.6G56 
 
A COMMENTAEY 
 
 GOSPEL OF S. MAEK. 
 
A COMMENTARY 
 
 GOSPEL OF S. MARK. 
 
 BY THE VERY REVEREND 
 
 HARVEY GOODWIN, D.D., 
 
 DEAN OF ELY. 
 
 DEIGHTON, BELL, AND 00. 
 
 LONDON. BELL AND DALDY. 
 
 i860. 
 
Cambridge : 
 
 PRINTED BY J. PALMER, SIDNEY STREET. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Commentary upon the Gospel according to S. Mark, con- 
 tained in this volume, is a sequel to the Commentary upon 
 S. Matthew published about two years ago. It is composed 
 upon the same principles, and intended for the same class of 
 readers ; that is to say, it is intended for the use of those whose 
 only familiar language is English, and it is constructed with the 
 view of bringing out the distinguishing features of S. Mark, so 
 far as they can be recognized and understood by an English reader. 
 
 I endeavoured to make my design comprehended when I pub- 
 lished my Commentary upon S. Matthew's Gospel, by stating in 
 the opening of the Introduction the class for whom it was 
 written ; but it seems to have been held by some of the critics 
 who have noticed that work, that I had precluded them from 
 treating it as a volume intended for plain folks unacquainted 
 with Greek, because I had expressed my hope "that my labours 
 might be made useful to fellow-students of God's Holy "Word." 
 Eellow- students, these critics appear to hold, must mean those 
 who study the Scriptures in the original; and although I had 
 expressly confined my class of readers to " those whose only 
 familiar tongue is English," this term fellow -students has been 
 regarded as undoing the restriction, and forbidding the volume to 
 be treated in the way which the author himself prescribed. 
 
 It may be that there was some ambiguity in the mode of ex- 
 pression adopted by me ; and I should not have thought it worth 
 
ii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 while to find fault with my critics, had it not been that in 
 reality this term fellow-students, at which some of them have 
 stumbled, expresses, when taken in conjunction with the as- 
 sertion that I wrote for English readers, the spirit and intention 
 of my former Commentary and of that now published also. It 
 appeared to me, that, although much interesting matter which 
 has been brought to light by learned men must always be inac- 
 cessible to those who cannot examine the Gospels in the original, 
 and cannot use learned commentaries upon them, yet there were 
 many things which might be rendered intelligible, and some 
 help given towards the solution of questions which must rise up 
 in the minds of all thoughtful readers. This view was probably 
 strengthened by the circumstance, that while in Cambridge I had 
 during two years a Bible Class in connection with the " Working 
 Men's College." In this class we determined to study the Gospels; 
 and before I resigned it we had completed an examination of the 
 first two. In preparing materials for the lectures, which were 
 given on Sunday evening, I carefully abstained from dwelling 
 upon those topics which belonged more properly to the pulpit, 
 and I rather selected those which were likely to open up to my 
 students new lines of thought concerning passages with which 
 they were all familiar. I found it very possible to interest the 
 working men by this mode of dealing, and I had their own 
 testimony that on many points connected with the Gospels they 
 had gained new light from the lectures. These working men 
 I have no hesitation in acknowledging as "fellow-students of 
 God's Holy "Word;" and possibly it might have been the re- 
 membrance of the evenings spent in the lecture-room, that 
 suggested the phrase to my mind when I wrote the Introduction 
 to the Commentary on S. Matthew's Gospel. 
 
 But it is not amongst working men only that readers are to 
 be found, who, in studying the Scriptures, may use with advantage 
 a Commentary such as I have endeavoured to supply. There is 
 
INTRODUCTION. iii 
 
 in England a large class of highly intelligent persons, who have 
 not had a learned education, and to whom nevertheless many 
 questions, which require for their full discussion an apparatus of 
 learning not possessed by them, may be rendered interesting and 
 instructive. I do not say that I have succeeded in meeting the 
 wants of this class, but I have endeavoured in some measure to 
 do so ; and, whether I have succeeded or not, I am sure that the 
 wants are real and such as ought to be met and supplied. 
 
 Having thus attempted to make more apparent the design both 
 of the former Commentary on S. Matthew and of the present 
 Commentary on S. Mark, I will crave the reader's attention while 
 I make some observations, by way of introduction, upon certain 
 points connected with S. Mark's Gospel. In doing so I shall 
 bear carefully in mind the class of readers for whom the Com- 
 mentary is intended, and shall therefore abstain from the discus- 
 sion of many points which would find place in a more complete 
 introduction to S. Mark. 
 
 I. — The authorship of the Gospel. 
 
 In the introduction to the Commentary on S. Matthew I stated 
 that all discussion concerning the claim of that Apostle to be re- 
 garded as the author of the Gospel bearing his name was beside 
 my purpose ; and in like manner I shall here assume, and not 
 prove, that the Gospel bearing the name of S. Mark was really 
 written by him. In truth there seems to be as little reason for 
 doubting concerning the authorship as concerning any fact in 
 ancient history. The tradition which assigns the second Gospel 
 to S. Mark is universal, unvarying, uncontradicted; and the 
 Mark to whom tradition points is he who comes under our notice 
 several times in the Acts of the Apostles and incidentally in the 
 Epistles. 1 
 
 1 As to the identity of the Mark of Acts xii. 12, and the Marcus of 1 Pet. 
 v. 1 3, see below, page xv. 
 
 02 
 
iv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I shall in another section of this Introduction put together 
 the scattered notices which we have of his life ; in this it is my 
 intention, upon the assumption that S. Mark was really the 
 author of the second Gospel, to say something concerning the 
 connection between that Gospel and the Apostle Peter, to which 
 attention will frequently be called in the following Commentary. 
 Tradition, which assigns the authorship of the Gospel to S. Mark, 
 no less certainly teaches that S. Peter was in some very decided 
 manner connected with the authorship. The precise nature and 
 extent of this connection have not been as yet settled beyond 
 controversy by learned men, and it would be absurd to attempt 
 a settlement in this place; it may be stated however that the 
 controversy turns very much upon the meaning to be attached to 
 a phrase, several times used concerning S. Mark, and which may 
 be rendered the interpreter of Peter. Mark, according to a very 
 general tradition, was the interpreter of Peter ; but in what sense 
 was he the interpreter ? "Was he an amanuensis or secretary ? or 
 was he one who translated the words of Peter from one language 
 to another ? or was he both ? 
 
 These questions will be chiefly interesting to the readers of 
 this volume as they are illustrated by the study of the Gospel 
 itself. The readers whose wants I am chiefly endeavouring to 
 meet are not likely to arrive at any satisfactory settlement of 
 a difficult point, concerning which they will find competent 
 authorities in conflict; but if they rise from the perusal of 
 S. Mark's Gospel with the conviction that they have been in 
 reality holding converse with S. Peter himself, that they have 
 been listening to reports from an eyewitness, and that S. Mark, 
 instead of being a collector of materials for the history of our 
 Lord, is the mouthpiece of one of the most favoured of the 
 Apostles, then they will feel that the connection of S. Mark 
 with S. Peter is not a merely antiquarian curiosity, but a point 
 of very living interest. Let a man's view of inspiration be what 
 
INTRODUCTION. v 
 
 it may, he can hardly regard it as a matter of indifference 
 whether Peter left behind him his own record of our Lord's life 
 or not; and with reference to the objections which have been 
 too frequently made of late years to the character of the Gospels, 
 as trustworthy records of what Jesus did and taught, the intimate 
 connection of Peter with the authorship of one of them is a con- 
 sideration of first-rate magnitude. 
 
 I would venture to put before the reader the following view 
 as at least probable. S. Peter in all probability committed to 
 writing memoranda of his Master's life; or, if they were not 
 committed to writing, there might be certain portions upon which 
 he chiefly dwelt and which he made the subject of his oral teach- 
 ing; the history of the Lord's life thus given by S. Peter seems 
 to have been translated into Greek from the Syro-Chaldaic, in 
 which Peter wrote or delivered it, by S. Mark. I think that the 
 phenomena of the Gospels require us to suppose that the sub- 
 stance of S. Mark's Gospel existed at one time in a written form 
 in the Syro-Chaldaic language of S. Peter, — whether committed 
 to writing by S. Peter himself, or put on record by S. Mark as 
 his secretary, matters not ; but I think also that the whole Gospel 
 in its finished connected form never existed in that language, but 
 only in the Greek of S. Mark, as we now have it. 
 
 I do not suppose that this view will meet with general ac- 
 ceptation ; I only set it down as that, which, after a good deal of 
 consideration, appears to me the most probable approximate 
 solution of a question which is not likely ever to be answered 
 completely. I am not anxious to persuade my readers to adopt 
 it ; if they can find a better, let them do so ; I am much more 
 anxious to make them see that the complete clearing up of the 
 difficulty is not a matter of very much importance, while the 
 recognition of S. Peter's intimate connection with the Gospel in 
 some ivay or other undoubtedly is so. And I wish them to per- 
 ceive that the want of a theory concerning S. Peter's authorship, 
 
vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which shall be entirely free from cavil, need not preclude them 
 from recognising S. Peter's hand continually throughout the 
 narrative, and enjoying the feeling of satisfaction which will 
 almost certainly arise from the conviction that they have in their 
 hands the memoirs of S. Peter himself. 
 
 It should be added, that, although it is impossible for any 
 careful reader not to perceive that the Gospel according to 
 S. Mark is in some way intimately connected with S. Peter, it 
 is not so easy to explain upon this supposition all the phenomena 
 of the Gospel. I mean that in examining the facts and conversa- 
 tions which S. Mark has recorded, and noting those which from 
 the other Gospels we perceive that he has omitted, it is not easy 
 by referring to S. Peter as the virtual author of the work to say 
 in all cases why this was inserted and that passed over. For 
 examples : it may seem strange that the walking on the water, 
 the blessing pronounced upon S. Peter on occasion of his famous 
 confession of Jesus as the Son of God, and the miracle of the 
 coin in the mouth of the fish, should all have been omitted from 
 this Gospel. I have endeavoured in the Commentary to suggest 
 in some cases reasons for such omissions, but I do not lay any 
 great stress upon the reasons. I think it much more important 
 to observe, that the Gospel of S. Mark has no appearance of 
 having been written in accordance with any preconceived notion 
 of what was likely or unlikely to come from the mouth or pen of 
 S. Peter ; if a dishonest person had written the book with the 
 intention of giving it to the world in the name and under the 
 authority of S. Peter, I feel confident that the work would have 
 been very different from that which by God's providence has 
 come into our possession. S. Peter's hand is in it beyond all 
 question, but how his hand was applied, and to what extent the 
 Gospel is his, cannot be put beyond doubt; and this very un- 
 certainty is the best pledge that can possibly be given of the 
 truth of that, which after all is the important point, namely, that 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 in reading the second Gospel we are in reality holding com- 
 munication with an eye-witness of the deeds and an ear- witness 
 of the words of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 II. — The internal peculiarities of S. Mark's Gospel. 
 
 By far the most interesting and valuable characteristic of 
 S. Mark's Gospel is its clear, minute, and graphic style of nar- 
 rative. In this respect his Gospel stands in contrast with that 
 of S. Matthew, of which it has sometimes been most unjustly 
 regarded as a mere abridgment. That S. Mark was in any sense 
 an abbreviator of S. Matthew is a notion, which (as it appears to 
 me) can be held only by those who have taken no trouble what- 
 ever to compare the works of the two evangelists. That the 
 greater portion of the history found in S. Mark may also be 
 found in S. Matthew, that in the latter portion of the two 
 Gospels the coincidence is often very close, and that S. Matthew's 
 Gospel is much longer than that of S. Mark, all this is un- 
 doubtedly true ; but if a story be taken which has been recorded 
 by the two Evangelists, and if the two records be placed side by 
 side and compared, it will be found in general that S. Mark, so 
 far from being an abbreviator of S. Matthew, is much more 
 minute and full. My own opinion, after having had the subject 
 under consideration for some years, is, that neither did S. Mat- 
 thew ever see S. Mark's Gospel in its present condition, nor 
 S. Mark see S. Matthew's; the coincidences between the two are 
 rather to be accounted for upon the supposition that S. Matthew 
 had access to some of those materials, which were also and 
 independently used in the composition of the Gospel of S. Mark. 
 
 The attention of the reader will be frequently called, in the 
 course of the following Commentary, to points illustrating the 
 characteristics of S. Mark's style which have been above alluded 
 to. His attention will also be called, perhaps so frequently as 
 to appear to him sometimes tiresome, to the relation in which 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 passages of this Gospel stand to parallel passages of S. Matthew. 
 I take this opportunity of apologising to the reader if he should 
 be offended with this feature of the Commentary, and of begging 
 him to believe that he will find much useful employment in fol- 
 lowing out the hints which are given, and that the result of his 
 study will be in all probability the persuasion that S. Mark's 
 Gospel has little justice done to it by the popular estimate which 
 has been formed of it. In the minds of many readers of the New 
 Testament it is still, if I mistake not, a mere abbreviation of 
 S. Matthew; an examination of the parallels between the two 
 Evangelists will infallibly explode this notion, and consequently 
 raise the general appreciation of the value of S. Mark's Gospel, 
 regarded as a portion of that volume, which the Holy Spirit has 
 indited for the benefit of the Church, and which God's providence 
 has preserved as her chief treasure. 
 
