of his horror-that it did not spring from compunction of heart--that it was legal and not evangelical, &c. &c., is saying what none can with propriety say, but God himself, who searches the heart. What renders his case most desperate, are the words of our Lord, Matt. xxvi. 24, Woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born! I have considered this saying in a general point of view, in my note on Matt. xxvi. 24, and were it not a proverbial form of speech, among the Jews, to express the state of any flagrant transgressor, I should be led to apply it, in all its literal import, to the case of Judas, as I have done in the above note to the case of any damned soul; but when I find it was a proverbial saying, and that it has been used in many cases where the fixing of the irreversible doom of a sinner is not implied, it may be capable of a more favorable interpretation than what is generally given to it.' After quoting several passages from the Jewish writers, to show the manner in which they were accustomed to use this phrase, Dr. Clarke continues : 'These examples sufficiently prove that this was a common proverb, and is used with a great variety and latitude of meaning, and seems intended to show, that the case of such persons was not only very deplorable, but extremely dangerous; but does not imply the positive impossibility either of their repentance or salvation. The utmost that can be said for the case of Judas, is this: he committed a heinous act of sin and ingratitude, but he repented and did what he could to undo his wicked act; he had committed the sin unto death, i. e., a sir that involves the death of the body; but who can say, (if mercy was offered to Christ's murderers, and the gospel was first to be preached at Jerusalem, that these very murderers might have the first offer of salvation through him whom they had pierced,) that the same mercy could not be extended to wretched Judas? I contend that the chief priests, &c., who instigated Judas to deliver up his Master, and who crucified him, and who crucified him too as a malefactor, having at the same time the most indubitable evidence of his innocence, were worse men than Judas Iscariot himself; and that if mercy was extended to those, the wretched, penitent traitor did not die out of the reach of the yearning of its bowels. And I contend farther, that there is no positive evidence of the final damnation of Judas, in the sacred text.' Note in fin. Acts, chap. i. SECTION XLVI.* 'Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.' MARK viii. 38, and ix. 1. Some THE parallel places are Matt. x. 33, and Luke ix. 26, 27. See also Matt. xvi. 27, 28, which contains a phrase very similar to that which occurs here. have supposed this passage to imply the endless misery of those whom Jesus should deny in the manner here indicated. But there is good and sufficient orthodox authority for understanding the text to relate to temporal affairs, indicating a distinction which should be made between faithful and unfaithful disciples, at a period not long after the words were spoken. LIGHTFOOT. • The kingdom of God coming in power. In Matthew it is the Son of man coming in his kingdom. The coming of Christ in his vengeance and power, to destroy the unbelieving and most wicked nation of the Jews, is expressed in these forms of speech. Hence this is the sense of the present place: our Saviour had said, in the last verse of the former chapter, "Whosoever *For remarks on Mark iii. 29, see Matt. x. 15, and xi. 22-24. xvi. 25, 26. see notes on Matt. xii. 32. Mark vi. 11, shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with his holy angels, to take punishment of that adulterous and sinful generation." And he suggests, with good reason, that his coming in glory should be in the life-time of some that stood there.' Heb. and Talm. Exerc. in Mark ix. 1. 2. HAMMOND. On this passage Dr. Hammond merely refers to his note on Matt. xvi. 26, 27, in which I understand him to apply Christ's coming in his glory to the period when he came to execute punishment on the unbelieving Jews, destroying them by the hand of the Romans. On the parallel place, he says: 'Of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes so illustriously to punish his crucifiers (or, at the last, judge the world). See note on Matt. xvi, 28, which is not now so far off, but that some here present shall live to see it.' Par. in Luke ix. 26, 27. 6 3. PEARCE. That Bishop Pearce understood this passage to relate to events then near at hand, is very certain from his note on ver. 35, of this chapter, in which he refers to the place under consideration: That this was meant of what was to come to pass in the destruction of the Jewish state, see ver. 38, of this chapter, together with chap. ix. 1.' Com. in ver. 35. 4. WYNNE. 