Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 11:26
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
26. Even so, Father: for ] Translate: “yea Father [I thank thee] that, &c.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 11:26
Even so, Father: for so it seemeth good in Thy sight.
Submission to ,our Fathers will
In order to cherish such feelings in the heart-
1. Take fatherly views of the character of God-Even so, Father.
2. Remember that nothing could have happened to you, unless it had been first good to you in Gods sight that it should be-It seemeth good in Thy sight.
3. The unfoldings of eternity will solve the problems of this world, and justify God in His moral government. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 26. Even so, Father] . An emphatical ratification of the preceding address.
It was right that the heavenly wisdom, despised, rejected, and persecuted by the scribes and Pharisees, should be offered to the simple people, and afterwards to the foolish people, the Gentiles, who are the children of wisdom, and justify God in his ways, by bringing forth that fruit of the Gospel of which the Pharisees refused to receive even the seed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
26. Even so, Father; for so itseemed goodthe emphatic and chosen term for expressing anyobject of divine complacency; whether Christ Himself (see on Mt3:17), or God’s gracious eternal arrangements (see on Php2:13).
in thy sightThis isjust a sublime echo of the foregoing words; as if Jesus, when Heuttered them, had paused to reflect on it, and as if the glory ofitnot so much in the light of its own reasonableness as of God’sabsolute will that so it should behad filled His soul.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Or, “so is the good will”, or “pleasure before thee”: thus,
, “let it be the good will before thee”, or “in thy sight, O Lord”, is a phrase often to be met with in the Jews’ forms of prayer x. Here the word designs the sovereign counsel and purpose of God, to which, and to which only, our Lord refers the different dispensations of God towards the sons of men: this is a reason which ought to satisfy everyone, and is better than ten thousand others that can be thought of, or devised by men. This difference among men, with respect to the Gospel revelation, cannot be owing to natural sagacity, prudence, and penetration; for these things are with those from whom it is hid; nor to any worthiness in those to whom it is revealed; for they are the poor, the base, the foolish things of this world, and even things that are not; nor to any foresight of their making a better use and improvement of such a revelation, but to the good will and pleasure of God only.
x Seder Tephillot, fol. 4. 2. & 5. 1. & passim. Ed. Amsterdam.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wellpleasing in thy sight ( ). “For such has been thy gracious will” (Weymouth).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Even so, Father:” (nai ho pater) “Yes, 0 Father,” this is exactly as it is, 1Co 1:21. I (Jesus) and we (the church) bow to your wisdom and will, Rom 8:28. Nothing can be wrong, that God the Father orders.
2) “For so it seemed good,” (hoti houtos eudokia egeneto) “Because it was thus a good pleasure,” or well pleasing, for the Father to choose the weaker of the world, to constitute His church, 1Co 1:26-31; Eph 1:11,12,22,23; 3:3,5,6,9; 10:21.
3) “In thy sight.” (emprosthen sou) “In your presence,” your sight, or before you, as aforeprophesied, Psa 8:2; Mat 11:25; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:26-27; Mat 16:17-18; Mat 18:3-4; 1Co 3:18-23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
26. Undoubtedly, O Father This expression removes every pretense for that licentiousness of inquiry, to which we are continually excited. There is nothing which we yield to God with greater difficulty, than that his will shall be regarded by us as the highest reason and justice. (63) He frequently repeats, that his judgments are a deep abyss, (Psa 36:6😉 but we plunge with headlong violence into that depth, (64) and if there is any thing that does not please us, we gnash our teeth, or murmur against him, and many even break out into open blasphemies. On the contrary, our Lord lays down to us this rule, that whatever God has determined must be regarded by us as right. (65) This is sober wisdom, to acquiesce in the good pleasure of God as alone equal to a thousand arguments. (66) Christ might indeed have brought forward the causes of that distinction, if there were any; but he is satisfied with the good pleasure of God, and inquires no farther why he calls to salvation little children rather than others, and composes his kingdom out of an obscure flock. (67) Hence it is evident, that men direct their fury against Christ, when, on learning that some are freely chosen, and others are reprobated, by the will of God, they storm because they find it unpleasant to yield to God. (68)
(63) “ Pour la derniere et souveraine raison, et pour Justice parfaite;” — “for the last and supreme reason, and for perfect justice.”
(64) “ Pour sonder ce qui y est;” — “to sound what is in it.”
