mh_parser/vol_split/40 - Matthew/Chapter 4.xml

<div2 id="Matt.v" n="v" next="Matt.vi" prev="Matt.iv" progress="2.90%" title="Chapter IV">
<h2 id="Matt.v-p0.1">M A T T H E W.</h2>
<h3 id="Matt.v-p0.2">CHAP. IV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Matt.v-p1">John Baptist said concerning Christ, He must
increase, but I must decrease; and so it proved. For, after John
had baptized Christ, and borne his testimony to him, we hear little
more of his ministry; he had done what he came to do, and
thenceforward there is as much talk of Jesus as ever there had been
of John. As the rising Sun advances, the morning star disappears.
Concerning Jesus Christ we have in this chapter, I. The temptation
he underwent, the triple assault the tempter made upon him, and the
repulse he gave to each assault, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.1-Matt.4.11" parsed="|Matt|4|1|4|11" passage="Mt 4:1-11">ver.
1-11</scripRef>. II. The teaching work he undertook, the places he
preached in (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.12-Matt.4.16" parsed="|Matt|4|12|4|16" passage="Mt 4:12-16">ver. 12-16</scripRef>),
and the subject he preached on, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.17" parsed="|Matt|4|17|0|0" passage="Mt 4:17">ver.
17</scripRef>. III. His calling of disciples, Peter and Andrew,
James and John, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.18-Matt.4.22" parsed="|Matt|4|18|4|22" passage="Mt 4:18-22">ver.
18-22</scripRef>. IV. His curing diseases (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.23-Matt.4.24" parsed="|Matt|4|23|4|24" passage="Mt 4:23,24">ver. 23, 24</scripRef>), and the great resort of the
people to him, both to be taught and to be healed.</p>
<scripCom id="Matt.v-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4" parsed="|Matt|4|0|0|0" passage="Mt 4" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Matt.v-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.1-Matt.4.11" parsed="|Matt|4|1|4|11" passage="Mt 4:1-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Matt.4.1-Matt.4.11">
<h4 id="Matt.v-p1.8">The Temptation of Christ.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Matt.v-p2">1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil.   2 And when he had
fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
  3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the
Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.   4 But
he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
  5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and
setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,   6 And saith unto
him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is
written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in
<i>their</i> hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou
dash thy foot against a stone.   7 Jesus said unto him, It is
written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.   8
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and
showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
  9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if
thou wilt fall down and worship me.   10 Then saith Jesus unto
him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.   11 Then the
devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p3">We have here the story of a famous duel,
fought hand to hand, between Michael and the dragon, the Seed of
the woman and the seed of the serpent, nay, the serpent himself; in
which the seed of the woman suffers, being <i>tempted,</i> and so
has his heel bruised; but the serpent is quite baffled in his
temptations, and so has his head broken; and our Lord Jesus comes
off a Conqueror, and so secures not only comfort, but conquest at
last, to all his faithful followers. Concerning Christ's
temptation, observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p4">I. The time when it happened: <i>Then;</i>
there is an emphasis laid upon that. Immediately after <i>the
heavens were opened</i> to him, and <i>the Spirit descended on
him,</i> and he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour
of the world, the next news we hear of him is, he is
<i>tempted;</i> for <i>then</i> he is best able to grapple with the
temptation. Note, 1. Great privileges, and special tokens of divine
favour, will not secure us from being <i>tempted.</i> Nay, 2. After
great honours put upon us, we must expect something that is
humbling; as Paul has a messenger of Satan sent to buffer him,
after he had been in the third heavens. 3. God usually prepares his
people for temptation before he calls them to it; he <i>gives
strength according to the day,</i> and, before a sharp trial, gives
more than ordinary comfort. 4. The assurance of our sonship is the
best preparative for temptation. If the good Spirit witness to our
adoption, that will furnish us with an answer to all the
suggestions of the evil spirit, designed either to debauch or
disquiet us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p5"><i>Then,</i> when he was newly come from a
solemn ordinance, when he was baptized, <i>then</i> he was
<i>tempted.</i> Note, After we have been admitted into the
communion of God, we must expect to be set upon by Satan. The
enriched soul must double its guard. <i>When thou has eaten and art
full, then beware. Then,</i> when he began to show himself publicly
to Israel, <i>then</i> he was <i>tempted,</i> so as he never had
been while he lived in privacy. Note, The Devil has a particular
spite at useful persons, who are not only good, but given to do
good, especially at their first setting out. It is the advice of
the Son of Sirach (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Sir.2.1" parsed="|Sir|2|1|0|0" passage="Ecclesiasticus ii. 1">Ecclesiasticus ii. 1</scripRef>), <i>My son, if thou
come to serve the Lord, prepare thyself for temptation.</i> Let
young ministers know what to expect, and arm accordingly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p6">II. The place where it was; <i>in the
wilderness;</i> probably in the great wilderness of <i>Sinai,</i>
where Moses and Elijah <i>fasted forty days,</i> for no part of
<i>the wilderness</i> of Judea was so abandoned to wild beasts as
this is said to have been, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.1.13" parsed="|Mark|1|13|0|0" passage="Mk 1:13">Mark i.
13</scripRef>. When Christ was baptized, he did not go to
Jerusalem, there to publish the glories that had been put upon him,
but retired into a wilderness. After communion with God, it is good
to be private awhile, lest we lose what we have received, in the
crowd and hurry of worldly business. Christ withdrew into the
wilderness, 1. To gain advantage to himself. Retirement gives an
opportunity for meditation an communion with God; even they who are
called to the most active life must yet have their contemplative
hours, and must first find time to be alone with God. Those are not
fit to speak of the things of God in public to others, who have not
first conversed with those things in secret by themselves. When
Christ would appear as <i>a Teacher come from God,</i> it shall not
be said of him, "He is newly come from travelling, he has been
abroad, and has seen the world;" but, "He is newly come out of the
desert, he has been alone conversing with God and his own heart."
2. To give advantage to the tempter, that he might have a readier
access to him than he could have had in company. Note, Though
solitude is a friend to a good heart, yet Satan knows how to
improve it against us. <i>Woe to him that is alone.</i> Those who,
under pretence of sanctity and devotion, retire into dens and
deserts, find that they are not out of reach of their spiritual
enemies, and that there they want the benefit of the communion with
saints. Christ retired, (1.) To make his victory the more
illustrious, he gave the enemy sun and wind on his side, and yet
baffled him. He might give the Devil advantage, for <i>the prince
of this world had nothing</i> in him; but he has in us, and
therefore we must pray not to be <i>led into temptation,</i> and
must keep out of harm's way. (2.) That he might have an opportunity
to do his best himself, that he might be exalted in his own
strength; for so it was written, <i>I have trod the wine-press
alone,</i> and of the people there was none with me. Christ entered
the lists without a second.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p7">III. The preparatives for it, which were
two.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p8">1. He was directed to the combat; he did
not wilfully thrust himself upon it, but he <i>was led up of the
Spirit to be tempted of the Devil.</i> The Spirit that <i>descended
upon him like a dove</i> made him meek, and yet made him bold.
Note, Our care must be, not to enter into temptation; but if God,
by his providence, order us into circumstances of temptation for
our trial, we must not think it strange, but double our guard.
<i>Be strong in the Lord, resist stedfast in the faith,</i> and all
shall be well. If we presume upon our own strength, and tempt the
devil to tempt us, we provoke God to leave us to ourselves; but,
whithersoever God leads us, we may hope he will go along with us,
and bring us off <i>more than conquerors.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p9">Christ was <i>led to be tempted of the
Devil,</i> and of him only. Others are tempted, <i>when they are
drawn aside of their own lust and enticed</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.14" parsed="|Jas|1|14|0|0" passage="Jam 1:14">Jam. i. 14</scripRef>); the Devil takes hold of that
handle, and ploughs with that heifer; but our Lord Jesus had no
corrupt nature, and therefore he was led securely, without any fear
or trembling, as a champion into the field, <i>to be tempted</i>
purely by <i>the Devil.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p10">Now Christ's temptation is, (1.) An
instance of his own condescension and humiliation. Temptations are
<i>fiery darts, thorns in the flesh, buffetings, siftings,
wrestlings, combats,</i> all which denote hardship and suffering;
<i>therefore</i> Christ submitted to them, because he would humble
himself, <i>in all things to be made like unto his brethren;</i>
thus he <i>gave his back to the smiters.</i> (2.) An occasion of
Satan's confusion. There is no conquest without a combat. Christ
was tempted, that he might overcome the tempter. Satan tempted the
first Adam, and triumphed over him; but he shall not always
triumph, the second Adam shall overcome him and <i>lead captivity
captive.</i> (3.) Matter of comfort to all the saints. In the
temptation of Christ it appears, that our enemy is subtle,
spiteful, and very daring in his temptations; but it appears
withal, that he is not invincible. Though he is <i>a strong man
armed,</i> yet the Captain of our salvation is <i>stronger than
he.</i> It is some comfort to us to think that Christ suffered,
being <i>tempted;</i> for thus it appears that temptations, if not
yielded to, are not sins, they are afflictions only, and such as
may be pleased. And we have a High Priest who knows, by experience,
what it is to be <i>tempted,</i> and who therefore is the more
tenderly touch with <i>the feelings of our infirmities</i> in an
hour of temptation, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.2.18 Bible:Heb.4.15" parsed="|Heb|2|18|0|0;|Heb|4|15|0|0" passage="Heb 2:18,4:15">Heb. ii. 18;
iv. 15</scripRef>. But it is much more a comfort to think that
Christ conquered, being <i>tempted,</i> and conquered for us; not
only that the enemy we grapple with is a conquered, baffled,
disarmed enemy, but that we are interested in Christ's victory over
him, and through him are <i>more than conquerors.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p11">2. He was dieted for the combat, as
wrestlers, who are <i>temperate in all things</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.9.25" parsed="|1Cor|9|25|0|0" passage="1Co 9:25">1 Cor. ix. 25</scripRef>); but Christ beyond any
other, for he <i>fasted forty days and forty nights,</i> in
compliance with the type and example of Moses the great lawgiver,
and of Elias, the great reformer, of the Old Testament. John
Baptist came as Elias, in those things that were moral, but not in
such things as were miraculous (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:John.10.41" parsed="|John|10|41|0|0" passage="Joh 10:41">John
x. 41</scripRef>); that honour was reserved for Christ. Christ
needed not to fast for mortification (he had no corrupt desires to
be subdued); yet he <i>fasted,</i> (1.) That herein he might humble
himself, and might seem as one abandoned, <i>whom no man seeketh
after.</i> (2.) That he might give Satan both occasion and
advantage against him; and so make his victory over him the more
illustrious. (3.) That he might sanctify and recommend fasting to
us, when God in his providence calls to it, or when we are reduced
to straits, and are destitute of daily food, or when it is
requisite for the keeping under of the body, or the quickening of
prayer, those excellent preparatives for temptation. If good people
are brought low, if they want friends and succours, this may
comfort them, that their Master himself was in like manner
exercised. A man may want bread, and yet be a favourite of heaven,
and under the conduct of the Spirit. The reference which the
Papists make of their lent-fast to this fasting of Christ <i>forty
days,</i> is a piece of foppery and superstition which the law of
our land witnesses against, Stat. 5 Eliz. chap. 5 sect. 39, 40.
