According to Collin Dictionary, “People who die by suicide deliberately kill themselves because they do not want to continue living.”
That is a factual statement.
This article focuses on individual suicide, it does not deal with national suicide. Knowingly or not knowingly, many nations are committing suicide. America is the foremost.
In the name of God, I have good news for you. Those who contemplate suicide, I want you to know that suicide is unnecessary because God has a plan to save you.
If life is supreme, suicide is stupid.
The first appearance of the word “suicide” occurs on Jhn 8:22, “The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
The people were stupid, will the Lord of Life commit suicide?
There are two possible cases that you want to commit suicide.
A). You have done so much blunders that you cannot redeem yourself. You are so ashamed. You feel life is meaningless, and so you want to get off.
B). You have been wronged by people so much and so bad that nothing you do would seem to be able to get out the pit you are in. It is not your fault, you were just entrapped. You think the way out is to end your life.
From the beginning, you should know the good news of God. In both cases, there is good news for you– you can be saved. So suicide is unnecessary, because salvation is at hand.
All people who successfully committed suicide believed in good faith that suicide was necessary. Those who had successfully killed themselves and are dead and sent to Hell, nothing I can do about. I am here to appeal to those who contemplate suicide to reconsider the Word of God. Jesus says,
Jhn 11:25-27, “Jesus said to her, “I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
I believe all people desire to live. Most people do not know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can give eternal life.
I. Suicide is a big problem
According to https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html
“Suicide deaths, plans, and attempts in the United State
More than 48,000 people died by suicide in 2021. That is 1 death every 11 minutes. 12.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide. 3.5 million adults made a plan. 1.7 million adults attempted suicide.”
II. THE NATURE OF SUICIDE
Suicide 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
(from Lat. sui, of oneself, and cidium, from caedere, to kill), the act of intentionally destroying one’s own life. The phenomenon of suicide has at all times attracted a large amount of attention from moralists and social investigators. Its existence is looked upon, in Western civilization, as a sign of the presence of maladies in the body politic which, whether remediable or not, deserve careful examination. It is, of course, impossible to compare Western civilization in this respect with, say, Japan, where suicide in certain circumstances is part of a distinct moral creed. In Christian ethics and Christian law it is wrong, indeed illegal, as a felo de se, self-murder. It is within comparatively recent years that the study of suicide by means of the vital statistics of various European countries has demonstrated that while the act may be regarded as a purely voluntary one, yet that suicide as a whole conforms there to certain general laws, and is influenced by conditions other than mere individual circumstances or surroundings. Thus it can be shown that each country has a different suicide-rate, and that while the rate for each country may fluctuate from year to year, yet it maintains practically the same relative proportions to the rates of other countries.
In addition to furnishing materials for an approximately accurate estimate of the number of suicides which will occur in any country in a year, statistics have demonstrated that the proportion of male to female suicides is practically the same from year to year, viz. 3 or 4 males to 1 female; that it is possible to predict the month of greatest prevalence, the modes of death adopted by men on the one hand and women on the other, and even the relative frequency of suicide amongst persons following different professions and employments; and that in most of the countries of Europe the suicide-rate is increasing. In England and Wales the annual death-rate per million from suicide has steadily advanced, as is shown by the following figures for quinquennial periods: The next table illustrates the continued increase in recent years, and at the same time shows the total number and the number of male and female suicides each year from 1886 to 1905.
Male and Female – in England and Wales, 1886-1905, together with the annual rate per million living (Registrar-General’s Reports). The reason of the high suicide-rate in some countries as compared with others, and the causes of its progressive increase, are not easily determined. Various explanations have been offered, such as the influence of climate, the comparative prevalence of insanity, and the proportionate consumption of alcoholic drinks, but none satisfactorily accounts for the facts. It may, however, be remarked that suicide is much more common amongst Protestant than amongst Roman Catholic communities, while Jews have a smaller suicide-rate than Roman Catholics. A point of considerable interest is the increase of suicide in relation to the advance of elementary education. Ogle states that suicide is more common among the educated than the illiterate classes. It is also more prevalent in urban than in rural districts. A curious feature in large towns is the sudden outbreak of self-destruction which sometimes occurs, and which has led to its being described as epidemic. In such cases force of example and imitation undoubtedly play a considerable part, as it is well recognized that both these forces exert an influence not only in causing suicide, but also in suggesting the method, time and place for the act. No age above five years is exempted from furnishing its quota of suicidal deaths, although self-destruction between five and ten years is very rare. Above this age the proportion of suicides increases at each period, the maximum being reached between fifty-five and sixty-five. Among females there is a greater relative prevalence at earlier age periods than among males. The modes of suicide are found to vary very slightly in different countries. Hanging is most common amongst males; then drowning, injuries from fire-arms, stabs and cuts, poison and precipitation from heights. Amongst females, drowning comes first, while poison and hanging are more frequent than other methods entailing effusion of blood and disfigurement of the person. The methods used in England and Wales by suicides during 1888-1897, and in Scotland during the years 1881-1897, are given in the following table: TABLE III. Modes of Suicide in England and Wales, 1888-1897. Modes of Suicide in Scotland, 1881-1897. The season of the year influences suicide practically uniformly in all European countries, the number increasing from the commencement of the year to a maximum in May or June, and then declining again to a minimum in winter. Morselli attempts to account for this greater prevalence during what may well be called the most beautiful months of the year by attributing it to the influence of increased temperature upon the organism, while Durkheim suggests that the determining factor is more probably to be found in the length of the day and the effect of a longer period of daily activity. The suicide-rate is higher in certain male occupations and professions than in others (Ogle). Thus it is high amongst soldiers, doctors, innkeepers and chemists, and low for clergy, bargemen, railway drivers and stokers. The suicide-rate is twice as great for unoccupied males as for occupied males.”
III. Suicide is more than a social problem.
Suicide is basically a personal problem.
Suicide brings eternal damnation because your last chance to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, will be gone for good. There is a way to save you from suicide. So do not do it, suicide is unnecessary. No matter how big are your personal problems, God is bigger than all your problems.
Phl 2:4, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
It may sound ridiculous, people who committed suicide are selfish. They thought by killing themselves, all their problems disappeared. They never consider the problems they may leave behind. Have you thought about your spouse, your children, your relatives and friends?
IV. The grace of God is sufficient.
Jhn 1:17, “For the Law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
Grace in Greek is charis which means unmerited favor;
of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues (Strong’s Concordance); mercy; compassion; benefit; — which occurs 155 times in the New Testament.
Verse 17. – The χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος is sustained by calling attention to the contrast between the two methods of Divine communication. Because the Law was given through Moses; “Law,” which in Paul’s writings had been even looked at by itself as an “antithesis to grace” (Romans 4:15; Romans 6:14; Romans 7:3; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:10; Galatians 4:4). The Law principle of approach to God fails through the weakness of the flesh. The will is too far enslaved for it to yield spontaneously to the majesty of the Lawgiver, or to feel the attractions of obedience. The Law condemns, – it is incapable of justifying the ungodly: the Law terrifies, – it never reconciles. The Law even provokes to sin and excites the passions which it punishes. Law was given through Moses, pointing to the historic fact of the pomp and splendour of its first delivery, associated therefore with the greatest human name in all past history. Law was a “gift,” a Divine bestowment of entirely unspeakable value to those who were ignorant of the mind and will of God. Even the ministration of death was glorious. The knowledge of an ideal perfection is a great advance, even though no power should accompany the ideal to draw the soul towards it. To know what is right, even without help to do it, save in the form of sanction, or penalty appealing to the lower nature, is better and nobler than to sin in utter ignorance. The Law was given “through” the mind, voice, conscience, and will of Moses. And alongside of him may be supposed to be ranged all the mighty sages and legislators of the human race – all who have thus been the mouthpiece of the Divine idea, all who have impressed the “ought” and “ought not,” the “shall” and “shall not,” upon mankind. Moses is not the author of the Law, the “giving” of the Law was not by Moses, but through his instrumentality. Grace and truth, however, came – became, passed into activity in human nature – through Jesus Christ. For “grace and truth” (see notes, ver. 14), the highest manifestation and self-communication of Divine love and Divine thought, came into human experience through Jesus Christ. A vast and wonderful contrast is here made between all earlier or other dispensations and that of which the apostle proceeds to speak. Divine favour and help, the life of God himself in the soul of man, awakening love in response to the Divine love; and Divine thought so made known as to bring all the higher faculties of man into direct contact with reality, are an enormous advance upon Lawgiving. The appropriate human response to Law is obedience; the appropriate human response to love is of the same nature with itself – nothing less than love; so the only adequate response to Divine truth is faith; to Divine thought may follow human thought. All this forth streaming of grace and truth originated in the person of Jesus Christ, and became possible through him. This great Name, this blending of the human and Divine, of saving grace and Messianic dignity, of ancient expectations and recent realization, is only twice more used in the Gospel (John 17:3 and John 20:31); but it pervades it throughout, and, though not actually said to be equivalent to the Word made flesh, yet no shadow of doubt is left that this was the apostle’s meaning. Here the full significance of the prologue really bursts into view to one who reads it for the first time (cf. 1 John 1:1-3). Difficulty may be felt by some as to the actual Capacity of Jesus Christ to reveal the Divine thought, or the truth, and so the closing verse of the prologue vindicates the claim of the Saviour of the world to be the truth (cf. John 14:6). John 1:17”
Act 4:33, “And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.”
Abundant in Greek is megas which means great; large; numerous; excellent; splendid; full; ample; plenteous; — which occurs 241 times in the New Testament.
All human beings need God’s grace. The grace of God is abundant. The abundant grace covers saving grace, living grace and serving grace.
And with great power – See Acts 1:8. The word “power” here denotes “efficacy,” and means that they had “ability” given them to bear witness of the resurrection of the Saviour. it refers, therefore, I rather to their preaching than to their miracles.
Gave the apostles witness – The apostles bore testimony to.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus – This was the main point to be established. If it proved that the Lord Jesus came to life again after having been put to death, it established all that he taught, and was a demonstration that he was sent from God. They exerted, therefore, all their powers to prove this, and their success was such as might have been expected. Multitudes were converted to the Christian faith.
And great grace … – The word “grace” means “favor.” See the notes on John 1:16. The expression here may mean either that the favor of God was remarkably shown to them, or that they had great favor in the sight of the people. It does not refer, as the expression now does commonly, to the internal blessings of religion on a man’s own soul, to their personal advancement in the Christian graces, but to the favor or success that attended their preaching. The meaning probably is, that the “favor” of the “people” toward them was great, or that great success attended their ministry among them. Thus, the same word grace (Greek) is used in Acts 2:47. If this is its meaning, then here is an instance of the power of the testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus to impress the minds of people. But this is not all, nor probably is it the main idea. It is that their union, their benevolence their liberality in supplying the needs of the needy, was a means of opening the hearts of the people, and of winning them to the Saviour. If we wish to incline others to our opinions, nothing is better adapted to it than to show them kindness, and even to minister to their temporal needs.
