42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. that crucifixion was the due reward of their deeds. This man hath done nothing amiss. Though condemned to the same kind of death, it was for no fault; he was innocent. 42. Remember me. This is to be understood as a supplication for favor. Remember me for good; be merciful to me; bless me. When thou comest into thy kingdom. "The faith of this thief is admirable; and kept even pace with that of the apostles, if, in some circumstances, it did not go beyond it. The apostles acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah, and so doth he; with this addition, which I question whether they did so clearly own and know or not, namely, that Christ should reign and have his kingdom after his death. He seems to have a sounder judgment concerning Christ's kingdom, than the apostles themselves, as may be gathered from their question, Acts i. 6."-Lightfoot. It is impossible to know, with certainty, what precise opinion this person had concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, or in what manner he was led to entertain such opinion. Whether he had heard Jesus preach before, or had been instructed by him on the cross, or was convinced by the marvels which he witnessed, we know not. He doubtless knew a Messiah was expected, who should establish a kingdom. He was convinced that Jesus was truly the Messiah; and besought his remembrance for good, when he should reign in his kingdom. So much appears plain. Beyond this, the subject is left in obscurity, which cannot be pene trated. 43. I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. This address to the penitent thief has been variously interpreted. (1.) By some, it has been understood as an assurance of happiness, but not at any definite time; they have supposed the qualifying term to-day to belong to the first member of the sentence, thus,-I say unto thee today, or I now say unto thee, that thou shalt hereafter be with me in paradise. (2.) Others allow that to-day belongs to the last member of the sentence, and indicates the time when the penitent malefactor should be in paradise, but 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. deny that paradise denotes a future happy life; they say that, like hades, it means merely the state of the dead, generally, and hence understand our Lord to say, substantially, to-day we shall be relieved from our present torture, and shall sleep in death. (3.) Others, again, intimate doubts whether the passage be genuine. See Imp. Ver. note. But none of these suppositions seem to meet the circumstances of the case, as narrated by the evangelist. According to the first, the word to-day appears altogether superfluous, and the construction of the sentence unusual and unnatural;-the second represents the answer as having no perceivable relation to the petition; for while the thief implored favor in the Messiah's kingdom, he was told simply, what he already knew, that he should very soon die ;-the third is a summary process of avoiding difficulties, of which some interpreters are altogether too fond; a process, which is not justified, in the present case, by any satisfactory authority. On the whole, I apprehend that the common interpretation of this passage is preferable to either of those here noticed, and is substantially correct; namely, that the penitent should, on that day, become happy. The word Paradise, which is transplanted from the Greek to the English, is said to be of Persian origin, and "signifies a garden or forest of trees, a park, in which sense it is used, Neh. ii. 8; Eccl. ii. 5; Cant. iv. 13. The Septuagint use the word paradisus, Gen. ii. 8, when they speak of the garden of Eden, in which the Lord placed Adam and Eve."Calmet. The word was familiar to the Jews; and it was common for them to express this "kind wish for the dying or dead person, Let his soul be in paradise."-Whitby. It occurs, however, in only two other places in the New Testament, 2 Cor. xii. 4; Rev. ii. 7; in which first named place it is evidently used synonymously with "the third heaven" in ver. 2, preceding. From its use in both Testaments, it seems to indicate a place or state of happiness; and very probably the idea attached to it by the Jews was similar to that of the Greeks concerning Elysium. By 51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them :) he was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews; who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments: and rested the sabbath-day, according to the commandment. CHAPTER XXIV. OW upon the first day of the morning, they came unto the sep desired remembrance in the Lord's kingdom. And the subsequent facts show that the future life must have been referred to in the promise; for nothing occurred before the death of either, which corresponded with any reasonable idea of paradise. 44-46. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 45 -51. See also Mark xv. 33-38; John xix. 28-30. the use of this word, therefore, the malefactor would naturally understand our Lord to refer to a state of happiness. Yet I rely less on the particular word employed, than on the general circumstances of this case. The penitent acknowledged his own guilt, professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and besought favor in his kingdom; the reply of Jesus was confessedly favorable and gracious, and should be un- 47-49. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 52 derstood as an assurance that his peti-56. See also Mark xv. 39-41. tion would be granted, and that speed- 48. Smote their breasts. A common ily; as if he had said, thou shalt enter expression of terror and alarm. The my kingdom, even this very day, and wonders which they witnessed affrightenjoy happiness with me. We needed them. not suppose him to affirm the truth of the peculiar ideas cherished by the Jews concerning paradise; it is sufficient that they regarded it as a state of happiness, and he used it in the same sense; and, not from the force of the word itself, nor from the Jewish fan- 1. First day of the week. Answercies concerning it, but from the charac- ing to our Sunday, which was conseter of the petition, I doubt not our Lord crated as the day of public religious used it, in his reply, to indicate happi- worship, because on that day the foundness in the future life; for the petition-er of Christianity arose from the dead. er expected to die on the cross, yet This was not the Jewish Sabbath, but 50-56. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 57 -61. See also Mark xv. 42-47. CHAPTER XXIV. 1-11. See notes on Matt. xxviii. 1— 10. Parallel also with Mark xvi. 1-11. ulchre, bringing the spices which | ful men, and be crucified, and the they had prepared, and certain third day rise again. others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee. 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinthe day succeeding it. They came. That is the women, who, after seeing Jesus placed in the tomb, made preparations to embalm the body, as soon as the Jewish Sabbath should end. Matt. xxvii. 55, 56. They were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and certain others, ver. 10. 4. Much perplexed. They did not yet believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. Like the apostles, they supposed the death of Jesus was fatal to their hopes. They had no expectation that he would arise on the third day, as is evident from their coming to embalm his body on that very day. When, therefore, they found not the body, they were perplexed, not able to understand what this should mean. From John's account, it seems that Mary Magdalene left the sepulchre immediately, without seeing the angels, and ran to inform the apostles that some one, as she supposed, had removed the body of Jesus; she then returned, and enjoyed the distinguishing favor of being the first human beholder of our blessed Lord after his resurrection. See note on Matt. xxviii. 9, and the narrative in John xx. 1-18. 8. They remembered his words. Like the apostles and the Jews generally, they were so confident that the Messiah would never die, but reign forever on the earth in a glorious temporal kingdom, that they understood not his mean 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepul chre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre, and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. ing, when he predicted his death and resurrection. And when his death was accomplished, instead of being encouraged to hope for his resurrection, agreeably to the prediction, they abandoned themselves to despair, and seem to have forgotten entirely that he had spoken on the subject. When reminded, however, by the angel, they remembered his words, concerning his crucifixion by sinful men, and his resurrection on the third day. They knew he had been crucified; they believed he had risen. They could more readily believe the angelic testimony, ver. 6, when their Master's own language was called to remembrance, ver. 7, 8. 11. Idle tales. Reports unworthy of credit. ¶ Believed them not. Never were men convinced, against stronger prepossessions. See preceding note. 12. Then arose Peter, &c. The eleven were together mourning and weeping over their disappointment and what they regarded as the utter ruin of the cause in which they had been engaged, when the women came with their strange and apparently incredible narrative. See Mark xvi. 10. Peter, with his usual impetuosity, without waiting for others, ran unto the sepulchre, to make personal examination. John went with him, however, and, being more active, arrived first at the sepulchre. John xx. 4. When Peter had found the linen 13 And behold, two of them | longs. went that same day to a village 14 And they talked together of called Emmaus, which was from all these things which had hapJerusalem about threescore fur- pened. clothes laid by themselves, that is, the grave-clothes in which the body had been wrapped, but could neither find the body itself nor discover by what means it had been removed, he departed, wondering in himself, or utterly perplexed and unable to account for that which was come to pass. As often as he had been forewarned of these things, and as solemnly as he had been rebuked for his language in respect to the warning, Matt. xvi. 21-23, one might suppose he would have readily comprehended the events which had occurred. But his eyes had been completely blinded by that dazzling vision of temporal glory, on which they had been fixed so long and so intently; and he was not able to discern spiritual truth. He had fallen from a giddy height. Three days previously, he firmly believed his Master would establish an earthly kingdom; and he was violently struggling for the principal place of honor and power. See note on Luke xxii. 31, 32. He had seen that Master in the hands of his enemies, and knew that he had been crucified. Subsequently, instead of possessing power over others, and receiving honor from men, he had himself been in such mortal terror as to cower at the glance of a maiden, and had become disgraced in his own eyes by cowardly and profanely denying his Master. In this state of desperation, and disappointment, and shame, he could not at once perceive the truth which ambitious and worldly hopes had before hid from his eyes; and he was lost in wonder and astonishment. Though he had been told of the vision of angels, and of their annunciation, in connexion with the absence of the body, and afterwards ascertained that the body was truly gone, it does not appear that he believed the remainder, or as yet exercised the slightest faith in the resurrection. 