 One distinction between the first two Gospels is to be found 
 in the difference of the qualities of the readers, for whom they 
 were respectively, in the first instance, chiefly designed. S. Mat- 
 thew's Gospel is manifestly directed especially to Jewish readers ; 
 S. Mark's, although coming as we have seen primarily and 
 principally from the Apostle of the circunicision, is not in any 
 way adapted to the peculiar wants and feelings of Jews, but 
 rather to the common wants and feelings of mankind. The 
 openings of the two Gospels sufficiently point out the difference 
 between them in this respect : S. Matthew's Gospel bears in its 
 first verse the significant phrase, The booh of the generation of 
 Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham ; S. Mark no 
 less significantly commences his Gospel with the broader de- 
 scription of the character of our Lord contained in the words, 
 The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 
 Yet if any one should suppose that the second Gospel was written 
 from a decidedly and exclusively Gentile point of view, he would 
 find his supposition contradicted by the facts of the case; for 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 example, S. Mark quotes ancient prophecy as having been ful- 
 filled in Christ, though not nearly so copiously as does S. Mat- 
 thew; 1 and he does not omit the story of the Syrophenician 
 woman, containing though it does the strong language of our 
 Lord concerning the taking away of the bread of Israelitish 
 children and casting it to Gentile dogs. It would in fact, I 
 think, be more correct to say, that S. Mark's Gospel was not 
 written especially for Jews, than that it was written especially 
 for Gentiles : in the trifling circumstance of the explanation of 
 Hebrew terms being given, it may be asserted that there is 
 evidence of adaptation to Gentile wants, but taken on a broader 
 and deeper view of its character and purposes it may be rather 
 said to regard the Lord Jesus Christ and His life upon earth 
 from that point, which does not belong exclusively either to Jew 
 or Gentile, but is the common property of both. And thus 
 S. Mark's Gospel appears to symbolise the real relation in which 
 S. Peter stands to the Gentile world; S. Peter was emphatically 
 the Apostle of the circumcision, and yet it was he who was 
 chosen by God to be the first preacher to the Gentile world in 
 the person of Cornelius the Centurion ; and the Church of Pome, 
 the great light of early Gentile Christianity, claims S. Peter as 
 its principal founder. In fact, Jew and Gentile were in Christ 
 made one, the middle wall of partition was broken down, and so 
 an Apostle of the circumcision could not be an Apostle of the 
 circumcision exclusively ; even as the Lord, who declared Himself 
 sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, did nevertheless 
 gather together other sheep not of that fold. S. Mark's Gospel 
 then is a Gentile Gospel, but it is all the more truly so because 
 
 1 Nine instances of reference to prophecy are noted in the margin of the 
 Commentary ; but it should be observed that of these, six occur in reported 
 discourses of our Lord, and of the remaining three, viz. Chap. i. 2, 3, and 
 Chap. xv. 28, the last is not very well supported by manuscript authority. 
 Thus the Evangelist's own reference to the Old Testament scriptures is very 
 sparing indeed. 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 it springs from the very heart of Judaism ; even as Christ was 
 lifted up from the earth to gather all men unto Him, and yet 
 bore on His head the superscription, The King of the Jeivs. 
 
 One peculiarity of S. Mark's Gospel, as compared with 
 S. Matthew's, is obvious to the most cursory reader, namely, 
 the omission of the longer discourses and of many of the parables 
 of the Lord. Only four parables are recorded ; and the sermon 
 on the Mount and the great woe-discourse, which in S. Mat- 
 thew's Gospel open and terminate respectively the public 
 ministry of the Lord, are by S. Mark alike omitted. In this 
 striking fact alone we have, as I think, abundant disproof of the 
 notion that S. Mark was an abbreviator of S. Matthew : it is 
 easy to say that we do not know the principle upon which he 
 abridged, and therefore cannot say positively what he would 
 omit and what retain ; but I confess myself unable to conceive 
 of any principle of abridgment, which could lead a writer, who, 
 with S. Matthew's Gospel before him, was preparing a new 
 Gospel for the Gentile world, to omit deliberately from his pages 
 so many of the solemn utterances of his Master. That S. Mark's 
 Gospel is such as it is convinces me that the author never had 
 S. Matthew's Gospel in his hands; and this becomes the more 
 evident when it is observed, that S. Mark is as much fuller in the 
 delineation of action as he is more brief in the record of words. 
 
 It is noticed in the proper place in the following Commentary 
 that the last eleven verses of the concluding chapter are in all 
 probability not by the hand of S. Mark himself. Assuming this 
 to be the case we perceive that the Gospel according to S. Mark, 
 properly so called, is a fragmentary history ; and that, not only 
 as failing to record everything which Jesus did and taught, in 
 which sense every written history could not fail to be fragment- 
 ary, but also as closing abruptly after the record of the Eesurrec- 
 tion, and omitting altogether the great event of the Ascension of 
 the Lord into heaven. It may seem strange that such an omis- 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 sion should have been made ; but it is a significant fact that the 
 omission is common to the other two Gospels which claim im- 
 mediate Apostolic authority, and that only in the Gospel ac- 
 cording to S. Luke is the Ascension made a part of the regular 
 consecutive narrative. Possibly in the case of S. Mark we may 
 say that the author of the Gospel confined himself strictly to 
 those portions of the Lord's life, for which he had the written 
 testimony of S. Peter, or which he had received orally from that 
 Apostle ; nor can we be surprised to find Apostolic teaching 
 culminating in the Resurrection ; this was the point of the mes- 
 sage of the Apostles to the world, as we see from the book of 
 their Acts and from their Epistles ; if this were admitted, the 
 Ascension would (so to speak) follow as a necessary consequence, 
 for a resurrection, which again terminated in death and cor- 
 ruption, would have been no real triumph over the grave, and 
 useless as a ground for the faith of mankind. And therefore, al- 
 though according to the rules of art S. Luke's history must be 
 accounted the most complete, terminating as it does with the 
 session of the Lord Jesus after His troubles and weariness on 
 earth in the bliss of Heaven at the right hand of the Father, still 
 there is a beauty of their own belonging to the three other 
 Gospels; S. Matthew, S. Peter, and S. John follow their Master 
 until He is given back to them from the grave, and then they 
 leave Him ; and they seem to imply that He is still with the 
 Church, as indeed He is. S. Luke says, lie was parted from them ; 
 but the Apostles themselves rather conceal the parting, and dwell 
 upon that other equally true view of the case, which is expressed 
 in the Lord's own words as recorded by S. Matthew, Lo I am 
 with you always, even unto the end of the world. 
 
 For the further development of the general view which 
 I have here endeavoured to give, I must refer to the Com- 
 mentary ; and I now pass on to notice those portions of Gospel 
 history, for which we are indebted to S. Mark. 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 III. — On the special contributions made by S. Mark to the 
 Gospel history. 
 
 In the margin of the Commentary I have given references 
 to the parallel passages in S. Matthew and S. Luke, as in the 
 Commentary on S. Matthew I gave references to S. Mark and 
 S. Luke. 1 The reader will thus perceive at a glance how 
 much of absolutely fresh history is added by S. Mark to what 
 we know from the other two Evangelists, and he will verify 
 a conclusion to which he has probably long ago come, namely, 
 that the portions of history contributed by S. Mark are extremely 
 few. Hence it will be unnecessary to examine this Gospel 
 chapter by chapter, as was done in the case of S. Matthew, and 
 to point out what is new in each ; it will be better to call atten- 
 tion to the few contributions made by S. Mark, and then to add 
 a remark or two on the general character of his Gospel regarded 
 as supplementary to those of the other Evangelists. 
 
 The special contributions of S. Mark are one parable, and two 
 miracles. 
 
 The parable is recorded in Chap. iv. 26 — 29, and is that in 
 which the kingdom of God is compared to seed cast into the 
 ground, which grows up the sower knoweth not how. It is re- 
 markable that out of the small number of parables (only four) 
 recorded by S. Mark, one should be peculiar to himself; it is 
 remarkable also that the three, which are recorded in the chapter 
 above quoted, are all based upon the same foundation, namely, 
 the idea of growth; the first brings out the necessity of good 
 ground in order that the seed may take root and flourish; the 
 second illustrates the manner of the increase of God's kingdom 
 by reference to the mysterious germination of seed by its inherent 
 vitality without human help; and the third dwells upon the 
 
 1 I have explained in my Introduction to the Commentary of S. Matthew 
 why S. John is excluded. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 amazing magnitude of the tree which sometimes springs from 
 a very small seed. Hence it will be seen that S. Mark's parable 
 is a real addition to that which he has in common with the 
 other two Evangelists; it throws into prominence the divine 
 life which belongs to the blessed seed of the Gospel, and reminds 
 ns that, even while men sleep, an active agency is at work, and 
 the divine purposes are being unfolded. 
 
 Of the two miracles peculiar to S. Mark the first is recorded 
 in Chap. vii. 32 — 37, and the second in Chap. viii. 22 — 26. 
 The one is the healing of a deaf man, and the other of a blind. 
 I have marked both of them in the margin of the Commentary 
 as private miracles ; in the former miracle the Lord took the man 
 aside from the multitude, in the latter He took the man and led 
 him out of the town, and in both cases He enjoined secrecy. 
 Each miracle presents features of peculiar interest. I would 
 especially notice in one of them the sigh with which our Lord 
 performed the miracle, in the other the gradual character of the 
 cure; the blind man first saw men as trees walking, and then 
 saw everything plainly. It may be noticed also as a coincidence 
 between these two miracles, that in the former Christ spit and 
 touched the man's tongue, in the other He spit upon the blind 
 man's eyes. "Without pronouncing any opinion of the relative 
 value of different portions of Scripture, it may be safely asserted, 
 that in these two miracles of S. Mark we have a real addition to 
 that knowledge of our Lord's manner of performing His mighty 
 works, which we are able to gain from the other Evangelists. 
 
 In Chap. xiv. 51, 52, there is a story, for which we are in- 
 debted to S. Mark, and which is perhaps sufficiently remarkable 
 to be noted here. It is that of the young man, who followed the 
 Lord after His apprehension in the garden of Gethsemane, and 
 who, being seized by the young men, left in their hands the 
 linen cloth with which he was covered, and fled away naked. 
 But this little episode is so completely subsidiary to the general 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 story of the Lord's apprehension, that it hardly interferes, if at 
 all, with the statement above made, that the special contributions 
 of S. Mark are one parable and two miracles; indeed the very 
 circumstance, that a commentator upon S. Mark should feel 
 tempted to note so trivial a portion of history as a special con- 
 tribution to our knowledge of the Lord's life, shews how very 
 few in number those special contributions must be. 
 
 In truth the peculiar excellence and value of this Gospel is 
 not to be sought in the additions made by it to the know- 
 ledge which we have from other sources of what Jesus did and 
 said. Any one who examines it with this view will take that 
 low estimate of its position amongst the four evangelical pillars 
 of the truth, which has I fear been too common ; he will be 
 satisfied with the rough and absolutely false conclusion, that the 
 second Gospel is only an abridgment of the first. The real ad- 
 ditions made by S. Mark are those countless little touches which 
 indicate the direct testimony of an eye or ear- witness, or which, 
 if they do not do this, at least give evidence of such individuality 
 of character as to render the hypothesis of dependence upon the 
 other Evangelists altogether untenable. These little additions 
 will be brought under the notice of the reader in the course of 
 the Commentary ; and though they may add little to our actual 
 knowledge, they will, I trust, appear to him of first-rate import- 
 ance as bearing upon the question of the peculiar value of S. Mark's 
 Gospel. I had intended in this place to give examples, but upon 
 consideration I think it is unnecessary to do more than allude to 
 a feature which will be illustrated so frequently hereafter. 
 
 I cannot however leave this subject without bearing testimony 
 to the effect produced upon my own mind by the daily examination 
 of S. Mark's Gospel, rendered necessary in the composition of the 
 following Commentary. I never felt before so vividly and 
 strongly the immense loss which the Church would have sus- 
 tained, if she had been deprived of this version of the history of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 our Lord. No other Gospel seems to bring the Saviour and His 
 daily life so freshly before the mind's eye, and to make the student 
 feel as he reads the history that he is really placed by the historian 
 in the midst of the events recorded. No other Gospel, I think, 
 needs so little the help of learned men and laborious investigation 
 to prove its authenticity ; the careful reader soon becomes con- 
 vinced that no ingenious forger could have thrown into his work so 
 many marks of originality, and given it so individual a character. 1 
 A person undertaking to abbreviate an already existing Gospel, 
 could by no possibility have produced such a Gospel as this. 
 
 IY. — On the Life and Ministry of S. Mark. 
 
 Tradition assigns the authorship of the second Gospel to a 
 Mark, who was associated in a very intimate manner with 
 S. Peter, and therefore is identified almost certainly with that 
 Mark, who is spoken of in IS. Pet. v. 13, under the title of 
 Marcus my son. "Whether the person so associated with S. Peter 
 be identical with John Mark, the son of Maiy (Acts xii. 12), 
 and with the Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, concerning whom 
 the sharp dispute arose between that Apostle and S. Paul, it is 
 
 1 Dean Alford writes as follows : " Of the first three Gospels, that of 
 Mark is the most distinct and peculiar in style. By far the greater part of 
 these graphic touches which describe the look and gesture of our Lord, the 
 arrangement or appearance of those around Him, the feelings with which 
 He contemplated the persons whom He addressed, are contained in this 
 Gospel. While the matters related are fewer than in either Matthew or 
 Luke, Mark, in by far the greater number of common narrations, is the most 
 copious, and rich in lively and interesting detail. In one part only does 
 Mark appear as an abridger of previously well known facts ; viz. in Chap. 
 i. 1 — 13, where, his object being to detail the official life of our Lord, he 
 hastens through the previous great events, the ministry of John, the baptism 
 and temptation of Christ. But even in the abrupt transitions of this section, 
 there is wonderful graphic power, presenting us with a series of life-like 
 pictures, calculated to impress the reader strongly with the reality and 
 dignity of the events related." 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 difficult to establish beyond controversy ; the identity has gene- 
 rally been believed, but has also been questioned by learned men 
 with much show of reason ; it is however quite unnecessary here 
 to enter upon the argument ; let it suffice to grant that the author 
 of the Gospel was Mark, described by S. Peter as his son, that 
 is, probably his son in the Gospel, (though some have supposed 
 that the Apostle intended to speak of his own son after the flesh,) 
 and to grant further that this Mark was the companion, and in 
 some sense the interpreter, of the Apostle. 
 
