about the supply of our wants. Christ supplied many thousands by a word, and he can easily supply us, Mt 16:9-12.

(6.) We should learn, from his past goodness, to trust him for the future, Mt 16:9-12.

(7.) We should be on our guard against error, Mt 16:11. It is sly, artful, plausible, working secretly, but effectually. We should always be cautious of what we believe, and examine it by the word of God. False doctrines are often made as much like the truth as possible, for the very purpose of deceiving. Satan is transformed into an angel of light.

(8.) It is important to ascertain our views of Christ, Mt 16:13-15. It is our all. If we do not think and feel right respecting him, we cannot be safe. We should often, then, ask ourselves--we should ask one another--what we think of Christ.

(9.) It is our duty to profess our attachment to Christ. It should be done boldly, and always, Mt 16:16. We should never be ashamed of him. And to do this we should always, in our own hearts, believe that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

(10.) We should esteem it a great happiness and honour to be enabled thus to show our attachment to him. The world may not honour us, but God will, and will pronounce us blessed, Mt 16:17.

(11.) God only reveals this to us, Mt 16:17. This he does by his word and Spirit. We should, then, search the Bible; and we should pray much that God would reveal his Son in us, and enable us boldly to confess him before men.

(12.) The church is safe, Mt 16:18. It may be small--it may be feeble--it may weep much--it may be much opposed and ridiculed --it may have mighty enemies--the rich and the great may set themselves against it--but it is safe. It is founded on a Rock. All its enemies shall not overcome it. Jesus has promised it; and in all ages he has shown that he has remembered his promise. It has not been extinct. It has been persecuted, opposed, ridiculed, and almost driven from the world; but a few have been found who have loved the Lord; and soon the flame has kindled, and the church has shone forth "fair as the sun, clear as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners." So it is still. Feeble churches may mourn much; anxiety may abound; and the few pious people may weep in secret places; but Jesus hears their groans, and counts their tears, and they and their church are safe. He is their Friend, and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against them.

(13.) The importance of prudence in delivering truth, Mt 16:21. It should be well-timed. It should be when people are prepared to receive it. Especially is this true of young converts. They have need of milk, and not of strong meat. They should not be surprised that many doctrines of the Bible are mysterious now. But they may fully comprehend them hereafter. Peter, a young convert, did not understand the plain doctrine that Jesus must die for sin. Yet it was afterwards clear to him, and most cordially he loved it.

(14.) It is highly wicked and improper to attempt to counsel God, or to think that we understand things better than he does, Mt 16:22,23. His plan is the best plan. And though it does not fall in with our views of wisdom, yet we should be still. It is all wise. And though what he does we know not now, yet we shall know hereafter.

(15.) We, see what religion requires, Mt 16:24. We must deny ourselves. We must submit to trials. We must do our duty. We must often suffer persecution. We must be, in all places, among all men, and in every employment, Christians. No matter what may happen. Come poverty, disease, persecution, death, it is ours to take up the cross, and do our duty. So apostles, and martyrs, and the Saviour himself, have gone before us. And we must follow in their steps. "Shall I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?

"Sure I must fight, if I would reign: Increase my courage, Lord, To bear the cross, endure the shame, Supported by thy word."

(16.) How foolish are the men of this world! Mt 16:26. In a little time, how worthless will be all their wealth! It is gained by anxiety, and toil, and tears. It never satisfies. It harasses them with constant care. It smoothes no wrinkles on theft brow, alleviates no pain when they are sick, saves no friend from death, gives no consolation in regard to the future, and may be left at any moment. Others will soon possess, and perhaps scatter in dissipation, what they have obtained by so much toil. See Ps 39:6. And while they scatter or enjoy it, where shall the soul of him be who spent all his probation to obtain it? Alas! lost, lost, lost--for ever lost! And no wealth, no man, no devil, no angel, can redeem him, or be given for his soul. The harvest will be past, the summer ended, and he not saved. In gaining the world, he gained two things-- disappointment and trouble here, and an eternity of woe hereafter. How foolish and wicked is man!

(17.) The righteous should rejoice that Jesus will come again to our world, He will reward them, Mt 16:27. He will come as their Friend, and they shall ascend with him to heaven.

(18.) The wicked should weep and Wail that Jesus will come again to our world, He will punish them for their crimes, Mt 16:27. They cannot escape. See Rev 1:7.

(19.) It will not be long before he will come, Mt 16:28. At any rate, it will not be long before we shall meet him. Death is near. And then we must stand before him, and give an account of the deeds done in the body.

[Can ye not discern the signs of the times?] The Jews were very curious in observing the seasons of the heavens, and the temper of the air.

"In the going out of the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, all observed the rising of the smoke. If the smoke bended northward, the poor rejoiced, but the rich were troubled; because there would be much rain the following year, and the fruits would be corrupted: if it bended southward, the poor grieved, and the rich rejoiced; for then there would be fewer rains that year, and the fruit would be sound: if eastward, all rejoiced: if westward, all were troubled." The Gloss is, "They observed this the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, because the day before, the decree of their judgment concerning the rains of that year was signed, as the tradition is, In the feast of Tabernacles they judged concerning the rains."

"R. Acha said, If any wise man had been at Zippor when the first rain fell, he might foretell the moistness of the year by the very smell of the dust," &c.

But they were dim-sighted at the signs of times; that is, at those eminent signs, which plainly pointed, as with the finger and by a visible mark, that now those times that were so much foretold and expected, even the days of the Messias, were at hand. As if he had said, "Can ye not distinguish that the times of the Messias are come, by those signs which plainly declare it? Do ye not observe Daniel's weeks now expiring? Are ye not under a yoke, the shaking off of which ye have neither any hope at all nor expectation to do? Do ye not see how the nation is sunk into all manner of wickedness? Are not miracles done by me, such as were neither seen nor heard before? Do ye not consider an infinite multitude flowing in, even to a miracle, to the profession of the gospel? and that the minds of all men are raised into a present expectation of the Messias? Strange blindness, voluntary, and yet sent upon you from heaven: your sin and your punishment too! They see all things which may demonstrate and declare a Messias, but they will not see."

[Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, &c.] There were two things, especially, which seem to have driven the disciples into a mistaken interpretation of these words, so that they understood them of leaven properly so called.

I. That they had more seldom heard leaven used for doctrine. The metaphorical use of it, indeed, was frequent among them in an ill sense, namely, for evil affections, and the naughtiness of the heart; but the use of it was more rare, if any at all, for evil doctrine.

Thus one prays: "Lord of ages, it is revealed and known before thy face that we would do thy will; but do thou subdue that which hinders: namely, the leaven which is in the lump, and the tyranny of [heathen] kingdoms." Where the Gloss is thus; "The 'leaven which is in the lump,' are evil affections, which leavens us in our hearts."