<i>When he fasted forty days he was</i> never hungry; converse with
heaven was instead of meat and drink to him, but <i>he was
afterwards an hungred,</i> to show that he was really and truly
Man; and he took upon him our natural infirmities, that he might
atone for us. Man fell by eating, and that way we often sin, and
therefore Christ <i>was an hungred.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p12">IV. The temptations themselves. That which
Satan aimed at, in all his temptations, was, to bring him to <i>sin
against God,</i> and so to render him for ever incapable of being a
Sacrifice for the sins of others. Now, whatever the colours were,
that which he aimed at was, to bring him, 1. To despair of his
Father's goodness. 2. To presume upon his Father's power. 3. To
alienate his Father's honour, by giving it to Satan. In the two
former, that which he tempted him <i>to,</i> seemed innocent, and
there in appeared the subtlety of the tempter; in the last, that
which he tempted him <i>with,</i> seemed desirable. The two former
are artful temptations, which there was need of great wisdom to
discern; the last was a strong temptation, which there was need of
great resolution to resist; yet he was baffled in them all.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p13">1. He tempted him to despair of his
Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care concerning
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p14">(1.) See how the temptation was managed
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.3" parsed="|Matt|4|3|0|0" passage="Mt 4:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>); <i>The tempter
came to him.</i> Note, The Devil is <i>the tempter,</i> and
therefore he is <i>Satan—an adversary;</i> for those are our worst
enemies, that entice us to sin, and are Satan's agents, are doing
his work, and carrying on his designs. He is called emphatically
<i>the tempter,</i> because he was so to our first parents, and
still is so, and all other tempters are set on work by him. <i>The
tempter came</i> to Christ in a visible appearance, not terrible
and affrighting, as afterward in his agony in the garden; no, if
ever the Devil <i>transformed himself into an angel of light,</i>
he did so now, and pretended to be a good genius, a guardian
angel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p15">Observe the subtlety of <i>the tempter,</i>
in joining this first temptation with what went before to make it
the stronger. [1.] Christ began to be hungry, and therefore the
motion seemed very proper, to turn <i>stones</i> into <i>bread</i>
for his necessary support. Note, It is one of the wiles of Satan to
take advantage of our outward condition, in that to plant the
battery of his temptations. He is an adversary no less watchful
than spiteful; and the more ingenious he is to take advantage
against us, the more industrious we must be to give him none. When
he began to be hungry, and that in a <i>wilderness,</i> where there
was nothing to be had, then the Devil assaulted him. Note, Want and
poverty are a great temptation to discontent and unbelief, and the
use of unlawful means for our relief, under pretence that necessity
has no law; and it is excused with this that hunger will break
through stone walls, which yet is no excuse, for the law of God
ought to be stronger to us than stone walls. Agur prays against
poverty, not because it is an affliction and reproach, but because
it is a temptation; <i>lest I be poor, and steal.</i> Those
therefore who are reduced to straits, have need to double their
guard; it is better to starve to death, than live and thrive by
sin. [2.] Christ was lately declared to be <i>the Son of God,</i>
and here the Devil tempts him to doubt of that; <i>If thou be the
Son of God.</i> Had not the Devil known that the Son of God was to
come into the world, he would not have said this; and had he not
suspected that this was he, he would not have said it to him, nor
durst he have said it if Christ had not now drawn a veil over his
glory, and if the Devil had not now put on an impudent face.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p16"><i>First,</i> "Thou has now an occasion to
question whether <i>thou be the Son of God</i> or no; for can it
be, that <i>the Son of God,</i> who is <i>Heir of all things,</i>
should be reduced to such straits? If God were thy Father, he would
not see thee starve, for <i>all the beasts of the forest are
his,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.50.10 Bible:Ps.50.12" parsed="|Ps|50|10|0|0;|Ps|50|12|0|0" passage="Ps 50:10,12">Ps. l. 10, 12</scripRef>.
It is true there <i>was a voice from heaven, This is my beloved
Son,</i> but surely it was delusion, and thou was imposed upon by
it; for either God is not thy Father, or he is a very unkind one."
Note, 1. The great thing Satan aims at, in tempting good people, is
to overthrow their relation to God as a Father, and so to cut off
their dependence on him, their duty to him, and their communion
with him. The good Spirit, as the Comforter of the brethren,
witnesses that they are the <i>children of God;</i> the evil
spirit, as the accuser of the brethren, does all he can to shake
that testimony. 2. Outward afflictions, wants and burdens, are the
great arguments Satan uses to make the people of God question their
sonship; as if afflictions could not consist with, when really they
proceed from, God's fatherly love. They know how to answer this
temptation, who can say with holy Job, <i>Though he slay me, though
he</i> starve me, <i>yet I will trust in him,</i> and love him as a
Friend, even when he seems to come forth against me as an Enemy. 3.
The Devil aims to shake our faith in the word of God, and bring us
to question the truth of that. Thus he began with our first
parents; <i>Yea, has God said</i> so and so? Surely he has not. So
here, <i>Has God said</i> that thou art his <i>beloved Son?</i>
Surely he did not say so; or if he did it is not true. We then
<i>give place to the Devil,</i> when we question the truth of any
word that God has spoken; for his business, as the father of lies,
is to oppose the true sayings of God. 4. The Devil carries on his
designs very much by possessing people with hard thoughts of God,
as if he were unkind, or unfaithful, and had forsaken or forgotten
those who had ventured their all with him. He endeavored to beget
in our first parents a notion that God forbade them the tree of
knowledge, because he grudged them the benefit of it; and so here
he insinuates to our Saviour, that his Father had cast him off, and
left him to shift for himself. But see how unreasonable this
suggestion was, and how easily answered. If Christ seemed to be a
mere Man now, because he was hungry, why was he not confessed to be
more than a Man, even the <i>Son of God,</i> when for <i>forty days
he fasted,</i> and was not hungry?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p17"><i>Secondly,</i> "Thou hast now an
opportunity to show that thou art <i>the son of God. If thou art
the Son of God,</i> prove it by this, <i>command these stones</i>"
(a heap of which, probably, lay now before him) "<i>be made
bread,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.3" parsed="|Matt|4|3|0|0" passage="Mt 4:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. John
Baptist said but the other day, that God <i>can out of stone raise
up children to Abraham,</i> a divine power therefore can, no doubt,
out of stones, make bread for those children; if there thou has
that power, exert it now in a time of need for thyself." He does
not say, <i>Pray to thy Father</i> that he would turn them into
<i>bread;</i> but <i>command</i> it to be done; thy Father hath
forsaken thee, set up for thyself, and be not beholden to him. The
Devil is for nothing that is humbling, but ever thing that is
assuming; and gains his point, if he can but bring men off from
their dependence upon God, and possess them with an opinion of
their self-sufficiency.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p18">(2.) See how this temptation was resisted
and overcome.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p19">[1.] Christ refused to comply with it. He
would not <i>command these stones to be made bread;</i> not because
he could not; his power, which soon after this turned <i>stones</i>
into <i>bread;</i> but he would not. And why would he not? At first
view, the thing appears justifiable enough, and the truth is, the
more plausible a temptation is, and the greater appearance there is
of good in it, the more dangerous it is. This matter would bear a
dispute, but Christ was soon aware of the snake in the grass, and
would not do any thing, <i>First,</i> That looked like questioning
the truth of the voice he heard from heaven, or putting that upon a
new trial which was already settled. <i>Secondly,</i> That looked
like distrusting his Father's care of him, or limiting him to one
particular way of providing for him. <i>Thirdly,</i> That looked
like setting up for himself, and being his own carver; or,
<i>Fourthly,</i> That looked like gratifying Satan, by doing a
thing at his motion. Some would have said, To give the Devil his
due, this was good counsel; but for those <i>who wait upon God,</i>
to consult <i>him,</i> is more than his due; it is like enquiring
of the god Ekron, when there is a God in Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p20">[2.] He was ready to reply to it (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.4" parsed="|Matt|4|4|0|0" passage="Mt 4:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>); <i>He answered and said,
It is written.</i> This is observable, that Christ answered and
baffled all the temptations of Satan with, <i>It is written.</i> He
is himself the eternal Word, and could have produced the mind of
God without having recourse to the writings of Moses; but he put
honour upon the scripture, and, to set us an example, he appealed
to what was written in the law; and he says this to Satan, taking
it for granted that he knew well enough what was written. It is
possible that those who are the Devil's children may yet know very
well what is written in God's book; <i>The devils believe and
tremble.</i> This method we must take when at any time we are
tempted to sin; resist and repel the temptation with, <i>It is
written.</i> The Word of God is <i>the sword of the Spirit,</i> the
only offensive weapon in all the Christian armoury (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.6.17" parsed="|Eph|6|17|0|0" passage="Eph 6:17">Eph. vi. 17</scripRef>); and we may say of it as
David of Goliath's sword, <i>None is like that</i> in our spiritual
conflicts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p21">This answer, as all the rest, is taken out
of the book of <i>Deuteronomy,</i> which signifies <i>the second
law,</i> and in which there is very little ceremonial; the
Levitical sacrifices and purifications could not drive away Satan,
though of divine institution, much less holy water and the sign of
the cross, which are of human invention; but moral precepts and
evangelical promises, mixed with faith, these are <i>mighty,
through God,</i> for the vanquishing of Satan. This is here quoted
from <scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.8.3" parsed="|Deut|8|3|0|0" passage="De 8:3">Deut. viii. 3</scripRef>, where the
reason given why God fed the Israelites with manna is, because he
would teach them that <i>man shall not live by bread alone.</i>
This Christ applies to his own case. Israel was God's son, whom he
<i>called out of Egypt</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.1" parsed="|Hos|11|1|0|0" passage="Ho 11:1">Hos. xi.
1</scripRef>), so was Christ (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.2.15" parsed="|Matt|2|15|0|0" passage="Mt 2:15"><i>ch.</i> ii. 15</scripRef>); Israel was then in a
wilderness, Christ was so now, perhaps the same wilderness. Now,
<i>First,</i> The Devil would have him question his sonship,
because he was in straits; no, says he, Israel was God's son, and a
son he was very tender of and whose manners he bore (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.13.18" parsed="|Acts|13|18|0|0" passage="Ac 13:18">Acts xiii. 18</scripRef>); and yet he brought
them into straits; and it follows there (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.8.5" parsed="|Deut|8|5|0|0" passage="De 8:5">Deut. viii. 5</scripRef>), <i>As a man chasteneth his son,
so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.</i> Christ, <i>being a
Son,</i> thus <i>learns obedience. Secondly,</i> The Devil would
have him distrust his Father's love and care. "No," says he, "that
would be to do as Israel did, who, when they were in want, said,
<i>Is the Lord among us?</i> and, <i>Can he furnish a table in the
wilderness? Can he give bread?" Thirdly,</i> The Devil would have
him, as soon as he began to be hungry, immediately looking out for
supply; whereas God, for wise and holy ends, suffered Israel to
hunger before he fed them; to humble them, and prove them. God will
have his children, when they want, not only to wait on him, but to
wait for him. <i>Fourthly,</i> The Devil would have him to supply
himself with bread. "No," says Christ, "what need is there of that?
