16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; he do not fail, by inattention or negligence, to derive that instruction and profit they are designed to communi cate. 16. In this verse and the three succeeding, Jesus refers to the melancholy fact, that notwithstanding he and John had exhibited sufficient proof that they were divinely-commissioned instructors, yet the people of that generation had not fully believed in either; but while they flocked to hear both, and were striving to secure places in the kingdom, they withheld a full and hearty belief, and that too on the most frivolous pretences. Their objections were inconsistent and contradictory, manifesting a disposition not to be satisfied with anything; at least, with anything short of an exact and literal conformity to their own prejudices. T Like unto children, &c. The Jews are here compared, not to the children who called to their fellows, but to them who were called, yet obstinately, or sullenly, or perversely, refused to join in the proposed amusements. They would neither dance to the lively music of their companions, nor mourn in unison with their songs of lamentation. To such children, the Jews were compared, who manifested such an unwillingness to be satisfied with the character of our Lord or of his forerunner. We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating ment of melancholy sounds."—Jahn. It is generally supposed, and probably with truth, that the children were accustomed to imitate the ceremonies usual on festive or funeral occasions; to play on pipes, a species of musical instrument then in use, dancing to the music, or to sing mournful songs, and utter the usual language of lamentation; that, sometimes, when some desired thus to imitate a festival or a funeral, others would be unsocial or sullen, and refuse to join in the pastime; and that to this circumstance our Lord alluded in the text. He declared that the Jews were as unwilling to be pleased as such unsocial children; that when John came, living in the most abstemious manner, they were dissatisfied, and said he had a demon; and when Christ came, adopting the manner of living usual among the Jews, as to food, they were still dissatisfied, and called him gluttonous and a wine-bibber. Thus they resembled those children who would neither dance when their associates piped, nor lament when they mourned, or rather when they sung mournful songs. 18. John came neither eating nor drinking. We are not to understand that he abstained entirely from food or drink; but that he was abstemious in his diet. Luke records the language more fully, and according to his record, 17. We have piped unto you, and ye the idea is perfectly plain: "John the have not danced, &c. At Jewish wed-Baptist came neither eating bread, nor dings, "about evening, the bridegroom, clothed in the festival robe, attended with a company of young men of about the same age, and cheered with songs and instrumental music, conducted from her father's house the bride, who was in like manner surrounded with virgins of her own age, to his father's house." And at funerals, "the mourners, who followed the bier, poured forth the anguish of their hearts in lamentable wails; and what rendered the ceremony still more affecting, there were eulogists and musicians in attendance, who deepened the sympathetic feelings of the occasion, by a rehearsal of the virtues of the departed, and by the accompani drinking wine." Luke vii. 33. And Matthew describes the kind of food on which he subsisted, namely, "locusts and wild honey." Matt. ii. 4. And because he was thus singular in his habits of life, the Jews professed to consider him insane, and said he had a devil, or demon, as the word should be translated. See note on Mark ch. v. This was a somewhat favorite method among the Jews of accounting for conduct which they disliked, or of destroying the reputation of those who bore testimony against their ungodliness. More than once, they brought this railing accusation against our Lord himJohn vii. 20; viii. 48; x. 20, 21. self. and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But Wisdom is justified of her children. 20 Then began he to upbraid 19. The Son of man came eating and drinking. He conformed to the usages of society, (except that he kept no fasts, Matt. ix. 14, 15,) in regard to food, and ate whatever was placed before him; and did not hesitate to sit at meals with publicans and those who were stigmatized as sinners. And they were dissatisfied with his conduct, as well as with that of John. They perhaps regarded it as a reproof of their exclusiveness in their intercourse with mankind, and of their formality in observing so many stated fasts. But, whatever was the reason, they took occasion to calumniate him in respect to meats and drinks, and represented him as given to excess and luxury, and as courting the society of the vicious and depraved. Behold a man gluttonous. That is, indulging to excess in eating. This is a species of intemperance which has destroyed the health and lives of many, and which all should carefully avoid; but of which our Lord was not guilty. The charge was as unfounded, as was that against John. TA wine-bibber. One given to the use of wine; one who is