hand, Come, ye that are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, which was prepared for you from the creation of the world: 35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye entertained me; 36 Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye took care of me; I was in prison, and ye visited me. 37 Then the righteous shall answer him, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry, and gave you meat, or thirsty, and gave you drink? 38 When was it that we saw you a stranger, and entertained you; or naked, and clothed you? 39 Or when was it that we saw you sick, or in prison, and visited you ? 40 And the king shall say to them: Assuredly, I tell you, as ye have done these things for one of the least of my brethren here, it is for me that ye did it. 41 After this, he will say to those on his left hand; Depart from me, cursed as ye are, go into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye entertained me not; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they reply also; Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison,

ver. 35. Isa. lviii. 7. Ezek. xviii. 7. Ecclus. vii. 33. Jam. i. 27. v. 40. Matt. x. 42. Mark ix. 41. Prov. xiv. 31. xix. 17. Heb. vi. 10. v. 41. Matt. vii. 23. Luke xiii. 27. Ps. vi. 9. 2 Pet. ii. 4. compare with Jude, ver. 6.

v. 35. I was a stranger.] Or, I knew not where to lodge.

v. 36. Took care.] This is the meaning of the original Gr. word ETEOKÉαobe, which the Vulgate hath rendered ye have visited. Christ doth not speak here of visiting, but of taking care of the sick. See Jam. i. 27. where the same word is used for taking care of widows and orphans.

Visited.] Prisoners, above all others, want and deserve to be visited; because they are commonly solitary, and forsaken by the rest of the world.

v. 40. Here.] On my right hand.

and gave you no relief? 45 He will answer them ; Assuredly, I tell you, as ye have not done it for one of the least of these, ye did it not for me. 46 And these shall be condemned to eternal punishment, whereas the righteous shall go into eternal life.

ver. 45. Prov. xiv. 38. xvii. 5. Acts ix. 5. John v. 29. Rev. xiv. 11. xx. 10.

v. 46. Dan xii. 2.

CHAPTER XXVI.

At a

The chief priests consult together, when it would be the properest time to apprehend Jesus, 1-5. feast, where Jesus was at Bethany four days before, a woman having poured on his head a box of precious perfume; this serves Judas for an occasion and pretence of executing the design he had of betraying him; accordingly he bargains with the high-priest, 7-16. The disciples are sent by Jesus Christ, to get the passover ready, 17-19. In the evening he sits down at table, with the twelve; where he foretels, that Judas would betray him. After they had eat the passover, he instituted the Lord's Supper, 20-30. While he was upon the Mount of Olives, he foretold that his disciples would run away, and that Peter in particular, would forsake him, notwithstanding his repeated protestations to the contrary, 31-35. He takes three of his disciples along with him, to be witnesses of his anguish, and withal, of his submission to the will of God. The weakness of his disciples at that juncture, 36–46. Jesus is apprehended upon the signal that was given by Judas. Peter cuts off the ear of one of the high-priest's servants, 47-56. Jesus is led to Caiaphas, where Peter denies him, and repents of it, 57-75.

1 When JESUS had finished all these discourses, he said to his disciples; 2 Ye know that in two days the

ver. 1, 2. Mark xiv. 1. Luke xxii. 1. John xi. 55. xiii. 1.

v. 1. When Jesus.] The Tuesday in the evening.

All these discourses.] Which Jesus Christ made that day, both to his disciples, and to the Jews in the temple, and on the mount of Olives, and which begin at the 23d verse of chap. xxi.

v. 2. Then the Son.] Gr. And-Jesus Christ had foretold several

*

passover will be celebrated; then the Son of Man shall be delivered up to be crucified.

3 At the same time the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people, met together in the palace of the high-priest, whose name was Caiaphas; 4 And consulted how they might apprehend JESUS by surprise, and put him to death. 5 But it was said, this must not be done during the festival, least some tumult should happen among the people.

6 Now whilst JESUS was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper; 7 There came to him a woman with an alabaster box full of precious ointment, which she poured upon his head, as he sat at table.

ver. 3. John xi. 47. Ps. ii. 2. compare Acts iv. 26. xli. 6, 7. v. 5. John vii. 12, 13, 40. v. 6. Mark xiv. 3. 37. John xi. 2. xii. 3.

