Page images
PDF
EPUB

PROFESSING THEMSELVES TO BE WISE, THEY BECAME FOOLS.-Rom. i. 22.

[blocks in formation]

Mk. vi. 2. were astonished-In his visit recorded by Luke, 'all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth,' Lu. iv. 22, § 15, p. 104.

From whenee, &c.-He had before told them from whence: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' &c., Lu. iv. 18, § ib. p. 102; but in them was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, vi. 9, 10, p. (94), 'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand'-Mt. xiii. 14, .5, § 32, p. 245.

wisdom-He was himself the power of God, and the wisdom of God' Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" 1 Co. i. 20 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory,' ii. 6-8.

mighty works-and all things, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him,' Col. i. 16-but Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed ?' Is. liii. 1, p. (55).

3. Is not this the carpenter-'the carpenter's son,' Mt. xiii. 55-four carpenters are to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it,' Zec. i. 20, .1-Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, at Corinth, unto which place unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal especially he was an apostle, ('If I be not an apostle of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord,' 1 Co. ix. 2) wrought with Aquila at the craft or occupation of tent-making, Ac. xviii. 1-3.

Mt. xiii. 55. called Mary-the Lord may have dealt bitterly with her as with Naomi, who, because of this, claimed to be called 'Mara,' Ru. i. 20-his being the son of a woman rightly called by that name seems to have been reckoned a reproach to Jesussee on Lu. i. 27, § 2, p. 9.

Mk. vi. 3. the brother of James, &c.-' neither did his brethren believe in him,' Jno. vii. 5, § 51-they his ministry, Mk. iii. 21, 31, § 30, p. 233, § 31, p. 240. even attempted to interrupt him in the exercise of offended at him-accomplishing the prediction by Simeon, Behold, this child is set for the fall,' &c....

and for a sign which shall be spoken agaiast,' Lu.
ii. 34, § 4, p. 26-their neighbourhood, or near rela
tionship, could not profi: them as being offended in
him, Mt. xi. 6, § 29, p. 223; xii. 46-50, § 31, p. 240.
4. A prophet, &c.-see Lu. iv. 24, § 15, p. 104.

NOTES.

56. Whence then hath this man all these things? -See on Mk. vi. 2, supra.

[Mk. vi. 2. Whence hath this man these things? The Mt. xiii. 55. And his brethren, James, and Joses, &c. sense is, Whence have these talents fallen to the lot-See ADDENDA, p. 290, 'On the brethren of our Lord.' of this man; and what is this wisdom given him from above; insomuch that [not only he teaches us the way of salvation, but] even such miracles [as we have heard related] are performed by him? Aid Twv repov, by the hands, &c., Hebraism (like ) by the hand, for di' avrov.-Bloomfield.] 3. Is not this the carpenter. The word translated 'carpenter,' signifies worker in iron, wood, or stone, that is, an artificer; but when used alone, without an adjective, in Scripture, it uniformly signifies a carpenter. That our Lord should have been taught some handicraft occupation the Jewish law required. And what was so likely as that he should be brought up to the trade of his reputed father; which, though lowly, was not degrading? Their most distinguished Rabbis exercised a trade.-Comp. Jno. vi. 42, § 43, p. 330.

57. They were offended in him. ioxardaλítovo v avr. They were scandalized at him. This is one of the few instances in which the English verb scandalize expresses better the sense of the Greek than any other in the language. To be scandalized, is to be offended on account of something supposed criminal or irreligious. This was the case here. Their knowledge of the meanness of our Lord's birth and education, made them consider him as guilty of an impious usurpation, in assuming the character of a prophet, much more in aspiring to the title of the Messiah.

A prophet is not without honour, &c. A proverbial sentiment, importing, that 'one whose endowments PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

2-4 ver. The natural man seeks to account for spiritual things by mere natural causes; and, in place of being convinced, he is offended with that which proves that He who was called Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Sent of the Father.'

3 ver. Let us admire the condescension of Jesus, who, although the great Architect that built the heavens and the earth, yet condescended to work with his hands at the homely occupation of a carpenter. Those who despise the ministry of poor mechanics should remember that they despise the very condition of life in which our Lord appeared,

and that had they lived at that time, their portion would probably have been with unbelievers.

