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his brother; James [P the son] of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James [P the son] of Alphæus, and [ LebP not expressed in the original.

these words are variously read: see note.

the Primate of the future Church, is as clear as the facts above mentioned. For (1) no trace of such a pre-eminence is found in all the Epistles of the other Apostles; but when he is mentioned, it is either, as 1 Cor. ix. 5, as one of the Apostles, one example among many, but in no wise the chief;-or as in Gal. ii. 7, 8, with a distinct account of a peculiar province of duty and preaching being allotted to him, viz. the apostleship of the circumcision, (see 1 Pet. i. 1,) as distinguished from Paul, to whom was given the apostleship of the uncircumcision ;-or as in Gal. ii. 9, as one of the principal pillars, together with James and John;-or as in Gal. ii. 11, as subject to rebuke from Paul as from an equal. And (2) wherever by our Lord Himself the future constitution of His Church is alluded to, or by the Apostles its actual constitution, no hint of any such primacy is given (see note on Matt. xvi. 18), but the whole college of Apostles are spoken of as absolutely equal. Matt. xix. 27, 28; xx. 26, 28: Eph. ii. 20, and many other places. Again (3) in the two Epistles which we have from his own hand, there is nothing for, but every thing against, such a supposition. He exhorts the presbyters as being their co-presbyter (1 Pet. v. 1): describes himself as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: addresses his second Epistle to them that have obtained the like precious faith with ourselves (2 Pet. i. 1): and makes not the slightest allusion to any pre-eminence over the other Apostles. So that first here must be understood as signifying the prominence of Peter among the Apostles, as well as his early calling. (See John i. 42.)

called Peter] Or Cephas, so named by our Lord Himself (John as above) at His first meeting with him, and again more solemnly, and with a direct reference to the meaning of the name, Matt. xvi. 18. Andrew] He, in conjunction with John (see note on John i. 37-41), was a disciple of the Baptist, and both of them followed our Lord, on their Master pointing Him out as the Lamb of God. They did not however from that time constantly accompany Him, but received a more solemn calling (see Matt. iv. 17-22: Luke v. 1-11)in the narrative of which Peter is promi

nent, and so first called as an Apostle, at
least of those four. James (the son)

of Zebedee, and John his brother] Part-
ners in the fishing trade with Peter and
Andrew, Luke v. 10. 3. Philip, and
Bartholomew] Philip was called by our
Lord the second day after the visit of
Andrew and John, and the day after the
naming of Peter. He was also of Beth-
saida, the city of Andrew and Peter, James
and John.
Andrew and Philip are
Greek names. See John xii. 20-22.
Bartholomew, i. e. in Heb., son of Talmai
or Tolomæus, has been generally supposed
to be the same with Nathanael of Cana
in Galilee; and with reason: for (1) the
name Bartholomew is not his own name,
but a patronymic:-(2) He follows next
in order, as Nathanael, in John i. 46, to
the Apostles just mentioned, with the
same formula which had just been used
of Philip's own call (ver. 44),—“ Philip
findeth Nathanael :"-(3) He is there, as
here, and in Mark and Luke (Gospel), in
connexion with Philip (that he was his
brother, was conjectured by Dr. Donald-
son; but rendered improbable by the fact
that John, in the case of Andrew a few
verses above, expressly says "he findeth
his own brother Simon," whereas in ver. 46
no such specification occurs) :-(4) in John
xxi. 2, at the appearance of our Lord on
the shore of the sea of Tiberias, Nathanael
is mentioned as present, where seven
apostles ("disciples ") are recounted.
Thomas, and Matthew the Publican]
Thomas, in Greek Didymus (the twin).
John xi. 16; xx. 24; xxi. 2. Matthew

the publican is clearly by this appellation
identified with the Matthew of ch. ix. 9.
We hear nothing of him, except in these
two passages.
Dr. Donaldson believed
Matthew and Thomas to have been twin
brothers. Eusebius preserves a tradition
that Thomas's real name was Judas.
James (the son) of Alphæus] From John
xix. 25, some infer (but see note there),
that Mary the (wife) of Clopas was sister
of Mary the mother of our Lord. From
Mark xv. 40, that Mary was the mother
of James "the little," which may be this
James. Hence it would appear, if these
two passages point to the same person,
that Alphæus
Clopas. And indeed the
two Greek names are but different ways

