1
Mt 3:1-12.
英文原文
Mt 3:1-12.
PREACHING AND MINISTRY OF JOHN. ( =
Mr 1:1-8; Lu 3:1-18).
For the proper introduction to this section, we must go to
Lu 3:1, 2.
Here, as BENGEL well observes, the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our Lord's own age is determined by it
(Lu 3:23).
No such elaborate chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar recommendation of his Gospel, that "he had traced down all things with precision from the very first"
(Mt 1:3).
Here evidently commences his proper narrative.
Lu 3:1:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar--not the fifteenth from his full accession on the death of Augustus, but from the period when he was associated with him in the government of the empire, three years earlier, about the end of the year of Rome 779, or about four years before the usual reckoning.
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea--His proper title was procurator, but with more than the usual powers of that office. After holding it for about ten years, he was summoned to Rome to answer to charges brought against him; but ere he arrived, Tiberius died (A.D. 35), and soon after miserable Pilate committed suicide.
And Herod being tetrarch of Galilee--(See on
Mr 6:14).
and his brother Philip--a very different and very superior Philip to the one whose name was Herod Philip, and whose wife, Herodias, went to live with Herod Antipas (see on
Mr 6:17).
tetrarch of Ituræa--lying to the northeast of Palestine, and so called from Itur or Jetur, Ishmael's son
(1Ch 1:31),
and anciently belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh.
and of the region of Trachonitis--lying farther to the northeast, between Iturea and Damascus; a rocky district infested by robbers, and committed by Augustus to Herod the Great to keep in order.
and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene--still more to the northeast; so called, says ROBINSON, from Abila, eighteen miles from Damascus.
Lu 3:2:
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests--The former, though deposed, retained much of his influence, and, probably, as sagan or deputy, exercised much of the power of the high priesthood along with Caiaphas, his son-in-law
(Joh 18:13; Ac 4:6).
In David's time both Zadok and Abiathar acted as high priests
(2Sa 15:35),
and it seems to have been the fixed practice to have two
(2Ki 25:18).
the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness--Such a way of speaking is never once used when speaking of Jesus, because He was Himself The Living Word; whereas to all merely creature-messengers of God, the word they spoke was a foreign element. See on
Joh 3:31.
We are now prepared for the opening words of Matthew.
1. In those days--of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him.
came John the Baptist, preaching--about six months before his Master.
in the wilderness of Judea--the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.
2
無標題
2. 說，你們應當悔改——雖然這詞嚴格地表示心意改變，但它在此處（以及每當它用於與救恩相關之時）主要指的是那種罪之感覺，它使罪人逃避將來的忿怒，單單從上頭尋求救脫，並熱切地接受所預備的救治。
因為天國近了——這崇高的話語，未見於其他福音書，而在這卷特具猶太色彩的福音書中出現近三十次；它是源自但以理所見人子駕着天上的雲來到亙古常在者面前、領受普世國度之授予的偉大異象
(Da 7:13, 14)，
所以既適合於應付國家的期待，也適合於將其引入正軌。一個以悔改為正當預備的國度，本質上必是屬靈的。脫離罪的拯救，既是基督國度的大福
(Mt 1:21)，
只有那些以罪為重擔的人才會加以珍惜
(Mt 9:12)。
所以約翰的大工就是喚起這種感覺，並提出那快要來臨的寶貴救治的盼望。
英文原文
2. And saying, Repent ye--Though the word strictly denotes a change of mind, it has respect here (and wherever it is used in connection with salvation) primarily to that sense of sin which leads the sinner to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy.
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--This sublime phrase, used in none of the other Gospels, occurs in this peculiarly Jewish Gospel nearly thirty times; and being suggested by Daniel's grand vision of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days, to receive His investiture in a world-wide kingdom
(Da 7:13, 14),
it was fitted at once both to meet the national expectations and to turn them into the right channel. A kingdom for which repentance was the proper preparation behooved to be essentially spiritual. Deliverance from sin, the great blessing of Christ's kingdom
(Mt 1:21),
can be valued by those only to whom sin is a burden
(Mt 9:12).
John's great work, accordingly, was to awaken this feeling and hold out the hope of a speedy and precious remedy.
3
無標題
3. 這人就是先知以賽亞所說的——
(Mt 11:3)。
在曠野有人聲喊着說——（見
Lu 3:2）；
他事工的場景與其粗獷的性質相稱。
預備主的道，修直他的路——這預言在四卷福音書中都被引用，表明它被視為一個突出的重大預言，而所預言的先鋒則是新舊兩約之間的連接環。正如地上的大人物一樣，和平之君也要在他臨近之前有宣告、有預備他的路；而這裏的呼召——按一般意義——是呼召人挪去一切阻礙他進展、妨礙他完全得勝的東西，無論那些阻礙是公眾的還是個人的，是外在的還是內在的。在路加福音
(Lu 3:5, 6)
中，這引用如此繼續："一切山窪都要填滿，大小山岡都要削平；彎彎曲曲的地方改為正直，高高低低的道路改為平坦；凡有血氣的，都要看見神的救恩。"填平和修平在此是明顯的比喻，其意義傳達於宣告的頭一句話——"預備主的道。"其意為：一切阻礙都要如此挪去，使神在那名為"救主"者裏的救恩顯明給全世界。（參
Ps 98:3； Isa 11:10; 49:6; 52:10； Lu 2:31, 32； Ac 13:47）。
英文原文
3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying--
(Mt 11:3).
The voice of one crying in the wilderness--(See on
Lu 3:2);
the scene of his ministry corresponding to its rough nature.