Let us beware of despising men because of the seeming mean condition of themselves or their relations. The Son of God, who is KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,' appeared as the son of Mary, and as having brethren and sisters among the poor inhabitants of a poor Galilean village. Most true it is, that he who despiseth the poor, reproacheth his Maker.'

[4 ver. Let us seek to divest ourselves of prejudice; and let us endeavour to judge impartially with re

* See ADDENDA, p. 290, On the brethren of our Lord.'

O ISRAEL, TRUST THOU IN THE LORD.-Psa. cxv. 9.

[287

AS IT IS WRITTEN, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE.-Rom. iii. 10.

MERCY AND TRUTH SHALL BE TO THEM THAT DEVISE GOOD.-Proverbs xiv. 22.

[blocks in formation]

Mk. vi. 4. among his own kin-his friends went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself,' ch. iii. 21, § 30, p. 233-Jesus, although the truth' itself, Jno. xiv. 6, § 87, suffered the punishment appointed to a false prophet, and might well speak of the wounds wherewith he was wounded in the house of his friends: And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with

which I was wounded in the house of my friends,' Zec. xiii. 6.

5, 6. because of their unbelief-He was 'grieved for the hardness of their hearts,' ch. iii. 5, § 25, p. 197At the curing of the lunatic, he lamented the unbelief of his disciples, which had prevented their effecting that cure, Mt. xvii. 16-20, § 51.

[blocks in formation]

NAZARETH.-See Sect. vi. p. 43 Dr. Wilson, in his work, The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described,' page 91, Vol. II., says, 'At the foot of the hills of Nazareth, we overtook our luggage, which had come through the valley of Esdraelon, by the straight road from Jenin. We made the ascent of the hills together, keeping our seats on our horses the whole way. The road which we took is rough and winding. It was the one which lies farthest to the west. The other, which was to our right hand, follows the course of a deeper and more distinct gash in the hills, leading down from Nazareth itself. . . . . We passed close to the village of Yafa, or JAPHIA, near a cistern, where we found the villagers watering their flocks. This village is referred to, along with the two villages CHISLOTH-TABOR and DABERATH, in Joshua, xix. 12, in which it is said of the border of Zebulun, that it "turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia;" a description remarkably correspondent with its present position. We had hitherto had no view of NAZARETH; but in a few minutes, when we had turned the shoulder of the hill, we found it to our left, ensconced in a lovely little dell, or basin, surrounded on all sides by hills, to which we had not very far to descend, as it has itself a very considerable elevation. The view, as we went downwards, and approached the village, became very contracted in dimensions, though not certainly so in the interest of its associations. We had before us the very scene which would be most familiar to the Saviour during the greater part of his sojourn in this sinful world.

'NASIRAH, or NAZARETH, stands on the western side of the basin in which it is situated. Though not so mean as some other villages in the country, there is nothing very striking in its appearance. The conventual buildings of the Franciscan monks, including the Latin church of the Annunciation, with their different enclosures surrounded by strong walls; the Casa Nuova, or house built by the convent for the accommodation of travellers; and the Muhammedan mosque, are the erections which principally attract the attention of the visiter.'-See Sect. ii. p. 14.

288]

Dr. Richardson, describing the valley of Nazareth, says, 'It seems as if fifteen mountains met to form one enclosure for this delightful spot; they rise around it like the edge of a shell to guard it from intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren mountains.'

Dr. Robinson, in 'Biblical Researches,' Vol. III. p.183, says,The houses stand on the lower part of the slope of the western hill; which rises steep and high above them, and is crowned by a Wely called Neby Isma'il. Towards the north the hills are less high; on the east and south they are low. In the south-east the basin contracts, and runs out narrow, and winding apparently to the great plain. Various roads pass out of the basin; on the north to Sefurieh and 'Akka; in the north-east, to Kefer Kenna and Tiberias; towards the east, to mount Tabor and Tiberias; and in the south-west, to Yafa and the plain of Esdraelon. The population

Greeks
. 160 families, or 260 taxable men.
Greek Catholics. 60
Latin Ditto
Maronites.
Muhammedans

65

40

120

Total... 445

This implies about 3000 souls.