Cyrus was leavened, that is, grew worse. Sometimes it is used in a better sense; "The Rabbins say, Blessed is that judge who leaveneth his judgment." But this is not to be understood concerning doctrine, but concerning deliberation in judgment.

II. Because very exact care was taken by the Pharisaical canons, what leaven was to be used and what not; disputations occur here and there, whether heathen leaven is to be used, and whether Cuthite leaven, &c. With which caution the disciples thought that Christ armed them, when he spake concerning the leaven of the Pharisees: but withal they suspected some silent reproof for not bringing bread along with them.

[Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?] I. That phrase or title, the Son of man, which Christ very often gives himself, denotes not only his humanity, nor his humility (for see that passage, John 5:27, "He hath given him authority of executing judgment, because he is the Son of man"); but it bespeaks the 'seed promised to Adam, the second Adam': and it carried with it a silent confutation of a double ignorance and error among the Jews: 1. They knew not what to resolve upon concerning the original of the Messias; and how he should rise, whether he should be of the living, as we noted before, the manner of his rise being unknown to them; or whether of the dead. This phrase unties this knot and teaches openly, that he, being a seed promised to the first man, should arise and be born from the seed of the women. 2. They dreamed of the earthly victories of the Messias, and of nations to be subdued by him; but this title, The Son of man, recalls their minds to the first promise, where the victory of the promised seed is the bruising of the serpent's head, not the subduing of kingdoms by some warlike and earthly triumph.

II. When, therefore, the opinion of the Jews concerning the person of the Messias, what he should be, was uncertain and wavering, Christ asketh, not so much whether they acknowledged him the Messias, as acknowledging the Messias, what kind of person they conceived him to be. The apostles and the other disciples whom he had gathered, and were very many, acknowledged him the Messias: yea, those blind men, chapter 9:27, had confessed this also: therefore that question had been needless as to them, "Do they think me to be the Messias?" but that was needful, "What do they conceive of me, the Messias?" and to this the answer of Peter has regard, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God": as if he should say, "We knew well enough a good while ago that thou art the Messias: but as to the question, 'What kind of person thou art,' I say, 'Thou art the Son of the living God.'" See what we note at chapter 17:54.

Therefore the word whom asks not so much concerning the person, as concerning the quality of the person. In which sense also is the word who, in those words, 1 Samuel 17:55, not "The son of whom," but the son "of what kind of man," is this youth?

[But others, Jeremias.] The reason why they name Jeremiah only of all the prophets, we give at chapter 27:9. You observe that recourse is here made to the memory of the dead, from whom the Messias should spring, rather than from the living: among other things, perhaps, this reason might persuade them so to do, that that piety could not in those days be expected in any one living, as had shined out in those deceased persons. (One of the Babylonian Gemarists suspects that Daniel, raised from the dead, should be the Messias.) And this perhaps persuaded them further, because they thought that the kingdom of the Messias should arise after the resurrection: and they that were of this opinion might be led to think that the Messias himself was some eminent person among the saints departed, and that he rising again should bring others with him.

[Flesh and blood.] The Jewish writers use this form of speech infinite times, and by it oppose men to God.

"If they were about to lead me before a king of flesh and blood, &c.; but they are leading me before the King of kings."

"A king of flesh and blood forms his picture in a table, &c.; the Holy Blessed One, his, &c." This phrase occurs five times in that one column: "the Holy Blessed God doth not, as flesh and blood doth, &c. Flesh and blood wound with one thing and heal with another: but the Holy Blessed One wounds and heals with one and the same thing. Joseph was sold for his dreams, and he was promoted by dreams."

[Thou art Peter, &c.] I. There is nothing, either in the dialect of the nation, or in reason, forbids us to think that our Saviour used this very same Greek word, since such Graecizings were not unusual in that nation. But be it granted (which is asserted more without controversy) that he used the Syriac word; yet I deny that he used that very word Cepha, which he did presently after: but he pronounced it Cephas, after the Greek manner; or he spoke it Cephai, in the adjective sense, according to the Syriac formation. For how, I pray, could he be understood by the disciples, or by Peter himself, if in both places he had retained the same word Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church? It is readily answered by the Papists, that "Peter was the rock." But let them tell me why Matthew used not the same word in Greek, if our Saviour used the same word in Syriac. If he had intimated that the church should be built upon Peter, it had been plainer and more agreeable to be the vulgar idiom to have said, "Thou art Peter, and upon thee I will build my church."

II. The words concerning the rock upon which the church was to be built are evidently taken out of Isaiah, chapter 28:16; which, the New Testament being interpreter, in very many places do most plainly speak Christ. When therefore Peter, the first of all the disciples (from the very first beginning of the preaching of the gospel), had pronounced most clearly of the person of Christ, and had declared the mystery of the incarnation, and confessed the deity of Christ, the minds of the disciples are, with good reason, called back to those words of Isaiah, that they might learn to acknowledge who that stone was that was set in Sion for a foundation never to be shaken, and whence it came to pass that that foundation remained so unshaken; namely, thence, that he was not a creature, but God himself, the Son of God.

III. Thence, therefore, Peter took his surname; not that he should be argued to be that rock, but because he was so much to be employed in building a church upon a rock: whether it were that church that was to be gathered out of the Jews, of which he was the chief minister, or that of the Gentiles (concerning which the discourse here is principally of), unto which he made the first entrance by the gospel.

[And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.] That is, Thou shalt first open the door of faith to the Gentiles. He had said that he would build his church to endure for ever, against which "the gates of hell should not prevail"... "and to thee, O Peter (saith he), I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that thou mayest open a door for the bringing in the gospel to that church." Which was performed by Peter in that remarkable story concerning Cornelius, Acts 10. And I make no doubt that those words of Peter respect these words of Christ, Acts 15:7; A good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel by my mouth, and believe.

[And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth &c. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, &c.] I. We believe the keys were committed to Peter alone, but the power of binding and loosing to the other apostles also, chapter 18:18.

II. It is necessary to suppose that Christ here spake according to the common people, or he could not be understood without a particular commentary, which is nowhere to be found.

III. But now to bind and loose, a very usual phrase in the Jewish schools, was spoken of things, not of persons; which is here also to be observed in the articles what and whatsoever, chapter 18.

One might produce thousands of examples out of their writings: we will only offer a double decad; the first, whence the frequent use of this word may appear; the second, whence the sense may:

1. "R. Jochanan said [to those of Tiberias], 'Why have ye brought this elder to me? Whatsoever I loose, he binds; whatsoever I bind, he looseth.'"

2. Thou shalt neither bind nor loose.

3. "Nachum, the brother of R. Illa, asked R. Jochanan concerning a certain matter. To whom he answered, Thou shalt neither bind nor loose."

4. This man binds, but the other looseth.

5. "R. Chaija said, Whatsoever I have bound to you elsewhere, I will loose to you here."

