I working in, and enabling them, as thou dost me, that they may be thus fitted and consecrated to their office, in being partakers of the same miraculous power, and through zeal to thy truth, confer all their Now we discern that as thou knowest all things, so thou art pleased to reveal all saving truth evidently to us of thine own accord; this convinces us that God sent thee, and that thou camest to reveal his will. * You speak a little confidently of your belief now, at a distance from danger. But the time is now at hand, that ye shall fly from me to your homes, every one of you; and so, though ye believe on me, ye will not yet confess me, but forsake me, and, as much as in you is, leave me alone: but, although ye forsake me, my Father will not, he will continue close to me, and acknowledge me even in death itself, yea, and raise me up from death. This I have foretold you, that you may depend on me for all kind of prosperity, and, by consideration of my conquest over all that is formidable in the world, take courage, and hold out against all the terrors and threats of the world, and the sufferings in it. Judas therefore furnishing himself with a band of soldiers, and some of the ministers of the sanhedrim, cometh to that place with candles and lamps, [a] lanterns] The word φανός, from φαίνω, is used, saith Phavorinus, ἐπὶ τῆς λαμπάδος, "for a lamp, or light," but that, saith he expressly, μὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ κερατίνου, "not for a lantern," but, as he goes on, (τοῦτο δὲ λυχνοῦχον λέγω,) "any thing that hath a light on it," which, being as it is there, contradistinct to the lantern, is a candle on a candlestick, or somewhat proportionable to that among the Jews, which we usually express by the word lights, that is, candles, &c., set out for use and service. Jesus therefore knowing all that was done by them, and what was approaching to him, went forth— ᵇ the soldiers &c. went backward— ᶜ let my disciples, all but myself, be dismissed, or not apprehended. And by this means that speech of his (see ch. xvii. 12, 15.) had another, beside the ordinary completion, that no one of his disciples was cut off with him. ᵈ This ought not to have been done by thee: shall I not suffer patiently, without resisting, what my heavenly Father hath determined I shall suffer? ² were coming upon him, came out, τὰ ὀρχόμενα—ἐξελθὼν— This was that Caiaphas, who spake those words in the sanhedrim, as they were consulting about Christ, ch. xi. 50, that it was expedient— ' John. ' John, who was known unto the high priest— ' publicly before an assembly, (see note [a] ch. vii.) ' hall, αὐλύ. G g HAMMOND, VOL. I. Jesus answered him, If there were any ill in my speech, accuse me and prove it; but if there were no crime in me, why dost thou strike me? And for all that thus sincerely come from thee to me, which from being thy servants come and receive, and believe in me, (see note [d] ch. vi.,) obey my message also, for them I pray, that they may follow me to heaven, that they may manifestly see the honour wherewith thou hast magnified me, (an effect of thine infinite love towards me,) before all eternity, and not look on me any longer as a mortal passible man, such as now I am, see ver. 5. And yet for all this, righteous Father, the rulers and great men of the world do not acknowledge thee after all thy goodness to them, as appears by their not receiving of me, who am sent by thee; but as I have received the revelation of thy will, known thy secret counsels, so, though the world have not, yet these disciples of mine, for whom I now pray, have been convinced, and acknowledge that I come from thee. And in Caiaphas's hall Simon Peter stood— And therefore I have revealed thee, and thy attributes, and purposes to them, and will do so still; that as thou hast expressed thy love to me, so I may express mine to them, and enable them to work the same works that I am able to work. ### CHAP. XVIII. WHEN Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. [b] lest they should be defiled] The praetor's hall was full of Pilate's Roman soldiers: now these being Gentiles, are in that condition of which Maimonides saith that they are to be accounted for such as have "a perpetual issue of blood upon them," whensoever any thing is to be done wherein the question of cleanness or uncleanness is considerable, as here, in the eating the passover, of which no unclean person was to partake. So that by presence among the Gentiles this legal uncleanness is contracted, as much as by any thing. Hence is that of Acts x. 28, Ἀθέμιτον ἀνδρὶ Ἰουδαίῳ κολλάσθαι ἢ προσέρχεσθαι ἀλλοφύλῳ, It is unlawful for a Jew to be joined to or converse with an heathen. So Acts xi. 3, Why didst thou go in to those that were uncircumcised, and didst eat with them? And Justin out