It is a point long since settled, and incontestably proved, that
man may live without bread, as Israel in the wilderness lived forty
years upon manna." It is true, God in his providence ordinarily
maintains men by <i>bread out of the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.28.5" parsed="|Job|28|5|0|0" passage="Job 28:5">Job xxviii. 5</scripRef>); but he can, if he please,
make use of other means to keep men alive; <i>any word proceeding
out of the mouth of God,</i> any thing that God shall order and
appoint for that end, will be a good a livelihood for man as bread,
and will maintain him as well. As we may <i>have bread,</i> and yet
not be nourished, if God deny his blessing (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.7" osisRef="Bible:Hag.1.6 Bible:Hag.1.9 Bible:Mic.6.14" parsed="|Hag|1|6|0|0;|Hag|1|9|0|0;|Mic|6|14|0|0" passage="Ha 1:6,9,Mic 6:14">Hag. i. 6, 9; Mic. vi. 14</scripRef>; for
though bread is <i>the staff of life,</i> it is God's blessing that
is <i>the staff of bread</i>), so we may <i>want bread,</i> and yet
be nourished some other way. God sustains Moses and Elias without
bread, and Christ himself just now for forty days; he sustained
Israel with bread from heaven, angels' food; Elijah with bread sent
miraculously by ravens, and another time with the widow's meal
miraculously multiplied; therefore Christ need not turn stones into
bread, but trust God to keep him alive some other way now that he
is hungry, as he had done forty days before he hungred. Note, As in
our great abundance we must not think to live <i>without</i> God,
so in our greatest straits we must learn to live <i>upon</i> God;
and when <i>the fig-tree does not blossom,</i> and <i>the field
yields no meat,</i> when all ordinary means of succour and support
are cut off, yet then we must <i>rejoice in the Lord;</i> then we
must not think to command what we will, though contrary to his
command, but must humbly pray for what he thinks fit to give us,
and be thankful for the bread of our allowance, though it be a
short allowance. Let us learn of Christ here to be at God's
finding, rather than at our own; and not to take any irregular
courses for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p21.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.3" parsed="|Ps|37|3|0|0" passage="Ps 37:3">Ps. xxxvii. 3</scripRef>).
<i>Jehovah-jireh;</i> some way or other <i>the Lord will
provide.</i> It is better to live poorly upon the fruits of God's
goodness, than live plentifully upon the products of our own
sin.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p22">2. He tempted him to presume upon his
Father's power and protection. See what a restless unwearied
adversary the Devil is! If he fail in one assault, he tries
another.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p23">Now in this second attempt we may
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p24">(1.) What the temptation was, and how it
was managed. In general, finding Christ so confident of his
Father's care of him, in point of nourishment, he endeavors to draw
him to presume upon that care in point of safety. Note, We are in
danger of missing our way, both on the right hand and on the left,
and therefore must take heed, lest, when we avoid one extreme, we
be brought by the artifices of Satan, to run into another; lest, by
overcoming our prodigality, we fall into covetousness. Nor are any
extremes more dangerous than those of despair and presumption,
especially in the affairs of our souls. Some who have obtained a
persuasion that Christ is able and willing to save them <i>from</i>
their sins, are then tempted to presume that he will save them
<i>in</i> their sins. Thus when people begin to be zealous in
religion, Satan hurries them into bigotry and intemperate
heats.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p25">Now in this temptation we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p26">[1.] How he made way for it. He took
Christ, not by force against his will, but moved him to go, and
went along with him, to Jerusalem. Whether Christ went upon the
ground, and so went up the stairs to the top of the temple, or
whether he went in the air, is uncertain; but so it was, that he
was <i>set upon a pinnacle,</i> or spire; <i>upon the fane</i> (so
some), <i>upon the battlements</i> (so others), <i>upon the
wing</i> (so the word is), <i>of the temple.</i> Now observe,
<i>First,</i> How submissive Christ was, in suffering himself to be
hurried thus, that he might let Satan do his worst and yet conquer
him. The patience of Christ here, as afterward in his sufferings
and death, is more wonderful than the power of Satan or his
instruments; for neither he nor they could have any power against
Christ but <i>what was given them from above.</i> How comfortable
is it, that Christ, who let loose this power of Satan against
himself, does not in like manner let it loose against us, but
restrains it, for he <i>knows our frame! Secondly,</i> How subtle
the Devil was, in the choice of the place for his temptations.
Intending to solicit Christ to an ostentation of his own power, and
a vain-glorious presumption upon God's providence, he fixes him on
a public place in Jerusalem, a populous city, and <i>the joy of the
whole earth;</i> in the temple, one of the wonders of the world,
continually gazed upon with admiration by some one or other. There
he might make himself remarkable, and be taken notice of by
everybody, and prove himself the Son of God; not, as he was urged
in the former temptation, in the obscurities of a wilderness, but
before multitudes, upon the most eminent stage of action.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p27">Observe, 1. That Jerusalem is here called
the <i>holy city;</i> for so it was in name and profession, and
there was in it a <i>holy seed,</i> that was the <i>substance
thereof.</i> Note, There is no city on earth so holy as to exempt
and secure us from the Devil and his temptations. The first
<i>Adam</i> was tempted in the <i>holy garden,</i> the second in
the <i>holy city.</i> Let us not, therefore, in any place, be off
our watch. Nay, the <i>holy city</i> is the place where he does,
with great advantage and success, tempt men to pride and
presumption; but, blessed be God, into the Jerusalem above, that
holy city, no unclean thing shall enter; there we shall be for ever
out of temptation. 2. That he <i>set him upon a pinnacle of the
temple,</i> which (as Josephus describes it, <i>Antiq.</i> 15. 412)
was so very high, that it would make a man's head giddy to look
down to the bottom. Note, Pinnacles of the temple are places of
temptation; I mean, (1.) High places are so; they are slippery
places; advancement in the world makes a man a fair mark for Satan
to shoot his fiery darts at. God casts down, that he may raise up;
the Devil raises up, that he may cast down: therefore they who
would take heed of <i>falling,</i> must take heed of
<i>climbing.</i> (2.) High places <i>in the church</i> are, in a
special manner, dangerous. They who excel in gifts, who are in
eminent stations, and have gained great reputation, have need to
keep humble; for Satan will be sure to aim at them, to puff them up
with pride, that they may <i>fall into the condemnation of the
Devil.</i> Those that <i>stand high</i> are concerned to <i>stand
fast.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p28">[2.] How he moved it; "<i>If thou be the
Son of God,</i> now show thyself to the world, and prove thyself to
be so; <i>cast thyself down,</i> and then," <i>First,</i> "Thou
wilt be admired, as <i>under the special protection of heaven.</i>
When they see thee receive no hurt by a fall from such a precipice,
they will say" (as the barbarous people did of Paul) "that thou art
a God." Tradition says, that <i>Simon Magnus</i> by this very thing
attempted to prove himself a god, but that his pretensions were
disproved, for he fell down, and was miserably bruised. "Nay,"
<i>Secondly,</i> "Thou wilt be received, as coming <i>with a
special commission from heaven.</i> All Jerusalem will see and
acknowledge, not only that thou art more than a man, but that thou
art that <i>Messenger,</i> that <i>Angel of the covenant,</i> that
should <i>suddenly come to the temple</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.3.1" parsed="|Mal|3|1|0|0" passage="Mal 3:1">Mal. iii. 1</scripRef>), and from thence descend into the
streets of the holy city; and thus the work of convincing the Jews
will be cut short, and soon done."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p29">Observe, The Devil said, <i>Cast thyself
down.</i> The Devil could not cast him down, though a little thing
would have done it, from the top of a spire. Note, The power of
Satan is a limited power; <i>hitherto he shall come, and no
further.</i> Yet, if the Devil <i>had cast him down,</i> he had not
gained his point; that had been his suffering only, not his sin.
Note, Whatever real mischief is done us, it is of <i>our own
doing;</i> the Devil can but persuade, he cannot compel; he can but
say, <i>Cast thyself down;</i> he cannot cast us down. Every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and not forced, but
enticed. Therefore let us not <i>hurt ourselves,</i> and then,
blessed be God, no one else can hurt us, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.9.12" parsed="|Prov|9|12|0|0" passage="Pr 9:12">Prov. ix. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p30">[3.] How he backed this motion with a
scripture; <i>For it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee.</i> But <i>is Saul also among the prophets?</i> Is
Satan so well versed in scripture, as to be able to quote it so
readily? It seems, he is. Note, It is possible for a man to have
his head full of scripture-notions, and his mouth full of
scripture-expressions, while his heart is full of reigning enmity
to God and all goodness. The knowledge which the devils have of the
scripture, increases both their mischievousness and their torment.
Never did the devil speak with more vexation to himself, than when
he said to Christ, <i>I know thee who thou art.</i> The devil would
persuade Christ to <i>throw himself down,</i> hoping that he would
be his own murderer, and that there would be an end of him and his
undertaking, which he looked upon with a jealous eye; to encourage
him to do it, he tells them, that there was no danger, that the
good angels would protect him, for so was the promise (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.11" parsed="|Ps|91|11|0|0" passage="Ps 91:11">Ps. xci. 11</scripRef>), <i>He shall give his
angels charge over thee.</i> In this quotation,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p31"><i>First,</i> There was <i>something
right.</i> It is true, there is such a promise of the ministration
of the angels, for the protection of the saints. The devil knows it
by experience; for he finds his attempts against them fruitless,
and he frets and rages at it, as he did at the hedge about Job,
which he speaks of so sensibly, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.1.10" parsed="|Job|1|10|0|0" passage="Job 1:10">Job i.
10</scripRef>. He was also right in applying it to Christ, for to
him all the promises of the protection of the saints primarily and
eminently belong, and to them, in and through him. That promise,
that <i>not a bone of theirs shall be broken</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.34.20" parsed="|Ps|34|20|0|0" passage="Ps 34:20">Ps. xxxiv. 20</scripRef>), was fulfilled in
Christ, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:John.19.36" parsed="|John|19|36|0|0" passage="Joh 19:36">John xix. 36</scripRef>. The
angels guard the saints for Christ's sake, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p31.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.5 Bible:Rev.7.11" parsed="|Rev|7|5|0|0;|Rev|7|11|0|0" passage="Re 7:5,11">Rev. vii. 5, 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p32"><i>Secondly,</i> There was a great deal
<i>wrong in it;</i> and perhaps the devil had a particular spite
against this promise, and perverted it, because it often stood in
his way, and baffled his mischievous designs against the saints.