(65) “ Que tout ce que Dieu a determine est bon et droict;” — “that all that God has determined is good and right.”
(66) “ Et cela est estre sage a sobriete, d’acquiescer au seul bon plaisir de Dieu, et nous y arrester paisiblement, plus que s’il y avoit dix mille raisons devant nos yeux;” — “and this is to be wise to sobriety, to acquiesce in the good pleasure of God, and to rest calmly upon it, more than if there were ten thousand arguments before our eyes.”
(67) “ D’une troupe de gens incognus, et de petite estime;” — “from a flock of persons unknown and little esteemed.”
(68) “ Vienent incontinent a tempester, pource quil leur fasche que Dieu ait le dernier mot;” — “come immediately to storm, because it gives them uneasiness that God should have the last word.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(26) For so it seemed good.Literally, Yea, Father, [I thank Thee] that thus it was Thy good pleasure. The words recall those that had been spoken at our Lords baptism (in whom I am well pleased, Mat. 3:17), and the song of the heavenly host on the night of the Nativity (good will among men, Luk. 2:14). The two verses are remarkable as the only record outside St. Johns Gospel of a prayer like that which we find in John 17. For the most part, we may believe, those prayers were offered apart on the lonely hill-side, in the darkness of night; or, it may be, the disciples shrank in their reverence, or perhaps in the consciousness of their want of capacity, from attempting to record what was so unspeakably sacred. But it is noteworthy that in this exceptional instance we find, both in the prayer and the teaching that follows it in St. Matthew and St. Luke, turns of thought and phrase almost absolutely identical with what is most characteristic of St. John. It is as though the isolated fragment of a higher teaching had been preserved by them as a witness that there was a region upon which they scarcely dared to enter, but into which men were to be led afterwards by the beloved disciple, to whom the Spirit gave power to recall what had been above the reach of the other reporters of his Masters teaching.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. It seemed good It was not so done by God from mere arbitrary unreasoning and absolute will, but because it was good. It seemed right to the Infinite Mind. It seems right to all right reason. There is no demand in this passage for those favourite phrases, “divine sovereignty,” “unfathomable and mysterious,” “good pleasure,” as if the divine administration were not founded in clear and obvious right.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.”
And in the end that is because it is what is pleasing to His Father, the Lord of Heaven and earth. That is how God has been pleased for men to come to know Him. He reveals Himself to those who have a broken and a contrite spirit, who are the ones whom He calls to share His holiness so that He might revive them and make them whole (Isa 57:15). That is why His chosen Servant please Him, because He brings men to God in that way (Mat 8:17-21).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 11:26. Even so, Father The Prussian editors render this verse, Thus it is, O Father, because such was thy will; and Mr. Wynne observes, that possibly the Greek would be more properly rendered, Be it so, O Father, since such has been thy pleasure.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 11:26 . Solution of the contradiction regarded as a confirmation of the ground for thanksgiving. Understand before (not because , but that , as in Mat 11:25 ).
] belongs to : that thus ( and not otherwise ) was done (was accomplished, comp. Mat 6:10 ) what is well-pleasing before Thee , in Thy sight; what is to Thee an object pleasing to look upon. Comp. Mat 18:14 ; Heb 13:21 . For , comp. Mat 3:17 ; Luk 2:14 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Ver. 26. Even so, Father, for so, &c. ] Christ being tired out, as it were, by the untractableness of his hearers, turns him to his Father, and comforts himself with the consideration of his most wise decree and counsel: so must we in like case, accounting that we are a sweet savour unto God howsoever, even in them that perish, and that God shall have his end upon them, though we have not ours,2Co 2:152Co 2:15 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 11:26 . reaffirms with solemn emphasis what might appear doubtful, viz. , that Jesus was content with the state of matters ( vide Klotz, Devar. , i. 140). Cf. Mat 11:9 . : nominative for vocative. , because, introducing the reason for this contentment. , as the actual facts stand, emphatic (“sic maxime non aliter,” Fritzsche). , a pleasure, an occasion of pleasure; hence a purpose, a state of matters embodying the Divine Will, a Hellenistic word, as is also the verb ( cf. 1Co 1:21 , where the whole thought is similar). Christ resigns Himself to God’s will. But His tranquillity is due likewise to insight into the law by which new Divine movements find support among the rather than among the .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
seemed good = became well-pleasing. Occurs with ginomai, only here and Luk 10:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 11:26. , yea) Even so. Jesus assents to the good pleasure of the Father. Even so, oh Father! is an epitome of filial confession.- is in this passage more significant than would have been.[545]- , well-pleasing in Thy sight[546]) The will and the intellect of God put forth His decrees. His good pleasure is the highest limit, beyond which we are not permitted to go, in examining the causes of the Divine decrees. Thus presently, concerning the Son, we find the expression, , may will, Lat. voluerit.
