CHAPTER 1
CHRISTS SACRIFICE
For He was the Lamh that takes away sin. according to John the Bai)tist, when he said :
" Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world,"' and He Jolm i. 29. was the Lamb led to the slaughter in the oracle of Isaiah, which said :
'' He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearers is dumb."'
And of Him as isa. liii.
7. of a lamb was it said : "For the sins of my people he was (d) led to death."
For it was necessary that the Lamb of Isa. liii. 8.
God, taken by the great High-Priest on behalf of the other kindred lambs, for all the flock of mankind, should be oflcred as a sacrifice to God :
" For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead," i Cor. xv. says the apostle ; "and as by the offence of one, judgment 21 ; Kom. came upon all men to condemnation : even so by the ^' righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.'
Hence, also. He taught His disciples (463) that He was life and light and truth, and the other conceptions of Ilis 1 )ivinity, whereas to them that were not initiated into the secrets of His nature. He said
" Why do John vlil. ye seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth ? " 40.
As then in what has gone before I have dealt with what specially concerns His Divinity,^ so now in like manner I will shew the human sufferings of the Lamb of God, since what occurred before His Passion lies between the two, partaking both of the nature of His Divinity and His Humanity.
With this necessary proviso, let us now con-(l') sider the oracles which concern the traitor Judas, and his fellow-conspirators against Christ, and the events at the time of His Passion.
CHAPTER
From Psalm xl.
OfJudas {he Traitor, and His Fdloiv-Conspirators against Christ.
[Passage quoted, Ps. xl.
1-12.] (^g^j As it has been supposed by some that the Book of Psalms merely consists of hymns to God and sacred songs, and
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X. that we shall look in vain in it for predictions and prophecies of the future, let us realize distinctly that it contains many prophecies, far too many to be quoted now, and it must suffice for proof of what I say to make use of (1>) two Psalms ascribed to Asaph, written in the time of David.
I Chron.
For Asaph was one of the Temple Musicians ^ then, as ^''^- 4is stated in the Book of Chronicles, and was inspired by the Divine Spirit to speak the Psalms inscribed with his name.
And what do these Psalms include?
Predictions of the siege of Jerusalem, the royal city of the Jewish race, which took place nearly five hundred years after the prediction.
For we read in the 73rd Psalm, inscribed "A Psalm of understanding for Asaph "
^ '• Wherefore hast thou rejected us, O God, for ever?
| Wherefore is thy wrath kindled against the ^^' sheejj of thy pasture?
| 2. Remember thy congrega- | and hast ransomed as the rod of thy inheritance ; | this Mount Zion wherein thou hast dwelt. tion, which thou hast possessed of old, | 3.
Lift up thine hands against their pride unto the end :
[ what things hath the enemy done evilly in thy sanctuaries, | 4. and they that hate thee have boasted in the midst of thy Feast :
| 5they have set up their banners for signs, ^ ignorantly as it were in the entrance above.
| They cut down its doors at once ^ with axes as in | they have broken it down with /|\ a wood of trees, hatchet and stone-cutter.
| 7. They have burnt thy sanctuary to the ground with fire, | and have props.
Ixxiii. faned even with the ground the dwelling-place of thy '"^name."
This is in Psalm Ixxiii.
; and Psalm Ixxviii. of Asaph contains this :
•' O God, the Gentiles have entered into thine inheritance, and defiled thy holy temple ; they have made Jerusalem a store-house of fruits, they have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be moat for the birds Vs. Ixxviii. of the air, the flesh of thy saints to the beasts of the '• 2fields."
' rwv Upoyf/a\Tu.'t:
(Tuvffffu-i T(ji 'Acraip.
^ S. omits tBfvro Tck cfinxua avruv ffrinua, koI ovk tyvuiTai'.
* S. jnils M TO ai/rS with llie followini; clause.
Ch.
rROPHECIES FULFILLED
The first of these passages, I mean the one from Psahn Ixxiii., was spoken in David's reign before the building of (465) Solomon's Temple, and it was only fulfilled the first time by the siege by the Babylonians, and the second time in the Roman war against the Jews.
For what was predicted and proclain)eil in the said Psalms by Asaph was brought to pass in the destruction of the first and second Temples.
And the second passage, from Psalm Ixxviii., was fulfilled in the time of Antiochus. called Epiphanes, who being King of Syria entered Jerusalem, polluted the Temple, destroyed
(l>) the Altar, and in his endeavour to compel the Jews to hellenize, slew countless men and women who were martyrs for their law and their father's religion, and he inflicted all sorts of punishments on them.
It was therefore to that time, and to Antiochus' successors who emulated his deeds, that Asaph's prophecies in Psalm Ixxviii. refer.
And the Book of those called Maccabees confirms what I say, which has this passage "And to Jakeimon and Bacchides there came a (c) deputation of scribes asking lor justice."