130

120

100

170

780

lodgings in an early part of the day, that without Dr. Wilson, in Vol. II., p. 92, says, 'We left our disturbance or interruption we might engage in social worship and communion on the top of the hill, on the western flank of which the village is principally situated. We were sorry to observe the villagers, three-fourths of whom are professing Christians, of different denominations, paying very little regard to the sanctity of the sabbath. As far as we could see, it was marked only by the shutting of the shops. Many people were at work as masons. Several were engaged in cutting grass in the fields. Crowds of women, tittering, and laughing, and jesting, were filling their pitchers at what is called the "Fountain

DO THEY NOT ERR THAT DEVISE EVIL?-Prov. xiv. 22.

THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE IN EVERY PLACE, BEHOLDING THE EVIL, ETC.-Prov. xv. 3.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS A FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, TO DEPART FROM THE SNARES OF DEATH.-Proverbs xiv. 27.

of the Virgin," to which they think it is particularly meritorious to repair for water. The children were heartily engaged in their every day amusements.'

Dr. Robinson, in Biblical Res., says, Vol. III., p. 188: Later in summer the fountain dries up, and then water is brought from more distant fountains. The source itself is under the Greek church of the Annunciation, eight or ten rods further north; and thence the little stream is conducted by a rude aqueduct of stone, over which at last an arch is turned, where it pours its scanty waters into a sculptured marble trough, probably once a sarcophagus. The church is built over the source, at the spot where the Greeks say the Virgin was saluted by the angel Gabriel; it is very plain outside, but gaudy and tawdry within, and has a subterranean grotto arranged as a chapel."

life during those early years, yet there are certain features of nature which meet our eyes now, just as they once met his. He must often have visited the fountain near which we had pitched our tent; his feet must frequently have wandered over the adjacent hills; and his eyes doubtless have gazed upon the splendid prospect from this very spot. Here the Prince of Peace looked down upon the great plain, where the din of battle so oft had rolled and the garments of the warrior been dyed in blood; and he looked out too upon that sea, over which the swift ships were to bear the tidings of his salvation to nations and to continents then unknown. How has the moral aspect of things been changed! Battles and bloodshed have indeed not ceased to desolate this unhappy country, and gross darkness now covers the people; but from this region a light went forth, which has enlightened the world and unveiled new climes; and now the rays of that light begin to be reflected back from distant isles and continents, to illuminate anew the darkened land where it first sprung up.'-Vol. III. p. 189-.91.

The same author continues, After breakfast I walked out alone to the top of the hill over Nazareth, where stands the neglected Wely of Neby Isma'il. Here, quite unexpectedly, a glorious prospect opened on the view. The air was perfectly clear and serene; and I shall never forget the impression I received, as 'The Maronite church, which Dr. Clarke thinks the enchanting panorama burst suddenly upon me. was the site referred to at Lu. iv. 29. (§ 15, p. 105,) There lay the magnificent plain of Esdraelou, or at stands quite in the south-west part of the town, under least all its western part; on the left was seen the a precipice of the hill, which here breaks off in a perround top of Tabor over the intervening hills, with pendicular wall forty or fifty feet in height. There portions of the Little Hermon and Gilboa, and the are several other similar precipices in the western opposite mountains of Samaria, from Jenin west-hill, around the village. Some one of these, perhaps wards to the lower hills extending towards Carmel. that by the Maronite church, may well have been the Then came the long line of Carmel itself, with the spot whither the Jews led Jesus, "unto the brow of convent of Elias on its northern end, and Haifa on the hill whereon their city was built, that they might the shore at its foot. In the west lay the Mediterra- cast him down headlong. But he passing through the nean, gleaming in the morning sun; seen first far in midst of them went his way." the south on the left of Carmel; then interrupted by that mountain; and again appearing on its right, so as to include the whole bay of 'Akka, and the coast stretching far north to a point north 10° west. 'Akka itself was not visible, being hidden by intervening hills. Below, on the north, was spread out another of the beautiful plains of northern Palestine, called el-Buttauf; it runs from east to west, and its waters. are drained off westwards through a narrower valley, to the Kishon (el-Mukutta'), at the base of Carmel. On the southern border of this plain, the eye rested on a large village near the foot of an isolated hill, with a ruined castle on the top; this was Sefurieh, the ancient Sepphoris or Diocæsarea. Beyond the plain el-Buttauf, long ridges running from east to west rise one higher than another; until the mountains of Safed overtop them all, on which that place is seen, "a city set upon a hill." Further towards the right is a sea of hills and mountains, backed by the higher ones beyond the lake of Tiberias, and in the north-east by the majestic Hermon with its icy