of Trogus, speaking of the Jews, and affirming falsely that they were banished out of Egypt for fear of infecting the Egyptians with some disease, lest, saith he, they should be avoided, and hated by all other nations for the same cause, caverunt ne cum peregrinis communicarent, quod ex causa factum, paulatim in disciplinam religionemque concertit, "they took care never to communicate with strangers, which being first done on this cause," (so this heathen had resolved to defame them,) "by degrees turned into Jesus had foretold that he should be lifted up or crucified, which was a Roman punishment; this prediction of his was now to be fulfilled, and to that tends the Jews' saying, that the power of putting men to death was taken from them, and was only in the power of the Roman procurator. " Dost thou ask this question for thine own satisfaction, or as a crime laid to my charge by the Jews? " Can I know what the Jews out of their books and prophecies expect and promise themselves? The Jews have laid this to your charge, that you pretend to be their king; what have you done to give occasion to this charge? In answer to Pilate's question, ver. 33, Jesus said, I pretend not to, nor aim at any earthly kingdom: if I did, I should engage my followers in a military manner to assist me as their king, and defend me from being delivered into the Jews' power; but now, by the contrary, (as appears by the reproof of Peter, ver. 11,) it appears that I do not pretend to any such earthly kingdom. * We have no authority. G 2 Then Pilate thinking to satisfy the Jews' importunity by inflicting this lighter punishment on him, appointed Jesus to be scourged, meaning, when he had done so, to release him: see Luke xxiii. 16. And saluted him as a mock king of the Jews— "and profess to you, that having scourged him, I found nothing capital in him, or which may deserve farther punishment, or indeed any at all. When therefore those of the sanhedrim, and the officers that attended them, saw him, they called to have him crucified; but Pilate professed he could find nothing for which to do it, and therefore they must do it themselves, if they would have it done, for he could not. c took upon him to be the Son of God. d afraid of passing any sentence against him. e What is thy stock, or extraction? But Jesus— f Wilt thou behave thyself thus obstinately toward me, who have it in my power either to put thee to death or to free thee from it? g I am under no crime at all in which thou mayest found the right of putting me judicially to death; and having the whole host of angels at my command, I am also able to rescue myself out of thy hands; so that thou hast neither right nor power to inflict any punishment on me, were it not that God, who is my Father, hath in his great wisdom and divine counsels, for most glorious ends, to the good of the world, determined to deliver me up into thy power, to suffer death under thee. And this is a great aggravation of the sin of Judas, and the Jewish sanhedrim, he to deliver me up to them, they to make thee their instrument to serve their malice, in crucifying me, not only an innocent person, but even the Son of God himself. This they have had means to know better than thou, and therefore though thy sin be great, yet theirs being against more light, is much more criminous, and shall accordingly be more severely punished. This speech of Christ's was so resented by Pilate, that from that time he was very solicitous to have him set at liberty. But the Jews' clamours and threats overawed him, telling him that this Jesus was a stirrer of sedition and disturber of the government, [a] in the Hebrew, Gabbatha] The word is Syriac or Chaldee, and so called Hebrew here, according to the custom of the New Testament, which calls the Syriac language (being at that time the vulgar of the Jews) the Hebrew, and therefore Nonnus in his paraphrase reads, Γαβαθὰ παφλάζοντι Σύρῳ κικλήσκετο μύθῳ, and, ver. 17, Γολγοθὰ τὸν καλέεσκε Σύρων στόμα,— and of the inscription on the cross, Ἀὐσονίῃ γλώσσῃ τε Σύρῳ, καὶ Ἀχαΐδι φωνῇ, the Syrian still, where the evangelists read Hebrew. And it was the paschal day of preparation to the feast of unleavened bread, and it was toward noon or mid-day: and he saith unto the Jews— [b] about the sixth hour] Here is a seeming difference between the evangelist and St. Mark, in the specifying the time of day wherein Christ was condemned and led immediately to crucifixion. It is here ὥρα ὡσεὶ ἕκτη, about the sixth hour, but there, Mark xv. 25, ὥρα τρίτη καὶ ἐσταύρωσαν—It was the third hour, and they crucified him. If the reading of the ancient Greek and Latin MS. were here to be heeded, this controversy were soon at an end, for that reads here ἦν ὡσεὶ τρίτη, it was about the third hour. And so Peter, bishop of Alexandria, reads