Mat 18:1, 20:20-28 | Barnes | STEP | MATTHEW CHAPTER 18 Verses 1-6. See also . Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? By the kingdom of heaven they meant the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up-- his kingdom as the Messiah. They asked the question because they supposed, in accordance with the common expectation of the Jews, that he was about to set up a temporal kingdom of great splendour; and they wished to know who should have the principal offices and posts of honour and profit. This was among them a frequent subject of inquiry and controversy. informs us that they had had a dispute on this subject in the way. Jesus, he says, inquired of them what they had been disputing about. says, that Jesus perceived the thought of their heart;--an act implying omniscience, for none can search the heart but God, . The disciples, conscious that the subject of their dispute was known, requested Jesus to decide it, . They were at first silent through shame, but perceiving that the subject of their dispute was known, they came, as Matthew states, and referred the matter to him for his opinion. (u) "At the same"

Matthew 18:1

MATTHEW CHAPTER 18

Verses 1-6. See also Mk 9:33-41, Lk 9:46-60. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? By the kingdom of heaven they meant the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up-- his kingdom as the Messiah. They asked the question because they supposed, in accordance with the common expectation of the Jews, that he was about to set up a temporal kingdom of great splendour; and they wished to know who should have the principal offices and posts of honour and profit. This was among them a frequent subject of inquiry and controversy. Mk 9:34 informs us that they had had a dispute on this subject in the way. Jesus, he says, inquired of them what they had been disputing about. Lk 9:47 says, that Jesus perceived the thought of their heart;--an act implying omniscience, for none can search the heart but God, Jer 17:10. The disciples, conscious that the subject of their dispute was known, requested Jesus to decide it, Mt 18:1. They were at first silent through shame, Mk 9:34 but perceiving that the subject of their dispute was known, they came, as Matthew states, and referred the matter to him for his opinion.

(u) "At the same" Mk 9:33, Lk 9:46, 22:24

Matthew 20:20-28

Verse 20. Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children, etc. This was probably Salome, Mk 15:40, 16:1.

With her sons. The names of these were James and John, Mk 10:35. Mark says they came and made the request. That is, they made it through the medium of their mother; they requested her to ask it for them. It is not improbable that she was an ambitious woman, and was desirous to see her sons honoured.

Worshipping him. Showing him respect; respectfully saluting him. In the original, kneeling. Mt 8:2.

(n) "Then came" Mk 10:35 Verse 21. Grant that these my two sons may sit, etc. They were still looking for a temporal kingdom. They expected that he would reign on the earth with great pomp and glory. They expected that he would conquer as a prince and a warrior. They wished to be distinguished in the day of his triumph. To sit on the right and left hand of a prince was a token of confidence, and the highest honour granted to his friends, 1Kgs 2:19, Ps 110:1, 1Sam 20:25. The disciples here had no reference to the kingdom of heaven, but only to the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up on the earth. Verse 22. Ye know not what ye ask. You do not know the nature of your request, nor what would be involved in it. You suppose that it would be attended only with honour and happiness if the request was granted; whereas, it would require much suffering and trial.

Are ye able to drink of the cup, etc. To drink of a cup often, in the Scriptures, signifies to be afflicted, or sometimes to be punished, Isa 51:17,22, Ps 75:8. The figure is taken from a feast, where the master of a feast extends a cup to those present. Thus God is represented as extending to his Son a cup filled with a bitter mixture --one causing deep sufferings, Jn 18:11. This was the cup to which he referred.

The baptism that I am baptized with. This is evidently a phrase denoting the same thing. Are ye able to suffer with me---to endure the trials and pains which shall come upon you and me in endeavouring to build up my kingdom? Are you able to be plunged deep in afflictions, to have sorrows cover you like water, and to be sunk beneath calamities as floods, in the work of religion? Afflictions are often expressed by being sunk in the floods, and plunged in the deep waters, Ps 59:2, Is 43:2, Ps 124:4,5, Lam 3:54.

(o) "baptism" Lk 12:50 Verse 23. Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, etc. You are truly attached to me, you will follow me, and you will partake of my afflictions, and will suffer as I shall. This was fulfilled. James was slain with the sword by Herod, Acts 12:2. John lived many years. But he attended the Saviour through his sufferings, and was himself banished to Patmos, a solitary island, for the testimony of Jesus Christ --a companion of others in tribulation, Rev 1:9.