 Even if all the notices of Mark in the New Testament be 
 referred to one person, and he be granted to be the Evangelist, 
 we have still very little information concerning his life and 
 ministry. We should regard him then as the son of one of the 
 early converts at Jerusalem, whose house was one of the places 
 of meeting for the disciples of Christ ; we should attribute his 
 conversion to S. Peter, and should conclude that his relationship 
 to Barnabas led him to attach himself to that Apostle while he 
 was the companion of S. Paul, and that while with them he 
 shrank from the work assigned to him, and so incurred S. Paul's 
 displeasure; we should find him in consequence rejected after- 
 wards as a coadjutor by S. Paul, and adopted as such by Bar- 
 nabas; and finally we should discover an incidental proof that 
 S. Mark succeeded in regaining S. Paul's confidence, and a proof 
 likewise of the forgiving and courteous spirit of S. Paul, in the 
 declaration made to Timothy, 1 that Mark was profitable to him 
 for the ministry, and in the request made to the Colossians, 2 that 
 if Mark came to them they would receive him. 
 
 For the purpose however of this Commentary it is quite un- 
 necessary to attempt to settle the question, whether S. Mark the 
 Evangelist and Mark sister's son to Barnabas were the same 
 person ; the important thing is to identify the writer of the Gospel 
 with him who was the companion and interpreter of S. Peter, 
 1 2 Tim. iv. 11. 2 Col. iv. 10. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 and so to connect the book, which bears, and no doubt bears cor- 
 rectly, the name of Mark, with the still greater name of Peter. 
 Some persons may be disposed to say, that even this is a matter 
 of small importance, because that in reality holy men of old 
 wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that it is in- 
 different whether the name of Mark or Matthew or Peter be 
 associated with a Gospel, which is fundamentally and essentially 
 the work of the Holy Spirit of God. I can only reply to such 
 persons, that their minds and my own must be either so dif- 
 ferently constituted by nature, or so differently formed and 
 modified by education, that it is impossible to argue the point 
 with any hope of a satisfactory result. The phenomena of 
 Holy.. Scripture seem to me to be as interesting as those of 
 nature ; and I think it is not more wise to smother all the pecu- 
 liarities of God's book under the general formula of inspiration, 
 than it would be to attempt to explain all the wonders that are 
 brought to light by an examination of God's world by the simple 
 assertion that He made it all. If it be true that S. Mark was 
 really the penman of the Gospel which bears his name, but that 
 S. Peter was more substantially the author of it, then I think we 
 may rest assured, that so remarkable a fact in the history of the 
 transmission of the written testimony to the Gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ was not intended to be without significance, and 
 that the significance of it will be more apparent as time rolls on, 
 and as the manifold needs of the Church make themselves more 
 and more felt. 
 
 But to return to the history of S. Mark. Tradition tells us 
 that S. Mark preached the Gospel in Egypt, and that he was the 
 founder of the Church at Alexandria, which city was in con- 
 sequence known as the Evangelical See. 
 
 "For some time after the day of Pentecost, the Evangelist is 
 said to have preached in Jerusalem and the neighbouring villages, 
 particularly in Bethany. S. Peter however, about the year 37, 
 
 b 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 appears to have sent him into Egypt ; and it would seem that he 
 entered Alexandria in, or towards, the year 40. Here his first 
 convert was one Annianns, or Hananias, a shoemaker by trade, 
 on whom the Evangelist wrought a miracle, and who, in con- 
 sequence, received him into his house. Having preached the 
 Gospel with great success, and having, in a proportionate degree, 
 irritated the idolatrous inhabitants of the city, than whom no 
 idolaters were more strongly attached to Pagan superstition, 
 S. Mark returned for a season to Jerusalem ; first, if we may be- 
 lieve Coptic tradition, having ordained Annianus bishop of the 
 new Church, with three priests and seven deacons as his assist- 
 ants. This seems to have taken place in the year 44. 
 
 "From Palestine, S. Mark accompanied S. Peter to Some. 
 It was here that, under the direction of the Apostle, he wrote 
 his Gospel, whether, as some will have it, in Latin, or, as it 
 seems more probable, in Greek; for the Egyptian tradition 
 which assigns to it a Coptic original is not for a moment to 
 be received 
 
 " It was, apparently, towards the year 49, that S. Mark re- 
 turned to Egypt; and there, till the time of his decease, he 
 laboured with great success. And during this period, the first 
 Church in Alexandria is said to have been built 
 
 " The Egyptians, indignant at the progress made by the 
 Gospel, resolved to be avenged on its first preacher. A feast in 
 honour of Serapis, held annually on the twenty-fifth of April, 
 was approaching. Advantage was taken of the circumstance to 
 excite and organize a riot on the preceding day, Saturday, April 24 : 
 the rather that the Evangelist had denounced the approaching 
 festivity as idolatrous and impious. Seizing S. Mark, and tying 
 a rope round his neck, they drew him through the principal 
 streets of the city, till the blood gushed from his sides : and, at 
 evening, they threw him into prison, while consulting with 
 respect to his fate. On the same night the sufferer was cheered 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 by the appearance of an angel, who comforted him with the as- 
 surance that his name was in the Book of Life; and shortly 
 afterwards by a vision of the Saviour Himself, who, addressing 
 him by the title of Mark the Evangelist, bade peace be with him. 
 To whom S. Mark replied, 'I yield Thee thanks, Saviour, 
 that Thou hast counted me worthy to suffer for Thy Name/ On 
 the next day, the Pagans drew the Evangelist around the city, 
 as before, until with the words, Into TJiy hands I commend my 
 spirit, he went to his rest." 1 
 
 The general moral to be drawn from S. Mark's life seems to 
 me to be well given by the portion of Scripture appointed to be 
 read as the Epistle for his day. 2 Unto every one of us is given 
 
 grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ And 
 
 He gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, 
 and some Pastors and Teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for 
 the work of the Ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 
 And so it pleased God to give to S. Mark, who occupies so small 
 a place in the Scripture history of the early propagation of the 
 Gospel, this special grace, that he should be one of the four great 
 lights, which were afterwards to comfort the Church and to 
 enlighten the world. The name of Mark ranks with that of 
 Matthew and John ; of the twelve chosen Apostles there are but 
 these two, whose names are as great and illustrious. 
 
 And if the Epistle for S. Mark's day furnishes us with the 
 true moral to be drawn from the Evangelist's life, the Collect 
 supplies us with a prayer, appropriate as a conclusion to our 
 consideration of the same. "With this Collect I will bring 
 my Introduction to a close, remarking that the prayer for de- 
 liverance from the blasts of vain doctrine has a more appropriate 
 connection with S. Mark's Gospel than perhaps the composers of 
 
 1 The preceding account is extracted from Neale's History of the Church 
 of Alexandria, vol. i. p. 5. 
 
 2 Ephes. iv. 7—16. 
 
xx INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Collect had in mind. The blasts of vain doctrine, which 
 have lately blown most severely upon the Church, are those 
 which have had their origin in discussions of the historical cha- 
 racter of the Gospels ; for protection against such blasts, and for 
 the settlement of the controversies which have been raised, there 
 is no portion of the New Testament which is more valuable than 
 that which is due to S. Mark ; the readers of this Commentary 
 will for the most part find it unnecessary to regard his Gospel 
 in this its controversial aspect, but those qualities which make 
 it valuable as a defence of the truth, will also insensibly tell 
 upon the careful reader, and make him feel that he has before 
 him a marvellously bright picture of the earthly sojourn of Him, 
 who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. 
 
 Almighty God, who hast instructed Thy Holy Church with 
 the heavenly doctrine of Thy Evangelist S, Mark ; give us grace, 
 that, being not like children carried away with every blast of 
 vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of Thy Holy 
 Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Deanery, Ely, 
 December, 1859. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 rage 119, line 8. For they took Him read He took him. 
 „ 201. Insert in margin— Fifth reference to prophec y. 
 
A COMMENTAET ON THE GOSPEL OF 
 S. MAKE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Chap. 
 
 I. 
 
 1. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, '• 
 the Son of God. 
 
 This opening of S. Mark's Gospel should be com- The verse 
 pared with that of S. Matthew's. The contrast is very with the 
 
 x opening of 
 
 great, but each as fall of truth as the other. S. Matthew s. Matthew's 
 
 Y . Gospel. 
 
 introduces us to the generations of Jesus Christ the 
 Son of David, the Son of Abraham / S. Mark to the 
 beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God. In the one we have the human descent of Him, 
 who was the promised seed in which the whole earth 
 should be blessed; in the other a plain and oracular 
 declaration of the divine Sonship of Him, who is with- 
 out father, without mother, without descent, having 
 neither beginning of days nor end of life. The true 
 harmony of the Gospels is seen in the comparison of 
 such opposite views of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Is this verse to be regarded in the light of a title 
 or table of contents to the book which follows? It 
 is indeed a worthy title, and the whole contents of 
 the book may certainly be summed up by saying, that 
 
2 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, they constitute the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God. Nevertheless it was perhaps not the intention 
 
 — of S. Mark that his opening sentence should be so 
 
 construed; he probably wished rather to declare that 
 the beginning of the Gospel, the opening of Christ's 
 Ministry, the manner in which Jesus of Nazareth was 
 declared to be the Messiah, were in conformity with 
 the plan and purposes of God as declared by His pro- 
 phets, according to the words quoted from the pro- 
 phetical books in the verses following. 
 The verse But whatever view we take of the words, they mani- 
 compared f egt jy f orm a ver y smT pl e and majestic opening of the 
 
 famoufcon- history of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there is one 
 remark which may be made upon them, and which 
 gives them a very great interest. This Gospel of 
 S. Mark is according to the tradition of antiquity, and 
 (as we shall see hereafter) according also to internal 
 evidence, in reality the Gospel of S. Peter. Let us 
 call to mind then S. Peter's famous confession con- 
 cerning his Lord. Whom say ye that I am? said 
 Christ ; Peter answered, Tliou art the Christ, the Son 
 of the living God; and upon that confession our Lord 
 spoke some wonderful words, which S. Peter could 
 never forget. Can we be surprised then that if S. Peter 
 ever composed a Gospel, he should open it with a repe- 
 tition of the confession which he once made? At all 
 events the coincidence between S. Peter's confession, 
 and what may be called S. Peter's Gospel, is certainly 
 worthy of remark, and to thoughtful persons very full of 
 meaning. 
 First a.n<i 2. As it is written in the prophets. Behold, I send My 
 
 references to messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare TJiy 
 way before Thee. 3. The voice of one crying in the 
 
& MARK'S GOSPEL. 3 
 
 wilderness, Prepare ye the ivay of the Lord, make His Chap. 
 paths straight. •*-• 
 
 S. Mark does not very frequently refer to the ful- 
 
 filment of Old Testament prophecy in the history of Therefe - 
 
 L J- J «/ rences to 
 
 the Lord Jesus, but in this case he gives us more than g™^ * 
 one portion of Scripture to connect John the Baptist ^SJStJ 
 with the ancient promises concerning the coming of 
 Messiah. And indeed there is a fitness in the prophecies 
 selected by S. Mark to follow his opening announcement 
 of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which may possibly 
 be overlooked, but which is nevertheless worthy of 
 attention. If we turn to the passage of Isaiah which 
 he has quoted, as it stands in our Bibles, we shall find 
 that it runs thus : Prepare ye the way of the Lord, 
 make straight in the desert a highway for our God ; 
 S. Mark gives it, make His paths straight; and the 
 meaning no doubt is the same, but the comparison of 
 the other form of the passage calls to our minds the 
 fact, that His paths are the paths of our God, and that 
 the preparation of the way in the wilderness spoken 
 of by the prophet follows therefore with propriety 
 upon the announcement of the divine nature of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The passage from Malachi, as given by S. Mark, may 
 be compared with its form in the Old Testament with 
 a like result. S. Mark gives it, Shall prepare Thy 
 way before Thee; but in the prophet's own book the 
 words are, Shall prepare the way before Me, and the 
 passage is followed by some very mysterious language 
 concerning the Lord suddenly coming to His Temple. 
 Now this change from Me to Thee in a form of words 
 spoken of a divine person is difficult to understand, 
 except by taking into account that the subject of the 
 
 b2 
 
4 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, prophecy is one who might be spoken of, either as Jesus 
 Christ, or as the Son of God. 
 
 It may be observed that these two prophetical verses 
 are introduced somewhat in the way of a parenthesis ; 
 but it is a parenthesis, which a skilful writer, or professed 
 historian, would not have introduced until he had told 
 us something concerning S. John the Baptist; the 
 verses are an explanation of S. John's mission, and 
 a commentary upon it, given before the story of the 
 mission itself has been told. This is in keeping with 
 many other features of this Gospel, and is worthy of 
 note as being precisely what might have been expected 
 from one, who was called, not from the class of the 
 learned, but from his fishing-boat on the lake of Galilee, 
 to be an Apostle and Evangelist. 
 s. Matt. 4. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach 
 
 "s.Liike the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 
 ' 5. And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, 
 
 and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him 
 in the river of Jordan , confessing their sins. 
 Theintro- The expression here rendered, John did baptize, is 
 john 1( the° more emphatic in the original. The words imply rather, 
 thThTstory! John appeared and baptized, or John came and baptized; 
 his introduction into the narrative is thus a little more 
 ceremonious (so to speak) than it is according to the 
 English translation. Either way it is to be noted that 
 the Evangelist gives no account of S. John the Baptist, 
 who he was or what he was ; S. Luke, who collected and 
 recorded in his Gospel so many particulars concerning the 
 birth and early portions of the Lord's life, also gives us 
 the history of John's birth ; but S. Mark assumes, either 
 that his readers will know who he was, or else that 
 it is not very important that they should know. This 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 5 
 
 is very characteristic of S. Mark's Gospel; viewed on Chap. 
 
 the human side it may be said to indicate the hand *■ 
 
 of one who was not a skilful historian, viewed on the 
 
 divine it shadows forth that which in another Gospel 
 we find declared more distinctly, namely, that the true 
 description of the Baptist was a man sent from God. . s. John 
 
 These verses which introduce the mission of the 
 Baptist may be rightly connected with the first verse 
 of the chapter. I have already remarked, in comment- 
 ing upon that verse, that it forms a very fitting title 
 or table of contents to the book of which it is the 
 opening, but that probably S. Mark chiefly intended 
 by it to point out that the beginning of the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ was in accordance with the announce- 
 ments of the prophets, as quoted in the second and third 
 verses. I now add that the first verse is as intimately 
 connected with the fourth and fifth verses as with the 
 second and third : in the two former S. Mark shews 
 the relation of the Gospel to the prophets, in the two 
 latter and those following he reveals its still more 
 important relation to the ministry of John the Baptist. 
 