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight--This prediction is quoted in all the four Gospels, showing that it was regarded as a great outstanding one, and the predicted forerunner as the connecting link between the old and the new economies. Like the great ones of the earth, the Prince of peace was to have His immediate approach proclaimed and His way prepared; and the call here--taking it generally--is a call to put out of the way whatever would obstruct His progress and hinder His complete triumph, whether those hindrances were public or personal, outward or inward. In Luke
(Lu 3:5, 6)
the quotation is thus continued: "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Levelling and smoothing are here the obvious figures whose sense is conveyed in the first words of the proclamation--"Prepare ye the way of the Lord." The idea is that every obstruction shall be so removed as to reveal to the whole world the salvation of God in Him whose name is the "Saviour." (Compare
Ps 98:3; Isa 11:10; 49:6; 52:10; Lu 2:31, 32; Ac 13:47).
4
無標題
4. 這約翰身穿駱駝毛的衣服——以駱駝毛織成。
腰束皮帶——這是以利亞先知的裝束
(2Ki 1:8；
見
Zec 13:4)。
吃的是蝗蟲野蜜——蝗蟲是東方著名的大蝗蟲，是窮人的食物
(Le 11:22)。
野蜜——野蜂所釀
(1Sa 14:25, 26)。
這種裝束和飲食，加上曠野中的尖銳呼聲，會使人想起以利亞那嚴峻的日子。
英文原文
4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--woven of it.
and a leathern girdle about his loins--the prophetic dress of Elijah
(2Ki 1:8;
and see
Zec 13:4).
and his meat was locusts--the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor
(Le 11:22).
and wild honey--made by wild bees
(1Sa 14:25, 26).
This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.
5
無標題
5. 耶路撒冷和猶太全地，並約旦河一帶地方的人，都出去到他那裡——從大都市的中心到猶太省的邊陲，這位偉大的悔改傳道者、即將到來之彌賽亞的先鋒所發出的呼聲，吸引了成群的悔罪者和熱切的期盼者蜂擁而至。
英文原文
5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan--From the metropolitan center to the extremities of the Judean province the cry of this great preacher of repentance and herald of the approaching Messiah brought trooping penitents and eager expectants.
6
無標題
6. 承認他們的罪，在約旦河裡受他的洗——可能是大聲認罪。這洗禮同時是他們對脫離罪惡之需要的公認印記，是他們對即將到來之拯救者的期盼，以及他們在祂顯現時樂意迎接祂的預備。這洗禮本身令他們震驚，而且本就是要令他們震驚。他們對異教徒歸信猶太教的歸信者洗禮十分熟悉；但這猶太人自己的洗禮對他們來說卻是全新而陌生的。
英文原文
6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins--probably confessing aloud. This baptism was at once a public seal of their felt need of deliverance from sin, of their expectation of the coming Deliverer, and of their readiness to welcome Him when He appeared. The baptism itself startled, and was intended to startle, them. They were familiar enough with the baptism of proselytes from heathenism; but this baptism of Jews themselves was quite new and strange to them.
7
無標題
7. 约翰看見許多法利賽人和撒都該人也來受洗，就對他們說——對這樣的景象感到震驚。
毒蛇的種類——「毒蛇的窩」，表達兩個派系對社會同樣致命的影響。儘管他們的宗教原則和精神彼此完全對立，這位嚴厲的先知卻指控雙方都是民族宗教原則的毒害者。在
Mt 12:34; 23:33
中，那為誠信真實見證的把施洗者約翰這番嚴厲的話重新具體地用在法利賽人身上——他們是唯一有足夠熱心去積極散播這毒的派別。
誰指示你們——即誰給了你們這個提示。
逃避將來的忿怒呢？——「是甚麼把你們這些人帶到這裡來的？」約翰不只懷疑，吸引他們到這裡來的，與其說是他們自己的屬靈焦慮，不如說是他工作的聲勢。「將來的忿怒」這個表達何等有力！聖經中神的「忿怒」，是祂對罪的義怒，因此也是對一切罪沾染之人的義怒，源於祂的本性對一切道德邪惡根本而永遠的對立。這被稱為「將來的忿怒」，並非因為它完全是未來的——因為作為應得的刑罰，它已經落在罪人身上，其內外效果也在某種程度上已經被經歷——而是因為不悔改的罪人直到「大日的審判」才會被最終判定在其下，才會被公開而不可撤銷地宣判，才會被完全傾倒在其身上並經歷其毫無攙雜、毫無盼望的效果。從這個角度來看，它是完全將來的忿怒，正如使徒在
1Th 1:10
中所用的明顯不同的表達方式所暗示的。並非連真正的悔罪者也是帶著對「將來的忿怒」這一切認識來到約翰的洗禮。但他所說的是，這一步本身真正的意義就是如此。從這個角度來看，他用來表達那一步的詞何等有力——從中逃奔——如同一個看見一片火忿怒潮迅速撲來的人，唯一的生路在於即刻逃奔！
英文原文
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them--astonished at such a spectacle.
O generation of vipers--"Viper brood," expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stern prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the nation's religious principles. In
Mt 12:34; 23:33,
this strong language of the Baptist is anew applied by the faithful and true Witness to the Pharisees specifically--the only party that had zeal enough actively to diffuse this poison.
who hath warned you--given you the hint, as the idea is.
to flee from the wrath to come?--"What can have brought you hither?" John more than suspected it was not so much their own spiritual anxieties as the popularity of his movement that had drawn them thither. What an expression is this, "The wrath to come!" God's "wrath," in Scripture, is His righteous displeasure against sin, and consequently against all in whose skirts sin is found, arising out of the essential and eternal opposition of His nature to all moral evil. This is called "the coming wrath," not as being wholly future--for as a merited sentence it lies on the sinner already, and its effects, both inward and outward, are to some extent experienced even now--but because the impenitent sinner will not, until "the judgment of the great day," be concluded under it, will not have sentence publicly and irrevocably passed upon him, will not have it discharged upon him and experience its effects without mixture and without hope. In this view of it, it is a wrath wholly to come, as is implied in the noticeably different form of the expression employed by the apostle in
1Th 1:10.