crown.

'Carmel presented itself in the west to great advantage, extending far out into the sea, and dipping his feet in the waters. The highest part of the ridge is towards the south. The southern end of the proper ridge, as here seen, bore south 80 west, and the highest point south 86° west. Thence it declines gradually northwards, until at the convent, according to Schubert, it has an elevation of only 582 Paris feet above the adjacent sea. The same traveller estimates the highest point at 1200 feet, which seems to me relatively too high. The northern extremity bore north 58° west. Towards the south-east Carmel is connected with the mountains of Samaria, by the broad range of low wooded hills, separating the great plain of the more southern coast from that of Esdraelon. Here large trees of the walnut are said to be prevalent. The middle point of this connecting range bore south 64 west. The same appearance of bushes and trees is seen on many parts of Carmel, which thus presents a less naked aspect than the mountains of Judæa.

'Seating myself in the shade of the Wely, I remained for some hours upon this spot, lost in the contemplation of the wide prospect, and of the events connected with the scenes around. In the village below, the Saviour of the world had passed his childhood; and although we have few particulars of his

The monks have chosen for the scene of this event the Mount of the Precipitation, so called; a precipice overlooking the plain of Esdraelon, nearly two miles south by east of Nazareth. Among all the legends that have been fastened on the Holy Land, I know of no one more clumsy than this; which presupposes, that in a popular and momentary tumult, they should have had the patience to lead off their victim to an hour's distance, in order to do what there was an equal facility for doing near at hand. Besides, the hill on which Nazareth stands is not a precipice overlooking the plain of Esdraelon; but it is this western hill, a good hour distant from that plain. Indeed, such is the intrinsic absurdity of the legend, that the monks themselves now-a-days, in order to avoid it, make the ancient Nazareth to have been near at hand on the same mountain. The good friars forget the dilemma into which they thus bring themselves; for if the ancient Nazareth lay near the precipice overhanging the plain, what becomes of the holy places now shewn in the present town?

'That precipice was doubtless selected, because it forms a striking object as seen from the plain; but the legend seems not to go further back than the time of the crusades. It is not mentioned by Antoninus Martyr, who particularly describes the holy places then shewn at Nazareth; nor by Adarnnanas, nor St. Willibald, nor Sæwulf, who was here about A.D. 1103. But the crusaders cherished Nazareth, and raised it to a bishop's see; and then, apparently, this precipice was selected, as the brow of the mounand then Brocardus more fully; and since their day tain. Phocas first mentions it slightly in A.D. 1185, it has been noticed by most travellers. From the days of our Saviour we hear no more of Nazareth, until Eusebius, in the fourth century, again describes it as a village, fifteen Roman miles eastEpiphanius relates, in the same century, that until ward from Legio (Leijun), and not far from Tabor. the time of Constantine Nazareth was inhabited only by Jews; from which at least it would appear, Christians dwelt there in his day. It would seem, however, not then to have become a regular place of pilgrimage; for Jerome mentions it only incidentally, and makes Paula on her journey merely pass through it without stopping. Nor was it made a bishopric; for the name is not found in any of the ecclesiastical Notitia before the time of the crusades. Yet it must early have been visited by pilgrims; for

that

Bounded by the picturesque mountains of Samaria, the "great plain," the battle field of the country both in ancient and modern times, and probably the real or typical site of the battle of Armageddon.'Dr. Wilson, Lands of the Bible,' Vol. II., p. 93.

