and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

a Jno.11.49,51. 18.13. Ac.4.6.

¶ Pontius Pilate. Herod the Great left his kingdom to three sons. Note, Mat. ii. 22. To Archelaus he left Judea. He reigned nine years, when, on account of his crimes, he was banished into Vienna, and Judea was made a Roman province, and placed entirely under Roman governors, or Procurators, and became completely tributary to Rome. Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor that had been sent, and of course had been in Judea but a short time. ¶ Herod being tetrarch of Galilee. This was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, to whom Galilee had been left as his part of his father's kingdom. The word tetrarch properly denotes one who presides over a fourth part of a country or province; but it also came to be a general title, denoting one who reigned over any part, a third, a half, &c. In this case, Herod had given him a third of the dominions of his father, but was called tetrarch. It was this Herod who imprisoned John the Baptist, and to whom our Saviour, when arraigned, was sent by Pilate. ¶ Iturea, was so called from Jetur, one of the sons of Ishmael. Gen. xxv. 15. 1 Chron. i. 31. It was situated on the east side of the Jordan, and was taken from the descendants of Jetur by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 1 Chron. v. 19. T Regions of Trachonitis. These regions were also on the east of the Jordan, and extended northward to the district of Damascus, and eastward to the deserts of Arabia, and were bounded on the west by Gaulonitis, and south by the city of Bostra. Philip had obtained these regions from the Romans on condition that he would extirpate the robbers. Lysanias the tetrach of Abilene. Abilene, was so called from Abila, its chief city. 1. was situated in Syria, northwest of Da. ascus, and southeast of mount Lebanon, nd was adjacent to Galilee.

2. A.. as and Caiaphas being high

priests. There was, properly speaking, but one high priest of the Jews. Yet the name of high priest continued to be given to those who had been in that office, and especially when they still possessed some civil office after they had left the high priesthood. In this case it appears that Caiaphas was high priest, and Annas had been, but had been dismissed from the office. It is highly probable that he still held an office under the Romans, and was perhaps president of the Sanhedrim. He is mentioned before Caiaphas, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas; and probably was the eldest, and had been longest in office. Places similar to this may be found in Josephus.

There is one remark to be made here about the manner in which the Gospels were written. They have every mark of openness and honesty. An imposter does not mention names, and times, and places, particularly. It would be easily seen that he was an impostor. But the sacred writers describe objects and men as if they were perfectly familiar with them. They never appear to be guarding themselves. They speak of things most minutely. And if they had been impostors, it would have been easy to detect them. If, for example, John did not begin to preach in the fifteenth year of Tiberius; if Philip was not tetrarch of Iturea; if Pontius Pilate was not gov ernor of Judea; how easy would it have been to detect them in falsehood! it was never done. Nay, we have evidence of that age in Josephus that these descriptions are strictly true; and consequently the Gospels must have been written by men who were personally acquainted with what they wrote, who were not impostors, and who were honest men. If they were honest, then the Christian religion is true.

Yet

3-9. On the baptism of John see notes on Mat. iii.

C

9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree, therefore, which bringeth not a Ps.93.2. Is.40.5. 49.6. 52.10. Ro.10.12,18. b Mat.3.7. 1 or, meet for. c Mat.7.19. c.13. 7,9. d c.11.41. 2Cor.8.14. 1Jno.3.17.

10. What shall we do, then? John had told them to bring forth fruits appropriate to repentance, or to lead a life which showed that their repentance was genuine. They very properly, therefore, asked how it should be done, or what would be such a life.

11. He that hath two coats, &c. Or, in other words, aid the poor according to your ability, be benevolent, and you will thus show that your repentance is genuine. It is remarkable that one of the first demands of religion is to do good; and in this way it is that it may be shown that the repentance is not feigned. For, 1st. The nature of religion is to do good. 2d. This requires self-denial, and none will deny themselves who are not attached to God. And, 3d. This is to imitate Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, vet for our sakes became poor. ¶ Coats. See note on Mat. v. 40. ¶ Meat. Provision of any kind.

12. The publicans. See note on Mat. v. 47. There is reason to think that the publicans or tax-gatherers were peculiarly oppressive, and hard in their dealings with the people; and that, as they had every opportunity of exacting more than they ought, so they often did it, and thus enriched themselves. The evi

forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let d him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

12 Then came also publicans," to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

- 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, 2 Do violence to no man, neither accuse any 5 falsely; and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people were in e Mat.21.32. c.7.29. f c.19.8. Co.6.10 2 or, put no man in fear. g Ex.23.1. Le.19.11. h ITi.6.8. 3 or, allowance. 4or, in suspense.

h

3

dence of repentance in them would be to break off their sins, and to deal justly.

13. Exact. Demand, or take, no more. ¶ Than that which is appointed. That is, by the government. John does not condemn the office, or say that the employment should be forsaken. Though it was hated by the people-though often abused, and therefore unpopular-yet the office itself was not dishonorable. If there is a government, it must be supported; and of course there must be men whose duty it is to collect the taxes, as the means of the proper support of the government. And as such a support of the government is necessary, so the people should pay cheerfully the just appointment of the rulers, and regard favorably those who are authorized to collect the taxes See Rom. xiii. 1-6.

14. The soldiers likewise. It seems that they also came to his baptism. Whether these were Jews or Romans cannot be ascertained. It is not improbable that, as Judea was a Roman province, they were Jews, or Jewish proselytes, in the service of Herod Antipas, or Philip, and so were really in the Roman service. ¶ Do violence, &c. Do not take the property of any by unlawful force, or do not bear unjust force against

was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was

a Mat.13.55. Jno.6.42. b Zech.12.12. 2 Sa.5.14.

a great multitude, yet in secret. The prayer consisted, doubtless, in lifting up the heart silently to God. So we may do it anywhere about our daily toil, in perplexity, in the midst of multitudes, in affliction-and thus may pray always.

22. In a bodily shape. This was a real visible appearance, and was doubtless seen by the people. The dove is an einblem of purity and harmlessness, and the form of the dove was assumed on this occasion to signify, probably, that the spirit with which Jesus would be endowed would be one of purity and innocence. The Holy Spirit, when he assumes a visible form, assumes that which shall be emblematic of the thing to be represented. Thus he

the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan," which was the son of David,

с

32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

34. Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

с

36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

37 Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which

c Ru.4.18,22. d Ge.11.24-26. e Ge.11.12. f Ge. 5.

assumed the form of tongues, to signify the miraculous powers of language with which the apostles would be endowed; the appearance of fire, to denote their power, &c. Acts ii. 3.

23. Jesus began to be, &c. This was the age on which the priests er tered on their office. Numb. iv. 3, 47. But it is not evident that Jesus had any reference to that in delaying his work to his thir tieth year. He was not subjected to the Levitical law in regard to the priesthood; and it does not appear that prophets and teachers did not commence their work before that age. As was supposed. As was commonly thought, or perhaps being legally reckoned, as his son.