See here, 1. How he <i>misquoted</i> it; and that was <i>bad.</i>
The promise is, They shall <i>keep thee;</i> but how? <i>In all thy
ways;</i> not otherwise; if we <i>go out of our way,</i> out of the
way of our duty, we forfeit the promise, and put ourselves out of
God's protection. Now this word made against the tempter, and
therefore he industriously left it out. If Christ had <i>cast
himself down,</i> he had been <i>out of his way,</i> for he had no
call so to expose himself. It is good for us upon all occasions to
consult the scriptures themselves, and not to take things upon
trust, that we may not be imposed upon by those that maim and
mangle the word of God; we must do as the noble <i>Bereans,</i> who
searched the scriptures daily. 2. How he <i>misapplied</i> it; and
that was <i>worse.</i> Scripture is abused when it is pressed to
patronize sin; and when men thus wrest it to their own temptation,
they do it to <i>their own destruction</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.3.16" parsed="|2Pet|3|16|0|0" passage="2Pe 3:16">2 Pet. iii. 16</scripRef>. This promise is firm, and
stands good; but the devil made an ill use of it, when he used it
as an encouragement to presume upon the divine care. Note, It is no
new thing for the <i>grace of God</i> to be <i>turned into
wantonness;</i> and for men to take encouragement in sin from the
discoveries of God's good will to sinners. But <i>shall we continue
in sin, that grace may abound?</i> throw ourselves down, that the
angels may bear us up? God forbid.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p33">(2.) How Christ overcame this temptation;
he resisted and overcame it, as he did the former, with, <i>It is
written.</i> The devil's <i>abusing</i> of scripture did not
prevent Christ from using it, but he presently urges, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.6.16" parsed="|Deut|6|16|0|0" passage="De 6:16">Deut. vi. 16</scripRef>, <i>Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God.</i> The meaning of this is not, Therefore thou
must not tempt me; but, Therefore I <i>must not tempt</i> my
Father. In the place whence it is quoted, it is in the plural
number, <i>You shall not tempt;</i> here it is singular, <i>Thou
shalt not.</i> Note, We are <i>then</i> likely to get good by the
word of God, when we hear and receive general promises as speaking
to us in particular. Satan said, <i>It is written;</i> Christ says,
<i>It is written;</i> not that one scripture contradicts another.
God is one, and his word one, and he is one mind, but that is a
promise, this is a precept, and therefore that is to be explained
and applied by this; for scripture is the best interpreter of
scripture; and they who prophesy, who expound scripture, must do it
according to the proportion of faith (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p33.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.12.6" parsed="|Rom|12|6|0|0" passage="Ro 12:6">Rom. xii. 6</scripRef>), consistently with practical
godliness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p34">If Christ should <i>cast himself down,</i>
it would be the tempting of God, [1.] As it would be <i>requiring a
further confirmation</i> of that which was so well confirmed.
Christ was abundantly satisfied that God was already his Father,
and took care of him, and gave his angels a charge concerning him;
and therefore to put it upon a new experiment, would be to tempt
him, as the Pharisees tempted Christ; when they had so many signs
on earth, they demanded a <i>sign from heaven.</i> This is limiting
the <i>Holy One of Israel.</i> [2.] As it would be <i>requiring a
special preservation</i> of him, in doing that which he had no call
to. If we expect that because God has promised not to forsake us,
therefore he should follow us out of the way of our duty; that
because he has promised to supply our wants, therefore he should
humour us, and please our fancies; that because he has promised to
keep us, we may wilfully thrust ourselves into danger, and may
expect the desired end, without using the appointed means; this is
presumption, this is tempting God. And it is an aggravation of the
sin, that he is the Lord our God; it is an abuse of the privilege
we enjoy, in having him for our God; he has thereby encouraged us
to trust him, but we are very ungrateful, if therefore we tempt
him; it is contrary to our duty to him as our God. This is to
affront him whom we ought to honour. Note, We must never promise
ourselves any more than God has promised us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p35">3. He tempted him to the most <i>black and
horrid idolatry,</i> with the proffer of the <i>kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them.</i> And here we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p36">(1.) How the devil made this push at our
Saviour, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.8-Matt.4.9" parsed="|Matt|4|8|4|9" passage="Mt 4:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8, 9</scripRef>.
The worst temptation was reserved for the last. Note, Sometimes the
saint's last encounter is with the sons of <i>Anak,</i> and the
parting blow is the sorest; therefore, whatever temptation we have
been assaulted by, still we must prepare for worse; must be armed
for all attacks, with the armour of righteousness on the right hand
and on the left.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p37">In this temptation, we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p38">[1.] What he <i>showed him—all the
kingdoms of the world.</i> In order to do this, he took him to an
<i>exceeding high mountain;</i> in hopes of prevailing, as Balak
with Balaam, he changed his ground. The pinnacle of the temple is
not high enough; the prince of the power of the air must have him
further up into his territories. Some think this high mountain was
on the other side of Jordan, because there we find Christ next
after the temptation, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:John.1.28-John.1.29" parsed="|John|1|28|1|29" passage="Joh 1:28,29">John i. 28,
29</scripRef>. Perhaps it was <i>mount Pisgah,</i> whence Moses, in
communion with God, had all the kingdoms of Canaan shown him.
Hither the blessed Jesus was carried for the advantage of a
prospect; as if the devil could show him more of the world than he
knew already, who made and governed it. Thence he might discover
some of the kingdoms situate about Judea, though not <i>the glory
of them;</i> but there was doubtless a juggle and a delusion of
Satan's in it; it is probable that that which he showed him, was
but a landscape, an airy representation in a cloud, such as that
great deceiver could easily frame and put together; setting forth,
in proper and lively colours, the glories and the splendid
appearances of princes; their robes and crowns, their retinue,
equipage, and lifeguards; the pomp of thrones, and courts, and
stately palaces, the sumptuous buildings in cities, the gardens and
fields about the country-seats, with the various instances of their
wealth, pleasure, and gaiety; so as might be most likely to strike
the fancy, and excite the admiration and affection. Such was this
show, and his taking him up into a high mountain, was but to
<i>humour the thing,</i> and to colour the delusion; in which yet
the blessed Jesus did not suffer himself to be imposed upon, but
saw through the cheat, only he permitted Satan to take his own way,
that his victory over him might be the more illustrious. Hence
observe, concerning <i>Satan's temptations,</i> that, <i>First,</i>
They often <i>come in at the eye,</i> which is blinded to the
things it should see, and dazzled with the vanities it should be
turned from. The first sin began in the eye, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p38.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.6" parsed="|Gen|3|6|0|0" passage="Ge 3:6">Gen. iii. 6</scripRef>. We have therefore need to make a
covenant with our eyes, and to pray that God would <i>turn them
away from beholding vanity. Secondly,</i> That temptations commonly
take rise from the world, and the things in it. The <i>lust of the
flesh,</i> and of <i>the eye,</i> with the <i>pride of life,</i>
are the topics from which the devil fetches most of his arguments.
<i>Thirdly,</i> That it is a <i>great cheat</i> which the devil
puts upon poor souls, in his temptations. He deceives, and so
destroys; he imposes upon men with shadows and fast colours; shows
the world and the glory of it, and hides from men's eyes the sin
and sorrow and death which stain the pride of all this glory, the
cares and calamities which attend great possessions, and the thorns
which crowns themselves are lined with. <i>Fourthly,</i> That the
<i>glory of the world</i> is the most <i>charming</i> temptation to
the <i>unthinking</i> and <i>unwary,</i> and that by which men are
most imposed upon. <i>Laban's</i> sons grudge <i>Jacob all this
glory;</i> the <i>pride of life</i> is the most dangerous
snare.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p39">(2.) What he <i>said to him</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p39.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.9" parsed="|Matt|4|9|0|0" passage="Mt 4:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); <i>All these things I
will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.</i> See,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p40"><i>First,</i> How <i>vain the promise</i>
was. <i>All these things I will give thee.</i> He seems to take it
for granted, that in the former temptations he had in part gained
his point, and proved that Christ was not the <i>Son of God,</i>
because he had not given him those evidences of it which he
demanded; so that here he looks upon him as a mere man. "Come,"
says he, "it seems that God whose Son thou thinkest thyself to be
deserts thee, and starves thee—a sign that he is not thy Father;
but if thou wilt be ruled by me, I will provide better for thee
than so; own me for thy father, and ask my blessing, and <i>all
this will I give thee.</i>" Note, Satan makes an easy prey of men,
when he can persuade them to think themselves abandoned of God. The
fallacy of this promise lies in that, <i>All this will I give
thee.</i> And what was <i>all that?</i> It was but a map, a
picture, a mere phantasm, that had nothing in it real or solid, and
this he would give him; a goodly prize! Yet such are Satan's
proffers. Note, Multitudes lose the sight of that which is, by
setting their eyes on that which is not. The devil's baits are all
a sham; they are shows and shadows with which he deceives them, or
rather they deceive themselves. The <i>nations of the earth</i> had
been, long before, promised to the Messiah; if he be <i>the Son of
God,</i> they belong to him; Satan pretends now to be a good angel,
probably one of those that were set over kingdoms, and to have
received a commission to deliver possession to him according to
promise. Note, We must take heed of receiving even that which God
hath promised, out of the devil's hand; we do so when we
precipitate the performance, by catching at it in a sinful way.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p41"><i>Secondly,</i> How <i>vile</i> the
<i>condition</i> was; <i>If thou will fall down, and worship
me.</i> All the worship which the heathen performed to their gods,
was directed to the devil (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p41.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.17" parsed="|Deut|32|17|0|0" passage="De 32:17">Deut.
xxxii. 17</scripRef>), who is therefore called the <i>god of this
world,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p41.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.4.4 Bible:1Cor.10.20" parsed="|2Cor|4|4|0|0;|1Cor|10|20|0|0" passage="2Co 4:4,1Co 10:20">2 Cor. iv. 4; 1
Cor. x. 20</scripRef>. And fain would he draw Christ into his
interests, and persuade him, now that he set up for a Teacher, to
preach up the Gentile idolatry, and to introduce it again among the
Jews, and then the nations of the earth would soon flock in to him.
What temptation could be more hideous, more black? Note, The best
of saints may be tempted to the worst of sins, especially when they
are under the power of melancholy; as, for instance, to atheism,
blasphemy, murder, self-murder, and what not. This is their
affliction, but while there is no consent to it, nor approbation of
it, it is not their sin; Christ was tempted to worship Satan.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p42">(2.) See how Christ warded off the thrust,
baffled the assault, and came off a conqueror. He rejected the
proposal,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p43">[1.] With <i>abhorrence</i> and
<i>detestation;</i> <i>Get thee hence, Satan.</i> The two former
temptations had something of colour, which would admit a
consideration, but this was so gross as not to bear a parley; it
appears abominable at the first sight, and therefore is immediately
rejected. If the best friend we have in the world suggests such a
thing as this to us, <i>Go, serve other gods,</i> he must not be
heard with patience, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p43.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.13.6 Bible:Deut.13.8" parsed="|Deut|13|6|0|0;|Deut|13|8|0|0" passage="De 13:6,8">Deut. xiii. 6,
8</scripRef>. Some temptations have their wickedness written in
their forehead, they are open before-hand; they are not to be
disputed with, but rejected; "<i>Get thee hence, Satan.</i> Away
with it, I cannot bear the thought of it!" While Satan tempted
Christ to do himself a mischief, by casting himself down, though he
yielded not, yet he heard it; but now that the temptation flies in
the face of God, he cannot bear it; <i>Get thee hence, Satan.</i>
Note, It is a just indignation, which rises at the proposal of any
thing that reflects on the honour of God, and strikes at his crown.
Nay, whatever is an abominable thing, which we are sure the Lord
hates, we must thus abominate it; far be it from us that we should
have any thing to do with it. Note, It is good to be
<i>peremptory</i> in resisting temptation, and to <i>stop our
ears</i> to Satan's charms.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p44">[2.] With an argument fetched from
scripture. Note, In order to the strengthening of our resolutions
against sin, it is good to see what a great deal of reason there is
for those resolutions. The argument is very suitable, and exactly
to the purpose, taken from <scripRef id="Matt.v-p44.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.6.13 Bible:Deut.10.20" parsed="|Deut|6|13|0|0;|Deut|10|20|0|0" passage="De 6:13,10:20">Deut.
vi. 13, and x. 20</scripRef>. <i>Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve.</i> Christ does not dispute
whether he were an angel of light, as he pretended, or not; but
though he were, yet he must not be worshipped, because that is an
honour due to God only. Note, It is good to make our answers to
temptation as full and as brief as may be, so as not to leave room
for objections. Our Saviour has recourse to the fundamental law in
this case, which is indispensable, and universally obligatory.