6. He asked one wise man, and he bound: Do not ask another wise man, lest perhaps he loose.

7. The mouth that bindeth is the mouth that looseth.

8. "Although of the disciples of Shammai, and those of Hillel, the one bound, and the other loosed; yet they forbade not but that these might make purifications according to the others."

9. A wise man that judgeth judgment, defileth and cleanseth [that is, he declares defiled or clean]; he looseth and bindeth. The same also is in Maimonides.

10. Whether it is lawful to go into the necessary-house with the phylacteries only to piss? Rabbena looseth, and Rabh Ada bindeth. The mystical doctor, who neither bindeth nor looseth.

The other decad shall show the phrase applied to things:

1. "In Judea they did [servile] works on the Passover-eve" (that is, on the day going before the Passover), "until noon, but in Galilee not. But that which the school of Shammai binds until the night, the school of Hillel looseth until the rising of the sun."

2. "A festival-day may teach us this, in which they loosed by the notion of a [servile] work," killing and boiling, &c., as the Gloss notes. But in which they bound by the notion of a sabbatism: that is, as the same Gloss speaks, 'The bringing in some food from without the limits of the sabbath.'

3. "They do not send letters by the hand of a heathen on the eve of a sabbath, no, nor on the fifth day of the week. Yea, the school of Shammai binds it, even on the fourth day of the week; but the school of Hillel looseth it."

4. "They do not begin a voyage in the great sea on the eve of the sabbath, no, nor on the fifth day of the week. Yea, the school of Shammai binds it, even on the fourth day of the week; but the school of Hillel looses it."

5. "To them that bathe in the hot-baths in the sabbath-day, they bind washing, and they loose sweating."

6. "Women may not look into a looking-glass on the sabbath-day, if it be fixed to a wall, Rabbi loosed it, but the wise men bound it."

7. "Concerning the moving of empty vessels [on the sabbath-day], of the filling of which there is no intention; the school of Shammai binds it, the school of Hillel looseth it."

8. "Concerning gathering wood on a feast-day scattered about a field, the school of Shammai binds it, the school of Hillel looseth it."

9. They never loosed to us a crow, nor bound to us a pigeon.

10. "Doth a seah of unclean Truma fall into a hundred seahs of clean Truma? The school of Shammai binds it, the school of Hillel looseth it." There are infinite examples of this nature.

Let a third decad also be added (that nothing may be left unsaid in this matter), giving examples of the parts of the phrase distinctly and by themselves:

1. "The things which they bound not, that they might have a hedge to the law."

2. "The scribes bound the leaven."

3. They neither punished nor bound, unless concerning the leaven itself.

4. "The wise men bound the eating of leaven from the beginning of the sixth hour," of the day of the Passover.

5. "R. Abhu saith, R. Gamaliel Ben Rabbi asked me. What if I should go into the market? and I bound it him."

1. The Sanhedrim, which looseth two things, let it not hasten to loose three.

2. "R. Jochanan saith, They necessarily loose saluting on the sabbath."

3. The wise men loose all oils, or all fat things.

4. "The school of Shammai saith, They do not steep ink, colours, and vetches" on the eve of the sabbath, "unless they be steeped before the day be ended: but the school of Hillel looseth it." Many more such like instances occur there.

5. "R. Meir loosed the mixing of wine and oil, to anoint a sick man on the sabbath."

To these may be added, if need were, the frequent (shall I say?) or infinite use of the phrases, bound and loosed, which we meet with thousands of times over. But from these allegations, the reader sees abundantly enough both the frequency and the common use of this phrase, and the sense of it also; namely, first, that it is used in doctrine, and in judgments, concerning things allowed or not allowed in the law. Secondly, That to bind is the same with to forbid, or to declare forbidden. To think that Christ, when he used the common phrase, was not understood by his hearers in the common and vulgar sense, shall I call it a matter of laughter or of madness?

To this, therefore, do these words amount: When the time was come, wherein the Mosaic law, as to some part of it, was to be abolished and left off; and as to another part of it, was to be continued, and to last for ever: he granted Peter here, and to the rest of the apostles, chapter 18:18, a power to abolish or confirm what they thought good, and as they thought good, being taught this and led by the Holy Spirit: as if he should say, "Whatsoever ye shall bind in the law of Moses, that is, forbid, it shall be forbidden, the Divine authority confirming it; and whatsoever ye shall loose, that is, permit, or shall teach, that it is permitted and lawful, shall be lawful and permitted."

Hence they bound, that is, forbade, circumcision to the believers; eating of things offered to idols, of things strangled, and of blood for a time to the Gentiles; and that which they bound on earth was confirmed in heaven. They loosed, that is, allowed purification to Paul, and to four other brethren, for the shunning of scandal, Acts 21:24: and in a word, by these words of Christ it was committed to them, the Holy Spirit directing that they should make decrees concerning religion, as to the use or rejection of Mosaic rite and judgments, and that either for a time or for ever.

Let the words be applied, by way of paraphrase, to the matter that was transacted at present with Peter: "I am about to build a Gentile church (saith Christ); and to thee, O Peter, do I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that thou mayest first open the door of faith to them; but if thou askest, by what rule that church is to be governed, when the Mosaic rule may seem so improper for it, thou shalt be so guided by the Holy Spirit, that whatsoever of the law of Moses thou shalt forbid them shall be forbidden; whatsoever thou grantest them shall be granted, and that under a sanction made in heaven."

Hence in that instant, when he should use his keys, that is, when he was now ready to open the gate of the gospel to the Gentiles, Acts 10:28, he was taught from heaven, that the consorting of the Jew with the Gentile, which before had been bound, was now loosed; and the eating of any creature convenient for food was now loosed, which before had been bound; and he, in like manner, looses both these.

Those words of our Saviour, John 20:23, "Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted to them," for the most part are forced to the same sense with these before us; when they carry quite another sense. Here the business is of doctrine only, not of persons; there of persons, not of doctrine: here of things lawful or unlawful in religion to be determined by the apostles; there of persons obstinate or not obstinate, to be punished by them, or not to be punished.

As to doctrine, the apostles were doubly instructed: 1. So long sitting at the feet of their Master, they had imbibed the evangelical doctrine. 2. The Holy Spirit directing them, they were to determine concerning the legal doctrine and practice; being completely instructed and enabled in both by the Holy Spirit descending upon them. As to their persons, they were endowed with a peculiar gift, so that the same Spirit directing them, if they would retain and punish the sins of any, a power was delivered into their hands of delivering to Satan, of punishing with diseases, plagues, yea, death itself; which Peter did to Ananias and Sapphira; Paul to Elymas, Hymeneus, and Philetus, &c.

Observe here, 1. The persons demanding of our Saviour a sign, the Pharisees and Sadducees, person of contrary opinions and interests; yet both agree in tempting and opposing Christ.