 This connection will be seen very clearly, if we omit Thepreach- 
 the second and third verses, or regard them as entirely was the be- 
 
 •ni ginning of 
 
 parenthetical ; the burden ot the passage will then the Gospel. 
 be that the appearance of John in the wilderness, and 
 his preaching of the baptism of repentance for the 
 remission of sins, was the beginning of the Gospel of the 
 Son of God. And indeed the preaching of such a bap- 
 tism must ever be the beginning of so glorious a Gospel : 
 there can be no remission of sins without repentance; 
 John must come first, Christ afterwards ; the sense and 
 knowledge of sin must precede the good news that 
 sin can be pardoned through Jesus Christ. 
 
A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 
 I. 
 6—8. 
 
 S. Matt. 
 iii. 4—11. 
 
 S. Luke 
 iii. 16. 
 
 Character 
 of S. John 
 the Baptist 
 and his 
 ministry. 
 
 S. Mark's 
 summary of 
 S. John's 
 preaching. 
 
 6. And John ivas clothed with cameVs hair, and 
 luith a girdle of a shin about his loins ; and he did 
 eat locusts and wild honey ; 7. And preached, saying, 
 There comcth One mightier than I after me, the latchet 
 of whose shoes I am not wortliy to stoop down and 
 unloose. 8. i" indeed have baptized you with ivater : 
 but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. 
 
 S. John the Baptist is a man marked by his ap- 
 pearance and his habits of life wherever we meet with 
 him. He is one of those men whose very dress seems 
 a part of their character. I am not aware that any 
 one of the Evangelists describes S. John by speaking 
 of the qualities of his mind ; they do not say that he was 
 a bold man, or a self-denying man, or a strange man ; 
 but they mention a few of his deeds and give us the 
 picture of him with which we are all so familiar, the 
 camel's hair and the leathern girdle, and they describe 
 him as living in the wilderness on such wild food 
 as the wilderness afforded. How strange, according 
 to human estimate, that this wild eccentric man should 
 have been spoken of by the Lord Jesus as the greatest 
 of those born of woman from the beginning up to that 
 time! 
 
 S. Mark tells us nothing concerning John that we 
 do not already know from S. Matthew, and indeed 
 he omits much that S. Matthew has recorded of the 
 details of his ministry. But there is one point worthy 
 of notice in the record which S. Mark has given us. 
 He has described his book in the opening verse of it as 
 the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and he loses 
 no time in shewing us how the prophets of old pointed 
 to the advent of this Son of God, and how S. John 
 the Baptist was the divine messenger to prepare His 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 7 
 
 way. Now S. John had a message and a baptism Chap. 
 of his own, and his preaching was emphatically a 6 _j g 
 
 preaching of repentance for the remission of sins, as 
 
 S. Mark himself tells us. Hence it is not to be passed 
 over without notice, that when S. Mark proceeds to tell us 
 what S. John said in his preaching, he omits all mention 
 of repentance and produces that part of the preaching 
 which referred to the incomparable glory of Jesus 
 Christ. There cometh One mightier than I after me, 
 the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop 
 down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with 
 loater : but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. 
 The interest which belonged to S. John's ministry 
 as the means of convincing the people of sin, rousing 
 a generation of spiritual sluggards, persuading them 
 to repent and turn to God, was to a considerable Extent 
 confined to the generation to whom he preached; the 
 fact of permanent interest was this, that he testified from 
 the very first that there was a greater than himself to 
 come, that his preaching was only the beginning of the 
 Gospel of the Son of God. 
 
 9. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus s.Matt. 
 
 7 7*7 ^ 1U- 13 ~ 17 ' 
 
 came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of s. Luke 
 John in Jordan. 10. And straightway coming up 
 out of the water, he saw the heavens opened^ and the 
 
 1 The word translated opened is different from that used by S. Matthew 
 in the parallel passage : it implies a rending or dividing of that which had 
 not been divided before : not the opening of a door, but the rending of a 
 garment. The force of the expression will be seen from the following 
 passages in which it is used : the veil of the Temple was rent (S. Matt, 
 xxvii. 51) ; the rocks were rent (ibid.) ; let us not rend it (S. John xix. 24) ; 
 the net was not broken (S. John xxi. 11). It is unnecessary to point out 
 the appropriateness of such a word to that opening of the Heavens, which 
 was effected when the Son of God came into the world. 
 
8 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him. 11. And 
 _ there came a voice from Heaven, saying, Thou art My 
 beloved Son, in ivhom I am ivell pleased. 
 
 The Gospels Note the manner in which Nazareth is here for 
 hitoS ete the first time introduced. S. Mark gives no explanation 
 why our Lord came from Nazareth rather than from 
 any other place ; the explanation is found in the Gospel 
 of S. Luke, who tells us that Nazareth was the place 
 where He was brought up, or in that of S. Matthew, 
 who tells us that after the return from Egypt Nazareth 
 was the abode of the holy family. This mode of 
 writing is worthy of remark, because it shews us at the 
 very opening of this Gospel how much it differs in 
 its principle of composition from a complete and orderly 
 history of the Lord's life, and therefore how liable we 
 shall be to fall into mistakes if we treat it as a complete 
 and orderly history, and forget the fragmentary charac- 
 ter, which, whatever may be the reason, undoubtedly 
 belongs in a degree to each one of the Gospels. 
 
 It is worth observing also, that S. Mark describes 
 Nazareth as Nazareth of Galilee ; now there was no 
 other Nazareth, and therefore the description might 
 appear unnecessary; and so indeed it was for S. Mat- 
 thew, but this Gospel having been published at Home 
 might with advantage supply for its readers an ex- 
 planation concerning Nazareth, which the inhabitants 
 of the Holy Land did not require. 
 The bap- It is of more importance however to remark the 
 
 Sifted to" manner, in which the wonderful event recorded in these 
 sonshipT" 3 verses tends to the setting forth of the great truth with 
 which the Gospel opens. Even the omission of the 
 conversation between our Lord and S. John before 
 the baptism assists towards this end; suffer it to be 
 
I. 
 
 9" 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 9 
 
 50 noio, said our Lord to the Baptist who shrank from Chap. 
 baptizing Him, for so it becometh us to fulfil all righteous- 
 ness; these words which introduce the thought of the 
 present humiliation of the Son of God, of His doing 
 things now which did not belong to His highest nature, 
 are omitted by S. Mark, and we have the simple picture 
 of the opening of the Heavens, the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit, and the testimony to the divine Sonship of 
 the Lord Jesus. Thou art My beloved Son, said the 
 voice, speaking according to S. Mark to the Saviour 
 Himself; the voice came however not for His sake, 
 but for ours, as He Himself declared on another oc- 
 casion; it preached to the hearers, and through them 
 to us, the great truth upon which the Church is founded, 
 the reconciliation of God and man through the eternal 
 and well-beloved Son. 
 
 12. And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into s. Matt. 
 the wilderness. s. Luke 
 
 The word by which S. Mark connects the Temptation 'connection 
 in the wilderness with the Baptism is stronger, or rather Baptfsmand 
 closer, than that used by S. Matthew. S. Matthew Temptation, 
 says then, S. Mark uses the word immediately ; x and 
 the effect of the word is to shew the intimate union 
 between two events, which to a careless reader might 
 appear as much contrasted as any two events could 
 be. Indeed it would have been difficult for any one 
 to anticipate that the immediate result of being declared 
 
 1 The frequent use of the Greek word of which this is a translation is 
 one of the characteristics of S. Mark's style. It occurs eight times in 
 this first chapter, and (I helieve) as many as thh*ty-nine times in the 
 course of the Gospel. Its very frequent repetition is disguised in the 
 English version by the use of equivalent terms, as straightway, forthwith, 
 
10 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 I. 
 
 12, 13. 
 
 S. Matt. 
 iv. 11. 
 
 S. Luke 
 iv. 2. 
 
 the Son of God would be an exile into the wilderness 
 and a terrible spiritual struggle while there. 
 
 If however we observe that it was the Spirit that 
 declared the Lord's glorious Sonship, and that it was 
 the same Spirit which immediately drove Him into the 
 wilderness, we may learn the power of the Spirit's 
 operations, whether the effect of them be to do honour to 
 the sons of God or to bring pain and trouble upon them : 
 in either case there can be no delay, and it may be 
 added that in either case the result is to give honour to 
 Almighty God: when Jesus was declared to be the 
 beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleased, 
 then God was glorified; and when Jesus was driven 
 into the wilderness and brought into conflict with Satan 
 and proved victorious, then God was glorified too. 
 
 Perhaps also the immediately of S. Mark may 
 express the readiness with which the Lord performed 
 His Father's will. No hanging back from duty, however 
 painful : till thirty years of age Jesus remained passive, 
 the fire might have burned within Him, but it was His 
 duty to refrain Himself: now the baptism with the 
 Spirit had publicly consigned Him as the Messiah, and 
 therefore immediately He commenced His work, entering 
 upon that conflict which was the type of His whole 
 conflict with evil, and obtaining that victory which was 
 the foretaste of His entire conquest of all that opposes 
 itself to the will of God. 
 
 13. And He was there in the wilderness forty days y 
 tempted of Satan ; and was with the wild beasts / and 
 the angels ministered unto Him. 
 
 The contrast between this very compressed account 
 of the Lord's temptation and the much fuller one given 
 
 Peculiari- 
 ties of 
 S. Mark's 
 
 the Tempta- both by S. Matthew and S. Luke can hardly fail to 
 
8. MARKS GOSPEL. 11 
 
 attract the attention of the reader of the Gospels. It Chap 
 is impossible to decide and useless to speculate upon 
 
 the reasons, which led S. Mark to give so brief a history 
 
 of so important a passage in the Lord's life; but we 
 may note the fact as at least an indication of the 
 independence of the Evangelists, and we may observe 
 that S. Mark's mention of the temptation shews, that, 
 although for some reason he narrated it scantily, he felt 
 its overwhelming importance as an essential part of the 
 Lord's ministry. 
 
 We may be thankful also that we have the more 
 detailed histories of S. Matthew and S. Luke. How 
 difficult it must have been to have imagined S. Mark's 
 meaning, if we had simply had his words left to us, 
 tempted of Satan! how dangerous might have been 
 the speculations fastened upon the words, and how im- 
 possible for any one to have arrived at the truth ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the brevity of S. Mark's account 
 however, he has inserted something which the other 
 Evangelists have omitted. He says that our Lord was 
 with the loild beasts, which some have interpreted fanci- 
 fully as implying that the fierce creatures were not fierce 
 to Him, 1 that the picture which poets have drawn of 
 the peace of Paradise was realized during the Lord's 
 presence amongst His wild creatures. The real in- 
 tention probably is to mark the extreme desolation 
 and wildness of the scene of the Lord's temptation, 
 
 1 So Milton, {Par. R. Bk. i. 309.) 
 
 hunger' d then at last 
 
 Among wild beasts : they at His sight grew mild, 
 Nor sleeping Him nor waking harm'd; His walk 
 The fiery serpent fled and noxious worm, 
 The lion and fierce tiger glared aloof. 
 
12 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, to remind us that it was to Him, as to ourselves, painful 
 -*-• to be driven from the haunts of our fellow-men and 
 
 to be compelled to hunger in utter solitude with only- 
 wild beasts and creeping things for companions. And 
 the mention of the wild beasts stands in beautiful con- 
 trast with that of the ministering angels; the wild 
 beasts were there, but there were angels too ; and when 
 the struggle with Satan was over, these blessed creatures 
 sustained the fainting nature which Christ had been 
 pleased to assume; this was their chief ministration, but 
 it may be that S. Mark intends to express that through- 
 out the whole forty days these unseen guardians were 
 there, watching the beloved Son, and ready to preserve 
 Him from harm. 1 
 
 s. Matt. 14. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus 
 
 came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom 
 of God, 2 15. And saying, The time is fulfilled, and 
 the kingdom of God is at hand ; repent ye, and believe 
 the gospel. 
 
 Thepreach- S. Matthew tells us that Jesus began to preach, and 
 
 Sfiist ac- to say, Repent : for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand ; 
 
 s?Mark.° S. Mark gives the preaching of the Lord somewhat 
 more fully, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God 
 is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. The two 
 additions which S. Mark makes are both of them im- 
 portant and may each receive a few words of comment. 
 
 1 Lightfoot observes that " forty days He was tempted by Satan in- 
 visibly, and Angels ministered to Him visibly. Satan at last put on the 
 appearance of an Angel of light, and pretending to wait on Him, as the 
 rest also did, hid his hook of temptation the more artificially." A fanciful 
 view, but rather a striking one. 
 
 2 Observe that S. Mark here speaks of the imprisonment of John as 
 a circumstance well known; the full account of the imprisonment is 
 given afterwards in Chap. vi. 
 