it, adding καθὼς τὰ ἀκριβῆ βιβλία περιέχει, αὐτότε τὸ ἰδιόχειρον τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ ὅπερ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν πεφύλακται χάριτι Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἐφεσίων ἁγιωτάτῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν πιστῶν ἐκεῖσε προσκυνεῖται, "as the accurate copies have it, and that written with St. John's own hand, which is still preserved in the church of Ephesus, and is had in great reverence by the faithful there." But of what authority that relation is may yet be questioned; and the ancient Alexandrian copy, which we have oft cited by the name of the King's MS., accords in the main with the printed copies, ἦν ὡς ἕκτη, it was as it were the sixth. And it is more probable that the reading τρίτη, the third, in Mark, should move some transcribers here to read τρίτη too, (to take away this seeming difference, and to accord the evangelists, which they conceived to differ, if it were read ἕκτη, the sixth,) than for any to turn τρίτη to ἕκτη, contrary to what was before in St. Mark, if they had found it otherwise. This other way then will be more proper to salve the difficulty: that the whole νυχθήμερον, night Thereupon he passed sentence against him, according to the votes of the Jews, that he should be crucified; and the soldiers, ver. 23, led him away to execution. And a cross being laid on his shoulder, he was led toward a place called in Syriac Golgotha, that is, the place of a skull, (but by the way they met Simon of Cyrene, and made him carry the cross part of the way.) the cause of his death, his accusation, (see note [b] Mark xv.) and put it on the cross— opponeth Cæsar, ἀντιλήγει τῷ Κ. The ancient Greek and Latin MS. read, ἂν ἀναλύψῃ, it was about the third hour; but the King's MS., ἂν ὡς Ἰατῷ, it was about the sixth. to the place, εἰς τὸν— the Nazarene, ὁ Ναζωραῖος. [c] bearing his cross] Christ's carrying his cross was a part of the Roman custom of crucifying; so saith Plutarch, de Ser. Num. Vin. Τῷ σώματι τῶν κολαζομένων ἕκαστος τῶν κακούργων ἐκφέρει τὸν αὐτοῦ σταυρὸν, "Every one of the malefactors that are to be put to death carries out his own cross." So Artemidorus, Ὁ μέλλων προσηλούσθαι πρότερον σταυρὸν βαστάσει, "He that is to be nailed to the cross first carries it upon his shoulders;" and so Plautus distinctly, Patibulum ferat per urbem, deinde affigatur cruci, "Let him carry it through the city, and then be fastened to it." And whereas in the other Gospels there is no mention of this, but only of their pressing Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him, (which is not mentioned here,) the way of reconciling that difficulty is very easy, by affirming, that he first bare it himself, according to the Roman custom, (which St. John, according to his wont, mentions, because it was omitted by the rest,) but after, meeting Simon by the way, they made him bear it for him. Then they of the Jewish sanhedrim said to Pilate— The inscription shall not be altered. under garment, (see Luke xxiii. 34,) which was woven all of one piece. This therefore was exactly, according to that prediction, done by the soldiers. John, he said unto his mother, John shall supply the place of a son to thee, to sustain thee: (see note [b] 1 Tim. v.) And to John, Deal thou with her as with thine own mother: whereupon John took her home to his own house with him. 28, 29. After this, Jesus considering that all this while, or thus far, all the prophecies concerning him had punctually been fulfilled, to give farther occasion to the fulfilling that of Psalm lxix. 22, he saith, I thirst. Or, seeing that now all was completed, save only that one particular prediction, he calls for somewhat to drink, knowing that, according to that of the psalmist, they would give him vinegar: and accordingly so they did. And as soon as he had drunk of that, he said aloud, All prophecies are now fulfilled, as far as belongs to my life; and bowing his head, as in a gesture of adoration and prayer, he said, Father, into thine hands I commend my spirit; and so expired. Then the Jews, that the bodies of the dead might be quickly taken from the cross, and not hang there on the day following, which was the first day of unleavened bread, (to which this day of the pasch was the eve or preparation,) and also Saturday, and so a feast and a sabbath together, besought Pilate— [c] It is not lawful for us to — | The Jewish rabbins were wont to say, that "forty years before the destruction of the second temple, the power of judicature in capital crimes was taken from them, because," say they, "murderers prevailed, and dissipated capital punishments from Israel." And accordingly it appears that Christ here was crucified by the Romans, the Jewish form of hanging being by