1AndG2532 when he had calledG4341 to him hisG846 twelveG1427 disciplesG3101, he gaveG1325 themG846 powerG1849 against uncleanG169 spiritsG4151, toG5620 castG1544 themG846 outG1544, andG2532 to healG2323 all mannerG3956 of sicknessG3554 andG2532 all mannerG3956 of diseaseG3119. 2NowG1161 the namesG3686 of the twelveG1427 apostlesG652 areG2076 theseG5023; The firstG4413, SimonG4613, whoG3588 is calledG3004 PeterG4074, andG2532 AndrewG406 hisG846 brotherG80; JamesG2385 the son ofG3588 ZebedeeG2199, andG2532 JohnG2491 hisG846 brotherG80; 3PhilipG5376, andG2532 BartholomewG918; ThomasG2381, andG2532 MatthewG3156 the tax collectorG5057; JamesG2385 the son ofG3588 AlphaeusG256, andG2532 LebbaeusG3002, whose surname wasG1941 ThaddaeusG2280; 4SimonG4613 the CanaaniteG2581, andG2532 JudasG2455 IscariotG2469, whoG3588 alsoG2532 betrayedG3860 himG846. 5TheseG5128 twelveG1427 JesusG2424 sent forthG649, and commandedG3853 themG846, sayingG3004, GoG565 notG3361 intoG1519 the wayG3598 of the GentilesG1484, andG2532 enter yeG1525 notG3361 intoG1519 any cityG4172 of the SamaritansG4541: 6ButG1161 goG4198 ratherG3123 toG4314 the lostG622 sheepG4263 of the houseG3624 of IsraelG2474. 7AndG1161 as ye goG4198, preachG2784, sayingG3004 G3754, The kingdomG932 of heavenG3772 is at handG1448. 8HealG2323 the sickG770, cleanseG2511 the lepersG3015, raiseG1453 the deadG3498, cast outG1544 demonsG1140: freelyG1432 ye have receivedG2983, freelyG1432 giveG1325. 9ProvideG2932 neitherG3361 goldG5557, norG3366 silverG696, norG3366 brassG5475 inG1519 yourG5216 pursesG2223, 10NorG3361 bagG4082 forG1519 your journeyG3598, neitherG3366 twoG1417 coatsG5509, neitherG3366 shoesG5266, norG3366 staffsG4464: forG1063 the workmanG2040 isG2076 worthyG514 of hisG846 foodG5160. 11AndG1161 intoG1519 whateverG302 G3739 cityG4172 orG2228 townG2968 ye shall enterG1525, enquireG1833 whoG5101 inG1722 itG846 isG2076 worthyG514; and thereG2546 abideG3306 tillG302 G2193 ye go from thereG1831. 12AndG1161 when ye comeG1525 intoG1519 an houseG3614, greetG782 itG846. 13AndG2532 ifG1437 G3303 the houseG3614 beG5600 worthyG514, let yourG5216 peaceG1515 comeG2064 uponG1909 itG846: butG1161 ifG3362 it beG5600 notG3362 worthyG514, let yourG5216 peaceG1515 returnG1994 toG4314 youG5209. 14AndG2532 whoeverG3739 shallG1209 notG3362 receiveG1209 youG5209, norG3366 hearG191 yourG5216 wordsG3056, when ye depart fromG1831 thatG1565 houseG3614 orG2228 cityG4172, shake offG1621 the dustG2868 of yourG5216 feetG4228. 15VerilyG281 I sayG3004 to youG5213, It shall beG2071 more tolerableG414 for the landG1093 of SodomG4670 andG2532 GomorrahG1116 inG1722 the dayG2250 of judgmentG2920, thanG2228 for thatG1565 cityG4172. 16BeholdG2400, IG1473 sendG649 youG5209 forthG649 asG5613 sheepG4263 inG1722 the midstG3319 of wolvesG3074: be yeG1096 thereforeG3767 wiseG5429 asG5613 serpentsG3789, andG2532 harmlessG185 asG5613 dovesG4058. 17ButG1161 bewareG4337 ofG575 menG444: forG1063 they will deliverG3860 youG5209 G3860 toG1519 the councilsG4892, andG2532 they will scourgeG3146 youG5209 inG1722 theirG846 synagoguesG4864; 18AndG2532 ye shall be broughtG71 beforeG1909 governorsG2232 andG2532 G1161 kingsG935 for myG1752 sakeG1700, forG1519 a testimonyG3142 against themG846 andG2532 the GentilesG1484. 