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bæus, whose surname was Thaddeus]; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5 These a see Acts i. 8. twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, a Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Tread, Cananæan.

men

of expressing the Hebrew name. If this be so, then this James the Less may possibly be "the brother of the Lord" tioned Gal. i. 19 apparently as an apostle, and one of "His brethren" mentioned Matt. xiii. 55 (where see note) (?). But on the difficulties attending this view, see note on John vii. 5. Lebbæus] Much difficulty rests on this name, both from the various readings, and the questions arising from the other lists. The received reading appears to be a conjunction of the two ancient ones, Lebbæus and Thaddeus: the latter of these having been introduced from Mark: where, however, one of the ancient MSS. has Lebbæus. Whichever of these is the true reading, the Apostle himself has generally been supposed to be identical with "Judas of James" in both Luke's catalogues, i. e. (see note there) Judas the brother (Dr. Donaldson supposed son see note on Luke xxiv. 13) of James, and so son of Alphæus, and commonly supposed to be (?) one of the brethren of the Lord named Matt. xiii. 55. In John xiv. 22 we have a 'Judas, not Iscariot,' among the Apostles: and the catholic epistle is written by a Judas brother of James.' What in this case the names Lebbæus and Thaddæus are, is impossible to say. So that the whole rests on conjecture, which however does not contradict any known fact, and may be allowed as the only escape from the difficulty.

4. Simon the Cananæan] This is not a local name, but is derived from Canan, which is equivalent to Zelotes (Luke, Gospel and Acts). We may therefore suppose that before his conversion he belonged to the sect of the Zealots, who after the example of Phinehas (Num. xxv. 7, 8) took justice into their own hands, and punished offenders against the law. This sect eventually brought upon Jerusalem its destruction. Judas Iscariot] Son of Simon (John vi.71; [xii. 4 various reading;] xiii. 2, 26). Probably a native of Kerioth in Juda, Josh. xv. 25. Ish Kerioth, a man of Kerioth, as Istobus, a man of Tob, Joseph. Antt. vii. 6. 1. That the name Iscariot cannot be a surname, as Bp. Middleton supposes, the expression "Judas Iscariot the son of Simon," used in all the above places of John, clearly proves. Dr. Donaldson assumed it as certain that the

Simon last mentioned was the father of Judas Iscariot. But surely this is very uncertain, in the case of so common a name as Simon. 5. saying] If we

compare this verse with ch. xi. 1, there can be little doubt that this discourse of our Lord was delivered at one time and that, the first sending of the Twelve. How often its solemn injunctions may have been repeated on similar occasions we cannot say many of them reappear at the sending of the Seventy in Luke x. 2 ff.

Its primary reference is to the then mission of the Apostles to prepare His way; but it includes, in the germ, instructions prophetically delivered for the ministers and missionaries of the Gospel to the end of time. It may be divided into THREE GREAT PORTIONS, in each of which different departments of the subject are treated, but which follow in natural sequence on one another. In the FIRST of these (vv. 5-15), our Lord, taking up the position of the messengers whom He sends from the declaration with which the Baptist and He Himself began their ministry, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand," gives them commands, mostly literal, and of present import, for their mission to the cities of Israel. This portion concludes with a denunciation of judgment against that unbelief which should reject their preaching. The SECOND (vv. 16-23) refers to the general mission of the Apostles as developing itself, after the Lord should be taken from them, in preaching to Jews and Gentiles (vv. 17, 18), and subjecting them to persecutions (vv. 21, 22). This portion ends with the end of the apostolic period properly so called, ver. 23 referring primarily to the destruction of Jerusalem. In this portion there is a foreshadowing of what shall be the lot and duty of the teachers of the Gospel to the end, inasmuch as the coming of the Son of Man' is ever typical of His final coming to judgment. Still the direct reference is to the Apostles and their mission, and the other only by inference. The THIRD (vv. 24-42), the longest and weightiest portion, is spoken directly (with occasional reference only to the Apostles and their mission [ver. 40]) of all disciples of the Lord,-their position,-their encouragements,-their duties, and finally