A TRUE WITNESS DELIVERETH SOULS.-Prov. xiv. 25.

289

IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS STRONG CONFIDENCE AND HIS CHILDREN SHALL HAVE A PLACE OF REFUGE.-Prov. xiv. 26.

towards the close of the sixth century, Antoninus describes in it the ancient synagogue and a church. Arculfus, a century later, found here two churches; one over the fountain, and the other covering the house where Mary had lived. St. Willibald, in the eighth century, mentions but one church. About A.D. 1103, Sawulf describes the place as having been totally destroyed by the Saracens; though a noted monastery still served to mark the place of the

Annunciation.

After the crusaders had got possession of Jerusalem, the country of Galilee, extending from Tiberias to Haifa, was given by Godfrey of Bouillon as a fief to the noble leader Tancred. He immediately subdued Tiberias; administered the province with justice and equity; erected churches at Nazareth, Tiberias, and on mount Tabor, and richly endowed them; so that his memory was long cherished in this region. In the new ecclesiastical arrangements of the country, the see of Scythopolis, the former metropolitan seat of Palestina Secunda, was transferred to Nazareth; which then first became a bishopric, and remains so nominally in the Greek church to the present day. When this transfer took place, we are not informed; but it must have been at an early period; for in A.D. 1111 a strife already existed, between the bishop of Nazareth and the convent founded by the Benedictines of Clugny on mount Tabor, respecting the jurisdiction of the bishop over the latter. The matter was adjusted by Gibelin, patriarch of Jerusalem, in an assembly, of the bishops and clergy, with the consent of the king and barous, to the satisfaction of both parties. The consecration of the abbot and monks, and also of the larger church, was to depend only on the patriarch; while the bishop of Nazareth was to exercise all other episcopal rights over the convent.

The fatal battle of Hattin, in A.D. 1187, was followed by the subjugation of almost the whole land by Saladin, and of Nazareth and Sepphoris among other places. At what time Nazareth again passed into the hands of the Christians is uncertain; but in A.D. 1250, king Louis of France made a pilgrimage from 'Akka thither, and to mount Tabor; and in A.D. 1263, the town of Nazareth and the noble church of the Annunciation, as also the church of the Transfiguration on mount Tabor, were laid in total ruins

by the Sultan Bibars. Nazareth appears afterwards to have been neglected, and the church not to have been again built up until after several centuries; although the nominal succession of Latin bishops, or rather archbishops, was long continued in the Romish church. Brocardus, in the thirteenth century, says nothing of the state in which Nazareth then was; but writers of the fourteenth, describe it as a small village, with a church wholly in ruins, and a fountain; and make bitter complaint of the Muslim inhabitants.t In the fifteenth century, Nazareth seems hardly to have been visited by pilgrims. About the middle of the sixteenth, Belon describes here the chapel of the Annunciation as a grotto below ground, surrounded by the ruins of an ancient church; the village was inhabited only by Muhammedans. Cotovicus, at the close of that century, confirms this account, describing the people as the worst he had seen; there being only two or three Christian inhabitants. The former church still lay in ruins. His party were here treated only with insult.§

'It was in A.D. 1620 that the Franciscan monks first obtained permission from the celebrated Fakhr ed-Din, then master of this region, to take possession of the grotto, and rebuild the church in Nazareth, with which they naturally connected a monastery. The circumstances are fully related by Quaresmius, as they happened in his time; but the buildings appear not to have been completed for many years. Doubdan, some thirty years later, speaks of the place as a miserable village, almost ruined and deserted, with eight or ten monks residing there from the convent in Jerusalem. || Surius, a few years before, found in the village only four Maronite and two Greek families of Christians. At the close of the same century, Maundrell describes the monks as being shut up in their convent for fear of the Arabs. About A. D. 1720-..30, the church and convent were repaired and enlarged. Since that day, the number of Christians in Nazareth has been greatly augmented; and the character of the place has undergone an entire change. Even in the time of Korte, there were here only one hundred and fifty families in all; but the Christian population is said to have increased greatly under the noted Sheikh Dhaher, of 'Akka, about the middle of the century.'