Learn hence, That wicked men, how opposite soever they are one to another, yet can agree together in opposing Christ, and undermining his truth.

Observe, 2. The sign demanded; Shew us a sign from heaven: as if they had said, Put us not off with such earthly signs as we have seen, in multiplying loaves; but let us see a miracle from heaven, such as Moses and Elias wrought. This they desired, not so much for their satisfaction, as out of curiosity, nay wicked treachery.

Learn thence, That to demand a sign, not to confirm our faith, but to harden ourselves in our unbelief, is a dangerous tempting of Christ.

Observe, 3. Our Saviour's rejection of this demand of the Pharisees to give them a sign; O ye hypocrites, says he, ye can discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot discern the signs of the times. As if Christ had said, "Did not malice and obstinacy blind your eyes, ye might as easily see and discern that these are the times of the Messias, and that I am he, by the miracles wrought by me, as you can make a judgement of the weather, by looking upon the sky."

Learn, that to pretend more ignorance and uncertainty in discerning the signs of the gospel times, than the signs of the weather is great hypocrisy: Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot discern the signs of the times?

Observe lastly, That our Saviour doth not condemn the study of nature, or making observation of the state of the weather, from the face of the sky. All that our Saviour blamed was, that they were better skilled in the signs of the weather, than in the signs of the times. As God by natural signs gives us warning of a change in natural things: so by his providential dispensations he gives us warning of a change in civil things. He that is wise, will observe these things; and by their observation will come to understand the pleasure of the Lord.

Observe here, 1. How dull the disciples of Christ were under Christ's own teaching, how apt to put a carnal sense upon his words; they apprehended he had spoken to them of the leaven of bread, what he intended of the leaven of the Pharisee's doctrine.

Observe, 2. The smart and sharp reproof which Christ gave his disciples, for not understanding the sense and signification of what he spake. The Lord Jesus Christ is much displeased with his own people, when he discerns blindness and ignorance in them after more than ordinary means of knowledge enjoyed by them; How is that ye do not yet understand?

Observe, 3. The metaphor which Christ sets forth the corrupt doctrine of the Pharisees and partly for its diffusiveness. Leaven is a piece of sour dough, that diffuses itself into the whole mass or lump of bread with which it is mixed.

From whence our Saviour intimates, that the Pharisees were a sour and proud sort of people; and their doctrine like themselves, poisonous and pernicious in their consequences; the contagion of which our Lord warns his disciples to avoid and shun.

Whence learn, That error is as damnable as vice; persons erroneous in their judgments are to be avoided, as well as those that are lewd and wicked in their conversations. He that has a due care of his soul's salvation, must as well beware of erroneous principles as of debauched practices.

Observe, 4. Our Saviour does not command his disciples to separate from communion with the Pharisees, and oblige them not to hear their doctrine; but only to beware of the errors that they mixed with their doctrine. We may and ought to hold communion with a church, though erroneous in doctrine, if not fundamentally erroneous. Separation from a church is not justifiable upon any other ground than that which makes a separation between God and that church: which is either the apostacy of that church into gross idolatry; or in point of doctrine into damnable heresy, or imposing sinful terms of communion.

Observe here, 1. Our Saviour's question, and the disciples answer, Our Saviour's question is twofold:

1. Whom do men say that I am? Not that the Son of God was ignorant what men said of him; but he had an intention more firmly to settle and establish his disciples in the belief of his being the promised Messias.

And therefore, 2. He puts the question to them, Whom do you, my disciples, say that I am? "You, that have heard the holiness of my doctrine, and seen the divinity of my miracles: what say you to me? And what confession do you make of me?"

Christ expects greater measures of grace and knowledge, and higher degrees of affiance and faith, from those that have enjoyed the greatest means of grace and knowledge. The disciples were eye and ear-witnesses of his doctrine and miracles, and accordingly he expects from them a full confession of his divinity.

Observe, 2. The answer returned,

1. By the apostles in general; and they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elias: some Jeremias. It is no new thing, it seems to find diversity of judgments and opinions concerning Christ and the affairs of his kingdom. We find, that when our Saviour was amongst men, who daily both saw and heard him, yet there was then a diversity of opinions concerning him.

2. Peter, in the name of the rest, and as the mouth of all the apostles, makes a full and open confession of his being the Son of God; thou art Christ the Son of the living God.

Whence note, that the veil of Christ's human nature did not keep the eye of his disciples' faith from seeing him to be the Son of God as well as the Son of man; thou art Christ the Son of the living God.

Observe, 3. How highly pleased our Saviour was with this confession; he pronounces Peter, and the rest in him, Blessed, who had by him made this Christian confession; Blessed art thou, Simon; and tells him,

1. What did not enable him to make that confession, Not flesh and blood; that is, not man, nor the wisdom and reason of man.

2. But postitively, God the Father, by the operation of his Spirit, and the dispensation of the gospel has wrought this divine faith in you, and drawn forth this glorious confession from you, that I am indeed the Son of God.

Thence learn, That no man can savingly believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, and Saviour of the world, but he in whom God himself by his Holy Spirit has wrought such a persecution by the ministry of the gospel.

Observe here, 1. As Peter confessed Christ, so Christ confesses him; Peter said, Thou art Christ; Christ says, Thou art Peter, alluding to his name, which signifies a rock; he having made good that title, by the strength, stability, and firmness of his faith.

Observe, 2. A double promise made by Christ to Peter.

1. For the building. 2. For the upholding of his church.

For the building of his church;

1. Upon this rock will I build my church.

Upon what rock? Upon Peter, the rock confessing, say the papists; but if so, no more is said of Peter here, than of all the apostles elsewhere. Gal 2:9.

James and John are called pillars as well as Peter. So that Peter's superiority over the rest of the apostles can with no shew of reason be from hence inferred. "Upon Christ, the rock confessed," says the protestants; for Christ is the foundation-stone upon which his church is built; Eph 2:20.

Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. So then, not upon Peter the rock confessing, but upon Christ the rock confessed, and upon the rock of Peter's confession, that fundamental truth, that Christ is the Son of the living God, is the church built.

Upon this rock will I build my church, Super hanc confessionis tua Petxam edificabo Ecclesiam meam.

Yet Christ may here be said to build his church upon Peter, because he used St. Peter's ministry in laying the foundation of a christian church among the Jews and Gentiles; he being the first preacher of that faith which he here confessed first to the Jews, Acts 2:29-37. and then to the Gentiles Acts 10:33-43.

And accordingly St. Peter's conversion of thousand souls by his ministry, Acts 2:41 is looked upon by some as a punctual fulfilling of this promise here made upon him. He was stiled the rock, because he laid the foundations of faith among the nations, that is, the first foundations of a christian church in the world.

