4. " There were "; this serves here merely to bring out the Lord's answer, and His view of it.
8. How infinitely full of grace! There was no understanding in them of the position He was really in.
Could the Lord say of me: What he could he has done? I do fear not; I fear a sad defect of surrender of self to the Lord. If we honor the Lord with what we have, we know nothing of the power or extent of the testimony. The Church has delighted itself, in all ages, with this woman's offering, to her own special honor. Yet is there none on whom my soul rests, or, may not I say Lord, desires but Him. " I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of " Him, and that thankfully to be given to do so, but what I feel so lacking is the practical.
-20. Judas had heard Jesus was to suffer, and these things began to have an end, and money had been brought in question. The character of Judas seems brought out upon, and in contrast with that of the poor woman; he was the mere instrument, after all, of filling up the divine counsel. The Lord in all holy and dignified calmness with perfect knowledge of what was coming, could stamp His seal of testimony to the loving and divinely directed action of this poor woman, and give it its value in the whole world, wherever the good news came that a Savior had died. God was not unrighteous to forget her work and labor of love. Love to Jesus was His supreme delight. The anxiety and care of sin is just contrasted with the calmness of grace.
-12. As the Lord could provide for His royal entry, so for the last token of love to His disciples, and, though submitting and meek in all this, we see the perfect power of arranging, ordering, and pronouncing all things for present circumstances, or which should be. The glory of His title and power breaks through and shines through all, and as the rejection of His Person as Messiah was practically complete, and His death as Son of man was drawing nigh, His glory, lost by the unhappy Jews in one, and which gave divine efficacy, shone blessedly forth in all He said and did, as need called it forth, and in a rejected Messiah. There was no longer need for its concealment. There was a Remnant that He knew in the midst of the evil and the rejection, those the disciples knew not, unmanifested persons, to whom it was enough to say: " The Teacher says." A consolation to Jesus' soul, and a timely confirmation to the faith of His disciples; compare the conduct of even Elijah with this, blessed as he was-no broken-hearted retreat to Horeb here, but such a declaration of God's righteousness and truth in the great congregation as left the manifestation of God so on the soul, as that the control of His word was there, though the energy of the Holy Ghost had not manifested them to the world. Yet the Lord never departs out of the simplicity of His course. Then the Lord, when they are gathered opens His heart to them-one of those who eat with Him should betray Him. There certainly was beautiful confidence in their inquiry, for grief often makes humble in bringing down proud confidence in self; we have not been able to hinder the sorrow.
Compare Matt. 26:1717Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? (Matthew 26:17), Luke 22:77Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. (Luke 22:7), John 13:11Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1), and Ex. 12:6, 186And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:6)
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. (Exodus 12:18). I apprehend that the consideration of the different structure of the days, makes the Last Supper and Passover quite intelligible. Thursday evening, our 13th, is their Friday, 14th beginning. I believe then our Lord ate the Passover on Friday and was offered up on Friday-we know that it was late, night, when He was betrayed, just after the supper; John 13:3030He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. (John 13:30), etc. That was their Friday night. The blessed Lamb of God was offered up, He was crucified the third hour, and the scene closed just after the ninth hour- about three hours within the Friday. I know that learned men say " between the two evenings was 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock," but why? What is their authority? It is remarkable that the unleavened bread was to begin at even, i.e., at 6 o'clock on our Thursday, their Friday, but the Paschal Lamb to be slain between the two evenings. Query whether that be not between the beginning of Friday (our Thursday evening) and the beginning of Saturday (our Friday evening), which was strictly fulfilled in our Lord, and upon this supposition every statement in the Scripture is consistent. The order is just thus then, as:-
Thursday, 13th, evening with us-Friday, last Supper; Friday, 14th-Friday, the Crucifixion; Friday, 14th evening with us-Saturday, " rested the Sabbath "; Saturday, 15th- Saturday, the high Sabbath, rested Saturday, 15th evening with us-First day of the week, Sunday, 16th morning with us- First day of the week they came very early to the sepulcher.
Our Thursday night, their Friday, was spent in the judgment hall, they not going into Pilate's, that they might keep the Passover.
-19. In Matt. 26:2525Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. (Matthew 26:25), Judas says, " Master, is it I? " Note the difference of spirit which dictates, and " Although all shall be offended, yet will not I," to Peter. And how traitorous the heart is!
20, et seq. There is something very brief and solemn in all this account here. The Lord's mind was full, and the Spirit presents the truth as if it was too weighty and near to say much about it. " One of the twelve, who dips with me in the dish "; all was morally contained in that. " The Son of man goes as it is written... but woe to that man... good for that man if he had not been born." It is the pith and substance too of the institution which is given. " For many "; this carries it out into a further scene of grace, while verse 25 closes all His present relationship with earth, to be resumed in a future day when His Nazarite separation from them would close.