THE HEART OF THE WISE TEACHETH HIS MOUTH, AND ADDETH LEARNING TO HIS LIPS.-Proverbs xvi. 23.

PLEASANT WORDS ARE AS AN HONEYCOMB, SWEET TO THE SOUL, AND HEALTH TO THE BONES.-Prov. xvi. 24.

ADDEND A.

ON THE BRETHREN OF OUR LORD, p. 287.**

At Jno. ii. 12, (§ 11, p. 78,) Mt. xii. 46, [Mk. iii. 31,] (§ 31, p. 240,) Lu. viii. 19, (§ 33, p. 262,) Jno. vii. 3, 5, 10, (§§ 54, .5,) Ac. i. 14, mention occurs of the brethrenoi àdeλpol-of our Lord; and Mt. xiii. 55, .6, [Mk. vi. 3,] (p. 287,) of his brethren and of his sisters both; and this at times, and on occasions, which synchronize with the beginning, with the middle, and with the very end of his ministry. The parties alluded to in all these instances were obviously persons, whether male or female, arrived at maturity.... What kind of relationship is thus implied, except the natural one in the ordinary sense of the term, it is not easy to say. The use of the term anλs leads directly to that one conclusion. They could not be the children of any other Mary, distinct from the mother of our Lord at least exclusively-because it is always Mary the mother of our Lord, and not any other Mary, who is mentioned along with them, who was obviously living with them, and making one of some family with them; which it is not probable she would make with any family but her own.

[ocr errors]

It may be said, however, that these might be the children of Joseph, but by some former, or at least some different wife; in which case they might still be called the adaλpol, or ådeλpal, of our Lord, and Mary might possibly be living with them... If any such other wife of Joseph had once existed, still, before the commencement of our Saviour's ministry, that is, before Jno. ii. 12, at least, she must have been dead. It seems equally clear that Joseph himself was not then alive, any more than she. It would follow, therefore, that these sons and daughters, the fruit of a distinct marriage, were all older, instead of being all younger, than our Saviour.

Mt. xiii. 55, Mk. vi. 3, (p. 287,) the names of these depol of our Lord are specified as follows: James and Joses, Simon and Jude, or Jude and Simon. Now Jno. vii. 5, (§ 54,) at a point of time which coincides with the third feast of Tabernacles, his ade pol, it is said, did not believe in him; and Mk. iii. 21, (§ 30, p. 233,) Mt. xii. 46, [Mk. iii. 31,] (§ 31, p. 240, Lu. viii. 19, (§ 33, p. 262,)-all relating to a point

Will. Tyr. xxii. 16. Jac. de Vitr. 56. p. 1077. Marinus Sanutus, p. 176. The present titular Greek bishop of Nazareth resides at Jerusalem-see Robinson, Vol. II. p. 90.

According to Brocardus, the Saracens had endeavoured to fill up the fountain; and had polluted the ruined church as far as possible, by making it a receptacle for the dead bodies of asses, camels, cattle, and dogs.' § Cotov. Itin. pp. 349, .50.-Comp. Sandys's Travels, p. 160. Il Quaresmius, Elucid. ii. p. 837, seq. Doubdan, p. 569. **See Greswell, Vol. II. Diss. xvii. pp. 108-.34, 'On the brethren of Christ.'

290]

Belon, Obs. Paris, 1588, p. 327.

Surius Pelerin, p. 305, seq.

THE WISE IN HEART SHALL BE CALLED PRUDENT.-Prov. xvi. 21.