Whence it appears, that in this matter St. Peter neither had nor can have a successor; but if the pope will pretend to be his successor in this affair, he must not sit a Rome, lording it there over God's heritage, but must go in person to the unbelieving Jews, and unconverted Heathens, as Peter did; and labour by his preaching to bring over the Turk, the Jew, and the Infidel to christianity.

Observe next, our Saviour's promise for the upholding, as well as the building of his church; The gates of hell shall not prevail against it; that is, all the policy and power of the devil and his instruments shall neither destroy my church, nor extinguish the light of this divine truth, which thou hast now made confession of; namely, "That I am the true Messias, the Son of the living God."

Note, 1. That Jesus Christ is the builder, and will be the upholder of his church.

2. That the church upheld by Christ's power and promise, shall never be vanquished by the devil's policy or strength: upon &c. and the gates, &c.

By the gates of hell, understand, 1. The wisdom of hell, gates being the seat of council.

2. The censures and sentence of hell, gates being the place of judicature.

3. By the gates of hell, understand the arms and powers of hell, gates being a place of strength and guards.

So that when Christ secures against hell, he secures against all that receive their commission from hell; neither hell, nor any envenomed by hell, shall prevail against my church.

Observe here, 1. The person to whom this promise is made, namely to Peter, with the rest of the apostles; the confession being made by him in the name of the rest. Elsewhere we find the same authority and power given to them all, which is here committed unto Peter; Whose sins soever ye remit, they are remitted. Joh 20:23. Although there might be a priority of order among the apostles, yet no superiority of power was founded in any one of them over and above the rest.

Observe, 2. The power promised; I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; that is, the key of doctrine, and the key of discipline, or full power and authority to preach the gospel, to administer sacraments, and execute church censures. The speech is metaphorical, and alludes to stewards and officers in great houses, to whose trust the keys of the household are committed. Christ's ministers are the stewards of his house, into whose hands the keys of his church are committed by Christ; the pope would snatch them out of all hands, and keep them in his own; he snatches at Peter's keys, but makes shipwreck faith, arrogating Peter's power, but abrogating his holy profession.

Learn, 1. That the authority and power which the ministers of the gospel do exercise and execute it from Christ; I will give thee the keys of the kingdom.

2. That this power of the keys Christ dispensed promiscuously to all his apostles, and never designed it as a peculiar for St. Peter. As they all made the same profession of faith by Peter, so they all received the same authority and power with Peter. And accordingly, the apostles exercised their office independently upon Peter, in converting those of the circumcision as well as he.

And St. Paul who was the apostle of the Gentiles, opened the kingdom of heaven to far more Gentiles than ever Peter did; and therefore had this key of the kingdom of heaven given to him, as much as to St. Peter.

That is, till after his resurrection. It may seem strange, that our Saviour should charge his disciples to tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ, seeing the knowledge of it was so necessary. The reason is conceived to be:

1. Because the glory of his godhead was not to be fully manifested till after his resurrection, and then to be published by himself, and confirmed by his own miracles.

2. Lest the knowledge of it should have hindered his death; for had the rulers known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

Learn, That Christ has his own fit times and proper season, in which he reveals his own mysteries to the world.

3. That Christ was so intent upon his laying down his life for sinners, that he would not have his death hindered by an untimely declaration of his being truly and really God; after his death it was, that he declared himself to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead.

Observe, 1. The wisdom of our Saviour, in acquainting his disciples with the near approach of his death and sufferings. This he did for several reasons:

1. To let them understand that he was really God, (as they had just before confessed him to be) by his foreknowing, and foretelling things to come.

2. To convince them of their error, in apprehending that his kingdom was of this world, and that he was to reign here as a temporal prince.

3. To prevent their being offended at his sufferings, and to prepare them for their own, that they might not shrink at them, nor sink under them.

Observe, 2. The persons foretold by Christ, that should be the bloody actors in the tragedy of his death; namely, the rulers and chief priests; it was the poor that received Christ, and embraced the gospel; it was the great ones of the world that rejected him, and set him at nought; and the rulers both in church and state condemned and crucified him.

No doubt Peter spake all this out of a sincere intention, and with a singular affection towards our Saviour; but pious intentions and good affections will not justify unwarrantable actions.

From this counsel of St. Peter to Christ we learn,

1. How ready flesh and blood is to oppose all that tends to suffering; Master, spare thyself.

2. What need we have to be fortified against the temptations of friends as well as of enemies! for Satan can make good men his instruments to do his work, when they little think of it,. Peter little suspected that Satan set him on work to hinder the redemption of mankind, by dissuading Christ from dying. But observe in the next verse with what indignation Christ rejects Peter's advice.

Christ looked upon Peter with anger and displeasure, Christ heard Satan speaking in Peter. It was Peter's tongue, but Satan tuned it; therefore Christ calls Peter by Satan's name. They that will do the devil's work shall have the devil's name too. He that would hinder the redemption of mankind, is Satan, an adversary to mankind.

From our Saviour's smart reproof given to Peter, Learn, that no love or respect to men's persons or piety must draw us to flatter them in their sins, or cause us to speak lightly of their sins.

From our Saviour's resolution not to favour himself, notwithstanding Peter's advice, Learn, That so intent was the heart of Christ upon the great work of man's redemption, that he could not bear the least word that should obstruct it, or divert him from it.

Observe here, 1. How our Saviour recommends his religion to every man's choice; not attempting by force and violence to compel any to the profession of it. If any man will come after me, that is, if any man choose and resolve to be a Christian.

2. Our Saviour's terms propounded:

1. Self-denial Let him deny himself. By which we are not to understand the denying and renouncing of our senses in matters of faith, nor yet the renouncing of our reason in matters of religion; but by self-denial is meant, that we should be willing to part with all our earthly comforts, and quit all our temporal enjoyments, for the sake of Christ and his holy religion.

2. Gospel-suffering, He must take up his cross. An allusion to a Roman custom, that the malefactor, who was to be crucified, took his cross upon his shoulder, and carried it to the place of execution.

Where note, Not the making of the cross for ourselves, but the patient bearing of it when God lays it upon our shoulder, is the duty injoined: let him take up his cross.

3. Gospel-service, He must follow me: that is, obey my commands, and follow my example: he must set my life and doctrine continually before him, and must be daily correcting and reforming his life by that rule and pattern. See on Luke 9:23.

Observe here, 1. That the love of this temporal life, is a great temptation to men to deny Christ, and renounce his holy religion.

2. That the surest way to attain eternal life, is cheerfully to lay down a mortal life, when the glory of Christ and his service calleth us thereunto.

Learn, 1. That God has intrusted everyone of us with a soul of inestimable worth and preciousness, capable of being saved or lost, and that to all eternity.

2. That the gain of the whole world is not comparable with the loss of one precious soul. The soul's loss is an incomprehensible and irrecoverable loss.