And it proceeds to say :
" And he sware to them saying, ^Ve will not bring evil on yourselves and your friends.
And they believed him.
And he took of them sixty men and slew them in one day, according to the word of Asaph, which he wrote, They gave the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for the birds of the air, and the flesh of thy saints to the beasts of the land, their (,i) blood have they poured out like water on every side of i Mace.
Jerusalem, and there was no man to bury them."
^""- '^• If these events were thus predicted and fulfilled, it is not surprising that in the same way the oracle quoted from Psalm xl. should announce what would happen in connection with the plot on our Saviour, though not all men should understand, that He being the U'ord of God, Wisdom, Life, and the True Light, and possessing all the wealth of the good, for our sakes became poor, taking our flesh, and being made like in kind to mortal man and beggars,^ taking on Him the form of a slave and a poor man, and most of all when He fulfilled the Psalmist's prophecy.
He that understands these sayings to reft-r to
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X.
Himself, naturally is blessed at the beginning of the Psalm, as receiving the written promise.
(466) So it proceeds in the rest to speak in the person of a poor man and a beggar, that is to say of our Saviour Who for our sakes became poor: "I said, Lord, have mercy on me."
And John, the Evangelist, is an independent witness that the words of this Psalm are spoken in the Person of our Saviour.
For he records, that "Jesus once took a towel and girded himself, and washed the feet of his disciples and said,
I know whom I have chosen.
But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, John xiii.
He that eateth with me, the same hath lifted his heel 4-18. against me."^ For He made it clear there that the Scripture referred (1)) to was the Psalm before us, in which it is said : "For the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, he that ate of my bread hath raised his heel against me."
He it is, then, Who says at the beginning :
" I said. Lord, have pity on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee," and speaks through the whole Psalm.
Symmachus gives a clearer rendering of these words, as follows :
" When I said, O Lord, have pity on me, heal my soul, even if I have sinned against thee, my enemies have spoken evil against me, when shall he die and (<^) his name perish ?
And when he comes to gaze on me his heart speaks vanity, it gathers unrighteousness on itself: and when he goes out he tells it.
All they that hate me have whispered against me with one consent, conceiving evil concerning me.
An unrighteous word is poured out within them, and when he fall may he never rise up.
Yea, even the man who was at peace with me, in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, has magnified himself against me accordingly.
J3ut thou, O Lord, pity me, and raise W me, that I may reward them.
By this
shall know that thou wishcst it, if my enemy does not revile me. riiou hast defended me because of my innocence, and sliall set me before thee for ever."
1'".. summarizes John xiii. 4-17(^.11. koX Kafiuy K^vrioy 8i»i*»<rei» iauT6i>.
E, TTtpifCwaaro) to verse iS, wlure lie adlicres to the icxl, cxwpl oiis for Tivas, and ^tr' i/iiov for /uo?.
Ch.
THE ATONEMENT
And Aiiuila is in exact agreement ^ with Symmachus.
With regard first to the words which are apparently said in the Person of our Saviour : " Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee," you will notice in Symmachus they are not so rendered, but thus:
"Heal my soul, even if I have sinned against thee."
And He speaks thus, since He shares our sins.
So it is said :
" And the Lord hath laid on him our iniquities, and he bears our sins."
Thus the Lamb of God, that takcth away the sins of the world, (467) became a curse on our behalf:
" U'hom, though he knew no sin, God made sin for our sake, giving him as redemption for all, that we ^ q^^ ^ might become the righteousness of God in him."
21.
But since being in the likeness of sinful flesh He condemned sin in the flesh, the words quoted are rightly used.
And in that He made our sins His own ^ from His love and benevolence towards us. He says these words, adding further on in the same Psalm: "Thou hast pro- (1>) tccted me because of my innocence," clearly shewing the impeccability of the Lamb of God.
And how can He make our sins His own, and be said to bear our iniquities, except by our being regarded as His body, according to the apostle, who says :
" Now ye are the body of Christ, i Cor. xii. and severally members?"
And by the rule that "if one 27member suffer all the members suffer with it," so when the many members suffer and sin. He too by the laws of(c) sympatliy (since the Word of God was pleased to take the form of a slave and to be knit into the common tabernacle of us all) takes into Himself the labours of ^he suffering members, and makes our sicknesses His, and suffers all our woes and labours by the laws of love.
And the I^mb of God not only did this, but was chastised on our behalf, (d) and suff"ered a penalty He did not owe, but which we owed becau.se of the multitude of our sins ; and so He became the cause of the forgiveness of our sins, because He received death for us, and transferred to Himself the scourging, the insults, and the dishonour, which were due to us, and drew down on Himself the apportioned curse, being made a curse for us.
And what is that but the price of our * IffO^uvant't.
Cf.
I'olyt). 2. 56.
2, i^oiKfioiifjifyos Toi rinfTfpas afiapTias—as in I'.L. 2 c, 37 c, etc.