19ButG1161 whenG3752 they deliverG3860 youG5209 upG3860, beG3309 notG3361 anxiousG3309 howG4459 orG2228 whatG5101 ye shall speakG2980: forG1063 it shall be givenG1325 to youG5213 inG1722 that sameG1565 hourG5610 whatG5101 ye shall speakG2980. 20ForG1063 it isG2075 notG3756 yeG5210 that speakG2980, butG235 the SpiritG4151 of yourG5216 FatherG3962 whoG3588 speakethG2980 inG1722 youG5213. 21AndG1161 the brotherG80 shall deliver upG3860 the brotherG80 toG1519 deathG2288, andG2532 the fatherG3962 the childG5043: andG2532 the childrenG5043 shall rise upG1881 againstG1909 their parentsG1118, andG2532 causeG2289 themG846 to be put to deathG2289. 22AndG2532 ye shallG2071 be hatedG3404 byG5259 allG3956 men forG1223 myG3450 name’s sakeG3686: butG1161 he thatG3778 endurethG5278 toG1519 the endG5056 shall be savedG4982. 23ButG1161 whenG3752 they persecuteG1377 youG5209 inG1722 thisG5026 cityG4172, flee yeG5343 intoG1519 anotherG243: forG1063 verilyG281 I sayG3004 to youG5213, Ye shallG5055 notG3364 have gone overG5055 the citiesG4172 of IsraelG2474, tillG2193 the SonG5207 of manG444 shall haveG302 comeG2064. 24The discipleG3101 isG2076 notG3756 aboveG5228 his teacherG1320, norG3761 the servantG1401 aboveG5228 hisG846 lordG2962. 25It is enoughG713 for the discipleG3101 thatG2443 he should beG1096 asG5613 hisG846 teacherG1320, andG2532 the servantG1401 asG5613 hisG846 lordG2962. IfG1487 they have calledG2564 the master of the houseG3617 BeelzebubG954, how muchG4214 moreG3123 shall they call them of hisG846 householdG3615? 26FearG5399 themG846 notG3361 thereforeG3767: forG1063 there isG2076 nothingG3762 coveredG2572, thatG3739 shallG601 notG3756 be revealedG601; andG2532 hidG2927, thatG3739 shallG1097 notG3756 be knownG1097. 27WhatG3739 I tellG3004 youG5213 inG1722 darknessG4653, that speak yeG2036 inG1722 lightG5457: andG2532 whatG3739 ye hearG191 inG1519 the earG3775, that proclaimG2784 uponG1909 the housetopsG1430. 28AndG2532 fearG5399 G575 notG3361 them whoG3588 killG615 the bodyG4983, butG1161 areG1410 notG3361 ableG1410 to killG615 the soulG5590: butG1161 ratherG3123 fearG5399 him whoG3588 is ableG1410 to destroyG622 bothG2532 soulG5590 andG2532 bodyG4983 inG1722 hellG1067. 29AreG4453 notG3780 twoG1417 sparrowsG4765 soldG4453 for a farthingG787? andG2532 notG3756 oneG1520 ofG1537 themG846 shall fallG4098 onG1909 the groundG1093 withoutG427 yourG5216 FatherG3962. 30ButG1161 the veryG2532 hairsG2359 of yourG5216 headG2776 areG1526 allG3956 numberedG705. 31Fear yeG5399 notG3361 thereforeG3767, yeG5210 are of more valueG1308 than manyG4183 sparrowsG4765. 32WhoeverG3956 G3748 thereforeG3767 shall confessG3670 G1722 meG1698 beforeG1715 menG1722 G444, himG846 will I alsoG2504 confessG3670 beforeG1715 myG3450 FatherG3962 whoG3588 is inG1722 heavenG3772. 33ButG1161 whoeverG3748 shallG302 denyG720 meG3165 beforeG1715 menG444, himG846 will I alsoG2504 denyG720 beforeG1715 myG3450 FatherG3962 whoG3588 is inG1722 heavenG3772. 34ThinkG3543 notG3361 thatG3754 I am comeG2064 to sendG906 peaceG1515 onG1909 earthG1093: I cameG2064 notG3756 to sendG906 peaceG1515, butG235 a swordG3162. 35ForG1063 I am comeG2064 to setG1369 a manG444 at varianceG1369 againstG2596 hisG846 fatherG3962, andG2532 the daughterG2364 againstG2596 herG846 motherG3384, andG2532 the daughter in lawG3565 againstG2596 herG846 mother in lawG3994. 