among the people.

had long enjoyed that dignity. From Acts v. 17, it appears that Caiaphas was of the sect of the Sadducees

Verses 4, 5. That they might take Jesus by subtilty, &c.—Ordinarily great criminals, and especially false prophets and raisers of sedition, were reserved for execution till the time of their great feasts, because the concourse of people at Jerusalem being so great on those occasions, it was thought that the example would be more influential. But in the case of our Lord they were anxious to dispense with this custom, and to put him to death by stratagem. But they said, Not on the feast, lest there should be an uproar, a popular tumult, among the people. At these festivals it appears from Josephus that

tumults of a formidable kind often took place, a seditious and restless spirit having long been nursed by the peculiar political circumstances of the nation. And doubtless had our Lord designed to proclaim himself a king, and to assume the earthly attributes with which they invested the Messiah, and which probably they feared, and had he laid any plans for that purpose, vast numbers of the people, as especially those from Galilee, would have declared in his favour. His enemies therefore appear to have designed to leave the matter until the festival of the passover and unleavened bread, which together occupied a space of eight days, had terminated, and the mass of the people had dispersed. Our translators have rendered, un ev neopтn, not on the feast day; thereby confining it to the day of the passover merely; whereas it ought to be extended to the seven succeeding days of unleavened bread, and have been simply rendered the feast, the reason which

they give for not apprehending Christ being equally forcible throughout the whole duration of the festival. The plan was changed by the offer of Judas to betray him, and the whole was overruled by heaven to accomplish its own purposes; which were, not that Christ should be put to death privately by assassination, or even by regular trial, when there should be comparatively few to witness his death, and the strange signs which accompanied it; but that there should be multitudes of witnesses of this event, that it should take place when many thousands of Jews and proselytes from all parts were assembled at Jerusalem, and that the account both of his crucifixion and resurrection should be transmitted by these means to distant places, and finally, as one has well observed, that infidelity should never have it to allege, that these capital events, which constitute the very basis of our religion, were done in a

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Verse 6. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, &c.-The time when this transaction took place is not particularly marked by St. Matthew, and appears to have been mentioned here in connexion, as an introduction to the treachery of Judas, because he was the first and loudest to murmur at the waste of the costly unction by which our Lord was anointed. In this, St. Mark follows St. Matthew; but St. John fixes the time six days before the passover, and manifestly describes the same transaction. The principal apparent discrepancy is, that the other evangelists say, that it took place in the house of Simon the Leper, that is, Simon who had been a leper; whereas in the narrative of John, Martha is repre

sented as "serving," from which it has been concluded that the entertainment was made for him in the house of Lazarus. But St. John only says, that "he came to Bethany," and that "they made him a supper," without mentioning the house in which it was provided. That it was not in the house of Lazarus, appears almost certain from the remark of the same evangelist, that "Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him; words which designate him as a guest rather than as the host. And as this Simon was evidently a friend of our Lord, and neighbour to the family that 'Jesus loved," or perhaps a relation also, there is no improbability that Martha should serve in honour of such a guest, and that her sister Mary should anoint him. That St. Matthew and St. Mark should not mention Mary by name, arose probably from their having omitted all account of the raising of Lazarus, which appears to have been designed by the Holy Spirit to be related by one of the four only, that we might possess it in that more extended form and interesting particularity in which it appears in the affecting narrative of John, who was an eye-witness. Some critics, however, think that St. John does not assert that this unction of our Lord occurred six days before the passover," but only asserts, that at that time "he came to Bethany," where he was afterwards anointed two days before the passover, as it is most natural to infer from the narrative of St. Matthew. To this it may be answered, that the note of time in St. John, "six days before the passover," appears to be introduced for no purpose except to mark the period of the entertainment given to Christ at Bethany. On this often controverted point, the observations of Koinoel appear most satisfactory: "Since Matthew himself has not noted the time explicitly, but has used a phrase not indicative of definite time, του δε Ιησου γενομένου εν Βηθανία ; since John

has narrated the event more copiously and elaborately; since from the general style of composition in this passage of Matthew, it is plain that he is hastening to describe the treachery of Judas, and the last fate of his Master; since moreover Mark, especially when hastening to any other subject, is accustomed to write concisely, omit various circumstances, and neglect the order of time; therefore I apprehend that respecting the order of time, John is to be rather attended to, who seems to have supplied what Matthew had omitted, in order to indicate the motive which impelled Judas to the deed; namely, avarice." The anointing of our Lord in the house of Simon the Pharisee, as recorded in Luke vii. 37, is quite a distinct transaction, done at a distant place, and at a much earlier period, and by another person.

