Spurgeon's notes on MATTHEW
Matthew 2:1-2They had seen a bright particular star, which tradition connected with the birth of a great king. The wise men missed their way, and went to Jerusalem; the shepherds did not. The wise are often less able to find Jesus than the poor and simple.
Matthew 2:3-6
Thus by means of a cruel enemy the Lord obtained a grand public testimony from all the great teachers of the Jews that Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, and by this means it was noised abroad that a star had appeared, and strangers had come from far to see the newly-born king of the Jews. Truly, God glorifies his Son even by his foes.
Matthew 2:9-11
True faith is not disappointed at the lowliness of the Savior. Though the wise men found Jesus in a mean abode, they discerned his majesty, and adored him with offerings suitable to a prophet, priest, and king.
Matthew 2:14, 15
Providence both watched over the safety of the Lord, and enabled Joseph to support the mother and child by the offerings of the eastern sages. In the same manner is the church the peculiar care of Heaven in all its persecutions and needs.
Matthew 2:16-18
Thus did our Lord narrowly escape a cruel death. He had poor welcome among men, whom he came to redeem. Angels celebrated his birth with songs, but among men the malice of the wicked greeted him with the blood of infants and the wailings of bereaved mothers. O dear Redeemer, how sorrowfully did your life for us begin! Alas! how sorrowfully did it end!
Matthew 2:19-23
Every step the Savior took was a fulfillment of prophecy. How blind were those who would not acknowledge him as indeed the Messiah! Our Lord spent nearly thirty years of his life in a city which bestowed upon him a title of scorn. "The Nazarene" is still his name of contempt among the Jews. How ready ought we to be to endure any measure of reproach for his sake!
Matthew 3:1-3As the priests commenced their service at thirty, it was probably at that age that John began publicly to teach. He commenced with a message most appropriate to the coming of the Savior.
Matthew 3:4
He was dressed as Elijah had been, and lived a self-denying, ascetic life, in keeping with the ministry of repentance.
Matthew 3:5, 6
All ranks and classes came to him; he stirred the whole south of Palestine with his energetic ministry. To all men he addressed suitable words of rebuke and warning.
Matthew 3:7-9
He bade them lay aside their boastings, and seriously give themselves up to repentance. This bold address would be sure to make them very angry, but John, like Elijah, feared them not.
Matthew 3:10
There was to be an end of all pretense and hypocrisy. For many years formalists and boastful professors had been great in Israel; the new dispensation would destroy all this, and require truth in the inward parts.
Matthew 3:11, 12
Thus the forerunner pointed to the Coming One, and bade the people look for one who in the power of the Spirit would scatter to the winds all the vainglory of learned Sadducees and boastful Pharisees, by proclaiming a spiritual religion in which repentance and faith would far outweigh external religiousness.
Matthew 3:13
Perhaps six months after John had commenced, when Jesus would be himself thirty years of age. Our Lord came after the people had been baptized, and offered himself for baptism.
Matthew 3:14, 15
Jesus would set an example to all his disciples, and would in a figure set forth his own sufferings, death, burial, and resurrection, in which all righteousness is comprehended.
Matthew 3:16, 17
Thus while in the act of prayer, and while yielding obedience to his Father's will, the Lord received his first great public attestation from above, and the anointing with which he should discharge his work. Let no believer neglect the ordinance which his Lord so highly honored, lest he lose some special sealing and anointing.
Matthew 4:1
After the blessing of the Spirit comes trial. When the soul is enriched with grace, Satan bestirs himself to rob it of its treasure; While our Lord was hidden, the evil one might be still; now that he comes forth to his life's battle, he finds his foe awaiting him. Now was the seed of the woman to commence his combat with the old serpent.
Matthew 4:2
And while thus suffering, the tempter thought he had him at an advantage, and might assail him through his bodily needs. The arch-enemy avails himself of every weakness of our body, hoping thereby to overcome us.
Matthew 4:3
He urged him to unbelief to mistrust of his Father, and so to the use of unfit means to obtain food. Jesus had come to obey, not to command. How often, when we have been in need, has Satan tempted us to help ourselves, because God did not seem to help us! Mark that word, "If," that cruel doubt of his sonship. It could not wound the Perfect One, but it may sorely injure us if it be allowed a lodgment. Beware of this shaft of Hell.
Matthew 4:4
He would not doubt. What if bread was lacking? God can sustain life without it, he is not dependent upon secondary causes. It was a grand blow which our champion here struck at his crafty antagonist.
Matthew 4:5, 6
The enemy here went to the opposite pole, and tempted the Lord to presume. Because the promise guaranteed security, therefore he was to leap from the pinnacle. This presuming upon the promise is a common temptation, and Scripture, perverted and misquoted, is brought to back it
May we have grace to see through the snare, and never become vain confident.
Matthew 4:7
The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, here made another glorious and conquering cut at the enemy. How grandly our Lord defeated the foe! Let us learn never to tempt the Lord by wickedly presuming upon his mercy, or his faithfulness.
Matthew 4:9
In this case the deceiver labored to inflame the Savior with ambition, and made him a tempting but blasphemous offer. Alas! how many have idolized evil for the sake of power, and so have ruined their own souls! There was no vulnerable place in the Redeemer: this third arrow, like the former two, glanced harmlessly from him, and he smote a third most telling blow at his adversary.
Matthew 4:10
A well-chosen passage, and worthy to be always before our eyes. Are we living wholly unto God? This is the only safeguard against self-worship, mammon-worship, and other forms of idolatry.
Matthew 4:11
After the devil the angels. Only let us be steadfast, and, like our Lord, we shall receive celestial consolations. O you who were tempted for us, help us in temptation. Amen.
Matthew 4:23
What a blessed mixture, "preaching and healing"! Now-a-days we have them both spiritually in the gospel. He who preaches Jesus is a healer, for that sacred name is medicine.
Matthew 4:24
What a list of maladies, and how sweet the footnote, "and he healed them"!
Matthew 4:25
Well might they do so, since he scattered such priceless boons. Let us follow him in a higher sense, for none are sick in soul who abide in fellowship with him. Walk with "the beloved physician," and you shall no more say "I am sick."
Matthew 5:1Where he could find a suitable position for an audience. How different was this hill of the gospel from the Sinai of the law! Israel trembled before a mountain of curses, we rejoice in the mount of beatitudes.
Matthew 5:1
Sitting was the usual posture of an oriental teacher; he spoke as from the chair of authority, and his learners gathered at his feet.
Matthew 5:2
Now was opened the richest fountain of instruction which had ever flowed for the good of mankind. He who had aforetime opened the mouths of prophets now opened his own mouth. Speaking distinctly and earnestly, as all should do who have an important message to deliver, he went on to pronounce seven blessings upon seven sorts of persons. These seven descriptions make up a perfect character, and the seven blessings appended thereto when combined constitute perfect bliss. The whole seven rise one above another like the steps of a ladder of light, and the blessings appropriate to each grow out of the virtues described. At the close of the seven beatitudes of character comes an eighth and double blessing bestowed upon that persecuted condition which is the present result of holiness. The whole make up a celestial octave of blessing.
Matthew 5:3
The first step of the ladder is low, and therefore the more readily reached. It begins where the law ends. The law reveals our poverty, and Jesus removes it. Men who know their spiritual poverty are the only ones who by faith can lay hold upon the true riches of grace.
Matthew 5:4
To their sense of need is now added holy sorrow for sin; this leads them to Jesus, and he consoles them.