36AndG2532 a man’sG444 foesG2190 shall be they of his ownG846 householdG3615. 37He that lovethG5368 fatherG3962 orG2228 motherG3384 more thanG5228 meG1691 isG2076 notG3756 worthyG514 of meG3450: andG2532 he that lovethG5368 sonG5207 orG2228 daughterG2364 more thanG5228 meG1691 isG2076 notG3756 worthyG514 of meG3450. 38AndG2532 heG3739 that takethG2983 notG3756 hisG846 crossG4716, andG2532 followethG190 afterG3694 meG3450, isG2076 notG3756 worthyG514 of meG3450. 39He that findethG2147 hisG846 lifeG5590 shall loseG622 itG846: andG2532 he that losethG622 hisG846 lifeG5590 for myG1700 sakeG1752 shall findG2147 itG846. 40He that receivethG1209 youG5209 receivethG1209 meG1691, andG2532 he that receivethG1209 meG1691 receivethG1209 him that sentG649 meG3165. 41He that receivethG1209 a prophetG4396 inG1519 the nameG3686 of a prophetG4396 shall receiveG2983 a prophet’sG4396 rewardG3408; andG2532 he that receivethG2983 a righteous manG1342 inG1519 the nameG3686 of a righteous manG1342 shall receiveG1209 a righteous man’sG1342 rewardG3408. 42AndG2532 whoeverG3739 G1437 shall give to drinkG4222 to oneG1520 of theseG5130 little onesG3398 a cupG4221 of coldG5593 water onlyG3440 inG1519 the nameG3686 of a discipleG3101, verilyG281 I sayG3004 to youG5213, he shall by no meansG3364 loseG622 hisG846 rewardG3408.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MISSION OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. ( =
Mark 6:7-
Mark 6:13;
Luke 9:1-
Luke 9:6). (
Matt 10:1-
Matt 10:5)
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power--The word signifies both "power," and "authority" or "right." Even if it were not evident that here both ideas are included, we find both words expressly used in the parallel passage of Luke (
Luke 9:1) --"He gave them power and authority"--in other words, He both qualified and authorized them.
against--or "over."
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these--The other Evangelists enumerate the twelve in immediate connection with their appointment (
Mark 3:13-
Mark 3:19;
Luke 6:13-
Luke 6:16). But our Evangelist, not intending to record the appointment, but only the Mission of the Twelve, gives their names here. And as in the Acts (
Acts 1:13) we have a list of the Eleven who met daily in the upper room with the other disciples after their Master's ascension until the day of Pentecost, we have four catalogues in all for comparison.
The first, Simon, who is called Peter--(See on
John 1:42).
and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother--named after James, as the younger of the two.
3 Philip and Bartholomew--That this person is the same with "Nathanael of Cana in Galilee" is justly concluded for the three following reasons: First, because Bartholomew is not so properly an individual's name as a family surname; next, because not only in this list, but in Mark's and Luke's (
Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:14), he follows the name of "Philip," who was the instrument of bringing Nathanael first to Jesus (
John 1:45); and again, when our Lord, after His resurrection, appeared at the Sea of Tiberias, "Nathanael of Cana in Galilee" is mentioned along with six others, all of them apostles, as being present (
John 21:2).
