Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be bid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

14. The light of the world. The darkness of moral and religious ignorance had covered the earth; but by means of the apostles of Jesus, the light of truth was to shine on the world. Jesus was emphatically "the light of the world." John 9: 5. 8: 12. In an inferior sense, his disciples also were the light of the world, for they were to communicate to men the truths of his religion. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. So the disciples

of Christ would attract notice.

15. A candle; more in accordance with Eastern customs, a lamp. || Bushel; any large measure. || Candlestick; lamp-stand.

16. Glorify your Father; ascribe praise to God. The holy and useful lives of the Saviour's followers reflect praise on the religion which they profess, and thus cause honor to be paid to God, from whom this religion proceeded.

17. The divine teacher next proceeded to correct some of the erroneous views of moral and religious duty which had been handed down from former times, and which were, in his day, maintained by the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious guides of the people. These views arose chiefly from a wrong interpretation of the Mosaic statutes, and from the authority of certain traditions. Jesus maintained the immutable nature of the fundamental principles enforced in the books of the Old Testament; corrected certain erroneous views of those principles; showed the very broad and extensive application of them; and gave such additional precepts, in regard to them, as the more elevated and complete nature of his religion rendered necessary. To destroy; to

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

abrogate, to render null and void.

The law or the prophets; the writings of the Old Testament, as divided into the law of Moses, or the Pentateuch, and the prophetical books, or the rest of the

Old Testament. Compare Matt. 12: 5. Luke 2: 23. 16: 29, 31. 24: 27, 44. Though Jesus came as the predicted king, and acknowledged not the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees, at that time the religious teachers; though he stood by himself, and gave instructions and precepts on his own authority,-yet he did not annul the great principles contained in the law of Moses and in the writings of the prophets. To fulfil; to fill up, to complete, to carry out to perfection, and leave nothing to be added or to be altered. All religious teachers who had preceded the Messiah had left much incomplete, both as to the statement of principles, and the manifestation of the principles in actual practice. It was reserved for the Messiah to present the full light, of which before only some glimpses had been discerned. The dispensation by Moses and the prophets was preparatory to that of the Messiah, looking forward to it, and having reference to it, as the grand completion of the whole scheme of divine revelation. The Messiah came, then, not to annul, but to complete; not to abrogate any fundamental religious principles, but to carry out those principles to perfection. Whatever was abrogated by the Messiah's coming was merely of an external, circumstantial nature, and was abrogated on the ground of having answered all its purposes, and of having become needless, now that He had come, for whose coming they were preparatory.

18 For verily I say unto you, | commandments, and shall teach Till heaven and earth pass, men so, he shall be called the one jot or one tittle shall in no least in the kingdom of heaven: wise pass from the law, till all but whosoever shall do and be fulfilled. teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least

That our Saviour had reference here to the moral, and not to the ceremonial, part of the Old Testament, appears from the illustrations contained in the following verses (21-48).

en

The

if this be the right view, might be expressed by the phrase till all things ure done, or till every thing is done with. The same words, however, in the original, occur in Luke 21: 32, 18. Verily, truly, certainly. || Heav- and nearly the same in Matt. 24: 34, and earth; the visible uni- and Mark 13: 30, in such a manner as verse. See Gen. 1: 1. 2: 1. || Pass; rather to favor the view first presented, pass away, perish. The expression 19. Least commandments. till heaven and earth pass away, is Saviour did not, in his own judgment, similar to ours, till the world shall end, apply the word least to any of the dior, as long as the world stands. It was vine commands; but here adopted the a received opinion among the Jews, method of speaking which was comthat the earth would never be totally mon among the Pharisees. They didestroyed, but would at some time be vided the commands into the small renovated, and in this renewed form and the great, the weighty and the exist forever. To say, then, that a light. And in making these distinc thing would not take place till heaven tions, they were inclined to enforce and earth pass away, was the same as the tithing of mint, and anise, and cumsaying, it will never take place. See in, and other external things, and to Luke 16: 17. || Jot. The Greek pass over justice, mercy, and the love word here employed corresponds to of God. See Matt. 23: 16, 18, 23, the name of the smallest Hebrew 25. Luke 11: 42. Hence, to some letter, and means the smallest thing. of the divine commands they could || Tittle; a very small point, by which attach, when it suited their conve certain Hebrew letters are distinguish-nience, the disrespectful epithet least, ed from others; they being in other that is, not worthy of much regard; respects alike. The idea expressed by and they would lead others thus to each of these words is, the very small- view and to treat the precepts of God. est part. From the law; from the But the Saviour declared, that he who religion enforced in the Old Testa- should thus treat, in his own practice ment. Compare the word law in the and by his teaching, the commands of preceding verse. The declaration of God, would be regarded and treated the Saviour is, that not the smallest in a similar manner in the new disthing recognized in the fundamental pensation which was now introduced; moral principles of the Old Testament that is, he should be held as not worcan be annulled. | Till all be fulfilled; thy of regard, but as deserving retill the whole design of the law bejection. As he treated God's law, so, effected, its promises be fulfilled, its threatenings performed, its precepts honored either by obedience or by punishment for disobedience. This phrase is regarded by some as a mere repetition, in another form, of the idea expressed by the words till heaven and earth pass away. Its meaning, then,

in the new dispensation, he would himself be treated; he would be counted as least, as unsuitable to enjoy the blessings and honors of the Messiah's administration. In the kingdom of heaven; the Messiah's reign, the new dispensation. The Saviour did not say, such a person may