14, *5- 
 
 8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 13 
 
 The time is fulfilled. Then the coming of the king- Chap. 
 dom of Heaven was all in accordance with the determi- 
 nate connsel and foreknowledge of God. This we 
 might have concluded for ourselves from our general 
 knowledge of the ways and the character of God ; but 
 we are perhaps apt to forget, when we consider the life 
 and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that this was 
 the point to which all previous dealings of God with 
 mankind pointed, and to which therefore all previous 
 history tended. All creation had been groaning and 
 travailing in pain, and this was the great birth in which 
 the labour was to end. It was a glorious belief which 
 the Jewish Church of old was permitted to enjoy, that 
 the kingdom of God was coming; holy men were 
 able to support their souls, in the midst of much evil 
 and much that seemed to be against them and against 
 all good, by the persuasion that evil was not to gain 
 the day, but that God would at length assert His 
 sovereignty, that is, would cause His kingdom to come ; 
 and so completely was this the life of the ancient 
 Church, that no prayer was deemed complete which 
 did not contain a longing petition for the coming of the 
 kingdom of God. Very musical therefore to the hearts 
 of waiting saints would be the words of our Lord, TJie 
 time is fulfilled; the night is past ; the day has broken ; 
 the kingdom, of which you have so long heard, is now 
 at hand. 
 
 Repent ye, and believe the gospel. So S. Mark 
 reports the Lord's preaching ; not merely the repentance 
 mentioned by S. Matthew, but faith in the Gospel 
 added. And the point chiefly notable is this, that the 
 result of repentance should be thus distinctly repre- 
 sented as belief in a Gospel, that is, the hearty reception 
 
14 — 20. 
 
 14 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of a message, not of wrath and vengeance, at least not 
 *■ of these primarily, but emphatically of love. Repent, 
 says our Saviour, — and what? Hope for the best? 
 tremble lest your repentance should be of no avail? 
 no — but, believe that God has sent His beloved Son 
 into the world, and by Him asserted His sovereignty, 
 and claimed you as His children, and adopted you as 
 His sons! 
 s. Matt. 16. Now as lie walked by the sea of Galilee, he 
 
 saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net 
 into the sea: for they were fishers. 17. And Jesus 
 said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make 
 you to become fishers of men. 18. And straightiuay 1 
 they forsook their nets, and followed Him. 19. And 
 when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James 
 the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also 
 were in the ship mending their nets. 20. And straight- 
 way He called them : and they left their father Zebedee 
 in the ship with the hired servants^ and went after Him. 
 The can of This passage agrees almost exactly with the parallel 
 Andrew, passage in S. Matthew's Gospel ; so exactly, that any 
 John.' one who places them side by side can have no doubt 
 in his mind as to the fact of their being originally 
 the same account, certain unimportant alterations having 
 been introduced by S. Matthew. 
 
 Nevertheless some remarks may be made upon the 
 passage as it occurs in this Gospel. It will be observed 
 that we here see S. Peter for the first time appearing 
 as the narrator of what he saw himself; the Simon 
 whom the Lord saw as He walked by the sea of Galilee 
 was probably (as before remarked) no other than the 
 
 1 Straighttvay. Happy are they who without delay follow Him. 
 — Bbngbl. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 15 
 
 actual author of this Gospel; and if we bear this in Chap. 
 mind we can understand why, passing over all other -*-• 
 
 intermediate events, passing over even those interviews 
 
 which we know from S. John that S. Peter had had 
 with Christ, he should come at once to the call which 
 he received to leave his fishing-nets and follow Jesus. 
 This was the great event in his own spiritual history, 
 and in recording for the benefit of himself and of his 
 fellows an account of the Lord's early ministry this 
 would stand out beyond all other events as one to be 
 written in letters of gold. Nor was it only to S. Peter 
 and those called with him that this walk of Jesus 
 by the sea of Galilee was a notable event ; it was the 
 beginning of the Church of Christ, the primary ordination 
 held by the great Bishop of souls of those who should 
 preach His Gospel to the world. Such are the ways 
 of God ; so apparently simple are the means by which 
 the greatest results are brought about: a poor man 
 known as the son of a carpenter is walking by a lake, 
 there are two boats upon it, and some poor fishermen 
 in them, and this is the first scene in that great drama 
 which was to occupy the world until the end of time ; 
 these fishermen are to be more famous than any of the 
 earth's heroes, and are to shake kingdoms, and overturn 
 religions, and produce the deepest and most lasting 
 change in the condition of mankind that had been 
 witnessed since the creation of the human race. 
 
 Observe before leaving the passage the minuteness 
 of the description, as indicative of the account having 
 come from an eye-witness. The particular mode of 
 fishing, by means of what we should call perhaps a 
 cast-net, is mentioned in the sixteenth verse ; the occupa- 
 tion of the sons of Zebedee, mending their nets, is given 
 
16 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, in the nineteenth; and in the twentieth we have 
 !• mention of hired servants as being in the boat with 
 
 '— Zebedee, — a little circumstance this, which would be 
 
 known to Simon, who was partner with James and 
 
 John, and which seems to be introduced here for the 
 
 purpose of shewing that the sons of Zebedee did not 
 
 leave their father alone when they forsook their nets to 
 
 follow Christ. 
 
 s.Luke 21. And they went into Capernaum: and straight- 
 
 Compare way on the Sabbath-day He entered into the synagogue 
 
 s.Matt. anc j tau g] lt ^ 22. And they were astonished at His 
 
 doctrine : for He taught them as one that had authority , 
 
 and not as the Scribes. 
 
 Christ at S. Matthew tells us distinctly, that when Jesus 
 
 Capernaum, j^^ ^ j^ ^ baptist was cast j nto prison, He 
 
 departed into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth came and 
 dwelt at Capernaum. We may infer this choice of 
 Capernaum for a residence from what S. Mark has 
 written, although he has nowhere expressly asserted 
 it. Capernaum has not been mentioned hitherto; and 
 now when it is mentioned, we find our Lord with 
 disciples following Him, and it is they who are spoken 
 of as entering into Capernaum. We see here, as in 
 so many other cases, the abrupt character of S. Mark's 
 writing, and the wide difference between it and an 
 ordinary history. 
 
 Straightway He entered the synagogue and taught : 
 the word straightway 1 may indicate the Lord's zeal 
 for His work : His mission was clear, and admitted 
 of no delay. And perhaps it may be not fanciful to 
 observe the entire absence of all consultation with the 
 Apostles : as in the case of the feeding of the multitude 
 1 See note at foot of page 9. 
 
21, 22. 
 
 8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 17 
 
 in the wilderness, He Himself knew what He would do : Chap. 
 He had chosen His disciples, not that He might con- ** 
 suit them, but that they might follow Him. 
 
 It should be observed also that the language of 
 S. Mark implies, not only zeal in entering upon the 
 work, but persistency in carrying it on. On the Sabbath 
 day should rather be on the Sabbath days, and implies 
 a habit, a custom, a regular occupation so often as the 
 day of assembly in the synagogue came round. And 
 if it appear strange that a young man, and he having 
 no special outward claim, should be permitted thus 
 to teach in the synagogue, it must be remembered that 
 this was according to the custom of the Jews : * and so 
 we find in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles that 
 S. Paul availed himself of the custom continually to 
 preach Jesus Christ. 
 
 But though teaching in the synagogue was customary, 
 such teaching as that which the people of Capernaum now 
 heard was anything but customary. They were astonished 
 at what they heard. Sabbath after Sabbath the difference 
 between the teaching of Jesus and that of the Scribes 
 would grow wider and wider to their view : teaching 
 so deep, so practical, so free from all the cobwebs of 
 tradition, resting upon the solemn personal authority 
 of the speaker, and upon an appeal to the consciences 
 
 1 Lightfoot, commenting upon S. Luke iv. 16, writes : " That we may- 
 frame the better judgment of this action of our Saviour, let us a little 
 
 look into the customs of the Synagogue He that read in the 
 
 prophets was called Maphtir ; and was appointed to that office by the 
 
 Ruler of the Synagogue It is probable that Christ did at this 
 
 time offer Himself as a Maphtir, one that would read in the prophets, 
 and preach upon what He read ; not beforehand appointed to it by the 
 Ruler of the Synagogue, but rather, approved on when He had offered 
 Himself." 
 
18 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of the hearers : teaching also supported by a life of 
 _ piety and charity during the week between Sabbath 
 
 and Sabbath: never had there been such teaching in 
 
 Capernaum before; and inasmuch as S. Matthew gives 
 the same verdict concerning it after the conclusion of 
 the Sermon on the Mount, which S. Mark gives as 
 passed by the people who heard the Lord in the syna- 
 gogue, I conclude that the words which they have re- 
 corded express, not what was said by a few persons on 
 one occasion, but the impression produced upon the 
 minds of the men of Capernaum by the general tenor 
 of the Lord's teaching. 
 
 s.Luke 23. And there was in their synagogue a man with 
 
 an unclean spirit ; and he cried out, 24. Saying, Let 
 us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Tliou Jesus 
 of Nazareth ? art Thou come to destroy us ? I know 
 Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. 25. And 
 Jesus rebuked him, saying, Sold thy peace, and come 
 out of him. 26. And when the unclean spirit had 
 torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out 
 of him. 27. And they were all amazed, insomuch 
 that they questioned among themselves, saying, What 
 thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with 
 authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and 
 they do obey Him. 28. And immediately His fame 
 spread abroad throughout all the region round about 
 Galilee. 
 
 The first This is the first miracle recorded by S. Mark. It 
 
 copied by is one in which our Lord asserted His authority over 
 the unseen powers of darkness, and so in a very especial 
 manner vindicated His divine character. Perhaps it 
 may not be fanciful to observe, that this beginning 
 of miracles bears to the opening of S. Mark's Gospel 
 
 S. Mark. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 19 
 
 the same kind of relation as is borne to the opening Chap. 
 of S. Matthew's Gospel by that which in his Gospel _ 
 is the beginning of our Lord's miracles. S. Matthew 
 
 'a 
 
 exhibits Jesus as the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, 
 and the first miracle is the healing of leprosy, that 
 disease which occupies so conspicuous a place in Hebrew 
 law and history; and when our Lord performed the 
 miracle, He commanded the leper to go and shew 
 himself to the priests and offer the gifts prescribed 
 by Moses. S. Mark exhibits Jesus as the Son of 
 God, and the first miracle which he records is one 
 which more than any other brings out that character 
 in its fulness; the Son of God alone can bind Satan 
 in chains. 
 
 Another point of interest is brought out from the Christ 
 history of this miracle by comparing it with what we demons Is 
 read in S. Matthew's Gospel. S. Matthew gives us Nazareth. 
 the words as spoken by the prophets, He shall be called 
 a Nazarene, and the question of Nathanael recorded by 
 S. John, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? 
 is sufficient to shew, that the being called a Nazarene 
 chiefly implied being called so in contempt. Is it not 
 therefore very instructive, and also very affecting, to find 
 our blessed Lord first hailed under this name, according 
 to S. Mark's Gospel, by the mouth of an evil spirit? 
 The language is notable, not so much because it proves 
 the hatred of the evil spirits against Christ, which might 
 be taken for granted, as because it indicates the true 
 source from which human hatred of Christ comes. 
 Human beings who adopt the fearful language, What 
 have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth, take 
 up the true language of devils; they have nothing to 
 do with Jesus, but men have everything to do with 
 
 c2 
 
2 3 
 
 20 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Him; devils can have no communion with Christ, 
 ■k it is death to men to be separated from Him. 1 
 
 L Note also that the evil spirits, who hailed the Lord 
 
 as Jesus of Nazareth, nevertheless ended by confessing 
 Him to be the Holy One of God: 2 and so they also 
 who reject Christ, as the evil spirits rejected Him, 
 will be compelled by His power to confess that character, 
 which they would not confess when constrained by His 
 love. 
 
 Before leaving these verses, observe that the people 
 rightly connected the Lord's wonderful works with 
 His wonderful teaching. They said, What new doctrine 
 is this? for with authority commandeth He even the 
 unclean spirits. According to some manuscripts of the 
 Gospel it should be, This is a neio doctrine with au- 
 thority, or with power; and this form of the words, 
 though not so probably correct as that which our English 
 Bibles give us, nevertheless brings out clearly the 
 thought, which the words as given by them contain: 
 it was no doubt the doctrine with authority , which seized 
 upon the minds of the people; it was not that they 
 
 1 "The presence of the Saviour is the torment of evil spirits." — 
 Bede. 
 
 2 S. Augustine remarks : " Peter says, TJwu art Christ the Son of the 
 living God: the devils also say, We know Thee who Thou art, the Holy 
 One of God. This is the confession of Peter, this too is the confession of 
 devils : the "words are the same, the spirit is different. And how does it 
 appear that Peter said this with the feeling of love ? Because the faith 
 of a Christian is a loving faith : that of devils has no love. How has no 
 love ? Peter said this, that he might embrace Christ : the devils, that 
 Christ might depart from them. For before they exclaimed, We Jcnoiv 
 Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God, they had said, What have we to 
 do with Thee ? hast Thou come to torment us before tlie time ? It is one 
 thing to confess Christ, that you may keep Him near you ; it is another 
 to confess Christ, that you may drive Him from you." 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 21 
 
 had got among them a mere magician or wonderworker, Chap. 
 but that they had got one among them who could _ 
 teach them, tell them the things they most wanted 
 
 to know, and give proof by His works of the authority 
 of His words. 
 
 29. And forthwith, when they were come out of s.Matt. 
 the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon , s. Luke ' 
 and Andrew , with James and John. 30. But Simons 
 wife's mother lay sick of a fever ; and anon they tell Miracle. 
 Him of her. 31. And He came and took her by the 
 hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever 
 left her j and she ministered unto them. 
 