Matthew the publican--In none of the four lists of the Twelve is this apostle so branded but in his own, as if he would have all to know how deep a debtor he had been to his Lord. (See on
Matt 1:3;
Matt 9:9).
James the son of Alphaeus--the same person apparently who is called Cleopas or Clopas (
Luke 24:18;
John 19:25); and, as he was the husband of Mary, sister to the Virgin, James the Less must have been our Lord's cousin.
and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus--the same, without doubt, as "Judas the brother of James," mentioned in both the lists of Luke (
Luke 6:16;
Acts 1:13), while no one of the name of Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus is so. It is he who in John (
John 14:22) is sweetly called "Judas, not Iscariot." That he was the author of the Catholic Epistle of "Jude," and not "the Lord's brother" (
Matt 13:55), unless these be the same, is most likely.
4 Simon the Canaanite--rather "Kananite," but better still, "the Zealot," as he is called in
Luke 6:15, where the original term should not have been retained as in our version ("Simon, called Zelotes"), but rendered "Simon, called the Zealot." The word "Kananite" is just the Aramaic, or Syro-Chaldaic, term for "Zealot." Probably before his acquaintance with Jesus, he belonged to the sect of the Zealots, who bound themselves, as a sort of voluntary ecclesiastical police, to see that the law was not broken with impunity.
and Judas Iscariot--that is, Judas of Kerioth, a town of Judah (
Josh 15:25); so called to distinguish him from "Judas the brother of James" (
Luke 6:16).
who also betrayed him--a note of infamy attached to his name in all the catalogues of the Twelve.
5 THE TWELVE RECEIVE THEIR INSTRUCTIONS. (Mat. 10:5-42)
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not--The Samaritans were Gentiles by blood; but being the descendants of those whom the king of Assyria had transported from the East to supply the place of the ten tribes carried captive, they had adopted the religion of the Jews, though with admixtures of their own: and, as the nearest neighbors of the Jews, they occupied a place intermediate between them and the Gentiles. Accordingly, when this prohibition was to be taken off, on the effusion of the Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles were told that they should be Christ's witnesses first "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea," then "in Samaria," and lastly, "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (
Acts 1:8).
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel--Until Christ's death, which broke down the middle wall of Partition (
Eph 2:14), the Gospel commission was to the Jews only, who, though the visible people of God, were "lost sheep," not merely in the sense which all sinners are (
Isa 53:6;
1Pet 2:25; compare with
Luke 19:10), but as abandoned and left to wander from the right way by faithless shepherds (
Jer 50:6,
Jer 50:17;
Ezek 34:2-
Ezek 34:6, &c.).
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand--(See on
Matt 3:2).
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils--(The italicizedd clause--"raise the dead"--is wanting in many manuscripts). Here we have the first communication of supernatural power by Christ Himself to His followers--thus anticipating the gifts of Pentecost. And right royally does He dispense it.
freely ye have received, freely give--Divine saying, divinely said! (Compare
Deut 15:10-
Deut 15:11;
Acts 3:6) --an apple of gold in a setting of silver (
Pro 25:11). It reminds us of that other golden saying of our Lord, rescued from oblivion by Paul, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (
Acts 20:35). Who can estimate what the world owes to such sayings, and with what beautiful foliage and rich fruit such seeds have covered, and will yet cover, this earth!
9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses--"for" your purses; literally, "your belts," in which they kept their money.
10 Nor scrip for your journey--the bag used by travellers for holding provisions.
neither two coats--or tunics, worn next the skin. The meaning is, Take no change of dress, no additional articles.
neither shoes--that is change of them.
nor yet staves--The received text here has "a staff," but our version follows another reading, "staves," which is found in the received text of Luke (
Luke 9:3). The true reading, however, evidently is "a staff"--meaning, that they were not to procure even that much expressly for this missionary journey, but to go with what they had. No doubt it was the misunderstanding of this that gave rise to the reading "staves" in so many manuscripts Even if this reading were genuine, it could not mean "more than one"; for who, as ALFORD well asks, would think of taking a spare staff?
for the workman is worthy of his meat--his "food" or "maintenance"; a principle which, being universally recognized in secular affairs, is here authoritatively applied to the services of the Lord's workmen, and by Paul repeatedly and touchingly employed in his appeals to the churches (
Rom 15:27;
1Cor 9:11;
Gal 6:6), and once as "scripture" (
1Tim 5:18).