Matthew 5:5
Men who are repentant cannot be proud, hence the next blessing is to the gentle in spirit. These enjoy what they have, and, being content with the divine will, they possess by birthright both this world and worlds to come.
Matthew 5:6
Pining for more holiness, they press forward towards it, and reach it, while the self-satisfied miss it by self-conceit. The Lord will be sure to fill us if we long after the best things.
Matthew 5:7
They do good, and get good. Being filled with righteousness, they are empty of all malice, and are loving to others, and so win their love. God will show no mercy to those who are unmerciful to their fellow men.
Matthew 5:8
Sin puts out our eyes. When the heart is pure, the spiritual eye grows bright, and the pure and holy Lord reveals himself.
Matthew 5:9
This is a high attainment, and follows upon purity: "first pure, then peaceable." He who reaches it shall have clear evidence of his adoption into God's household. May each one of us try to be a peacemaker in the family, in the church, and in the world.
Matthew 5:11-12
The world cannot appreciate those traits of character which the Lord delights in, hence its opposition and spite. Be it ours to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus, never for a moment flinching from cross-bearing for Jesus' sake.
Matthew 5:13
If those who have grace could lose it altogether, they could never be restored. When a church becomes a den of evil, it is in a hopeless plight, even as is the Church of Rome at this present time.
Matthew 5:16
Do not shine by proud pretensions, but by real holiness, not for your own glory, but the glory of God.
Matthew 5:17, 18
The gospel honors and establishes the law. The life and death of Jesus show both the beauty of righteousness and the evil of sin, and thus cause the principles of right and truth to triumph eternally.
Matthew 5:19, 20
Grace makes better men than self-righteousness ever does. The day of judgment will show that the saints are holier men than Pharisees ever were with all their boastings of superior sanctity.
Matthew 5:21, 22
be in danger of the judgment or the sentence of the criminal courts in the various towns
Raca or brainless oneshall be in danger of the council or to be summoned before the Sanhedrin
Matthew 5:23, 24
An unforgiving spirit is fatal to worship. Until every offence against us is pardoned, our approach to the altar is an insult to the God of love.
Matthew 5:25, 26
Those who refuse to do justice shall have judgment to the full, both in time and in eternity.
Matthew 5:27, 28
Heart and eye can sin as well as the hand; the law is spiritual, and condemns for wishes and lustings. How greatly may we be under condemnation even when no deed of ill has polluted our character!
Matthew 5:29, 30
Any loss, any self-denial, any pain is better than to lose our souls forever. We must mortify ourselves and forsake that which is most pleasing to our corrupt nature, sooner than be castaway's forever. May the Lord help us to enter in at the strait gate.
Matthew 5:37
Does not this forbid every kind of oath, not only profane swearing, but even that which is generally enjoined by civil governments? It would be hard to prove the contrary. Certainly, Christians ought to avoid all such expressions as "upon my honor," "upon my word," and the like, for such language goes beyond the "yes and nay" which is allowed them. Men. who swear profanely greatly err when they imagine that thus they secure credence, for every sensible person knows that a man who is accustomed to common swearing is quite able both to lie and to steal. Clean language becomes those who have been washed in the blood of Jesus. The tongue is an index of the health both of soul and body. He who is not pure in word is assuredly not pure in heart, and shall not see the Lord.
Matthew 5:38, 39
Retaliation is not a Christian word, and revenge is only fit to be spoken of by the devil and his children. To bear and yet to bear still more is the mark of a soul renewed by grace.
Matthew 5:40, 42
Generosity and willing sympathy are beauties of the sanctified character. It is far better to suffer a great wrong than to provoke litigation, and manifest a contentious spirit. Those who are always standing up for their rights, and will never put up with an injury, have not yet caught the spirit of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 5:43-45
Good for evil is to be our only weapon, and with this we are to fight perpetually, cost us what it may. The love of God falls on men who deserve it not, and so also must our kindness. It would be far better that a hundred evil persons deceived us, and so obtained our aid, than that one suffering fellow-creature should be neglected because of the wickedness of others. Hardness of heart gradually grows upon men through contact with a deceitful and oppressive world; but we must not allow evil influences to mastery us, and steel our hearts against our fellows.
Matthew 5:46-48
Lofty is this ideal, but we must aim to reach it. Universal benevolence and unconquerable love are the crown and glory of a holy character; without it we are still deficient, whatever virtues we may possess. The sternly just man must rise higher, and become the meek forgiver of injuries, and the generous friend of the needy. O God of love, educate us to this, for Jesus' sake.
Matthew 6:1
Take heed that you do not your alms or, as many versions have it
Matthew 6:1
If the action is not done in the Lord's service, but with a view to our own honor, we cannot expect a reward from above.
Matthew 6:2
Those who blaze abroad their charity enjoy a sort of recompense in the public approbation which they gain, and having thus obtained the reward they seek after, they cannot reasonably expect any other.
Matthew 6:3
Do not let what you have done be so known, even to yourself as to become the subject of self-approbation. Do not count over what has been given, rather go on to give more.
Matthew 6:4
Those who are anxious to have their donations publicly acknowledged, and will give nothing unless it be put down upon a printed list, should take warning from these words. We also should learn to give to the cause of God and to the poor in the quietest manner possible.
Matthew 6:7, 8
The heathen repeat over and over again the same words, as also do the Papists and Semi-papists of our own land. This is sheer mockery. God is not deaf or forgetful, neither does he delight in mere sounds. Prayer is the intelligent approach of the mind of man to the mind of God, and in that coming we must not think of adding to the divine knowledge, which is infinite, or dictating to the divine will, which is sovereign.
Matthew 6:9
This is the perfect model by which to shape your prayers.
Matthew 6:10
Out of seven petitions the first three concern the name, kingdom, and will of God. The Lord must occupy the highest place in our prayers, and indeed in our whole lives. The four petitions for ourselves rise by degrees from "bread" up to "deliverance from evil" teaching us that we ought not to grovel in prayer, but to increase in spirituality while we plead.
Matthew 6:11
Give us necessary food, bread for the, day, our own bread, yet your gracious gift. Give it not only to me, but to all of us, your children.
Matthew 6:12, 13
We are willing to make this the measure of your forgiveness.
Matthew 6:12, 13
Do not in your providence allow us to be placed where we shall be severely tried,
Matthew 6:12, 13
but deliver us from evil: especially the Evil One
Matthew 6:19-21
Whatever we make to be our treasure will be sure to become the attraction of our heart. If we accumulate earthly riches, our hearts will by degrees be tied up in our money-bags; and, on the other hand, if our chief possessions are in heavenly things, our hearts will rise into the higher and more spiritual region. The position of the heart is sure to be affected by the place where the treasure is laid up. Shall sons of God give their hearts away to passing joys, which decay if they remain ours, and are liable at any moment to be taken from us?
Matthew 6:22, 23
A heart professedly set upon Heaven but held in bondage to earth is like an eye blinded by the intrusion of a foreign substance, involving the unfortunate owner of it in darkness. There is no such thing as seeing spiritual things while the soul's windows are fastened up with shutters of worldliness.
Matthew 6:23
Two leading principles cannot rule in one heart; they cannot both be master. Either sin or grace will engross the whole heart; neither will submit to compromise.
