Capernaum. est thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? o Ex. xvi. 15. Num. xi. 7. • Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as John vi. 31. p Ps. lxxviii. it is written, P He gave them bread from heaven 24, 25. to eat. Then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say John vi. 22. unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down John vi. 33. from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give John vi. 34. us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of John vi. 85. life 13 he that cometh to me shall never hunger; : and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen John vi. 36. me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to John vi. 37. 13 We have here another instance in which Christ applied to himself an epithet given by the Jews to their expected Messiah. Midrash Coheleth, fol. 73.3. R. Berechia nomine R. Isaac dixit: quemadmodum Goël primus, sic quoque erit postremus. Goël primus, descendere fecit Manna. Exod. xvi. 4. Et pluere faciam vobis panem de cœlo. Sic quoque Goël posq. d. tremus descendere facit Manna q. d. Ps. lxxii. 16. erit multitudo frumenti super terram. See Schoetgen. in loc. It is probable that our Saviour alluded to this tradition, as well as to the ideas of the Rabbis, discussed at great length by Whitby, on John vi. 31. 37, &c. The comparison of food which nourishes the body, and wisdom which nourishes the soul, is common in many parts of Scripture. Thus Isaiah-" Ye that are thirsty, come buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread," &c. &c. Lightfoot quotes also Chajigah, fol. 14. 1. and Gloss. in Succah, fol. 52. to prove that bread was frequently used among the Jewish doctors for doctrineon feed him with bread; that is, make him take pains in the warfare of the law, as it is written. It may be observed here, that an acquaintance with the Jewish traditions would materially assist the theological student to form a more accurate notion of many subjects of controversy between the Church of Rome and the Protestants. This discourse of our Lord in John vi. has been much insisted upon by the Romanists, as defending and supporting the doctrine of transubstantiation. This notion originated in the sixth century, and is founded on the literal interpretation of passages which were commonly used by the Jews, to whom the Scriptures were addressed, and by the inspired writers who primarily wrote for their use, in a metaphorical sense. I do not observe that Fulke has noticed this point in his remarks on John vi. in his work on the Rhemish translation of the New Testament. See that work, p. 275-280, folio edit. 1633. London. John vi. 38. John vi. 39. John vi. 40. John vi. 41. John vi. 42. John vi. 43. John vi. 44 John vi. 45. John vi. 46. John vi. 47. John vi. 48. John vi. 49. John vi. 50. John vi. 51. John vi. 52. John vi. 53. me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise Capernaum. cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. q Matt. xiii. 55. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of M No man can come to me, except the Father r It is written in the prophets, And they shall Is. liv. 13. be all taught of God. Every man therefore that Jer. xxxi.34. hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, saves Matt, xi. 27. he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son Capernaum. of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in John vi. 53. t Matt. xvi. 16. you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, John vi. 54. hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is John vi. 55. drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my John vi. 56. blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live John vi. 57. by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from hea- John vi. 58. ven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he John vi. 59. taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had John vi. 60. heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples John vi. 61. murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man as- John vi. 62. cend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John vi. 63. But there are some of you that believe not. John vi. 64. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that John vi. 65. no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, John vi. 66. and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also John vi. 67. go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to John vi. 68. whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. * And we believe and are sure that thou art that John vi. 69. Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? John vi. 70. John vi. 71. John vii. 1. He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: Capernaum. for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee : for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. SECTION IX. Christ converses with the Scribes and Pharisees on the Subject of the Jewish Traditions. Mark vii. 1. Mark vii. 2. Mark vii. 3. Mark vii. 4. Mark vii. 5. Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the Scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen Or, comhands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands † oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. mon. + Or, dili gently: in the original, Theophylact, with the fist: up to the elbow. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, † Sextarius is and of § tables. Then the Pharisees and Scribes asked him, Matt. xv. 1. saying, Matt. xv. 2. Matt. xv. 3. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by tradition 14? your 14 To prove that the Evangelist has here spoken with the utmost correctness, about a pint and a half. Or, beds. וחכמים עשו חיזוק מדבריהם .1 .101 .Schoetgen has quoted from Jevachim, fol Et sapientes fecerunt robur verbis suis, plusquam verbis יותר משל תורה: Legis. Lightfoot also has given many others to the same purpose 27 D'a'an סופרים מדברי תורה: of the law. Hieros. Berac. fol. 3. 2. Capernaum. u Exod. xx. 12. Deut. v. 16. For God commanded, saying, "Honour thy Matt. xv. 4. father and mother: and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the Mark vii. 10. death. But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or Mark vii. 11. mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me: he shall be free. And honour not his father or his mother, Matt. xv. 6. religion are only valuable, as they are the emblems, and the appointed means of spiritual blessings. While their proper value is set upon the records of history, the inquiries of the critical, the labours of the learned, the opinions of the judicious, the decisions of the early Church, and all the sources of accurate information, it ought never to be forgotten, neither is it forgotten by the Protestant Churches, that Scripture is the one unerring test of truth, to which every conclusion must be submitted. The Jews adopted many traditions, which were not only contrary to, but were very frequently hostile to Scripture. The Romanists have been guilty of the very same error. The Jews believed that a man might withhold assistance from his afflicted or poor parents, under the pretence that he had dedicated his substance (or corban) to God, with many other absurdities enumerated at length by Lightfoot, Schoetgen, Meuschen, Gill, and others, and alluded to in many places by the Evangelists. The Romanists have set aside the plain and express authority of Scripture, and follow gradual inventions, which they dignify by the name of traditions. They insist, for instance, on such points as these.-The mass without communicants-The denial of the cup to the Laity-The prohibiting the reading of Scripture-The distinction between latria and dulia, Xarpɛia and dovλɛĩa, in the worshipping of angels, and saints, and God-The use of images-The praying in an unknown tongue-The mediatorial offices of the saints, and especially of the Virgin Mary -The assumption of the Virgin, an invention of a very late age-The seven sacraments-The doctrine of purgatory. The Church that teaches these doctrines is as justly worthy of the condemnation of our Lord, as the Pharisees, who were his contemporaries—“ Ye make the word of God of none effect by your tradition." Much might be added on this and other topics connected with the discussions on the doctrines in controversy between the Protestants and Romanists; but to do so would extend these notes far beyond their limits. See a work entitled a Learned Treatise on Traditions, translated from the French of Du Moulin, by G. C. London, 1632; particularly ch. 12 and 13. p. 165-223. Fulke's Defence of the English Translation of the Bible, printed at the end of his observations on the Rhemish translation, p. 29-33. Bishop Hall's tract, entitled "The Old Religion," in the ninth volume of his works, 8vo. Pratt's edition, p. 287. and the Tracts against Popery, Tit. 1. p. 22. by Bishop Stratford. The Reformation Vindicated, &c. together with many other treatises in that admirable and inestimable collection. On the Affinity between the Absurdities of the Pharisaical and Catholic Traditions, see also Chemnitius. Exam. Concil. Trident. Pars prior, p. 20-24. See also Schoetgen. Hora Hebraicæ, vol. i. p. 138. |