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

be admitted into heaven, and there considered as the least in the world of glory. He meant, as appears by the preceding remarks, such a person shall be accounted unsuitable to be among the Messiah's subjects; he shall be rejected from them. Of course, such a person cannot be admitted into the state of glory which is the completion of the Messiah's administration. Great in the kingdom of heaven. The word great is, here, the contrast of the word least in the former part of the verse. The idea is, he shall be held of great account; that is, suitable to be approved, acknowledged by the Messiah, and admitted to the blessings which he bestows here and hereafter. As such a person treats the divine commands, so he shall himself be treated. Accounting them all as great, as worthy of his reverence and obedience, he shall be accounted as a suitable subject for great honor and happiness in the new dispensation.

20. Your righteousness; integrity and piety. | The Scribes and Pharisees. The scribes were men devoted to the study and the teaching of the law of Moses, and of the traditionary religious precepts. See INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATIONS, III. 3. They and the Pharisees were held in such repute for possessing the favor of God, as to occasion the saying, that if only two men were to be admitted into heaven, one would be a scribe and the other a Pharisee. Their righteousness, however, was extremely defective. It was merely external, while their hearts were far from uprightness. See Matt. 15:1-9. 23: 23, 25, 27, 28. Consisting in an outside show, it was intended to procure applause from men, rather than to please God. Matt. 23: 3, 5, 14. It was connected with harshness

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 But I say unto you, That

and oppression (Matt. 23: 4, 14), and with insatiable ambition (Matt. 23: 6, 7). Thus, in principle, in extent, and in actual fruits, their righteousness was, in truth, of no account, highly as they were esteemed among men. A better sort of piety is demanded in order to be a true subject of the Messiah, and to obtain the bliss pertaining to his administration. || The kingdom of heaven; the Messiah's reign, or dispensation, commenced on earth, perfected in the world of glory. To enter into this kingdom is, to be admitted to a share in its bliss and rewards here and hereafter, as a subject of it.

21. The Saviour descended to particulars, and corrected some of the prevalent erroneous notions respecting the precepts of the Old Testament, and gave illustrations of his fulfilling, or carrying out to complete fulness, those precepts. He made needed explanations and additions. By them of old time; the ancients, teachers of a former age. The Saviour did not mean Moses and the prophets, but teachers who arose some time after them. These teachers had grossly misapprehended the spirit of many precepts in the Old Testament, and had attached to them modifying phrases, and had originated, or perpetuated, the traditional precepts and explanations. Such teaching had exerted its influence down to the time of Christ. || Thou shalt not kill. Ex. 20: 13. || Whosoever shall kill, &c. This was an addition, or explanation, made in subsequent times, and it proceeded on the principle, that the law recognized only actual murder. The precept and the explanation were placed together, as the rule of conduct. In danger of; liable to, exposed to. The judgment. Josephus, the Jewish historian, states,

whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his

that in every city there was a tribunal of seven judges, with two Levites as attending officers. This tribunal decided causes of comparatively small moment, and is the one here spoken of. The judgment, then, was an inferior tribunal of the Jews.

22. Widely different is the view which Jesus presented. So far from regarding only the outward act of murder as forbidden, and as exposing to punishment, he declared that a wrong state of mind, and offences considered at that time of little moment, but yet tending to the act of killing, would expose a person to punishment; that even causeless anger, disregarded as it was by those teachers, was a crime, in the judgment of God, of as great ill desert as that which they attached to the crime of murder. Compare 1 John 3:15. Brother. Among the Hebrews, this word was sometimes used with much latitude, as equivalent to our expression another person. Compare Heb. 8: 11, Lev. 19: 17; also Gen. 13: 11,"the one from the other; or, if literally translated, from his brother; 26: 31," one to another;" in the Hebrew, to his brother. || In danger of the judgment; exposed to the tribunal just mentioned. The idea is, that causeless anger exposes to punishment as truly as, according to the decision of these teachers, does the act of killing; and the guilt of causeless anger is as great as that which these teachers ascribe to the crime of killing. || Raca; a term of contempt, equivalent to blockhead, or, empty headed, fool. It is properly a word derived from the Hebrew language, expressed in Greek letters, and transferred to the English language. The council; that is, the Sanhedrim. This was the highest tribunal among the Jews. It consisted of seventy-two persons, and the acting high priest was generally the president. It was composed of the most distinguished men in the nation. Appeals and other

brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. weighty matters came before this tribunal. In the time of Christ, its power had been limited by the Romans; but still it held the right of passing sentence of death, though the power of executing the sentence was lodged with the Roman governor.