Matthew 6:25-34
The way in which the Lord supplied the needs of his people in the desert, suggests to us a meditation upon the divine care and faithfulness as to the temporal wants of his people. It is our privilege to depend upon the Lord for everything as much as Israel did in the wilderness. It is still true that our God will supply all our needs. Hence our Lord Jesus has taught us to keep clear of all carking care and to walk by faith. Let us read his words in
Matthew 6:25
So not fret and worry about such secondary things. God who gives us lives and bodies will give us food and clothing.
Matthew 6:26
Martin Luther was one day walking in the fields when in great straits', with his Bible in his hands, and reading the Sermon on the Mount, was much comforted by Matthew 6:26, "Behold the birds of the air, they toil not neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them." Just then a little bird was hopping from sprig to spray, with its sweet chirping note, seeming to say,
"Mortals, cease from toil and sorrow,
God provides for the morrow."It then came to the ground to pick up a crumb, and rising merrily, again seemed to repeat its simple song—
"Mortals, cease from toil and sorrow,
God provides for the morrow."This greatly comforted the Reformers heart.
Matthew 6:27
All the thought in the world cannot lengthen our stature or our life.
Matthew 6:28-30
This is good reasoning: he who cares for poor fading lilies and robes them so sumptuously, will not let his own immortal sons go bare. Surely we can trust our own Father.
Matthew 6:31, 32
All anxious care is forbidden. We have a Father in Heaven, shall we fret as if we had none? Doubt not until you have cause to doubt.
Matthew 6:34
Never anticipate troubles, each day has its own, and enough of them; yes, and enough grace comes daily to bear us through them.
Matthew 7:3-5
Yet are we all too ready to condemn others and to be lenient to ourselves. It will be wise to act upon the precisely opposite principle, making every excuse for others, and accepting none for ourselves.
Matthew 7:6-11
Prayer is thus urgently recommended to us; we are asking of a Father, not of a tyrant, and that Father will employ all his wisdom and judgment not in repelling our pleas, but in doing for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think.
Matthew 7:12
This last verse is the golden rule, and those who follow it will live truly noble lives.
Matthew 7:13
Choose not your religion because it is easy, and is patronized by the multitude, for the evil way is that which has charms for the crowd, since it is prepared by the Evil One so as to be pleasant to flesh and blood.
Matthew 7:14
Perhaps few absolutely, certainly few comparatively take the right road. If we would be saved we must swim against the stream, we must bear the cross and deny ourselves: this is not the popular course and never will be, but gracious souls choose it.
Matthew 7:15-20
Judge religious teachers not by their claims to apostolical descent, or episcopal ordination, but by their doctrines and actions. He who glorifies God by gracious preaching and holy living has the best certificate of ordination in the world; while he who promulgates error, or lives unrighteously, is no servant of the Lord, however loud his pretensions may be.
Matthew 7:21
Religion must be practical, or it will prove worthless at the last.
Matthew 7:24, 25
Even to the doer of the word trial will come, rains of affliction will fall from above, floods of persecution or trouble will arise from the earth, and mysterious winds of spiritual temptation will beat upon him from all quarters; but he has a good foundation of real, vital, practical faith, and therefore he survives every test. Not so the mere hearer of the word, his case comes to a very different end.
Matthew 7:26, 27
He endured no severer trials than the righteous; but for lack of foundation he could not sustain the shock; his great profession only made his ruin the more remarkable. Oh, to be on the rock, that is the main matter! Vital godliness outlives all mere imitations of grace.
Matthew 7:28, 29
He was no doctor of doubts, no questioner and quibbler; he spoke boldly, for he spoke the truth. We need greatly in these days a ministry of the same kind. Send it, good Lord, we beseech you.
Matthew 8:18He avoided popularity. To be followed by an admiring crowd was no joy to him; he gave orders to sail at once, but did not start for some time afterwards.
Matthew 8:19
Master, or teacher,
Matthew 8:19
It was a rare thing to meet with a scribe who had any respect for the Lord, and it is to be feared that even this well-disposed member of that profession was not a spiritually enlightened person. He thought himself capable of making any sacrifice. It is the mark of those who have not the Spirit of God that they think themselves able to do everything, whereas when taught of God they discover that of themselves they can do nothing.
Matthew 8:20
Was the scribe willing to share such deep poverty? We fear not. Could we ourselves follow Jesus wherever he goes?
"Have you counted the cost?
Have you counted the cost
You warriors of the cross?
Are you fixed in heart, for your Master's sake
To suffer all earthly loss?
Can you bear the scoff of the worldy-wise
As you pass by pleasure's bower
To watch with your Lord on the mountain-top
Through the dreary midnight hour?"
Matthew 8:21, 22
Jesus saw that he was merely offering an excuse for delay. There are always people enough to attend to earthly business, and when the Lord calls us to do his work, we must leave all lower concerns to those whose proper calling it is to attend to them.
Matthew 10:1-10
They were not to provide for themselves, others supply their needs. God's servants are to be supported by those among whom they labor.
Matthew 10:11-15
So does the Lord set most solemn sanctions upon the preaching of the gospel, that none may dare to despise it. Have we received the glad tidings, or shall we die in our sins? These questions need to be pressed home, and answered prayerfully.
Matthew 10:16
Peculiar qualities are needed for a life involving undeserved suffering. We need the prudence which prevents others from wronging us, as well as the gentleness which does no wrong to others.
Matthew 10:17-20
Though ignorant of this world's wisdom they were not to be anxious as to how they should reply to their learned accusers: the gospel is its own defense, and the Spirit the best pleader.
Matthew 10:27
Our business is to publish the gospel, whether we suffer for it or not. To suppress our testimony would be deadly sin.
Matthew 10:29-31
The care of our heavenly Father is so minute that we ought to dismiss forever all our fears. If he takes care of us even down to the hairs of our head, we are secure indeed.
Matthew 10:34-36
The ultimate end of the gospel will be peace, but before it reaches that there must be a struggle. Carnal men will oppose the truth, and hence a warfare will arise.
Matthew 10:37-39
Some have refused to burn at the stake, and have been burned in their own beds; and many more have dreaded the pains of persecution, and so have plunged into the flames of Hell by apostasy.
Matthew 11:2, 3
Had his sufferings depressed his spirit? We think not. He probably sent his disciples, that their faith might be confirmed.
Matthew 11:4-6
These are the attesting proofs of the true Messiah's mission, and among them all there is no greater wonder of grace than the preaching of the gospel to the poor. Other teachers had shut them out, but Jesus specially sought them out.
Matthew 11:7
Was he a man easily moved, pliant and yielding? By no means. John was very far from being fickle or cowardly.
Matthew 11:8-11
His was but a twilight dispensation, and we who live in the full blaze of day have greater privileges than he had. John had never heard the words, "It is finished," as we have done, to our hearts joy.
Matthew 11:12
There is no such thing as winning this kingdom by halfhearted endeavors. Energy is needed for success in this life, and much more for the life to come. Grace in the heart leads men to strive to enter in at the strait gate. Oh that we could see more holy violence in the church of God. Sloth and lethargy are robbing Jesus of his honor, and the church of its success.
Matthew 11:13-17
They could not agree as to what they should play. Some of them proposed to imitate a wedding, and began to pipe, but the others would not dance. "Well, then," said they, "let us perform a funeral," and they commenced to mourn, but their wayward companions would not respond with lamentations. Even so it is hard to find ministers to please men: one is top rambling, and another too logical; and if one preacher be condemned for being vulgar, another is censured for his flowery style. There is no satisfying fastidious tastes. If we are in a right state of heart, we shall remember George Herbert's words: "Judge not the preacher, he is your judge."