Note, Religious worship is due to God only, and must not be given
to any creature; it is a flower of the crown which cannot be
alienated, a branch of God's glory which he will not give to
another, and which he would not give to his own Son, by obliging
all men to <i>honour the Son, even as they honour the Father,</i>
if he had not been God, <i>equal to him,</i> and <i>one with
him.</i> Christ quotes this law concerning religious worship, and
quotes it with application to himself; <i>First,</i> To show that
in his estate of humiliation he was himself <i>made under this
law:</i> though, as God, he was worshipped, yet, as Man, he did
worship God, both publicly and privately. He obliges us to no more
than what he was first pleased to oblige himself to. Thus it became
him to fulfil all righteousness. <i>Secondly,</i> To show that the
law of religious worship is of eternal obligation: though he
abrogated and altered many institutions of worship, yet this
fundamental law of nature—That God only is to be worshipped, he
came to ratify, and confirm, and enforce upon us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p45">V. We have here the end and issue of this
combat, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p45.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.11" parsed="|Matt|4|11|0|0" passage="Mt 4:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. Though
the children of God may be exercised with many and great
temptations, yet God will not suffer them to be tempted above the
strength which either they have, or he will put into them,
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p45.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.10.13" parsed="|1Cor|10|13|0|0" passage="1Co 10:13">1 Cor. x. 13</scripRef>. It is but
for a season that they are in heaviness, through manifold
temptations.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p46">Now the issue was glorious, and much to
Christ's honour: for,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p47">1. The devil was baffled, and quitted the
field; <i>Then the devil leaveth him,</i> forced to do so by the
power that went along with that word of command, <i>Get thee hence,
Satan.</i> He made a shameful and inglorious retreat, and came off
with disgrace; and the more daring his attempts had been, the more
mortifying was the foil that was given him. <i>Magnis tamen excidit
ausis—The attempt, however, in which he failed, was daring.</i>
Then, when he had done his worst, had tempted him with <i>all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,</i> and found that he
was not influenced by that bait, that he could not prevail with
that temptation with which he had overthrown so many thousands of
the children of men, then he leaves him; then he gives him over as
more than a man. Since this did not move him, he despairs of moving
him, and begins to conclude, that he is the <i>Son of God,</i> and
that it is in vain to tempt him any further. Note, If we resist the
devil, he will flee from us; he will yield, if we keep our ground;
as when <i>Naomi</i> saw that <i>Ruth was steadfastly resolved, she
left off speaking to her.</i> When the devil left our Saviour, he
owned himself fairly beaten; his head was broken by the attempt he
made to <i>bruise Christ's heel.</i> He left him because he had
<i>nothing in him,</i> nothing to take hold of; he saw it was to no
purpose, and so gave over. Note, The devil, though he is an enemy
to all saints, is a conquered enemy. The Captain of our salvation
has defeated and disarmed him; we have nothing to do but to
<i>pursue the victory.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p48">2. The holy angels came and attended upon
our victorious Redeemer; <i>Behold, angels came and ministered unto
him.</i> They came in a visible appearance, as the devil had done
in the temptation. While the devil was making his assaults upon our
Saviour, the angels stood at a distance, and their immediate
attendance and administration were suspended, that it might appear
that he vanquished Satan in his own strength, and that his victory
might be the more illustrious; and that afterward, when
<i>Michael</i> makes use of <i>his angels</i> in fighting with the
<i>dragon and his angels,</i> it might appear, that it is not
because he <i>needs them,</i> or could not do his work without
them, but because he is pleased to honour them so far as to employ
them. One angel might have served to bring him food, but here are
many attending him, to testify their respect to him, and their
readiness to receive his commands. Behold this! It is worth taking
notice of; (1.) That as there is a world of wicked, malicious
spirits that fight against Christ and his church, and all
particular believers, so there is a world of holy, blessed spirits
engaged and employed for them. In reference to our <i>war with
devils,</i> we may take abundance of comfort from our <i>communion
with angels.</i> (2.) That Christ's victories are the angels'
triumphs. The angels came to congratulate Christ on his success, to
rejoice with him, and to give him the glory due to his name; for
that was sung with a loud voice in heaven, when the great dragon
was cast out (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p48.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.12.9-Rev.12.10" parsed="|Rev|12|9|12|10" passage="Re 12:9,10">Rev. xii. 9,
10</scripRef>), <i>Now is come salvation and strength.</i> (3.)
That the angels ministered to the Lord Jesus, not only food, but
whatever else he wanted after this great fatigue. See how the
instances of Christ's condescension and humiliation were balanced
with tokens of his glory. As when he was <i>crucified in
weakness,</i> yet he <i>lived by the power of God;</i> so when in
weakness he was tempted, was hungry and weary, yet by his divine
power he commanded the ministration of angels. Thus the Son of man
did eat angels' food, and, like Elias, is fed by an angel in the
wilderness, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p48.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.4 Bible:1Kgs.19.7" parsed="|1Kgs|19|4|0|0;|1Kgs|19|7|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:4,7">1 Kings xix. 4,
7</scripRef>. Note, Though God may suffer his people to be brought
into wants and straits, yet he will take effectual care for their
supply, and will rather send angels to feed them, than see them
perish. <i>Trust in the Lord, and verily thou shalt be fed,</i>
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p48.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.3" parsed="|Ps|37|3|0|0" passage="Ps 37:3">Ps. xxxvii. 3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p49">Christ was thus succoured after the
temptation, [1.] For his encouragement to go on in his undertaking,
that he might see the powers of heaven siding with him, when he saw
the powers of hell set against him. [2.] For our encouragement to
trust in him; for as he knew, by experience, what it was to
<i>suffer, being tempted,</i> and how hard that was, so he knew
what it was to be succoured, being tempted, and how comfortable
that was; and therefore we may expect, not only that he will
sympathize with his tempted people, but that he will come in with
seasonable relief to them; as our great Melchizedec, who met
Abraham when he returned from the battle, and as the angels here
ministered to him.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Matt.v-p49.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.12-Matt.4.17" parsed="|Matt|4|12|4|17" passage="Mt 4:12-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Matt.4.12-Matt.4.17">
<h4 id="Matt.v-p49.2">Opening of Christ's
Ministry.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Matt.v-p50">12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast
into prison, he departed into Galilee;   13 And leaving
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea
coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:   14 That it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
  15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim,
<i>by</i> the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the
Gentiles;   16 The people which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death
light is sprung up.   17 From that time Jesus began to preach,
and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p51">We have here an account of Christ's
preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, for he came into the world
to be a Preacher; the great salvation which he wrought out, he
himself began to publish (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p51.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.2.3" parsed="|Heb|2|3|0|0" passage="Heb 2:3">Heb. ii.
3</scripRef>) to show how much his heart <i>was</i> upon it, and
ours <i>should</i> be.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p52">Several passages in the other gospels,
especially in that of St. John, are supposed, in the order of the
story of Christ's life, to intervene between his temptation and his
preaching in Galilee. His first appearance after his temptation,
was when John Baptist pointed to him, saying, <i>Behold the Lamb of
God,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p52.1" osisRef="Bible:John.1.29" parsed="|John|1|29|0|0" passage="Joh 1:29">John i. 29</scripRef>. After
that, he went up to Jerusalem, to the passover (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p52.2" osisRef="Bible:John.2.12-John.2.25" parsed="|John|2|12|2|25" passage="Joh 2:12-25">John ii.</scripRef>), discoursed with Nicodemus
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p52.3" osisRef="Bible:John.3.1-John.3.21" parsed="|John|3|1|3|21" passage="Joh 3:1-21">John iii.</scripRef>), with the
woman of Samaria (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p52.4" osisRef="Bible:John.4.1-John.4.42" parsed="|John|4|1|4|42" passage="Joh 4:1-42">John
iv.</scripRef>), and then returned into Galilee, and preached
there. But Matthew, having had his residence in Galilee, begins his
story of Christ's public ministry with his preaching there, which
here we have an account of. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p53">I. The time; <i>When Jesus had heard that
John was cast into prison,</i> then he <i>went into Galilee,</i>
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p53.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.12" parsed="|Matt|4|12|0|0" passage="Mt 4:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Note, The cry
of the saints' sufferings comes up into the ears of the Lord Jesus.
If John be cast into prison, Jesus hears it, takes cognizance of
it, and steers his course accordingly: <i>he remembers the
bonds</i> and afflictions that abide his people. Observe, 1. Christ
did <i>not</i> go into the country, <i>till he heard of</i> John's
imprisonment; for he must have time given him to <i>prepare the way
of the Lord,</i> before the Lord himself appear. Providence wisely
ordered it, that John should be <i>eclipsed</i> before Christ
<i>shone forth;</i> otherwise the minds of people would have been
distracted between the two; one would have said, <i>I am of
John,</i> and another, <i>I am of Jesus.</i> John must be Christ's
harbinger, but not his rival. The moon and stars are lost when the
sun rises. John had done his work by the baptism of repentance, and
then he was laid aside. The witnesses were slain when they had
finished their testimony, and not before, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p53.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.11.7" parsed="|Rev|11|7|0|0" passage="Re 11:7">Rev. xi. 7</scripRef>. 2. He <i>did</i> go into the
country as soon as he heard of John's imprisonment; not only to
provide for his own safety, knowing that the Pharisees in Judea
were as much enemies to him as Herod was to John, but to supply the
want of John Baptist, and to build upon the good foundation he had
laid. Note, God will not leave himself without witness, nor his
church without guides; when he removes one useful instrument, he
can raise up another, for he has the residue of the Spirit, and he
will do it, if he has work to do. <i>Moses my servant is dead,</i>
John is cast into prison; now, therefore, Joshua, arise; Jesus,
arise.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p54">II. The place where he preached; in
Galilee, a remote part of the country, that lay furthest from
Jerusalem, as was there looked upon with contempt, as rude and
boorish. The inhabitants of that country were reckoned stout men,
fit for soldiers, but not polite men, or fit for scholars. Thither
Christ went, there he set up the standard of his gospel; and in
this, as in other things, he humbled himself. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p55">1. The particular city he chose for his
residence; not Nazareth, where he had been bred up; no, he left
Nazareth; particular notice is taken of that, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p55.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.13" parsed="|Matt|4|13|0|0" passage="Mt 4:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. And with good reason did he
leave Nazareth; for the men of that city <i>thrust him out</i> from
among them, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p55.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.4.29" parsed="|Luke|4|29|0|0" passage="Lu 4:29">Luke iv. 29</scripRef>. He
made them his first, and a very fair, offer of his service, but
they rejected him and his doctrine, and were filled with
indignation at him and it; and therefore he left Nazareth, and
shook off the dust of his feet for a testimony against those there,
who would not have him to teach them. Nazareth was the first place
that refused Christ, and was therefore refused by him. Note, It is
just with God, to take the gospel and the means of grace from those
that slight them, and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long
where he is not welcome. Unhappy Nazareth! <i>If thou hadst
known</i> in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace, how
well had it been for thee! <i>But now they are hid from thine
eyes.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p56">But he <i>came and dwelt in Capernaum,</i>
which was a city of Galilee, but many miles distant from Nazareth,
a great city and of much resort. It is said here to be <i>on the
sea coast,</i> not the <i>great sea,</i> but the sea of Tiberias,
an inland water, called also <i>the lake of Gennesaret.</i> Close
by the falling of Jordan into the sea stood Capernaum, in the tribe
of Naphtali, but bordering upon Zebulun; hither Christ came, and
here he dwelt. Some think that his father Joseph had a habitation
here, others that he took a house or lodgings at least; and some
think it more than probable, that he dwelt in the house of Simon
Peter; however, here he fixed not constantly, for he went about
doing good; but this was for some time his head quarters: what
little rest he had, was here; here he had a place, though not a
place of his own, to lay his head on. And at Capernaum, it should
seem, he was welcome, and met with better entertainment than he had
at Nazareth. Note, If some reject Christ, yet others will receive
him, and bid him welcome. Capernaum is glad of Nazareth's leavings.
