p. 284) says, "The people now use the very same sort of oaths that are mentioned and condemned by our Lord. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said Besides what has been observed, in ver. Ps. The disciples respond yes. 66:5. (2.) Print. Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise), Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete), California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The altar of burnt-offerings was the wine-press, to which all the offerings were brought. The chief thing they envied him, and for which they hated and feared him, was his interest in the people, and their hosannas, which, if he was taken off, they hope to engross securely to themselves. Observe. That he will miserably destroy those wicked men; it is destruction that is their doom. They swear by the head, by their life, by heaven, and by the temple, or what is in its place, the church. The hand of God was in all this; This is the Lord’s doing. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 5:33-37 There is no reason to consider that solemn oaths in a court of justice, or on other proper occasions, are wrong, provided they are taken with due reverence. The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven. They thought, if they could but get rid of this Jesus, they should carry all before them in the church without control, might impose what traditions, and force the people to what submissions, they pleased. If we are not the death of our lusts, our lusts will be the death of our souls. So long as they kept from swearing by the name Yahweh, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. Perform unto the Lord - Perform literally, really, and religiously what is promised in an oath. 2:7, 8. They pretended that he must die, to save the people from the Romans (John 11:50); but really he must die, to save their hypocrisy and tyranny from that reformation which the expected kingdom of the Messiah would certainly bring along with it. (2.) While they were so set upon killing him, in pursuance of their design to secure their own pomp and power, and while he was so set upon dying, in pursuance of his design to subdue Satan, and save his chosen, no wonder if they soon caught him, and slew him, when his hour was come. Heaven is his throne; the earth his footstool; Jerusalem his special abode; the head was made by him, and was so much under his control that we could not make one hair white or black. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The kingdom grows great by permeating in secret through the masses, changing them gradually into its own nature, and … 2:5. 2:2, 3, 6, 9. It will be fulfilled upon all that tread in the steps of their wickedness; hell is everlasting destruction, and it will be the most miserable destruction to them of all others, that have enjoyed the greatest share of church privileges, and have not improved them. The church is the planting of the Lord, Isa. [1.] Persecutors may destroy the ministers, but cannot destroy the church. Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. He sent other servants, more than the first; though the first sped not, but were abused. But whosoever shall deny me before men Deny that he is a disciple of Christ, and that Christ is his Lord and master, act contrary to him, deliver things repugnant to his mind and will; which for a disciple to do to his master was a very heinous crime with the Jews: Let sinners seize the opportunity, and flee for refuge to the hope set before them. This becomes an invitation to us to cultivate the practice of seeing God’s work among us through questions: The tangibleness of the kin(g)dom of heaven is revealed where each of the parables touches on images found elsewhere in the Gospel: The parable of the pearl moves us in a different direction. The unbelief of sinners will be their ruin. The reader may choose which interpretation he likes best. 21:41) they had but read their own doom. In the mustard seed we saw the kingdom growing great by its inherent vitality; in the leaven we see it growing great by a contagious influence. This is the mystery which blessed Paul was so much affected with (Rom. 2:21. A resource for the whole church from Luther Seminary. I confess to being suspicious, having learned that hard way that understanding often emerges over time and in new ways, proving my first level of understanding to have been short-sighted. The passage for this lection offers a counter-image to this destructive force. "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely"; which seems to be referred to, when it is said, "thou shalt not forswear thyself": and is the law forbidding perjury, or false swearing; and was what the Jews were chiefly, if not only concerned about; little regarding the vanity, only the truth of an oath: for they took swearing vainly, to be the same as swearing falsely; wherefore so long as what they swore was truth, they were not careful whether it was of any importance or not: moreover, these men sinned, in that they swore by the creatures, which they thought they might do, and not sin; and when they had so done, were not under obligation to perform; because they made no use of the name of God, to whom only vows and oaths were to be performed, "but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths", Numbers 30:2 which they understood of vows only made to the Lord, and not to others; and of oaths, when in his name, and not by others; which they did do, and yet thought themselves not obliged by them. 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Note, God’s proceedings are so unexceptionable, that there needs but an appeal to sinners themselves concerning the equity of them. Note, All the prophets were harbingers and forerunners to Christ. If God leaves us to ourselves any morning, we are undone; we must every morning commit … The promise of vindication in the parables of the weeds and the net of fish underscore the hope generated by the parables of growth and discovery. But when God makes use of any to bear up his name, it is not because he needs them, nor is he at all beholden to them. Or, they imagined that he was gone into a far country, as Israel, when they made the calf, fancied that Moses was gone. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself — These are not the precise words of Exodus 20:7; but they express all that it was currently understood to condemn, namely, false swearing (Leviticus 19:12, etc. If they be so stout-hearted, that they are not destroyed by falling on this stone, yet it shall fall on them, and so destroy them. But all oaths taken without necessity, or in common conversation, must be sinful, as well as all those expressions which are appeals to God, though persons think thereby to evade the guilt of swearing. Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths: Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time.