fond of wine, and in the constant habit of using it. The word generally denotes such as use wine to intoxication. From this vice, which has ruined multitudes, our Lord was certainly free. That he occasionally used the common wine of Palestine, is indeed probable. It was the usual drink of the people. But there is no evidence that it was fermented, or had any intoxicating quality. His practice, in this respect, affords not the slightest excuse to those who drink what is called wine, in the present day; much of which contains not a particle of the juice of the grape, but is a villanous compound of noxious and poisonous drugs, and these adulterated with alcohol. And even that which contains the true juice of the grape is so strongly enforced with brandy, or alcohol in some other form, that its use endangers health and life. Such wine our Lord never tasted. We might plead his example as well for eating tainted and unwholesome meat, because the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. 21 Wo unto thee, Chorazin! wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done he ate meat, as for drinking drugged and poisonous wine, because he drank wine. There was, to be sure, a way of mixing wine, anciently practised, by which it became intoxicating in its character. And the effect of using it is forcibly and graphically described. Prov. xxiii. 29-32. But there is not the slightest evidence that our Lord ever drank such wine. There is evidence, however, that when a stupifying draught of this kind was offered him, at his crucifixion, which was often administered to render men less sensible to the horrible sufferings attending such a death, he refused it. Mark xv. 23. Wisdom is justified of her children. Rather, by her children. The children of wisdom are the wise, as children of transgression are transgressors. Isa. lvii. 4. Though the scribes and Pharisees reviled both Jesus and John, and represented their conduct as betokening insanity or a corrupt disposition, yet the wise would view the matter differently, and acknowledge that each conducted properly. As it was the mission of John, to arouse the people from their slumbers, and direct their attention to the approaching Messiah, it was well that he should follow the example of the ancient prophets, as to his garb and manner of life. As it was the mission of Jesus, to instruct men; to impress upon their minds those lessons of truth which were essential to their present well being; to excite their love to God and man, by convincing them that God was their Father and friend, and mankind their brethren; and to give them assurance of final and entire purification from all iniquity; it was well that he should adopt those habits of life, which would give him free access to those whom he desired to instruct and bless. 20. Upbraid. Reprove, or rebuke. Cities. That is, the people of those cities. Mighty works. Miracles. Most of his miracles, hitherto, had been wrought in the region round about the sea of Galilee. These were of such a character as clearly to indicate his Messiahship. Yet they resisted the force in you had been done in Tyre and of this evidence; they remained in unbelief; they neither profited by his lessons of righteousness, nor brought forth the fruits of repentance. This state of things, our Lord foresaw, would continue, until the whole Jewish nation should fill up the measure of their iniquity, by their conduct towards him, and should sink beneath the weight of those terrible judgments which were then hanging over their heads. Of those judgments, these impenitent cities would be partakers; and such were the judgments to which he refers, in the subsequent verses, when addressing the cities particularly, and comparing their conduct and fate with ancient examples. 66 21. Woe unto thee. Woe is unto thee," would perhaps better express the sense. It is not to be understood as a denunciation of woe, much less as an imprecation; but simply as a declaration of warning. See Matt. xxiv. 19. "As the Son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them; he came not to curse but to bless us, by turning away every one of us from his iniquities. The words which proceeded out of his mouth were, in every sense, justly denominated full of grace. His example was perfectly conformable to his instructions; and I will venture to affirm that, the more narrowly we examine his discourses, the more we shall be convinced that nothing he ever uttered against any living being, if candidly interpreted, will be found to bear any affinity to an imprecation."