If Christ's own countrymen be not gathered, yet he will be
glorious. "And thou, Capernaum, has now a day of it; thou art now
lifted up to heaven; be wise for thyself, and know the time of thy
visitation."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p57">2. The prophecy that was fulfilled is this,
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.14-Matt.4.16" parsed="|Matt|4|14|4|16" passage="Mt 4:14-16"><i>v.</i> 14-16</scripRef>. It is
quoted from <scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.9.1-Isa.9.2" parsed="|Isa|9|1|9|2" passage="Isa 9:1,2">Isa. ix. 1, 2</scripRef>,
but with some variation. The prophet in that place is foretelling a
greater darkness of affliction to befal the contemners of Immanuel,
than befel the countries there mentioned, either in their first
captivity under Benhadad, which was but light (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.15.20" parsed="|1Kgs|15|20|0|0" passage="1Ki 15:20">1 Kings xv. 20</scripRef>), or in their second
captivity under the Assyrian, which was much heavier, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.15.29" parsed="|2Kgs|15|29|0|0" passage="2Ki 15:29">2 Kings xv. 29</scripRef>. The punishment of
the Jewish nation for rejecting the gospel should be sorer than
either (see <scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.21-Isa.8.22" parsed="|Isa|8|21|8|22" passage="Isa 8:21,22">Isa. viii. 21,
22</scripRef>); for those captivated places had some reviving in
their bondage, and saw a great light again, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p57.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.9.2" parsed="|Matt|9|2|0|0" passage="Mt 9:2"><i>ch.</i> ix. 2</scripRef>. This is Isaiah's sense; but
the Scripture has many fulfillings; and the evangelist here takes
only the latter clause, which speaks of the return of the light of
liberty and prosperity to those countries that had been in the
darkness of captivity, and applies it to the appearing of the
gospel among them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p58">The places are spoken of, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p58.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.15" parsed="|Matt|4|15|0|0" passage="Mt 4:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. <i>The land of Zebulun
is</i> rightly said to be <i>by the sea coast,</i> for
<i>Zebulun</i> was a <i>haven of ships,</i> and <i>rejoiced</i> in
her <i>going out,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p58.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.49.13 Bible:Deut.33.18" parsed="|Gen|49|13|0|0;|Deut|33|18|0|0" passage="Ge 49:13,De 33:18">Gen.
xlix. 13; Deut. xxxiii. 18</scripRef>. Of Naphtali, it had been
said, that he should <i>give goodly words</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p58.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.49.21" parsed="|Gen|49|21|0|0" passage="Ge 49:21">Gen. xlix. 21</scripRef>), and should be <i>satisfied
with favour</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p58.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.23" parsed="|Deut|33|23|0|0" passage="De 33:23">Deut. xxxiii.
23</scripRef>), for from him began the gospel; goodly words indeed,
and such as bring to a soul God's satisfying favour. The country
beyond Jordan is mentioned likewise, for there we sometimes find
Christ preaching, and Galilee of the Gentiles, the upper Galilee to
which the Gentiles resorted for traffic, and where they were
mingled with the Jews; which intimates a kindness in reserve for
the poor Gentiles. When Christ came to Capernaum, the gospel came
to all those places round about; such diffusive influences did the
Sun of righteousness cast.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p59">Now, concerning the inhabitants of these
places, observe, (1.) The posture they were in before the gospel
came among them (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p59.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.16" parsed="|Matt|4|16|0|0" passage="Mt 4:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>); they were <i>in darkness.</i> Note, Those that are
without Christ, are in the dark, nay, they are darkness itself; as
the darkness that was upon the <i>face of the deep.</i> Nay, they
were <i>in the region and shadow of death;</i> which denotes not
only <i>great darkness,</i> as the grave is a <i>land of
darkness,</i> but <i>great danger.</i> A man that is desperately
sick, and not likely to recover, is in the <i>valley of the shadow
of death,</i> though not quite dead; so the poor people were on the
borders of damnation, though not yet damned-dead in law. And, which
is worst of all, they were <i>sitting</i> in this condition.
Sitting in a continuing posture; where we sit, we mean to stay;
they were in the dark, and likely to be so, despairing to find the
way out. And it is a contented posture; they were in the dark, and
they loved darkness, they chose it rather than light; they were
willingly ignorant. Their condition was sad; it is still the
condition of many great and mighty nations, which are to be thought
of, and prayed for, with pity. But <i>their</i> condition is more
sad, who sit in darkness in the midst of gospel-light. He that is
in the dark because it is night, may be sure that the sun will
shortly arise; but he that is in the dark because he is blind, will
not so soon have his eyes opened. We have the light, but what will
that avail us, if we be not the light in the Lord? (2.) The
privilege they enjoyed, when Christ and his gospel came among them;
it was as great a reviving as ever light was to a benighted
traveller. Note, When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes
to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there,
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p59.2" osisRef="Bible:John.3.19 Bible:Luke.1.78-Luke.1.79" parsed="|John|3|19|0|0;|Luke|1|78|1|79" passage="Joh 3:19,Lu 1:78,79">John iii. 19; Luke i. 78,
79</scripRef>. Light is discovering, it is directing; so is the
gospel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p60">It is a <i>great</i> light; denoting the
clearness and evidence of gospel-revelations; not like the light of
a candle, but the light of the sun when he goes forth in his
strength. <i>Great</i> in comparison with the light of the law, the
shadows of which were now done away. It is a <i>great light,</i>
for it discovers great things and of vast consequence; it will last
long, and spread far. And it is a <i>growing light,</i> intimated
in that word, It is <i>sprung up.</i> It was but <i>spring of
day</i> with them; now the day dawned, which afterward <i>shone
more and more.</i> The gospel-kingdom, like a grain of mustard-seed
or the morning light, was small in its beginnings, gradual in its
growth, but great in its perfection.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p61">Observe, the light <i>sprang up to
them;</i> they did not go to seek it, but were prevented with the
blessings of this goodness. It came upon them ere they were aware,
at the time appointed, by the disposal of him who <i>commandeth the
morning,</i> and <i>causes the day-spring to know its place, that
it may take hold of the ends of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p61.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.12-Job.38.13" parsed="|Job|38|12|38|13" passage="Job 38:12,13">Job xxxviii. 12, 13</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p62">III. The text he preached upon (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p62.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.17" parsed="|Matt|4|17|0|0" passage="Mt 4:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>From that time,</i>
that is, from the time of his coming into Galilee, into the land of
Zebulun and Naphtali, from that time, he began to preach. He had
been preaching, before this, in Judea, and had made and baptized
many disciples (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p62.2" osisRef="Bible:John.4.1" parsed="|John|4|1|0|0" passage="Joh 4:1">John iv. 1</scripRef>);
but his preaching was no so public and constant as now it began to
be. The work of the ministry is so great and awful, that it is fit
to be entered upon by steps and gradual advances.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p63">The subject which Christ dwelt upon now in
his preaching (and it was indeed the sum and substance of all his
preaching), was the very same John has preached upon (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.2" parsed="|Matt|3|2|0|0" passage="Mt 3:2"><i>ch.</i> iii. 2</scripRef>); <i>Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand;</i> for the gospel is the same for
substance under various dispensations; the commands the same, and
the reasons to enforce them the same; an <i>angel from heaven</i>
dares not preach any other gospel (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.8" parsed="|Gal|1|8|0|0" passage="Ga 1:8">Gal.
i. 8</scripRef>), and will preach this, for it is the
<i>everlasting gospel. Fear God, and,</i> by repentance, <i>give
honour to him,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.6-Rev.14.7" parsed="|Rev|14|6|14|7" passage="Re 14:6,7">Rev. xiv. 6,
7</scripRef>. Christ put a great respect upon John's ministry, when
he preached to the same purport that John had preached before him.
By this he showed that John was his messenger and ambassador; for
when he brought the errand himself, it was the same that he had
sent by him. Thus did God confirm the word of his messenger,
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.26" parsed="|Isa|44|26|0|0" passage="Isa 44:26">Isa. xliv. 26</scripRef>. The Son
came on the same errand that the servants came on (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.37" parsed="|Matt|21|37|0|0" passage="Mt 21:37"><i>ch.</i> xxi. 37</scripRef>), to <i>seek
fruit,</i> fruits meet for repentance. Christ had lain in the bosom
of the Father, and could have preached sublime notions of divine
and heavenly things, that should have alarmed and amused the
learned world, but he pitches upon this old, plain text, <i>Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.</i> [1.] This he preached
<i>first</i> upon; he began with this. Ministers must not be
ambitious of broaching new opinions, framing new schemes, or
coining new expressions, but must content themselves with plain,
practical things, with the word that is <i>nigh us,</i> even <i>in
our mouth,</i> and <i>in our heart.</i> We need not go up to
heaven, nor down to the deep, for matter or language in our
preaching. As John prepared Christ's way, so Christ prepared his
own, and made way for the further discoveries he designed, with the
doctrine of repentance. <i>If any man</i> will do this part of
<i>his will, he shall know</i> more of <i>his doctrine,</i>
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.6" osisRef="Bible:John.7.17" parsed="|John|7|17|0|0" passage="Joh 7:17">John vii. 17</scripRef>. [2.] This is
preached <i>often</i> upon; wherever he went, this was his subject,
and neither he nor his followers ever reckoned it worn threadbare,
as those would have done, that have <i>itching ears,</i> and are
fond of novelty and variety more than that which is truly edifying.
Note, That which has been preached and heard before, may yet very
profitably be preached and heard again; but then it should be
preached and heard better, and with new affections; what Paul had
said before, he said again, <i>weeping,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.7" osisRef="Bible:Phil.3.1 Bible:Phil.3.18" parsed="|Phil|3|1|0|0;|Phil|3|18|0|0" passage="Php 3:1,18">Phil. iii. 1, 18</scripRef>. [3.] This he preached as
gospel; "Repent, review your ways, and return to yourselves." Note,
The doctrine of repentance is right gospel-doctrine. Not only the
austere Baptist, who was looked upon as a melancholy, morose man,
but the sweet and gracious Jesus, whose lips dropped as a
honey-comb, preached repentance; for it is an unspeakable privilege
that room is left for repentance. [4.] The reason is still the
same; The <i>kingdom of heaven is at hand;</i> for it was not
reckoned to be fully come, till that pouring out of the Spirit
after Christ's ascension. John had preached the kingdom of heaven
at hand above a year before this; but now it was so much the
stronger; now is the <i>salvation nearer,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.8" osisRef="Bible:Rom.13.11" parsed="|Rom|13|11|0|0" passage="Ro 13:11">Rom. xiii. 11</scripRef>. We should be so much the more
quickened to our duty, <i>as we see the day approaching,</i>
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p63.9" osisRef="Bible:Heb.10.25" parsed="|Heb|10|25|0|0" passage="Heb 10:25">Heb. x. 25</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Matt.v-p63.10" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.18-Matt.4.22" parsed="|Matt|4|18|4|22" passage="Mt 4:18-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Matt.4.18-Matt.4.22">
<h4 id="Matt.v-p63.11">Christ Calls Peter, Andrew, James, and
John.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Matt.v-p64">18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw
two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a
net into the sea: for they were fishers.   19 And he saith
unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.   20
And they straightway left <i>their</i> nets, and followed him.