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X. souls ?^ And so the oracle says in our person:
"By his stripes we were healed," and " The Lord delivered him for our sins," with the result that uniting Himself to us and us to Himself, and appro{)riating our sufferings, He can say, " I said, Lord, liave mercy on me, heal my soul, {468) for I have sinned against thee," and can cry that they who plot against Him, not men only but invisible demons as well, when they see the surpassing power of His Holy Name and title, by means of which He fdled the world full of Christians a little after, think that they will be able to extinguish it, if they plot His death.
This is what is proved by His saying: "My enemies have spoken evil of me, saying, When shall he die and his name perish ?
And since they attacked Him with the words of guile, attempting to entangle '^ Him, as Holy W'rit bears witness, (Ij) telling us how different charges and accusations were engineered against Him at different times, He therefore adds : "And if he come to see me, his heart speaks vanity, he heaps unrighteousness on himself; he has gone out, and spoken the same against me."
After this, too. He clearly reveals the vile traitor himself, who, after making a covenant with the rulers of the Jews to betray his master, no more (c) went as he used to the school of His holy tcacliing, nor went as to His teacher, nor like the others passed His time with the Saviour, but awaited and hunted for an opportunity to lay hands on Him.
For thi_s is what he is accused of doing by the Holy Evangelists, of whom Matthew says "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them. What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?
And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Mau. xxvi.
And from that time he sought an opportunity to betray '4him to them."
(tl) And ALark says :
"And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.
And when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give him Mark xiv. money : and he sought how he might conveniently '°betray him."
* o I'Ti'i/^ux Of nayiSfViTojatv.
Ch.
JUDAS ISCARIOT
And J.uke writes thus :
"And Satan entered into Judas that was called Iscariut, being of the number of the twelve, and he departed and spake with the chief priests and scribes, and the captains ^ of the Temple, that he might betray iiim unto them, and they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.'And he sought opportunity to betray Luke xxii. him unto them apart from the multitude."'
So the prophecy before us prophesies the same things, when it says " And if he came to see me his heart spake vanity, he gathered iniquity on himself.
He went out, and spake the same.
Against me all my enemies whispered " where Symmachus renders:
" Coming in to spy on me, his heart sfxike vanity, he heaped unrighteousness upon it : and when he went out he spake against me.
All they that hate me (469) whispered with one voice against me."
Ves, for he alone went into his master as a friend and a disciple, to spy and search out, while he hid his plot in his own heart.
And when he went out, he spake against Him ('') at once with many of the same mind, betraying the Saviour to His enemies, and secretly made a pact with the rulers of the Jews, about other things, but of course about money as well, for which he promised to betray Him, and about which he whispered with them.
^Vherefore it says :
"He went out and spake at once.
All my enemies whispered against me, against me they imagined evils.
They determined an evil plan against me."
Perhaps the covenant for the money is meant by the "unjust word ' of the prophecy, or perhaps the impious (c) and unjust intentions they had against Him, supposing that He would be extinguished and destroyed after death, and would no longer be reckoned among the living.
For such is the meaning of: "When he sleepeth he shall surely never rise up again," which Symmachus has expressed more clearly :
" And falling he will not arise "
; where Aquila says: "And whosoever sleep, he shall not rise again."
So * W.II. have (TTpuTijyots to wis avrns irapaSif— for arpar. rov Upov Iva avrhv irapaBif.
* W.II. add Kal (^oi<fio\6yr)a-ty.
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X. far it has spoken generally about all those wlio conspired ((1) against Him at the time of His Passion ; but it goes on now to speak of the traitor particularly, as of one of His disciples :
" For the man of my peace also, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."
Instead of which Symmachus again renders :
" And a man, who was at peace with me, in whom I had confidence, who ate of my bread with me, hath magnified himself against me."
For of a truth it is the lowest and most accursed ^ of men who after sharing a master's table, and the nurture of his instruction, goes wrong and treats his benefactor in the opposite way to which he has been treated himself.
.Vnd since the enemies in their plotting said:
" \\'hen shall he die, and his name perish?" and thought that if he lay down he would never rise up again, therefore (470) our Lord and Saviour praying for the reverse of this, and assured of an unhindered resurrection by His Father, says
"Lord, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, and I will reward them.
In this I know that thou hast favoured me, because my enemy shall not triumph over me."
And it is quite clear how after His resurrection from the dead immediate judgment, that did not tarry, fell on the conspirators, so that death who was the enemy of His return to life was made ashamed, and they that mocked (1)) Him said, "O death, where is thy sting? O death, where is I Cor. XV. thy victory? "
And those who have read the history of the 55times after our Saviour's resurrection, in Josephus, will remember what troubles fell on the Jews and their rulers, involved in which they received the right reward for what they did to Him.
All this, then, that fell upon them was the fulfilment of the prophecy : but our Saviour's Resurrection from the dead proved to all that in Him the Father was well pleased, as He tells us when He says
(c) " Have mercy upon me, and raise me up, and I will reward them.
