The Harmony Chronicle and Order of the New Testament, Part 1 · Section 28 – Section 33
SECTION XXVIII.
| MATTH. Chap. V, and VI, and VII. | LUKE Chap. VI. from Ver. 20, to the end of the Chapter. |
The Sermon in the Mount.
THe proof of the order doth not need to be insisted upon; Luke doth manifes…ly assert it. It had been foretold by the Prophet, All thy children shall be taught of God, Isa. 54.13. which if applied to the Gentiles, they had been taught by the Devill, his Oracles and Idols: If applied to the Jews, they indeed had been taught by the Lord in his Prophets, but these were but men like themselves, but this Prophecy foretells the preaching of Christ who was God himself, he teaching and conversing amongst them, he then the great teacher of the world, Isa. 2.2. and 51.4. doth from the mount Capernaum, deliver his Evangelicall Law, not for the abolishing of the Law and Prophets, but for their cleering and fulfilling.
He first beginneth with pronouncing blessings, as the most proper and comfortable tenour of the Gospel: and hereby he calls us to remember Gerizim and Ebal, Deut. 27. For though Israel be enjoyned there to pronounce both blessings and curses upon those mountains, yet are the curses only specified by name and number, for the curse came by the Law, but he that was to blesse was to come: which thing taketh place very comfortably and harmoniously here. Luke addeth that he also denounced woes; as, Blessed be the poor: Blessed are ye that hunger now, &c. But woe unto you that are rich: Woe unto you that are fu…, &c. according to which form the Jews conceive, the blessings and curses were pronounced by Israel from those two mountains mentioned, Talm. in Sotah. per. 7. & Tosapht. i…i. per. 8. How did Israel pronounce the blessings and the curses? Six Tribes went up to the …op of mount Gerizim, and six to the top of mount Ebal: the Priests, and the Levites, and the A…k stood below in the middest between; They turned their faces toward mount Gerizim, and began with blessing; Blessed is the man that maketh not any graven or molten Image an abomination to the Lord, &c. And both parties answered and said Amen. Then turned they their faces towards mount Ebal, and began with cursing; Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image an abomination to the Lord, &c. and both parties answered Amen: And so of the rest.
2. He proceedeth laying out the latitude of the Law, according to its full extent and intention, and sheweth the wretchednesse of their traditionall glosses, that had made the Law of no effect. They understood the Law, Thou shalt not kill, only of actuall murder, and that, committed by a mans own hand; for if he hired another to kill him, or turned a wilde beast upon him, which slew him, this they accounted not murder for which to be questioned by the Sanhedrin, though it deserved the judgement of God, Talm. in Sanhedr. per. 9. Maym. in Rets…a per. 2. but shews that the command extends to the prohibiting of causlesse anger, and that that deserves the judgement of God, that the uncharitable scornings of a brother, under their usuall word Raka, deserved the judgement of the Sanhedrin, and especially the calling him fool [in Solomons sense,] or censuring rashly his spirituall estate, deserved hell fire. They construed the command, Thou shalt not commit adultery, barely of the act of adultery, and that with another mans wife. Trip. targ. in marg. ad Exod. 20. but he tells, that it prohibits, lustfull thoughts and looks, and that looking upon a woman to lust after her, is adultery in heart. Rabban Simeon delighted to look upon fair women, that he might take occasion by the sight of their beauty, to blesse God. [A fair excuse.] Tal. Ierus. in Baracoth. fol. 12. col. 3.
The Law had permitted divorces, only in case of fornication, Deut. 24.1. but they had extended it to any cause, and to so loose an extent, that R. Ahibah said, A man may put away his wife, if he see another woman that pleaseth him better then she. Gittin par. 9. The Law had forbidden forswearing, or swearing falsly, thereupon they had made bold to take liberty of vain swearing at pleasure, so that, what they swore were not false; as see Tal. & Maym. in Shevnoth.
These cursed constructions of theirs by which they had made the Law of no effect, he divinely damneth, and stateth the proper and true intent of the Law in these cases.
3. He prescribeth Christian duties, and especially rules of piety, charity and sincerity, and condemneth the hypocriticall vainglory of the Pharisees about these things. They used when they gave almes in the Synagogue, to have it openly proclaimed and published what they gave, as if a Trumpet had been sounded for every one to take notice of their charity, Ierus. in Demai, fol. 23. col. 2. And they had an open proclaiming in the streets, for the calling of the poor to gather the corner of the field that they had left them, Id. Peah. per. 4, &c. They loved to be seen praying in the streets, especially in their Phylactery prayers morning and evening, besides other occasionall Oraisons, Id. Beracoth. per. 1, & 2. They used to pray those prayers often, and often other prayers, in the Synagogue, apart and distinct from the prayers or service that the Synagogue was then upon, and so their particular devotion was the more subject to be observed, Ib. fol. 8. col. 3, &c. They used on their fasting dayes to use such a carriage and demeanour in face and garb, that all might observe that it was fasting day with them, Piske. Tosaph. in Taanith. per. 1, &c. And in all their devotions and demeanour they hunted after the praise of men; which he condemneth, and urgeth for sincerity and care to approve the heart to God.
Throughout all this Sermon, this great oracle of divine truth, doth not only shew and hold out the sacred doctrines of faith, manners, duty and eternall life, but he evidenceth throughout, that he was throughly acquainted with all the learning, doctrines and traditions of those times. And to the explication of this divine Sermon, is required quick and ready versednesse in the Jews Records, for Christ hath an eyed and reference to their language, doctrines, customes, traditions an opinions almost in every line.
SECTION XXIX. LUKE Chap. VII. from the beginning to Ver. 11. MATTH. Chap. VIII. Ver. 1. and then Ver. 5, to Ver. 14. A Centurions servant healed.
LUKES transition, When he had ended all his sayings, doth prove the order. The four verses that speak about the Leper in Matthew, were taken up before, and their order spoken to then.
A proselyte Captain that had so far affected the Jews religion that he had built a Synagogue in Capernaum, having seen and heard the works and words of Christ, beleeveth him for the Messias, and beggeth of him the healing of his servant. Which that Christ could do, he concludeth from a comparison of the power of his own word and command among his souldiers: for since they were ready to come, and go, or run at his command, much more doth he conclude, was the word of Christ of power to command away the disease of his servant if he pleased. Christ had often in his sermon on the Mount, asserted the authority of his own word, against and above the words of their traditionaries, and equalized it with that word that gave the Law. And here is a very high and seasonable confession of the authority of that word, made by this Centurion, and an evidence of the power of it by the healing of his servant at distance. The mans faith is justly extolled though he were a Gentile, and the casting off the Jews is cleerly foretold, which Christ had not so plainly spoken out hitherto.
SECTION XXX. LUKE Chap. VII. Ver. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. The Widows Sonne of Naim raised.
AS Christ yesterday recovered a young man from the point of death, so doth he another to day from death it self. The words foreign ver. 11. do confirm the order. The day after. &c.
Ioseph. Antiq. lib. 20. cap. 5. speaks of the Village Nais, as being upon the edge of Samaria, in the way as the Galileans passed to Ierusalem. And it is not improbable that Christ was going thitherward at this time to one of the Festivals; most like to Pentecost.
As he comes to Naim he meets with a dead man carried out [foreign in Talmudish Language] for they might not bury within their cities, no nor at the Levites Cities, within the compasse of that ground without the City that was allotted for its suburbs, Maym. in Shemittah veiobel per. 13. [If Ierusalem went parallell with the Levites Cities in this, as it did in other things, Christs Sepulchre will not prove so near the City as it hath been commonly reputed.] He raiseth this dead man openly, and in the sight of all the company there present, which was very great, and yet when afterward he raiseth Iairu… daughter, he chargeth that those that had seen him do the miracle which were but five persons, that they should tell no man what was done, Luk. 8.56. which prohibition was given rather in regard of the place where it was done, then in any other respect, it being in Capernaum against which City he had denounced a curse before.
SECTION XXXI. LUKE Chap. VII. from ver. 18. to ver. 36. MATTH. Chap. II. from ver. 2. to ver. 20. JOHNS Message to Christ: Christs testimony of Iohn.
THE Transition of Luke from the Stories before, about the raising of the dead men and healing the Centurions Servant, And the Disciples of John shewed him of all these things, doth confirm the order.
JOHN from Machaerus Castle where he lay Prisoner, sendeth two of his Disciples to Christ to enquire of him, Whether he were he that should come; Not that Iohn was ignorant who he was, having had so many demonstrations of him as he had had, and having given so ample testimony of him as he had done, Ioh. 1.34, 36. & 3.29, 30. No… that Iohns Disciples were so wilfully ignorant of him as not to be perswaded by their Ma…ter that he was he, but his message to him seems to this purpose; Iohn and his Disciples had heard of the great and many miracles that Christ had done, healing the sick, and raising the dead, &c. and it may be, they thought it strange that Christ amongst all his miraculous workings, would not work Iohns liberty out of thraldom, who lay a prisoner for him, and for the Gospel he preached before him: And this, may be, was …he bottom of their question, Art thou he that shall come, or look we for another? as expecting somewhat more from the Messias, then they had yet obtained. They received a full answer to their question by the miracles they saw wrought, which abundantly proved that he was he that was to come. But as to their expectation of his miraculous enlargement of Iohn, his answer was, that his work was to preach the Gospel, and that it was a blessed thing not to take any offence at him, but to yeeld and submit to his wise dispensations. And accordingly when the messengers of Iohn were returned, he giveth a glorious testimony concerning him to the people, but yet sheweth how far one truly and fully acquainted and stated in the Kingdom of Heaven, went beyond him in judging of it, who looked for temporall redemption by it.
The Method of Matthew is somewhat difficult here, but he seemeth purposely to have joyned the mission of Christs Disciples and Iohns disciples together. I suppose Christ was at Ierusalem when Iohns messengers came to him: and if it were at the feast of Pentecost, Iohn had then been seven or eight moneths in prison.
SECTION XXXII. MAT. Chap. XI. from Ver. 20, to the end of the Chapter. Chorazin and Bethsaida upbraided.
BEsides Matthews continuing this portion to that that went before, the upbraiding of these Cities is so answerable to the matter contained in the end of the former Section, that it easily shews it to be spoken at the same time: See Ver. 17, 18, 19, of this Chapter.
When Christ saith, that if the things done in these Cities, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, and Sodom, and Gomorrh…, they would have repented, and would have remained till now; he understandeth not saving grace and saving repentance in them, but such an externall humiliation as would have preserved them from ruine: As the case was with Nineveh, they repented and were delivered from the threatned destruction: their repentance was not to salvation of the persons, but to the preservation of their City: as Ahabs humbling prevented the present judgement, and not his finall condemnation.
SECTION XXXIII. LUKE Chap. VII. from Ver. 36, to the end of the Chapter. Mary Magdalen weepeth at Christs feet, and washeth them with tears, &c.
THe continuation of this portion in Luke to that in Sect. 31. will plead for its order: and the reader will easily observe, that the interposition of the preceding Section in Matthew, is so farre from interrupting the story, that it is necessarily to be taken in there, and is an illustration of it. The actings of the two severall parties in this Section, the Pharisee that invited Christ to eat with him, and the woman sinner that comes and weeps at his feet for mercy, may seem to have had some rise from, or some occasionall reference to the speech of Christ in the two Sections next preceding. In the former he had said, The sonne of man came eating and drinking, and this possibly might induce the Pharisee to his invitation: and in the latter he had said, Come unto me ye that are weary and heavy laden, and that might invite the woman to her addresse.
This woman was Mary the sister of Lazarus, who was also called Mary Magdalen; of whom there is mention in the very beginning of the next Chapter. That she was Mary the sister of Lazarus, Iohn giveth us ground to assert, Ioh. 11.2. as we shall shew when we come there: where we shall evidence, that these words, It was that Mary which annointed the Lord with oyntment, and wiped his feet with her hair, can properly be referred to no story but this before us: And that Mary the sister of Lazarus was called Mary Magdalen, we shall prove in the next Section: Christ in the story in Sect. 31. when Iohns disciples came to him we supposed to be at Ierusalem, and answerably it may be conceived that this passage occurred at Bethany, where Simon the Pharisee may not improbably be held to be the same with Simon the Leper, Matth. 26.6. where this very woman again annointed him.