Not that even true penitents came to John's baptism with all these views of "the wrath to come." But what he says is that this was the real import of the step itself. In this view of it, how striking is the word he employs to express that step--fleeing from it--as of one who, beholding a tide of fiery wrath rolling rapidly towards him, sees in instant flight his only escape!
8
無標題
8. 你們要結出果子來——正確的讀法顯然是「果子」。
與悔改的心相稱——即與真悔改者相稱的果子。約翰如今既被賜予了對人心的認識，便像一個真正的公義使者、愛靈魂的人那樣，指導他們如何證明並實踐他們的悔改——假如它是真誠的；並在接下來的經文中警告他們，倘若不是如此，便將面臨危險。
英文原文
8. Bring forth therefore fruits--the true reading clearly is "fruit";
meet for repentance--that is, such fruit as befits a true penitent. John now being gifted with a knowledge of the human heart, like a true minister of righteousness and lover of souls here directs them how to evidence and carry out their repentance, supposing it genuine; and in the following verses warns them of their danger in case it were not.
9
無標題
9. 不要自己心裡說：有亞伯拉罕為我們的祖宗——這個國家致命地倚在這枕頭上，最終也在此礁石上撞碎。
我告訴你們，神能從這些石頭中給亞伯拉罕興起子孫來——即「不要以虛妄的幻想自慰，以為神離了你們就無法成就祂對亞伯拉罕後裔的應許；我告訴你們，即使你們全都滅亡，神照樣能從這些石頭中給亞伯拉罕興起後裔來，如同祂當初能從亞伯拉罕被整出來的磐石中、從被挖出來的坑中取出亞伯拉罕一樣」（見
Isa 51:1）。
雖然這嚴厲的說話者可能在他說話時指著周圍荒凉黏土山丘上的碎石（如史丹利的《西奈與巴勒斯坦》所述），但他所暗示的，顯然是呼召外邦人——他們當時在罪中如同石頭一般死寂，而且同樣不自覺——來取代不信且失去產業的以色列（見
Mt 21:43； Ro 11:20, 30）。
英文原文
9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father--that pillow on which the nation so fatally reposed, that rock on which at length it split.
for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham--that is, "Flatter not yourselves with the fond delusion that God stands in need of you, to make good His promise of a seed to Abraham; for I tell you that, though you were all to perish, God is as able to raise up a seed to Abraham out of those stones as He was to take Abraham himself out of the rock whence he was hewn, out of the hole of the pit whence he was digged"
(Isa 51:1).
Though the stern speaker may have pointed as he spoke to the pebbles of the bare clay hills that lay around (so STANLEY'S Sinai and Palestine), it was clearly the calling of the Gentiles--at that time stone-dead in their sins, and quite as unconscious of it--into the room of unbelieving and disinherited Israel that he meant thus to indicate (see
Mt 21:43; Ro 11:20, 30).
10
無標題
10. 現在——甚至已經。
斧子已經放在——「在」。
樹根上——仿佛隨時要揮下：這是描繪迫在眉睫之審判的生動比喻，只能以下文所述的方式來避免。
凡不結好果子的樹就砍下來，丟在火裡——像這樣針對個人和個體的話，幾乎不能理解為任何民族的審判，如即將來到的耶路撒冷毀滅、隨之而來的猶太政體的崩潰和選民從其特殊特權中被趕出；雖然這將作為將要來臨之更可怕報應的預先投射的黑暗影子。那在另一節中被稱為「不滅的」火，不可能是別的，只能是那「煙往上冒，直到永永遠遠」的不悔改者將來的「折磨」，而且被審判官自己稱為「永刑」（見
Mt 25:46）。
「丟」或「扔在火裡」這話中，也包含了何等正義憤慨的力量！
第三卷福音書在此加上以下重要的細節（見
Lu 3:10-16）。
Lu 3:10：
眾人——即群眾。
問他說：這樣，我們當做甚麼呢？——即以表明我們悔改的真誠。
Lu 3:11：
約翰回答說：有兩件衣裳的，就分給那沒有的；有食物的——即糧食、食物。
也當這樣行——這是針對當時流行的貪婪和自私。（參見登山寶訓中相應的教訓，
Mt 5:40-42）。
Lu 3:12：
又有稅吏來要受洗，問他說： 夫子——即老師。
我們當做甚麼呢？——我們悔改的真誠當以何種特殊方式顯明？
Lu 3:13：
約翰說：除了例定的數目，不要多取——這是針對使稅吏成為眾人笑柄的那種勒索。（參見
Mt 5:46；
Lu 15:1）。
Lu 3:14：
又有兵丁——更確切地說，「兵丁」——這個詞指「現役的兵丁」。
問他說：我們當做甚麼呢？約翰說： 不要以強暴待人——恐嚇。這個詞意為「徹底搖動」，可能指勒索錢財或其他財物。
也不要訛詐人——以煽動者的身分，在無聊或虛假的藉口上惱人地告密。
自己有錢糧就當知足——或作「口糧」。我們可以把這當作對叛亂的警告，韋伯斯特和威爾金森說，軍官們試圖以賞賜和捐助來鎮壓叛亂。因此，足以證明他們悔改的「果子」，就是對流行的罪——特別是悔罪者所屬階層的罪——的抵抗，以及相反之靈的彰顯。
Lu 3:15：
百姓期待著——處於興奮狀態，盼望新事。
並且心裡猜疑約翰，他是不是 基督——更確切地說，「他自己是不是基督。」這子句的結構暗示，他們幾乎不敢這樣想，卻又禁不住問自己會不會；這既表明他在喚醒人們對彌賽亞即將顯現的期待上是何等成功，也表明他自己的品格所博得的崇高評價甚至敬畏。
Lu 3:16：
約翰回答——可能是回答我們在
Joh 1:19
等所讀到的那個從耶路撒冷來的使團，或是在別的場合，為要消除那些他知道正在民心裡生根的、對他那蒙福的主不利的印象。
說：我是用水給你們施洗——以莊嚴的宣告。
（我們現在回到第一卷福音書。）
英文原文
10. And now also--And even already.
the axe is laid unto--"lieth at."