Matthew 11:18, 19
God knows best whom to send, and we ought to be on the watch to profit by them all.
Matthew 11:20-30
The remarkable portion of Scripture which we are about to read contains in a small space the three great truths of human responsibility, the sovereignty of electing love, and the free proclamation of the gospel. If we cannot reconcile them, we must, nevertheless, believe them, and wait for clearer light.
Matthew 11:20
Therefore it is clear that they ought to have repented. Jesus would not have upbraided them for impenitence, if penitence were not their duty.
Matthew 11:21
A very mysterious statement, since it involves the singular fact that the mighty works were not done among those who would have repented, and were done among those who refused to repent. The way of the Lord is far above the comprehension of men.
Matthew 11:22
Though as to open sin the Sidonians were beyond measure vile, yet they were not so guilty as those who had willfully refused the gospel, and therefore their punishment would be less. This the Lord repeated, varying the words.
Matthew 11:23, 24
Yet Sodom's doom is fearful beyond imagination—where then will despisers of the gospel appear? Our Lord now changed the theme and discoursed upon sovereign grace.
Matthew 11:25-27
Here is the author of election—the Father, his right to choose—Lord of Heaven and earth, the objects of his choice—babes, and the only reason of his choice which he deigns to give us—"so it seemed good in your sight." Our Lord next bore testimony to himself as the great channel by which the blessings of electing love flow down to those whom he has chosen. The doctrines of grace are as true as the fact of our responsibility, and the two agree in one, though few can see where they meet. Salvation is all of grace, damnation is man's fault, and his fault alone.
The third part of our reading contains a full, free, personal, present invitation to sinners to come to Jesus. No ministry is complete where this is kept in the background. As we read it may we feel the drawing influence of the Holy Spirit, and find rest in Jesus at once.
Matthew 11:29, 30
Is there one here, who has hitherto refused the invitation? Let him come now! Come, and welcome. Remember it is not to sacraments, or to priests that you are to come, but to Jesus himself. He, and he alone, can give perfect rest to all who are obedient to him.
Matthew 12:1
Not from any idle feeling of passing away time, but because of necessity, the disciples took ears of corn to eat as they passed through the fields. This they were allowed to do by the Jewish law, and no one found fault with them for it, only it happened to be the Sabbath, and therefore the Pharisees renewed the old quarrel.
Matthew 12:2
One would have thought that it was surely permissible to relieve hunger on the Sabbath; but the Pharisees made it out to be an act of harvesting, and even of threshing when they saw them rub the ears in their hands. Some men are great at making much ado about nothing.
Matthew 12:3, 4
Necessity has no law. It was never intended that men should die of hunger in order to preserve the sanctity of a day.
Matthew 12:5, 6
Works done for God are commendable on the Sabbath, and if the Lord himself was present, and had not blamed his disciples, it was not for others to complain.
Matthew 12:7, 8
God has not intended the fourth commandment to be used cruelly, so as to forbid the doing of that which is absolutely needful. The institution of the Sabbath is under the power of Jesus, the Lord of love, and is not a burden, but a delight.
Matthew 12:13
Thus he emphatically showed the true position of the Sabbath, and his own resolve not to be bound in the fetters of Jewish tradition with regard to it.
Matthew 12:14-19
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: going to the borders of the sea of Gennesaret
Matthew 12:14-19
He neither sought popularity nor controversy.
Matthew 12:20
He left those fuming Pharisees, and the weak reeds of scribes and doctors, until a future time, not caring utterly to quench or crush their broken power.
Matthew 12:21
Quiet as he was, he is our hope and joy, and our soul rests upon him.
Matthew 12:22
It would seem that the devil had special licence to do his worst among men during the days of our Lord's sojourn upon earth. Thus was he the more gloriously defeated by the Son of God in many pitched battles between the two champions.
Matthew 12:23
They spoke honestly, but their leaders were prejudiced, and refused to see what was clear enough to the most ordinary understandings. It is a dreadful thing to be so warped by. education as to refuse to admit what is plain to all.
Matthew 12:27-29
For some of the sons of the Pharisees pretended to be able to heal possessed persons.
Matthew 12:30
Let this always be remembered, and let each one ask himself, "Am I with Christ?" If not, remember you are against him. Can you bear this?
Matthew 12:31, 32
A terrible doom which fell upon these Pharisees and destroyed them. How careful we ought to be to render all reverence and obedience to the Holy Spirit, lest by grieving him away we should be left to final perdition! While the Spirit of God still continues to strive with us we have not committed this deadly sin.
Matthew 12:33
Nothing will suffice but a change of nature. The very root and sap of the soul must be renewed by grace.
Matthew 12:35
That which is in comes out. The stream declares the character of the fountain.
Matthew 12:36, 37
This makes common talk a solemn matter. Who among us can bear such a test? Let us fly to the blood of Jesus for cleansing from sins of the tongue, and to the Spirit of God to bridle that unruly member.
Matthew 12:43
The evil spirit cannot rest. He is so malicious that unless he is doing mischief he cannot bear himself.
Matthew 12:42
The queen of Sheba came from far, with great difficulty, running great risks; and yet the mass of mankind are utterly careless about a greater than Solomon, and will scarcely cross the streets to see Jesus, who has power to bless them eternally.
Matthew 12:44
The devil is represented as going out of the man of his own will, and, therefore, when he wills he returns. He calls it "my house" because he had not been expelled from it by divine grace, neither had Jesus taken possession. So men who become moralized and improved entirely of their own accord, and in their own strength, return to their old sins. When grace comes and turns out the devil by force of divine love, he never returns, but unrenewed nature soon welcomes back the tempter.
Matthew 12:44
Many men's lives are swept from the fouler vices, and garnished with pretty human virtues; but they are not inhabited by the Spirit of God, and hence evil soon gets the upper hand, and the soul becomes worse than before.
Matthew 12:45
Idolatry left the Jewish nation after the captivity in Babylon, but formalism, superstition, and self-righteousness ruled over them, and made them harder to deal with than their idolatrous fathers.
Matthew 12:47
His nightly watches and daily labors were wearing him out, and his relations, conceiving the idea that he must be out of his mind, planned to seize him, and withdraw him from public work. The kindest of men cannot comprehend the zeal of a real fervent heart; they call it enthusiasm, and speak of the possibility of "going too far," and being too earnest: so are the best men least understood. Our Lord's mother seems to have had some hand in this mistaken project: blessed as she was she was, not infallible.
Matthew 12:48-50
The spiritual relationship outweighs the natural one. Believers are the true "Holy Family."
Matthew 12:42
The queen of Sheba came from far, with great difficulty, running great risks; and yet the mass of mankind are utterly careless about a greater than Solomon, and will scarcely cross the streets to see Jesus, who has power to bless them eternally.
Matthew 13:1, 2
A most delightful instance of out-of-door preaching, of which the more the better, for without it great numbers of our fellow men will never hear the gospel. The natural objects around him no doubt supplied the Lord with his illustrations, and these were so homely and full of meaning, that they arrested the attention of all.
Matthew 13:3, 4
the way side on the trodden pathway
Matthew 13:5, 6
Some fell upon stony places or spots where the rock was near the surface
Matthew 13:11
Carnal minds foolishly put a literal meaning upon expressions which are evidently figurative, and so discern not the meaning. To understand the gospel is a gift of divine grace.