There is a twofold judgment spoken of by this evangelist St. Matthew, namely, a particular coming of Christ to execute vengeance on the Jews, at the destruction of Jerusalem; and a general coming at the day of judgment.

If we understand this place of the latter, we have then, 1. The judge described, The Son of man, he who was and is both God and man, shall judge both angels and men.

2. The splendour of that day declared, He shall come in glory with his holy angels. The attendance of angels shall be required by Christ not for necessity but for majesty.

3. The work and business of that day demonstrated, and that is, To render to every man according to his work.

Learn, That the judgment of the great day will be most glorious and righteous: Christ will be glorious in his person, and glorious in his attendance: and the judgment will be according to righteousness, Without respect of persons, according to what has been done in the body.

A threefold sense and interpretation is given of these words.

1. Some will have them refer to our Saviour's transfiguration mentioned in the next chapter: as if he had said, "Some of you, as Peter, James, and John, shall shortly see me upon mount Tabor, in such glory as I will come into judgment."

2. Others understand the words of Christ's exercising his kingly power in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation; which St. John did have to see.

3. Others refer the words to the time of the gospel after Christ's resurrection and ascension, when the gospel was propagated and spread far and near, There are some standing here, that shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power Mr 9:1; that is, till they see the increase and enlargement of the the church by the gospel.

Thence note, That where the gospel is powerfully preached, and cheerfully obeyed, there Christ cometh most gloriously in his kingdom.

In these verses we find our Lord assailed by the untiring enmity of the Pharisees and Sadducees. As a general rule these two sects were at enmity between themselves; in persecuting Christ, however, they made common cause. Truly it was an unholy alliance! Yet how often we see the same thing in the present day. Men of the most opposite opinions and habits will agree in disliking the Gospel, and will work together to oppose its progress. “There is no new thing under the sun” ( Ecclesiastes 1:9 ).

The first point in this passage which deserves special notice is the repetition which our Lord makes of words used by him on a former occasion. He says, “a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.” If we turn to the twelth chapter of this gospel and the thirty ninth verse, we shall find that he had said the very same thing once before.

This repetition may seem a trifling and unimportant matter in the eyes of some. But it is not so in reality. It throws light on a subject which has perplexed the minds of many sincere lovers of the Bible, and ought therefore to be specially observed.

This repetition shows us that our Lord was in the habit of saying the same things over again. He did not content himself with saying a thing once, and afterwards never repeating it. It is evident that it was his custom to bring forward certain truths again and again, and thus to impress them more deeply on the minds of his disciples. He knew the weakness of our memories on spiritual things; he knew that what we hear twice, we remember better than what we hear once. He therefore brought out of his treasury old things as well as new.

Now what does all this teach us? It teaches us that we need not be so anxious to harmonize the narratives we read in the four Gospels, as many are disposed to be. It does not follow that the sayings of our Lord which we find the same in St. Matthew and St. Luke, were always used at the same time, or that the events with which they are connected must necessarily be the same. St. Matthew may be describing one event in our Lord’s life; St. Luke may be describing another: and yet the words of our Lord, on both occasions, may have been precisely alike. To attempt to make out the two events to be one and the same because of the sameness of the words used has often led Bible students into great difficulties. It is far safer to hold the view here maintained that at different times our Lord often used the same words.

The second point which deserves special notice in these verses is the solemn warning which our Lord takes occasion to give to his disciples. His mind was evidently pained with the false doctrines which he saw among the Jews, and the pernicious influence which they exercised. He seizes the opportunity to utter a caution. “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Sadducees” Let us mark well what those words contain.

To whom was this warning addressed? To the twelve apostles, to the first ministers of the church of Christ, to men who had forsaken all for the Gospel’s sake! Even they are warned! The best of men are only men, and at any time may fall into temptation. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!” ( 1 Corinthians 10:12 ). If we love life, and would see good days, let us never think that we do not need that hint: “Take heed and beware.”

Against what does our Lord warn his apostles? Against the “doctrine” of the Pharisees and of Sadducees. The Pharisees, we are frequently told in the Gospels, were self-righteous formalists; the Sadducees were skeptics, freethinkers, and half infidels.Yet even Peter, James, and John must beware of their doctrines! Truly the best and holiest of believers may well be on his guard!

By what figure does our Lord describe the false doctrines against which he cautions his disciples? He calls them leaven. Like leaven, they might seem a small thing compared to the whole body of truth; like leaven, once admitted they would work secretly and noiselessly; like leaven, they would gradually change the whole character of the religion with which they were mixed. How much is often contained in a single word!it was not merely theopen danger of heresy but “leaven” of which the apostles were to beware.

There is much in all this that calls loudly for the close attention of all professing Christians. The caution of our Lord in this passage has been shamefully neglected. It would have been well for the church of Christ if the warnings of the Gospel had been as much studied as its promises.

Let us then remember that this saying of our Lord’s about the “leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” was intended for all time. It was not meant only for the generation to which it was spoken; it was meant for the perpetual benefit of the church of Christ. He who spoke it saw with prophetically eye the future history of Christianity. The Great Physician knew well that Pharisaic doctrines and Sadducee doctrines would prove the two great wasting diseases of his church until the end of the world. He would have us know that there will always be Pharisees and Sadducees in the ranks of Christians. Their succession shall never fail; their generation shall never become extinct. Their name may change, but their spirit will always remain. Therefore he cries to us, “Take heed and beware!”

Finally, let us make a personal use of this caution, by keeping up a holy jealousy over our own souls. Let us remember that we live in a world where Pharisaism and Sadduceeism are continually striving for the mastery in the church of Christ. Some want to add to the Gospel, and some want to take away from it; some would bury it, and some would pare it down to nothing; some would stifle it by heaping on additions, and some would bleed it to death by subtraction from its truths. Both parties agree only in one respect: both would kill and destroy the life of Christianity if they succeeded in having their own way. Against both errors let us watch and pray, and stand upon guard. Let us not add to the Gospel, to please the Roman catholic Pharisee; let us not subtract from the Gospel, to please the neologian Sadducee. Let our principle be “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth:” nothing added to it, and nothing taken away.

There are words in this passage which have led to painful differences and divisions among Christians. Men have striven and contended about their meaning till they have lost sight of all charity, and yet have failed to carry conviction to one another’s minds. Let it suffice us to glance briefly at the controverted words, and then pass on to more practical lessons.

What then are we to understand, when we read that remarkable saying of our Lord’s, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church?” Does it mean that the apostle Peter himself was to be the foundation on which Christ’s church was to be built? Such an interpretation, to say the least, appears exceedingly improbable. To speak of an erring, fallible child of Adam as the foundation of the spiritual temple is very unlike the ordinary language of Scripture. Above all, no reason can be given why our Lord should not have said, “I will build my church upon thee, ” if such had been his meaning, instead of saying, “I will build my church upon this rock .”