the root of the trees--as it were ready to strike: an expressive figure of impending judgment, only to be averted in the way next described.
therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire--Language so personal and individual as this can scarcely be understood of any national judgment like the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, with the breaking up of the Jewish polity and the extrusion of the chosen people from their peculiar privileges which followed it; though this would serve as the dark shadow, cast before, of a more terrible retribution to come. The "fire," which in another verse is called "unquenchable," can be no other than that future "torment" of the impenitent whose "smoke ascendeth up for ever and ever," and which by the Judge Himself is styled "everlasting punishment"
(Mt 25:46). What a strength, too, of just indignation is in that word "cast" or "flung into the fire!"
The third Gospel here adds the following important particulars in
Lu 3:10-16.
Lu 3:10:
And the people--the multitudes.
asked him, saying, What shall we do then?--that is, to show the sincerity of our repentance.
Lu 3:11:
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat--provisions, victuals.
let him do likewise--This is directed against the reigning avarice and selfishness. (Compare the corresponding precepts of the Sermon on the Mount,
Mt 5:40-42).
Lu 3:12:
Then came also the publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master--Teacher.
what shall we do?--In what special way is the genuineness of our repentance to be manifested?
Lu 3:13:
And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you--This is directed against that extortion which made the publicans a byword. (See on
Mt 5:46;
Lu 15:1).
Lu 3:14:
And the soldiers--rather, "And soldiers"--the word means "soldiers on active duty."
likewise demanded--asked.
of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man--Intimidate. The word signifies to "shake thoroughly," and refers probably to the extorting of money or other property.
neither accuse any falsely--by acting as informers vexatiously on frivolous or false pretexts.
and be content with your wages--or "rations." We may take this, say WEBSTER and WILKINSON, as a warning against mutiny, which the officers attempted to suppress by largesses and donations. And thus the "fruits" which would evidence their repentance were just resistance to the reigning sins--particularly of the class to which the penitent belonged--and the manifestation of an opposite spirit.
Lu 3:15:
And as the people were in expectation--in a state of excitement, looking for something new
and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not--rather, "whether he himself might be the Christ." The structure of this clause implies that they could hardly think it, but yet could not help asking themselves whether it might not be; showing both how successful he had been in awakening the expectation of Messiah's immediate appearing, and the high estimation and even reverence, which his own character commanded.
Lu 3:16:
John answered--either to that deputation from Jerusalem, of which we read in
Joh 1:19,
&c., or on some other occasion, to remove impressions derogatory to his blessed Master, which he knew to be taking hold of the popular mind.
saying unto them all--in solemn protestation.
(We now return to the first Gospel.)
11
無標題
11. 我是用水給你們施洗，叫你們悔改——（參見
Mt 3:6）；
但那在我以後來的，能力比我更大——在馬可和路加中這更加強調——「但有一位能力比我更大的要來」（見
Mr 1:7； Lu 3:16）。
他的鞋——即涼鞋。
我也不配提——涼鞋是最低微的僕人繫上、解下並攜帶的。
他要用聖靈——強調的「他」：「就是他」，排除所有其他人，「要用聖靈給你們施洗。」
與火給你們施洗——「我非但沒有對彌賽亞的尊榮心存非分之想，我所能為那『在我以後來、能力比我更大者』所做的最卑微的服事，對我來說都是太高的榮譽；我不過是僕人，但主人要來；我不過施行外在的潔淨記號；而內在的實際，惟獨屬於祂，是祂獨有的特權。」何等美好的靈，貫穿在這位基督的僕人身上！
與火——將這解為有別於聖靈之洗的洗禮——不悔改者受地獄之火的洗——極不自然。然而這是教父俄利根的觀點；在近代則有尼安德、邁爾、德維特和朗格。將它指為末日之火——那時地和其上的工程都要被燒盡——也好不到哪裡去。誠然，正如我們所認為的，這不過是聖靈在人靈魂上之工作的火的特性——搜尋、焚燒、煉淨、昇華——正如幾乎所有優秀的解經家所理解的。因此，在兩個連續的子句中，最熟悉的兩個象徵——水和火——被用來呈現聖靈在靈魂上同樣的潔淨之工。
英文原文
11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance--(See on
Mt 3:6);
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I--In Mark and Luke this is more emphatic--"But there cometh the Mightier than I"
(Mr 1:7; Lu 3:16).
whose shoes--sandals.