Benevolence toward them softens the heart, and inclines them to listen to us. It disarms their prejudices, and disposes them to the exercise of the mild and amiable feelings of religion. Hence, our Saviour was engaged in healing the diseases and supplying the needs of the people. He drew around him the poor, the needy, and the diseased, and supplied their necessities, and thus prepared them to receive his message of truth. Thus, God is love, and is constantly doing good, that his goodness may lead people to repentance, Romans 2:4. And hence, no persons have better opportunities to spread the true sentiments of religion, or are clothed with higher responsibilities, than those who have it in their power to do good, or than those who are habitually engaged in bestowing favors. Thus, physicians have access to the hearts of people which other persons have not. Thus, parents have an easy access to the minds of children. for they are constantly doing them good. And thus Sunday-school teachers, whose whole work is a work of benevolence, have direct and most efficient access to the hearts of the children committed to their care.”
A). Saving grace
Eph 2:5-9, “even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Even when we were dead in sins,…. See Gill on Ephesians 2:1.
Hath quickened us together with Christ: which may be understood either of regeneration, when a soul that is dead in a moral or spiritual sense, is quickened and made alive; a principle of life is infused, and acts of life are put forth; such have their spiritual senses, and these in exercise; they can feel the load and weight of sin; see their lost state and condition, the odiousness of sin, and the beauty of a Saviour, the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the fulness and suitableness of Christ’s; breathe after divine and spiritual things; speak in prayer to God, and the language of Canaan to fellow Christians; move towards Christ, exercise grace on him, act for him, and walk on in him: and this life they have not from themselves, for previous to it they are dead, and in this quickening work are entirely passive; nor can regenerate persons quicken themselves, when in dead and lifeless frames, and much less unregenerate sinners; but this is God’s act, the act of God the Father; though not exclusive of the Son, who quickens whom he will; nor of the Spirit, who is the Spirit of life from Christ; and it is an instance of the exceeding greatness, both of his power and love; and this may be said to be done with Christ, because he is the procuring and meritorious cause of it, by his death and resurrection from the dead; and is the author and efficient cause of it; and he is the matter of it, it is not so much the quickened persons that live, as Christ that lives in them, and it is the same life he himself lives; and because he lives, they shall live also; it is in him as in the fountain, and in them as in the stream: or else this may be understood of justification; men are dead in a legal sense, and on account of sin, are under the sentence of death; though they naturally think themselves alive, and in a good state; but when the Spirit of God comes, he strikes dead all their hopes of life by a covenant of works; not merely by letting in the terrors of the law upon the conscience, but by showing the spirituality of it, and the exceeding sinfulness of sin; and how incapable they are of satisfying the law, for the transgressions of it; and then he works faith in them, whereby they revive and live; they see pardon and righteousness in Christ, and pray for the one, and plead the other; and also lay hold and live upon the righteousness of Christ, when the Spirit seals up the pardon of their sins to them, and passes the sentence of justification on them, and so they reckon themselves alive unto God; and this is the justification of life, the Scripture speaks of; and this is in consequence of their being quickened with Christ, at the time of his resurrection; for when he rose from the dead, they rose with him; when he was justified, they were justified in him; and in this sense when he was quickened, they were quickened with him:
by grace ye are saved: the Claromontane copy and the Vulgate Latin version read, “by whose grace”; and the Arabic and Ethiopic versions, “by his grace”; either by the grace of him that quickens, or by the grace of Christ with whom they were quickened; the Syriac version renders it, “by his grace he hath redeemed us”; which seems to refer to the redeeming grace of Christ; and so the Ethiopic version, “and hath delivered us by his grace”; and there is a change of the person into “us”, which seems more agreeable to what goes before, and follows after; See Gill on Ephesians 2:8.”
No matter how good you are, you are not worthy to enter the Kingdom of God. No matter how bad you are, if you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, your Lord and Savior, you can be saved by grace to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the meaning of saved by grace. This is the salvation of God which is a gift. For that reason, suicide is unnecessary because the grace of God is sufficient for you. 1Jo 4:14, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”
B). Living grace
1Co 1:7, “So that having every grace you are living in the hope of the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Verse 7. – So that ye come behind in no gift. The “gifts” are here the charismata, graces, such as powers of healing, etc., which were the result of the outpouring of the Spirit. The sequel shows that they were rather outward than inward; they were splendid endowments rather than spiritual fruits. Yet even these were not wholly wanting, as we see from 2 Corinthians 8:7. The Greek may also mean “causing you not to be conscious of inferiority.” Waiting; expecting, not fearing it, This was the constant attitude of the early Christians (Romans 8:19-25; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 9:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Colossians 3:4; Titus 2:13). Love for Christ’s manifestation was a Christian characteristic (2 Timothy 4:8). The revelation. Three words are used to express the second advent: apokalypsis (as here and in 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7, 13); parousia (as in Matthew 24:3, 27, etc.; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; James 5:7, 8, etc.); and epiphaneia, in the pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Titus 2:13). St. Paul, however, only uses parousia six times in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and once in 1 Corinthians 15:23. All Christians alike expected the return of Christ very soon, and possibly in their own lifetime (1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10, etc.; 1 Corinthians 15:51; James 5:8, 9; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:18; Revelation 22:20, etc.). Their expectation was founded on the great eschatological discourse of our Lord (Matthew 24:29, 30, 34), and on his express promise that that generation should not pass away before his predictions were fulfilled. They were fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem and the close of the old dispensation, though they await a stilt more universal fulfilment. 1 Corinthians 1:7.”
2Ti 1:6, “For this reason I say to you, Let that grace of God which is in you, given to you by my hands, have living power.”
After you are saved by grace, it does not mean life is easy in this world, which is full of troubles and tragedies. You need the living grace to live in this present world forces of darkness, not in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, the world of the ungodly. As you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, He will guide you into all truth, and reveal to you the will of God so that you may discover what God wants you to do with your life.
1Th 4:11, “and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we instructed you.”
C). Serving grace
Rom 12:11, “not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
Not slothful – The word rendered “slothful” refers to those who are slow, idle, destitute of promptness of mind and activity; compare Matthew 25:16.
In business – τῇ σπουδῇ tē spoudē. This is the same word which in Romans 12:8 is rendered “diligence.” It properly denotes haste, intensity, ardor of mind; and hence, also it denotes industry, labor. The direction means that we should be diligently occupied in our proper employment. It does not refer to any particular occupation, but is used in general sense to denote all the labor which we may have to do; or is a direction to be faithful and industrious in the discharge of all our appropriate duties; compare Ecclesiastes 9:10. The tendency of the Christian religion is to promote industry:
(1) It teaches the value of time.
(2) presents numerous and important things to be done.
(3) it inclines people to be conscientious in the improvement of each moment.
(4) and it takes away the mind from those pleasures and pursuits which generate and promote indolence.
The Lord Jesus was constantly employed in filling up the great duties of his life, and the effect of his religion has been to promote industry wherever it has spread both among nations and individuals. An idle man and a Christian are names which do not harmonize. Every Christian has enough to do to occupy all his time; and he whose life is spent in ease and in doing nothing, should doubt altogether his religion. God has assigned us much to accomplish; and he will hold us answerable for the faithful performance of it; compare John 5:17; John 9:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Thessalonians 3:12. All that would be needful to transform the idle, and vicious, and wretched, into sober and useful people, would be to give to them the spirit of the Christian religion; see the example of Paul, Acts 20:34-35.
Fervent – This word is usually applied to water, or to metals so heated as to bubble, or boil. It hence is used to denote ardor, intensity, or as we express it, a glow, meaning intense zeal, Acts 18:25.
In Spirit – In your mind or heart. The expression is used to denote a mind filled with intense ardor in whatever it is engaged. It is supposed that Christians would first find appropriate objects for their labor, and then engage in them with intense ardor and zeal.
Serving – Regarding yourselves as the servants of the Lord. This direction is to be understood as connected with the preceding, and as growing out of it. They were to be diligent and fervid, and in doing so were to regard themselves as serving the Lord, or to do it in obedience to the command of God, and to promote his glory. The propriety of this caution may easily be seen.
(1) the tendency of worldly employments is to take off the affections from God.
(2) people are prone to forget God when deeply engaged in their worldly employments. It is proper to recall their attention to him.
(3) the right discharge of our duties in the various employments of life is to be regarded as serving God. He has arranged the order of things in this life to promote employment. He has made industry essential to happiness and success; and hence, to be industrious from proper motives is to be regarded as acceptable service of God.
(4) he has required that all such employments should be conducted with reference to his will and to his honor, 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:17, Colossians 3:22-24; 1 Peter 4:11. The meaning of the whole verse is, that Christians should be industrious, should be ardently engaged in some lawful employment, and that they should pursue it with reference to the will of God, in obedience to his commands, and to his glory.”
To be saved is meant to serve the Lord. We need the serving grace to serve the Lord.
1Pe 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.”
To serve the Lord also means to serve one another. Christians are to love one another. To love one another is to serve one another. The service of the Lord is not easy in this present world. But we have the promise.
2Ti 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will
bring me safely to His Heavenly Kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
ALL Christians will dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven forever and ever.
V. DEATH IS A BIG RITE
Death is a big rite for many ancient cultures.
According to https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/grief-loss/death-rituals#:~:text=
“Cultures and countries around the world have different methods of mourning the passing of a loved one. Death is universal to people of every culture; however, their death rituals can vary greatly depending on their religious or cultural traditions and beliefs. Learning about these customs is fascinating, and if you’re honoring someone who has passed away, you can also get inspiration and comfort from death rituals in different cultures.
Common Death Rituals Still Practiced
Modern day death rituals are things people still do today to help process their grief and comfort loved ones after a death. The following are a few death rituals that occur in cultures around the world.
Throwing a Handful of Dirt on the Casket
If you’ve been to a funeral in the United States, Europe, Canada, and many other places, you may have seen loved ones reach down and throw a handful of dirt onto a casket. It is actually common in many cultures for mourners to toss a handful of dirt on the casket before leaving the cemetery. This symbolizes that a person was born of this earth and has returned to this earth, and it’s also a way for loved ones to directly participate in the burial. A spouse or close family member is often be the first to toss a handful of dirt on the casket; then other family and friends usually proceed to do the same.”
“Less Common Death Rituals
There are a number of less common death rituals, past and present, that you might never have heard of. Even if they seem unusual to many people, these rituals are or were socially and spiritually significant to those who practice them:
Practicing Sky Burials
Sky burials have been practiced for thousands of years, and up to 80 percent of Tibetans choose this method today over other types of burial. In Tibetan culture, many people believe the soul leaves the body immediately upon death, and this type of burial is sometimes considered a way to ease the transition. In a sky burial, the dead body is prepared with incredible care, brought to the sky burial site (typically hilltops or mountains), and broken down and chopped into pieces. It is then left for the Dakini (angels) to consume. The Dakini are typically vultures who then transport the soul to heaven, where it awaits reincarnation.