Verse 7. An alabaster box of very precious ointment. - The alabaster is thought to have been a species of onyx, of which vessels for holding the more precious kind of perfumes were at first made, and the name was retained when afterwards they were made of gold, or any other substance. St. Mark says, she brake it; but this is to be understood of breaking the seal by which the mouth was stopped, in order to pour out the contents. It is the custom in eastern countries still to stop the bottles which contain essences, with cotton, and to seal them with wax; in which form that costly perfume, the attar of roses, is still imported into this country. To anoint the head and the feet of guests was a mark of respect at considerable entertainments. It was done frequently in honour of the Rabbins; but in this case the action was remarkable as done, not by the host, but by Mary the sister of Lazarus one of the guests, and also from the very valuable kind of unction made use of, and the abundance which she poured not only on our Lord's sacred head, but also, as an

upon me.

pears from St. John, on his feet The whole was the result of Mary's fervent affection for her Lord and Master.

Verses 8, 9. They had indignation, &c.They all strongly exclaimed against what appeared to be an unnecessary waste of so precious an oil, and the profusion with which it was expended. All were sincere in objecting that its value might have been given to the poor as a more pious work, except Judas. He, indeed, appears to have been foremost and loudest in expressing this sentiment, and therefore he is represented, by St. John, as speaking for the rest; but we have in this the key of his character, and of that act of treacherous folly and wickedness which he was now meditating to commit. "This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." Judas fell therefore by the blinding and infatuating sin of covetousness, which led him first to fraud, then to treason. The disciples, in Mark, estimate the value at "three hundred pence," or denarii, upwards of nine pounds of our money. This is not incredible, although the vessel might not be of large size; for a very small phial of attar of roses is sold at Constantinople for six pounds; and this "oil of nard," if not the same, appears to have been highly concentrated and equally precious. See note on Mark xiv. 3.

Verse 10. Why trouble ye the woman? she hath wrought a good work upon me.—

It was a work of LOVE, and therefore determined by our Lord to be a good work. The benevolence of our Lord's character here also shines forth: he would not suffer this excellent woman to be troubled by the objections of his disciples, as tending to render it doubtful to her conscience whether she had done right or wrong; and he hastens therefore to give her the grateful assurance of his acceptance of her deed. But the WISDOM of his defence of her conduct is as conspicuous as its kindness. He defends it as a singular act performed in peculiar circumstances, but not so as to relax the obligation of the great duty of caring for the poor: for ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. "These words," as Whitby acutely remarks, "wholly destroy the doctrine of transubstantiation," and the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament; for, in that case, indeed, Christ would be always with them, and they might pay him marks of respect.

Verse 12. She did it for my burial.Not intentionally on the part of Mary; but as the anointing was so profuse and costly, it might well appear to be a funeral rite, in which great expense was allowed by custom in the case of distinguished persons. "And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art; and

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they made a very great burning" of odoriferous substances "for him." 2 Chron. xvi. 14. So, also, in the case of our Lord, "they returned, and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the sabbath-day according to the commandment." Luke xxiii. 56. Our Lord's death being so near, he speaks of it as already come : "Let her alone against the day of my burying hath she kept this," John xii. 7; thus representing the act of Mary as the embalming of a deceased friend, and justifying its profusion by their own customs. So affectingly present and certain was his approaching death to his mind, and with such calm dignity and resignation did he advert to it, although as he knew the time so he knew all its circumstances of pain, ignominy, and desertion!

For my burial.-The word evTapiage includes all the rites and customs which usually preceded or attended the actual burial, as washing, anointing, embalming, &c. St. Mark has it, "She hath done what she could," she hath in this act put forth the utmost strength of her affection; "she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying."

Verse 13. This gospel.—By the gospel our Lord doubtless means his doctrine or religion; and when he declares that the history of this particular event should be made known wherever that should be preached, a tacit intimation is given that a written record of his life, embracing this incident, should also accompany it; for the memory of this transaction could only thus be preserved. From this we may conclude that it was always in his intention that a body of sacred scriptures should accompany the oral proclamation of his doctrine in every place; and that as the inspired writings were not designed to render preaching unnecessary, so the

living ministry was never intended to exclude the inspired writings.