Matthew 13:12-15
Those who will not see may expect to fall into such a state that they cannot see.
Matthew 13:23
Four bad soils are mentioned, and only one which is good. A lesson to us to examine ourselves carefully, lest we be found barren.
Matthew 13:24-30
All the spiritual good in the world comes from him. Whoever the servants may be, the Master who sent them to sow good seed is Jesus, our Lord.
Matthew 13:31, 32
Mustard of this kind is common in Palestine. Nothing at its commencement could be smaller, or less conspicuous, than the church of Christ; nothing in the end shall be so great and honorable. Already many happy souls, like birds, are resting in its branches.
Matthew 13:33
Silently, mysteriously, and potently it works, and so do good or evil influences in society.
Matthew 13:38
The field is the world; for everywhere is the gospel to be preached, and the church to be formed is in the world, though not of it. The whole world belongs to Jesus: let Satan rage as he may, he is only an usurper. Despite all opposition, it is in this great field of the world that the Lord has sown a church, and maintained it in being.
Satan is a busy agent, and is always doing his best to hinder the good work of Jesus. The seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman are at deadly enmity.
Matthew 13:39
Our Savior did not mean such tares as grow in our country, but a sort of mock wheat common in the east. The evil one could not prevent the springing up of the good seed, and therefore he tried to impede its growth, and spoil its harvest by throwing in among it noxious seed. The devil cannot destroy the church, and therefore ha endeavors to mar its beauty by the introduction of hypocrites. These are in many respects so like to true Christians that it is not possible to remove them without expelling genuine believers with them by mistake. Open sinners we can easily remove from the church; but not those who have the outward manners of Christians; however wrong at heart they may be, we are unable to judge them, and must let them remain.
Matthew 13:40-42
The true character of men will develop itself in due season, and will be clearly seen at the last day. Angels will have no difficulty in discerning between sincere believers and mere formalists. Men may deceive the church today, and do it much mischief by creeping into it while they are unconverted; they ought, however, to tremble, for the hour comes in which the unquenchable fires of divine wrath will consume all pretenders.
Matthew 13:45, 46
The first man is the suddenly converted sinner, who finds Jesus, though he looked not for him; the second is the diligent seeker, who at last discovers Jesus for whom he had sought. They both agree in setting the highest value upon the treasure. Do we value Jesus thus? Say, Is he very precious to our hearts?
Matthew 13:49-52
No church will be perfect here; the unmixed church is above.
Matthew 13:57
Foolish people live in all ages. They like things with hard names, which come from great distances; they would despise gold itself if they could dig it up in their own garden. Such folly led the people of Nazareth to do the Lord a great injustice, and to rob themselves of many priceless blessings; and if we allow prejudice or fancy to rule our judgments we may fall into like errors.
Matthew 13:58
Unbelief ties the hands of the incarnate God. It is to be feared that the reason of the slow progress of true religion, at this time, is to be found in the unbelief of the people of God.
Matthew 14:24-33
Matthew 14:24
Their sails could not help them, and they made so little headway that by midnight they were only in the middle of the lake.
Matthew 14:25
And in the fourth watch of the night when the morning was drawing near
Matthew 14:25
Trench has beautifully said: "In the first storm (Matthew 8:24) he was present in the ship with them; and thus they must have felt all along that, if it came to the worst, they might rouse him; while the mere sense of his presence must have given them the sense of a comparative security. But he will not have them to be clinging only to the sense of his bodily presence; they must not be as ivy, needing always an outward support, but as hardy forest trees, which can brave a blast; and this time he puts them forth into the danger alone, even as some loving mother-bird thrusts her fledglings from the nest, that they may find their own wings and learn to use them. And by the issue he will awaken in them a confidence in his ever-ready help; for as his walking on the sea must have been altogether unimagined by them, they may have easily despaired of that help reaching them, and yet it does not fail them. When he has tried them to the uttermost, "in the fourth watch of the night," he appears beside them, thus teaching them for all their after life, in all coming storms of temptation, that he is near them; that, however he may not be seen always by their bodily eyes, and however they may seem cut off from his assistance, yet is he indeed a very present help in time of trouble."
Matthew 14:29
He gave him permission.
Matthew 14:29
How remarkable his sensations! How joyful and yet how trembling, must Peter have been! What wonders his faith performed!
Matthew 14:30
Where he had half hoped to be distinguished for superior courage he reveals his timidity, and is humbled thereby. Unbelief alone made him sink, he removed his eye from his Lord to the billows. Have we not acted in a similar manner more than once?
Matthew 14:31
Saving him first, and then gently chiding him. If he spoke thus to Peter, what would he say to some of us who are far more unbelieving?
Matthew 14:32, 33
His Godhead was clear to them, and they adored him.
Matthew 15:21
Though he did not go out of Palestine, which was the sphere of his ministry, he took care to go to the very edge of it.
Matthew 15:22, 23
His silence tried her faith, but did not conquer it; she pleaded still.
Matthew 15:24
He seemed to deny her, and to give a reason for the denial; yet she would not be put off.
Matthew 15:25
Short, urgent, and to the point was this petition. As we grow more earnest our words usually become fewer.
Matthew 15:26
The miracles were for the Jews, the favored children, and not for Gentile dogs.
Matthew 15:27
As much as to say, the blessing which I ask, though very great to me, is but as a crumb to you. Favor me with a dogs portion, since you have called me a dog. She broke the hard bone of our Lord's apparently harsh speech, and speedily found marrow of comfort in it. Oh, blessed faith which will not be repulsed!
Matthew 17:1-9Our blessed Lord for the most part led a life of humiliation; but occasionally, lest men should altogether forget his divine nature, he drew aside the curtain, and revealed a measure of his majesty. This he did in a special manner upon the holy mount.
Matthew 17:1
A quaint writer says our Lord took Peter because he loved Christ most, John because Christ loved him most, and James because, next to these, he loved and was loved most. The Lord knew the men whom he had chosen, and judged these three to be the fittest eye-witnesses of his glory.
Matthew 17:2
As a foretaste of the glory in which he will shine hereafter, he put on the robes of his excellency for a moment, and dazzled his disciples eyes. How great was the condescension which kept him closely veiled while here below. Brighter than the sun is he, and yet he deigned to be despised and rejected of men.
Matthew 17:3
The law and the prophets are in harmony with Christ, and when we see the glory of Jesus we behold their light sweetly blending with his own.
Matthew 17:4
Not knowing what he said, but feeling as we have often done, that we would gladly remain in sweet meditation and hallowed fellowship, and go no more down into the rude world.
Matthew 17:5, 6
Astonished and overcome, they fell down as in the stupor of deep sleep.
"When, in ecstasy sublime, Tabor's glorious sleep I climb, At the too transporting light Darkness rushes o'er my sight."
We are not able as yet to bear too clear a view of the glory of our Lord. Before we enter Heaven we shall be strengthened to bear the strain of the beatific vision.
Matthew 17:7, 8
And that sight was enough. To see Jesus only is all that saint or sinner need desire.
Matthew 17:9
The mind of Jesus rushed forward to his death and resurrection. Tabor could not make him forget Calvary. Christ crucified should ever be most dear to us, since for our sakes he despised the shame of death, and counted dishonor as glory, that he might redeem us to himself.
Matthew 17:22, 23
He often spoke to them upon this point, and as they gradually comprehended his meaning their sorrow increased. He kept his death always before his mind's eye, and frequently reminded his followers of it before it was accomplished; and now that his suffering work is finished, he would have it always present to the hearts of his people.
