5 Then went out to

the region round a

Matt. xi. 18. Luke vii. 33, but only such as the wilderness or as the wood brought forth.

5, 6. And upon this fearful denouncing of his him Jerusalem, and against the Jews, a great multitude of Jews of all all Judæa, and all parts went out to him, and confessed their sins, which bout Jordan, might justly bring down these judgments on them, 6 And were bap- each acknowledging his own particular guilts, and tized of him in Jor- promising reformation. And he received them by dan, confessing their baptism, or immersion in the water of Jordan, pro7 ¶ But when he mising them pardon, upon the sincerity of their saw many of the conversion, and amendment or reformation of their Pharisees and Sad- lives.

sins.

ducees come to his bO ye, that are more like to broods of venomous baptism, he said un- creatures than the progeny of Abraham, who hath to them, O generaadmonished to make use of this means to escape hath warned you to this destruction approaching?

tion of vipers, who

flee from the wrath

to come?

8 Bring forth there

repentance:

you

8. See that your reformation be sincere, producing fore fruits meet for fruits worthy of the stock from which you glory to spring, (i. e. of Abraham, ver. 9, who is your father indeed, but from whom you are so far degenerated, that become broods of vipers, ver. 7;) or absolutely (as Acts xxvi. 20,) meet, fit, seasonable fruits, such as may avert or prevent those judgments.

you are

9 And think not 9. And say not, or do not please and satisfy to say within your- yourselves in saying or thinking, that you have the selves, We have A- privilege of being children of Abraham, which will braham to our father: be able to secure you; for God hath not such need for I say unto you, of children of Abraham, that he may not destroy these stones to raise them; he can, without breach of promise to him, up children unto A- destroy them all, and then out of the obdurate Genbraham.

that God is able of

10 And now also

tile world (or, if he please, out of the stones in the streets) produce and raise up a people to himself, followers of the faith of Abraham, and so as precious to God, and to whom the promises made to Abraham as truly belong, as to the proudest Jew among you.

10. But now are God's judgments come home to the ax is laid unto this people, and ready to seize upon the whole nathe root of the trees: tion, and shall actually fall upon every unreformed therefore every tree sinner among you. See note [c] on Acts xv. (In this forth good fruit is how every sort of people is concerned, see Luke iii. hewn down, and cast 10, &c.)

which bringeth not

into the fire.

III indeed [g] bap

11. But this is not all I have to say to you; be

* worthy or meet fruits of repentance, καρποὺς ἀξίους τῆς μετανοίας. But the ax is even already, ồn dè kal ǹ à§ívn.

3

seem not.

fire:

5

tize you with water side this warning you to repent, I am also sent to tell unto repentance: but you that the Messias is now at hand, ready to enter he that cometh after me is mightier than on his office. And indeed all that I do, is to preach I, whose shoes I am repentance, and to receive proselytes after the Jewish not worthy [h] to manner, with water, the only ceremony that I use; bear: he shall bap- but Christ, who, though he comes after me, is much tize you with the Holy Ghost, and with superior to me, and whose disciple or servant I am not worthy to be, (he being that great prophet foretold by Moses, that all must hear under pain of utter excision, and accordingly reforming and heightening Moses's law, which I have not meddled with, save to call you to repent of the breach of it,) he shall come in greater pomp, shall first send the Holy Ghost to come down visibly on some of you his chosen disciples, who shall believe in him, and to whom he shall entrust all power in his church after him, thereby not only to assure them of the truth of his doctrine, but also to consecrate them to his service, (see note [a] on Acts i.) to preach his doctrine to the whole world, (but first to all the cities of Jury.) And this shall be another manner of initiating of disciples, mine with water, but his with fire, which will purge those things which water will not, and this fire perhaps an emblem of something else; for immediately after that, by that time they have preached thorough all the cities of Jury, he shall also come down with fire or flaming judgments on the obdurate unbelievers, v. 12. (see Acts ii. 17. 19, &c.) and at the end of the world reward every man according to his works.

12 Whose [i] fan is 12. He comes like an husbandman to thresh and in his hand, and he winnow, with such instruments in his hands which will throughly purge will sever the wheat from the chaff, the good from his wheat into the the bad; the good he will preserve, but the refuse he garner; but he will will deliver up to the wind and fire, to be utterly burn up the chaff destroyed.

with unquenchable

fire.

13 Then cometh 13.

While John was thus a preaching and baptizing, Jesus from Galilee and had gathered good store of disciples, Jesus cometh to Jordan unto John, from Galilee

to be baptized of

him.

14 But John for

14. And John besought him it might be otherwise,

bad him, saying, I saying— have need to be bap

tized of thee, and comest thou to me?

him, Suffer it to be

15 And Jesus an- d to do all those things which are by God reswering said unto quired of all under this state of John's ministry, (see so now: for thus it note [b] on Rom. i.) and by so doing, i. e. by my rebecometh us to ful- ceiving baptism from thee, God hath determined to fil all righteousness. inaugurate me to my office of preaching the gospel, Then he suffered by sending down his Spirit upon me at that time, and giving me testimony from heaven; upon this, John permitted him, and baptized him, and accordingly it came to pass.

him.

out of the water:

16 And Jesus, when 16. For Jesus, as soon as he was baptized, went he was baptized, out of the water before John, and as soon as ever he went up straightway came out of the water, he fell down on his knees in and, lo, the heavens prayer to his Father, (Luke iii. 21,) and whilst he was were opened unto praying, behold the heavens, (see Acts vii. 56,) either him, and he saw the really, or after some remarkable manner of appearSpirit of God de-ance, parted asunder visibly before Christ, and the scending [k] like a dove, and lighting Spirit of God descended upon him as a dove descends upon any thing, visibly hovering, and lighting upon him, (so Mark i. 10,) and John Baptist saw and discerned what was done, John i. 32.

upon him:

17 And lo a voice 17. And as the heavens parted asunder, a thunder from heaven, saying, came out, and (joined with it) a voice, delivering This is my [7] belov- these words, This is &c., i. e. This is my Son whom I ed Son, in whom I am well pleased. have sent on purpose to reveal my will by him, and whatsoever he teaches comes from me, and is perfectly my will or law.