A memorial of her.—The meaning is, an honourable memorial. It brings to mind the amiable and devout character of Mary, who sat at Jesus's feet, and heard his words with an attention which absorbed every other care; as one of a family specially honoured by our Saviour's friendship, and who, in this instance, from the fulness of her grateful love, paid him special honour in acknowledgment of his dignity as the true Messiah, and for the spiritual benefits which she had received. Hers was in truth an "everlasting deed," bound up in the immortality and unchanging endurance of the imperishable record in which it is commemorated, not for her sake only, but to show in how benign and condescending a manner our blessed Lord accepts every thing which is done from an affectionate regard to him as our Teacher and Redeemer, and to honour him in the presence of the world. The lovely picture of simple and elevated piety in Mary stands for ever in the record, for the imitation of all. Docility, attention, spirituality, and affection, are its characteristics.

Verse 14. Then one of the twelve.—The adverb of time, TOTE, is of indefinite signification. Here it is not certainly to be understood as indicating, that, immediately after the anointing of Jesus by Mary, the traitor departed upon his unholy errand; for we have seen that this account is introduced chiefly to afford a key to his character, and that it took place in fact some days before. The TOTE rather connects what follows with verse 3, where the chief priests, &c., are said to have assembled in the palace of Caiaphas, to consult how they might by stratagem put Christ to death. To this assembly.

it would seem, Judas went, and made the offer of betraying his Master into their hands. That which rendered this overture acceptable to them was, that by his means they would be able to discover his retirement, and so apprehend him whilst the people remained ignorant of it. Hence St. Mark observes, "they were glad, and promised to give him money;" and St. Luke, "that he sought opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude."

Verse 15. What will ye give me? &c.— Everything here is in keeping with the character of Judas. Avarice was his leading passion; and he is anxious to make a good and secure bargain before he ventures upon his villany. What will ye give me? And however strange and inexplicable his conduct may at first sight appear, the fact of his being under the dominion of this absorbing passion will sufficiently account for it. His state was probably at first that of a sincere and teachable disciple; or it is difficult to conceive that our Lord would have called him into the number of his apostles. But his carrying the bag which contained the common stock of money for themselves and the poor, and which appears to have been replenished from time to time by the offerings of a few more opulent disciples, who ministered to our Lord of their substance, became, it is likely, the first cause of his fall. As he is called "a thief," he probably began by applying part of this common stock to his own private use; and his natural avarice being thus awakened and fed, his heart became obdurate, his conscience seared, and his judgment blinded. The very circumstance of our Lord's declining to avail himself of so many favourable opportunities of declaring himself a king, and turning the tide of popular feeling in his favour, might also operate upon his earthly and disappointed mind, and lead him greatly to doubt or utterly to disbelieve that he was

the Messiah he once believed him to be. With all this there was the busy agency of Satan. "The unclean spirit had gone out" of this man; but finding "the house from which he had gone out swept and garnished" by this worldliness of temper, avarice of gain, and indulgence of a petty dishonesty, he again entered, and his "last state became worse than the first." Of the truth of this parable the wretched Judas was an awful instance, and warns all against returning again to the dominion of any one guilty passion. "Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them," Luke xxii. 3, 4. Several conjectures, as to the motive by which Judas was influenced, have been indulged in by commentators; as, that he thought that Jesus would deliver himself by miracle, and so he should cheat the priests out of their money, and his Master sustain no injury; or that he might compel his Master, by putting him into the hands of his enemies, to show forth his power and disclare himself a king. But the fair inference, from the account of the evangelists, is, that he entered upon an act of deliberate treachery towards Christ himself, under the influence of his own covetousness and the agency of Satan.

Thirty pieces of silver.-These were shekels, of the value of about four drachmas, or about two shillings and sixpence. The whole sum would therefore be about three pounds fifteen shillings. Some мss. instead of αργυρια read στατηρας ; but the value of the shekel and the stater was the same. Thirty pieces of silver, or shekels, was the usual price of a slave. Hence it was enacted, Exodus xxi. 32, "If an ox shall push a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver." But as so small a sum appears to have been too inconsiderable to induce Judas to this act, and such as