Matthew 17:24, 25
But, as usual, he spoke too quickly. He ought not to have committed his Master to the payment of a doubtful exaction.
Matthew 17:24, 25
prevented or anticipated
Matthew 17:26
This tribute had not the divine sanction. The services of the temple, and the maintenance of the priests were otherwise provided for by the Mosaic law, and no annual poll tax had ever been instituted by God. Eastern kings in our Lord's day levied tribute only upon the natives of conquered lands, and did not exact from their own people. It could not be supposed that the King of Grace would tax his own family.
Matthew 17:27
He paid the demand, but in such a way as to prove his own sovereign status. He paid as only God could do.
Matthew 18:23, 24
If of silver, these talents were worth between three and four millions sterling; if of gold, sixty millions.
Matthew 18:25-28
hundred pence: or about three pounds:
Matthew 18:25-28
This debt at the most was the millionth part of the former one.
Matthew 18:29
The attitude and words which had drawn compassion from his master were addressed to him in vain.
Matthew 18:30-35
God will deal with each of us upon the principle which sways our own life, and if we adopt a stern and severe mode of action, we must expect the same rule to be carried out in our case.
Matthew 19:2
This is a most encouraging fact. If Jesus cures multitudes why should he not save each one of us? Why should we not cry to him for help, and expect to receive it? The healing virtue in Jesus is not diminished: seek it, and it will be freely given.
Matthew 20:1, 2
Each man is called upon to work for the Lord, and in doing so he will find an abundant reward. The penny promised was sufficient maintenance for the day, and was regarded as a fair wage. No man shall ever have cause to complain that he served God for nothing. Those are happiest who enter his service early in the morning.
Matthew 20:3, 4
Until we serve God we are idlers. However busy we may be we do nothing until we live for God.
Matthew 20:5
The half of the day was gone, yes, three-fourths of it, and yet this patient householder engaged the laborers. If half our life, or even three-fourths, be gone, the Lord will still receive us, for his hirings are not after the manner of men.
Matthew 20:7
This showed that the hiring of laborers in this case was not an act of necessity but of bounty, or surely the householder would not have hired men just as the sun was setting. In the Lord's vineyard grace alone chooses, calls, hires, and pays the workers.
Matthew 20:9
However late in life a man may be converted he shall enjoy the same privileges and promises as others. Free grace gives freely and does not upbraid.
Matthew 20:12
This ungenerous spirit will creep in even among the servants of God, but it deserves to be cast out with detestation. We ought to rejoice in the richness of divine love to aged converts. Envy of another's spiritual privileges is most unseemly in a child of God.
Matthew 20:13-15
The sovereignty of God is vindicated as much in the enjoyments and privileges of saints as in their election to eternal life. In making all his people equally dear to his heart, equally safe in Christ, and equal in justification and adoption, the Lord as much displays his undoubted right to do as he wills with his own, as when he chooses a certain number of sinners, and allows others to continue in their sins.
Matthew 20:16
Those who start in religion and promise great things frequently disappoint us, while others of whom we despaired bring forth good fruit. Many are called by the Gospel, but few are really elect of God, and so obey the call from the heart; and out of these only a remnant become eminent for grace. Choice men are rare even among the chosen.
Matthew 21:1-3
He had the hearts of all men under his control, and at once moved the owner to lend his donkey. The colt came and its mother at its side, for Jesus would not cause even the meanest creature a needless pain by separating it from its young.
Matthew 21:4, 5
He came in state as a judge, but it was in fitting state, and such as was becoming in a true ruler in Israel; for he did not ride upon the horse which was the boast of Egypt, but on the humbler donkey, which ancient lawgivers had been content with.
Matthew 21:9
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David or, "Save now, we beseech you"
Matthew 21:10
Bishop Hall has well said: "The attending disciples need be at no loss for an answer. Which of the prophets has not put it into their mouths? Who is this? Ask Moses, and he shall tell you, the seed of the woman who shall bruise the serpent's head. Ask your father Jacob, and he shall tell you, the Shiloh of the tribe of Judah. Ask David, and he shall tell you, the King of Glory. Ask Isaiah, and he shall tell you, Emmanuel, Wonderful, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace. Ask Jeremiah, and he shall tell you, the righteous Branch. Ask Daniel, and he shall tell you, the Messiah. Ask John the Baptist, he shall tell you, the Lamb of God. The God of the prophets has told you, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Yes, the very devils themselves have been forced to confess, I know you who you are, the Holy One of God. On no side has Christ left himself without a full and plain testimony."
Matthew 21:11-13
This was his second purgation of the temple. He had cleansed it once before in his earlier ministry. Alas! when good things begin to be perverted they need many cleansings before they are set right again.
Matthew 21:14-16
Let children learn from this that Jesus values their praises, and let them give him their hearts while they are yet young.
Matthew 21:23-27
Thus were they taken in their own craftiness and utterly silenced.
Matthew 21:29-32
This was a home thrust, and right well deserved by them. It may also be a lesson to us if we see great sinners converted while we ourselves remain undecided. Is there one of us in this condition?
Matthew 21:44
If we oppose the Savior we shall hurt only ourselves, but if we provoke him to punish us we shall be crushed as completely as if a huge rock had rolled upon us. Who will dare to be at enmity with Jesus?
Matthew 22:2, 3
It was their sovereign who invited them, and to refuse his invitation was an act of rebellion. Their presence was intended to render honor to the marriage of their prince, and their resolution to be absent was a studied insult both to the king and his son. God in infinite condescension has decreed to glorify his Son by bestowing his rich grace upon undeserving man, and when man willfully rejects the favor, he is guilty of insulting the Lord of love. Will any of us live and die in this sin?
Matthew 22:4
He was very patient, and condescended to reason with his erring subjects, hoping that perhaps their second thoughts might correct their hasty words. He even pleaded with them, though he might have sent forth his armies at once to destroy them. How true a representation is this of the great Father of mercy!
Matthew 22:5, 6
Only a few were persecutors, the many were despisers only, but they perished in the general doom, for they had despised their prince.
Matthew 22:7, 10
Those who hear the gospel regularly are often found rejecting it, yet the Lord's purposes of grace will not fail, Jesus shall see of the travail of his soul, and Heaven shall be tenanted by rejoicing millions. Out of the poorest and meanest of mankind sovereign grace will select its favored ones, and make them partakers of its bounty.
Matthew 22:11, 12
His conduct was as gross an insult as that of those who refused to come. A dress was provided for each guest, but he would not put it on, he despised the royal livery, and defied the regal law in the palace itself. Thus do those act who unite themselves with the church, and yet are not holy, nor obedient to Jesus. They insult the Redeemer to his face and defy him in his own house. Are any of us guilty of this? Do we profess to be Christians, and go to the communion table, though we do not wear the garments of sanctification! If so, let us tremble at the doom which awaits us.
Matthew 22:13, 14
Even in the visible church all are not the
Lord's elect. What need of careful self-examination! Lord, make us to be truly your own.
Matthew 22:15, 16
Men who wish to ensnare us begin with flattery. Let us beware of smooth speeches.
Matthew 22:21
By using Caesar's coinage they confessed their subjection to his authority, and they were bound to act accordingly. Civil rulers are to be obeyed in civil things, but they must not touch religion, that is the sphere of God alone. Attention to this rule would be a great blessing both to Church and State.
