Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Description oj ihe Last Judgment. MATTHEW XXVI. The Sentence of the AecuTsed. this their lilessedness is given by the apostle, in words represented?' Nay, rather, is it conceivable that they should tioi be astonislied, and almost doubt their own ears, to hear such an account of their own actions upon earth from the lips of the Judge? And remember, that Judge has come in His glory, and now sits upon the throne of His glory, and all the holy angels are with Him; and that it is from those glorified Lips that the words come foi-tli, ' Ye did all this unto Me.' Oh can we imagine such a word addressed to ourselves, and then fancy ourselves replying, 'Of course we did—To whom else did we anything? It must be others than we that are addressed, who never knew, in all their good deeds, M'hat they were about?' Rather, can we imagine ourselves not overpowered with astonishment, and scarcely able to credit the testimony borne to us by the King? 41. Then sliall he say also nnto tltcm on the left hand, Depart from me, yecnrsed, &c.—'As for you on the left hand, ye did nothing for Me. I came to you also, but ye knew Me not: ye had neither warm alfections nor kind deeds to bestow upon Me : I was as one despised in your eyes.' 'In mir eyes. Lord? We never saw Thee before, and never, sure, behaved we so to Thee.' ' But thus ye treated these little ones that believe in Me and now stand on My right hand. In the disguise of these poor members of Mine I came soliciting your pity, but ye shut up your bowels of compassion from Me: I asked relief, but ye had none to give Me. Take back therefore your own coldness, your own contemptuous distance: Ye bid Me away from your presence, and now I bid you from Muie—Depail from Me, ye cursed.'' 46. And these shall go away these "cursed" ones. Sentence, it should seem, was first pronounced—in the hearing of tlie wicked—upon the rightwliii li ^s^'cm but an e:rfpression of these: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; aecordiug as lie hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without l)lanie liefore Hmi in love." They were cliosen from everlasting to the possession and enjoyment of all spiritual blessings in Christ, and so chosen in order to be lioly and blameless in love. This is the holy love whose practical manifestations the King is about to recount in detail; and thus we see that their whole life of love to Christ is the fruit of an eternal purpose of love to them in Christ. 35. For 1 was an Hmigeretl . . . thirsty . . . a stranger. . . 3G. KaJsed . . . sick . . . prison, and ye came nnto me. 37-39. Tlien sliall tlie rigl»teons answer liim, &c. 40. And tile King sliall answer and say nnto them, Verily I say nnto yo\i, Ac.—Astonishing dialogue this between the King, from the Throne of His glory, and His wondering people ! " I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat," &c.—'Not we,' they reply. 'We never did that, Lord ; We were born out of due time, and enjoyed not the privilege of ministering unto Thee.' 'But ye did it to these My brethren, now beside you, when cast upon your love.' ' Truth, Lord, but was that doing it to Thee ? Thy name was indeed dear to us, and we thought it an honour too great to suffer shame for it. When among the destitute and distressed we discerned anj' of the household of faith, we will not deny that our hearts leapt within ns at the discovery, and when their knock came to our dwelling, " our bowels were moved," as though " our Beloved
Himself had put in His hand by the hole of the door." Sweet was the fellowship we had with them, as if we had "entertained angels unawares;" all difference between giver and receiver somehow melted away under the beams of that love of Thine wliich knit us together ; nay, rather, as they left us with gratitude for our poor givings, we seemed the debtors—not they. But, Lord, were we all that time in company with Thee?' 'Yes, that scene was eous, who thereupon sit as assessors in the judgment npou the wicked (1 Corinthians 6. 2); but sentence is first executed, it should seem, upon the wicked, in the sight of the righteous—whose glory will thus not be beheld by the wicked, while their descent into "their own place" will be witnessed by the righteous, as Bengei, notes, into everlasting punishment— or, as in v. il, "everlasting all with Me,' replies the King—' Me in the disguise of My poor ones. The door shut against Me by others was opened by you — " Ye took Me in.'' Apprehended and imprisoned by the enemies of the truth, ye whom the truth had made free sought Me out diligently and found Me; visithig Me in My lonely cell at the risk of your own lives, and clieering My solitude ; ye gave Me a coat, for I shivered ; and then I felt warm. With cups of cold water ye moistened My parched Hps; when famished with hunger ye supplied Me with crusts, and my spirit revived — "Ye did it unto Me."' What thoughts crowd upon us as we listen to such a description of the scenes of the Liist Judgment! And In the light of this view of the heavenly dialogue, how bald and wretched, not to say unscriptural. Is that view of It to which we referred at the outset, which makes it a dialogue between Christ and heathens who never heard of His name, and of course never felt any stirrings of His love in their hearts! To us it seems a poor, superficial objection to the C7iri.s/(nra view of this scene, that Christians could never be supposed to ask such questions as the "blessed of Christ's Fatlier" are made to ask here. If there were anj' difficulty in explaining this, the difllfire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Cf. ch. 13. 42; 2 Thessalonians 1. 9, &c. This is said to be "prepareil for the devil and his angels," because they were "first in transgression." But both have one doom, because one unholy (Character, hut the righteous into life eternal 'life everlasting.' The word in both clauses, being in the original the same, should have been the same in the translation also. Thus tlie decisions of this awful day will be final, irreversible, unending.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Ver. 1-16. Christ's Finai. Announcement of His Death, as now within Two Days, and the Simult.\- NEOus Conspiracy of the Jewish Authorities to Compass it — The Anointing at Beth.\ny —Judas Agrees with the Chief Priests to Betray his Lord.
( — Mark U. 1-11 ; Luke 22. 1-6; John 12. 1-11.) For the exposition, see on Mark It. 1-11.
17-30. Preparation for and Last Celehration of the Passover, Announcement of the Traitor, and Institution of the Supper. ( — Mark It. 12-2U; Luke
John 13. 1-3, 10, 11, 18-30.) For the exposition, se« on Luke 22. 7-23. ctilty of the other view is such as to make it, at least, in- 31-35. The Desertion of Jesus by His Discipi-es, AND the Fali, of Peter Foretold. ( — Mark 14. 27-;Jl; Luke 2'2. 'ilSS; John 13. 30-38.) For the exposition, see oi\ Luke 22. ,31-38.
8iilferal)le. Hut there is no real difficulty. The surprl.se expressed is not at their being told that they acted from love to Christ, but that Chrixt Himself was the Personal
Otijeel of all tlH'ir deeds: that they found Ilim hungry, and sujiplied Him with food : that they brought water to //(m,and slaked His thirst; that seeing J/im naked and shivering, they put warm clothing upon Hlin, paid JTim
8(M6. The Agony in the Garden. (=Mark 14. 32-12; Luke 22. :?9-46.) For tlie exposition, see on Lnke '^l. 3!M(i.
47-5(1. Betrayal. AND Apprehension of Jesus—Fi,igiit or His Disciples. ( — Mark H. 43-52 ; Luke '22. 47-61 ; John v isits when l.ving In prison for the truth, and sat by bedside when laid down with sickness. This, this is the astonisliing interpretation which Jesus says " the King" will giv('to them of their own actions here Vielow. And IS. l-)'2.) For the exposition, see on Jolin 18. 1-12.
67-75. Jesus Arraigned before the Sanhedrim, Condemned to Die, and Shamefui.ly Entreated— The Fall of Peter. ( — Mark 14. 5'!-72; Luke '22.51-71; John 18. 13-18, 24-'27.) For the exposition, see ou Mark 11 will any Christian reply, ' How could this astonish them? Does not (-very Christian know that Ho does these verv t)iius;K, when He does them at all, Just as iney are hero 60
53-72,