By this I know thou hast favoured me, because my enemy doth not triumph over me."
And notice how in pouring forth this prayer to His Cod and Father, with what confidence He witnesses boldly to
Ch.
THE 54TII rSAl.M
His own sinlessncss, although He had said before, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee."
But I have {'!) already shewn that the words, " 1 have sinned against thee," are not to be taken literally, and Symmachus interprets them more clearly when he says, "Heal my soul, even if I have sinned against thee," as could well be said of our sins, which our Lord and Saviour took upon Himself.
A\'hereas the words, " Thou hast protected me for my innocence," exhibit the absolute integrity of His nature, to which He traces in His teaching the stability and sureness of His life and His preservation after His Resurrection, when He adds, " Thou hast established me before thee forever": or, "And thou wilt establish me before thee for ever," according to Symmachus.
CHAPTER
From Psalm liv.
(47 Also of Judas, and of them thai with Iliin conspired against Christ, [Passages quoted, Ps. liv. 2-5, 10-14.] "2. Hear my prayer, O God, | and do not despise my supplication.
| 3.
Attend to me and hearken to me :
] I was grieved in my meditation, and troubled | 4. by the voice of the enemy, and by the aflliction of the sinner.
| For they brought initjuity against me, and ^^^ | 5. My heart was troubled within me, and the fear of death fell u])on me. in wrath reviled me.
] Fear and trembling came upon me, and darkness covered me."
And that which follows, to which he adds :
" 10.
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, | for | 11. Day and night it shall go round it upon its walls, I l\ave seen iniquity and strife in the city.
| and iniquity and sorrow 12. and unrighteousness are in the midst of it, I and usury and craft have not left its streets, (c) 13. For if an enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it :
| And if he that hated me had magnified himself against me, I would have hid myself from him
| 14. but it was even thou, O man like-minded, my
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X.
| who in companionship with me sweetened my food : guide, and my friend, | we walked in the house of God in unity."'
(d) The words :
" If an enemy had reproached me, I could have borne it, and if he that haled me had magnified himself against me, I would have hid myself from him : but it was even thou, O man like-minded, my guide and my friend, who in companionship with me sweetened my food," resemble—" For the man of my peace, in whom
I trusted, he that ate of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me," said of Judas in the previous prophecy.
As then there he was shewn to be a man of peace, when he was the Saviour's disciple and numbered among the apostles, so here he is called like-minded. His guide and His friend.
And as there it was said of him, " He that cateth with me hath lifted up his heel against me," so also here it is said to the same person, " Who in companionship with me sweetened my food."
Yea, for he was privileged to be one of them thnt partook of the secret companionship and spiritual food that (472) our Saviour gave His disciples.
For to the crowds and multitudes without He spoke in parables, but only to His disciples, of whom Judas was reckoned one, did He unfold all things.
So it is said, " He that ate my bread hath lifted up his heel against me," and, "who in companionship sweetened my bread."
This Aquila interprets more clearly, " W'e together (b) supped sweetly on mysteries," and Symmachus,
'' W'e joined together in sweet companionship."
And instead of, " Thou, O man like-minded, my guide and friend," S)mmachus renders, "Thou, O man of like disposition, my guide and my friend."
Now if he was privileged to stand so high among the friends of our Saviour, His words about him are natural, " If an enemy had reviled me, I would have borne it," and that which follows.
Then after this prophecy about Judas, He proceeds to foretell His own preservation and escape from death, in the words "I cried unto God, and ihe Lord saved mc.
At evening and morning and at noon I will tell and proclaim, and he shall liear my voice, and shall ransom my soul in peace.'
(c)Thus in prayer He speaks of the time before His death
Ch.
FEAR AND TREMBLING
during which Judas hatched his treachery against Him.
And it was then that our Lord and Saviour, as one who mourned for the destruction and ruin of His friend, and still more for the casting away of the whole Jewish race, as if ill sympathy with friends gone mad who were very dear to Him, calls all His union with them and instruction of them wasted, in that it has profited them nothing, saying " I was grieved with my wasted efforts, and I was moved by the voice of the enemy, and by the affliction of the sinner.
For they fell," He says, " into iniquity, and reviled me in anger."
This may either be referred to the Jewish rulers, who (d) attempted to catch Him with enmity and conspiracy, or it may have been spoken of the invisible powers that fought against Him from without, and inspired the plot that was carried through by men.
And this I think agrees with His words in the Oospels at the time of the Passion, when He says to His disciples:
" ^[y soul is exceeding sorrowful, NFait.xx even unto death : tarry ye here, and watch with me.''
And 3*'^again, " Now is my soul troubled."
The words of the John xii.
Psalm are similar to those, where it said :
" My heart is 27. moved within me. and the fear of death is fallen upon (473) me :
Fear and trembling have come u[)on me, and darkness hath covered me,"' in which He reveals the attacks of the opposing powers upon Him.
As then in the prophets a certain " spirit of adultery " is named, e.g. " They were deceived by a spirit of adultery" and "the spirit of Hos. iii.i error in the wilderness," so also the spirit of death would J"vi. i cause fear, just as the spirit of strength would be the source of power and divine bravery.
So we should call it "theC') spirit of fear and trembling," and, indeed, " the spirit of fear and confusion " as well, which usually comes on nearly all that die as martyrs for their religion, and much more would be laid on Him that underwent death for all. liut whether it was the spirit of fear and of death, or of fear and trembling, or any other like power that fell upon Him, at any rate it did not break Him down, for He, like a noble athlete, threw (c) far from Him the fear of death by His assurance of life, for He is the Life.
And so He drove far off the spirit of fear and trembling which attacked Him by the power of the spirit of bravery, might, and strength.
For according to Isaiah, "There rested on Him (together with the other
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X.
Isa. xi. 2. spirits), the spirit of counsel and strength."
So, too, He puts to flight the spirit of darkness by the power of His own John i. 5
; liglit.
For, "The light shineth in darkness, and the dark- ]'<. \xi. 12. ness comprehended it not."
You will find similar passages (d) in Psalm xxi., where again, in His person, it is said,. "Many oxen have come about me : fat bulls hemmed mc in.
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ramping and roaring lion."
And also, " Many dogs have encircled me, the, council of the wicked-doers has surrounded me."
And once more "Save my soul from the sword, and my only-begotten from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns."
Here He clearly calls the evil powers bulls and calves, lion?, dogs and unicorns, who hemmed Him in and surrounded
(474) Him at the time of His Passion, but were not able to do aught against Him.
And this follows, only if these parts of the Psalm refer to our Lord and Saviour : but if they do not refer to Him, but to some one else, you must yourself reduce the passage to harmony.^ And immediately after the prediction of the conspiracy against Him, He continues also about the mother-city of the Jews, Jerusalem, and say.s,
" I saw iniquity and strife in the city," and that which (1>) follows, the meaning of which there is no time now to expound.
CHAPTER :3
From Psalm cviii.
SHU of Judas, and of the Apostle elected in His Room, and of the Jewish A'a/ion.
[Passage quoted, Ps. cviii. i-S.] And the Apostle Peter is a sufticientwitness that this prophecy refers to the traitor Judas, when, after the Saviour's
Ascension, all the apostles being gathered together with many of the brethren, he stood up in the midst, and said
' iTTtirri'ifftti Ko) aiiTus ij Sr ffoaaXiirff era to Karh rot' TtJTror.
Ch.
;,.
DEATH OF JUDAS
" Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth of David concerning Juda'^, which was guide to tiiem that took Jesus.
For he was numbered with us, and had obtained |)art of this ministry.
Nt)w this man purchased a field with the reward of inicjuity ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
And it was known unto all the (475) dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch as that field is called in their proper^ tongue Aceldama, that is to say, Tiie field of blootl.
For it is written in the Book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein
: Acts i
and his bishopric let another take."
20.
Peter, then, in saying thus, suggested that another must be chosen in place of Judas, to fill up the deficient number of the twelve apostles, so that the prophecy might be fulfilled.
And when tiie lot had been cast, it fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the twelve apostles.
Since this was ('*) thus fulfilled, it follows that the person who speaks in this
Psalm can only be our Saviour, Who thought good to anticipate by the record of the Holy Spirit the very prayer that was sent up by Him to the Father at the time of His Passion, foretelling what would happen to Him in the future.
He says, then, "O God, pass not over my praise in silence," praying that the instruction delivered by Him to His disciples and the praise of the new Covenant might not be lost in silence, but might live to the end of time.
"Tiie (c) mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the crafty " would have special application to Judas, who went to the Chief Priests and said to them :
"U'hat will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?
And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him unto them."
And after making this covenant against Him, he was one of those that sat down with Him at the Feast of the Passover,when our Saviour—
''sat down with the twelve, and as they were eating, ('') said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one '
\V. II. omil i5i3.
* iv ToJ ToC TloLffX"^ iruuiroaiw.
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X.
Mati.xxvi. of you shall betray me.
And being very sorry they began ~^to say unto him, Lord, is it I?"
Among whom was Judas, who opened that mouth of his, full of deceit and irony, and answered, " Is it I, Rabbi ? " a crafty mouth indeed, with which he gave the signal to the Matt. xxvi. conspirators against our Saviour, saying, "Whomsoever I 48. shall kiss, that same is he." i\nd he fulfilled his words by acts, when he went to Jesus, and said to Him^ "Hail, Rabbi, and kissed him.''
And Jesus said to him, "Friend, wherefore art thou come.'*" and "Judas, betrayest thou the son (476) of man with a kiss ? "
So then in anticipation, he says by the Psalm :
"The mouth of the crafty is opened upon me.