In addition to the spiritual importance of this type of burial, many Tibetans also see it as a way to return the body to the earth with minimal disruption. The body feeds nature and rejoins the cycle of life.”
According to https://historycooperative.org/egyptian-afterlife/#:~:text=
“There were many ancient Egyptian afterlife rituals staged following one’s death. The status of the deceased individual could have added further complexity to otherwise standard practices. The most standard of rituals was the mummification of the body. Mummification would be followed by sacred rites and spells to allow the deceased’s spirit to function in the afterlife. The most famous of these ceremonies is the “Opening of the Mouth,” depicted in the Pyramid Texts, which would give the dead access to their senses in eternal life.”
All death rituals are influenced by its religion. Many religions believe in afterlife, rightly or wrongly. English is a little confusing, afterlife means an existence after death.
According to https://www.britannica.com/topic/afterlife-religion
”Afterlife, continued existence in some form after physiological death. The belief that some aspect of an individual survives after death—usually, the individual’s soul—is common to the great majority of the world’s religions. Of those religions that include belief in an afterlife, almost all subscribe to one of two versions: reincarnation (a continuous cycle of death and rebirth in new bodies or forms), or an eternal life, which will occur in either a heaven or a hell, depending on the individual in question.”
VI. THE SCRIPTURE IS THE SUPREME AUTHORITY
Hab 2:5, “Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man,
So that he does not achieve his objective.
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.”
Death is never satisfied.
Verse 5. – § 7. The character of the Chaldeans in some particulars is intimated. The general proposition in the former hemistich of ver. 4 is here applied to the Chaldeans, in striking contrast to the lot of the just in the latter clause. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine. This should be, And moreover, wine is treacherous. A kind of proverbial saying (Proverbs 20:1). Vulgate, Quomodo vinum potantem decipit. There is no word expressive of comparison in the original, though it may be supplied to complete the sense. The intemperate habits of the Babylonians are well attested (see Daniel 5:3, 4; Quint. Curt., 5:1, “Babylonii maxime in vinum et quae ebrietatem sequuntur effusi sunt;” comp. Her., 1:191; Xen., ‘Cyrop.,’ 7:5. 15). They used beth the fermented sap of the palm tree as well as the juice of the grape, the latter chiefly imported from abroad. “The wealthy Babylonians were fond of drinking to excess; their banquets were magnificent, but generally ended in drunkenness” (Rawlinson, ‘Anc. Men.,’ 3:450, edit. 1865). Neither the Septuagint, nor the Syriac, nor the Coptic Version has any mention of wine in this passage. The Septuagint gives, ὁ δὲ κατοιόμενος καὶ καταφρονητής, “the arrogant and the scorner.” He is a proud man, neither keepeth he at home; a haughty man, he resteth not. His pride is always impelling him to new raids and conquests. This is quite the character of the later Chaldeans, and is consistent with the latter part of the verse. The comparison, then, is this: As wine raises the spirits and excites men to great efforts which in the end deceive them, so pride rouses these men to go on their insatiate course of conquest, which shall one day prove their ruin. The verb translated “keepeth at home” has the secondary sense of “being decorous;” hence the Vulgate gives, Sic erit vir superbus, et non decorabitur; i.e. as wine first exhilarates and then makes a man contemptible, so pride, which begins by exalting a man, ends by bringing him to ignominy. Others take the verb in the sense of “continueth not,” explaining that the destruction of Babylon is here intimated. But what follows makes against this interpretation. The LXX. gives, ‘Ανὴρ ἀλαζὼν οὐθὲν μὴ τεράνη, which Jerome, combining with it his own version, paraphrases, “Sic vir superbus non decorabitur, nec voluntatem suam perducet ad finem; et juxta Symmachum, οὐκ εὐπορήσει, hoc est, in rerum omnium erit penuria.” Who enlargeth his desire as hell; Hebrew, Sheol. Hell is called insatiable (Proverbs 27:20; Proverbs 30:16; Isaiah 5:14). Is as death, which seizes all creatures and spares none. People; peoples. Habakkuk 2:5”
Mar 14:55, “Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against
Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any.”
The chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they are not finding any because Jesus was sinless.
Luk 1:79, “To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Jesus, the Light of the world, shines on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide those who want to commit suicide into the way of peace.
Jesus is the Way of peace, you do not need to kill yourself.
Luke 1:79. To give light to them that sit in darkness — The Messiah at his coming would enlighten with the knowledge of salvation the Gentile nations, who had long lived in ignorance and wickedness, the cause of death. To guide our feet into the way of peace — And he would guide the feet, even of the Jews, into the way of finding peace with God, peace of mind, and true happiness, by making them more perfectly acquainted with the method of salvation, and the will of God concerning them. Such phrases as darkness and the shadow of death, describe with peculiar propriety the ignorant and miserable state of the Gentile world: and, probably, the former clause might be intended principally of them. But as Christ’s preaching to the Jews in Galilee is said, Matthew 4:14-16, to be an accomplishment of Isaiah 9:1-2, to which Zacharias here seems to refer, we must not confine the sense of it merely to the Gentiles; for indeed the sad character and circumstances of the Jews at this time too well suited the representation here made. Such are the elevated strains in which this pious man, under the extraordinary influence of the Holy Ghost, described the great blessings which mankind were to enjoy by the coming of the seed promised to Adam, to Abraham, and to David.”
Jhn 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My Word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
To be saved is not to come into judgment, but have passed out of death into life. The reason you do not need to commit suicide is because if you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, you will not come into judgment but have passed out of eternal death into eternal life.
John 5:24-30. Verily, he that heareth my word, &c., hath everlasting life — Such a person is already entitled to it, yea, it is already begun in his soul, and he shall shortly possess it in its full perfection: and shall not come into condemnation — For any former offences; but is passed from death unto life — That is, from that state of spiritual death, or of alienation from the life of God, (see Ephesians 4:18,) in which men naturally are, to spiritual life and felicity, in union and communion with God. Verily, verily, I say unto you — I renew the important declaration in the strongest terms; the hour is coming, and now is — That is, it is just at hand; when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God — Within the space of a few months some dead bodies shall be raised to life by the word of his power. See Mark 5:41; Luke 7:14; John 11:43; and Matthew 27:52-53. Or rather, he meant, that many souls then dead in sin, should be quickened by his grace, and made spiritually alive. For as the Father hath life in himself — Originally and essentially; so hath he given to the Son — In order to these purposes of glorious and divine operation; to have life in himself — To be communicated unto whomsoever he will. Hence the apostle (1 Corinthians 15:45) terms the second Adam, a quickening spirit: and hath given him authority — Not only to quicken men now, but also to execute final judgment; because he is the Son of man — Because he humbled himself so low as to become the Son of man, the Father conferred on him the high honour and glorious power of judging men and angels, that is, exalted the human nature, united to the divine, to this dignity and authority, Php 2:9-11. Marvel not at this, the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, &c. —
“Be not surprised at my saying, the Son of man has power to raise a few particular persons from the dead. There is a far greater power committed to him, even that of raising all men at the last day, and of judging and rewarding them according to their works.” I can of my own self do nothing — Now in this judgment I will not act absolutely or arbitrarily, but according to the laws of equity, unalterably established by my Father; so that I shall not act therein so properly by my own, as by my Father’s authority. As I hear I judge — In allusion to human courts, where the judges found their sentences upon the testimony of witnesses, and the laws of the country. Yet the expression by no means implies that our Lord, at the great day, shall receive information from any one whatsoever, concerning the persons he is to judge. Having been himself privy to their actions, he needs no evidence, but knows all things that ever were thought, said, or done by mankind, from the beginning to the end of time, fully and certainly. And my judgment is just — Not only because it is thus a judgment according to truth and equity, but likewise, because I seek not my own will, but the will of my Father, &c. — I have no interest to pursue, no inclination to fulfil, different from that of my Father.”
Jhn 8:51, “Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows
My word, he will never see death.”
Act 2:24, “But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) Whom God hath raised up.—It is probable enough that some rumour s of the Resurrection had found their way among the people, and had been met by the counter-statement of which we read in Matthew 28:11-15; but this was the first public witness, borne by one who was ready to seal his testimony with his blood, to the stupendous fact.
Having loosed the pains of death.—The word for “pains” is the same as that for “sorrows” in Matthew 24:8 : literally, travail-pangs. The phrase was not uncommon in the LXX. version, but was apparently a mistranslation of the Hebrew for “cords,” or “bands,” of death. If we take the Greek word in its full meaning, the Resurrection is thought of as a new birth as from the womb of the grave.
Because it was not possible. . . .—The moral impossibility was, we may say, two-fold. The work of the Son of Man could not have ended in a failure and death which would have given the lie to all that He had asserted of Himself. Its issue could not run counter to the prophecies which had implied with more or less clearness a victory over death. The latter, as the sequel shows, was the thought prominent in St. Peter’s mind.”
Act 3:15, “but put to death the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
Act 5:30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”
Death was impossible to put to death the Prince of life, God raised up Jesus from the dead, putting an ed to the agony of death.
My friend, the Prince of life can put an end to your agony, so suicide is unnecessary.
Rom 5:10, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10. if] i.e. as. The hypothesis is also a fact.
enemies] Personal enemies; the proper force of the Gr. word. Cp. Colossians 1:21. See below on Romans 8:7.
reconciled to God] On “reconciliation,” see on Romans 5:1. Here certainly the idea of the conciliation of man’s will to God (as a result of the Propitiation revealed) is suggested. But even here it is scarcely the main idea. The language, carefully weighed, points more to God’s acceptance of the sinner than to the sinner’s acceptance of God. For the case is put thus:—“When we were enemies, God was gracious to us: much more (as to our apprehension) will He be gracious to us still.” How was He gracious to us then? Surely by the gift of justification (see Romans 5:9). As our Judge, He acquitted us; in other words, He was reconciled to us, and adopted us. Therefore, as our reconciled Father, He will surely be equally gracious to us still.—Through this context St Paul has not yet come to the result of pardon on the will. When he here uses the phrase “reconciled to God” it is evidently with main reference to the removal of a judicial bar.—Absalom, for instance, was reconciled to David—restored to his filial position—only when David put aside his just wrath: till this was done, no change of will in Absalom would be reconciliation.
by the death] As propitiation, with a view to justification; Romans 3:24-25.
being reconciled] He does not say “being friends;” which, as just stated, is not yet the idea in point. The barrier of condemnation is taken away; therefore à fortiori the Judge, who is also the Father, will continue to us His love.
we shall be saved] See on Romans 5:9.
by his life] Lit. in His life. The “in” here is probably strictly appropriate: “in His life” = “in Him who lives.” The justified are “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).—Cp. Colossians 3:4, where the reference to the final appearing of the Saviour, (the appearing to judgment and salvation,) serves to explain this passage. Q. d., “We shall be saved in the day of the Lord because He, who died for us, ever lives as our Life.”