xvii. 24. John iv. 1

2

c ch. xv. 24.

Isa. liii. 6. Ezek xxxiv. deh. iii. 2: iv.

Jer. 1. 6, 17.

5. 1 Pet. 25.

17.

e see Acts vii!.

Samaritans enter ye not: 6 but go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go preach, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely
ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold,
nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 nor scrip for your
journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves:
for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into f1
whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is
worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12 And when
8 read, a staff.

concludes with the last great reward
(ver. 42).
In these first verses, 5, 6,-
we have the location; in 7, 8, the pur-
pose; in 9, 10, the fitting out; and in
11-14, the manner of proceeding, of
their mission: ver. 15 concluding with a
prophetic denouncement, tending to im-
press them with a deep sense of the im-
portance of the office entrusted to them.

In

Samaritans] The Samaritans were the Gentile inhabitants of the country between Judæa and Galilee, consisting of heathens whom Shalmaneser king of Assyria brought from Babylon and other places. Their religion was a mixture of the worship of the true God with idolatry (2 Kings xvii. 24-41). The Jews had no dealings with them, John iv. 9. They appear to have been not so unready as the Jews to receive our Lord and His mission (John iv. 39-42: Luke ix. 51 ff., and notes); but this prohibition rested on judicial reasons. See Acts xiii. 46. Acts i. 8 the prohibition is expressly taken off: Ye shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' And in Acts viii. 1, 5, 8, we find the result. See ch. xv. 21-28. 6. the lost sheep] See besides reff., ch. ix. 36: John x. 16. 7.] This announcement shews the preparatory nature of this first apostolic mission. Compare, as shewing the difference of their ultimate message to the world, Col. i. 26-28. 8. freely, &c.] See Acts viii. 18-20. 9. Provide neither...] All the words following depend on this verb, and it is explained by the parallel expressions in Mark and Luke. They were to make no preparations for the journey, but to take it in dependence on Him who sent them, just as they were. This forbidden provision would be of three kinds (1) Money: in Mark (vi. 8) (literally)" brass," in Luke (ix.3)" silver?" here all the three current metals in order

18, 20.

Cor ix. 7.

1 Tim. v. 18.

of value, connected by the nor, intro-
ducing a climax-no gold, nor yet silver,
nor yet brass-in their girdles (so, lite-
rally, Luke x. 4). In the Greek it is,
'no gold, nor even silver, nor even brass.'
So again in ver. 10. (2) Food: here scrip,
in Mark "no scrip, no bread:" similarly
Luke. (3) Clothing-neither two coats:
so Mark and Luke.-neither shoes; in
Mark expressed by "be shod with san-
dals" explained in Luke x. 4 by "carry
no shoes," i. e. a second pair.-nor yet a
staff "save a staff only" Mark. They
were not to procure expressly for this
journey even a staff: they were to take
with them their usual staff only. The
missing of this explanation has probably
led to the reading staves both here and
in Luke. If it be genuine, it does not
mean two staves; for who would ever think
of taking a spare staff? but a staff each.
The whole of this prohibition was tempo-
rary only; for their then journey, and no
more. See Luke xxii. 35, 36.
the workman...] This is a common truth
of life-men give one who works for them
his food and more; here uttered however
by our Lord in its highest sense, as applied
to the workmen in His vineyard. See
1 Cor. ix. 13, 14: 2 Cor. xi. 8: 3 John 8.
It is (as Stier remarks, vol. i. p. 352, ed. 2)
a gross perversion and foolish bondage to
the letter, to imagine that ministers of
congregations, or even missionaries among
the heathen, at this day are bound by the
literal sense of our Lord's commands in
this passage. But we must not therefore
imagine that they are not bound by the
spirit of them. This literal first mission
was but a foreshadowing of the spiritual
subsequent sending out of the ministry
over the world, which ought therefore in
spirit every where to be conformed to
these rules. 11. worthy] Inclined to
receive you and your message,-worthy
that you should become his guest. Such