stoning first, and then setting up a stake and a piece of wood across it, and hanging the dead person up (his hands being joined and nailed together) toward the west, and then taking him down, and burying the wood with him: but for crucifying men alive, as the Romans did Christ, there is nothing to be found among the Jews, who, if they had had the execution of him, would first have stoned him, which they often attempted to do. See Paul. Fagius on the Chald. Paraph. Deut. xxi. 22. [d] an high day] That day was the first of unleavened bread, and the sabbath too, and therefore a sabbath, and a great day. For that which is among the Hebrews חכ, a feast, קרא מקרא, convocatio cætus, "the day of solemn assembly" in any feast, (such were the first day and the last of the feast of tabernacles, the first and seventh of the feast of unleavened bread, and the day of Pentecost,) is by the Jews, writing in Greek, called μεγάλη ἡμέρα, a great day. So it is rendered by the Greek, Isaiah i. 13, μεγάλη ἡμέρα, where we read calling of assemblies. Hence is that of Tertull. cont. Marci. l. 5, Dies observatis, &c. "Ye observe days," and among them he names jejunia et dies magnos, "fasts and great days." So John vii. 37, the last day of the feast of tabernacles, which was a day of calling assemblies, is there called μεγάλη ἡμέρα τῆς ἰορτῆς, the great day of the feast. See Scal. Proleg. de Emend. Temp. p. 7 et 6. The soldiers therefore, according to appointment, went to take them down; and lest there should be any life in them, and so being taken down they should run away and escape, they brake the legs of the two thieves. 35, 36. And John, the writer of this, testified the as yet were finished, or, fulfilled, &c. verlncrtu. that was a great sabbath day. [e] saw it] This speech of this evangelist, and his so much care HAMMOND ANNOTT. Z Zech. xii. 10. ¶ not following him openly, for fear of the Jews— ʳ See ch. iii. 2. No, by no means; but release to us Barabbas. This Barabbas was one that in an insurrection had been guilty of murder, Acts iii. 14, and was a robber also. ### CHAP. XIX. Now near the place of his crucifixion there was a garden, where this Joseph had a tomb, (Matt. xxvii. 60,) which he had newly hewed out for his own use, and nobody had as yet ever been buried in it. ᵇ See ver. 31. ¹⁰ swathes. ¹¹ embalm, ἀνταφιάζειν. And then upon his report John also, that other disciple which came before Peter (see note [c] ch. i.) to the sepulchre, went in, and saw how the swathes and napkin were laid, and believed what Mary and Peter had told him, and was thereby convinced that he was risen. For as yet they were not assured by the proplecies of scripture that it was to be so, neither did [a] looked into the sepulchre] Some difference there seemeth to be betwixt these narrations in this and in St. Luke's Gospel. As, 1. Mary's going to Peter, and his coming to the sepulchre, are here set down before the appearance of the angels; but in Luke the vision of the angels is first mentioned, ch. xxiv. 4, and her going, ver. 9, and Peter's running to the sepulchre, ver. 12. And in the other Gospels there is no mention of her going till she had seen the vision. This seeming difference will be reconciled only by observing this one thing, (which hath been formerly observed, note [b] on the title of the Gospel, and note [d] Luke vi.) that Luke, writing from notes, which he had collected from eyewitnesses, and not from his own knowledge, observes not so exactly the order of time where things were done or spoken, but ofttimes, in another method, puts together things of affinity to one another, though not done or said at the same time; and so here sets down all that concerns the women together, and then after, that which concerns Peter, though part of that which concerned the Z 2 And having said so, and received answer from the angels that he was risen from the dead, and that she should go and tell his disciples, &c., Matt. xxviii. 5, 6, Mark xvi. 6, 7, Luke xxiv. 6, she went from the sepulchre toward the place where the disciples were, Matt. xxviii. 8, and as she goes, (see note [a]), she sees a person standing, which indeed was Jesus, though she knew him not. and I will carry him to his grave again, or provide some other burying-place for him. This is not a time for me to company with you, ought to rise, δι' αὐτόν. to themselves, πρὶς Ἰαυτοίς: see note [a]. [b] so send I you] The Jews have a saying that "a man's apostle is as himself," that is, is his vicarius, or proxy. For the Jews had apostles, whom they sent on their affairs into the countries, and are not to be looked on as bare messengers, but as their proxies or deputies, to receive their dues, and to act for them. So Saul was an apostle of the consistory to Damascus, Acts ix, with letters of commission from the