11 And into whatsoever city or town--town or village.
ye shall enter inquire--carefully.
who in it is worthy--or "meet" to entertain such messengers; not in point of rank, of course, but of congenial disposition.
and there abide till ye go thence--not shifting about, as if discontented, but returning the welcome given with a courteous, contented, accommodating disposition.
12 And when ye come into an house--or "the house," but it means not the worthy house, but the house ye first enter, to try if it be worthy.
salute it--show it the usual civilities.
13 And if the house be worthy--showing this by giving you a welcome.
let your peace come upon it--This is best explained by the injunction to the Seventy, "And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house" (
Luke 10:5). This was the ancient salutation of the East, and it prevails to this day. But from the lips of Christ and His messengers, it means something far higher, both in the gift and the giving of it, than in the current salutation. (See on
John 14:27).
but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you--If your peace finds a shut, instead of an open, door in the heart of any household, take it back to yourselves, who know how to value it; and it will taste the sweeter to you for having been offered, even though rejected.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city--for possibly a whole town might not furnish one "worthy."
shake off the dust of your feet--"for a testimony against them," as Mark and Luke add (
Mark 6:11;
Luke 10:11). By this symbolical action they vividly shook themselves from all connection with such, and all responsibility for the guilt of rejecting them and their message. Such symbolical actions were common in ancient times, even among others than the Jews, as strikingly appears in Pilate (
Matt 27:24). And even to this day it prevails in the East.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable--more bearable.
for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city--Those Cities of the Plain, which were given to the flames for their loathsome impurities, shall be treated as less criminal, we are here taught, than those places which, though morally respectable, reject the Gospel message and affront those that bear it.
Directions for the Future and Permanent Exercise of the Christian Ministry (
Matt 10:16-
Matt 10:23).
16 Behold, I send you forth--The "I" here is emphatic, holding up Himself as the Fountain of the Gospel ministry, as He is also the Great Burden of it.
as sheep--defenseless.
in the midst of wolves--ready to make a prey of you (
John 10:12). To be left exposed, as sheep to wolves, would have been startling enough; but that the sheep should be sent among the wolves would sound strange indeed. No wonder this announcement begins with the exclamation, "Behold."
be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves--Wonderful combination this! Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.
17 But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils--the local courts, used here for civil magistrates in general.
and they will scourge you in their synagogues--By this is meant persecution at the hands of the ecclesiastics.
18 And ye shall be brought before governors--provincial rulers.
and kings--the highest tribunals.
for my sake, for a testimony against them--rather, "to them," in order to bear testimony to the truth and its glorious effects.
and the Gentiles--"to the Gentiles"; a hint that their message would not long be confined to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Acts of the Apostles are the best commentary on these warnings.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought--be not solicitous or anxious. (See on
Matt 6:25).
how or what ye shall speak--that is, either in what manner ye shall make your defense, or of what matter it shall consist.
for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak--(See
Exod 4:12;
Jer 1:7).
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you--How remarkably this has been verified, the whole history of persecution thrillingly proclaims--from the Acts of the Apostles to the latest martyrology.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death--for example, by lodging information against them with the authorities. The deep and virulent hostility of the old nature and life to the new--as of Belial to Christ--was to issue in awful wrenches of the dearest ties; and the disciples, in the prospect of their cause and themselves being launched upon society, are here prepared for the worst.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake--The universality of this hatred would make it evident to them, that since it would not be owing to any temporary excitement, local virulence, or personal prejudice, on the part of their enemies, so no amount of discretion on their part, consistent with entire fidelity to the truth, would avail to stifle that enmity--though it might soften its violence, and in some cases avert the outward manifestations of it.