I am not worthy to bear--The sandals were tied and untied, and borne about by the meanest servants.
he shall baptize you--the emphatic "He": "He it is," to the exclusion of all others, "that shall baptize you."
with the Holy Ghost--"So far from entertaining such a thought as laying claim to the honors of Messiahship, the meanest services I can render to that 'Mightier than I that is coming after me' are too high an honor for me; I am but the servant, but the Master is coming; I administer but the outward symbol of purification; His it is, as His sole prerogative, to dispense the inward reality." Beautiful spirit, distinguishing this servant of Christ throughout!
and with fire--To take this as a distinct baptism from that of the Spirit--a baptism of the impenitent with hell-fire--is exceedingly unnatural. Yet this was the view of ORIGEN among the Fathers; and among moderns, of NEANDER, MEYER, DE WETTE, and LANGE. Nor is it much better to refer it to the fire of the great day, by which the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Clearly, as we think, it is but the fiery character of the Spirit's operations upon the soul--searching, consuming, refining, sublimating--as nearly all good interpreters understand the words. And thus, in two successive clauses, the two most familiar emblems--water and fire--are employed to set forth the same purifying operations of the Holy Ghost upon the soul.
12
無標題
12. 他手裡拿著簸箕——即揚穀的簸箕。
要揚淨他的場——隨時可以使用。這不過是如今正開始的福音傳講，其效果將是像用簸箕把麥子與糠比一樣，將實質的與屬靈上無價值的分開。（參見
Mal 3:1-3
類似的描繪。）
把麥子——打穀場；即有形的教會。
收在倉裡——祂真心實意的聖徒；因其堅實的價值而被如此稱呼（參見
Am 9:9； Lu 22:31）。
把糠——「他們父的國」，如這「倉」在我們主麥子與稗子的比喻（見
Mt 13:30, 43）
中所優美地解釋的。
用不滅的火燒盡——空虛、無價值的宗教名義者，缺乏一切堅實的宗教原則和品格（見
Ps 1:4）。
這個表面上的矛盾——被燒盡，卻是用不滅的火——其力量何等奇特：一者表達了那構成真正生命之一切的徹底毀滅，另一者表達了在那可怕狀態中持續存在的意識。
路加加上以下重要的細節（見
Lu 3:18-20）：
Lu 3:18：
約翰又用許多別的話勸百姓 傳道——表明我們在這裡所讀的不過是他教導的摘要。除了我們在
Joh 1:29, 33, 34； 3:27-36
所讀到的，以及順帶提到他教導門徒禱告（見
Lu 11:1）
——這在別處隻字未提——表明他的教導何等豐富。
Lu 3:19：
只是分封的王希律，因他兄弟腓力的妻子希羅底的緣故，並因他所行的一切惡事，受了約翰的責備——在最後這子句中，我們有一個只在這裡提到的重要事實，表明施洗者對他那位王室聽眾的忠直何等徹底，也表明那個情慾的奴僕的良心掙扎何等強烈——儘管聽了這樣直白的話，他「多聽他的，並且樂意聽他」（見
Mr 6:20）。
Lu 3:20：
又另外添了一件，就是把約翰收在監裡——然而約翰的這次下監是在此之後一段時間才發生的；這裡記載它，不過是因為福音書作者不打算再回到他的歷史，直到有機會記述他從監獄城堡馬克路斯打發人去見基督的事（見
Lu 7:18
等）。
英文原文
12. Whose fan--winnowing fan.
is in his hand--ready for use. This is no other than the preaching of the Gospel, even now beginning, the effect of which would be to separate the solid from the spiritually worthless, as wheat, by the winnowing fan, from the chaff. (Compare the similar representation in
Mal 3:1-3).
and he will throughly purge his floor--threshing-floor; that is, the visible Church.
and gather his wheat--His true-hearted saints; so called for their solid worth (compare
Am 9:9; Lu 22:31).
into the garner--"the kingdom of their Father," as this "garner" or "barn" is beautifully explained by our Lord in the parable of the wheat and the tares
(Mt 13:30, 43).
but he will burn up the chaff--empty, worthless professors of religion, void of all solid religious principle and character (see
Ps 1:4).
with unquenchable fire--Singular is the strength of this apparent contradiction of figures:--to be burnt up, but with a fire that is unquenchable; the one expressing the utter destruction of all that constitutes one's true life, the other the continued consciousness of existence in that awful condition.
Luke adds the following important particulars
(Lu 3:18-20):
Lu 3:18:
And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people--showing that we have here but an abstract of his teaching. Besides what we read in
Joh 1:29, 33, 34; 3:27-36,
the incidental allusion to his having taught his disciples to pray
(Lu 11:1)
--of which not a word is said elsewhere--shows how varied his teaching was.
Lu 3:19:
But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done--In this last clause we have an important fact, here only mentioned, showing how thoroughgoing was the fidelity of the Baptist to his royal hearer, and how strong must have been the workings of conscience in that slave of passion when, notwithstanding such plainness, he "did many things, and heard John gladly"
(Mr 6:20).
Lu 3:20:
Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison--This imprisonment of John, however, did not take place for some time after this; and it is here recorded merely because the Evangelist did not intend to recur to his history till he had occasion to relate the message which he sent to Christ from his prison at Machærus
(Lu 7:18,
&c.).
13
Mt 3:13-17.
Mt 3:13-17.
基督受洗，以及聖靈隨即降臨在祂身上。 （ = Mr 1:9-11；Lu 3:21, 22；Joh 1:31-34）。
基督受洗
（Mt 3:13-15）。
13. 當下耶穌從加利利來到約旦河，見了約翰，要受他的洗——摩西魯莽地預先於神的呼召要拯救他的百姓，為此不得不逃離為奴之家，在隱藏中等候了另外四十年（見
Ex 2:11
等）。這位比摩西更大的卻不是這樣。祂如今幾乎三十歲了，在拿撒勒隱密地度過，逐漸成熟以承擔公開的工作，平靜地等候父所定的時候。如今時候到了；而這次從加利利到約旦河的行動，無疑是自從祂第一次來到世界以來，天上最關注的一步。路加（見
Lu 3:21）
有這個重要的補充——「當眾百姓都受了洗，耶穌也受了洗」——暗示耶穌等到那天所有其他求洗的人都處理完了，才走上前來，免得顯得只是群眾中的一員。這樣，正如祂騎著「從來沒有人騎過的」驢駒進耶路撒冷（見
Lu 19:30），
並躺在「從來沒有人安放過」的墳墓裡（見
Joh 19:41），
照樣在祂的受洗上，祂也要「與罪人分別出來」。
英文原文
Mt 3:13-17.