8 His

v. 4. Ps. Luke vii.

times to his disciples, that his death was at hand, Matt. xxi. 21. xvii. 22, 23. xx. 17, 18. but he had not yet expressly told them, as he doth here, on what day it was to happen.

v. 3. At the same time-met-] This was the second time the Sanhedrim met to consult about this matter. See John xi. 47.

Caiaphas.] Joseph Caiaphas was made high-priest by Valerius Gratus, as we learn from Josephus Antiq. 1. xviii. c. 3. and afterwards deposed by Vitellius, ib. xviii. c. 6. One may infer from Acts v. 17. that Caiaphas was of the sect of the Sadducees.

v. 4. By surprise.] i. e. Privately in some place remote from the people, Luke xxii. 6.

v. 5. Tumult.] The solemn feasts were the likeliest times for such insurrections, because of the vast numbers of people that were then at Jerusalem. For this reason the Roman governors were wont to double the watch upon such occasions. Joseph. Antiq. 1. xx. c. 4.

v. 6. Whilst Jesus.] It was now the fourth day since that had happened. See John xii. 1. This then is a digression the Evangelist makes, to shew what was the occasion of Judas's treachery, and served as a pretence for it.

The leper.] i. e. That had been so, and had ever since retained that name.

v. 7. Alabaster box.] These boxes were called only alabasters; not because they were all made of alabaster, for there were some of glass. The greatest part of them were of a kind of alabaster, called onyx, and made in the shape of a pyramid.

v. 8. His disciples-] It appears from John xii. 4. that none but Judas found fault with what this woman had done. St. Matthew

disciples seeing this, were very angry at it, and said; To what purpose is this profuseness? 9 For this ointment might have been sold for a good deal, and the money given to the poor. 10 But JESUS, who took notice of this, said to them, why disturb ye the woman? she has done a commendable action. 11 For ye shall have always poor among you; but me ye shall not have always. 12 When she poured this ointment on my body, she did it to anticipate my burial. 13 Assuredly, I tell you; in what part of the world soever this gospel shall be preached, what this woman has now done, shall likewise be told in memory of her.

14 Then one of the twelve, namely, Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said to them :

ver. 11. Deut. xv. 11. xvii. 11. Matt. xxviii. 20. xxii. 4. v. 15. Zech. xi. 12.

15 What

John xii. 8. xiii. 33. xiv. 19. xvi. 5, 28. v. 14. Matt. x. 4. Mark xiv. 10 Luke

hath put here the disciples in general, for one of the disciples, as he saith elsewhere, with St. Mark, that the thieves reviled Jesus Christ, though it is evident from St. Luke xxiii. 39. that there was but one that was guilty of that crime. Thus all the children of Israel are charged with the sin of Achan, Josh. vii. 1, 21. Thus likewise St. Luke xxxiii. 36. and St. John xix. 29. ascribe to the soldiers in general, that, which according to Matt. xxvii. 48. and Mark xv. 36. was done only by one of them.

v. 11. Ye shall have always poor.] By the poor here, is not meant so much the beggars, as the indigent, that can hardly subsist by their own industry, or with the little they have: such as those, of whom it is said, Deut. xv. 11. that they shall never cease out of the land of Israel. The Jews themselves own, that it was to be so under the reign of the Messiah.

v. 12. To anticipate.] We have added here from St. Mark, the word to anticipate, which very well expresses Jesus Christ's meaning: She hath done it to anoint me before-hand, for my burying, Mark xiv. 8, This was not indeed the design of Mary, but our Saviour puts this construction upon what she did, that he might confirm thereby what he had said to his disciples concerning his approaching death, Matt.

xx. 18.

v. 13. This gospel.] i. e. This part of the gospel history.

v. 14. Then.] The Evangelist returns here from his digression, and goes on to relate what was transacted in the assembly mentioned,

ver. 3.

v. 15. They agreed.] Or, They paid him.