The idea of the Saviour is, whoever shall indulge his anger so far as to use the opprobrious epithet Raca (blockhead) contracts guilt of such a dye as these teachers would ascribe to a crime which would be carried up to the Sanhedrim, the highest court; and he exposes himself to such an increase of punishment, as that it may be likened to the punishment decreed by the Sanhedrim, when compared with the punishment decreed by the Judgment.

Thus the Saviour marks a gradation of guilt and of punishment, while yet he has not described any crime beyond anger, nor arrived to the point of saying what murder deserves. How dif ferent from the teachers to whose decisions the Jews were accustomed!

|| Thou fool. The word fool among the Hebrews was one of the vilest epithets they could employ. It did not so much imply a destitution of intellect, as a destitution of every good moral quality. See Ps. 14: 1. It was equivalent to the terms impious wretch, denier of God and all religion. It implied, then, in the person who used it, when speaking to another, a very high degree of anger, so high that he was willing to call upon him the reprobation of God and of man. || Hell fire. The term in the original, translated hell, is derived from two Hebrew words, signifying Valley of Hinnom. This was a valley near the southern wall of Jerusalem. In a part of this valley was a place called Topheth, where, in the later periods of the Jewish kingdom, children were made to pass through the fire in sacrifice to Moloch. 2 Kings 16: 3. Jer. 7: 31. In the reign of Josiah (2 Kings

23 Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,

24 Leave there thy gift before

23: 10), a reformation was effected; and in subsequent times, the Jews conceived such an abhorrence of the place, that they made it the receptacle of all the filth and pollution of the city; and to prevent mischief from such an accumulation of carcasses and other putrid matter, they kept a fire burning. Hence the word fire was connected with it. So odious did this place become, and so associated with every thing bad and disagreeable, that they applied the name of it to the place of torments in a future life. It is also said, that criminals of more than ordinary guilt, who had excited universal detestation, were, after being executed, cast unburied into this abominable place. This was the extreme of punishment and disgrace. To this, as the very utmost extent of suffering on earth, the Saviour probably here alluded; and thus would correct the erroneous sentiments of the people, by showing that the indulgence of causeless anger is regarded by God as a very heinous crime, and as leading to most dire punishment, though such indulgence was passed over by the Jewish teachers, and only the act of murder was regarded by them as forbidden by the law.

The Saviour here specified three degrees of criminal anger, and three corresponding degrees of punishment. The crimes were take cognizance of, not by the Jewish civil law, but by God's spiritual law; and the punishments would be inflicted by God. But in order to express these different degrees of punishment, reference was made to tribunals and practices among the Jews. The punishment expressed by the words hell fire would indeed be inflicted beyond the grave; so, too, would the punishment expressed by a reference to the Council, or the Sanhedrim, and to the Judgment. __This is the only passage in the New Testa

[blocks in formation]

ment, in which the words hell fire relate directly to the Valley of Hinnom, as a representative merely of extreme misery in the world of woe. In other passages, they refer directly to the place of torment beyond the grave. The connection of the word in different passages sufficiently shows this.

23. Since now the cherishing of anger is so great a sin, and exposes to such danger, it ought not for a moment to be indulged; and no duties, however binding and sacred, ought to be held superior to the duty of obtaining reconciliation, if we have given any person occasion to be unpleasantly affected towards us. The teaching of the Pharisees gave no such prominence to an upright state of heart. Gift to the altar. Much of the religious observances of the Jews consisted in making offerings to God, and in sacrifices, which were brought to the altar. || Thy brother; any person, as in 22d verse. || Hath aught against thee; has just cause to find fault with thee. If thou art conscious of having done him wrong, and hast thus alienated his affections.

24. Go thy way; that is, to the person wronged. Wait not to make the offering; for it will be unacceptable to God, if presented in a spirit of unkindness towards any man. Be reconciled; prevail on him, by suitable acknowledgments, and whatever else

is

necessary, to be reconciled to thee; regain his favor. A very common meaning of the word reconcile in the Bible is, to procure favor.

25. This same spirit, leading to an amicable adjustment of all difficulties, ought to be cherished in the whole intercourse of life. A contrary spirit leads to ruin, even as to our temporal affairs. A maxim of prudence, then, was suggested by this view of the case. Thine adversary; thy creditor, who demands a settlement, and is

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »