His disciples should first be violently persecuted. [beginnings] of sorrows. [MARK XIII. -8.] MARK XIII. 9. But selves: for [LUKE, secute you, and] shall synagogues, and into 233 [are] only the beginnings of those sorrows and SECT. alarms that will issue in the destruction of clx. Jerusalem. Mark But take ye heed to yourselves, and be cautious XIII. 9. take heed to your how you behave; and though you meet with the before all these] they severest persecutions, be not discouraged from [LUKE, shall lay their persisting in the truth, and from continuing faithhands on you, and per- ful in your regards to me: for before all these deliver you up to coun- things shall happen they shall lay their violent cils, LIKE, and to the hands upon you, and persecute you with the greatest cruelty and rage; [and] shall deliver some of prisons,] [to be] baten [and afflicted, and you up to the greater councils [and] cite others of shall kill you]: and ye you to appear before the inferior courts in the [shall be hated of all nations, and shall be synagogues, and shall cast some of you into pribrought be ore rulers sons, to be severely scourged [and] otherwise afand kings ny flicted by confinement and a variety of hardships [name's] sake, for a there; and indeed they shall go so far as to kill testimony against them [MAT. XXIV. 9. some of you, in a few years: and as for the rest, LUKE XXI. 12.] ye shall be generally hated, not only by the Jews here at home, but by those abroad, and by all the Gentile nations to whom you go; [and] shall be brought before rulers and kings for my name's sake, and for a testimony against them, that the gospel has been offered to them in the most public manner, even to the greatest of men, to whom you might otherwise have had no access : LUKE XXI. 13. (compare Mat. x. 17, 18, sect. lxxv.) And it Luke shall also turn to you for a public and honourable testimony of the innocence of your cause, however it may be misrepresented, and of the integrity and uprightness of your conduct. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 10. MARK XIII. And the gospel must among all nations. XXI.13. And indeed, notwithstanding this early and Mark first be published violent opposition, vet before the destruction of XIII. 10. Jerusalem the gospel must first be preached among all the heathen nations, which are subjected to the Roman empire (see note "); and there also you will be followed with the like assaults and persecutions. But when they shall bring you before governors and kings, and deliver you up 11 to the officers of justice, to be prosecuted as criminals in their most solemn courts, settle it at such times in hearts as a constant rule not your 11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, [settle it in your hearts, not to meditate before, what ye shall answer; and] take Luke also probably might be; and as for John, the only evangelist who survived it, it is remarkable that he says nothing of it, lest any should say the prophecy was forged after the event happened.-See West on the Resurrection of Christ, p. 393. i Shall deliver you up to the councils, &c.] to All this was exactly accomplished: for Pe- 234 The Spirit would help them to make their defence. SECT. to draw up any formal speech, nor to premeditate take no thought before Mark that speak, but the clx. what answer or apology you shall make; [and] hand what ye shall speak: but whatsoever be not anxiously solicitous before-hand what you shall be given you in XIII.11. shall speak in your defence, to vindicate your- that hour, that speak selves and your religion from the unrighteous ye; for it is not ye charges and aspersions of your enemies; but Holy Ghost. [LUKE whatsoever shall be given in to you, and be strong- XXÍ. 14.] ly suggested to your minds in that hour, that speak boldly and resolutely; for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit himself, who shall assist and dictate to you. (Compare Mat. x. 19, 20, sect. lxxv. and Luke xii. 11, 12, sect. cxi.) Luke For it is really my cause in which you are engaged; and therefore, though you are ignorant and wisdom, which all and unlearned men, and so may be apprehensive your adversaries shall you shall be confounded in the presence of per- not be able to gainsay, sons who are in rank and education so much nor resist. XXI.15. Mat. XXIV. 10 your superiors, vet depend upon it, that I will LUKE XXI. 15. For I will give you a mouth MAT. XXIV. 10. And then shall many ther. And many that have owned themselves my followers shall then be offended, and give up all be offended, and shall regard to the gospel, when they see the profes- betray ne another, sion of it must cost them so dear; and having and shall hate one anoproved apostates, they shall become persecutors too, and shall betray one another, and hate one another, as being in their consciences secretly galled at the greater fidelity of their companions. Mark And this wretched temper shall rise to such a height, as to break through all the bonds of nature, insomuch that one brother shall betray an- death, and the father other, not only to imprisonment, but to death: the son: and children and the father, on the one hand, shall betray their parents, and shall [his] own son; and children, on the other hand, cause them to be put shall rise up as witnesses against [their] aged pa- to death. rents, and cause them to be put to death without compassion or remorse. And these scenes, XIII.12. Luke XXI.16. MARK XIII. 12. Now the brother shall betray the brother to shall rise up against LUKE XXI. 16. And monstrous as they may seem, shall pass in your both by parents, and ye shall be betrayed days, and before your eyes; nay, you yourselves brethren, and kinsshall have a painful share in them: For you, my folks, and friends: and apostles and servants, shall be betrayed and persome of you shall they cause to be put to secuted even by parents, and brethren, and kin- death. dred, and those that pretend to be the most faithful and affectionate friends; and [some] of you shall they cause to be slain by the hand of public and They are exhorted to possess their souls in patience. hated of all men for my name's sake. [MARK XIII. 13-] not 235 clx. 17 And ye shall be and oppresive violence. And indeed this SECT. shall so generally prevail, that ye temper shall be hated by almost all ranks and orders, as well as Luke nations of men, for the sake of my name and gos- XXI. 17 pelk, though they can find nothing else to object to your character, or accuse in your conduct; and they shall treat you as public enemies, while you are acting the most generous and benevolent 18 But there shall part. (Compare Mat. x 22. sect. lxxv.) But in 18 an hair of your the midst of all your sufferings be courageous and head perish. cheerful, as knowing you are the care of a peculiar and most gracious Providence; so that, on the whole, you shall be safe, and not an hair of your head shall utterly perish, or fall to the ground 19 In your patience unregarded. In your patience therefore possess 19 ye your souls", and be calm and serene, the masters of yourselves, and above the agitation of any irrational or disquieting passion. For though your discouragements are great, XXIV. and 11 possess ye your souls. MAT. XXIV. 11. And Ye shall be hated by all men for the sake of my nume.] That not only the apostles, but all the primitive Christians, were in general more hated and persecuted than any other religious sect of men, is most notorious to all who are at all acquainted with ecclesiastical history. A fact which might seem unaccountable, when we consider how inoffensive and benevolent their temper and conduct was, and how friendly an aspect their tenets had on the security of any government under which they lived. We are not to imagine (as Mons. St. Real weakly insinuates in his ill-digested, though elegant, History of the Life of Jesus, p. 264) that they had any peculiar aversion to the name of Christ. The learned Dr. Warburton has shewn, beyond all contradiction in his masterly manner, that the true reason of this opposition was, that while the different pagan religions, like the confederated demons honoured by them, sociably agreed with each other, the gospel taught Christians, not only like the Jews, to bear their testimony to the falsehood of them all, but also with the most fervent zeal to urge the renunciation of them, as a point of absolute necessity; requiring all men, on the most tremendous penalties, to believe in Christ, and in all things to submit themselves to his authority: see Dr. Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, Vol. I. book ii. § 6, p. 278-295. A demand which bore so hard especially on the pride and licentiousness of their princes, and the secular interest of their priests, that it is no wonder they raised so violent a storm against it; which, considering the charac VOL. VII. ter and prejudices of the populace, it must 1 Not an hair of your head shall perish.] m In your patience possess ye your souls.] Though the word xlaas does often sig nify to acquire or procure (see Mat. x. 9. Acts i. 18. viii. 20. xxii. 28), yet I cannot suppose, with Brennius, that our Lord intends here chiefly to intimate that fortitude and composure of spirit might have a tendency to secure their lives, as it would enable them calmly to deliberate on the several circumstances which might arise. I cannot but think that the sense which the accurate and pious Dr. Wright gives of this passage, in that excellent piece of Christian Philosophy, his discourse on Self Possession (p. 4, 5), is much more natural, as well as more noble; as if our Lord had said, "By keeping the government of your own spirits in these awful scenes, which will bear down so many others, you will secure the most valuable self-enjoyment, as well as be able most prudently to guard against the dangers which will surround you." Gg This Mat. 236 cix. Mat. Reflections on the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem. 12 And because ini. quity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. SECT. and particularly on this account, that (as I hint- And many false proed before, ver. 5) many false prophets shall arise, phets shall rise, and shall deceive many. and shall deceive many; which some will urge XXIV. as a farther excuse for suspecting and abusing 12 you: And, though because iniquity shall thus abound under such a variety of forms, the love of many professing Christians, who should be your protectors and comforters, will grow cool; so that they shall be afraid or ashamed to entertain you, and shall be ready to throw up the 13 cause which you so zealously defend: Yet sink not under the burden; but remember this, and let it animate you amidst all your difficulties, That he who resolutely endures all these extremities, and perseveres to the end, shall finally be saved, and have his life given him as a prey. (Compare Mat. x. 22.) 14 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, [MARK XIII.—13.] the same shall be saved. come. 14 And this gospel And know, for your farther encouragement, that all their rage shall not be able to destroy the of the kingdom shall be preached in all the interest in which you are embarked, and to which world, for a witness you sacrifice so much; for I assure you, that this unto all nations; and glorious gospel of the kingdom of heaven shall first then shall the end be preached in all the world, for a witness to all its most distant nations"; and then shall the end of the Jewish state come, and God, having thus gathered for himself a people from among the Gentiles, shall destroy even this temple itself, in which they have trusted so much, and which they have foolishly looked upon as an inviolable pledge of his favour. Mat. IMPROVEMENT. THE whole of this prophecy most evidently shews us how vain and dangerous it is to trust in external privileges, and to cry out, xxiv. g as these foolish and wretched Jews did, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these buildings; when of this stately and magnificent structure, within less than half n This gospel-shall be preached in all the world, &c.] The accomplishment of this extraordinary prophecy is admirably illustrated by Dr. Arthur Young on Idolatry, Vol. II. p. 216-234. It appears, from the most credible records, that the gospel was preached in Idumea, Syria and Mesopotamia, by Jude; in Egypt, Marmorica, Mauritania, and other parts of Africa, by Mark, Simon, and Jude; in Ethiopia by Candace's eunuch, and Matthias; in Pontus, Galatia, and the neighbouring parts of Asia, by Peter; in the territories of the a seven Asiatic churches, by John; in Parthia, by Matthew; in Scythia, by Philip and Andrew; in the northern and western parts of Asia, by Bartholomew; in Persia, by Simon and Jude; in Media, Carmania, and several eastern parts, by Thomas; through the vast tract from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum, by Paul, as also in Italy, and probably in Spain, Gaul, and Britain: in most of which places Christian churches were planted in less than thirty years after the death of Christ, which was before the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus declares the nearer signs of this destruction. 237 a century after it was finished, not one stone was left on another SECT. undemolished. So particular a prediction, when compared with the event, must surely confirm our faith in Christ, as the great Prophet which was to come into the world. And we shall see reason to admire the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence in giving us, almost by a miraculous preservation of the author, such a commentary on this prophecy as is delivered down to us in the works of Josephus, the Jewish historian, which throw a much stronger light upon it than if they had been written by a Christian on purpose to illustrate it, clx. xxi. 10 Let us bless God that our own eyes have not seen such desola- Luke tions and ruins, such commotions in the natural and moral world, such dissentions, in civil life, such persecutions and hatreds amongst Mat. the nearest relatives, under the pretence of propagating religion; xiii. which, however propagated, is nothing without that love which is 12, 13 so often made the first victim to it. Yet too plainly do we see, in one form or another, iniquity Mat. abounding and the love of many waxing cold. Let us endeavour to xxiv. 12 revive on our own hearts a deep and lasting impression of Divine things; and remember, whenever we are tempted to let go our integrity, that it is he alone who endures to the end that shall 13 be saved. xxi. 14,18 Whatever our trials are, let us cheerfully confide in the protec- Luke tion of Divine Providence; nor let us despair of those continued influences of the blessed Spirit which may animate us to the most difficult services, and support us under the most painful sufferings. Let us therefore in patience possess our own souls, and maintain 19 that composure and steadiness of spirit, as those that know how much more valuable it is than any enjoyment which can be taken away, or any temporal interest which can be brought into question, SECT. CLXI.. Our Lord proceeds to describe the nearer prognostications of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the extreme severity of those calamities which should then fall on the Jewish nation. Mat. XXIV. 15—28. Mark XIII. 14-23. Luke XXI. 20-24. LUKE XXI. 20. passed with armies, LUKE XXI. 20. SFCT. clxi. AND when ye shall OUR Lord having proceeded thus far in his see Jerusalem com, discourse, added some more immediate [and the abomination signs, by which the near approach of this terof rible destruction might be determined; and said,Luke When you shall see Jerusalem encompassed on every Gg 2 side/ |