third day. killed, and be raised again the | Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, bers of the Sanhedrim, the greatest Jewish tribunal. 22. Rebuke him; expressed himself very earnestly, as it were in the way of injunction, in opposition to what Jesus had said. As the time drew near for Jesus to be delivered up to his adversaries, he wished to prepare the minds of his disciples for the event. They had hitherto cherished very different ideas, and it was surprising to them to be informed that the Messiah would be put to death. Peter, with his characteristic ardor, interposed, and, supposing, perhaps, that the language of his Master proceeded from some temporary fear of the Jewish rulers, wished to give him a strong assurance that God would not permit such things to happen to him. The Greek expression for Be it far from thee, is, God be propitious to thee, have mercy thee; equivalent to God forbid. on 23. Get thee behind me ; remove out of my way, be not an obstacle to me in my path of duty. Jesus wished that nothing should be presented to his own mind, or cherished by others, in opposition to what he knew was the divine plan. || Satan. This word, which, with us, is the name of the devil, was doubtless used, in the time of our Lord, with a wider extent of meaning. It is properly a Hebrew word, which means adversary, or evil adviser. Thus, in 2 Sam. 19: 22, the sons of Zeruiah are called "adversaries," that is, evil counsellors. The original Hebrew word for "adversaries," is Satan. So here, the Saviour meant to call Peter an evil adviser, for suggesting to his mind a course inconsistent with the will of God, and for expressing himself in 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. a manner which in itself was fitted to turn him away from his appointed course. An offence to me; a stumbling-block. Peter's remark was unpleasant to Jesus, because it was so contrary to what Jesus foreknew, and because, if acted on, it would be an occasion of sin. || Thou savorest not; thou dost not relish, or delight in. This sufficiently well expresses the meaning of the original. It might be more fully expressed thus: Thy views and feelings on this point, or thy sentiments and disposition, do not accord with God's, but with men's. Peter spoke like one who was anticipating worldly prosperity and human favor, and who had placed his hopes on worldly grandeur, to be acquired by the Messiah, rather than on the great spiritual. blessings which were to result from the Messiah's coming. 24. Having had so affecting a manifestation of the low and earthly views of the disciples, and of their need of a deeper spirit of self-denial, Jesus proceeded to show them what temper of mind it was necessary for one to possess, who would be truly his disciple. Will come after me; wishes to be my disciple. Take up his cross. The cross was an instrument of severe and ignominious capital punishment, inflicted by the Romans on servants, on robbers, assassins, and rebels. It was introduced among the Jews from the Romans. A person condemned to this mode of punishment, was also compelled to carry his cross to the place of execution. take up the cross, then, is to go forth to severe and ignominious sufferings, even to the enduring of death in most painful and shameful forms. The meaning of the Saviour is, that a dis To 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, 26 For what is a man prof- with his angels, and then he ited, if he shall gain the whole shall reward every man accordworld, and lose his own soul?ing to his works. ciple of his must hold himself ready to bear, out of regard to him, any sort and any extent of suffering and shame. Follow me. Jesus had been reviled, and was yet to be more reviled, and to suffer extreme anguish. His disciples must possess the same spirit, and be willing, in the way of suffering, to follow a suffering Master. 25. Will save his life. In this connection, the word life is used in a twofold signification; namely, as referring to mortal life and to immortal life; to life here and to life hereafter. Shall lose it; that is, his life. Whoever, in times of trouble respecting the cause of the Messiah, shall timidly shrink from avowing attachment to me, and, in order to escape death, and to preserve his life, shall decline to follow me, will yet lose his life, that is, in the higher sense. Though he may save his life here, yet he will, by such a course, lose it hereafter. And, on the other hand, he who hazards, or loses, his life here, in consequence of his being my disciple, shall secure it hereafter, that is, shall have his soul saved, shall secure immortal life. 26. The Saviour then encouraged his disciples to the endurance of trials, by directing their thoughts to the life hereafter, as immensely outweighing all objects that might appear valuable on earth. His own soul. In the original, his own life, just as in the preceding verse. The language of this verse was probably proverbial, and capable of being applied either to the life here or to the life hereafter, as the connection would indicate. It would indeed be a poor bargain to gain this world at the expense of losing our mortal life; for what recompense should we then enjoy for all our toil? But how much worse to lose our life hereafter, by the endeavor to gain the present world! Doubtless the Saviour had in mind the loss of eternal life. What shall [can] a man give in exchange for his soul? What can a man give in order to have his life restored to him, when once it is lost? Such an inquiry may be applied either to this life or to the life which is to come. Of course, the immediate reference of the Saviour was to the life hereafter. 