The true meaning of the “rock” in this passage appears to be the truth of our Lord’s messiahship and divinity, which Peter had just confessed. It is as though our Lord had said, “thou art rightly called by the name Peter, or stone, for thou hast confessed that mighty truth on which, as on a rock, I will build my church.”

[There is nothing modern, or peculiarly Protestant, in the view here maintained. It was held by Chrysostom long ago. It was taught by Ferus, a famous Roman Catholic preacher of the Franciscan order, at Mainz in the sixteenth century, in his homilies on St. Matthew.

It may be well to remark in this place, that it is a complete delusion to suppose that the Scriptures can be interpreted according to the “unanimous consent of the Fathers.” There is no such unanimous consent! It is a mere high-sounding phrase, utterly destitute of any foundation in facts. The Fathers disagree as much in explaining Scripture as Whitby and Gill, or Matthew Henry and D’Oyly and Mant.]

But what are we to understand when we read the promise which our Lord makes to Peter: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven” Do these words mean that the right of admitting souls to heaven was to be placed in Peter’s hands? The idea is preposterous. Such an office is the special prerogative of Christ himself ( ). Do the words mean that Peter was to have any primacy or superiority over the rest of the apostles? There is not the slightest proof that such a meaning was attached to the words in New Testament times, or that Peter had any rank or dignity above the rest of the twelve.

The true meaning of the promise to Peter appears to be that he was to have the special privilege of first opening the door of salvation, both to the Jews and Gentiles. This was fulfilled to the letter when he preached on the day of Pentecost to the Jews, and visited the Gentile Cornelius at his own house. On each occasion he used “the keys,” and threw open the door of faith. Of this he seems to have been sensible himself. “God,” he says, “madechoice among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe” ( Acts 15:7 ).

Finally, what are we to understand when we read the words, “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven?” Does this mean that the apostle Peter was to have any power of forgiving sins, and absolving sinners? Such an idea is derogatory to Christ’s special office, as our great High Priest. It is a power which we never find Peter, or any of the apostles, once exercising. They always refer men to Christ.

The true meaning of this promise appears to be that Peter and his brethren, the apostles, were to be specially commissioned to teach with authority the way of salvation. As the Old Testament priest declared authoritatively whose leprosy was cleansed, so the apostles were appointed to “declare and pronounce” authoritatively whose sins were forgiven. Beside this, they were to be specially inspired to lay down rules and regulations for the guidance of the church on disputed questions. Some things they were to “bind” or forbid; others they were to “loose” or allow. The decision of the Council at Jerusalem that the Gentiles need not be circumcised was one example of the exercise of this power ( ); but it was a commission specially confined to the apostles. In discharging it they had no successors. With them it began, and with them it expired.

We will leave these controverted words here: enough perhaps has been said upon them for our personal edification. Let us only remember that, in whatsoever sense men take them, they have nothing to do with the Church of Rome. Let us now turn our attention to points which more immediately concern our own souls.

In the first place, let us admire the noble confession which the apostle Peter makes in this passage. He says, in reply to our Lord’s question, “Whom say ye that I am?” “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

At first sight, a careless reader may see nothing very remarkable in these words of the apostle: he may be think it extraordinary that they should call forth such strong commendation from our Lord: but such thoughts arise from ignorance and inconsideration. Men forget that it is a widely different thing to believe in Christ’s divine mission when we dwell in the midst of professing Christians, and to believe in it when we dwell in the midst of hardened and unbelieving Jews. The glory of Peter’s confession lies in this, that he made it when few were with Christ and many against him. He made it when the rulers of his own nation, the scribes, priests and Pharisees, were all opposed to his Master; he made it when our Lord was in the “form of a servant,”without wealth, without royal dignity, without any visible mark of a King. To make such a confession at such a time, required great faith and great decision of character. The confession itself, as Brentius says, “was an epitome of all Christianity, and a compendium of true doctrine about religion.” Therefore it was that our Lord said, “Blessed art thou, Simon bar Jonah.” We shall do well to copy that hearty zeal and affection which Peter displayed. We are perhaps too much disposed to underrate this holy man, because of his occasional instability, and his thrice repeated denial of his Lord. This is a great mistake. With all his faults, Peter was a true hearted fervent, single-minded servant of Christ; with all his imperfections, he has given us a pattern that many Christians would do wisely to follow. Zeal like his may have its ebbs and flows, and sometimes lacks steadiness of purpose; zeal like his may be ill-directed, and sometimes make sad mistakes: but zeal like his is not to be despised. It awakens up the sleeping; it stirs the sluggish; it provokes others to exertion. Anything is better than sluggishness, luke-warmness and torpor in the church of Christ. Happy would it have been for Christendom had there been more Christians like Simon Peter and Martin Luther.

In the next place let us take care that we understand what our Lord means when he speaks of his church.

The church which Jesus promises to build upon a rock is the “blessed company of all faithful people.” It is not the visible church of any one nation, country or place: it is the whole body of believers of every age, and tongue and people. It is a church composed of all who are washed in Christ’s blood, clothed in Christ’s righteousness, renewed by Christ’s Spirit, joined to Christ by faith, and epistles of Christ in life; it is a church of which every member is baptized with the HolyGhost, and is really and truly holy; it is a church which is one body. All who belong to it are of one heart and one mind, and hold the same truths, and believe the same doctrines as necessary to salvation. It is a church which has only one head: that head is Jesus Christ himself. “He is the head of the body.” ( Colossians 1:18 ).

Let us beware of mistakes on this subject. Few words are so much misunderstood as the word “church”; few mistakes have so much injured the cause of pure religion. Ignorance on this point has been a fertile source of bigotry, sectarianism and persecution. Men have wrangled and contended about Episcopal, Presbyterian and Independent churches as if it were necessary to salvation to belong to some particular party, and as if, belonging to that party, we must of course belong to Christ. All this time they have lost sight of the one true church, outside of which there is no salvation at all. It will matter nothing at the last day where we have worshiped, if we are not found members of the true church of God’s elect.

In the last place, let us mark the glorious promises which our Lord makes to his church. He says: “The gates of Hell will not prevail against it”.

The meaning of this promise is that the power of Satan shall never destroy the people of Christ. He that brought sin and death into the first creation by tempting Eve shall never bring ruin on the new creation by overthrowing believers. The mystical body of Christ shall never perish or decay. Though often persecuted, afflicted, distressed and brought low, it shall never come to an end: it shall outlive the wrath of Pharaohs and Roman Emperors. Visible churches, like Ephesus, may come to nothing; but the true church never dies. Like the bush that Moses saw, it may burn, but shall not be consumed. Every member of it shall be brought safe to glory. In spite of falls, failures and shortcomings, in spite of the world, the flesh and the devil, no member of the true church shall ever be cast way ( John 10:28 ).