Rom 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—
Rom 5:14, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
Rom 5:17, “For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
Rom 5:21, “so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21. that as sin, &c.] More lit. that as the sin reigned in death, so also may the grace reign through righteousness, &c.—“The sin reigned in death:”—i.e., death was the expression of its power. Cp. Romans 5:12-14 and notes.—“May grace reign:”—such is the exact rendering, which should be kept, though Gr. idiom makes E. V. (“might”) grammatically possible. St Paul is still thinking of the succession of future believers.
through righteousness] i.e. “through the gift of righteousness,” (Romans 5:17,) Justification. Grace provides the Method of the justification of the ungodly; it gives them a position of acceptance in the eye of the sacred Law; constitutes them, for the purposes of that Law, righteous persons.—We do not for a moment here forget that a moral change is intended, and effected, in the subjects of grace; but the argument, up to this point, has in view not this yet, but the judicial acceptance which is the prior condition of it;—Justification, not yet Sanctification.
unto eternal life] The final issue of the “reign of grace.” See Romans 6:22, Romans 8:32, and note on Romans 2:7.
by Jesus Christ our Lord] Well do these holy words close that great section of the argument which specially explains the Way of Pardon. Jesus Christ is the one Cause and Means of Pardon, and therefore indeed also the “Lord” of those who through Him are accepted and glorified.”
Rom 6:9-10, “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again;
death no longer is master over Him. For the death
that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9. knowing] As an admitted foundation-truth. Christian faith is always viewed as grounded upon knowledge, upon fact.
dieth no more] His life is continuous and endless; such then also is that of those to whom He is the Second Adam; who therefore “shall live with Him.” Through this whole context the parallel of Adam and Christ needs to be borne in mind.
death hath no more dominion over him] “Him” is emphatic.—The Second Adam, as Representative and Substitute, submitted to the “dominion,” or mastery, of death as the appointed penalty of sin. But by that very act He exhausted death’s claim on Himself and His brethren; He “cancelled death.” (2 Timothy 1:10.)”
Rom 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
23. For] The “for” refers to the last statement. The verse may be paraphrased, “For whereas the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is, as we have now said, eternal life.”
wages] The Gr. is same word as Luke 3:14; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Corinthians 11:8. It strictly denotes pay for military service; and the metaphor here therefore points not to slavery so much as to the warfare of Romans 6:13 (where see note on weapons). The word is full of pregnant truth. Death, in its most awful sense, is no more than the reward and result of sin; and sin is nothing less than a conflict against God.
gift] The Gr. is same word as free gift, ch. Romans 5:15.—This word here is, so to speak, a paradox. We should have expected one which would have represented life eternal as the issue of holiness, to balance the truth that death is the issue of sin. And in respect of holiness being the necessary preliminary to the future bliss, this would have been entirely true. But St Paul here all the more forcibly presses the thought that salvation is a gift wholly apart from human merit. The eternal Design, the meritorious Sacrifice, the life-giving and love-imparting Spirit, all alike are a Gift absolutely free. The works of sin are the procuring cause of Death; the course of sanctification is not the procuring cause of Life Eternal, but only the training for the enjoyment of what is essentially a Divine gift “in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
through] Lit., and better, in. The “life eternal” is to be found only “in Him,” by those who “come to Him.” His work is the one meritorious cause; and in His hands also is the actual gift. (John 17:2-3).”
Rom 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2. For the law, &c.] What is this law? We take it to be a phrase by way of paradox, meaning the institute, or procedure, of the Gospel of Grace. Cp. “the law of faith,” Romans 3:27. It is the Divine Rule of Justification, (which alone, as the whole previous reasoning shews, removes “all condemnation,”) and is thus “a law” in the sense of “fixed process.” But also it is here “the law of the Spirit,” because its necessary sequel (indeed we may say its final cause as regards man) is the impartation of the Holy Spirit, (see John 7:39,) of whose influences so much is now to be said. And He is here specially “the Spirit of Life,” because He is the Agent who first leads the soul to believe in the Propitiation (see 1 Peter 1:2), and so to escape sentence of “death;” and who then animates it with the energies of the new life. Lastly, this whole process is “in Christ Jesus,” who is the meritorious Cause of Justification, the Head of the Justified, and the Giver of the Spirit.—The sum of the meaning thus is that the deliverance from doom is by faith in the Justifying Merit of Christ, which faith is attended, as well as produced, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, given through and by Christ.
hath made me free] An aorist in the Gr.; probably referring to the definite past fact of the delivering Work. The phrase thus refers to Justification rather than Sanctification, which is a present process, not a past event.—“Me:”—there is another reading “thee;” but “me” is certainly right. The word is an echo from ch. 7, Cp. Galatians 2:17-21, where the Apostle similarly turns from the plural of general truth to the singular of his own appropriation of it.—“Free:”—i.e. in respect of condemnation—not in respect of influence; which indeed (see next note) would be an alien idea here. He is here summing up the whole previous argument of the Epistle.
the law of sin and death] i.e. the Law, which, as regards man apart from Christ, is invariably linked with sin, as evoking it, and with death, as thus, in the nature of things, calling it down on the sinner. In other words it is the Divine Law, (instanced in that of Moses,) which, as a Covenant, is by its very holiness the sinner’s doom. The word “law” is (though not at first sight) used in the sense of a fixed process in both parts of the verse: the “new covenant” is linked, by the chain of cause and effect, with the Spirit of Life; the “old covenant,” with sin and death.”
Rom 8:6, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
1Co 15:26, “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
1 Corinthians 15:26. Ἔσχατος, the last) A pregnant announcement. Death is an enemy; is an enemy, who is destroyed; is the enemy, who is destroyed last of all; last moreover, that is, after Satan, Hebrews 2:14; and after sin, 1 Corinthians 15:56. For they acquired their strength in the same order; and Satan brought in sin, sin produced death. Those enemies have been destroyed; therefore also death is destroyed. It may be said, Does not the same principle hold good as to all the enemies alike? for in so far as all the others have been destroyed, death has been also destroyed, 2 Timothy 1:10, therefore inasmuch as death remains, the other enemies still remain, and therefore death is not destroyed last. Ans. Christ, in so far as He formerly engaged with His enemies, first overcame Satan by His death; next sin, in His death; lastly death, in His resurrection; and in the same order, in which He destroys His enemies, He delivers believers from their power. Again, it may be said, how is death destroyed last, if the resurrection of the dead precedes the destruction of ALL RULE?” Ans. The resurrection is immediately followed by the judgment, with which the destruction of all rule is connected; and the destruction of death and hell immediately succeeds this. The order of destruction is described, Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10; Revelation 20:14. Moreover the expression ought to be taken in a reduplicative sense. The enemies will be destroyed, as enemies. For even after all this, Satan will still be Satan, hell will still be hell, the goats will still be accursed. They will indeed be first destroyed, before death, the last enemy; not that they may altogether cease to be, as death shall; not that they may cease to be what they are called, namely Satan, hell, accursed; but that they may be no longer enemies, resisting, and able to oppose, for they will be completely subdued, rendered powerless, taken captive, visited with punishment, put under the feet of our Lord. The destruction of ALL RULE ought not to be reckoned as the destruction [i.e. annihilation] of enemies; moreover the destruction of the power of our enemies according to Revelation 19:20 is accomplished even before the destruction of death, which the destruction of ALL authority and of ALL rule straightway follows. The good angels are also then to obtain exemption from service.—ἐχθρὸς, enemy) Death, an enemy; therefore it was not at first natural to man. Those, who denied the resurrection, also denied the immortality of the soul. The defence of the former includes the defence of the latter.—καταργεῖται, is destroyed) The present for the future.—ὁ θάνατος, death) Hell is also included in the mention of death, so far as it is to be destroyed, 1 Corinthians 15:55.”
1Co 15:54, “But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.”
So when … – In that future glorious world, when all this shall have been accomplished.
Then shall be brought to pass – Then shall be fully accomplished; these words shall then receive their entire fulfillment; or this event shall meet all that is implied in these words.
The saying that is written – What is written, or the record which is made. These words are quoted from Isaiah 25:8; and the fact that Paul thus quotes them, and the connection in which they stand, prove that they had reference to the times of the gospel, and to the resurrection of the dead. Paul does not quote directly from the Hebrew, or from the Septuagint, but gives the substance of the passage.
Death – Referring here, undoubtedly, to death in the proper sense; death as prostrating the living, and consigning them to the grave.
Is swallowed up – Κατεπόθη Katepothē (from katapinō, to drink down, to swallow down) means to absorb Revelation 12:16; to overwhelm, to drown Hebrews 11:29; and then to destroy or remove. The idea may be taken from a whirlpool, or maelstrom, that absorbs all that comes near it; and the sense is, that he will abolish or remove death; that is, cause it to cease from its ravages and triumphs.
In victory – (εἰς νῖκος eis nikos. Unto victory; so as to obtain a complete victory. The Hebrew Isa 25:8 is לנצח laanetsach, The Septuagint often renders the word נצח drow netsach which properly means “splendor, purity, trust, perpetuity, eternity, perfection,” by νῖκος nikos, “victory”; Job 36:7; Lamentations 3:18; Lamentations 5:20; Amos 1:1-15; Amos 2; Amos 8:7. The Hebrew word here may be rendered either “unto the end, that is,” to completeness or perfection, or unto victory, with triumph. It matters little which is the meaning, for they both come to the same thing. The idea is, that the power and dominion of death shall be entirely destroyed, or brought to an end.”
2Co 7:10, “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading
to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces
death.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10. For godly sorrow worketh repentance] Rather, For the sorrow which is according to God (that is aftir God, Wiclif) worketh change of mind. The difference between the true repentance and the false remorse may be illustrated by the cases of David and Saul, St Peter and Judas.
to salvation not to be repented of] Or not to be regretted, the word here used involving the idea of sorrow or anxiety. It is by most commentators connected with salvation, as though that were the result not to be regretted. But it may as naturally be referred to the change of mind. “The beautiful law is,” says Robertson, “that in proportion as the repentance increases, the grief diminishes. ‘I rejoice,’ says St Paul, ‘that I made you sorry, though it were but for a time.’ Grief for a time, but repentance for ever.”
but the sorrow of the world] i.e. of the world untouched and un-regenerated by the Spirit of God—the sorrow of the natural man, “the opposite of the sorrow according to God.” Stanley. See 1 Corinthians 2:14.
worketh death] Death of the body, sometimes, as when despair tempts to suicide, or brings on deadly sickness. Death of the soul, when sorrow fails to melt the heart, but leads it to that state of rebellious stubbornness, of entire alienation from God, which is expressed in the words “hardness of heart and contempt of His word and commandment.” Cf. Proverbs 17:22”
Eph 2:16, “and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.”
