the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch, into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thine house. 25 And immediately he arose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day. See this passage explained in Matt. ix. 1-7. 'On a certain day.' The time and place are not particularly mentioned, but from Matt. ix. 1, it seems it was at Capernaum. 'The tiling.' See Matt. ix. 1-7. 27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom : and he said unto him, Follow me. 28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. See Matt. ix. 9-13. 'Made him a great feast." This circumstance Matthew, or Levi, as he is here called, has omitted. It shows how little inclined the evangelists are to say any thing in favour of themselves, or to praise themselves. True religion seeks retirement; delights rather in the consciousness of doing well, than in its being known; and leaves its good deeds to be spoken of, if spoken of at all, by others. See Prov. xxvii. 2. Our Saviour did not refuse to go to this feast, and to go, too, at the risk of being accused as a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, Matt. xi. 19. But his motives were pure. It afforded an opportunity of doing good, and we have no reason to doubt that it was improved by the Lord Jesus. Happy would it be if all the great feasts that are made, were made in honour of our Lord. Happy, if he would be a welcome guest there; and happy if ministers and pious people who attend them conducted themselves as the Lord Jesus did, and they were made the means of advancing his kingdom. 33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the pharisees; but thine eat and drink ? 34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. 37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. 39 No man also having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better. See this passage illustrated in Matt. ix. 14-17. Having drunk old wine,' &c. Wine improves in quality and flavour by age; old wine is therefore preferable. They who had tasted such mild and mellow wine would not readily drink the juice of the grape as it came from the press. The meaning of this proverb here seems to be this: You, pharisees, wish to draw my disciples to austere and rigid duties: to fasting, and painful rites. But they have come under a milder system. They have tasted the gentle and tender blessings of the gospel. They have no relish for your stern and harsh requirements. To teach them to fast, when they see no occasion for it, when they are full of joy at the presence of their Master, would be like putting a piece of new cloth on an old garment, too weak to hold it, or new wine into old leathern bottles; or drinking unpleasant wine, after one had tasted that which was pleasanter. It would all be ill-timed, inappropriate, and incongruous. CHAPTER VI. 1 AND it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn-fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; 4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shew-bread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. 6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. See this passage explained in notes on Matt. xii. 1-14. 'Second sabbath after the first. See Matt. xii. 1. A literal translation would be, 'on the sabbath called second prime,' or second first sabbath. The first sabbath that occurred after the second day of the feast. 'Rubbing them in their hands. The word 'corn' here means wheat or barley. They rubbed it in their hands to separate the grain from the chaff. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose, and stood forth. He knew their thoughts, their dark malicious designs, by the question which they proposed to him, whether it was lawful to heal on the sabbath days. Matthew. 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you ono F thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. 'Were filled with madness.' Men are often enraged because others do good in a way which they do not approve of. God gives success to others, and because God has not bound himself to their views of what is right, and done it in the way which they would have prescribed, they are enraged and filled with envy at men more successful than themselves. 'Communed one with another.' Spoke together or laid a plan. 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 'A mountain.' Jesus was accustomed to retire to such places to hold communion with God, Mark vi. 46. He chose them because they were retired and free from interruption. 'All night in prayer to God.' The meaning is, 'in an oratory,' or place of prayer. The Jews had places of prayer built out of their cities or towns, where they could retire from the bustle of a city, and hold communion with God. They were built on the banks of rivers, (compare Acts xvi. 13,) or in groves, or on hills. They were rude inclosures, made by building a rough wall of stone around a level piece of ground, and capable of accommodating a small number who might resort thither to pray. In such a place Jesus spent the whole night in supplication. It was an occasion of great importance. He was about to send out his apostles; to lay the foundation of his religion; and he therefore set apart this time specially to seek the Divine blessing. It was no unusual thing for Jesus to spend much time in prayer; and we are not to wonder that he passed an entire night in supplication. He has set us an example that we should follow in his steps. In great emergencies, when we have important duties, or are about to encounter special difficulties, we should seek the Divine blessing and direction by prayer. We should set apart an unusual portion of time for supplication. Nay, if we pass the whole night in prayer, it should not be charged as enthusiasm. Our Saviour did it. Men of the world often pass whole nights in the business of gain, or dissipation, and shall it be esteemed strange that christians should spend an equal portion of time in the far more important business of religion? 13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named Apostles; 14 Simon (whom he also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. See note, Matt. x. 1-4. 17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases ; There has been some doubt whether the following discourse is the same as that recorded in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew; or whether our Saviour now repeated the substance of that discourse, and that Luke recorded it as he repeated it. The latter seems to be the correct opinion. 'Tyre and Sidon.' See note, Matt. xi. 21. 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 'Vexed.' The word 'vex' with us means to provoke, or irritate by petty, provocations. Here it means, however, to afflict, to torment, denoting deep and heavy trials. Unclean spirits.' Demons that were impure and unholy, having a delight in tormenting, and in inflicting painful and loathsome diseases. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. 'Virtue.' Healing power. See note, Mark v. 30. 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. See this passage fully illustrated in the sermon on the mount, |