Matthew 22:22-32
A most conclusive reply, which shut the mouths of the Sadducees, and showed the Savior's infinite superiority to their imagined wisdom.
Matthew 22:43-45
This was a puzzle for them, out of which they could not see their way, and thus Jesus left the field victorious over all his foes.
Matthew 23:1-3
In what a sad plight is the teacher concerning whom such advice must be given—"do as he says and not as he does." From such teachers may the Lord save our country.
Matthew 23:5-7
The love of applause is a very common sin, and we may easily fall into it. Let us pray to be kept from seeking honor from men in our religious or charitable acts, for the influence of such a motive will be most pernicious. Self-seeking makes virtue itself a vice.
Matthew 23:9, 10
All titles and honors in the church which exalt men and give occasion for pride are here forbidden. In the Christian church we should seek to realize a truer "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity," than that for which the world clamors in vain.
Matthew 23:24
A strong expression setting forth the fact that they regarded trifles and neglected weighty duties; they strained out gnats from their wine, but cared nothing for huge sins.
Matthew 23:29-31
Here we have much the same teaching as we have read before. The faults denounced are hard to remove, hence the Savior exposes them again and again. He was not ashamed to preach many times upon the same topic when there was need to do so. Let us learn from this passage to avoid all self-seeking and hypocrisy in religion. May the Lord make us true and humble.
Matthew 24:11
Evils never come alone: while the church would be persecuted by those outside of her bounds, it would be disturbed within by heretics, and weakened by want of love and zeal.
Matthew 24:13
This sums it all up. Come what may, if we hold on we shall conquer. Lord, grant us persevering grace.
Matthew 24:15, 16
This advice the disciples followed, and as soon as the armies surrounded Jerusalem, they escaped to the little mountain of Pella while the inhabitants of Jerusalem were slain by the Romans.
Matthew 24:28
So far our Lord spoke of the siege of Jerusalem. After this he referred to the last great day.
Matthew 24:29, 30
This is the glorious appearing of our Lord at the last. No sun or moon will be needed when he shines forth; his glory will be brighter than the sun in the heavens. He will find the nations still unsaved, and horror will be their portion. If he were to come now, should we have to mourn, or could we meet him in peace?
Matthew 24:31
They shall be saved from the terrible destruction, and as soon as they are removed, wrath shall break forth on the ungodly. Our Lord then returned to speak of. the overthrow of Jerusalem, and gave his disciples warning to watch the signs of the times.
Matthew 24:36
Let us not therefore be troubled by idle prophecies as to the end of the world, even if they claim to be interpretations of Scripture, for what angels do not know has certainly not been revealed to hair-brained fanatics. "The veil which covers the face of futurity is woven by the hand of mercy;" let us not countenance those who attempt to tear it away. Augustine has well said, "God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had foresight of his prosperity he would be careless, and if he foreknew his adversity he would be hopeless." The day of the Lord will find many unprepared, and will make a final division in our race.
Matthew 24:40
Comrades in labor will not therefore be companions in eternity: the workman who loved the Lord will dwell in glory while his fellow-servant who lived and died an unbeliever will perish forever.
Matthew 24:41
Servants in the same family must be parted as wide asunder as Heaven is from Hell, unless their hearts have been renewed by grace.
Matthew 24:42-44
Mr. Wesley was once asked by a lady, "Suppose that you knew that you were to die at twelve o'clock tomorrow night, how would you spend the intervening time?" "How, madam?" he replied, "why just as I intend to spend it now. I should preach this night at Gloucester, and again at five tomorrow morning. After that I should ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon, and meet the societies in the evening. I should then repair to friend Martins house, who expects to entertain me, converse and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at ten o'clock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in glory." To be prepared for the coming of Jesus we need not leave our daily callings, and stand gazing upward into Heaven; but with grace in our hearts we shall do well to continue in the path of service with steadfast souls.
Matthew 24:48-51
When professors neglect their own work they often pass hard judgments and cruel criticisms upon Christians. They would not do this if they remembered that the Lord is close at hand, and will visit such evils with the severest punishment.
Matthew 25:1-13
Our Savior continued to instruct his disciples as to the solemn judgment of the last great day, and in so doing he delivered the instructive parable which follows:—Matthew 25:1-13.
Matthew 25:1
As attendants on the bride they represented her, and went forward to meet the Bridegroom, even as many profess to belong to the church and to be waiting for the coming of the Lord.
Matthew 25:4
"The oil which the wise virgins carried in their vessels, as distinguished from that which burned in their lamps, points to the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of grace and supplication dwelling in a believer's heart. All the ten virgins experienced convictions, and made profession, as is indicated by the lamps lighted and borne aloft; but some had nothing more than convictions and professions, while others had passed from death unto life, and had received that life which is hid with Christ in God."
Matthew 25:5
Either having grown weary through the weakness of nature, or else having given way to sloth they fell asleep.
Matthew 25:7
When the Lord is proclaimed as near at hand all classes of professors begin to examine themselves to see if they are really ready for his presence.
Matthew 25:9
As an old writer says, "They turn themselves to the wise, whom, perhaps, they had lately laughed at, with the prayer 'Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.' They betake themselves, if they are Catholics, to the dead saints, if they are Protestants, to the living, whom they have been accustomed to revere as their guides on account of their wisdom and grace, and they plead, Help us, comfort us, pray for us, that we may be brought into a state of grace. In vain. They answer, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. What you desire is impossible. None of us has any surplus merit out of which he could give a portion to another."
Matthew 25:12
Their fate was wretched indeed, they were so near Heaven and yet lost, so much associated with saints and yet shut out of their bliss. It is vain to be a hearer of the word, a Bible reader, a church member, or a teacher of others, unless the oil of grace be in our hearts.
Matthew 25:13
"Short is life; fleeting is time; quick is death; sure is judgment; long is eternity. Therefore, what you desire to do, do it quickly."
Matthew 25:14-30
Still further to warn us of his coming, our Lord delivered the parable of the talents.
Matthew 25:15
We have all some talent. It may be only one, but, we are responsible for it. Are we acting up to the measure of our ability? Many wish they had more talents, but this is wrong, for the Lord has entrusted us with quite as many gifts as we shall be able to give a good account of. Our great concern should be to be found faithful stewards of such things as we have.
Matthew 25:16-18
He probably thought that as he could not do much he would not do anything, and there are thousands of his opinion; they fancy that their little is not needed and will never be missed, and therefore they make no attempt to serve their Lord. Are we of that kind?
Matthew 25:24, 25
Deep down in all unregenerate hearts there lurks the idea that God is too severe upon poor erring mortals, expecting more of them than is reasonable. Yet, if they think so they ought to be roused to greater carefulness to render to the Lord full obedience; their knowledge of what the Lord demands will make their disobedience the more criminal.
Matthew 25:27
usury or interest
Matthew 25:29
He was not rebellious, but only unprofitable, and that condemned him. How does this solemn truth bear upon us? Let us search and see.
May our hearts be earnestly attentive while we read our Lord's own account of the Day of Judgment.
Matthew 25:33
Here we are mixed together, but the keen eye of the Great Shepherd will detect our real characters and place us in one or other of the two flocks into which all mankind will be divided. There will be no middle company, we shall be placed either with saints or sinners in that day. To which do we now belong?