27. But the time was coming when He should smite the Shepherd, and the sheep should be scattered.
-29, 30. " If all... not I "; yet it was no one but he. And our Lord's answer seems strikingly marked.
-31. I may remark here, in passing, that the evidence from versions from a reading is to be taken with much question, and also of the fathers, especially as quoted by Griesbach. The versions are, it is to be remembered, translations conveying the sense, and not always direct evidence of the words employed. Thus here, the Vulgate gives " amplius " (the more). I am not at all clear that it did not read mallon ek perissou (the more vehemently), and translate it all amplius (the more). Indeed, I believe mallon ek perissou to be of that effect. There are many analogous connections of mallon and perissos. I would remark that, though we are highly indebted for his pains and profitable diligence to Griesbach, his judgment as to Scripture text and sense is, I think, exceedingly low.
-33. Ton (the) before Petron (Peter) I suspect marks the surname Let us never pass by the simple fact of the heaviness and distress of our Lord, " the Author and Finisher of faith."
35. His soul was truly " full of grief." May our souls be made conformable to His death.
-36. The answer does not appear, i.e. upon the prayer, but the prayer is full of instruction. In the trials of the saints, when there is pure unfeigned submission to the will of their heavenly Father in outward circumstance, which, on the approach of the trial, connects itself with all the power of the trial, the prayer may not be formed on the purposes of divine counsel, and yet be fully accepted and answered by separation of the circumstances, not from the reality of the trial, but from its power over the will. There was a submission of the will, from the beginning, to the divine will, but patience of its fulfillment, in which the present actings of the will are concerned, is wrought in the soul by the operation of the divine power in answer, and we are heard by reason of fearing (Heb. 5:77Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; (Hebrews 5:7)). " All things are possible," in whatever ignorance we may be, is abstractedly an answer to apprehension, if the person in fear has an interest in that will. Faith realizes this abstract answer in respect of practical exigency.
-38. " The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh weak," is not given as aphoristic commiseration of them, but as a reason for, and marking the necessity of watching and prayer. Do not rely on the readiness of your spirit, for the flesh in which you walk is weak; therefore watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. There was special allusion and graciously (for the Lord's soul was stayed and prepared for the evil) to Peter's hasty undertaking to suffer with Him, unsustained in spirit by going through it with God; he would soon sink in going through it with man.
What perfect simplicity of truth there is in this statement! At the moment that the anxiety of redeeming the world by His own obedience unto death weighed upon the Lord's mind, when He was subjecting Himself to His own substitution to wrath for His sheep, to His Father's necessary will in holiness and justice! How do we see the place which the Son of man held upon earth-subjection to the merest present circumstance when salvation is in question!
He saw His way before Him-that bitterness of distress even to death, in which He had sought the stay of one to watch with Him, was over. They might now sleep; He knew that the hour was indeed come, and He had set Himself to meet it. Observe, our Lord was caused to feel that He was utterly alone in the conflict. His mind had unburdened its load, and He returned to them whom He had left as Man; but they were asleep. He warns them, and returns to that on which His soul was occupied with God, and which could be settled there only, and there only accordingly He finds, so to speak, vent for His soul, till He should have manifested to us the fulfilling of all righteousness for our sakes. When we think of His divine glory, His being the depository of the power of His Father's will, we can but be silent before Him. Observe too for ourselves, the Spirit of God will lead us into timely prayer.
- 44. There was something desperately wicked in Judas, after passing such time with Christ. But Satan was with him to carry the flesh through, and it is so with Peter. The flesh is weak," is another thing as to state, if the roots are the same. It is bad enough, I mean even in effect. The Holy Ghost was not there though " the spirit willing." Satan had entered into Judas; no wonder his wickedness.
- 62. " I am." " And ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven," is an additional testimony; all the truth must now be told.
The first step was seemingly a little one, merely rejecting the impertinence of a girl, when there was no good in the testimony. It clearly was not the time, but it was all in principle. It seemed at the time as if it made no difference to any, his denial or not; it was merely avoiding the inquisitive intrusion of strangers when inconvenient to himself. So, often, in the world. They would have given no honor to Jesus, had He confessed Him, but the contrary.
How the boldness of nature leads a man into a situation where he is not in the way of grace, and fails to his own sorrow and bitterness of heart! What business had he there if he were not one of them?
Query. " The maid again began." It is quite possible that more than three may have spoken even if he only directly denied the Lord thrice. But there is no apparent discrepancy even, save that Matthew says, " Another maid," and Mark, " The maid." Bengel would say both did, but I apprehend it was the maid of the proaulion (entrance-hall) the he thuroros (the door keeper) of John, very likely. The palin (again) seems certainly to belong to erxato (began) in any case. How little poor Peter gained by having the fire, and going out into, the porch! It is no use.