THE HIGHWAY OF THE UPRIGHT IS TO DEPART FROM EVIL: HE THAT KEEPETH HIS WAY PRESERVETH HIS SOUL.-Prov. xvi. 17.

of time one year earlier than the notice in St. John-avrov, as applied to her, does not mean the sister of implicitly confirm St. John. Yet Ac. i. 14, they his mother. In either case it will follow that doeλ pos, must have become believers after the resurrection, or adλph, do not strictly denote the relation of a broand before the descent of the Holy Ghost; and 1 Co. ther or a sister, but at the utmost of a male or a ix. 5,6 they must have become, in due time, evange- female cousin. The term therefore in a given inlists of Christianity itself. If then they continued stance, agreeably to the Jewish usage, may imply no unbelievers up to the time of the last passover, and more than this. Nor is it possible even partially to yet were converted before the day of Pentecost en- escape this conclusion, except by contending that suing, it is probable they were converted by the fact this Mary was really the sister of the Virgin, and of the resurrection between those dates. It would really the wife of Joseph; in which case two uterine be, consequently, in their unbelieving state that our sisters must have both borne the name of Mary; Saviour, Jno. xix. 25-7, (§ 91,) committed his mother, must have both been married to Joseph; and both in his dying moments, to the care, not of these his been living in marriage with him at the same time; brethren, but of St. John. And this is the best reason which is, I think, directly repugnant to Le. xviii. 18, why he might pass over them, even though they had and Joseph himself must have borne the other name been present. Not but that commentators, both an- of Alphæus. All these suppositions are very incredicient and modern, have supposed some relationship ble, and open to the greatest objections. Besides between the Virgin and St. John; which, if the fact of which, Mary is called in the same passage, Jno. xix. this relationship could be made out, might conspire 25, (§ 91,) ý тov Kλara, which must be understood with to produce the same effect. The relationship in the ellipsis of yur, agreeably to the Latin idiomquestion is that of a nephew of the Virgin; Salome Apicatam Sejani. Tac. Anu. iv. 11-Agrippina Gerthe mother of St. John, and Mary the mother of our manici, Plin. H. N. vii. 11-Antonia Drusi, ib. vii. Lord, being supposed to have been sisters. Be this, 18-Verania Pisonis, Plin. Ep. ii. xx.-in all which however, as it may, still, with respect to the unbelief there is the same ellipsis of uxor. So common is of our Lord's adex poi, the gospel accounts are not in- this ellipsis, both in Latin and in Greek, that Eckel, consistent with each other. They all shew, either vi. 259, considers it a great singularity to find the directly or by implication, that up to the close of his word yor expressed on some of the coins of Aggrippublic ministry his brethren, or some at least who pina, the consort of Claudius. Now Cleopas, if Hegeare called by that name, were not believers as yet; sippus (Eus. E. H. iii. 11) is to be believed, was himbut none of them implies that they did not become so self the brother of Joseph. But, Lev. xviii. 16, exafterwards. cept in the case provided by the law, to marry with Jud. xvii. xiii. 1,) was forbidden. duo àdel pas ayoba the wife of a brother, even after his death, (Jos. Ant. χρόνοις, κἂν τύχη τις ἣν προέγημεν ἀπεωσμένος ii. 303, 1. 44, De Special. Legibus.)

a

"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with this bremen, and Mary the motor autov Obx ixírperet, obr' iv To adres oué vos (Philo. il

ther

brethren."

b"Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?"

Now, among those who, even in the lifetime of Christ, were not merely believers, but already disciples, and already apostles, of our Lord, Mt. x. 3, Mk. iii. 18, Lu. vi. 15, (§ 27, p. 207,) 'Iάxwẞos ó тou 'Aλpaiov is invariably mentioned as one: and if this James was James the first bishop of Jerusalem, then, Ga. i. 19, (But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother,")-and even Joseph. Ant. xx. ix. l— this James was undoubtedly known and denominated as the ἀδελφὸς τοῦ Κυρίου, οι τοῦ Χριστοῦ. There was one, then, even in the lifetime of Christ, known as an ådeλpos, or brother of Christ, who believed in him; and there were others, known by the same relation, who did not believe in him.