  21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren,
James <i>the son</i> of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship
with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
  22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and
followed him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p65">When Christ began to preach, he began to
<i>gather disciples,</i> who should now be the <i>hearers,</i> and
hereafter the <i>preachers,</i> of his doctrine, who should now be
witnesses <i>of</i> his miracles, and hereafter <i>concerning</i>
them. Now, in these verses, we have an account of the first
disciples that he called into fellowship with himself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p66">And this was an instance, 1. Of
<i>effectual calling</i> to Christ. In all his preaching he gave a
common call to all the country, but in this he gave a special and
particular call to those that were given him by the Father. Let us
see and admire the power of Christ's grace, own his word to be the
rod of his strength, and wait upon him for those powerful
influences which are necessary to the efficacy of the gospel
call—those distinguishing influences. All the country was
<i>called,</i> but these were <i>called out,</i> were <i>redeemed
from among them.</i> Christ was so manifested to them, as he was
not manifested unto the world. 2. It was an instance of
<i>ordination,</i> and appointment to the work of the ministry.
When Christ, as a Teacher, set up his great school, one of his
first works was to appoint ushers, or under masters, to be employed
in the work of instruction. Now he began to give gifts unto men, to
put the treasure into earthen vessels. It was an early instance of
his care for the church.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p67">Now we may observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p68">I. <i>Where</i> they were called—by the
<i>sea of Galilee,</i> where Jesus was walking, Capernaum being
situated near that sea. Concerning this sea of Tiberias, the Jews
have a saying, That of all the seven seas that God made, he made
choice of none but the sea of Gennesaret; which is very applicable
to Christ's choice of it, to honour it, as he often did, with his
presence and his miracles. Here, on the banks of the sea, Christ
was walking for contemplation, as Isaac in the field; hither he
went to call his disciples; not to Herod's court (for few mighty or
noble are called), not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and
the elders, but to the sea of Galilee; surely Christ sees not as
man sees. Not but that the same power which effectually called
Peter and Andrew would have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for
with God nothing is impossible; but, as in other things, so in his
converse and attendance, he would humble himself, and show that God
ha <i>chosen the poor of this world.</i> Galilee was a remote part
of the nation, the inhabitants were less cultivated and refined,
their very language was broad and uncouth to the curious, their
<i>speech betrayed them.</i> They who were picked up at the sea of
Galilee, had not the advantages and improvements, no, not of the
more polished Galileans; yet thither Christ went, to call his
apostles that were to be the prime ministers of state in his
kingdom, for he <i>chooses the foolish things of this world, to
confound the wise.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p69">II. <i>Who</i> they were. We have an
account of the call of two pair of brothers in these verses—Peter
and Andrew, James and John; the two former, and, probably, the two
latter also, had had acquaintance with Christ before (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p69.1" osisRef="Bible:John.1.40-John.1.41" parsed="|John|1|40|1|41" passage="Joh 1:40,41">John i. 40, 41</scripRef>), but were not till
now called into a close and constant attendance upon him. Note,
Christ brings poor souls by degrees into fellowship with himself.
They had been disciples of John, and so were the better disposed to
follow Christ. Note, Those who have submitted to the discipline of
repentance, shall be welcome to the joys of faith. We may observe
concerning them,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p70">1. That they were <i>brothers.</i> Note, It
is a blessed thing, when they who are <i>kinsmen according to the
flesh</i> (as the apostle speaks, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p70.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.3" parsed="|Rom|9|3|0|0" passage="Ro 9:3">Rom.
ix. 3</scripRef>), are brought together into a spiritual alliance
to Jesus Christ. It is the honour and comfort of a house, when
those that are of the <i>same</i> family, are of <i>God's</i>
family.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p71">2. That they were <i>fishers.</i> Being
fishers, (1.) They were <i>poor men:</i> if they had had estates,
or any considerable stock in trade, they would not have made
fishing their trade, however, they might have made it their
recreation. Note, Christ does not despise the poor, and therefore
we must not; the poor are evangelized, and the Fountain of honour
sometimes gives more abundant honour to that part which most
lacked. (2.) The were <i>unlearned men,</i> not bred up to books or
literature as Moses was, who was conversant with all the learning
of the Egyptians. Note, Christ sometimes chooses to endow those
with the gifts of grace who have least to show of the gifts of
nature. Yet this will not justify the bold intrusion of ignorant
and unqualified men into the work of the ministry: extraordinary
gifts of knowledge and utterance are not now to be expected, but
requisite abilities must be obtained in an ordinary way, and
without a competent measure of these, none are to be admitted to
that service. (3.) They were <i>men of business,</i> who had been
bred up to labour. Note, Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing
to Christ, and no hindrance to a holy life. Moses was called from
keeping sheep, and David from following the ewes, to eminent
employments. Idle people lie more open to the temptations of Satan
than to the calls of God. (4.) They were men that were accustomed
to <i>hardships</i> and hazards; the fisher's trade, more than any
other, is laborious and perilous; fishermen must be often wet and
cold; they must watch, and wait, and toil, and be often in
<i>perils by waters.</i> Note, Those who have learned to bear
hardships, and run hazards, are best prepared for the fellowship
and discipleship of Jesus Christ. Good soldiers of Christ must
endure hardness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p72">III. <i>What they were doing.</i> Peter and
Andrew were then using their nets, they were fishing; and James and
John were <i>mending their nets,</i> which was an instance of their
industry and good husbandry. They did not go to their father for
money to buy new nets, but took pains to mend their old ones. It is
commendable to make what we have go as far, and last as long, as
may be. James and John were <i>with their father Zebedee,</i> ready
to assist him, and make his business easy to him. Note, It is a
happy and hopeful presage, to see children careful of their
parents, and dutiful to them. Observe, 1. They were <i>all</i>
employed, all very busy, and none idle. Note, When Christ comes, it
is good to be found doing. "Am I in Christ?" is a very needful
question for us to ask ourselves; and, next to that, "Am I in my
calling?" 2. They were <i>differently</i> employed; two of them
were fishing, and two of them <i>mending their nets.</i> Note,
Ministers should be always employed, either in teaching or
studying; they may always find themselves something to do, if it be
not their own fault; and <i>mending their nets,</i> is, in its
season, as necessary work as fishing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p73">IV. <i>What the call was</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p73.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.19" parsed="|Matt|4|19|0|0" passage="Mt 4:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>); <i>Follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men.</i> They had followed Christ before,
as ordinary disciples (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p73.2" osisRef="Bible:John.1.37" parsed="|John|1|37|0|0" passage="Joh 1:37">John i.
37</scripRef>), but so they might follow Christ, and follow their
calling too; therefore they were called to a more close and
constant attendance, and must leave their calling. Note, Even they
who had been called to follow Christ, have need to be called to
follow on, and to follow nearer, especially when they are designed
for the work of the ministry. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p74">1. What Christ intended them for; <i>I will
make you fishers of men;</i> this alludes to their former calling.
Let them be not proud of the new honour designed them, they are
still but fishers; let them not be afraid of the new work cut out
for them, for they have been used to fishing, and fishers they are
still. It was usual with Christ to speak of spiritual and heavenly
things under such allusions, and in such expressions, as took rise
from common things that offered themselves to his view. David was
called from feeding sheep to feed God's Israel; and when he is a
king, is a shepherd. Note, (1.) Ministers are <i>fishers of
men,</i> not to destroy them, but to save them, by bringing them
into another element. They must fish, not for wrath, wealth,
honour, and preferment, to gain them to themselves, but for souls,
to gain them to Christ. <i>They watch for your souls</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p74.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.13.17" parsed="|Heb|13|17|0|0" passage="Heb 13:17">Heb. xiii. 17</scripRef>), <i>and seek not
yours, but you,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p74.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.12.14 Bible:2Cor.12.16" parsed="|2Cor|12|14|0|0;|2Cor|12|16|0|0" passage="2Co 12:14,16">2 Cor. xii.
14, 16</scripRef>. (2.) It is Jesus Christ that makes them so; <i>I
will make you fishers of men.</i> It is he that qualifies men for
this work, calls them to it, authorizes them in it, gives them
commission to fish for souls, and wisdom to win them. Those
ministers are likely to have comfort in their work, who are thus
made by Jesus Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p75">2. What they must do in order to this;
<i>Follow me.</i> They must separate themselves to a diligent
attendance on him, and set themselves to a humble imitation of him;
must follow him as their Leader. Note, (1.) Those whom Christ
employs in any service for him, must first be fitted and qualified
for it. (2.) Those who would <i>preach Christ,</i> must first
<i>learn</i> Christ, and learn of him. How can we expect to bring
others to the knowledge of Christ, if we do not know him well
ourselves? (3.) Those who would get an acquaintance with Christ,
must be diligent and constant in their attendance on him. The
apostles were prepared for their work, by <i>accompanying Christ
all the time that he went in and out among them,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p75.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.21" parsed="|Acts|1|21|0|0" passage="Ac 1:21">Acts i. 21</scripRef>. There is no learning
comparable to that which is got by following Christ. Joshua, by
ministering to Moses, is fitted to be his successor. (4.) Those who
are to fish for men, must therein follow Christ, and do it as he
did, with diligence, faithfulness, and tenderness. Christ is the
great pattern for preachers, and they ought to be <i>workers
together with him.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p76">V. What was the <i>success</i> of this
call. Peter and Andrew <i>straightway left their nets</i>
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p76.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.20" parsed="|Matt|4|20|0|0" passage="Mt 4:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>); and James
and John <i>immediately left the ship and their father</i>
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p76.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.22" parsed="|Matt|4|22|0|0" passage="Mt 4:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>); <i>and
they</i> all <i>followed him.</i> Note, Those who would follow
Christ aright, must <i>leave all</i> to follow him. Every Christian
must leave all in affection, set loose to all, must <i>hate father
and mother</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p76.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.14.26" parsed="|Luke|14|26|0|0" passage="Lu 14:26">Luke xiv.