Phl 2:8, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
8. found] as one who presented Himself for inspection and test. See Appendix F.
fashion] See third note on Php 2:6 above. The Greek word schêma denotes appearance with or without underlying reality. It does not negative such reality any more than it asserts it; it emphasizes appearance. In the context, we have the reality of the Lord’s Manhood abundantly given; and in this word accordingly we read, as in the word “likeness” just above, an emphatic statement that (a) He was Man in guise, not in disguise; presenting Himself to all the conditions of concrete life as Man with man; and that (b) all the while the schêma had more beneath it than its own corresponding reality: it was the veil of Deity.
as a man] Better, perhaps, as man, though R.V. retains “as a man.” As the Second Man, our Lord is rather Man, the Man of men, than a Man, one among men.—Yet the assertion here is rather as to what He was pleased to be in relation to those who “found” Him, came into contact with Him, in His earthly walk; and to such He certainly was “a man.” And so, with wonderful condescension, He speaks of Himself as “a man that hath told you the truth” (John 8:40).
he humbled himself] in “the acts of condescension and humiliation in that human nature which He emptied Himself to assume” (Ellicott). More particularly the reference is to the specially submissive, bearing, life, under the afflictive will of His Father, which He undertook to lead for our sakes; see the next words. The Greek verb is in the aorist, and sums up the holy course of submission either into one idea, or into one initial crisis of will.
and became] Lit. and better, becoming; an aorist participle coincident in reference with the previous aorist verb.
obedient] to the Father’s will that He should suffer. The utterance of Gethsemane was but the amazing summary and crown of His whole sacred course as the Man of Sorrows. His “Passion,” standing in some vital respects quite alone in His work, was in other respects only the apex of His “Patience.”
unto death] R.V. rightly supplies even before these words. “Unto” means (by the Greek) “to the length of.” He did not “obey” but “abolish” death (2 Timothy 1:10); He obeyed His Father, “even to the extent of” dying, as the sinner’s Sacrifice, at the demand of the holy Law, and “by the determinate foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23) of the Lawgiver.
of the cross] “Far be the very name of a cross not only from the bodies of Roman citizens, but from their imagination, eyes, and ears” (Cicero, Proverbs Rabirio, c. 5. Cp. Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xx.). Every thought of pain and shame was in the word, and was realized in the terrific thing. Combining, as we should do in the case of our Redeemer’s Crucifixion, the significance to the Jew of any death by suspension, with the significance to the Roman of execution on the cross, we must think of this supreme “obedience” as expressing the holy Sufferer’s submission both to “become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13, with Deuteronomy 21:23) as before God the Lawgiver, and meanwhile to be “despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3) in the most extreme degree.
On the history of thought and usage in connexion with the Cross, and Crucifixion, see Zöckler’s Cross of Christ.”
Phl 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9. That I may know him] In order to know Him. For the construction, cp. e.g. 1 Corinthians 10:13.—Observe the sequence of thought. He embraces “the righteousness which is of God on terms of faith,” and renounces “a righteousness of his own” as a means to the end here stated—the spiritual knowledge of Christ and of His power to sanctify and glorify by assimilation to Himself. In order to that end, he thankfully “submits Himself to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3; cp. 1 Peter 1:2); accepts the Divine justification for the merit’s sake of Jesus Christ alone; knowing, with the intuition of a soul enlightened by grace, that in such submission lies the secret of such assimilation. Welcoming Christ as his one ground of peace with God, he not only enters at the same time on spiritual contact with Christ as Life from God, but also gets such a view of himself and his Redeemer as to affect profoundly his whole intercourse with Christ, and the effects of that intercourse on his being.
Php 3:10 is thus by no means a restatement of Php 3:9. It gives another range of thought and truth, in deep and strong connexion. To use a convenient classification, Php 3:9 deals with Justification, Php 3:10 with Sanctification in relation to it.
“That I may know Him”:—the Greek seems to imply a decisive act of knowledge rather than a process. A lifelong process is sure to result from the act; for the Object of the act “passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). But the act, the decisive getting acquainted with what Christ is, is in immediate view. A far-reaching insight into Him in His glory of grace has a natural connexion with the spiritual act of submissive faith in Him as our Sacrifice and Righteousness. Cp. John 6:56.
On this “knowledge” of recognition and intuition, cp. Php 3:8, and notes.
the power of his resurrection] A phrase difficult to exhaust in exposition. The Lord’s Resurrection is spiritually powerful as (a) evidencing the justification of believers (Romans 4:24-25, and by all means cp. 1 Corinthians 15:14; 1 Corinthians 15:17-18); as (b) assuring them of their own bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20, &c.; 1 Thessalonians 4:14); and yet more as (c) being that which constituted Him actually the life-giving Second Adam, the Giver of the Spirit who unites the members to Him the Vital Head (John 7:39; John 20:22; Acts 2:33; cp. Ephesians 4:4-16). This latter aspect of truth is prominent in the Epistles to Ephesus and Colossæ, written at nearly the same period of St Paul’s apostolic work; and we have here, very probably, a passing hint of what is unfolded there. The thought of the Lord’s Resurrection is suggested here to his mind by the thought, not expressed but implied in the previous context, of the Atoning Death on which it followed as the Divine result.
This passage indicates the great truth that while our acceptance in Christ is always based upon His propitiatory work for us, our power for service and endurance in His name is vitally connected with His life as the Risen One, made ours by the Holy Spirit.
Cp. further Romans 5:10; Romans 6:4-11; Romans 7:4; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:10; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1-4; Hebrews 13:20-21.
the fellowship of his sufferings] Entrance, in measure, into His experience as the Sufferer. The thought recurs to the Cross, but in connexion now with Example, not with Atonement. St Paul deals with the fact that the Lord who has redeemed him has done it at the severest cost of pain; and that a moral and spiritual necessity calls His redeemed ones, who are united vitally to Him, to “carry the cross,” in their measure, for His sake, in His track, and by His Spirit’s power. And he implies that this cross bearing, whatever is its special form, this acceptance of affliction of any sort as for and from Him, is a deep secret of entrance into spiritual intimacy with Christ; into “knowledge of Him.” Cp. further Romans 8:17; Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 1:5; 2 Corinthians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Colossians 1:24; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Peter 4:13; Revelation 3:10.
being made conformable] Better, with R.V., becoming conformed. The Greek construction is free, but clear.—The Lord’s Death as the supreme expression of His love and of His holiness, and the supreme act of His surrender to the Father’s will, draws the soul of the Apostle with spiritual magnetic force to desire, and to experience, assimilation of character to Him who endured it. The holy Atonement wrought by it is not here in direct view; he is full of the thought of the revelation of the Saviour through His Passion, and of the bliss of harmony in will with Him so revealed. No doubt the Atonement is not forgotten; for the inner glory of the Lord’s Death as Example is never fully seen apart from a sight of its propitiatory purpose. But the immediate thought is that of spiritual harmony with the dying Lord’s state of will. Cp. 2 Corinthians 4:10.”
2Ti 1:10, “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10. is now made manifest] but manifested now; the opposition thus put between the ‘given’ and the ‘manifested’ implies that the gift had been, in the phrase of the other parallel passage, Romans 16:25, ‘kept in silence through times eternal.’ Compare 1 Timothy 3:16, ‘who in flesh was manifested.’
by the appearing] The one use of the substantive ‘epiphany’ for the Incarnation, and so the authority for our use of it in the Church’s season of Epiphany. See notes on 1 Timothy 6:14 and Titus 2:13. The verb, with this reference, occurs again Titus 2:11; Titus 3:4.
our Saviour Jesus Christ] Again, with the best mss., Christ Jesus; the title now especially frequent, see note 1 Timothy 1:1.
who hath abolished death] More exactly, abolishing death, as he did, and bringing into light instead life and immortality. The verb for ‘abolish,’ lit. ‘to make useless, powerless,’ is used here of the Incarnation; in Hebrews 2:14, of the Atonement; in 1 Corinthians 15:26, of the Second Advent, as effecting this victory; at each stage the victory is assured. To us the Incarnation and the Atonement are extended through union with Christ in Holy Baptism. Compare Dr H. Macmillan, Two Worlds are Ours, p. 22. ‘Naturally, we are the creatures of days and months and years that vanish, regulated by sun and moon and stars that will perish. But, born anew in Christ, we enter into a sphere where time has no existence, where one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day; we lay hold on eternal life.’
hath brought … to light] Vulg., Th. Mops., ‘illuminavit,’ i.e. ‘shed over them a full mid-day light.’ The use of the corresponding substantive 1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 4:6, shews the force best, the illuminating power of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. ‘Life,’ ‘the life that is truly life,’ 1 Timothy 6:19, the spiritual life, which is ‘immortality;’ see notes on 1 Timothy 6:12; 1 Timothy 6:19; 1 Timothy 4:8. The Ember hymn well expresses the present glory of this ‘life’ thus illuminated,—‘our glory meets us ere we die.’
through the gospel] Added to the second half of the clause, as coming back to the thought of 2 Timothy 1:8, where ‘the gospel’ personified represents the saving work of the Lord and the suffering ministry of St Paul as here.”
Heb 2:14, “Therefore, since the children share in
flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14–18. A fuller statement of the moral fitness of Christ’s participation in human sufferings
14. are partakers of flesh and blood] Rather, “have shared (and do share) in blood and flesh,” i.e. are human. They are all inheritors of this common mystery. This is implied by the perfect tense. “Blood and flesh,” as in Ephesians 6:12.
likewise] This word furnished the Fathers with a strong argument against the Docetae who regarded the body of Christ not as real but as purely phantasmal.
took part of the same] Because, as he goes on to intimate, it would otherwise have been impossible for Christ to die. Comp. Php 2:8. The aorist implies the one historic fact of the Incarnation.
he might destroy] Rather, “He may bring to nought,” or “render impotent.” See 2 Timothy 1:10, “Jesus Christ … hath abolished death;” 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Revelation 1:18. The word occurs 28 times in St Paul, but elsewhere only here and in Luke 13:7, though sometimes found in the LXX.
him that had the power of death] Rather, “him that hath,” i.e. in the present condition of things. But Christ, by assuming our flesh, became “the Death of death,” as in the old epitaph,
“Mors Mortis Morti mortem nisi morte dedisset
Aeternae vitae janua clausa foret;”
which we may render
“Had not the Death of death to Death by death his death-blow given,
For ever closèd were the gate, the gate of life and heaven.”
