charged him (Luke, They that went before, rebuked him. Matt. The multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace) that he should hold his peace; but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me (Matt. They cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.) 49. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called (Luke commanded him to be brought unto him) He had passed by the blind men, and would not perform the miracle till they came to him, that by the manner of their walking, the spectators might be sensible they were really blind. Mark x. 49. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee. 50. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. When they came near, Jesus asked what it was that they were requesting with such earnestness. Perhaps some of his train imagined, that the beggars, like others who followed the same way of life, were feigning themselves blind to move peoples compassion; and for that reason, expected they would have begged nothing but an alms. Wherefore, when they intreated him to bestow on them the more excellent charity of sight, it could not be doubted that they were blind. 51. And Jesus answered and said unto him, (Luke, And when he was come near, he asked him, saying) What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight (Matt. that our eyes may be opened.) Matt. xx. 34. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes. Mark x. 52. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke says, that at conferring the cure, Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee: i. e. the strong persuasion which thou entertainest of my divine power, makes thee fit to receive this cure which I now bestow on thee. See on Mark ix. 23. § 73. And immediately their eyes received sight, and * Ver. 51. And said, What wilt thou, &c.] It is observable, that we never find Jesus bestowing an alms of money on any poor person falling in his way; yet this is no objection against his charity. For if the person who addressed him was incapable of working for his own subsistence, by reason of bodily infirmity, it was much more noble, and much more becoming the dignity of the Son of God, to remove the infirmity, and put the beggar in a condition of supporting himself, than by the gift of a small sem to relieve only a present want, which would soon return. Such an alims being at best but a trifling and indirect method of helping them. On the other hand, if the beggars who applied to him were not in real distress, through want or disease, but under the pretence of infirmity and po verty, followed begging, as they deserved no encouragement, so they met with none from Jesus, who knew perfectly the circumstances of every particular person he conversed with. Besides, to have bestowed money on the poor, was not only beneath Christ's dignity, but having occasion to perform great cures on several beggars, it might have afforded his enemies a plausible pretence for affirming that he bribed such as fegued diseases Ikewise to feign cures, of which they gave him the honour. * and they followed him (Mark, in the way) (Luke, glorifying God.) The blind men travelled along with Jesus perhaps all the way to Jerusalem, being deeply affected with a sense of his power and goodness, and earnestly desirous to shew their gratitude, by declaring openly unto all the persons they met, what a great miracle Jesus had performed upon them. Besides, by following him in the road without any guide, they put the truth of the miracle beyond all suspicion. Accordingly, Luke tell us, that the people, when they saw what was done, were thankful to God for the mercy of the cure, and acknowledged the divine mission of the prophet who had performed it, and who, before the cure, had been addressed by the blind men as the Son of David, or Messiah. Luke xviii. 43. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. Ver. 4. And they followed him ] The allegorical reflection which Erasmus makes on this circumstance is beautiful. Ita sanat animum cupiditatibus mundanis excæcatum suo contactu Jesus, et in hoc datur lumen, ut illius sequamur vestigia.” Thus Jesus, by his touch, cures the mind that is blinded with worldly lusts, and gives light for this end, that we may follow his footsteps." § CVIII. Jesus, in his journey from Jericho to Jerusalem, visits Zaccheus the publican. Luke xix. 1,—10. AFTER conferring sight on the beggars, Jesus entered Jericho, attended by the beggars, by his disciples, and by the multitude. He made no stay however in that town, because he hasted to be at Jerusalem eight or ten days before the passover, intending to preach and work miracles in the most public manner, under the eye of all the people, and of the grandees, whose resentment he was no longer afraid of, because his ministry had continued the determined time, and he was resolved to die at this passover. Luke xix. 1. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericha. 2. And behold there was a man, named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, i. e. one of the principal tax-gatherers, (see on Mark ii. 14. § 34.) and he was rich. 3. And he sought to see Jesus who he was. Having heard of our Lord's miracles, he had a great curiosity to see what sort of a person he was, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. Jesus was now attended by a prodigious multitude. For the passover being at hand, the roads to Jerusalem were full of people, many of whom happening to meet with him, chose to travel in his company, that they might behold his miracles. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore-tree to see him; for he was to pass that way. Zaccheus, it seems, was in Jericho when Jesus passed through it. This accounts for his running before the multitude on this occasion; for by the following verse it appears, that his house was farther on in the road to Jerusalem. His desire to see Jesus was increased, no doubt, by the account which he he had received in Jericho of the miracle performed on the blind beggars; for the news of so extraordinary a transaction would be quickly spread abroad. Luke xix. 5. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house. Jesus had never seen him before, yet he called him by his name, and by what he said, insinuated that he knew his house was farther on in the road. 6. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully: expressed his joy at the Lord's condescending to visit him, by shewing him all the marks of civility in his power. 7. And when they saw it, when the multitude saw him enter the house of Zaccheus, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. Perhaps they spake so loud that Zaccheus heard them, which was the reason that he justified himself before Jesus and his attendants, immediately upon their coming in. 8. And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods, probably he meant his income, I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, he meant unjust exaction of the taxes, for exopar, as Heinsius has shewed, may very properly signify any kind of oppression, especially under the pretence of law; see LXX. Eccles. iv. 1. v. 8.