26</scripRef>), must love them less than Christ, must be ready to
part with his interest in them rather than with his interest in
Jesus Christ; but those who are devoted to the work of the ministry
are, in a special manner, concerned to disentangle themselves from
all the affairs of this life, that they may give themselves wholly
to that work which requires the whole man. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p77">1. This instance of the power of the Lord
Jesus gives us good encouragement to depend upon the sufficiency of
his grace. How strong and effectual is his word! <i>He speaks, and
it is done.</i> The same power goes along with this word of Christ,
<i>Follow me,</i> that went along with that word, <i>Lazarus, come
forth;</i> a power <i>to make willing,</i> <scripRef id="Matt.v-p77.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p78">2. This instance of the pliableness of the
disciples, gives us a good example of obedience to the command of
Christ. Note, It is the good property of all Christ's faithful
servants to come when they are called, and to follow their Master
wherever he leads them. They objected not their present
employments, their engagements to their families, the difficulties
of the service they were called to, or their own unfitness for it;
but, being called, they obeyed, and, like Abraham, <i>went out not
knowing whither they went,</i> but knowing very well whom they
followed. James and John <i>left their father:</i> it is not said
what became of him; their mother Salome was a constant follower of
Christ; no doubt, their father Zebedee was a believer, but the call
to follow Christ fastened on the young ones. Youth is the learning
age, and the labouring age. The priests ministered in the prime of
their life.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Matt.v-p78.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.23-Matt.4.25" parsed="|Matt|4|23|4|25" passage="Mt 4:23-25" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Matt.4.23-Matt.4.25">
<h4 id="Matt.v-p78.2">Christ Preaches in Galilee; Miracles of
Christ in Galilee.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Matt.v-p79">23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the
people.   24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they
brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers
diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he
healed them.   25 And there followed him great multitudes of
people from Galilee, and <i>from</i> Decapolis, and <i>from</i>
Jerusalem, and <i>from</i> Judea, and <i>from</i> beyond
Jordan.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p80">See here, I. What an industrious preacher
Christ was; He <i>went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.</i> Observe,
1. <i>What</i> Christ preached—<i>the gospel of the kingdom. The
kingdom of heaven,</i> that is, of grace and glory, is emphatically
<i>the kingdom, the kingdom</i> that was now to come; that kingdom
which shall survive, as it doth surpass, all the kingdoms of the
earth. <i>The gospel</i> is the charter of that kingdom, containing
the King's coronation oath, by which he has graciously obliged
himself to pardon, protect, and save the subjects of that kingdom;
it contains also their oath of allegiance, by which they oblige
themselves to observe his statutes and seek his honour; this is
<i>the gospel of the kingdom;</i> this Christ was himself the
Preacher of, that our faith in it might be confirmed. 2.
<i>Where</i> he preached—<i>in the synagogues;</i> not there only,
but there chiefly, because those were <i>the places of
concourse,</i> where <i>wisdom</i> was to <i>lift up her voice</i>
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p80.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.21" parsed="|Prov|1|21|0|0" passage="Pr 1:21">Prov. i. 21</scripRef>); because they
were <i>places of concourse</i> for religious worship, and there,
it was to be hoped, the minds of the people would be prepared to
receive <i>the gospel;</i> and there the scriptures of the Old
Testament were read, the exposition of which would easily introduce
<i>the gospel of the kingdom.</i> 3. <i>What pains he took</i> in
preaching; He <i>went about all Galilee, teaching.</i> He might
have issued out a proclamation to summon all to come to him; but,
to show his humility, and the condescensions of his grace, he goes
to them; for he <i>waits to be gracious,</i> and comes <i>to seek
and save.</i> Josephus says, There were above two hundred cities
and towns in Galilee, and all, or most of them, Christ visited. He
<i>went about doing good.</i> Never was there such an itinerant
preacher, such an indefatigable one, as Christ was; he went from
town to town, to beseech poor sinners to be reconciled to God. This
is an example to ministers, to lay themselves out to do good, and
to <i>be instant,</i> and constant, in <i>season, and out of
season,</i> to preach the word.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p81">II. What a powerful physician Christ was;
he <i>went about</i> not only <i>teaching,</i> but <i>healing,</i>
and both with his word, that he might magnify that above all his
name. <i>He sent his word, and healed them.</i> Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p82">1. What diseases he cured—all without
exception. He <i>healed all manner of sickness, and all manner of
disease.</i> There are diseases which are called <i>the reproach of
physicians,</i> being obstinate to all the methods they can
prescribe; but even those were the glory of this Physician, for
<i>he healed them</i> all, however inveterate. His word was the
true <i>panpharmacon—all-heal.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p83">Three general words are here used to
intimate this; he healed every sickness, <b><i>noson</i></b>, as
blindness, lameness, fever, dropsy; every <i>disease,</i> or
languishing, <b><i>malakian</i></b>, as fluxes and consumptions;
and all <i>torments,</i> <b><i>basanous</i></b>, as gout, stone,
convulsions, and such like torturing distempers; whether the
disease was acute or chronical; whether it was a racking or a
wasting disease; none was too bad, none too hard, for Christ to
heal with a word's speaking.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p84">Three particular diseases are specified;
<i>the palsy,</i> which is the greatest weakness of the body;
<i>lunacy,</i> which is the greatest malady of the mind, and
<i>possession of the Devil,</i> which is the greatest misery and
calamity of both, yet Christ healed all: for he is the sovereign
Physician both of soul and body, and has command of all
diseases.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p85">2. What patients he had. A physician who
was so easy of access, so sure of success, who cured immediately,
without either a painful suspense and expectation, or such painful
remedies as are worse than the disease; who cured gratis, and took
no fees, could not but have abundance of patients. See here, what
flocking there was to him from all parts; great multitudes of
people came, not only <i>from Galilee</i> and the country about,
but even <i>from Jerusalem</i> and <i>from Judea,</i> which lay a
great way off; for <i>his fame went throughout all Syria,</i> not
only among all the people of the Jews, but among the neighbouring
nations, which, by the report that now spread far and near
concerning him, would be prepared to receive his gospel, when
afterwards it should be brought them. <i>This</i> is given as the
reason why such multitudes came to him, because his fame had spread
so widely. Note, What we hear of Christ from others, should invite
us to him. The queen of Sheba was induced, by the fame of Solomon,
to pay him a visit. The voice of fame is "Come, and see." Christ
both <i>taught and healed.</i> They who came for cures, met with
instruction concerning <i>the things that belonged to their
peace.</i> It is well if any thing will bring people to Christ; and
they who come to him will find more in him than they expected.
These Syrians, like Naaman the Syrian, coming to be healed of their
diseases, many of them being converts, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p85.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.5.15 Bible:2Kgs.5.17" parsed="|2Kgs|5|15|0|0;|2Kgs|5|17|0|0" passage="2Ki 5:15,17">2 Kings v. 15, 17</scripRef>. They sought health for
the body, and obtained the salvation of the soul; like Saul, who
sought the asses, and found the kingdom. Yet it appeared, by the
issue, that many of those who rejoiced in Christ as a Healer,
forgot him as a Teacher.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p86">Now concerning the cures which Christ
wrought, let us, once for all, observe the <i>miracle,</i> the
<i>mercy,</i> and the <i>mystery,</i> of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p87">(1.) The <i>miracle</i> of them. They were
wrought in such a manner, as plainly spake them to be the immediate
products of a divine and supernatural power, and they were God's
seal to his commission. Nature could not do these things, it was
the God of nature; the cures were many, of diseases incurable by
the art of the physician, of persons that were strangers, of all
ages and conditions; the cures were wrought openly, before many
witnesses, in mixed companies of persons that would have denied the
matter of fact, if they could have had any colour for so doing; no
cure ever failed, or was afterwards called in question; they were
wrought speedily, and not (as cures by natural causes) gradually;
they were perfect cures, and wrought with a word's speaking; all
which proves him <i>a Teacher come from God,</i> for, otherwise,
none could have done the works that he did, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p87.1" osisRef="Bible:John.3.2" parsed="|John|3|2|0|0" passage="Joh 3:2">John iii. 2</scripRef>. He appeals to these as
credentials, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p87.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.11.4-Matt.11.5 Bible:John.5.36" parsed="|Matt|11|4|11|5;|John|5|36|0|0" passage="Mt 11:4,5,Joh 5:36"><i>ch.</i> xi.
4, 5; John v. 36</scripRef>. It was expected that the Messiah
should work miracles (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p87.3" osisRef="Bible:John.7.31" parsed="|John|7|31|0|0" passage="Joh 7:31">John vii.
31</scripRef>); miracles of this nature (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p87.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.5-Isa.35.6" parsed="|Isa|35|5|35|6" passage="Isa 35:5,6">Isa. xxxv. 5, 6</scripRef>); and we have this
indisputable proof of his being the Messiah; never was there any
man that did thus; and therefore his healing and his preaching
generally went together, for the former confirmed the latter; thus
here he <i>began to</i> do <i>and to</i> teach, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p87.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.1" parsed="|Acts|1|1|0|0" passage="Ac 1:1">Acts i. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p88">(2.) The <i>mercy</i> of them. The miracles
that Moses wrought, to prove his mission, were most of them plagues
and judgments, to intimate the terror of that dispensation, though
from God; but the miracles that Christ wrought, were most of them
cures, and all of them (except the cursing of the barren fig tree)
blessings and favours; for the gospel dispensation is founded, and
built up in love, and grace, and sweetness; and the management is
such as tends not to affright but to allure us to obedience. Christ
designed by his cures to win upon people, and to ingratiate himself
and his doctrine into their minds, and so to draw them with the
bands of love, <scripRef id="Matt.v-p88.1" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.4" parsed="|Hos|11|4|0|0" passage="Ho 11:4">Hos. xi. 4</scripRef>.
The miracle of them proved his doctrine <i>a faithful saying,</i>
and convinced men's judgments; the mercy of them proved it
<i>worthy of all acceptation,</i> and wrought upon their
affections. They were not only <i>great</i> works, but <i>good
works,</i> that he <i>showed them from</i> his <i>Father</i>
(<scripRef id="Matt.v-p88.2" osisRef="Bible:John.10.32" parsed="|John|10|32|0|0" passage="Joh 10:32">John x. 32</scripRef>); and this
goodness was intended to <i>lead men to repentance</i> (<scripRef id="Matt.v-p88.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.2.4" parsed="|Rom|2|4|0|0" passage="Ro 2:4">Rom. ii. 4</scripRef>), as also to show that
kindness, and beneficence, and doing good to all, to the utmost of
our power and opportunity, are essential branches of that holy
religion which Christ came into the world to establish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Matt.v-p89">(3.) The <i>mystery</i> of them. Christ, by
curing <i>bodily diseases,</i> intended to show, that his great
errand into the world was to cure <i>spiritual maladies.</i> He is
the <i>Sun of righteousness,</i> that <i>arises with</i> this
<i>healing under his wings.</i> As the Converter of sinners, he is
the <i>Physician of souls,</i> and has taught us to call him so,
<scripRef id="Matt.v-p89.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.9.12-Matt.9.13" parsed="|Matt|9|12|9|13" passage="Mt 9:12,13"><i>ch.</i> ix. 12, 13</scripRef>.
Sin is the <i>sickness, disease,</i> and <i>torment</i> of the
soul; Christ <i>came to take away sin,</i> and so to heal these.
And the particular stories of the cures Christ wrought, may not
only be applied spiritually, by way of allusion and illustration,
but, I believe, are very much intended to reveal to us spiritual
things, and to set before us the way and method of Christ's dealing
with souls, in their conversion and sanctification; and those cures
are recorded, that were most significant and instructive this way;
and they are therefore so to be explained and improved, to the
honour and praise of that glorious Redeemer, <i>who forgiveth all
our iniquities, and</i> so <i>healeth all our diseases.</i></p>
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