Matthew 25:36
All these are deeds of love; not one of them consists of words, or ceremonial acts. The truest worship of God is charily to the needy: does not the apostle James say, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
Matthew 25:39
They were modest, and had never set so high a value upon their own virtues as to have seen that excellence in them which the Judge had long ago discovered, and which he now declares publicly before men and angels. They had only been kind to poor and afflicted men and women, and were surprised to hear that the Lord regarded their actions as rendered to himself.
Matthew 25:40
How this ennobles charity! "He who gives to the poor lends unto the Lord." Who would not show kindness to his Redeemer?
Matthew 25:41-43
They were not condemned for what they had done amiss, but for what they had not done. Sins of omission are glaring evidences of want of grace, especially the omission of those duties which common humanity requires of us.
Matthew 25:44
They were self-righteous and had no eye to see their faults. Gladly would they have justified themselves. Those who deny their sins may be sure that they are of the goats.
Matthew 25:45, 46
There is no temporary punishment any more than temporary reward. As sure as Heaven is everlasting, so also is Hell. Flee, O flee from the wrath to come.
Matthew 26:3, 4
"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointed." Oh, that the friends of Jesus were half as earnest to concert measures for glorifying him, as these men were when they resolved upon his death.
Matthew 26:5
The enemies of Christ's cause have never ceased to oppose him by baseness and treachery; the truth fears not the day, but evil is underhanded and works by secret plots. Still do the opponents of the gospel conspire to take Jesus by subtlety. Let us, like our Lord, oppose to their cunning nothing but holy courage and truthful simplicity.
Matthew 26:14, 15
The price of a slave. This showed the contempt of the rulers for Jesus and the avarice of Judas, which permitted him to sell his Master for so small a sum. How strikingly does all this correspond with the voice of prophecy in Zechariah 11. "So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver; a goodly price." It is to be feared that thousands are selling Jesus for a less price than Judas received. A smile from the world has been a bribe sufficient to seduce many.
Matthew 26:26-30
The same night in which he was betrayed our divine Lord instituted the sacred Supper, which is to his people the perpetual memorial of his death, and is to be celebrated until he shall come again.
Matthew 26:26
And as they were eating that is to say, while yet the Paschal feast was proceeding; so that the one feast might melt into the other
Matthew 26:26
He could not have meant that the bread was actually his body, for in his body he was sitting at the table, and he could not have two bodies. Nobody could misunderstand these words of Jesus unless they wished to do so, or were too devoid of reason to comprehend anything. Jesus meant evidently the bread represented his body, and should be to them in future the sign that he was really incarnate.
Matthew 26:27
As if he foresaw that the Papists would take away the cup from the people, he expressly bade them all drink of it. The plainest language of command is no bond to those who are given over to the delusions of Rome.
Matthew 26:28
The cup was the instructive token of his blood, for it was filled with the blood of the grape. Jesus is meat and drink to his people; their necessary food, their dainty luxury; their staff of life, their exhilaration and joy. How sweet to reflect that the memorial of our dying Lord is not a funeral wailing, but a festival of rest; not a superstitious rite, but a simple, joyful commemoration. It is a pity that by kneeling some of our brethren have missed the instruction which an easy reclining or sitting posture would have given them,—in Jesus, believers have entered into rest.
Matthew 26:29
Symbols were not for him, though useful to us: we shall before long with him enjoy the reality which the emblem could but feebly typify.
Matthew 26:30
Brave was the heart which could sing with death before him: surely that hymn was a battle psalm defying death and Hell. In like manner let us sing in all times of trial and temptation, and so glorify our God.
Matthew 26:50
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore are you come?
Still did the traitor mix a hypocritical respect with his baseness, as betrayers of Jesus are ever apt to do. How would such a kiss have provoked us! and yet our gentle Lord spoke not one harsh word, his meekness endured to the end.
Matthew 26:51-56
Where now were brave Peter and loving John? Alas for poor human nature! Far be it from us to imagine that we should have done better. These flying disciples warn us to pray that we may be kept faithful in the hour of trial.
Matthew 26:57
Waiting for his blood, his enemies were spending the night in watching, until news should come that he was taken.
Matthew 26:59-61
This was a perversion of his meaning, and a wresting of his words. He had spoken of his own body and said, "Destroy this temple." It is no strange thing if the wicked misrepresent what we say, for they did the same by our Master and Lord.
Matthew 26:62, 63
Like a sheep before her shearers, he opened not his mouth.
Matthew 26:65, 66
How could God's own Son blaspheme? His works had proved him to be God, and yet they called him a blasphemer.
Matthew 26:67, 68
Having rejected his Deity, they now mock at his prophetic claims. Those who deny Jesus to be God, do not long accept his teaching. See the shame our Lord endured! Our sins brought it upon him.
Matthew 26:69, 70
Brave Peter trembles before a maid-servant.
Matthew 26:71, 72
He uttered an oath, that they might no longer suspect him, for followers of Jesus abhor swearing. Poor Peter, what a fall was your!
Matthew 26:73
His Galilean brogue revealed him. If a believer sins he will not be able to do it as others do, and is sure to be detected.
Matthew 26:74
Providence controls what men call accidents. Surely the rooster could crow when it willed, and yet the will of the Lord was done.
Matthew 26:75
There was grace in his heart, and therefore the crow of a rooster affected him, and the look of his Lord broke his heart. May the Lord by some means bring us also to repentance if at any time we are so base as to deny him.
Matthew 27:1
The day was more advanced, but it was yet early, and a third time the Sanhedrin held a sitting, not to try the Lord Jesus, but to consider how to secure his destruction. The Romans had taken away from them the power of life and death, and, therefore, they were forced to carry their prisoner to the Roman governor.
Matthew 27:5
From the place whereon he hung him self he fell headlong and was dashed in pieces; thus every circumstance of horror attended his self-murder. Unhappy man! How short-lived was his profit! How eternal his loss! Will we give up Christ for gain or pleasure! O Lord, forbid it.
Matthew 27:6
Base hypocrites. They had a qualmish conscience about the harmless pieces of money, but none concerning you murder they had perpetrated! They remind us of those who are zealous for their church, and yet continue in sin.
Matthew 27:19
This was a warning to him. Heathens paid much respect to dreams, and, therefore, this must have greatly moved him, yet he dared not oppose the priests.
Matthew 27:24
The washing availed him nothing, the blood of Jesus lay at his door, for had he been just he would have released the innocent.
Matthew 27:25
A terrible imprecation, which has doomed Israel to her long sorrows. The blood of Jesus will either be upon us to cleanse, or on us to condemn. Which will it be?
They were not to linger to save their property, but flee for their lives at once.
Matthew 27:46
A cry in which every word is emphatic. Read it over as many times as there are words, and see a new force of meaning each time. Jesus cried in this manner, that none of his saints might ever need to do so.
Matthew 27:47
Thus jesting at his prayer. Oh, horrid cruelty!
Matthew 27:53
These were early proofs of his resurrection power. These first fruits prove that the harvest is sure.
Matthew 27:62-64
Their jealous hatred led them to mar their own Sabbath and Passover by appeals to a heathen ruler. Little did they know of that spiritual Sabbath-keeping, which makes us lay aside our cares and even our own thoughts upon the hallowed day of rest.
Matthew 27:65-66
Thus, unwittingly, helping to secure testimony for the resurrection such as none could gainsay. It was now impossible for his body to be stolen, and if he came forth it must be by supernatural power. Oh, blind Jews, thus to ensure their own confusion! Blinder yet are they who believe that Jesus rose, and yet do not put their trust in him.