27. For the Son of man shall come, &c. Compare 25: 31. The Saviour referred to the final judgment. || In the glory of his Father; in divine majesty, with the power of God, in supreme power. Since there is to be a day of judgment, in which every man will receive a recompense according to his deeds, how important that we should act with habitual reference to it, and not be induced, by temptations and sufferings on earth, in the cause of Christ, to decline following him! Such was the Saviour's idea; and it clearly shows that, in the preceding verses, he was speaking of the life hereafter as in danger of being lost, by a solicitude to save the life here. As parallel with Matt. 16: 21-28, see Mark 8: 31-38. Luke 9: 22-27. REMARK. The solemn cautions of our Saviour, though peculiarly needed by the disciples to whom they were first addressed, will be applicable in all ages. His religion remains the same, and the hearts of men are the same, as when he was on earth. Different outward circumstances increase or diminish the dangers to our spiritual welfare. CONSIDER, 1. In matters of religion, our own judgment and feelings must not be made a standard. The 29 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. CHAPTER XVII. 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and AND after six days, Jesus said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain, apart, will of God must govern, and we ought cheerfully to conform to his will. It is not according to the plan of God, that worldly greatness shall be sought or expected by his people. vs. 22, 23. 2. Self-denial is essential to being a disciple of Christ. The spirit of selfdenial, proceeding from love to Christ, and supreme regard to his authority, is to have no limits; we must be ready to sacrifice even our lives, rather than be willing to renounce him. v. 24. 3. We ought always to act in view of the final judgment, and the eternal state of men. Such a view will diminish the power of temptation, and arm us with vigor in the endurance of trials. 4. How valuable is the soul! Every thing ought to be hazarded, every thing ought to be endured, rather than to lose our souls. 28. Taste of death; die. | Coming in his kingdom; in his royalty, as the King Messiah, in the manifestation of glorious power. This manifestation was to occur during the lifetime of some who were then present. Our minds are hence directed to the de struction of Jerusalem and the termination of the Jewish state, which occurred between thirty and forty years from this time; and which operated signally to the establishment and spread of Christianity. for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. the mountain spoken of is not known. It has frequently been supposed to be Tabor, but without sufficient authority. In the preceding chapter (v. 13), we read of Jesus being near to Cesarea Philippi. The mountain might have been in the neighborhood of that city. To that mountain Jesus had retired for prayer. See Luke 9: 28. 2. Transfigured; underwent a remarkable change in his appearance, as is expressed in the following words of the verse. 3. Elias; the prophet Elijah. The conversation of Moses and Elijah with Jesus was, according to Luke 9: 31, respecting his death, which was soon to occur at Jerusalem. The interview with those long since departed saints must have been refreshing to the mind of Jesus, in view of his anticipated sufferings. Even he would be consoled and strengthened by a visit from those who, like himself, had come on divine errands to men, and who could so deeply sympathize with him, both in respect to his sorrows and in respect to the glory that should follow. 4. Tabernacles; booths, made mostly of branches of trees. Mark (9: 6) and Luke (9: 33) say, that Peter knew not what he was saying. The disci ples were taken by surprise; and without stopping calmly to reflect, Peter gave utterance to his first emotions. When under the first influence of sudden astonishment, a person often 1. A high mountain. The name of scarcely knows what he says. Besides, CHAPTER XVII. 5 While he yet spake, be-ed them, and said, Arise, ana hold, a bright cloud overshad- be not afraid. owed them and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the 7 And Jesus came and touch- dead. the disciples were scarcely awakened from sleep. Luke 9: 32. 