It is, however, possible that the phrase, “the power of death,” does not imply that the devil can, by God’s permission, inflict death, but that he has “a sovereignty, of which death is the realm.”
that is, the devil] This is the only place in this Epistle in which the name “Devil” occurs. It is nowhere very frequent in the N.T. The English reader is liable to be misled by the rendering “devils” for “demons” in the Gospels. Satan has the power of death, if that be the meaning here, not as lord, but as executioner (comp. Revelation 9:11); his power is only a permissive power (John 8:44; Revelation 12:10; Wis 2:24, “Through envy of the devil came death unto the world).” The manner in which Christ shall thus bring Satan to nought is left untouched, but the best general comments on the fact are in 1 Corinthians 15 and the Apocalypse. Nor does this expression encourage any Manichean or dualistic views; for, however evil may be the will of Satan, he can never exercise his power otherwise than in accordance with the just will of God. The Jews spoke of an Angel of Death, whom they called Sammael, and whom they identified with Satan (Eisenmenger, Entd. Judenth. ii. p. 821”
Heb 9:15, “For this reason He is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken
place for the redemption of the violations that were committed under the first covenant, those
who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15–28. The indispensableness and efficacy of the death of Christ
15. for this cause] i.e. on account of the grandeur of His offering.
the mediator of the new testament] Rather, “a mediator of a New Covenant.” Moses had been called by Philo “the Mediator” of the Old Covenant, i.e. he who came between God and Israel as the messenger of it. But Christ’s intervention—His coming as One who revealed God to man—was accompanied with a sacrifice so infinitely more efficacious that it involved a New Covenant altogether.
by means of death] This version renders the passage entirely unintelligible. The true rendering and explanation seem to be as follows: “And on this account He is a Mediator of a New Covenant, that—since death” [namely the death of sacrificial victims] “occurred for the redemption of the transgressions which took place under the first covenant—those who have been called [whether Christians, or faithful believers under the Old Dispensation] may [by virtue of Christ’s death, which the death of those victims typified] receive [i.e. actually enjoy the fruition of, Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 6:17, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 11:13] the promise of the Eternal Inheritance.” Volumes of various explanations have been written on this verse, but the explanation given above is very simple. The verse is a sort of reason why Christ’s death was necessary. The ultimate, a priori, reason he does not attempt to explain, because it transcends all understanding; but he merely says that since under the Old Covenant death was necessary, and victims had to be slain in order that by their blood men might be purified, and the High Priest might enter the Holiest Place, so, under the New Covenant, a better and more efficacious death was necessary, both to give to those old sacrifices the only real validity which they possessed, and to secure for all of God’s elect an eternal heritage.”
Jas 1:15, “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15. when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin] The image suggested in the previous verse is developed with an almost startling boldness. The will that yields to desire in so doing engenders evil. And as from that fatal embrace, there comes first the conception and then the birth of sin. But sin also grows; it has its infancy of purpose and its maturity of act; and so the parable is continued. Sin, in its turn, grows up, and by its union with the will becomes the mother of a yet more terrible offspring, and that offspring is Death, the loss of the true life of the soul, which consists in its capacity for knowing God. The second of the two words rendered “bringeth forth” (better, perhaps, engendereth) differs from the first, and seems, as a less common word, to have been used for extraordinary or monstrous births (such e. g. as a woman’s bearing four or five children), and so is appropriate here. The word occurs again in James 1:18, where see note. In looking at the allegory as a whole we note: (1) its agreement as to the relation of sin and death, with the teaching of St Paul (Romans 5:12); (2) its resemblance to like allegories in the literature of other nations, as in the well-known Choice of Hercules that bears the name of Prodicus, in which Pleasure appears with the garb and allurements of a harlot; (3) its expansion in the marvellous allegory of Sin and Death in Milton’s Paradise Lost (B. II. 745–814), where Satan represents Intellect and Will opposed to God, Sin its offspring, self-generated, and Death the fruit of the union of Mind and Will with Sin. In the incestuous union of Sin and Death that follows and in its horrid progeny, Milton seems to have sought to shadow forth the shame and foulness and misery in which even the fairest forms of sin finally issue.”
1Pe 3:18, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for
all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive
in the spirit.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins] As in the previous chapter (1 Peter 2:21-25), so here, the Apostle cannot think of any righteous sufferer needing comfort without thinking also of the righteous Sufferer whom he had known. And here also, as there, though he begins with thinking of Him as an example, he cannot rest in that thought, but passes almost immediately to the higher aspects of that work as sacrificial and atoning. Every word that follows is full of significance—“Christ suffered” (better than “hath suffered,” as representing the sufferings as belonging entirely to the past), once and once for all. The closeness of the parallelism with Hebrews 9:26-28 might almost suggest the inference that St Peter was acquainted with that Epistle, but it admits also of the more probable explanation that both writers represent the current teaching of the Apostolic Church. The precise Greek phrase “for sins” (literally, “concerning, or on account of, sins”) is used in Hebrews 10:6; Hebrews 10:8; Hebrews 10:18; Hebrews 10:26, and in the LXX. of Psalm 40:6, and was almost the technical phrase of the Levitical Code (Leviticus 4:33).
the just for the unjust] The preposition in this case means “on behalf of,” and is that used of the efficacy of Christ’s sufferings in Mark 14:24, John 6:51, 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Timothy 2:6. It is used also of our sufferings for Christ (Php 1:29), or for our brother men (Ephesians 3:1; Ephesians 3:13), and therefore does not by itself express the vicarious character of the death of Christ, though it naturally runs up into it. In the emphatic description of Christ as “the Just,” we have an echo of St Peter’s own words in Acts 3:14; in the stress laid on the fact that He, the just, died for the unjust, a like echo of the teaching of St Paul in Romans 5:6.
that he might bring us to God] This, then, from St Peter’s point of view, and not a mere exemption from an infinite penalty, was the end contemplated in the death of Christ. “Access to God,” the right to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), was with him as with St Paul (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12), the final cause of the redemptive work. The verb, it may be noted, is not used elsewhere in this connexion in the New Testament.
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit] The change of the preposition and the mode of printing “Spirit” both shew that the translators took the second clause as referring to the Holy Spirit, as quickening the human body of Christ in His resurrection from the dead. The carefully balanced contrast between the two clauses shews, however, that this cannot be the meaning, and that we have here an antithesis, like that of Romans 1:3-4, between the “flesh” and the human “spirit” of the man Christ Jesus, like that between the “manifest in the flesh” and “justified in the spirit” of 1 Timothy 3:16. By the “flesh” He was subject to the law of death, but in the very act of dying, His “spirit” was quickened, even prior to the resurrection of His body, into a fresh energy and activity. What was the sphere and what the result of that activity, the next verse informs us.”
Rev 1:18, ‘and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I AM alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
I am he that liveth, and was dead – I was indeed once dead, but now I live, and shall continue to live forever. This would at once identify him who thus appeared as the Lord Jesus Christ, for to no one else could this apply. He had been put to death; but he had risen from the grave. This also is given as a reason why John should not fear; and nothing would allay his fears more than this. He now saw that he was in the presence of that Saviour whom more than Ahalf a century before he had so tenderly loved when in the flesh, and whom, though now long absent, he had faithfully served, and for whose cause he was now in this lonely island. His faith in his resurrection had not been a delusion; he saw the very Redeemer before him who had once been laid in the tomb.
Behold, I am alive forevermore – I am to live forever. Death is no more to cut me down, and I am never again to slumber in the grave. As he was always to live, he could accomplish all his promises, and fulfil all his purposes. The Saviour is never to die again. He can, therefore, always sustain us in our troubles; he can be with us in our death. Whoever of our friends die, he will not die; when we die, he will still be on the throne.
Amen – A word here of strong affirmation – as if he had said, it is “truly,” or “certainly so.” See the notes on Revelation 1:7. This expression is one that the Saviour often used when he wished to give emphasis, or to express anything strongly. Compare John 3:3; John 5:25.
And have the keys of hell and of death – The word rendered “hell” – ᾅδης Hadēs, “Hades” – refers properly to the underworld; the abode of departed spirits; the region of the dead. This was represented as dull and gloomy; as enclosed with walls; as entered through gates which were fastened with bolts and bars. For a description of the views which prevailed among the ancients on the subject, see the Luke 16:23 note, and Job 10:21-22 notes. To hold the key of this, was to hold the power over the invisible world. It was the more appropriate that the Saviour should represent himself as having this authority, as he had himself been raised from the dead by his own power (compare John 10:18), thus showing that the dominion over this dark world was entrusted to him.
And of death – A personification. Death reigns in that world. But to his wide-extended realms the Saviour holds the key, and can have access to his empire when he pleases, releasing all whom he chooses, and confining there still such as he shall please. It is probably in part from such hints as these that Milton drew his sublime description of the gates of hell in the “Paradise Lost.” As Christ always lives; as he always retains this power over the regions of the dead, and the whole world of spirits, it may be further remarked that we have nothing to dread if we put our trust in him. We need not fear to enter a world which he has entered, and from which he has emerged, achieving a glorious triumph; we need not fear what the dread king that reigns there can do to us, for his power extends not beyond the permission of the Saviour, and in his own time that Saviour will call us forth to life, to die no more.”
VII. JESUS IS CALLING YOU
Mat 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
All of you who are weary and burden, Jesus wants you to come to Him. This is a personal invitation of Jesus. God knows you are weary and burdened of this life. Jesus will give you rest so that you do not need to commit suicide. To rest in Greek is anapauō which means “to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength” (Strong’s Concordance); to take ease; to refresh; peace of mind or spirit; — which occurs 12 times in the New Testament.
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me — Our Lord here shows to whom he is pleased to reveal the Father, and the things said above to be hid from the wise and prudent; to those that labour, or, are weary, as κοπιωντες may be rendered, and are heavy laden; namely, those that are weary of the slavery of sin and Satan, and of the love of the world and the pursuit of its vanities, and desire and labour after a state of reconciliation and peace with God, and rest in him; and who, till they enjoy these blessings, are heavy laden with a sense of the guilt and power of their sins, and of the displeasure of God due to them on account thereof. To these, and also to such as are burdened with the distresses of life and various trials, Jesus graciously says, Come unto me — The original word, Δευτε, come, expresses not so much a command, as a friendly request; a familiar exhorting, desiring, and begging a person to do any thing, particularly what is pleasant, and would be profitable to him if done. To come to Christ, is to apply to him in faith and prayer for such blessings as we see we want. And I — I alone, (for no one else can,) will give you freely, (what you cannot purchase,) rest, namely, from the guilt of sin by justification, and from the power of sin by sanctification; rest, from a sense of the wrath of God and an accusing conscience, in peace with God and peace of mind; rest, from all carnal affections, and fruitless worldly cares, disquietudes, and labours, in the love of God shed abroad in your hearts; and rest in the midst of the afflictions, trials, and troubles of life, in a full assurance that all things shall work for your good, and that, though in the world you may have tribulation, in me you shall have peace. Some commentators, by the rest offered in this invitation, understand that freedom from the burdensome services of the law which Christ has granted to men through the promulgation of the gospel. And it must be owned that this interpretation is favoured by the subsequent clause, in which men are invited to take on them Christ’s yoke and burden, from the consideration that they are light and easy, namely, in comparison of Moses’s yoke. There is no reason, however, for confining the rest of the soul here offered to that particular privilege of Christianity. It is more natural to think that it comprehends therewith all the blessings of the gospel whatsoever. Christianity, when embraced in faith and love, and possessed in the life and power of it, gives rest to the soul, because, 1st, it clearly informs the judgment concerning the most important points, removing all doubts concerning them; 2d, it settles the will in the choice of what is for its happiness; 3d, it controls and regulates the passions, and keeps them under subjection to the peace and love of God. Php 4:7; Colossians 3:14-15. See Dodd’s sermon on this text.”