They have spoken against me with crafty tongue, and have encircled me with words of hatred, and have fought against me without a cause."
Here He has in mind not only Judas, but the other conspirators against Him.
For the Gospel relates, that even while the Saviour was still speaking to His disciples Matt. xxvi.
"behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him 47a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief (1)) priests and elders of the people !
To whom the Lord said, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and Mati.xxvi. staves to take me?
I sat daily with you teaching in the 55Temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
But this is all come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."
And He says also in the Psalms:
"Instead of loving me, they spake evil of me, but I continued to pray.''
This, too, was fulfilled, when, as our Saviour prayed with the eleven apostles in the place called Gethsemane, and departed
(c) from them a little way, and knelt down to His Father, and prayed a second and a third time, Judas with the Rulers of the Jews matured his conspiracy, collecting and leading the multitude of them that were prepared to take Him with swords and staves.
And they did evil to Him instead of good, and gave Him hate in return for His love, when they were ill-disposed (d) towards the Saviour, and Benefactor and Teacher, Who had given them such healing and treatment by His words and teaching and all sorts of benefits.
In return lor which.
Ch. 3-
THE SIN OF HIS MOTHER
since they did evil to Him instead of good, and gave Him hatred for love, He rightly adds :
"Set a sinner over him, and let Satan stand at his right hand.
When he is judged let him go forth condemned, and let his prayer be turned into sin ; let his days be few, and another take his office.
And the holy apostle, applying this Scripture to the traitor, shewed clearly by anticipation what would be the end of these things.
Now you yourself can see, how a sinful ruler and head was given to the Jewish race, after their presumptuous deeds against the Saviour, and how they were forced to serve strangers and idolators instead of their ancient godly rulers.
Who would not be struck by the (477) fulfilment of the prediction ?
For the oracle says, " Let his days be few," and there is no doubt that the whole period after their j»lot against our Saviour was short, during which they appeared to abide, after which they underwent the siege and were utterly destroyed, and then another took office, namely the people founded by Christ.
And you will understand the rest of the Psalm in a similar (b) sense.
The words that follow, spoken as of certain children of Judas, " Let his children be orphans," and the like, may be referred primarily to Judas, and secondarily to all who like him betray the word of salvation.
And you may understand in a similar way, his wife, and the sins of his father, and of the Jewish Synagogue, which is called his mother.
For I think that this is meant by "let not the sin of his mother be done away."
P>ut just as in the preceding (c) prophecy, our Lord and Saviour was called a beggar and a poor man, as I have pointed out in expounding, " Blessed is the man that considereth the poor and needy," so in the present Psalm He is called by these names.
May such and such judgments fall on Judas, He says, and those who have like desires to his.
\\hat those judgments are He adds in these words :
" Because he remembered not to do mercy, and persecuted the poor and the beggar and the stricken in spirit even unto death.
He loved cursing and it shall come to him : he wished not blessing, and it shall be far off from him."
And a little lower down He again calls Himself a poor man (d) and a beggar, and says VOL.
11. o
2o6
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X.
" And thou, Lord most high, have mercy on me, for thy name's sake, for good is thy mercy.
Save me, for I am poor and a beggar."
And he adds after an interval " My knees were weak through fasting, and my flesh was changed for lack of oil, and I become a jest to them.
They saw me, and shaked their heads at me."
(478) And all this was fulfilled, when "The passers-by reviled Yjajt him, wagging their heads and saying, He saved others, xxvii. 40. himself he cannot save."
And since, even now, the Jews draw down the curse of their fathers upon themselves, and are wont with blasphemy and impious words to anathematize our Lord and Saviour and all that believe on Him, He goes on to say :
"They shall curse, but thou wilt bless.
May they that arise against me be ashamed, but thy servant shall rejoice.
Let them who speak evil of me be clothed with shame, and be clothed in confusion as with a cloak.
('>) V>ut I will confess the Lord with my mouth, and amid many will I praise him, for he stood by the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from the persecutors."
And it is quite clear, even now, to what evils they that invoke curses in their synagogues have grown accustomed, never at all being able to recover from those same times, while He offers to His Father in the midst of many nations the praise of His new Covenant, having the Father working with Him, Who sits at Llis own right hand.
"Wherefore,"
(c) He says, "in the midst of many will I praise him, for he stood at the right hand of the poor."
And He assures of His own preservation after death in the words :
" To save my soul from the persecutors."
For after He had said above, " He persecuted the poor man and the beggar and him that was stricken in heart even unto death," and had shewed forth His own death outlining the prophecy, He said figuratively, " For he stood at the right hand of the poor, to save his soul from the persecutors."
Ch. 4.
THE
PIECES OF SILVER
CHAPTER \ From Zechariah.
Slill of Judas, and of the Money in Return for which He betrayed the Lord, and of the casting away of the Jewish Race, both Rulers and Ruled.