rulers. Thus the Twelve, after Christ's departure, had others, [c] Receive ye the Holy Ghost] Λάβετε Πνεῦμα ἄγιον, Receive the Holy Ghost, signifies here not the actual giving of the Holy Ghost, (for that came not on them till Acts ii, and they are appointed to stay at Jerusalem, Luke xxiv. 49, till they were endued with power from above, which therefore now before his ascension they had not received, and when the Spirit came it would lead them into all truth, and as yet it appears by their question, Acts i. 6, that they were not thus led into all truth,) but only the confirming to them his former promise, (and, by the ceremony of breathing on them, to express the τὸ πνεῦμα, the eternal breath, and Spirit of God, sealing it, as it were, solemnly unto them,) and preparing and fitting them for the receiving of it. So saith Theophylact, Τὸ γὰρ [Λάβετε Πνεῦμα] ἀντὶ τοῦ γίνεσθε ἐπιτήδειοι πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν Πνεῦμα, "The words [Receive the Holy Ghost] signify, Be ye ready to receive him." And again, Ἐμφυσᾶ, οὐ τὴν τελείαν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος νῦν αὐτοῖς νέμων, &c. "He breathed on them, not now distributing the perfect gift of the Holy Ghost, for that was to be done at Pentecost, but fitting them for the receiving of it." For though in the next words, whose sins, &c. the power of the keys, or stewardship in the church, were actually instated on them, yet was not this to be exercised by them till the Holy Ghost came down upon them, as Ephes. iv. 8, it is first, he gave gifts unto men, (at the descent of the Spirit,) and then, gave some apostles, &c. ver. 11. This interpretation of this place will direct to the full importance of those words, Luke xxiv. 49, See note [h] Matt xvi., and tract, Of the Power of the Keys. 'otherwise called Didymus, which by interpretation signifies the twin, was not with them— [d] whose soever sins ye remit] That the power of binding and loosing, in St. Matthew, first promised, ch. xvi, then further described for the manner of it, ch. xviii, the power of the keys, of admitting and excluding out of the church, and so the power of excommunication put into the hands of the apostles first, and from them communicated to the succeeding governors of the church, is it which is here given by Christ, may appear by the words ἀφείναι, remit, and κρατίν, retain, which are perfectly all one with λύω and δίω, loosing and binding in St. Matthew. If there be any difference, it is only this, that δίω signifies to bind, κρατίω signifies to keep bound as well as to bind, in which respect κρατίω is here more proper in this place than the other, because the order is here inverted, and κρατήτε, retaining, put after ἀφήτε, remitting, and so the word which signifies to keep bound is more critically adapted to this place than δίω, to bind, would have been; and yet when binding is mentioned first, δῆσαι (as in the other places) is as exact as κρατήσαι. This slight difference being granted, the words are otherwise to all uses perfectly synonymous; ἀφήτε, remit, and λύσητε, loose, especially as applied to sin, both signify forgiving of it; the first referring to sin in the notion of a debt or thraldom, (to both which it is applied in the New Testament, to ἀφειλήματα, debts, Matt. vi. 12, αἰχμαλωσία, captivity, Luke iv. 18.) the second to sin in the notion of a band. So Gen. iv. 12, Μείζων ἡ αἰτία, or ἁμαρτία μου τοῦ ἀφεθῆναι, My sin is greater than can be forgiven. So Exod. xxxii. 21, Εἰ μὲν ἀφὲς αὐτοῖς ἁμαρτίαν, O that thou wouldest forgive them that sin. And so λύειν, Job xlii. 9, ἔλυσε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῖς διὰ Ἰὼβ, he forgave them their sin by Job, that is, by his mediation, where the Hebrew read נשא מנחם, God accepted the person of Job. So also for δίω and κρατίω, the same Hebrew word עצר is by the Septuagint rendered by both of them, δίω, Jer. xxxiii. 1, κρατίω, Dan. x. 8 and xi. 6; and so Acts ii. 24, κρατεῖσθαι, being holden, is set opposite to λύσας, loosing, and so must signify being kept bound; and so almost in all other places it signifies to hold fast, or take hold of, and is sometimes joined with ἔδησεν, (as holding fast is preparative to binding,) Matt. xiv. 3, κρατήσας ἔδησε, laying hold on him bound him; and Rev. xx. 2, ἐκράτησε καὶ ἔδησε, he held fast and bound. So in St. Basil, speaking of the freedom of Christians in their bands, he saith they are κεκρατημένοι ἀκράτητοι, bound, but not capable of binding. And accordingly it is affirmed by Theophylact, on Matt. xiii. that "Christ's promise of the power of binding and loosing was fulfilled in these words, Whose sins you do remit, they are remitted," &c. And therefore whatsoever is brought by k some to avoid the force of those places in k M. Selden de Cal. Heb. et de Syned.