Eze 34:15, “I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself
will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD.”
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Jehovah Himself will seek His flock, gather it together from the dispersion, lead it to good pasture, and sift it by the destruction of the bad sheep. – Ezekiel 34:11. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I myself, I will inquire after my flock, and take charge thereof. Ezekiel 34:12. As a shepherd taketh charge of his flock in the day when he is in the midst of his scattered sheep, so will I take charge of my flock, and deliver them out of all the places whither they have been scattered in the day of cloud and cloudy night. Ezekiel 34:13. And I will bring them out from the nations, and gather them together out of the lands, and bring them into their land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the dwelling-places of the land. Ezekiel 34:14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and on the high mountains of Israel will their pasture-ground be: there shall they lie down in a good pasture-ground, and have fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 34:15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Ezekiel 34:16. That which is lost will I seek, and that which is driven away will I bring back; that which is wounded will I bind up, and that which is sick will I:strengthen: but that which is fat and strong will I destroy, and feed them according to justice. Ezekiel 34:17. And you, my sheep, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will judge between sheep and sheep, and the rams and the he-goats. Ezekiel 34:18. Is it too little for you, that ye eat up the good pasture, and what remains of your pasture ye tread down with your feet? and the clear water ye drink, and render muddy what remains with your feet? Ezekiel 34:19. And are my sheep to have for food that which is trodden down by your feet, and to drink that which is made muddy by your feet? Ezekiel 34:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah to them, Behold, I, I will judge between fat sheep and lean. Ezekiel 34:21. Because ye press with side and shoulder, and thrust all the weak with your horns, till ye have driven them out; Ezekiel 34:22. I will help my sheep, so that they shall no more become a prey; and will judge between sheep and sheep. – All that the Lord will do for His flock is summed up in Ezekiel 34:11, in the words דּרשׁתּי את־צאני וּבקּרתּים, which stand in obvious antithesis to ‘ואין דּורשׁ וגו in Ezekiel 34:6 – an antithesis sharply accentuated by the emphatic הנני אני, which stands at the head in an absolute form. The fuller explanation is given in the verses which follow, from Ezekiel 34:12 onwards. Observe here that biqger is substituted for בּקּשׁ. בּקּר, to seek and examine minutely, involves the idea of taking affectionate charge. What the Lord does for His people is compared in Ezekiel 34:12 to the care which a shepherd who deserves the name manifests towards sheep when they are scattered (נפרשׁות without the article is connected with צאנו in the form of apposition); and in Ezekiel 34:12 it is still more particularly explained. In the first place, He will gather them from all the places to which they have been scattered. הצּיל implies that in their dispersion they have fallen into a state of oppression and bondage among the nations (cf. Exodus 6:6). בּיום belongs to the relative clause: whither they have been scattered. The circumstance that these words are taken from Joel 2:2 does not compel us to take them in connection with the principal clause, as Hitzig and Kliefoth propose, and to understand them as relating to the time when God will hold His judgment of the heathen world. The notion that the words in Joel signify “God’s day of judgment upon all the heathen” (Kliefoth), is quite erroneous; and even Hitzig does not derive this meaning from Joel 2:2, but from the combination of our verse with Ezekiel 30:3 and Ezekiel 29:21. The deliverance of the sheep out of the places to which they have been scattered, consists in the gathering together of Israel out of the nations, and their restoration to their own land, and their feeding upon the mountains and all the dwelling-places of the land (מושׁב, a place suitable for settlement), and that in good and fat pasture (Ezekiel 34:14); and lastly, in the fact that Jehovah bestows the necessary care upon the sheep, strengthens and heals the weak and sick (Ezekiel 34:15 and Ezekiel 34:16) – that is to say, does just what the bad shepherds have omitted (Ezekiel 34:4) – and destroys the fat and strong. In this last clause another side is shown of the pastoral fidelity of Jehovah. אשׁמיד has been changed by the lxx, Syr., and Vulg. into ,אשׁמורφυλάχω; and Luther has followed them in his rendering, “I will watch over them.” But this is evidently a mistake, as it fails to harmonize with ארענּה במשׁפּט. The fat and strong sheep are characterized in Ezekiel 34:18 and Ezekiel 34:19 as those which spoil the food and water of the others. The allusion, therefore, is to the rich and strong ones of the nation, who oppress the humble and poor, and treat them with severity. The destruction of these oppressors shows that the loving care of the Lord is associated with righteousness – that He feeds the flock בּמשׁפּט.
This thought is carried out still further in Ezekiel 34:17-21, the sheep themselves being directly addressed, and the Lord assuring them that He will judge between sheep and sheep, and put an end to the oppressive conduct of the fat sheep and the strong. בּין שׂה לשׂה: between the one sheep and the other. לשׂה is extended in the apposition, “the rams and he-goats,” which must not be rendered, “with regard to the rams and he-goats,” as it has been by Kliefoth. The thought is not that Jehovah will divide the rams and he-goats from the sheep, as some have explained it, from an inappropriate comparison with Matthew 25:32; but the division is to be effected in such a manner that sheep will be separated from sheep, the fat sheep being placed on one side with the rams and he-goats, and kept apart from the lean (רזה, Ezekiel 34:20) and the sickly sheep (נהלות, Matthew 25:21). It is to the last-named sheep, rams, and he-goats that Matthew 25:18 and Matthew 25:19 are addressed. With regard to the charge brought against them, that they eat up the pasture and tread down the remainder with their feet, etc., Bochart has already correctly observed, that “if the words are not quite applicable to actual sheep, they are perfectly appropriate to the mystical sheep intended here, i.e., to the Israelites, among whom many of the rich, after enjoying an abundant harvest and vintage, grudged the poor their gleaning in either one or the other.” משׁקע, a substantive formation, like מרמס, literally, precipitation of the water, i.e., the water purified by precipitation; for שׁקע, to sink, is the opposite of רפשׂ, to stir up or render muddy by treading with the feet (compare Ezekiel 32:14 and Ezekiel 32:2). בּריה, Ezekiel 34:20 equals בּראה or בּריּה. Ezekiel 34:22 brings to a close the description of the manner in which God will deliver His flock, and feed it with righteousness. והושׁעתּי points back to והצּלתּי in Ezekiel 34:12, and ושׁפטתּי to ארענּה במשׁפּט in Ezekiel 34:16. – To this there is appended in Ezekiel 34:23. a new train of thought, describing how God will still further display to His people His pastoral fidelity.”
Mat 9:13, “Now go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Verse 13. – The first half of the verse comes in Matthew only. But go ye and learn. A common rabbinic phrase based on the fact that the disputants would not always have the cumbrous rolls of Scripture actually with them. These Pharisees pro-reseed to be students of Scripture, but had not yet learned the principle taught in this passage. What that meaneth, I will have (I desire, Revised Version) mercy, and not sacrifice. Mercy (ἔλεος). In the original connexion of this quotation (Hosea 6:6) the words are without doubt (but cf. Dr. Taylor’s ‘Gospel in the Law,’ p. 10) an expression of God’s desire that his people should show mercy rather than only perform external sacrifices, and this meaning is probably intended by our Lord here also. The connexion will then be either
(1) “I wish you to show mercy rather than perform external actions, for only thus will you resemble me in my coming to call sinners;” or
(2) “I wish you to show this mercy, and therefore I practise it myself.” The former seems the more natural. It is, however, possible that our Lord disregards the original context of the words, and uses them only as a summary of an important truth, that God prefers to show mercy rather than to insist on sacrifice. This would make excellent sense here, viz. “Learn the true principle by which God acts, free grace, for it is on this that I have acted in coming to call sinners.” (So nearly Dr. Taylor, op. cit., p. 3.) The sentence is quoted again in Matthew 12:7, where the original thought of the words seems more certainly applicable. For I am not come; for I came not (Revised Version). Christ refers to his historic coming in the Incarnation rather than to his abiding presence (cf. also Matthew 5:17). To call the righteous, but sinners (καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλ ἁμαρτωλούς). The English generic article in the first term spoils the anarthrous expression of the Greek by lessening the contrast between the two classes. Dr. Taylor suggests the rendering, “not saints, but sinners” (op. cit., p. 4). To repentance. Omitted by the Revised Version and Westcott and Herr. From the parallel passage in Luke. Matthew 9:13”
Mat 16:24, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone
wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Verse 24. – St. Mark tells us that Jesus called the multitude unto him together with the disciples, as about to say something of universal application. The connection between this paragraph and what has preceded is well put by St. Chrysostom. Then. “When? when St. Peter said, ‘Be it far from thee: this shall not be unto thee,’ and was told, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan.’ For Christ was by no means satisfied with the mere rebuke of Peter, but, willing more abundantly to show both the extravagance of Peter’s words and the future benefit of his Passion, he saith, ‘Thy word to me is, “Be it far from thee: this shall not be unto thee;” but my word to thee is, “Not only is it hurtful to thee to impede me and to be displeased at my Passion, but it will be impossible for thee even to be saved, unless thou thyself too be continually prepared for death.”‘ Thus, lest they should think his suffering unworthy of him, not by the former words only, but by those that were coming, he teaches them the gain thereof.” If any man will (θέλει, wills to) come after me. To come after Christ is to be his follower and disciple, and the Lord here declares what will be the life of such a one (see a parallel passage, Matthew 10:38, 39). Jesus mentions three points which belong to the character of a true disciple. The first is self-denial. Let him deny himself. There is no better test of reality and earnestness in the religious life than this. (See a sermon of Newman’s on this subject, vol. 1. serm. 5.) If a man follows Jesus, it must be by his own free will, and he must voluntarily renounce everything that might hinder his discipleship, denying himself even in things lawful that he may approach the likeness of his Master. Take up his cross. This is the second point. St. Luke adds, “daily.” He must not only be resigned to bear what is brought upon him – suffering, shame, and death, which he cannot escape, but be eager to endure it, meet it with a solemn joy, be glad that he is counted worthy of it. Follow me. The third point. He must be energetic and active, not passive only and resigned, but with all zeal tracking his Master’s footsteps, which lead on the way of sorrows. Here too is comfort; he is not called to a task as yet untried; Christ has gone before, and in his strength he may be strong. Matthew 16:24.”