 The house of Simon and Andrew, which is mentioned Peter's 
 
 •* . house. 
 
 in these verses, is one of which we hear a good deal 
 in S. Mark's Gospel. It was apparently for some time 
 the Lord's home in Capernaum. S. Peter, the real 
 source (as before remarked) of the materials of this 
 Gospel, was able beyond all others to describe what 
 took place within the doors of this house; and ac- 
 cordingly we observe a minuteness of detail in his 
 descriptions, which we might have expected from an 
 eyewitness, and which is lost in S. Matthew and S. 
 Luke. Thus we find in this Gospel the mention of 
 James and John as being members of the party which 
 went into Peter's house from the synagogue; and the 
 house is described as belonging to Peter and Andrew 
 his brother, not to Peter alone, as might have appeared 
 from S. Matthew and S. Luke. 
 
 These little matters are by no means unworthy of 
 the attention of the student of the Gospels. Even the 
 description of the Lord's treatment of the invalid, He 
 took her by the hand and lifted her up, will probably 
 strike him as indicating the narration of one who was 
 
22 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, present at the scene. Indeed, so graphic is this account, 
 _ that some, who have desired to injure the authority 
 
 of the Gospels, have marked this portion of history 
 
 as one which could not be truly reported by S. Mark, 
 because he was not an eyewitness, as the narrator must 
 manifestly have been. But without any reference to 
 mere evidence of the truth of the history, the reader 
 of the Gospels will be glad to perceive marks which 
 identify S. Peter's hand, and bring him into more 
 familiar acquaintance with that house by the side of the 
 Lake, in which our Lord was pleased to take up His 
 abode. 
 contrast Passing to more important considerations, we may 
 
 the first note the contrast in character between this second 
 the second, miracle recorded by S. Mark and the first. The first 
 was a public assumption of power over evil spirits; 
 the second is a quite private exercise of power over 
 disease. The first was witnessed by a whole congre- 
 gation; the second by a few intimate friends. True, 
 the general effect of the two might be the same, namely, 
 to produce faith in Himself; but in the former case 
 this was the great end, in the latter it was only inci- 
 dental ; in the former we read of the amazement of the 
 people at the wonderful work they had seen, in the 
 latter the result is that Peter's wife's mother arose 
 and ministered unto them : she went about her household 
 work, and served Him who had healed her: mercy 
 to her, love to S. Peter, pity towards an afflicted family, 
 seem to have been the chief springs of this thoroughly 
 domestic act of mercy. 
 s.Matt. 32. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought 
 
 s.Luke unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were 
 
 iv. 40, 41. , 7 
 
 possessed with devils. 33. And all the city was gathered 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 23 
 
 together at the door. 34. And He healed many that Chap. 
 
 xoere sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils ; _ 
 
 and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew 
 
 Him. 
 
 We are told that the Lord used to teach in the observance 
 
 of the sab- 
 synagogue on the Sabbath day, and on the day of which bath. 
 
 this was the evening we find that He and His dis- 
 ciples had come out of the synagogue. Putting these 
 two things together, we perceive that it was when the 
 evening of the Sabbath was come that the diseased 
 people were brought to be healed ; and hence we under- 
 stand why those who brought them waited until the 
 sun did set. 
 
 It may perhaps be worthy of notice, that our Lord 
 did not blame these simple folks for waiting till the 
 Sabbath was past ; He did not tell them that they were 
 observing the day superstitiously, and that they would 
 have done better to have brought their sick before. 
 When He did afterwards perform works of mercy on 
 the Sabbath day, and the Pharisees complained that 
 the Sabbath was broken, then He vindicated His own 
 conduct and that of the persons who brought the sick 
 to be healed, and declared the true nature of the Sab- 
 bath ; but so long as a course of conduct was adopted 
 under the persuasion that it was pleasing to God, al- 
 though it might possibly argue a narrowness of religious 
 apprehension, the Saviour did not find fault. 
 
 All the city was gathered together at the door, says The excite- 
 
 o o o ■>> m ent pro- 
 
 S. Mark ; an expression implying the existence of an j^ e £ Jjj, 
 open space in front of S. Peter's house, to which we ministry, 
 shall find allusion made again hereafter, and worthy 
 of note therefore as recovering for us from the dim past 
 a slight peep at the Lord's home in Capernaum. The 
 
32—34- 
 
 not receive 
 testimony 
 from devils 
 
 
 24 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, expression is worthy of note also from the impression 
 •"-■ which it conveys of the excitement produced in Ca- 
 pernaum by our Lord's early ministry; the very ex- 
 aggeration contained in the phrase all the city helps 
 the impression, and is in keeping with the spirit of 
 the whole chapter, which is manifestly intended to give 
 a bright and striking though rapid sketch of the effect 
 produced in Galilee by the beginning of the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 
 
 Christ win One kind of testimony however Christ would not 
 receive. He would not suffer the demons to speak 
 because they hnew Him; He did not bridle their tongues 
 for fear of hearing from them words of hatred and 
 contempt and denial of His divine character, but He 
 would not permit them to do that which they would 
 have done, namely, proclaim Him to be Christ, the 
 Son of God. It has been suggested that the reason 
 of this was, that the Lord desired that His true character 
 should not be declared to the Pharisees, and that so at 
 present opposition should not be raised against Him ; 
 but I am disposed to hold the older opinion to be the 
 better one, namely, that independently of any con- 
 sideration of consequences He would not permit testi- 
 mony to be borne to the truth by the agents of the 
 Spirit of lies. 1 Even men may sometimes with their 
 lips confess Christ, and in consequence of the wickedness 
 of their lives, the confession may be an abomination. 
 
 s.Luke 35. And in the morning, rising up a great while 
 
 before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary 
 place, and there prayed. 36. And Simon and they 
 
 1 Compare S. Paul's conduct with regard to the damsel possessed with 
 a spirit of divination, Acts xvi. 18. 
 
 iv. 42—44 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 25 
 
 that were with him followed after Him. 37. And when Chap. 
 they had found Sim, they said unto Sim, All men 
 
 seek for Thee. 38. And He said unto them, Let us 
 
 go into the next towns, that L may preach there also: 
 for therefore came L forth. 39. And He preached in 
 their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out 
 devils. 
 
 The phrase translated a great while before day im- The Lord's 
 
 ,.,., -i -i ■ it> retirement 
 
 plies that night was not yet passed, that it was therefore for prayer, 
 still dark. Possibly the Lord availed Himself of the 
 darkness for the purpose of escaping from the importuni- 
 ties of His friends, and from the admiration of the people 
 of Capernaum. Possibly also S. Peter's cottage, con- 
 taining (as it now apparently did) not only his own family 
 but visitors besides, was not so suitable for the Lord's 
 solemn devotions as the desert place to which He retired. 
 
 Mark this retirement of the Lord from His friends 
 while they and others slept. It shews how earnestly 
 from the beginning of His ministry He watched for 
 our salvation : others might take rest in sleep, but He 
 must watch : zeal for the service of His Father will not 
 let Him rest as others do: He must awake right 
 early, and be doing His Father's business. 
 
 Note, again, that the extraordinary popularity which 
 He had attained in Capernaum was no reason with Him 
 why He should remain there. The question was, whether 
 He had done the work of His Father as it required to 
 be done ; and if so, He would not remain for the purpose 
 of basking in the sunshine of friendship and kindness. 
 Let us go and preach in the next towns also, for therefore 
 came L forth — the Gospel is not for Capernaum only, but 
 for the world; already the Catholic character of the Church 
 is exhibited, even in this mere embryo of its future 
 
I. 
 
 35—39 
 
 26 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, self; and the untiring effort necessary for the purpose of 
 building up that Church is already typified by the 
 conduct of its Founder. 
 
 Note, once more, that great fact which S. Mark alone 
 has recorded for us, namely, that Jesus did not retire to 
 a desert place merely for the sake of escaping from 
 Capernaum, but for the purpose of prayer. We are 
 thus let at once into a knowledge of the Lord's habit of 
 devotion : that which He did now, He did no doubt con- 
 tinually; this communion with His Father in solitary 
 places was that, which enabled Him to do His Father's 
 work so constantly and so vigorously in public. Some 
 have stumbled at the Saviour's habit of prayer, as 
 though it derogated from His divine character that He 
 should make petitions to God : they have explained it 
 by saying, that He prayed not from want, but for ex- 
 ample's sake : but away with such explanations : let us 
 embrace the mystery, let us not care to explain it ; and 
 let us say, as we may say without passing the bounds of 
 truth and without detracting an iota from our Saviour's 
 glory, that being perfect man He did that which perfect 
 man ever ought to do, namely, find His chief joy and 
 His chief source of support in communion with His 
 Father in Heaven. 
 s. Matt. 40. And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, 
 
 s - Juke and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If 
 Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. 41. And Jesus, 
 
 Third # ' ' 
 
 miracle. moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched 
 him, and saith unto him, I will ; be thou clean. 42. 
 And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the 
 leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43. 
 And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him 
 away; 44. And saith unto him. See thou say 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 27 
 
 nothing to any man : hut go thy way, shew thyself to Chap. 
 the priest j and offer for thy cleansing those things which 
 
 Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45. But 
 
 he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze 
 abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more 
 openly enter into the city, but was without in desert 
 places : and they came to Him from every quarter. 
 
 This is one of the miracles which is recorded by 
 all three of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 
 S. Matthew gives it peculiar prominence by making 
 it the first of the Lord's miracles which he records, 
 and there are indeed features in the miracle which make 
 it worthy of the prominence assigned it : in this place 
 however I shall lay stress, not upon the general facts 
 of the miracle, but rather upon those which S. Mark 
 has given in addition to those found in S. Matthew. 
 
 S. Mark and S. Matthew both tell us, that the Lord Disobedi- 
 
 1 . , ,, enceofthe 
 
 gave the healed leper strict orders not to tell any man h-eaied leper 
 what had been done, but S. Mark adds that the man L ° rd 's com- 
 
 ' mand. 
 
 disobeyed the command; and we see from the result 
 of his disobedience what the reason for the command 
 was. Jesus could no more openly enter into the city : 
 not apparently now from fear of persecution, but because 
 of the extreme excitement which His presence oc- 
 casioned: and, knowing best what would tend to the 
 furtherance of the gospel, He gave in certain cases 
 an injunction of secrecy concerning His mighty works ; 
 beyond doubt a temporary injunction only, and one 
 which is worthy of notice as suggesting to us that 
 the Lord did not work miracles entirely for the purpose 
 of what we call evidence, but that sometimes the con- 
 templated end could be effected, though the miracles 
 were kept as secret as possible. 
 
40—45- 
 
 28 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. The question may rise in our minds, — at all events 
 
 _ A e it is a curious question, — was this healed leper to blame 
 for setting at nought the Lord's command ? The answer 
 is perhaps this, that he would in this, as in all other 
 things, have done well to obey completely; at the 
 same time it is impossible not to believe, that the act 
 of disobedience was one which Christ would easily 
 pardon, seeing that it arose from love to Himself and 
 zeal for His honour. The case of those who in our 
 own days are led to do things, of which Christian 
 prudence cannot approve, is nearly parallel ; they do 
 what is not right, but yet it may be easily believed 
 that their fault is in some cases more easily pardoned, 
 than the coldness and apathy of those who undertake 
 to condemn them. 
 
 Jesus did not entirely abstain from entering the 
 city: He still entered it occasionally (as it were) by 
 stealth: but His home was the wilderness, and there, 
 as S. Luke tells us, He prayed: there too the people 
 sought Him, coming to Him from every quarter. What 
 a striking picture of the early portion of the Lord's 
 ministry, and what a contrast to that life of contempt 
 and sorrow upon which He was now entering ! 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. Chap. 
 
 II. 
 
 1. And again He entered into Capernaum after I ~ 4 ' 
 some days; and it was noised that He was in the house, s. Matt. 
 2. And straightway many were gathered together ', in- \ Luke 
 somuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not Y ' 
 so much as about the door : and He preached the word 
 unto them. 3. And they came unto Him^ bringing 
 one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4. And 
 when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, 
 they uncovered the roof where He was : and when they 
 had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the 
 sick of the palsy lay. 
 
 S. Mark's language implies that our Lord entered The crowd 
 Capernaum secretly, perhaps by night. But the news door. 
 of His being in the house, that is, in the house of Peter 
 and Andrew, of which the Evangelist has made mention 
 before, found its way into the city, and immediately 
 a crowd was gathered. The expression used by S. Mark 
 to describe this crowd is in the original very peculiar ; 
 he tells us that the space about the door was not suf- 
 ficient to hold the people, and thereby refers to the fact 
 that S. Peter's house had an open space before it, as we 
 found, though less distinctly, from an expression in the see page 23. 
 former chapter. And this mode of description, which 
 almost certainly indicates that we are reading the report 
 of an eyewitness, is the more worthy of observation, be- 
 cause we find it in company with other very marked 
 instances of the same style. Thus we observe that 
 
i—4. 
 