In the beginning of these verses we find our Lord revealing to his disciples a great and startling truth. That truth was his approaching death upon the cross. For the first time he places before their minds the astounding announcement that “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer ˆ and ˆ be killed”. He had not come on earth to take a kingdom, but to die. He had not come to reign and be ministered to; but to shed his blood as a sacrifice, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

It is almost impossible for us to conceive how strange and incomprehensible these tidings must have seemed to his disciples. Like most of the Jews, they could form no idea of a suffering Messiah. They did not understand that  Isaiah 53 must be fulfilled literally; they did not see that the sacrifices of the law were all meant to point them to the death of the true Lamb of God. They thought of nothing but the second glorious coming of Messiah, which is yet to take place at the end of the world. They thought so much of Messiah’s crown, that they lost sight of his cross. We shall do well to remember this: a right understanding of this matter throws strong light on the lessons which this passage contains.

We learn in the first place, from these verses that there may be much spiritual ignorance even in a true disciple of Christ.

We cannot have a clearer proof of this than the conduct of the apostle Peter in this passage. He tries to dissuade our Lord from suffering on the cross. “Be it far from thee!” he says. “This shall not be unto thee!” He did not see the full purpose of our Lord’s coming into the world. His eyes were blinded to the necessity of our Lord’s death. He actually did what he could to prevent that death taking place at all! And yet we know that Peter was a converted man; he really believed that Jesus was the Messiah. His heart was right in the sight of God.

These things are meant to teach us that we must neither regard good men as infallible because they are good men, nor yet suppose they have no grace because their grace is weak and small. One brother may possess singular gifts, and be a bright and shining light in the church of Christ; but let us not forget that he is a man, and as a man liable to commit great mistakes. Another brother’s knowledge may be scanty: he may fail to judge rightly on many points of doctrine; he may err both in word and deed. But has he faith and love towards Christ? Does he hold the head? If so, let us deal patiently with him. What sees not now, he may see hereafter. Like Peter, he may now be in the dark, and yet, like Peter, enjoy one day the full light of the Gospel.

Let us learn in the second place, from these verses that there is no doctrine of Scripture so deeply important as the doctrine of Christ’s atoning death.

We cannot have clearer proof of this than the language used by our Lord in rebuking Peter. He addresses him by the awful name of “Satan,” as if he was an adversary, and doing the devil’s work in trying to prevent his death. He says to him, whom he had so lately called “blessed,” “Get thee behind me! Thou aert an offence unto me.” He tells the man whose noble confession he had just commended so highly, “Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Stronger words than these never fell from our Lord’s lips. The error that drew from such a loving Saviour such a stern rebuke to such a true disciple, must have been a mighty error indeed.

The truth is that our Lord would have us regard the crucifixion as the central truth of Christianity. Right views of his vicarious death, and the benefits resulting from it, lie at the very foundation of Bible religion. Never let us forget this. On matters of church government, and the form of worship, men may differ from us and yet reach heaven in safety. On the matter of Christ’s atoning death as the way of peace, truth is only one. If we are wrong here, we are ruined forever. Error on many points is only a skin disease; error about Christ’s death is a disease of the heart. Here let us take our stand: let nothing move us from this ground. The sum of all our hopes must be that Christ “ has died for us” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:10). Give up that doctrine, and we have no solid hope at all.

In order to see the connection of these verses we must remember the mistaken impressions of our Lord’s disciples as to the purpose of his coming into the world. Like Peter they could not bear the idea of the crucifixion. They thought that Jesus had come to set up an earthly kingdom; they did not see that he must needs suffer and die. They dreamed of worldly honors and temporal rewards in their Master’s service; they did not understand that true Christians, like Christ, must be made “perfect through suffering.” Our Lord corrects these misapprehensions in words of peculiar solemnity, which we shall do well to lay up in our hearts.

Let us learn in the first place from these verses that men must make up their minds to trouble and self-denial if they follow Christ.

Our Lord dispels the fond dreams of his disciples by telling them that his followers must take up the cross. The glorious kingdom they were expecting was not about to be set up immediately. They must make up their minds to persecutions and afflictions if they intended to be his servants: they must be content to lose their lives if they would have their souls saved.

It is good for us all to see this point clearly. We must not conceal from ourselves that true Christianity brings with it a daily cross in this life, while it offers us a crown of glory in the life to come. The flesh must be daily crucified; the devil must be daily resisted; the world must be daily overcome. There is a war to be waged, and a battle to be fought. All this is the inseparable accompaniment of true religion: heaven is not to be won without it. Never was there a truer word than the old saying, “No cross, no crown?” If we have never found this out by experience, our souls are in a poor condition.

Let us learn in the second place from these verses that there is nothing so precious as a man’s soul.

Our Lord teaches this lesson by asking one of the most solemn questions that the New Testament contains. It is a question so well known, and so often repeated, that people often lose sight of its searching character; but it is a question that ought to sound in our ears like a trumpet whenever we are tempted to neglect our eternal interests: “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul.” There can only be one answer to this question. There is nothing on earth, or under the earth, that can make amends to us for the loss of our souls. There is nothing that money can buy, or man can give, to be named in comparison with our souls. The world and all that it contains is temporal: it is all fading, perishing and passing away. The soul is eternal: that one single word is the key to the whole question. Let it sink down deeply into our hearts. Are we wavering in our religion? Do we fear the cross? Does the way seem too narrow? Let our Master’s words ring in our ears: “What shall it profit a man?” and let us doubt no more.

Let us learn in the last place that the second coming of Christ is the time when his people shall receive their rewards. “The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His father, and then he will reward every man according to his works.”

There is deep wisdom in this saying of our Lord’s when viewed in connection with the preceding verses. He knows the heart of a man: he knows how soon we are ready to be cast down and, like Israel of old, to be discouraged because of the way.” ( Numbers 21:4 ). He therefore holds out to us a gracious promise. He reminds us that he has yet to come a second time, as surely as he came the first time. He tells us that this is the time when his disciples shall receive their good things. There will be glory, honor and reward in abundance one day for all who have served and loved Jesus; but it is to be in the dispensation of the second advent, and not of the first. The bitter must come before the sweet, the cross before the crown. The first advent is the dispensation of the crucifixion; the second advent is the dispensation of the kingdom. We must submit to take part with our Lord in his humiliation if we desire to share in his glory.

And now let us not leave these verses without serious self-inquiry as to the matters which they contain. We have heard of the necessity of taking up the cross and denying ourselves: have we taken it up, and are we carrying it daily? We have heard of the value of the soul: do we live as if we believed it? We have heard of Christ’s second advent: do we look forward to it with hope and joy? Happy is that man who can give a satisfactory answer to these questions!