Mat 19:21, “Jesus said to him, “If you want to be
complete, go and sell your possessions and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) Jesus said unto him . . .—St. Mark (Mark 10:21) adds the striking and interesting words, “Jesus beholding him” (better, perhaps, gazing on him), “loved him.” There was something in the young seeker after holiness which drew to him, in a measure altogether exceptional, the affection of the Great Teacher. The same word is used in regard to him which is used in relation to the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” and (here the coincidence takes its place in the chain of evidence for the view above suggested) to Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary (John 11:5). There was the fervour, the longing after a higher life, the personal trust, which made him a not unworthy object of the love of Jesus, and therefore He would not spare the discipline which the questioner needed, the test which, being such as he was, was required for the completeness of his life.
If thou wilt be perfect.—Better, if thou wishest. St. Mark and St. Luke report the words, “One thing thou lackest,” reminding us forcibly of the “One thing is needful” of Luke 10:42. (See Note on Matthew 19:16.)
Go and sell that thou hast.—It would be altogether a mistake to see in this either an obligation binding on all seekers after eternal life, or even what has been called a “counsel of perfection,” a precept laying down an indispensable condition for all who aim at its higher forms and powers. It was strictly a remedy for the special evil which hindered the young ruler’s progress to perfection, applicable to others so far only as their cases are analogous. It would be idle to deny that there have been and are many such analogous types of character, and so far as any one is conscious of being under the power of wealth and its temptations, so far there is a call to some act asserting his victory over those temptations, in the spirit, if not in the letter, of the command thus given. But it is, we must remember, the spirit, and not the letter, which is binding. Distribution to the poor was then almost the only form of charity. A wider range of action is presented by the organisation of modern Christian societies, and the same sacrifice may be made in ways more productive of true and permanent good; in the foundation, e.g., of schools or hospitals, in the erection of churches, in the maintenance of home or foreign missions.
Treasure in heaven.—The parallelism with the Sermon on the Mount should not be forgotten (5:20). The “treasure” is the “eternal life” which the young ruler was seeking, the memory of good deeds, the character formed and perfected, the vision of the presence of God.
Come and follow me.—Here again St. Mark adds words that are pregnant with meaning, “Take up thy cross, and follow Me.” The seeker could not then understand all their significance. To the Teacher that cross was now coming, day by day, nearer, and He saw that each true disciple must be prepared to follow Him in that path of suffering, which was also the path of glory. “Via cruris, via lucis.”
Mat 25:34, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
The King – That is, the Lord Jesus, the King of Zion and of the universe, now acting as Judge, Luke 19:38; John 18:37; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16.
Blessed of my Father – Made happy or raised to felicity by my Father. See the notes at Matthew 5:3.
Inherit the kingdom – Receive “as heirs” the kingdom, or be received there as the sons of God. Christians are often called heirs of God, Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:6-7; Hebrews 1:14; 1 John 3:2.
Prepared for you … – That is, “designed” for you, or appointed for you. The phrase “from the foundation of the world” is used to denote that this was appointed for them in the beginning; that God has no new plan; that the rewards which he will now confer on them he always intended to confer. Christ says to the righteous that the kingdom was prepared for “them.” Of course, God meant to confer it on “them.” They were individuals, and it follows that He intended to bestow His salvation on them as individuals. Accordingly, the salvation of His people is universally represented as the result of the free gift of God, according to His own pleasure, bestowed on individuals, and by a plan which is eternal, Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-5, Ephesians 1:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; John 6:37. This is right and consistent with justice; because
1. All people are by nature equally undeserving.
2. Bestowing favors on one does not do injustice to another, where neither deserves favor. Pardoning one criminal is not injuring another. Bestowing great talents on Locke, Newton, or Paul did not injure me.
3. If it is right for God to give eternal life to his people, or to admit them to heaven, it was right to “determine” to do it, which is but another way of saying that God resolved from all eternity to “do right.”
4. Those who perish choose the paths which lead to death, and will not be saved by the merits of Jesus. No blame can be charged on God if he does not save them against their will, John 5:40; Mark 16:15-16.”
Mat 27:42, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.”
Verse 42. – He saved others. They knew something of his many miracles of healing; many among them had witnessed the cure of the man blind from his birth (John 9.); most must have heard of the raising of Lazarus; – they made these very works of mercy a reproach against him. He had proved himself a beneficent Saviour; he had shown superhuman power, and yet they say, Himself he cannot save. There was indeed a sense, not their sense, in which this was true. Christ willed to die; it was his purpose thus to redeem mankind; in adhering to this steadfast determination he could not deliver himself from suffering and death. Some read the clause interrogatively, “Cannot he save himself?” It is then parallel to the expression used at the grave of Lazarus (John 11:37). If he be the King of Israel. “If” (εἰ) is omitted by א, B, D, L, etc., and many modern editors. Its omission is more concinnons to the other taunts, e.g. “He saved others;” “He trusted in God.” His claim to be Messiah would involve the Kingship of Israel (Matthew 2:6), which the title over his head asserted. We will believe him (pisteu/somen au)tw = “”). We will believe (not subj., “let us believe”) what he says. The Sinaitic, Vatican, and other good manuscripts read ἐπ αὐτόν, “on him.” So Westcott and Hort, Tischendorf, etc. This form of expression would imply that they would put their trust in him, become his followers. A confident boast! for they were so fully persuaded of the final triumph of thcir malice, that they decreed they might safely make such a promise. And yet Christ did a greater thing than come down alive from the cross; he rose from the dead; but they believed not in him. And if the sign which they asked had been vouchsafed, they would have explained it away, or evaded its meaning, and nave been no nearer to salvation than now. Matthew 27:42”
Mar 1:15, “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Gospel.”
Verse 15. – The time is fulfilled; that is, the time for the coming of Messiah and of his kingdom. The kingdom which had been shut for so many ages was now to be reopened by the preaching and the death of Christ. The time is very accurately indicated. St. Matthew tells us (Matthew 4:12) that “when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;” and then presently afterwards he adds, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” The time and place are also accurately specified by St. Peter (Acts 10:36, 37), where he tells Cornelius that “the word of peace, preached by Jesus Christ, was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached.” It was necessary that these circumstances should be carefully detailed, because they were among the proofs of the Messiahship of Jesus. Elias must come first; and he had come in the person of the Baptist, although the prophecy probably awaits its full accomplishment in the actual reappearance of the great prophet of Israel before the second coming of our Lord. Repent ye, and believe the gospel. These words may be regarded as a summary of the method of salvation. Repentance and faith are the conditions of admission into the Christian covenant. Repentance has a special reference to God the Father, and faith, to Jesus Christ the eternal Son. It is in the gospel that Christ is revealed to us as a Saviour; and therefore we find Jesus Christ, as the object of our faith, distinguished from the Father as the object of our repentance. Repentance of itself is not sufficient – it makes no satisfaction for the Law which we have broken; and hence, over and above repentance, there is required from us faith in the Gospel, wherein Christ is revealed to us as a propitiation for sin, and as the only way of reconciliation with the Father. Without faith repentance becomes despair, and without repentance faith becomes only presumption. Join the two together, and the faithful soul is borne onwards, like a well-balanced vessel, to the haven where it would be. Mark 1:15.”
Mar 2:17, “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Jesus heard it, he saith to them,…. Christ either overheard what they said to his disciples, or he heard it from the relation of the disciples; and when he did, he turned to the Scribes and Pharisees, and spoke to them the following words:
they that are whole, have no need of the physician, but they that are sick; which seems to be a proverbial expression, signifying that he was a physician; that these publicans and sinners were sick persons, and needed his company and assistance; but that they, the Scribes and Pharisees, were whole, and in good health, in their own esteem, and so wanted no relief; and therefore ought not to take it amiss, that he attended the one, and not the other. These words give a general view of mankind, in their different sentiments of themselves and of Christ; and of the usefulness of Christ to one sort, and not another. There are some that cry up the power of man’s freewill, and plead for the strength and purity of human, nature, and extol its excellencies and abilities; and it is no wonder that these see no need of Christ, either for themselves or others: hence preachers of this complexion leave Christ out of their ministry for the most part; and generally speaking, lessen the glory and dignity of his person, depreciate his offices, reject his righteousness, and deny his satisfaction and atonement: and such reckon themselves the favourites of heaven, and are ready to say, whom shall God delight to honour, but us, who are so pure and holy? they therefore trust in their own righteousness, and despise others, and submit not to the righteousness of Christ; they make their own works their saviours, and so neglect the great salvation by Christ. There are others that are sick, and are quite sick of themselves; they see the impurity of their nature, how unsound and unhealthful they are; that from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, there is no soundness in them, nothing but wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores: their loins are filled with the loathsome disease of sin; they are sensible of their inability to cure themselves, and that no mere creature can help them; and that all besides Christ, are physicians of no value: and therefore they apply to him, whose blood is a balm for every wound, and a medicine for every sickness and disease, and which cleanses from all sin: and whereas such, and such only, see their need of Christ as a physician, these only does he attend under this character; See Gill on Matthew 9:12. Adding this as a reason,
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. These words explain, what is more obscurely and figuratively expressed in the former; it appears from hence, that by “the whole” are meant, “righteous” persons; not such who are made righteous, by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, but such who were outwardly righteous before men, who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, depended on their own righteousness, and fancied themselves, with respect to the righteousness of the law, blameless; and so, in their own apprehensions, stood in no need of Christ and his righteousness: yea, even needed not repentance, according to their own thoughts of things, and therefore were not called to it, but were left to their own stupidity and blindness; these were the Scribes and Pharisees; and by the “sick”, are meant “sinners”; such who are made sensible of sin, and so of their need of Christ as a Saviour; and who have evangelical repentance given them, and are called to the exercise and profession of it: and Christ’s calling sinners to repentance, and bestowing that grace, together with the remission of sins, which goes along with it, is doing his work and office as a “physician”. This evangelist makes no mention of the passage in Hosea 6:6, with which these words are introduced in Matthew. The last words, to “repentance”, are omitted by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and are wanting in some ancient copies; but are retained in the Arabic version, and in most copies, as in Matthew 9:13. See Gill on Matthew 9:13.”
2Co 12:9, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
To be Sufficient in Greek is arkeō which means to be enough; to be satisfied; to be possessed of unfailing strength; adequate; competent; — which occurs 8 times in the New Testament.
So the grace of God is not only abundant, it is sufficient. My friend, you do not need to commit suicide. Come to Jesus now!
Please accept the grace of God to save you from eternal death. Will you come to Jesus now?
Willie Wong Thought
Willie Wong
August 15, 2025
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