[Passage quoted, Zecli. xi.
"j /'-i^.] (479) This was fulfilled when, according to Luke :
" Judas went away, and spoke with the chief priests (c) and scribes and captains of the Temple, that he might betray him unto them.
And they were glad, and Luke xxii. covenanted to give him money ; 4or, according to Mark when, " he went to the chief priests to betray him ; and they were glad and promised Mark xiv to give him money.'
In each case it is simply money 'othat is named.
But in Matthew the amount is recorded, and it agrees with the quotation from Zechariah.
I'or Matthew says "Then went one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, ('^) to the chief priests, and said to them. What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? and they weighed Matt.xxvi. unto him thirty staters."
14And this agrees with, "And they weighed my price thirty pieces of silver," spoken by the Lord in the prophecy.
And there is added to this, "And the Lord said to me.
Drop them into the furnace, and see if it is good metal, as I was tested by them."
For which Aquila renders :
"And the Lord said to me, Drop them into the furnace, cast them to the potter : very great is the price, at which I was valued by them."
And notice how the Lord Himself confesses that a sum of (4S0) thirty pieces of silver was given for Him.
The meaning of His words implies something like this :
I the Lord from the very first day ceased not to give to you Jews proofs of My kindness, and in countless ways I did you good, not only through the earliest prophets, but also by My jjresencc in moral teaching and spiritual education, in signs and wonders, and father miracles, and in cures and attentions : now you (L) that were privileged to receive such benefits, give My price or refuse it, demanding of them, it would seem, the fruits of holiness, and the proof of their faith in Him.
But they, as
2o8
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X. the preceding quotation tells, instead of loving Me spoke evil of Me, and laid evil on Me instead of good, and hatred instead of My love, weighing out thirty pieces of silver, as if they valued at that price Him that was sold.
But since the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. He I Cor. iii. rightly bids them cast it into the furnace, adding, " As I '3was tested by them."
Perhaps the House of God is here (c) called a Furnace.
For the Lord says, according to the Septuagint, "Cast them into the Furnace," and adds, " And they cast them into the Furnace, the House of God "
; while according to Aquila the Lord says, " Cast it, that is the money, to the potter," and adds, " And I cast it in the House of the Lord to the potter."
According to Symmachus, the Lord says, " Cast it into the furnace,"
(tl) and adds, " I cast it into the House of the Lord, into the Furnace."
And was not this fulfilled when Judas " 3. that betrayed the Lord, seeing that he was condemned, repented and returned the money ^ to the chief
})riests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood?
4. And they said to him, ^^"hat is that to us? see thou to that.
5. And he cast down the money in the Temple and went and hanged himself.
6. And the chiif priests took the money and said, It is not lawful to put them in the treasury, for it is (4S1) the price of blood.
7. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potters' field to bury strangers in :
^\herefore that field is called the field of blood unto this day.
9. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom
Malt. they of the children of Israel did value, 10. and gave xxvii.
3. them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."
But as this passage is not found in the prophecy of Jeremiah, you must consider whether it is to be supposed that they have been removed through any evil intention, or whether there has been an error in copying,- through the * \V. II.: ra TpiaKoira a.f)yiipta.
" Kara nva ()aSiovpyiai' f) Ka\ (T(^a\/ua ypa<piKbv ytyovtvai.
The prophetic nfcrenco to Jeremiah is of course a mistake.
It shouKl l>e to Zechaiiah xi.
13.
15.
I'.iuce a'tribiitcs it to there being simil.nr texts in Jeremiah (<. ,;^ xviii.
2, 3. xxxii. 6-15) riiniiini; in the Kvangelisl's mind (/:>/. i\'.
/'. i. 323).
Ch. 4.
THE ROPE
mistake of some careless transcriber of the Holy Gospels, who wrote Jeremiah instead of Zechariah, where he ouglit to have copied, " Then was fulfilled that whicli was written by Zechariah tlie proi)het," and instead of, "And they cast tlieni into the house of the Lord, into the furnace," wrote in error,
" And they bought with them the field of the potter."
For the prophecy explicitly states that the money was cast into the Temple of the Lord, so does the Gospel
: for, " Judas," it (c) says, " cast the money into the Temple, and departed."
And perhaps it was through this money that tlie Temple was rendered profane, and the words, " Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," were fulfilled.
And you may well ask whether the House of God was called a Furnace, because it is there that the souls of men are fashioned as in a crucible by the fire of divine teaching, or convicted of impurity, as if they were fired and tried in a furnace.
Hence Aquila says, " I cast the money in the house of the (<l) Lord to the potter," clearly teaching that the Divine Word dwells like a pott'^r in the House of the Lord, and moulds and renews the souls of them that enter.
But if the price of Him that was valued, there cast down rendered the House profane, it is natural for Him to proceed to say, " And I cast the* second rod, the Rope, to break the covenant between Judah and Lsrael."