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved--a great saying, repeated, in connection with similar warnings, in the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem (
Matt 24:13); and often reiterated by the apostle as a warning against "drawing back unto perdition" (
Heb 3:6,
Heb 3:13;
Heb 6:4-
Heb 6:6;
Heb 10:23,
Heb 10:26-
Heb 10:29,
Heb 10:38-
Heb 10:39, &c.). As "drawing back unto perdition" is merely the palpable evidence of the want of "root" from the first in the Christian profession (
Luke 8:13), so "enduring to the end" is just the proper evidence of its reality and solidity.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another--"into the other." This, though applicable to all time, and exemplified by our Lord Himself once and again, had special reference to the brief opportunities which Israel was to have of "knowing the time of His visitations."
for verily I say unto you--what will startle you, but at the same time show you the solemnity of your mission, and the need of economizing the time for it.
Ye shall not have gone over--Ye shall in nowise have completed.
the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come--To understand this--as LANGE and others do--in the first instance, of Christ's own peregrinations, as if He had said, "Waste not your time upon hostile places, for I Myself will be after you ere your work be over"--seems almost trifling. "The coming of the Son of man" has a fixed doctrinal sense, here referring immediately to the crisis of Israel's history as the visible kingdom of God, when Christ was to come and judge it; when "the wrath would come upon it to the uttermost"; and when, on the ruins of Jerusalem and the old economy, He would establish His own kingdom. This, in the uniform language of Scripture, is more immediately "the coming of the Son of man," "the day of vengeance of our God" (
Matt 16:28;
Matt 24:27,
Matt 24:34; compare with
Heb 10:25;
Jas 5:7-
Jas 5:9) --but only as being such a lively anticipation of His second coming for vengeance and deliverance. So understood, it is parallel with
Matt 24:14 (on which see).
Directions for the Service of Christ in Its Widest Sense (Mat. 10:24-42).
24 The disciple is not above his master--teacher.
nor the servant above his lord--another maxim which our Lord repeats in various connections (
Luke 6:40;
John 13:16;
John 15:20).
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub--All the Greek manuscripts, write "Beelzebul," which undoubtedly is the right form of this word. The other reading came in no doubt from the Old Testament "Baalzebub," the god of Ekron (
2Kgs 1:2), which it was designed to express. As all idolatry was regarded as devil worship (
Lev 17:7;
Deut 32:17;
Ps 106:37;
1Cor 10:20), so there seems to have been something peculiarly satanic about the worship of this hateful god, which caused his name to be a synonym of Satan. Though we nowhere read that our Lord was actually called "Beelzebul," He was charged with being in league with Satan under that hateful name (
Matt 12:24,
Matt 12:26), and more than once Himself was charged with "having a devil" or "demon" (
Mark 3:30;
John 7:20;
John 8:48). Here it is used to denote the most opprobrious language which could be applied by one to another.
how much more shall they call them of his household--"the inmates." Three relations in which Christ stands to His people are here mentioned: He is their Teacher--they His disciples; He is their Lord--they His servants; He is the Master of the household--they its inmates. In all these relations, He says here, He and they are so bound up together that they cannot look to fare better than He, and should think it enough if they fare no worse.
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known--that is, There is no use, and no need, of concealing anything; right and wrong, truth and error, are about to come into open and deadly collision; and the day is coming when all hidden things shall be disclosed, everything seen as it is, and every one have his due (
1Cor 4:5).
27 What I tell you in darkness--in the privacy of a teaching for which men are not yet ripe.
that speak ye in the light--for when ye go forth all will be ready.
and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops--Give free and fearless utterance to all that I have taught you while yet with you. Objection: But this may cost us our life? Answer: It may, but there their power ends:
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul--In
Luke 12:4, "and after that have no more that they can do."
but rather fear him--In Luke (
Luke 12:5) this is peculiarly solemn, "I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear," even Him
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell--A decisive proof this that there is a hell for the body as well as the soul in the eternal world; in other words, that the torment that awaits the lost will have elements of suffering adapted to the material as well as the spiritual part of our nature, both of which, we are assured, will exist for ever. In the corresponding warning contained in Luke (
Luke 12:4), Jesus calls His disciples "My friends," as if He had felt that such sufferings constituted a bond of peculiar tenderness between Him and them.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?--In Luke (
Luke 12:6) it is "five sparrows for two farthings"; so that, if the purchaser took two farthings' worth, he got one in addition--of such small value were they.
and one of them shall not fall on the ground--exhausted or killed
without your Father--"Not one of them is forgotten before God," as it is in Luke (
Luke 12:6).