Is not mine to give, etc. The translation of this place evidently does not express the sense of the original. The translation expresses the idea that Jesus has nothing to do in bestowing rewards on his followers. This is at variance with the uniform testimony of the Scriptures, Mt 25:31-40; Jn 5:22-30. The correct translation of the passage would be, "To sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, except to those for whom it is prepared of my Father." The passage thus declares that Christ would give rewards to his followers; but only to such as should be entitled to them according to the purpose of his Father. Much as he might be attached to these two disciples, yet he could not bestow any such signal favours on them out of the regular course of rewards. Rewards were prepared for his followers, and in due time they should be bestowed. He would bestow them according as they had been provided from eternity by God the Father, Mt 25:34. The correct sense is seen by leaving out that part of the verse in Italics; and this is one of the places in the Bible where the sense has been obscured or perverted by the introduction of words which have nothing to correspond with them in the original. See a similar instance in 1Jn 2:23.

(p) "Ye shall drink" Acts 12:2, Rom 8:17, 2Cor 1:7, Rev 1:9 Verse 24. The ten heard it. That is, the ten other apostles.

They were moved with indignation. They were offended at their ambition, at their desire to be exalted above their brethren. The word "it" refers not to what Jesus said, but to their request. When the ten heard the request which they had made, they were indignant. Verses 25-27. But Jesus called them unto him. That is, he called all the apostles to him, and stated the principles on which they were to act. The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them; that is, over their subjects. "You know that such honours are customary among nations. The kings of the earth raise their favourites to posts of trust and power. They give authority to some over others. But my kingdom is established in a different manner. There are to be no ranks; no places of dominion. All are to be on a level. The rich, the poor, the learned, the unlearned, the bond, the free, are to be equal. He will be the most distinguished that shows most humility, the deepest sense of his unworthiness, and the most earnest desire to promote the welfare of his brethren."

Gentiles. All who were not Jews--used here to denote the manner in which human governments are constituted.

Minister. A servant. The original word is deacon--a word meaning a servant of any kind; one especially who served at the table; and, in the New Testament, one who serves the church, Acts 6:1-4, 1Timm 3:8. Preachers of the gospel are called ministers because they are the servants of God and the church, 1Cor 3:6, 4:1, 2Cor 3:6, 6:4, Eph 4:12; an office, therefore, which forbids them to lord it over God's heritage; which is the very opposite of a station of superiority, and which demands the very lowest degree of humility.

(q) "Ye know" Lk 22:25,26 Verse 26. Mt 20:25

(r) "be so" 1Pet 5:3 (s) "But whosoever" Mt 23:11, Mk 9:35, 10:43 Verse 27. Mt 20:25 Verse 28. Even as the Son of man, Mt 8:20. Jesus points them to his own example. He was in the form of God in heaven, Php 2:6. He came to men in the form of a servant, Php 2:7. He came not with pomp and glory, but as a man in humble life. And since he came, he had not required them to minister to him. He laboured for them. He strove to do them good. He provided for their wants, fared as poorly as they did, went before them in dangers and sufferings, practised self-denial on their account, and for them was about to lay down his life. See Jn 13:4,5.

To give his life a ransom for many. The word ransom means, literally, a price paid for the redemption of captives. In war, when prisoners are taken by an enemy, the money demanded for their release is called a ransom. That is, it is the means by which they are set at liberty. So anything that releases any one from a state of punishment, or suffering, or sin, is called a ransom. Men are by nature captives to sin. They are sold under it. They are under condemnation, Eph 2:3, Rom 3:9-20,23, 1Jn 5:19. They are under a curse, Gal 3:10. They are in love with sin. They are under its withering dominion, and are exposed to death eternal, Eze 18:4, Ps 9:17; Ps 11:6, 68:2, 139:19, Mt 25:46, Rom 2:6-9. They must have perished unless there had been some way by which they could be rescued. This was done by the death of Jesus; by giving his life a ransom. The meaning is, that he died in the place of sinners, and that God was willing to accept the pains of his death in the place of the eternal suffering of the redeemed. The reasons why such a ransom was necessary are,

1st. that God had declared that the sinner should die--that is, that he would punish, or show his hatred to all sin.

2nd. That all men had sinned; and if justice was to take its regular course, all must perish.

3rd. That man could make no atonement for his own sins. All that he could do, were he holy would be only to do his duty, and would make no amends for the past. Repentance and future obedience would not blot away one sin.

4th. No man was pure, and no angel could make atonement. God was pleased, therefore, to appoint his only-begotten Son to make such a ransom. See Jn 16:10, 1Jn 4:10, 1Pet 1:18,19, Rev 13:8; Jn 1:29, Eph 5:2, Heb 7:27, Isa 53:1-12. This is commonly called the atonement. Rom 5:11.

(t) "but to minister" Lk 22:27, Jn 13:1-38, 4:14, Php 2:7 (u) "and to give" Isa 53:5,8,11, Dan 9:24,26, 1Timm 2:6, Tit 2:14, Heb 9:28 1Pet 1:18,19, Rev 1:5