For from that day the multitude of the nation was cut away from God's ancient providential guardianship.
And I suppose the second rod to mean the whole Jewish nation.
It is therefore called a Rope in the words, "The one I called Beauty, and the other I called a Rope."
And he (482) proceeds to speak clearly of the second :
" And I cast away ihe second rod, the Rope, to break my covenant between Judah and Israel."
P'or they were the Rope and the second rod.
But the first rod, called Beauty, was Jerusalem itself, and the Mo.saic Worship, and the whole of the old covenant.
This is shewn by the prophecy, saying, " And I will take my rod of beauty, and I will cast it away, to break my covenant."
Vou see that it .says that the first rod was the (b) (Covenant, and the second rod the Rope, but He threatens to cast them both away, first saying, " And I will take for myself two rods, the one I called Beauty, and the other I ; or with Synmiachus, " The one I called (c) called a Rope " glory, and the other I called a Rope."
I*"or thus he rightly
2IO
THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL
Bk. X. styled the glory and buauty of the whole nation the divine Law, and the Covenant, which it included.
For the solemnities of Jerusalem, and the high-priestly ritual, and all the ancient observances of the divine Law and old Covenant, were a fair glory to them that lived under their order.
And the multitude of the nation is called a Rope by Moses, (d) when he says :
" The portion of the Lord is His people Jacob, and Israel is the Rope of His inheritance."'
But here it is prophesied that there will be a complete change of the two rods at the time named, so that the ancient
Covenant that was therein of old, and its ancient beauty being destroyed, and the Rope and the whole nation broken through, when they had valued for thirty pieces of silver Him that was valued, they should bear the lit dishonour for their impiety.
It therefore says, "And I will take my rod of Beauty, and cast it away, and break my covenant."
And also, "And I castaway the second rod, the Rope."
(4^3) And when the prophecy goes on to say, "And I will take away three shepherds in one month,"
I think that it refers to the three divisions of the ancient leaders of the people of God—the King, the Prophet, and the High-Priest— for by those three shepherds all the affairs of the ancients were managed.
But since those three ofifices were destroyed together in our Saviour's time—(for their king reigned not in accordance with the Law, being a foreigner and not a member of the Jewish race ; their high-priest was appointed to his office by the Romans, and did not attain his rank by the order of succession of the tribe, nor according to lawful
(b) custom ; and their prophets that had ceased until John arose were no longer active among them, but they had instead a wicked false prophet who led the people astray)
He rightly threatens that He will take away at one time the three offices of grace, ^ that had of old adorned the whole nation with wondrous glory, and says, "And I will take away three shepherds in one month, and my heart shall be sorrowful for them."
For which Aquila rentiers, "And my soul was torn asunder for them," Symmachus, "And my soul perished for them,"' and Theodotion, " And my soul (c) i)erished about them."
And he gives the reason of the perishing of his soul, saying, " For their souls were hardened
Ch. 4.
THE CANAANITES
21 r to me.'
Instead of this Aquila has, " For their soul was strong 1 in me "
; and Symmachus, " And their soul reached its height - in me."
And a similar expression to the words, " Their souls arc hardened to me," of the Septuagint, is found in Jeremiah as spoken by the Lord, namely
" I have left my home, I have forsaken my inheritance, I have given my beloved soul into the hand of its enemies.
My inheritance has become to me as a lion in a forest, it has opened on me its voice.
Is not my (d) beloved now to me as a hyaena's cave ? "
Jcr. xii And then He naturally goes on to say :
" I will not shepherd you, that which is dying may die, that which is failing may fail, and let the remnant eat each one the flesh of his neighbour."
And after this He says, " I will take my rod of beauty and cast it away."
For which Aquila renders :
" And I took my rod, the Glory, and cut it off," meaning the Mosaic ^^'orship.
Thus the first rod mentioned in the beginning of the passage is said to be the first to be broken and cast away.
But when the price of Him that was valued and the (4^4) money paid for Him to the traitor was cast into the House of the Lord as into a furnace, then we see what is prophesied will happen to the second rod, that is to say to the whole nation in the words, "And I cast away the second rod, the Rope, to break my covenant between Judah and Israel."
And as the oracle intended clearly their destruction by this, it naturally goes on to say that they shall no longer recogni/e the power of things prophesied, but the Canaanites will, when He says, "And the Canaanites shall know, my (b) sheep kept for me, because it is the Word of the Lord."
Who are meant by the Canaanites but ourselves, who once were foreigners, and sheep kept for Christ from all the old heathen and sinful nations ?
^Ve that have been converted by His grace, and understanding the things prophesied, have received the true knowledge of the word of the Lord , yea, we Canaanites know and understand what was meant
; but they that boasted of Israel, and gloried in being of the (c) seed of Abraham, neither knew ngr understood.
* iirip'iaTix'.
^K/xatrcc,