-Campbell. Chorazin, Bethsaida. These were cities in and near which Jesus had performed many miracles. The inhabitants, like those of Jerusalem afterwards, rejected this testimony, to their own destruction. Jesus foretold the approaching calamity: and, in due time, it came. So complete was the destruction, that, though these cities are known to have been situated near the sea of Galilee, the precise spot of their focation cannot now be found. T Tyre and Sidon. Tyre was "a famous city of Phoenicia, allotted to the tribe of Asher, with other maritime cities of the same coast; Josh. xix. 29; but it does not appear that the Asherites ever drove out the Canaanites." It was situated on the shore of the Mediterranean, in the westerly part of Palestine. It was proverbial for the wickedness of its inhab | Sidon, they would have repented itants, against whom the ancient prophets denounced severe judgments. Isa. xxiii.; Ezk. ch. xxvi., xxvii. It was destroyed by the Chaldeans, about B. C. 573. "Its destruction then must have been entire; all the inhabitants were put to the sword, or led into captivity, the walls were razed to the ground, and it was made a terror and a desolation." It was subsequently rebuilt; and, though frequently besieged and taken, it continued to exist in the time of our Saviour. There were some disciples there, when Paul visited the place. Acts xxi. 3, 4. It continues in existence even now, though in a state of weakness and poverty. Sidon was also a Phoenician city, about twenty miles northerly from Tyre, on the shore of the Mediterranean. This also was allotted to Asher, but that tribe never obtained actual possession of it. Judg. i. 31. "The Sidonians continued long under their own government and kings, though sometimes tributary to the kings of Tyre. They were subdued, successively, by the Babylonians, Egyptians, Selucidæ, and Romans, the latter of whom deprived them of their freedom." Sidon still exists, but in a degraded state. Both Tyre and Sidon, their former magnificence, their sinfulness and destruction, were well known to the Jews; the comparison, therefore, they could easily understand. ¶ If the mighty works, &c. If the prophetic denunciations against these cities had been accompanied by such mighty works or miracles as Jesus wrought, the inhabitants would not have been so stupid or so stubborn as the Jews; but would have repented and reformed, and thus averted the calamity which overwhelmed them. TIn sackcloth and ashes. Sackcloth is a very coarse article, commonly made of hair. The Jews were accustomed to wear it in seasons of calamity and distress. It thus became an emblem of mourning. They also cast ashes upon their heads, as a manifestation of grief. The meaning of the phrase here is, that they would have repented, with indications of deep and extreme sorrow for their sins. So much more stubborn were the Jews than even the heathen, that they were unmoved by what would have aroused the heathen, and led them to repentance. It was so in apostolic times; insomuch long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. that Paul and others, having vainly endeavored to convert the Jews, turned to the Gentiles, among whom they met a more cordial reception. Acts xiii. 42, 46. And even to this day, no class of men more stubbornly resist the gospel than the Jews. 22. It shall be more tolerable, &c. See note on Matt. x. 15. The meaning is, that the calamities about to befall Bethsaida and Chorazin would be more severe than those which formerly befell Tyre and Sidon. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in very different signification. It occurs eleven times in the New Testament. Matt. xi. 23; xvi. 18; Luke x. 15 ; xvi. 23; Acts ii. 27, 31; 1 Cor. xv. 55; Rev. i. 18; vi. 8; xx. 13, 14. It is uniformly translated hell, except in a single instance, (1 Cor. xv. 55, where it is rendered grave,) and is thus confounded with the word Gehenna, also translated hell, although the two words have not the slightest affinity. As this is the first instance of its occurrence, it may be well to notice its meaning particularly. This is a point sometimes overlooked by commentators. It was overlooked by Barnes, in the passage quoted from him. He uses the word hell as indicating a place of endless misery, when he says Jesus did "not mean that all the people should go to hell," &c. But, according to the literal sense of hades, all do go there; to wit, to the state of the dead. "As to the word hades, which occurs in eleven places in the New Testament, and is rendered hell in all, except one, where it is translated grave, it is quite common in classical authors, and frequently used by the Seventy in the translation of the Old Testament. In my judgment, it ought never in Scripture to be rendered hell, at least in the sense wherein that word is universally understood by Christians. In the Old Testament, the corresponding word is sheol, which signifies the state of the dead in general, without regard to the goodness or badness of the persons, their happiness or misery. In translating that word, the Seventy have almost invariably used hades. This word is also used sometimes in rendering the nearly sy 23. Capernaum. The city in which Jesus had generally dwelt, after leaving Nazareth, and in which some of his mightiest miracles had been wrought. Here he healed the paralytic, opened the eyes of the blind, cast out devils, and raised the dead. See ch. ix. He addresses this city the more particularly, because its privileges had been unusually great. Which art exalted unto heaven. That is, in regard to privileges. Besides the temporal prosperity enjoyed by this city, it was the residence of Jesus, and enjoyed peculiar advantages of a spiritual kind. Shalt be brought down to hell. "This does not mean that all the people should go to hell; but that the city, which had flourished so prosperously, should lose its prosperity, and occupy the lowest place among cities. The word hell is used here, not to denote a place of punishment in the future world, but a state of desolation and destruction as a city."