10. for

g Ps. XXXV. 13. Worthy, let your peace & return to you. g

h Neh. v. 18. Acts xiii. 51: xviii. 6.

i ch. xi. 22, 24.

11 Cor. xiv. 20.

ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, "shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, i It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

15

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of k Rom. xvi. 19. wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their

Phil. ii. 15.

m ch. xxiv. 9.

n Acts v. 40.

persons in this case would be of the same kind as those spoken of Acts xiii. 48 as "disposed to eternal life" (see there). The precept in this verse is very much more fully set forth by Luke, x. 7 ff. till ye go thence] i. e. Until ye depart out of the city. 13.] The peace mentioned is that in the customary Eastern salutation, Peace be with you. Luke has Peace be to this house (x. 5). Compare with the spirit of vv. 10-13,-ch. vii. 6. Stier remarks that the spirit of these commands binds Christian ministers to all accustomed courtesies of manner in the countries and ages in which their mission may lie. So we find the Greek salutation instead of the Jewish form of greeting, Acts xv. 23: James i. 1. And the same spirit forbids that repelling official pride by which so many ministers lose the affections of their people. And this is to be without any respect to the worthiness or otherwise of the inhabitants of the house. In the case of unworthiness, 'let your peace return (See Isa. xlv. 23) to you,' i. e. 'be as though you had never spoken it.' 14.] See Acts, in the references. A solemn act which might have two meanings: (1) as Luke x. 11 expresses at more length,- We take nothing of yours with us, we free ourselves from all contact and communion with you;' or (2),which sense probably lies beneath both this and ver. 13, We free ourselves from all participation in your condemnation : will have nothing in common with those who have rejected God's message.' See 1 Kings ii. 5, where the shoes on the feet are mentioned as partakers in the guilt of blood. It was a custom of the Pharisees, when they entered Judæa from a Gentile land, to do this act, as renouncing all communion with Gentiles: those then who would not receive the apostolic message were to be treated as no longer

Israelites, but Gentiles. Thus the verse forms a kind of introduction to the next portion of the discourse, where the future mission to the Gentiles is treated of.

The or city brings in the alternative; "house, if it be a house that rejects you, city, if a whole city." verily I say unto you; pression our Lord closes this discourse.

15.] The first with which exeach portion of day of judgment, "that day

=

i. e. of final judgment, Luke x. 12. It must be noticed that this denunciatory part, as also the command to shake off the dust, applies only to the people of Israel, who had been long prepared for the message of the Gospel by the Law and the Prophets, and recently more particularly by John the Baptist; and in this sense it may still apply to the rejection of the Gospel by professing Christians; but as it was not then applicable to the Gentiles, so neither now can it be to the heathen who know not God.

16-23.] SECOND PART OF THE DISCOURSE. See above on ver. 5, for the subject of this portion. 16.] I is not without meaning. It takes up again the subject of their sending, and reminds them WHO sent them. send forth, Gr. apostello, is in direct connexion with their name Apostles. sheep in the midst of wolves] This comparison is used of the people of Israel in the midst of the Gentiles, in a Rabbinical work cited by Stier: see also Ecclus. xiii. 17. 17. beware] The wisdom of the serpent is needed for this part of their course; the simplicity of the dove for the take not anxious thought in ver. 19. The but turns from the internal character to behaviour in regard of outward circumstances. councils] See Acts iv. 6, 7; v. 40. They are the courts of seven (on which see Deut. xvi. 18), appointed in every city, to take

o Acts xxiv. 10: XXV. 6, 23.

