Annotations upon all the New Testament philologicall and theologicall wherein the emphasis and elegancie of the Greeke is observed, some imperfections in our translation are discovered, divers Jewish rites and customes tending to illustrate the text are mentioned, many antilogies and seeming contradictions reconciled, severall darke and obscure places opened, sundry passages vindicated from the false glosses of papists and hereticks / by Edward Leigh ...

CHAP. III.

* 1.1Vers. 4. IS it lawfull to do good on the Sabbath dayes, or to do evil] In the necessitie of my neighbour there is no middle to be held between doing good and doing evill: not to doe good when an occasion being offered thou maist, and necessity requiring thou oughtst, is the same as to do evill, and therefore Christ onely makes a division of two members; to do good or to do evill, for the omission of doing good is referred to evill deedes, es∣pecially where there is danger in omission. Chemnit.

Vers. 5. Being grieved for the hardnesse of their hearts] It is an excellent description which onely Marke hath in this place, the anger of Christ was mixed with his com∣miseration for the hardnesse of their hearts; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the praeposition 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 shewes, that it is to be referred to his looking about with anger, with which his griefe was mingled; Christ was sad that men exercised in the law of God were so grossely blinded, but because malice blinded them, he was also angry as well as sorrowfull. Calvin.

Vers. 26. And the Pharisees went forth, and straight way tooke counsell with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him] By which the preposterous religion of Hypocrites is declared; for those that were so greatly angry that Christ healed on the Sabbath day, and with his word onely, and a miserable man: they themselves presently in the same Sabbath, are not afraid to take bloudy counsels against an innocent person, and doing well, and that with the enemies of the people of God.

The Herodians * 1.2 were a sect of people who said Herod was the Messias, because by the decree of the Romane Senate, when the Scepter departed from Judah, he was de∣clared King.

Vers. 10. and 11. The Evangelists comprehend under two generall heads, the Mi∣racles which Christ there shewed, viz. healing of the weake, and casting out the De∣vils. And that therefore, because in these two things consists the office of Christ. 1. Hee bruiseth the Serpents head. 2. Hee frees men from the power of the Devill. Marke notes that peculiar thing in this place, that when Christ had healed ma∣ny by his word and by touching them, the rest of the company tooke so great confi∣dence from thence, that they did not doubt of being healed, although he neither

spake to them nor touched them, so they might touch Christ. Chemnit.

Vers. 10. As many as had plagues] Marke calls diseases here plagues or stroakes, that Hee might shew that diseases are divine punishments of sinne, and sent by God. 2. That hee might signifie greater and more cruell diseases. Psal. 89.33. Chemnit.

Vers. 13. And he goeth up into a Mountaine] As he was wont, as oft as he purposed to pray to his Father more earnestly. So he gave an example to his, that they should alwayes begin imposition of hands with prayers, which the Apostles followed, Act. 1.24. and 14.23.

Vers 16. Foure names of the Apostles are Greek, Peter, Andrew, Philip and Bartholo∣mew, Cephas is a Chaldee word, the rest are Hebrew, Simon] Hearing, obeying. Iacobus] Supplanting. Iohn] Gracious. Iudas] Confessing, celebrating. Matthew] Given,* 1.3 who was therefore called Levi, quasi adhaerens Domino, as it were adhearing to the Lord. Thaddaeus] As it were pappie, quasi mammosus, a pap in Syriacke is called Thad. Leb∣baeus] Corculum, a little heart, à corde derivatum. Drusius.

Vers. 17. He named them Boanerges, which is, the sonnes of thunder] This name * 1.4 saith Ierome was given them, because they were taken with Christ into the Mountaine, where he was transfigured, to heare the voyce of the Father out of the Cloud, testifying of his Son, whose voice seemed to the people to be thunder, as appeares by the 12. of Iohn 29. Some think they were so called, because they were more vehement and terrible in their preaching, than the rest of the Apostles. See Rev. 4.5. Heb. 12.26. so Brugensis and others.

Christ in imposing of this name, seemes to have respect to the second of Haggai 7. saith Grotius.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Simili sensu ait August. si famentem non pavisti occidis∣ti, quia permisisti eum fame emori. à Lapide. Chemnit. Docet exem∣plo suo Chrìstus ita irascen∣dum peccatis, ut simul peccan∣tium nos mise∣reat. Grotius.
• * 1.2

  Dr. Taylor of the Life and Death of Christ. 3^d. Parr. Peculiaris quaedam inter Iudaeos fuit secta Herodianorum, qui nihil admodum à Iudaeis differrent, maximè quidem à Pharisaeis, quibus aliquoties in sacra Evangelistarum historia conjunguntur: nisi quod Herodem magnum pro Christo co∣lerent. Dilh. Electa. l. 1. c. 14.
• * 1.3

  Chemnit. Vide Canin. loc. Novi Testam.
• * 1.4

  Boanerges] In Syriack, benaì regeschi, that is sonnes of a noise▪ because they were with a loud voyce to preach the Gospell. Pa∣sor. Tonare eos dicimus, qui orationis & eloquentiae vi maximè pollent: igitur vim sermonis duorum fratrum ut efferret Christus, eos tonitrui filios appellavit. Novarinus. Vide de Dieu, à Lapide. & Cheitonaeum de Graeco-barb. N. T.