—I restore him four-fold. One great reason of the odium which followed the occupation of a publican, was the injustice which such persons practised in the exercise of their office. Wherefore, the declaration which Zaccheus now made, was a fit vindication of his own * Ver. 8. Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I bave taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.] We may either take this as a declaration of what Zaccheus had been in use to do, agreeably to the force of his expressions, which run in the present tense, I give, I restore; not in the future, I will give, I will restore; agreeably likewise to the testimony which Jesus honoured Zaccheus with, that he was a son of Abraham; or we may take it as a declaration of his resolution, with respect to his future conduct, dating his conversion from this period. For even in this light, the declaration clears his character from the aspersion which the multitude charged him with, on account of his occupation, and shews the unreasonableness of their murmuring against Jesus, because he went into the house of a tax-gatherer. The reason is plain; he who, after giving the half of his goods to the poor, and making restitution of fourfold for all the injuries he committed, had a competency wherewithal to support himself and his family, must not have been guilty of many deliberate acts of injustice. The evils of this kind he was chargeable with in the prosecution of his business, must have been the effects of ignorance and human frailty, rather than of a settled wicked disposition; and therefore he must have been a person of great probity and worth. Accordingly Jesus confirmed the account which Zaccheus gave of himself, by declaring that he was a son of Abraham, not in respect of his descent only, but in respect of his faith and holiness, Salvation is come to this house, forsomuch as he also is the son of Abraham. That Zaccheus was a Jew appears from his name, which is the same with Zaccai. Ezra own character, and shewed how unreasonable the prejudices were which the multitude entertained against him on account of his profession. Luke xix. 9. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for somuch as he also is the son of Abraham. Jesus, who knew the hearts of all men, confirmed the truth of what Zaccheus said concerning himself, by declaring in the hearing of all his guests, that he was the son of Abraham in respect of his faith and holiness, as well as in respect of his descent. Besides, as what Zaccheus said related to the execution of his office, it must have been a thing known to all who lived in that part of the country; and therefore his speaking of it so publicly, was a great proof of his sincerity. Farther, to convince the people that our Lord acted agreeably to his character in keeping company with publicans and sinners, he told them, that the great design of his coming into the world, was to save such. 10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost: alluding to the parables of the lost sheep, lost money, and lost son, which he had lately delivered, to prove how agree able it was to reason, to the duties of his mission, and to the will of God, that he should keep company with the worst of sinners, in order to recover them unto God, their rightful owner. And therefore, though Zaccheus had been really as bad a man as the multitude took him, and his vocation bespake him to be, Jesus was in the exercise of his duty, when he went to lodge with him. CIX. The parable of the nobleman's servants. See 124. LUKE xix. 11. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was righ to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. Because his followers were accompanying him to the royal city, in expectation that the kingdom of God would immediately ap pear, and with a resolution to assist him in erecting it, he spake a parable, wherein he shewed them their duty, described the true nature of the kingdom of God, and taught them, that it was not immediately to appear. The evangelist says, that, « As they heard these things," namely, that salvation was come to Zaccheus' family," he added and spake a parable." From this we gather, that he spake the parable in Zaccheus' house. said • Ver. 9. Jesus said unto him.] The correction of the translation here, proposed by Elsner, is just ; & eos autov, Jesus spake conserning him tò the guests, as is evident from the speech itself. ges in this signification we have Luke xx. 19. They knew that he had spoke this parable, «ços autos, of them. Also, Heb. i. 7. Kai aços 58s nyyskus, and of the angels he says. We have it likewise, Ileb. iv. 13. #gos ov neiv o angos, of whom we speak. said therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. A certain king's son, in order to be confirmed in his father's kingdom, went into a far country, to do homage unto a more powerful potentate, of whom he held it as a vassel. The allusion here, is to a custom which prevailed greatly in our Lord's time among the princes of the east. Before they ventured to ascend the throne, they went to Rome, and solicited the emperor's permission, who disposed of all the tributary kingdoms as he saw fit. The meaning of this part of the parable is, that before Jesus set up his kingdom he was to die, and to ascend into heaven. 13. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. Before he departed, he called his ten household slaves, (dus ieurs) and gave each of them a sum of money to be employed in trade till he should return. By the ten household slaves, we are to understand chiefly the apostles and first preachers of the gospel, to whom Jesus gave endowments fitting them for their work, and from whom he expected a due improvement of these endowments, in the propagation of the gospel. This was their particular duty in the erection of the kingdom of God, about which they were now so solicitous. 14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us: His natural subjects hated him without a cause, as appears from the message which they sent to the potentate, from whom he sought what in latter times has been called investiture. For in that message they alledged no crime against him, but only expressed their ill-will towards him, by declaring that they would not have him to reign over them. This is a fit representation of the causeless opposition which the Jewish great men made to Jesus. The message which these citizens sent after their prince had no effect; he received the kingdom, and returned with full authority, which he exercised in calling his servants to account, and in punishing his rebellious subjects. So the opposition which the Jews made to our Lord's being made king, proved ineffectual. Having therefore all power in heaven and in earth given unto him after his death, he will return to reckon with his apostles, and ministers, and rebellious subjects. Nay, he has returned already, and punished the Jews with a most exemplary punishment for resisting his government. Luke xix. 1. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be call ed unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. So Jesus, both at the day of mens death, and at the general judgment, will make a strict inquiry into the use and improvement which all his servants, but especially the ministers of the gospel, have made of the talents and opportunities committed unto them., 16. Then came |