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered--See
Luke 21:18 (and compare for the language
1Sam 14:45;
Acts 27:34).
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows--Was ever language of such simplicity felt to carry such weight as this does? But here lies much of the charm and power of our Lord's teaching.
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men--despising the shame.
him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven--I will not be ashamed of him, but will own him before the most august of all assemblies.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven--before that same assembly: "He shall have from Me his own treatment of Me on the earth." (But see on
Matt 16:27).
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword--strife, discord, conflict; deadly opposition between eternally hostile principles, penetrating into and rending asunder the dearest ties.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--(See on
Luke 12:51).
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household--This saying, which is quoted, as is the whole verse, from
Mic 7:6, is but an extension of the Psalmist's complaint (
Ps 41:9;
Ps 55:12-
Ps 55:14), which had its most affecting illustration in the treason of Judas against our Lord Himself (
John 13:18;
Matt 26:48-
Matt 26:50). Hence would arise the necessity of a choice between Christ and the nearest relations, which would put them to the severest test.
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me--(Compare
Deut 33:9). As the preference of the one would, in the case supposed, necessitate the abandonment of the other, our Lord here, with a sublime, yet awful self-respect, asserts His own claims to supreme affection.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me--a saying which our Lord once and again emphatically reiterates (
Matt 16:24;
Luke 9:23;
Luke 14:27). We have become so accustomed to this expression--"taking up one's cross"--in the sense of "being prepared for trials in general for Christ's sake," that we are apt to lose sight of its primary and proper sense here--"a preparedness to go forth even to crucifixion," as when our Lord had to bear His own cross on His way to Calvary--a saying the more remarkable as our Lord had not as yet given a hint that He would die this death, nor was crucifixion a Jewish mode of capital punishment.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it--another of those pregnant sayings which our Lord so often reiterates (
Matt 16:25;
Luke 17:33;
John 12:25). The pith of such paradoxical maxims depends on the double sense attached to the word "life"--a lower and a higher, the natural and the spiritual, the temporal and eternal. An entire sacrifice of the lower, with all its relationships and interests--or, a willingness to make it which is the same thing--is indispensable to the preservation of the higher life; and he who cannot bring himself to surrender the one for the sake of the other shall eventually lose both.
40 He that receiveth you--entertaineth you,
receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me--As the treatment which an ambassador receives is understood and regarded as expressing the light in which he that sends him is viewed, so, says our Lord here, "Your authority is Mine, as Mine is My Father's."
41 He that receiveth a prophet--one divinely commissioned to deliver a message from heaven. Predicting future events was no necessary part of a prophet's office, especially as the word is used in the New Testament.
in the name of a prophet--for his office's sake and love to his master. (See
2Kgs 4:9 and see on
2Kgs 4:10).
shall receive a prophet's reward--What an encouragement to those who are not prophets! (See
John 3:5-
John 3:8).
and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man--from sympathy with his character and esteem for himself as such
shall receive a righteous man's reward--for he must himself have the seed of righteousness who has any real sympathy with it and complacency in him who possesses it.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones--Beautiful epithet! Originally taken from
Zech 13:7. The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while high in Heaven's esteem.
a cup of cold water only--meaning, the smallest service.
in the name of a disciple--or, as it is in Mark (
Mark 9:41), because ye are Christ's: from love to Me, and to him from his connection with Me.
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward--There is here a descending climax--"a prophet," "a righteous man," "a little one"; signifying that however low we come down in our services to those that are Christ's, all that is done for His sake, and that bears the stamp of love to His blessed name, shall be divinely appreciated and owned and rewarded.