[545] The latter, a simple vocative; the former, in form, a nominative with the article prefixed, in effect, an emphatic vocative of a peculiar character, similar to the analogous .-(I. B.)
[546] In the original, Beneplacitum coram Te. It is difficult to render Beneplacitum in this place so as to show its intimate connection, or rather identity, with Beneplacitum a few lines below, where I have rendered it, as elsewhere, good pleasure.-(I. B.)
Thou, who art the Father (par excellence).-Ed.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
for: Job 33:13, Isa 46:10, Luk 10:21, Rom 9:18, Rom 11:33-36, Eph 1:9, Eph 1:11, Eph 3:11, 2Ti 1:9
Reciprocal: Deu 7:8 – because Jos 9:25 – as it seemeth 1Sa 12:22 – it hath 2Sa 7:21 – according 1Ch 17:19 – according Job 9:12 – What Job 37:24 – he Psa 36:6 – judgments Dan 4:35 – and he Jon 1:14 – for Zec 12:7 – save Mat 13:11 – Because Luk 11:4 – for Act 15:25 – seemed Rom 6:17 – But Rom 9:16 – General 1Co 1:26 – that 1Co 12:11 – as Gal 1:15 – it Eph 1:4 – as Eph 1:5 – according Jam 1:17 – good
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE LESSON OF SUBMISSION
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight.
Mat 11:26
The greatest thing which you have to do in life is to learn to say those words.
I. Gods discipline.Perhaps God found you a character proud in intellect, resolute in disposition, tenacious of dignity, selfish in temper. Now see a moment, how He deals. He will take that proud mind of yours and He will baffle it till He has brought it down to the ground. And He will cross that selfish temper of yours, and punish you by rods of your own making, until you are willing to put yourself at His feet. And He will visit you in those irregular and inordinate affections, and He will disappoint you, until you acknowledge that the heart is His, and that He has a right to reign in it alone. And in every thing He will be as a Sovereign to you.
II. Look at the real developments of life.You begin and go on in wilfulness and sin, and one or other of two things will happen. Either your mind runs on in a channel which gets further and further off from the mind of God, until it is prepared and ready to go on without God for everas wide asunder as heaven is from hell; or your ideas, your desires, your tastes, your judgment, gradually flow more and more into the courses of the Divine, until your whole moral being assimilates to Him.
III. The lesson of submission.It sometimes happens that a providence meets a man of which he is inclined to sayThis is the most difficult trial which could have been sent me to bear. It is an occasion when no other words will do but,Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight. Or sometimes afflictions come, not in the ordinary way in which we are expecting them, but so very crowded together, and so very sweeping, and so utterly desolating that our minds are quite bewildered. Or, it may be that one has been taken from your side, who seemed, of all, to be the essential one. Yet there is nothing sublimer, even among the ranges of the blest, than when those simple words go up in their firmness, from one soul chastenedEven so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight.
IV. Two suggestions.To cherish such a feeling in the heart, our Lords words give us two suggestions
(a) Take fatherly views of the character of God; (b) remember that the measure of all good is the mind of the Almighty.
The Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
1:26
The endearing term of Father is used here, to which Jesus had joined that of Lord in the preceding. verse. Jesus endorsed the work of God with NAT which is translated. even so. Thayer defines it, “Yea, verily, truly, assuredly, even so.” The beautiful reason for his endorsement was that it “seemed good in thy sight.” The best of reasons for any action of God is that He considers it to be good.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 11:26. Yea, that it was well-pleasing in thy sight. Praise for His good pleasure which involves His wisdom, prudence, and goodness. When men deny these qualities or we cannot fully perceive them, we may still praise His good pleasure, as our Master did.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
11:26 {h} Even so, Father: for so it seemed {i} good in thy sight.
(h) This word shows that he contents himself in his Father’s council.
(i) God’s will is the only rule of righteousness.