A. D. 31.

MATT. XII. 36-39.

committed, and of all their hard | speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him, Jude 14, 15. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works, Rev. xx.

12.

VER. 37.

̓Εκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων του δικαιωθήση, καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ.

For by thy words thou shalt be a justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

a Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? James ii. 21-25.

VER. 38.

Τότε ἀπεκρίθησάν τινες τῶν Γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, λέγοντες· Διδάσκαλε, θέλο ομεν ἀπὸ σοῦ σημεῖον ἰδεῖν.

Then certain of the a Scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

a See on clause 2. ver. 4. ch. ii. b See on clause 1. ver. 7. ch. iii. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 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? 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.

|

A. D. 31.

And he left them, and departed, xvi. 1-4. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seek. ing of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation, Mark viii. 11, 12. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet, Luke xi. 16. 29. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? John ii. 18. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe, iv. 48. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, 1 Cor. i. 22.

VER. 39.

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημείον ἐπιζητεῖ, καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνὰ τοῦ προφήτου.

But he answered and said unto them, a An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

a But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore, Is. lvii. 3. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels, Mark viii. 38. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God, James iv. 4.

b 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, Matt. xvi. 4. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a

Ωσπερ γὰρ ἦν Ἰωνᾶς ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας· οὕτως ἔσται ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ καρδία τῆς γῆς τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας.

For a as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly : b soshall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

a Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, Jon. i. 17.

|

A. D. 31. waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever : yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, Ο Lorp my God, Jon. ii. 2-6.

VER. 41.

*Ανδρες Νινευῖται ἀναστήσονται ἐν τῇ κρίσει μετὰ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ κατακ ρινοῦσιν αὐτήν· ὅτι μετενόησαν εἰς τὸ κήρυ γμα Ἰωνᾶ· καὶ ἰδοὺ πλεῖον Ἰωνᾶ ὧδε.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: c because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

a The men of Nineveh shall rise up b From that time forth began Jesus in the judgment with this generation, to shew unto his disciples, how that and shall condemn it: for they repenthe must go unto Jerusalem, and suffered at the preaching of Jonas; and, many things of the elders and Chief behold, a greater than Jonas is here, Priests and Scribes, and be killed, Luke xi. 32. and be raised again the third day, Matt. xvi. 21. And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry, xvii. 23. And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross, xxvii. 40. Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead so the last error shall be worse than the first, 63, 64. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, John ii. 19.

c But those that seek my soul, to destroy, it shall go into the lower parts of the earth, Ps. lxiii. 9. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about all thy billows and thy

bThe queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here! Matt. xii. 42. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD, IS. liv. 17. And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? Rom. ii. 27. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, Heb. xi. 7.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered

VER. 42.

A. D. 31.

him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. | whose house are we, if we hold fast And he caused it to be proclaimed the confidence and the rejoicing of the and published through Nineveh by hope firm unto the end, Heb. iii. the decree of the king and his nobles 5, 6. saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not, Jonah iii. 5 -10.

Βασίλισσα νότου ἐγερθήσεται ἐν τῇ κρίσει μετὰ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ κατακρινεῖ αὐτήν· ὅτι ἦλθεν ἐκ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς ἀκοῦσαι τὴν σοφίαν Σολομῶντος· καὶ ἰδοὺ, | πλεῖον Σολομῶντος ὧδε.

dBut I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here! Matt. vi. 6. 42. He that cometh from above is above all he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all, John iii. 31. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? iv. 12. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am, viii. 53-58. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house;

the judgment with this generation, and The queen of the south shall rise up in uttermost parts of the earth to hear the shall condemn it: for she came from the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here!

a And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions, 1 Kings x. 1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart, 2 Chron. ix. 1. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here, Luke xi. 31. And he arose and went: nd behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet, Acts viii. 27, 28.

:

Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 1 Kings iii. 9. Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee, 12. And all Israel heard of the judgment which

VER. 45.

A. D. 31.

Then goeth he, and taketh with himself a seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is be also unto this wicked generation. worse than the first. Even so shall it

down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand ;) and were Τότε πορεύεται, καὶ παραλαμβάνει μεθ' choked in the sea, Mark v. 7-13. ἑαυτοῦ ἑπτὰ ἕτερα πνεύματα πονηρότερα When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and | ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ εἰσελθόντα κατοικεῖ ἐκεῖ· καὶ fell down before him, and with a loud γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου voice, said, What have I to do with χείρονα τῶν πρώτων. Οὕτως ἔσται καὶ thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most Tere TauTḥ, Tỵ WOVNPä. high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them, Luke viii. 28-32.

a

* Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house, Matt. xii. 29. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils, Luke xi. 21, 22. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly, John xiii. 27. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience Eph. ii. 2. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world, 1 John iv. 4.

:

a But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils, Matt. xii. 24. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many, Mark v. 9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils, xvi. 9. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, Eph. vi. 12.

b Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves, Matt. xxiii. 15.

c Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first, Luke xi. 26. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned: Heb. vi.