5. A bright cloud overshadowed them. The splendor that was reflected from the cloud probably overspread the whole company; but from the language in the original of Luke 9: 34, it would seem, that the heavenly visitants entered into the body of the cloud; and that from within the cloud, in the hearing of the disciples without, proceeded the sound of the words, This is my beloved Son, &c. I am well pleased. It was in immediate connection with conversation respecting the death of Jesus, that this declaration was made. Compare, here, John 10: 17. 6. Sore afraid; exceedingly afraid. Such an unusual manifestation filled them with amazement and dread. 9. Tell the vision to no man. The people were not yet sufficiently informed respecting the true nature of the Messiah's reign, to be told of what had taken place. They would probably have made a wrong use of it, regarding it as a signal that the Messiah's glorious earthly reign had commenced, and therefore holding themselves in readiness to engage in civil disturbances. Nor were the disciples as yet so free from the expectation of an earthly reign, as to be qualified to speak publicly on the event which had occurred. || Until the Son of man be risen, &c. From Mark 9: 10, it appears, that the disciples did not know how to understand what Jesus said respecting" rising from the dead." Like the Jews, in general, they were laboring under much ignorance and misapprehension respecting the Messiah; but Jesus was gradually preparing them for what was to take place. As parallel passages, read Mark 9: 2-10. Luke 9: 28-36. The scene on the mount of transfiguration made a very deep impression on the disciples who witnessed it. After the Saviour's ascension, and when, by the descent of the Holy Spirit, they were fully enlightened and fitted for their work, they doubtless regarded this scene as one of exceeding interest and importance. See 2 Pet. 1: 16-18. That what took place on the mount was no illusion, but a solemn reality, and was an event of no ordinary magnitude in the life of Jesus, is manifest from the allusion to it which Peter makes in the passage referred to. REMARK. We must not fail to notice here, that the glorious scene on the mount took place in connection with prayer. God is peculiarly near to us, when we are sincerely and solemnly engaged in prayer. He often manifests himself to the soul, shedding abroad his love, imparting glorious views of his own character and of heaven, strengthening us for the endurance of trials, and preparing us for unexpected events, whether of sorrow or of joy. When we are anticipating events adapted to try our faith and patience, not only is special prayer seasonable, but we are encouraged to hope that God will make special manifestations of his love and power, and prepare us to pass through our trials 10 And his disciples asked | son; for he is lunatic, and sore him, saying, Why then say the vexed, for ofttimes he falleth scribes, that Elias must first into the fire, and oft into the come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things: 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed: likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my in such a manner as will adorn religion and render us useful. 10. Why then, &c. Elias, that is, Elijah, had just made his appearance to Jesus; and Jesus had forbidden the disciples to say any thing on the subject. It was a common opinion, taught by the scribes, that Elijah, the ancient prophet, was to appear and give assistance to the Messiah. 11: 14. 16: 14. Since he had now appeared, the disciples may have thought, that this was, in part at least, the appearing which was expected; but as they were forbidden to say any thing publicly about it, they could not well reconcile this prohibition with the received doctrine. Hence they asked, Why then say the scribes? Are they right or wrong in this opinion? 11. Elias truly shall first come; that is, it is indeed according to the divine plan that Elias should precede the Messiah. Mal. 45. || Restore all things; bring back the former state 13 VOL. I. water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus, apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, of things. The Jews, in general, cherished the opinion, that, in connection with the coming of Elijah, there would be a renewal of the Jewish commonwealth, or a restoration to its former power and splendor. The right view was, that the expected Elias would be sent to effect a radical reformation among the people, and thus to restore such a righteous state of things as existed in the purest ages of the nation. 12. Knew him not; they knew not John the Baptist as the predicted Elias. They recognized him not in his true character, nor did justice to him. Compare Mark 9: 11-13. || They listed; they chose. 15. Lunatic. See on 4: 24. 17. Faithless and perverse generation; an exclamation which was applicable to all the company, more or less, and was intended to convey a rebuke both to the disciples and to the multitude. 20. Because of your unbelief. From |