BAPTISM OF CHRIST AND DESCENT OF THE SPIRIT UPON HIM IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER. ( =
Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21, 22; Joh 1:31-34).
Baptism of Christ
(Mt 3:13-15).
13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him--Moses rashly anticipated the divine call to deliver his people, and for this was fain to flee the house of bondage, and wait in obscurity for forty years more
(Ex 2:11,
&c.). Not so this greater than Moses. All but thirty years had He now spent in privacy at Nazareth, gradually ripening for His public work, and calmly awaiting the time appointed of the Father. Now it had arrived; and this movement from Galilee to Jordan is the step, doubtless, of deepest interest to all heaven since that first one which brought Him into the world. Luke
(Lu 3:21)
has this important addition--"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus being baptized," &c.--implying that Jesus waited till all other applicants for baptism that day had been disposed of, ere He stepped forward, that He might not seem to be merely one of the crowd. Thus, as He rode into Jerusalem upon an ass "whereon yet never man sat"
(Lu 19:30),
and lay in a sepulchre "wherein was never man yet laid"
(Joh 19:41),
so in His baptism, too. He would be "separate from sinners."
14
無標題
14. 約翰想要攔住他——更確切地說，「正（在）阻止他」，或「企圖阻止他」。
說：我當受你的洗，你反倒上我這裡來嗎？——（約翰如何認出祂，當他說他不認識祂時，見約翰福音 1:31-34。）
這句最不尋常的話的強調全在代詞上：「甚麼！主人要來受僕人的洗——無罪的救主要來受罪人的洗嗎？」施洗者約翰的話中有這層意思，如果注意到他顯然認為耶穌自己不需要潔淨，反而有資格將潔淨賜給那些需要的人，就會清楚看出。他對基督的其他見證，豈不也都完全證實了這話的這個意義嗎？但若在這見證基督的榮耀中，錯過了它所表達的美好心靈，那就太可惜了——「主啊，必須是我為你施洗嗎？我能這樣做嗎？」——這讓我們想起彼得在晚餐席上的驚呼：「主啊，你洗我的腳嗎？」但它絲毫沒有彼得下一句話中所表現的那種虛假的謙卑和擅專。「你永不可洗我的腳」（見
Joh 13:6, 8）。
英文原文
14. But John forbade him--rather, "was (in the act of) hindering him," or "attempting to hinder him."
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?--(How John came to recognize Him, when he says he knew Him not, see on
John 1. 31-34.)
The emphasis of this most remarkable speech lies all in the pronouns: "What! Shall the Master come for baptism to the servant--the sinless Saviour to a sinner?" That thus much is in the Baptist's words will be clearly seen if it be observed that he evidently regarded Jesus as Himself needing no purification but rather qualified to impart it to those who did. And do not all his other testimonies to Christ fully bear out this sense of the words? But it were a pity if, in the glory of this testimony to Christ, we should miss the beautiful spirit in which it was borne--"Lord, must I baptize Thee? Can I bring myself to do such a thing?"--reminding us of Peter's exclamation at the supper table, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" while it has nothing of the false humility and presumption which dictated Peter's next speech. "Thou shalt never wash my feet"
(Joh 13:6, 8).
15
無標題
15. 耶穌回答說：你暫且許我——「目前先讓它過去」；即「你退縮了，這也不奇怪，因為表面上的不協調令人驚訝；但在目前的情況下，照你所受的吩咐去做吧。」
因為我們理當這樣——「我們」，不是指「我和你」，或「一般人」，而是如在
Joh 3:11
中的用法。
盡諸般的義——如果像斯克萊文納那樣譯為「每一條例」，或像坎貝爾那樣譯為「每一制度」，意義就相當明顯；而「盡諸般的義」或遵守一切所吩咐的——包括洗禮——也表達同樣的意義。誠然，如果這就是意義，我們的譯本或許最能帶出「這樣」這個開頭詞的力量。但我們傾向於認為，我們主的意思不止於此。割禮和洗禮的意義看來根本上是相同的。如果我們對我們主受割禮的評論（參見
Lu 2:21-24）
是正確的，祂似乎在說：「這樣，我將自己獻身於律法全部的義——這樣，我以象徵的方式開始並承諾遵守它的一切。」讓深思的讀者權衡這一點。
於是約翰許了他——帶著真正的謙卑，順服比自己對合宜性的印象更高的權威。
英文原文
15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now--"Let it pass for the present"; that is, "Thou recoilest, and no wonder, for the seeming incongruity is startling; but in the present case do as thou art bidden."
for thus it becometh us--"us," not in the sense of "me and thee," or "men in general," but as in
Joh 3:11.
to fulfil all righteousness--If this be rendered, with SCRIVENER, "every ordinance," or, with CAMPBELL, "every institution," the meaning is obvious enough; and the same sense is brought out by "all righteousness," or compliance with everything enjoined, baptism included. Indeed, if this be the meaning, our version perhaps best brings out the force of the opening word "Thus." But we incline to think that our Lord meant more than this. The import of circumcision and of baptism seems to be radically the same. And if our remarks on the circumcision of our Lord (see on
Lu 2:21-24)
are well founded, He would seem to have said, "Thus do I impledge Myself to the whole righteousness of the Law--thus symbolically do enter on and engage to fulfil it all." Let the thoughtful reader weigh this.