THEN was Jesus

into the wilderness

CHAP. IV.

1. AND immediately after his baptism, and before led up of the Spirit he entered on his prophetic office, that Christ might to be tempted of the give an evidence of his piety, and trust in God, [a] devil. and of his constancy, it was thought fit that some trial should be made of him. And to that end, by incitation or impulsion of the Spirit of God, (of which he was full, Luke iv. 1.) he went up from Jordan farther in the desert, not voluntarily putting himself upon temptation, but doing it according to God's appointment.

an hungred.

2 And when he 2. And being there, he was enabled by the mirahad fasted forty days culous power of God to continue forty days and and forty nights, nights without eating or drinking any thing, as Moses he was afterward and Elias, the two great prophets, had done, and after that, that he might be the fitter for the ensuing trial of his trust in God, made on him by Satan, he was as sharply assaulted with hunger as any man at any time is for want of meat.

7 as it were.

3 And when the 3. And the devil laying hold, and taking advantempter came to tage of that opportunity, came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, make use now of that power command that these to thy own relief, and turn these stones into bread.

him, he said, If thou

be the Son of God,

stones be made

bread.

But he answered

ten," Man shall not

a

■ Bread, or ordinary means of sustaining men, is and said, It is writ- not of necessity to the life of man; God can feed and live by bread alone, uphold him by other means, whatsoever he please to but by every word make use of to that purpose, his bare word and that proceedeth out nothing else, Deut. viii. 3.

of the mouth of

God.

5 Then the devil 5, 6. Then Satan, as it is most probable, carried taketh him up into him in the air, without doing him any hurt, unto the holy city, and Jerusalem, being permitted by God to do so, and set setteth him on 1[6] a pinnacle of the tem- him on the battlement of the temple; and urging a ple, verse of the Psalm to him, Psalm xci. 11, he per6 And saith unto suaded him to cast himself down from thence, by that

him, If thou be the means to testify that he was the Son of God; for if thyself down for it he were so, this he might do securely.

Son of God, cast

is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee and 2 in their hands they shall 3 bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash

stone.

thy foot against a It is sufficiently manifest to me that I am the Son of God, and cared for by him. I shall not re7 Jesus said unto him, It is written quire any more signs to prove it, nor express any again, Thou shalt doubt of his power and goodness toward me, as the not [c] tempt the Israelites did, Exod. xvii. 7, saying, Is the Lord Lord thy God. among us, or no? To which the prohibition of 8 Again, the devil tempting God refers, Deut. vi. 16, (which is the text taketh him up into an exceeding high quoted in this place, a prohibition not of too much, but too little confidence, of doubting of God's premountain, c and sheweth him all the sence among them.)

kingdoms of the and from thence gives him a view of all that world, and the glory was to be seen from thence, and adds a representaof them ;

9 And saith unto tion of many of the other kingdoms of the world, in him, All these things as splendid and inviting manner as he could, and all will I give thee, if this in a moment of time, Luke iv. 5, not one after thou wilt fall down another, that so they might amaze and affect him the and worship me. 10 Then saith Je- more with their splendour, and on a sudden prevail sus unto him, Get upon him, which otherwise would not be so likely to thee hence, Satan : do it.

1 the battlement.

2 ἐπί.
on,

3

carry thee, ἀροῦσί σε.

for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

II Then the devil 11. Then for a while, Luke iv. 13, Satan left leaveth him, and, tempting him, (afterwards setting himself more inbehold, angels came dustriously on all stratagems to take away his life,) and ministered unto and as the devil left him, the good angels came and 12 Now when waited on him, ministering to his hunger, or bringJesus had heard that ing him meat, as to Elias was done.

him.

John was cast into

into Galilee ;

12. After this, not immediately, but having gone prison, he departed once into Galilee, and done many things there, (set 13 And leaving Na- down, John ii. &c.) and having before that enterzareth, he came and tained some disciples or constant followers, John ii. 2, dwelt in Capernaum, by name Philip, John i. 43, (for this and much more which is upon the was done before John's being cast into prison, John iii. 24; see note [e] on John i.) when he heard of the and Nephthalim: imprisonment of John, he went a second time into 14 That it might be Galilee.

sea coast, in the

borders of Zabulon!

fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [d] by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, d[e] Galilee of the Gentiles;

d Galilee encompassed, or in the confines of other. nations.

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17. Now began Jesus to enter on his prophetic 17 From that time Jesus began to office, (consisting of three things; preaching or makpreach, and to say, ing known the will of God, entertaining disciples, Repent: for the doing of miracles; the first here, and more largely, kingdom of heaven Matt. v. 6, 7, and in his many parables; the second,

is at hand.

v. 18, &c.; the third, as necessary to confirm his doctrine, on 'all occasions from time to time, till his death, and departure hence ;) and the sum of that 18 ¶ And Jesus, office was to bring sinners to repentance, by giving walking by the sea them warnings from God, promises to allure, and of Galilee, saw two threatenings to fright them to it.

brethren, Simon call- 18-22. And as Jesus was walking by the lake. drew his brother, of Genesereth, (see note [c] on Luke viii.) he saw

ed Peter, and An

4 dismisseth, ἀφίησιν. 5 delivered up, tapedóon.

did the light arise, φῶς ἀνέτειλεν.

6 the sea-side.

7 nations, ov@v.