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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 23:34

Verse 34 34.Therefore, lo, I send to you. Luke introduces it in a still more emphatic manner, Wherefore also the Wisdom of God hath said; which some commentators explain thus: “I, who am the eternal Wisdom of God, declare this concerning you.” But I am more inclined to believe that, according to the ordinary custom of Scripture, God is here represented as speaking in the person of his Wisdom; so that the meaning is, “God foretold long ago, by the prophetic Spirit, what would happen with regard... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 23:35

Verse 35 35.That upon you may come. He not only takes away from them their false boasting, but shows that they had received prophets for a totally different purpose, that no age might be free from the criminality of wicked rebellion; for the pronoun you embraces generally the whole nation from its very commencement. If it be objected, that it is not consistent with the judgment of God that punishment should be inflicted on the children for the sins of the parents, the answer is easy. Since they... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 23:37

Verse 37 37.Jerusalem, Jerusalem. By these words, Christ shows more clearly what good reason he had for indignation, that Jerusalem, which God had chosen to be his sacred, and — as we might say — heavenly abode, not only had shown itself to be unworthy of so great an honor, but, as if it had been a den of robbers, (Jeremiah 7:11,) had been long accustomed to suck the blood of the prophets. Christ therefore utters a pathetic exclamation at a sight so monstrous, as that the holy city of God... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:1-39

Denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, and lamentation over Jerusalem which followed their guidance to her own destruction. (Peculiar to St. Matthew.) read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:29-39

Judgment and mercy. We come now to the eighth and last of this series of woes denounced by Christ against the wicked, which stands in striking contrast to the eighth and last of the Beatitudes (cf. Matthew 5:10-12 ). Note— I. THAT INSTEAD OF THE FATHERS COME UP THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKED . 1 . The fathers of the wicked were the persecutors of the good. (a) Rulers are generally what the people will have them. "Like people. like priest" (cf. Isaiah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:32-39

Prophecy of their future. I. THEIR CONTINUANCE IN THE SINS OF THEIR FATHERS . 1 . Prediction of their treatment of Christ ' s disciples. They would fill up the measure of their fathers; the Lord knew it in his Divine foreknowledge. They were still what John the Baptist had once called them—serpents, "a generation of vipers." How were such as they to escape from the condemnation of Gehenna? For hypocrisy hardens the heart. The state of the hypocrite is hopeless,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:33-39

Declaration of the sentence on these Pharisees and their generation. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:34

Wherefore ; δια Ì τοῦτο . Because ye are resolved on imitating your forefathers' iniquities, you will also reject the messengers that are sent to you, and shall suffer righteous condemnation. I send ( ἐγω Ì ἀποστε ì λλω ) unto you. The sending had already begun. In the parallel passage of St. Luke ( Luke 11:49 ) we read, "Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send." Christ is the Wisdom of God, and by his own authority gives mission to his messengers. "As the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:35

That upon you may come ( ὁ ì πως ἐ ì λθῃ ). This phrase does not express a simple consequence, neither can it mean "in such a way that"—explanations which have been given by some commentators to avoid a seeming difficulty in the final sense; but it is to be translated, as usually, in order that, ut veniat. God, foreseeing the issues of their evil heart, puts in their way occasions which will aid his vengeance and accelerate the time of their punishment. He lets them work out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:36

An these things. All the crimes committed by their forefathers shall be visited upon this generation by the destruction of the Jewish city and polity, which took place within forty years from this time. The blood of the past was required from the Jews of the present time, because they and their evil ancestors were of one family, and were to be dealt with as a whole. In spite of the teaching of history and example, in spite of the warnings of Christ and his apostles, they were bent on... read more

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