-Barnes. "Brought down to hell; that is, to the grave; it means, thou shalt be quite ruined and destroyed. So it was, in the wars of the Jews with the Romans, and there are now no footsteps remaining of it, nor of Beth-nonymous words or phrases, bor and saida or Chorazin."-Pearce. "What is said in this and the following verse, concerning a calamity which the city should suffer, has manifest relation to a punishment to be endured in the present life."-Wetstein. To the same effect, Hammond, Whitby, and several others. See Selections, sect. xx. It should be observed, that the word, here translated hell, is not Gehenna, (yéevva,) but Hades, (adns,) a word of abne bor, the pit, and stones of the pit; tsal moth, the shades of death; dumeh, silence. The state is always represented under those figures which suggest something dreadful, dark, and silent, about which the most prying eye and listening ear can acquire no information. The term hades is well adapted to express this idea. To this the word hell, in its primitive signification, perfectly corresponded. For, at first, it Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. would not have been destroyed. It is not very probable that those inhabitants were cast into a state of endless misery. For whatever may be thought of incorrigible sinners, if there be such, it is plainly enough declared that these were not of that description. They would have repented, if they had enjoyed equal privileges with others. 24. In the day of judgment, &c. See note on Matt. x. 15. The judgment executed on Sodom was not so severe as that which befell the Jews. See Lament. iv. 6, where a season of tribulation is referred to, less severe than that predicted by our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 21. denoted only what was secret or concealed. This word is found, with little variation of form, and precisely in the same meaning, in all the Teutonic dialects."-Campbell. Archbishop Usher, in giving the derivation and meaning of the English word hell, says "Some derive it from the Hebrew word sheol." Some "from the Greek word elos, (λos,) which signifies a lake," some, from the English hole, as signifying a pit-hole," some, "from hale, as denoting the place that haleth or draweth men into it;" and "some say, that in the old Saxon or German, hell signifieth deep, whether it be high or low. But the derivation given by Verstagan is the most probable; from being helled 25. Answered and said. That is, proover, that is to say, hidden or covered. ceeded to say. He did not reply to For in the old German tongue, from any question, as the phrase might seem whence our English was extracted, hil to import. Such phraseology often ocsignifieth to hide; and hulah in Olfri- curs, in the same manner, in the New dus Wissenburgensis is hidden. And Testament. TI thank thee, O Father, in this country, [Ireland,] with them &c. It may be remarked, that, while that retain the ancient language which he dwelt on the earth, Jesus frequently their forefathers brought with them out prayed to the Father for blessings he of England, to hell the head is as much desired, and offered thanks to him for as to cover the head; and he that cov- blessings bestowed. Hence, however ereth the house with tile or slate is exalted we may believe him to have from thence commonly called a hellier. been, in rank, dignity, and character, So that in the original propriety of the we cannot well doubt that the Father is word, our hell doth exactly answer the still more exalted and glorious. John Greek hades, (adns,) which denoteth xiv. 28; Heb. vii. 7. It is observable, the place which is unseen, or removed also, that the usual appellation, by from the sight of man."-Tr. Limb. which Jesus addressed the Supreme, is Patrum. In this definition of the word Father, expressive of the most tender hades or hell, agree, substantially, relationship. And thus he instructed Hammond, Whitby, Clarke, &c. See his disciples to address God. If we Selections, sect. xx. This word oc- can fully realize that God is our Father, curs, Gen. xxxvii. 35; Job xvii. 13; we shall not doubt his protecting care, Ps. vi. 5; Isa. xxxviii. 18, &c. By nor shall we fear to commit our souls to referring to those passages, the manner his charge. ¶ Lord of heaven and of its use may be the more fully un-earth. The Supreme Ruler of the uniderstood. TWould have remained. verse. See Isa. xlv. 22; xlvi. 9, 10; Sodom was utterly destroyed, and sunk Dan. iv. 35. Wise and prudent. in the depth of the sea, having first That is, those who were wise in their endured the vengeance of fire. See own conceit, or deeply skilled in phiGen. xix. 24, 25. The Dead Sea is losophy and science falsely so called. supposed now to cover the spot where Rom. i. 22; 1 Cor. i. 26, 27; 1 Tim. Sodom once stood. Jesus says, if the vi. 20. ¶ Babes. Jesus frequently inhabitants of Sodom could have wit- called his disciples children and little nessed his miracles, they would have ones; and declared that none could bebelieved, and repented, and their city come disciples, unless they should hum |