 30 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. S. Mark, in describing the manner of bringing the 
 !!•• paralytic to be healed, says that he was home of four ; 
 a little circumstance which an eyewitness might easily 
 set down, and which hardly any one but an eyewitness 
 would insert. But especially we note S. Mark's careful 
 account of the contrivance, by which the paralytic was 
 brought into the Lord's presence. They uncovered the 
 roof and so let the sick man down in his bed. This de- 
 scription has sometimes been carped at, 1 as though it 
 could not represent the truth ; but, independently of the 
 consideration that a person inventing a story would 
 
 1 " The sceptics of a former age," says Mr. Smith, in his work on the 
 Origin and Connection of the Gospels, " assuming that the construction 
 of Eastern houses was like the European houses of the present day, tell 
 us that such a proceeding was not only improhable, but must have been 
 destructive to those who were below. Strauss, on the other hand, tells 
 us that such a proceeding was unnecessary, and is at great pains to prove 
 that it was quite as easy to enter an Eastern house by the roof entrance, 
 as by that of the door, and therefore that the bearers, ' regardless of the 
 opening already existing, should uncover the roof, and let down the man 
 through an aperture newly broken, is highly improbable.' Now it is 
 quite true that the access to Eastern houses by the roof entrance is as 
 Strauss has represented it ; but he has not mentioned, what probably he 
 did not know, that the horizontal aperture in the flat roof had necessarily 
 a secondary roof or porch over it, to keep out the rain. The aperture 
 may be compared to the cabin hatchway of a ship, and the porch to the 
 companion. The main roof is covered with cement, but, if my memory 
 serves me right, the secondary roof is not unfrequently sloping, and 
 covered with tiles. It is fitted to allow persons in an upright posture to 
 enter ; but we can easily conceive that it might not be fitted to admit of 
 a person recumbent on a couch without removing the porch. The details 
 respecting the difficulty of entrance have no necessary connection with 
 the miracle, and are in themselves intrinsically unimportant, for a few 
 minutes might remove the tiles and a few hours replace them; they 
 might therefore be altogether omitted, or only incidentally noticed. 
 S. Matthew, in accordance with his style of narration, has adopted the 
 former plan ; S. Luke the latter. If, on the other hand, the original 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 31 
 
 not be likely gratuitously to throw in particulars which Chap, 
 could hamper his narrative, it is not difficult to shew, ^L 
 
 "by reference to the construction of Eastern houses, that . - 
 
 the process described by S. Mark is a very conceivable 
 one indeed. 
 
 Some interpreters have given a spiritual interpreta- 
 tion to the four bearers of this paralytic. They have 
 seen in them a figure of the four Evangelists, whose 
 office it is to bring sinners to Christ 1 ; and some have 
 seen in them a type of the four cardinal virtues, which 
 though they cannot heal men themselves can yet bring 
 them into the way of healing. These are pretty fancies, 
 and perhaps not unprofitable; in the present age we 
 should do well to regard as more important the evidence 
 
 author of the second Gospel was not only present, but it was in his own 
 house that the events took place, we can easily understand why he 
 should have related such a circumstance." 
 
 Lightfoot observes : Here I recollect the phrase, The way of the roof. 
 When R. Honna was dead, his bier could not be carried out through the 
 door, the door being too strait. Therefore they thought good to draw it 
 out and let it down through the roof or through the way of the roof. 
 
 1 "lam paralytic, since the powers of my soul are without motion or 
 operation towards anything that is good ; but if I shall be carried by the 
 four Evangelists, and brought by them unto the Lord, then shall I hear 
 Him say, Thy sins be forgiven thee." (Theophylact, quoted by Mr. Ford.) 
 
 In one of the Allegories attributed to Hugo de S. Victor the following 
 view is given of the whole history : " The house in which Jesus was 
 entertained stands for the Holy Scripture. The crowd who would not 
 let the paralytic be introduced sets forth the multitude of empty thoughts 
 which hide the sight of God from the sinful soul. The roof is uncovered 
 when the sublime and mystical sense of Scripture is laid open. Here 
 the paralytic is brought into the presence of Jesus : there his sin is for- 
 given him, He is called Son, and commanded to take up his bed and 
 walk ; for when a man truly comes to the knowledge of God, God heals 
 him by His grace from all that he has done amiss, and calls him a son by 
 adoption, and commands him to take up his bed by subduing the flesh 
 and to walk by means of good works." 
 
32 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 II. 
 
 S. Matt. 
 ix. 2-8. 
 
 S. Luke 
 v. 20—26. 
 
 Fourth 
 miracle. 
 
 The faith 
 of the 
 bearers. 
 
 which is afforded by such a trifling circumstance of the 
 hand of an eyewitness in the report of a miracle. 
 
 5. Wlien Jesus saw their faith. He said unto the 
 sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins he forgiven thee. 6. But 
 there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reason- 
 ing in their hearts, 7. Why doth this man thus speak 
 blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 
 
 8. And immediately, when Jesus perceived in His 
 spirit 1 that they so reasoned within themselves, He said 
 unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts ? 
 
 9. Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, 
 TJiy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say, Arise, and take 
 up thy bed and walk? 10. But that ye may know 
 that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive 
 sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11. i" say 
 unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way 
 into thine house. 12. And immediately he arose, took 
 up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch 
 that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, 
 We never saw it on this fashion. 
 
 Jesus saw their faith — it was precisely the kind of 
 faith which God loves, a faith which could be seen, 
 because it was a faith which shewed itself in works. 
 Even the pulling of tiles from the roof of a house 
 may be a holy action, and replete with blessing; the 
 commonest acts may be sanctified by the spirit which 
 dictates them. But what had the faith of these bearers 
 to do with the spirit of the paralytic ? did he participate 
 
 1 " The prophets knew things in the Spirit of God, not in their own ; 
 Christ in His own Spirit, which was omniscient and divine. But the 
 Holy Spirit is not called the Spirit of Christ hefore the great day of 
 Pentecost. It remains therefore that we must understand the Spirit of 
 Jesus to imply the divine nature which dwelt within Him." — Bengel. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 33 
 
 in the act of faith ? was it at his earnest entreaty that Chap. 
 he was carried into the presence of the Lord ? Probably _ • 
 
 this was so : but still the phrase their faith is sufficient 
 
 to prove, that it was not only the faith of the paralytic 
 to which Jesus looked, but also the faith of those who 
 bore him. Nor is this observation without its value 
 when we consider how essential a portion of our duty 
 it is to bring helpless persons, namely children, to 
 Christ, who can shew no faith of their own, and whom 
 nevertheless we trust that (in virtue of the faith of those 
 who bring them) God will address as His sons. 
 
 This name of son might be merely a term of kindness The title 
 as addressed by Christ to the paralytic : S. Luke seems 
 so to have considered it, for he gives us the word man 
 instead : but possibly the name may have deeper mean- 
 ing, and may imply that the man became a son because 
 his sins were forgiven ; for forgiveness is ever the 
 ground of adoption, and it is under the sense of free 
 pardon and grace that we are able to cry Abba, Father ! 
 
 The history of this miracle as given by S. Mark 
 is almost precisely the same as that given by S. Mat- 
 thew; wherever one is fuller than the other, it is that 
 of S. Mark. One slight difference between them, which Christ for. 
 consists merely in the order of a few words, and may fnlarth. 8 
 be accidental, I will just notice because it suggests 
 a useful train of thought. S. Matthew has the words, 
 the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins : 
 the words stand in S. Mark, hath power to forgive 
 sins on earth : the former phrase might mean that Christ 
 could give a promise on earth, which should be ratified 
 in Heaven at the last day; the latter would rather 
 imply the more blessed truth, that forgiveness of sins 
 is possible even now. What do we mean by forgiveness 
 
34 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of sins on earth? do we think merely of an escape 
 _ from final punishment ? There is a temptation to do so ; 
 but this is a very imperfect view of forgiveness ; for- 
 giveness may be perfect on earth, and the spiritual 
 blessings of adoption into God's family may be as 
 real in this world, as they ever can be in the world 
 to come. Moreover if sins be not forgiven on earth, 
 how shall they ever be forgiven ? 
 s.Matt. 13. And He went forth again by the sea-side; and 
 s. Luke all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught 
 
 v. 27—29. , ° 
 
 them. 14. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son 
 of Alphanis, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto 
 him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. 
 15. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in 
 his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together 
 with Jesus and His disciples : for they were many, and 
 they folloived Him. 
 The history This passage agrees very* nearlv with the parallel 
 
 of the call of . «■»*■■• i * . n ■, • i 
 
 s.Matthew place ol b. Matthew ; so nearly m tact that it may be 
 with that argued with much probability that the latter has been 
 s.Matthew taken from the same original as the former: and some 
 
 himself. ° ' 
 
 have ventured to rest upon this foundation doubts con- 
 cerning the authenticity of S. Matthew's Gospel. But 
 even if it should be granted that S. Matthew wrote the 
 account of his conversion in his own Gospel in the man- 
 ner in which S. Peter had recorded it, the admission 
 involves nothing very strange : many things are far 
 more improbable than that in a matter so nearly con- 
 cerning himself the Evangelist should prefer adopting 
 
 1 The chief difference is the substitution of the name of Matthew for 
 Levi, a change which (as Neander observes) is sufficiently accounted for 
 if we suppose that the person in question was designated in the one case 
 by his name, and in the other by his surname. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 35 
 
 a memoir already current amongst the disciples, and in- Chap. 
 troducing into it such modifications as his own modesty 
 
 suggested, to composing an entirely new history himself. 
 
 And this may be said confidently, that all the changes 
 which have been made are such as accord with the belief 
 that they were made by S. Matthew's own hand. 
 
 A remark suggests itself upon the phrase as He Jesus 
 passed by. The expression might seem to imply that 
 the passing by was quite accidental, as we should 
 call it ; that Jesus did not go to look for S. Matthew, 
 (or Levi as he is here called,) because He had heard 
 this or that concerning him, but that He happened to 
 see him in his toll-house as He passed from the sea-side 
 homewards. Doubtless the Lord knew what manner 
 of man it was that He was calling, and how valuable 
 a minister of His Gospel He was ordaining; but still 
 His conduct may be noted as typical of the manner, in 
 which many great events are brought about by God. 
 Things seem to be accidental, but there is a divine hand 
 at work beneath. Jesus passed by and called this 
 publican, who probably seemed not to be different from 
 other publicans, and the result of His passing by has 
 been the illumination of the world with the light of 
 the first of the four Gospels. 
 
 Looking to smaller matters we may observe, that 
 the title son of Alphams as descriptive of Levi is omitted 
 by S. Luke. The Alphams referred to was probably 
 some one well known in Capernaum, and therefore 
 was likely to be mentioned by S. Peter, himself familiar 
 with that place, and perhaps writing there: S. Luke 
 might very well omit the name, and the rather so for 
 fear of creating a confusion with Alphaaus the father 
 of James. Observe also the little note at the end of 
 
 d2 
 
36 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the fifteenth verse, explanatory of the fact of the disciples 
 -*-*• of Jesus sitting at meat in Levi's house as well as 
 
 Himself: they were many, and they followed Him; 
 
 they all formed one party ; and if the Master were asked 
 to a feast, it was necessary to ask the disciples too. 
 s. Matt. 16. And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw Him 
 
 s. Luke eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto His 
 disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with 
 publicans and sinners? 17. When Jesus heard it, He 
 saith unto them, TJiey that are whole have no need of 
 the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to 
 call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 18. And 
 the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast : 
 and they come, and say unto Him, Why do the disciples 
 of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples 
 fast not? 19. And Jesus said unto them, Can the 
 children of the bride-chamber fast while the bridegroom 
 is with them f as long as they have the bridegroom with 
 them, they cannot fast. 20. But the days will come 
 when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, 
 and then shall they fast in those 
 
 sinners Observe the emphasis given to the phrase publi- 
 
 christ. cans and sinners: it occurs three times, twice in the 
 sixteenth verse and once in that preceding. It may 
 be a question what is meant in such a connection by 
 the term sinners: and the answer may probably be, 
 that the phrase is not intended to point to any special 
 and definite kind of sinfulness, but only to describe 
 a class of persons who in the religious language of 
 the Jews would be denoted by that term. Thus we 
 find S. Paul, in writing to the Romans, speaking of 
 
 1 Note this verse as containing the first allusion to the Lord's passion. 
 
S. HARE'S GOSPEL. 37 
 
 himself and his countrymen as being Jews and not Chap. 
 sinners of the Gentiles; where the phrase sinners of the ■*-*■■ 
 
 Gentiles evidently implies merely the fact of Gentilism, 
 
 which ever involved to the Jewish mind the thought 
 of that impurity which practically belonged to the large 
 majority of the Gentile world. In S. Mark's use of the 
 term there is no reference to Gentiles, for they would not 
 be present at the feast, but rather to those Jews who 
 were looked upon as being as bad as Gentiles ; according 
 to the phrase which our Lord used, when, speaking 
 of an obstinate offender in the Church, He said, let 
 him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. The 
 notion is much the same when we use the phrase* " the 
 heathen population of our large towns," intending there- 
 by to express that there are people in such towns living 
 in as great ignorance of God as the inhabitants of 
 heathen countries themselves. 
 
 This being the case, we need not be surprised that 
 our Lord met with so much honour from those who 
 are described as sinners. Sin against light, obstinate 
 continuance in ungodly ways in spite of warning, very 
 much tend to keep men away from God : but if there 
 be a people sitting in darkness because Priests and 
 Levites and those who have greater advantages look 
 upon them as not worth enlightening, then when the 
 Gospel of Christ is preached we cannot wonder at its 
 being received with joy and leading many to repentance. 
 It was persons like these, to whom beyond others the 
 Lord declared Himself sent, because beyond others they 
 were helpless in themselves. 
 
 In the discussion concerning fasting there is nothing 
 of importance which we have not already found in the 
 Gospel of S. Matthew. It may however be noted that 
 
38 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. S. Mark states what S. Matthew takes for granted, 
 ,_' namely, that the disciples of John and of the Pharisees 
 
 used to fast : here we may see perhaps a little indication 
 
 of this Gospel having been published at a distance from 
 Palestine, and not specially for the use of Jewish 
 Christians. And we may note also that here, as in 
 so many other cases, S. Mark's account is more complete 
 than that given by any other Evangelist. 
 s.Matt. 21. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an 
 
 s. Luke old qarment : else the new piece that filled it up taketh 
 
 , T Qg QQ U L V 1 
 
 away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 22. 
 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else 
 the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the ivine is spilled, 
 and the bottles will be marred: but neio wine must be 
 put into new bottles. 
 importance This difficult passage, as here reported, is almost 
 oftMspTs- 5 identical with the parallel place of S. Matthew. There 
 
 sage. . . 
 
 are however slight differences, indicating that one is not 
 a mere copy of the other ; they may very well be sup- 
 posed to be independent versions of the same original 
 words, used by the Lord Himself, and recorded by one 
 of those who heard them. 
 