6 Kingdom of God come with power: i. e., till the Messiah comes to visit the Jewish nation in a powerful and most astonishing manner, by the destruction of their city and polity, and to propagate his gospel in a divinely efficacious manner.' Note in loc. 5. GILPIN. Those only are my faithful disciples, who, amidst the reproaches and ill usage of the world, dare confess me, and maintain their profession.' Expos. in Matt. x. 33. 6. BEAUSOBRE AND LENFANT. These writers say that by his glory, (ver. 26,) Jesus intended his resurrection, and ascension, and the judgments he would execute on the Jewish nation;' and that the kingdom of God (ver. 27,) signifies here, the preaching of the gospel through the whole world, and the ruin of Jerusalem, which St. John lived to witness.' Note in Luke ix. 26, 27. 7. CALMET.* Calmet joins chap. ix. 1, to viii. 38, making 39 verses in chap. viii. He remarks, that the printed Greek copies have removed this 39th verse to the beginning of the next chapter; but the connexion of the discourse requires that it be left in this place. It very conveniently unites with the preceding remarks: and its explication is to be sought from Matt. chap. xvi. 28.' Com. in loc. In the place to which he refers, Calmet says that most of the ancient critics supposed this coming of Christ to relate to his transfiguration; but some of them applied it to his resurrection, others to the preaching of the gospel, and others, again, to the last day. He then states another interpretation, which he himself seems to approve, as follows: Most of the recent critics apply this coming of the Son of God to the period when Jerusalem was completely overturned and destroyed by the Romans. Then Jesus Christ came in majesty with his Father, to execute punishment on the rebellious, unbelieving Jews. Then the Lord came with his angels,' &c. Yet, like many other writers, Calmet imagines that Jesus mentioned, in connection with his prediction of these calamities, some things which may also belong to the last judgment. *When the preface, containing a list of authors quoted, was printed, I had not examined Calmet. Having since possessed myself of a copy of his commentary, I have made a few selections. As this is the first, I shall here give the title-page, &c., of his work. 'A. R. P. D. AUGUSTINI CALMET, ordinis S. Benedicti, Congregationis S. S. Vitomni et Hidulphi, Commentarium literale in omnes ac singulos tum Veteris cum Novi Testamenti libros, e Gallico in Latinum sermonem translatum.' 8 vols. folio. Augsburg, 1734, 1735. 'It has a vast apparatus of prefaces and dissertations, in which immense learning, good sense, sound judgment, and deep piety are invariably displayed. This is without exception the best comment on the sacred writings ever published, either by Catholics or Protestants.' Dr. A. Clarke. Walchius (Bibl. Theol. vol. iv. p. 433,) has pronounced an equally strong, but well-deserved eulogium on this valuable work, to which we have been largely indebted in the course of these volumes.' Horne, Intro. ii. 750. SECTION XLVII.* 'And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned.'-MARK xvi. 15, 16. HERE we have a passage, which many feel absolutely certain must relate to endless misery. But, however confident they may feel, some of their own standard writers have given it a different interpretation, explaining it with reference to this world, and not to the next:— 1. CAMPBELL. This is not a just version of the Greek word. The term damned, with us, relates solely to the doom which shall be pronounced upon the wicked at the last day. This cannot be affirmed with truth of the Greek katakrino, which corresponds exactly to the English word condemn.' Note in loc. 2. HORNE. The sanctions with which our Lord enforces the precept of faith in him, though generally applied to a future judgment, do not appear to have any relation to it; but only to the admission of christian converts into the christian church, after Christ's ascension, upon the same terms as he admitted them himself. Jesus here, upon leaving the world, gives his apostles the same power which he himself had exercised, and orders them to use it in the same manner: He that believeth not shall be condemned, or accountable for his sins.' 'These texts have no relation to their condemnation or acquittal at the day of judgment; at which time every man will be judged according to his works, and according to what he has received.' Horne's Intro. vol. i. p. 446. 3. CAPPE. 'The truth is, that the salvation here spoken of is not the salvation of a future life, the final recompense of virtue, but exemption and preservation *For remarks on Mark ix. 43-48, see notes on Matt. v. 22, 28, 29, and xviii 8,9. Mark ix. 49, 50, see Matt. v. 13. Mark x. 15, see Matt. xviii. 3. Mark x. 24, 25, see Matt. xix. 23, 24. Mark xii. 1-11, see Matt. xxi. 33 44. Mark xii. 40, see Matt. xxiii. 14. Mark xiii. 13, see Matt. x. 22, and xxiv. 13. Mark xiv. 21, see Matt. xxvi. 24. |