--- title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible" author: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 593 of 927 url: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/593/ cite: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, section 593. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/593/" --- # Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible *Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown* The Victorian standard commentary, critical and practical, from Genesis to Revelation. ## 593. Matthew · 27 of 36 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/593/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/593/#p-N [¶0] 23. Therefore--"with reference to this matter." [¶1] is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants--or, would scrutinize the accounts of his revenue collectors. [¶2] 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents--If Attic talents are here meant, 10,000 of them would amount to above a million and a half sterling; if Jewish talents, to a much larger sum. [¶3] 25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made--(See [2Ki 4:1]; [Ne 5:8]; [Le 25:39]). [¶4] 26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him--or did humble obeisance to him. [¶5] saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all--This was just an acknowledgment of the justice of the claim made against him, and a piteous imploration of mercy. [¶6] 27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt--Payment being hopeless, the master is first moved with compassion; next, liberates his debtor from prison; and then cancels the debt freely. [¶7] 28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants--Mark the difference here. The first case is that of master and servant; in this case, both are on a footing of equality. (See [Mt 18:33], below.) [¶8] which owed him an hundred pence--If Jewish money is intended, this debt was to the other less than one to a million. [¶9] and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat--he seized and throttled him. [¶10] saying, Pay me that thou owest--Mark the mercilessness even of the tone. [¶11] 29. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all--The same attitude, and the same words which drew compassion from his master, are here employed towards himself by his fellow servant. [¶12] 30. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt, &c.--Jesus here vividly conveys the intolerable injustice and impudence which even the servants saw in this act on the part of one so recently laid under the heaviest obligation to their common master. [¶13] 32-33. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, &c.--Before bringing down his vengeance upon him, he calmly points out to him how shamefully unreasonable and heartless his conduct was; which would give the punishment inflicted on him a double sting. [¶14] 34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors--more than jailers; denoting the severity of the treatment which he thought such a case demanded. [¶15] till he should pay all that was due unto him. [¶16] 35. So likewise--in this spirit, or on this principle. [¶17] shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. ### Chapter 19 ### Mt 19:1-12. Final Departure from Galilee--Divorce. ( = Mr 10:1-12; Lu 9:51) [¶20] Farewell to Galilee ([Mt 19:1], 2). [¶21] 1. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee--This marks a very solemn period in our Lord's public ministry. So slightly is it touched here, and in the corresponding passage of Mark ([Mr 10:1]), that few readers probably note it as the Redeemer's Farewell to Galilee, which however it was. See on the sublime statement of Luke ([Lu 9:51]), which relates to the same transition stage in the progress of our Lord's work. [¶22] and came into the coasts--or, boundaries [¶23] of Judea beyond Jordan--that is, to the further, or east side of the Jordan, into Perea, the dominions of Herod Antipas. But though one might conclude from our Evangelist that our Lord went straight from the one region to the other, we know from the other Gospels that a considerable time elapsed between the departure from the one and the arrival at the other, during which many of the most important events in our Lord's public life occurred--probably a large part of what is recorded in [Lu 9:51], onward to [Lu 18:15], and part of Joh 7:2-11:54. [¶24] 2. And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there--Mark says further ([Mr 10:1]), that "as He was wont, He taught them there." What we now have on the subject of divorce is some of that teaching. [¶25] Divorce ([Mt 19:3-12]). [¶26] 3. Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?--Two rival schools (as we saw on [Mt 5:31]) were divided on this question--a delicate one, as De Wette pertinently remarks, in the dominions of Herod Antipas. [¶27] 4. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female--or better, perhaps, "He that made them made them from the beginning a male and a female." [¶28] 5. And said, For this cause--to follow out this divine appointment. [¶29] shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?--Jesus here sends them back to the original constitution of man as one pair, a male and a female; to their marriage, as such, by divine appointment; and to the purpose of God, expressed by the sacred historian, that in all time one man and one woman should by marriage become one flesh--so to continue as long as both are in the flesh. This being God's constitution, let not man break it up by causeless divorces. [¶30] 7. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? [¶31] 8. He saith unto them, Moses--as a civil lawgiver. [¶32] because of--or "having respect to." [¶33] the hardness of your hearts--looking to your low moral state, and your inability to endure the strictness of the original law. [¶34] suffered you to put away your wives--tolerated a relaxation of the strictness of the marriage bond--not as approving of it, but to prevent still greater evils. [¶35] But from the beginning it was not so--This is repeated, in order to impress upon His audience the temporary and purely civil character of this Mosaic relaxation. [¶36] 9. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except, &c.--See on [Mt 5:32]. [¶37] 10. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry--that is, "In this view of marriage, surely it must prove a snare rather than a blessing, and had better be avoided altogether." [¶38] 11. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given--that is, "That the unmarried state is better, is a saying not for everyone, and indeed only for such as it is divinely intended for." But who are these? they would naturally ask; and this our Lord proceeds to tell them in three particulars. [¶39] 12. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb--persons constitutionally either incapable of or indisposed to marriage. [¶40] and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men--persons rendered incapable by others. [¶41] and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake--persons who, to do God's work better, deliberately choose this state. Such was Paul ([1Co 7:7]). [¶42] He that is able to receive it, let him receive it--"He who feels this to be his proper vocation, let him embrace it"; which, of course, is as much as to say--"he only." Thus, all are left free in this matter. ### Mt 19:13-15. Little Children Brought to Christ. ( = Mr 10:13-16; Lu 18:15-17) [¶44] For the exposition, see on [Lu 18:15-17].