Then he suffered him--with true humility, yielding to higher authority than his own impressions of propriety.
16
無標題
聖靈降在受洗的救贖主身上
（Mt 3:16-17）。
16. 耶穌受了洗，隨即從水裏上來——更恰當應作「從水那裏」。馬可則作「從水裏上來」（Mr 1:10）。
路加又加上（Lu 3:21）「正禱告的時候」——這是一段極重要的記載。那禱告的負擔，我們還能有所懷疑麼？那禱告也許是在他仍在水中的時候發出——祂蒙福的頭浸在洗禮的水中；祂步出溪流、重新立在旱地上的時候，這禱告大概還在繼續；擺在前面的工作，為這工作所需並所期盼要降在祂身上的聖靈，以及祂那時要歸與差祂來的父的榮耀——這一切豈不充滿祂的心懷，而以這樣的形式默默傾吐？——「看哪，我來了；我的神阿，我樂意照祢的旨意行。父阿，願祢榮耀祢的名。求祢賜我恩惠的記號。願主神的靈臨到我，我就傳福音給貧窮人，醫好傷心的人，施行公理直到得勝。」
祂正說話的時候——
天忽然為祂開了——馬可雄渾地說：「祂看見天裂開了」（Mr 1:10）。
神的靈降下——意即惟有祂看見，除祂那位蒙尊榮的僕人之外；正如那僕人自己告訴我們的（Joh 1:32-34）；旁觀者顯然甚麼也沒看見。
彷彿鴿子，落在祂身上——路加說「形體彷彿鴿子」（Lu 3:22）；意即蒙福的聖靈取了鴿子的身體形狀，這樣降在祂神聖的頭上。
但為何取這形狀？聖經對這象徵的用法是最好的指引。「我的鴿子，我的無瑕疵者，只有一個」（So 6:9）。這是貞潔的純淨。再者，「要馴良像鴿子」（基督自己說的，Mt 10:16）。這是同樣的事，以對人無可指摘的形式表達。「對神對人常存無虧的良心」（Ac 24:16）兼括二者。
再者，我們讀到雅歌（So 2:14）：「我的鴿子阿，你在磐石穴中，在陡巖的隱密處（見 Isa 60:8），求你容我得見你的面貌，得聽你的聲音；因為你的聲音柔和，你的面貌秀美」——所優美描繪的乃是退縮的謙和、溫柔、馴良。
總而言之——不必提及那隻飛回方舟、口中銜著平安橄欖葉的鴿子（Ge 8:11）這歷史性的象徵——當我們讀到（Ps 68:13）「你們安臥在羊圈的時候，如同鴿子的翅膀鍍白銀，翎毛鍍黃金一般」，所展示的乃是秀美。
那位「聖潔、無邪惡、無玷污、遠離罪人」的，豈不正是如此麼？「祢比世人更美，在祢嘴裏滿有恩惠；所以神賜福給祢，直到永遠！」
但第四卷福音書在此給了我們另一項資料，出自一位親眼看見並作見證者的權威：「約翰作見證說：我看見聖靈彷彿鴿子從天降下，住在祂的身上。」為免我們以為這只是偶然，他又補充說，最後這一點是特別賜給他作為記號的一部分，使他藉以認出並證明祂是神的兒子：「我先前不認識祂；只是那差我來用水施洗的，對我說：你看見聖靈降下來，住在誰的身上，誰就是用聖靈施洗的。我看見了，就證明這是神的兒子」（Joh 1:32-34）。
當我們將此與預言中聖靈降在彌賽亞身上的話（Isa 11:2）「耶和華的靈必安息在祂身上」相比對，我們便不能懷疑：這正是聖靈在神兒子身上——從此時起，在祂的職事身分中——那永久的、完全的安息，在此處得以可見地彰顯出來。
英文原文
Descent of the Spirit upon the Baptized Redeemer
(Mt 3:16, 17).
16. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water--rather, "from the water." Mark has "out of the water"
(Mr 1:10).
"and"--adds Luke
(Lu 3:21),
"while He was praying"; a grand piece of information. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water--His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer continued likely as He stepped out of the stream, and again stood upon the dry ground; the work before Him, the needed and expected Spirit to rest upon Him for it, and the glory He would then put upon the Father that sent Him--would not these fill His breast, and find silent vent in such form as this?--"Lo, I come; I delight to do Thy will, O God. Father, glorify Thy name. Show Me a token for good. Let the Spirit of the Lord God come upon Me, and I will preach the Gospel to the poor, and heal the broken-hearted, and send forth judgment unto victory." While He was yet speaking--
lo, the heavens were opened--Mark says, sublimely, "He saw the heavens cleaving"
(Mr 1:10).
and he saw the Spirit of God descending--that is, He only, with the exception of His honored servant, as he tells us himself
(Joh 1:32-34);
the by-standers apparently seeing nothing.
like a dove, and lighting upon him--Luke says, "in a bodily shape"
(Lu 3:22);
that is, the blessed Spirit, assuming the corporeal form of a dove, descended thus upon His sacred head. But why in this form? The Scripture use of this emblem will be our best guide here. "My dove, my undefiled is one," says the Song of Solomon
(So 6:9).
This is chaste purity. Again, "Be ye harmless as doves," says Christ Himself
(Mt 10:16).