Now, according to the Hebrew idiom, the relation of son is extended to every direct remove, however distant, from the fountain head; and, on the same principle, the relation of brother or sister to every collateral, equally remote. In proof of this idiom, the very subject under discussion supplies a case in point. Mt. xxvii. 56, Mk. xv. 40. (§ 92,) xvi. 1, (§ 93,) Lu. xxiv. 10, (ib. ;) the Mary there spoken of is described as Mary the mother of James; concerning which James, we may take it for granted, he is James the apostle, the son of Alphæus. But in the parallel place of Jno. xix. 25, (§ 91,) she is described as the adelph or sister of Mary the mother of Jesus; from both which descriptions we may argue as fol

BETTER IT IS TO BE OF AN HUMBLE SPIRIT WITH THE LOWLY, THAN TO DIVIDE THE SPOIL WITH THE PROUD.-Prov. xvi. 19.

We are at liberty, then, to assume that the name of adapos, among the Jews, might be applied indifferently to the relation of brother, or to the relation of cousin. Hence, it may be so applied, Mt. xiii. 55, and Mk.vi. 3, (p. 287 ;) that is, some of the persons there mentioned by name may be strictly the brethren, and the rest may be merely the cousins, of our Lord. But how are we to discriminate them asunder? I observe that the two first are called James and Joses; the two last Simon and Jude, or Jude and Simon. I observe also, and it is a critical coincidence, that Mary, the adeλph or cousin of the Virgin, who is called, Mk. xvi. 1, and Lu. xxiv. 10, (§ 93,) Mary the mother of James, is called, Mt. xxvii. 56, and Mk. xv. 40, .7, (§ 92,) Mary the mother of James and Joses. It is an obvious and natural inference that this James and this Joses, who are here described as the children of Mary, are the same James and the same Joses who were described above, Mt. xiii. 55, Mk. vi. that Mary is never called the mother of Simon and 3, as among the adsλpol of our Lord. I observe, too, Jude, or of Jude and Simon; and, therefore, I cannot viour's apostles, besides Judas Iscariot, was certainly assume these were her children also. One of our Sacalled Jude, Jno. xiv. 22, (§ 87,) Lu. vi. 16, (§ 27, p. 207,) Ac. i. 13, the same who, Mt. x. 3, Mk. iii. 18, (§ 27.) is vi. 16, ib., Ac. i. 13, twice describes by a certain relaalso called Lebbæus, or Thaddeus; and whom Lu. tion to James, which his own Epistle, Jude 1, proves to be rightly pronounced the relation of brother. This Jude, then, as well as James, must have been a son of Alphæus; but this Jude is never called, like If this Mary was really the sister of the Virgin, James, a son of Mary, or consequently a brother, in their children would be simply cousins; and, conse- any sense, of our Lord. I infer that he was no such quently, James, the son of this Mary, could not be son of Mary, though he might be the son of Alphæus; really the brother of Jesus, the son of the other Mary: and I assign thereby a reason which no commentator, and therefore ó ådeλpos rov Kvpion, as applied to him, so far as I know, has yet been able satisfactorily to cannot mean the brother of the Lord. But if she was do, why he should call himself the brother of James, not really the sister of Mary, then, 1⁄2 áðsλøǹ τñs unтpoe but not the brother of Christ.* Alphæus, whosoever On this we may remark-A higher relationship than that according to the flesh was, more especially after his resurrection, known to subsist between Christ and his disciples. Then was he declared to be the Son of God with power,' Rom. i. 4. He said unto Mary Magdalene, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, Jno. xx. 17, ($93;) and speaking of the disciples generally, he said, Go tell my brethren that they go Galilee, and there shall they see me,' Mt. xxviii. 10, (§ 95.) He had, indeed, during his personal ministry, distinctly declared, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it,' Lu. viii. 21, (§ 33, p. 262;) but it was not until the promised outpouring of the Spirit, consequent upon the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, that his words appear to have been truly understood. Up to that point we hear of the mother and brethren of Jesus, Ac. i. 14, but thereafter the distinction appears to have been greatly lost sight of, so that even his mother is never once mentioned. The disciples seem then to have said, He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more, 2 Co. v. 15, .6. They knew him no more according to earthly relationship, because they knew him to be in a higher sense brother to them all. It is true, that Paul, when vindicating himself and his doctrine against those who were prone to trust in A WISE SON MAKETH A GLAD FATHER.-Prov. xv. 20. [291

lows

into

« PreviousContinue »