13. Two of them. That is, two of the disciples, but probably not of the apostles. One certainly was not an apostle, namely, Cleopas, ver. 18. He is supposed to be identical with Alpheus, and the father of James the Less. See note on Matt. x. 3. It has been supposed that the other was Luke, who modestly omits his own name in the narrative. The circumstance that Luke relates this interview with the Lord so minutely, while the other evangelists omit it, favors this supposition. But no positive evidence has been discovered, to identify the companion of Cleopas. TEmmaus. There were three places bearing this name, which signifies hot baths, in Palestine: one, now called Hamam, near Tiberias; one, "twenty-two miles from Lydda, and afterwards called Nicopolis," and one, about "sixty furlongs, or seven miles and a half, north-west of Jerusalem."Calmet. The two disciples were travelling to the last named place, on the day of the resurrection. 14. Talked together of all these things, &c. They could scarcely be expected to converse on any other subject. The circumstances which had occurred were so exciting, as fully to occupy the minds of those who felt themselves personally interested; and some of them were the theme of conversation throughout Jerusalem, ver. 18. These travellers had undoubtedly been followers of Jesus, and believed in him as the Messiah, though they had the common Jewish opinion of his character, ver. 21. Their hopes had been blasted by his death, and they did not yet believe in his resurrection, ver. 23, 24, though they had heard the report of the_women before they left Jerusalem. It was natural that the things which had happened should form the subject of their conversation. Discouraged, they sympathized with each other. Perplexed, they endeavored to assist each other in discovering what was the truth in regard to the subjects which affected them so nearly. Thus they communed, or conversed, and reasoned together, ver. 15. We may reasonably suppose, that one principal subject of discussion was whether Jesus were truly the Messiah; on the one hand, he had died, which was inconsistent with their ideas of his character, and failed to establish such a kingdom as they expected; on the other, by his mighty words and deeds he had established a full convic 15 And it came to pass, that, | are these that ye have one to while they communed together, and another, as ye walk, and are sad? reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications tion in their minds, that he was a true prophet before God, ver. 19. Another question of engrossing interest was, whether Jesus had risen, and was alive, according to the testimony of the women, which had filled them with astonishment, ver. 22. Not only the fact was astonishing, but very probably these disciples, like the apostles on a previous occasion, "questioned one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." Mark ix. 10. The apostles questioned, because they evidently supposed the language of Jesus to be figurative, and they were doubtful to what he referred. The disciples might well question and reason, also; for while they were conscious that the resurrection of Jesus, if a fact, was a literal fact, yet they were perplexed to understand in what manner he was raised, and in what form he would appear. This question, indeed, in reference to the resurrection of mankind generally, is still far from being fully comprehended by all Christians; but the wisest and the holiest among them entertain very different opinions. And if this be so, after the beaming of gospel light during the past eighteen centuries, it need not surprise us that these illiterate disciples should be unable to comprehend the truth, when it first flashed upon their minds. Thus were they doubtful and melancholy. 15. Jesus himself drew near, &c. They were anxiously, and in much perplexity, reasoning with each other, concerning the events which had befallen their Master, when he graciously appeared to instruct them and dispel their doubts. 16. Their eyes were holden, &c. "But their eyes were so affected, that they did not know him."-Campbell. Mark says that Jesus appeared, on this occasion," in another form;" that is, that he did not so resemble the living person as to be immediately recognized. Mark xvi. 12. The expression in the text 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering, said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? may be considered somewhat figurative, as is thus noticed by Pearce: "Their eyes were holden, so as that they did not know him; that is, they were withheld, prevented, or hindered, from knowing him; see ver. 31. The eyes are here put for the men themselves; and the reason of their not knowing him is given by Mark, xvi. 12, who says that Jesus appeared to them in another form." This interpretation seems more natural, than to suppose that any miraculous effect was produced on the eyes of the disciples, whereby they were not able to perceive the exact features of our Lord, while they distinguished other objects with perfect accuSee note on ver. 31. racy. &c. 17. What manner of communications, That is, what is the subject of your earnest conversation; or, "what subjects are these about which ye confer together?"-Campbell. ¶ Are sad. The hearts of the disciples were oppressed and overwhelmed with grief and perplexity; they bitterly lamented the crucifixion of their Master, they were in doubt and amazement respecting his resurrection, and painfully anxious concerning their own duty and fate, for the future. They were discouraged and knew not in what manner to seek relief. 18. Cleopas. See notes on ver. 13, and Matt. x. 3. T Art thou only a stranger, &c. "Art thou alone such a stranger in Jerusalem, as to be unacquainted with the things which have happened there so lately?"— Campbell. This expresses the sense more clearly and definitely than the common translation. At the seasons of the great feasts, there was always a vast assemblage at Jerusalem, from all parts of Judea and even from foreign countries. See Acts ii. 7-11, where some of the regions are enumerated, from which the people had come to the feast of Pentecost, about seven weeks subsequent to the PassThose who thus came up to over. |