This is the same thing, in the form of inoffensiveness towards men. "A conscience void of offense toward God and toward men"
(Ac 24:16)
expresses both. Further, when we read in the Song of Solomon
(So 2:14),
"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs (see
Isa 60:8),
let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely"--it is shrinking modesty, meekness, gentleness, that is thus charmingly depicted. In a word--not to allude to the historical emblem of the dove that flew back to the ark, bearing in its mouth the olive leaf of peace
(Ge 8:11)
--when we read
(Ps 68:13),
"Ye shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold," it is beauteousness that is thus held forth. And was not such that "holy, harmless, undefiled One," the "separate from sinners?" "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever!" But the fourth Gospel gives us one more piece of information here, on the authority of one who saw and testified of it: "John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and IT ABODE UPON HIM." And lest we should think that this was an accidental thing, he adds that this last particular was expressly given him as part of the sign by which he was to recognize and identify Him as the Son of God: "And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending AND REMAINING ON HIM, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God"
(Joh 1:32-34).
And when with this we compare the predicted descent of the Spirit upon Messiah
(Isa 11:2),
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him," we cannot doubt that it was this permanent and perfect resting of the Holy Ghost upon the Son of God--now and henceforward in His official capacity--that was here visibly manifested.
17
無標題
17. 從天上有聲音說：這是——馬可和路加用直接的形式：「祢是」（Mr 1:11；Lu 3:22）。
我的愛子，我所喜悅的——動詞用過去式，以表達對祂絕對的喜悅——一次而永遠感受到的。這英文譯法至少在現代人聽來，幾乎不夠有力。「我喜悅」也許最接近那顯然意指的、不可言喻的喜悅；而這譯法更可取，因為它能立刻將人的思想帶回到天上之聲明顯暗指的那段威嚴的彌賽亞預言（Isa 42:1）：「看哪，我的僕人，我所扶持、所揀選、我心裏所喜悅的。」隨後的話也不可忽略：「我已將我的靈賜給祂；祂必將公理傳給外邦。」（《七十士譯本》歪曲了這話，正如它對大多數彌賽亞預言所作的一樣，插入「雅各」一詞，將之應用於猶太人）。
這聲音是否為旁觀者所聽見？從馬太的記法，人可能以為是如此設計的；但似乎並非如此，大概只有約翰一人聽見、並看見那次大洗禮中有甚麼特別之處。因此，這裏沒有像變像山上那樣加上「你們要聽祂」一語。
英文原文
17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is--Mark and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art."
(Mr 1:11; Lu 3:22).
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased--The verb is put in the aorist to express absolute complacency, once and for ever felt towards Him. The English here, at least to modern ears, is scarcely strong enough. "I delight" comes the nearest, perhaps, to that ineffable complacency which is manifestly intended; and this is the rather to be preferred, as it would immediately carry the thoughts back to that august Messianic prophecy to which the voice from heaven plainly alluded
(Isa 42:1),
"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, IN WHOM MY SOUL DELIGHTETH." Nor are the words which follow to be overlooked, "I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." (The Septuagint perverts this, as it does most of the Messianic predictions, interpolating the word "Jacob," and applying it to the Jews). Was this voice heard by the by-standers? From Matthew's form of it, one might suppose it so designed; but it would appear that it was not, and probably John only heard and saw anything peculiar about that great baptism. Accordingly, the words, "Hear ye Him," are not added, as at the Transfiguration.
Mt 3:1-12.
約翰的 傳道 與事工。 ( =
Mr 1:1-8； Lu 3:1-18).
本段的正式引言，須見
Lu 3:1, 2。
正如 BENGEL 所云，新約的幕帷可說在此拉開，教會最偉大的一個紀元由此開始。連我主自己的年齡也是按此而定的
(Lu 3:23)。
新約別處找不到這樣精細的年代精確度，而出自那以"從起頭都詳細考察了"作為其福音書特殊推薦之人，最為合適
(Mt 1:3)。
這裡顯然是他正式敘事的開始。
Lu 3:1：
該撒提庇留在位第十五年——不是從他在奧古斯都死後正式繼位算起的第十五年，而是從他與奧古斯都共同治理帝國之時算起，早了三年，約在羅馬紀元 779 年末，或比我們一般算法早約四年。
本丟彼拉多作猶太巡撫——他的正式稱號是巡撫，但其權力超過該職通常所有的。任職約十年之後，他被召到羅馬答辯對他的控告；但他未到之前，提庇留已死（主後 35 年），不久可憐的彼拉多便自殺了。
希律作加利利分封的王——（見
Mr 6:14）。
他兄弟腓力——與那位名為希律腓力、其妻希羅底去與希律安提帕同居的腓力，十分不同，且遠勝之（見
Mr 6:17）。
作以土利亞分封的王——位於巴勒斯坦東北，得名於以實瑪利之子以突或伊突
(1Ch 1:31)，
古時屬於瑪拿西半支派。
和特拉可尼地方——更在東北，在以土利亞與大馬色之間；是岩石遍布的地區，盜匪出沒，奧古斯都交給大希律去綏靖。
呂撒聶作亞比利尼分封的王——更在東北；據 ROBINSON 說，得名於距大馬色十八哩的亞比拉。
Lu 3:2：
亞那和該亞法作大祭司——前者雖被撤職，仍保留許多影響力，並可能以副手的身分，與其女婿該亞法一同行使大祭司的大部分權力
(Joh 18:13； Ac 4:6)。
在大衛時代，撒督和亞比亞他二人都作大祭司
(2Sa 15:35)，
似乎設二人為常例
(2Ki 25:18)。
神的話臨到撒迦利亞的兒子約翰，在曠野裡——這種說法，論到耶穌時從未用過一次，因為他自己就是那活的道；而對神一切僅是受造的使者而言，他們所傳的道乃是外加的元素。見
Joh 3:31。
如今我們已預備好讀馬太的開場白。
1. 那時——即上章末了所記基督在拿撒勒隱居之時。
施洗約翰來了，傳道說——比他的主早約六個月。
在猶太的曠野——約但河谷的荒野，人煙稀少，牧草貧瘠，位於耶路撒冷稍北。