18 and synagogues; shall be brought before ye ° governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and Tim. iv. 16. the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for Pit shall be given P Exod. iv. 12. you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is

Jer. i. 7.

2.

Acts iv.

8: vi. 10. 2 Tim. iv. 16,

17.

not ye that speak, but the 9 Spirit of your Father which 92 Sam. xxiii. speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the chil- r see vv. 35, 36. dren shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for

8

my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall s ch. xxiv. 13. trender, take not anxious thought.

cognizance of causes both civil and criminal, ch. v. 21: here perhaps put for any courts of assembly in general. The scourging in the synagogues is supposed to have been inflicted by order of the Tribunal of Three, who judged in them.

18. and] literally, yea; and moreover; assuming what has just been said, and passing on to something more. governors Proconsuls, Proprætors, Procurators, as (Pontius Pilate,) Felix, Festus, Gallio, Sergius Paulus. kings, as (Herod,) Agrippa. The former verse was of Jewish persecution; this, of Gentile: the concluding words shew that the scope of both, in the divine purposes, as regarded the Apostles, was the same, viz. for a testimony. The " testimony" is in both senses-a testimony to, and against them (see ch. viii. 4, note), and refers to both sets of persecutors: to them, i. e. the Jews (not the "rulers and kings," for they are in most cases Gentiles themselves), and to the Gentiles. It was a testimony in the best sense to Sergius Paulus, Acts xiii. 7, but against Felix, Acts xxiv. 25; and this double power ever belongs to the word of God as preached-it is a "two-edged sword" Rev. i. 16; ii. 12).

19. take

not anxious (or distracting) thought] A spiritual prohibition, answering to the literal one in vv. 9, 10. See Exodus iv. 12. 20. For it is not ye. •] This shews the reference of the command to a future mission of the Apostles, see John xv. 26, 27. (1) It is to be observed that our Lord never in speaking to His disciples says our Father, but either my Father (ch. xviii. 10), or your Father (as here), or both conjoined (John xx. 17); never leaving it to be inferred that God is in the same sense His Father and our Father. (2) It is also to be observed that in the great work of God in the world, human individuality sinks down and va

21.]

nishes, and God alone, His Christ, His Spirit, is the worker. Spoken perhaps of official information given against Christians, as there are no female relations mentioned. But the general idea is also included. 22. all

men] i. e. all else but yourselves; not, as sometimes interpreted, a strong expression, intended to signify many, or the majority of mankind. but he that

endureth] In order to understand these words it is necessary to enter into the character of our Lord's prophecies respecting His coming, as having an immediate literal, and a distant foreshadowed fulfilment. Throughout this discourse and the great prophecy in ch. xxiv., we find the first apostolic period used as a type of the whole ages of the Church; and the vengeance on Jerusalem, which historically put an end to the old dispensation, and was in its place with reference to that order of things, the coming of the Son of Man, as a type of the final coming of the Lord. These two subjects accompany and interpenetrate one another in a manner wholly inexplicable to those who are unaccustomed to the wide import of Scripture prophecy, which speaks very generally not so much of events themselves, points of time,-as of processions of events, all ranging under one great description. Thus in the present case there is certainly direct reference to the destruction of Jerusalem; the end directly spoken of is that event, and the shall be saved the preservation provided by the warning afterwards given in ch. xxiv. 15-18. And the next verse directly refers to the journeys of the Apostles over the actual cities of Israel, territorial, or where Jews were located. But as certainly do all these expressions look onwards to the great final coming of the Lord, the end of all pro phecy; as certainly the shall be saved

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