 Hence there is nothing to be remarked upon the pas- 
 sage here, which might not have been remarked when 
 it occurred in S. Matthew ; but the fact of the words 
 having been preserved not only by these two Evange- 
 lists but by S. Luke as well, may be noted as indicating 
 that they were certainly considered by the Apostles 
 as throwing much light upon the character of the 
 Ministry of their Lord. And this remark strengthens 
 the view taken in my commentary upon S. Matthew, in 
 which I observed 1 that in addition to giving a lesson 
 1 See Commentary on S. Matthew, page 164. 
 
21, 22. 
 
 -ST. MARK'S GOSPEL. 39 
 
 to His own immediate disciples concerning fasting, Chap. 
 the Lord probably intended to point ont how thoroughly p* 
 different in principle His own teaching was from any 
 which had been given to the world before, above all 
 different from that formal empty system, to which 
 the Scribes and Pharisees had accustomed the minds 
 of the Jews. 
 
 With regard to the substance of the Lord's parable 
 the notion seems to be, that the new or rather the 
 coarse unfinished cloth would not effectually mend the 
 rent, because being altogether unyielding it would tear 
 the old wherever the two were joined; and perhaps 
 also considerable importance should be attached to the 
 addition given by S. Luke, that the new agreeth not with 
 the old, that there is want of harmony as well as danger 
 of tearing. The allusion to the old bottles is much 
 easier, and is understood at once by reference to the 
 custom of using skins for bottles prevalent in the East 
 and other parts of the world : and we may find a good 
 illustration in the history preserved in Joshua ix, where 
 we read of the inhabitants of Gibeon, ivho did work 
 wilily, and went and made as if they had been am- 
 bassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine- 
 bottles, old, and rent and bound up: and we read also 
 that when they came to Joshua they said amongst other 
 things, these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new ; 
 and behold they be rent. It is easy to understand that 
 skins old and dry would be incapable of bearing the 
 fermentation of new wine. 
 
 23. And it came to pass, that He went through the ?.• Matt. 
 corn-fields on the Sabbath-day ; and His disciples began, ?■ Luke 
 as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24. And the 
 Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the 
 
23 
 
 40 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Sabbath-day that which is not lawful? 25. And He 
 _' g said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, 
 when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they 
 that were with him f 26. How he went into the house 
 of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and 
 did eat the shew-bread, which is not laioful to eat but 
 
 for the priests, and gave also to those which were with 
 him? 1 27. And He said unto them, The Sabbath ivas made 
 
 for man, and not man for the Sabbath : 28. Therefore 
 the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. 
 
 1 "There is a difficulty in the words, the days of Abiathar the High 
 Priest. In I. Sam. xxi. from which this account is taken, Ahimelech, not 
 Abiathar, is the high priest. There is however considerable confusion in 
 the names about this part of the history : Ahimelech himself is called 
 Abiah, i. Sam. xiv. 3 ; and whereas (i. Sam. xxii. 20) Ahimelech has 
 a son Abiathar, in n. Sam. viii. 17 Ahimelech is the son of Abiathar, 
 and in i. Chron. xviii. 16, Ahimelech. Amidst this variation we can 
 hardly undertake to explain the difficulty in the text." — Alford. Light- 
 foot has this note : " It is well enough known what is here said in 
 defence of the purity of the text : namely, that Ahimelech the father was 
 called Abiathar, and Abiathar the son was called also Ahimelech. But 
 I suppose that something more was propounded by our Saviour in these 
 words. For it was common to the Jews, under Abiathar, to understand 
 the JJrim and Thummim. Nor without good reason, when it appears, 
 that under the father and the son, both of that name, the mention of in- 
 quiring by JJrim and Thummim is more frequent than it is ever anywhere 
 else ; and after Abiathar the son there is scarcely mention of it at all. 
 Christ therefore veiy properly adds, in the days of Abiathar the High 
 Priest, therein speaking according to a very received opinion in the 
 nation : as though He had said, David eat the shew-bread given him 
 by the High Priest, who had the oracle by JJrim and Thummim present 
 with him, and who acted by divine direction." 
 
 Dr. "Wordsworth remarks that although S. Mark speaks of the event 
 having happened in the days of Abiathar, his language "rather suggests 
 that he was not the High Priest then, and the reference is made to him 
 as a celebrated High Priest ; and indeed he is mentioned in the next 
 chapter of the history, as the High Priest who followed David with the 
 Urim and Thummim, when he was persecuted by Saul." 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 41 
 
 Our Lord's manner of dealing with the Sabbath-day Chap. 
 was not new, as He Himself explained ; He was not _^ g 
 
 destroying, but in the best sense fulfilling, when He 
 brought out the true meaning and spirit of institutions JilSy." 
 which were in danger of being shrivelled up into mere 
 formalisms. We have a very striking instance of the 
 same solution of the Sabbath question being arrived at 
 under the pressure of outward circumstances in the 
 history of the Maccabees. We read that certain of the _i Maccabees 
 Jews perished because war was made against them on 
 the Sabbath-day, and they would not commit a breach 
 of the Sabbath by defending themselves; and then 
 further we read that Matthias and his friends said, If 
 we all do as our brethren have done, and fight not for our 
 lives and laws against the heathen, they will now quickly 
 root us out of the earth. At that time therefore they de- 
 creed, saying, Whosoever shall come to make battle with 
 us on the Sabbath-day, we will fight against him; neither 
 will we die all, as our brethren that were murdered in 
 the secret places. Actual contact with hard facts thus 
 frequently compels men to wiser conclusions than Scribes 
 and Pharisees can arrive at in their closets. 
 
 S. Mark records this controversy concerning the 
 Sabbath-day much in the same manner as S. Matthew, 
 but there is an addition which requires notice. This 
 addition consists in the assertion of a general principle 
 concerning the Sabbath, which has often been quoted 
 since, not only with regard to Sabbatical observances 
 but also with regard to religious institutions in general. 
 The Sabbath was made for man, and not man far the 
 Sabbath. The former clause contains the true principle 
 of all religious observances, the latter the counterfeit 
 principle of formalism. Doubtless the principle laid down 
 
42 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, by Christ applies equally to His own Sabbath, or the 
 11 • Lord's day ; that day too has been made for man, and 
 
 23 not man for it ; and therefore, although it is emphatically 
 
 the Lord's day and not maris day, and the worship of 
 the Lord is one great end to which it is to be devoted, 
 still in considering how it should be observed, the cir- 
 cumstances and wants of those for whose benefit it was 
 consecrated must be one of the chief things borne in 
 mind. 
 The son of S. Matthew and S. Luke record the Lord's assertion 
 flSTuSSfihttt the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, but 
 S. Mark gives a peculiar emphasis to the assertion by 
 connecting it as a consequence with the general princi- 
 ples upon which I have been commenting. The Sab- 
 bath was made for man, therefore the Son of Man is 
 Lord of the Sabbath : I apprehend that the consequence 
 here implied is not only true, but also full of light upon 
 the relation in which the Lord stands to ourselves : He 
 is the head of the race, and therefore whatever was made 
 for the race was made for Him, and He has a right to 
 speak concerning it with authority on the part of His 
 brethren. This is only one example of that blessed 
 truth which runs throughout the whole New Testament 
 and which constitutes the very root of the Gospel, 
 namely, that Christ by assuming our nature is so 
 identified with our race that He can become for us 
 a priest, a sacrifice, a mediator, an advocate. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 43 
 
 CHAPTER III. Chap. 
 
 III. 
 
 1. And He entered again into the synagogue; and 
 
 there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2. s. Matt. 
 
 And they watched Him. whether He would heal him s. Luke' 
 
 . vi. 6— 10. 
 
 on the Sabbath-day ; that they might accuse Him. 3. 
 And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, miracle. 
 Stand forth. 4. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful 
 to do good on the Sabbath-days, or to do evil f to save life, 
 or to kill? Hut they held their peace. 5. And when 
 He had looked round about on them with anger, being 
 grieved for the hardness of their hearts. He saith unto 
 the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched 
 it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 
 
 This miracle which is recorded by S. Matthew, Another 
 
 , lesson on the 
 
 S. Mark,- and S. Luke seems to have been wrought in sabbath. 
 the synagogue of Capernaum, but not upon the same 
 day as that on which the disciples went through the 
 corn-fields. S. Mark's account might possibly suggest 
 to some readers the contrary, but the words which 
 he uses do not really imply anything of the kind, and 
 indeed S. Luke expressly speaks of this miracle as 
 having been performed upon another Sabbath. The 
 story is however closely connected with that of the 
 corn-fields, and forms another lesson upon one of the 
 great points of dispute between our Lord and the Phari- 
 sees, namely, the character of the Sabbath-day. As 
 usual it is told by S. Mark with more minuteness than 
 by S. Matthew. 
 
I— J- 
 
 44 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. S. Mark tells us that they watched Jesus, whether 
 
 He would heal the man with the withered hand on the 
 Sabbath-day; and this leads to the suspicion that the 
 whole thing was a trap ; yet the man might have been 
 there honestly as one of the worshippers^ and the fact that 
 he was made one of the monuments of the Lord's healing 
 power would incline us to think that this was so. Any- 
 how our Lord perceived the spirit of those who were 
 watching Him and met it boldly. First He calls to 
 the man to stand forth^ or rather to rise up in the midst, 
 that is, in the midst of the congregation ; the Lord 
 will give as public a lesson as possible upon the nature 
 of the Sabbath and the true mode of keeping it ; the 
 man with the withered hand must therefore stand in 
 the midst, as a preacher to his brethren. Then He 
 reasons with the people on the folly of their views con- 
 cerning the Sabbath, and with such effect that they 
 could not answer : they held their peace : as is not un- 
 frequently the case, they adhered to their views very 
 boldly and obstinately, but when a few simple questions 
 were put to them they had nothing to say. 
 
 Lastly we read that the Lord looked on them with 
 anger, being grieved 1 for the hardness of their hearts. 
 The expression here used is worthy of notice : anger 
 and grief the Lord's heart experienced both ; the grief 
 could not be without anger, and the anger without 
 the grief would have been merely the wrath of man ; 
 
 1 The word used by S. Mark, and which occurs only in this place 
 throughout the New Testament, expresses something more than grief, but 
 unfortunately does not admit of being so translated. It implies sympa- 
 thetic grief, grieving for the sake of those whose hearts were hard, 
 sorrowing with them while His righteous anger was excited against 
 them. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 45 
 
 God is not angry as men are angry, and because His Chap. 
 
 anger is founded upon grief it is easily changed into ■*-"- 
 
 pity. 5 
 
 6. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway s. Matt. 
 took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they 
 might destroy Him. 7. But Jesus withdreiv Himself 
 with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from 
 Galilee followed Him, and from Judwa, 8. And from 
 Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond Jordan; 
 and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when 
 they had heard what great things He did, came unto 
 Him. 1 9. And He spake to His disciples, that a small 
 ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest 
 they should throng Him. 10. For He had healed many ; 
 insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, 
 as many as had plagues. 11. And unclean spirits, 
 when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, 
 saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12. And He straitly 
 charged them that they should not make Him Jcnoivn. 
 
 S. Mark mentions the combination of the Pharisees The.com- 
 with the Herodians at a much earlier period of the history the phari " 
 
 * J sees with the 
 
 than S. Matthew. The reason of the combination is Herodians. 
 not clear, and probably the discovery of it requires 
 a fuller knowledge of the facts of the case than we 
 possess : if however these Herodians, of whom we know 
 so little, were the adherents of Herod, in fact a political 
 not a religious party, it is conceivable that the Pharisees 
 might have awakened their jealousy by representing 
 the Lord as one, whose career was likely to be trouble- 
 some to their patron and dangerous to his throne • just 
 
 1 "The repetition of a great multitude is the report of one who saw 
 the numbers from Tyre and Sidon coming and going."— Alford. 
 
46 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, as in a subsequent part of the history we find the Chief 
 III. Priests accusing Jesus before Pilate as a man who 
 
 — stirred up sedition against Caesar. Much experience 
 
 has shewn that religious animosity and secular jealousy 
 very easily join in alliance against earnest piety. 
 
 But the Lord's time was not yet come, and therefore 
 He withdrew Himself to the sea. The account of His 
 life during this retreat is very compressed, but much 
 fuller in S. Mark than in S. Matthew ; I apprehend that 
 the retreat was of some duration ; in order to be effectual 
 it would almost necessarily be so, for when the Pharisees 
 had once taken counsel with the Herodians to destroy 
 Him, they would not be likely to desist from their 
 endeavours until the excitement produced by His preach- 
 ing and miracles had to a very great extent subsided. 
 It may be observed also, that the fact of multitudes 
 coming to Him from all parts seems in like manner 
 to point to a retreat of considerable duration : I appre- 
 hend that S. Mark does not mean to describe one great 
 multitude as being present at one time, but to tell 
 us that large numbers of people came from time to time 
 to seek out the great prophet in His retreat, some from 
 this place, and some from that. His retreat, though 
 it kept Him safe from His enemies, did not prevent 
 Him from being found of those who earnestly desired to 
 find Him. 
 The boat Observe the particularity of S. Mark in mentioning 
 
 waited upon the boat which waited upon Jesus during this period 
 of His retirement ; and learn this lesson also, that when 
 we have the work of God in hand we are to descend 
 to the minutest precautions, which are calculated to 
 ensure success. The same lesson is learned on a larger 
 scale from the whole history of this retreat to the wilder- 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 47 
 
 ness ; and in early days of persecution Christian leaders Chap. 
 were able to appeal to the conduct of the Lord Himself, J^-- 
 
 ■"■ ■*■ ' 6 i c. 
 
 in proof of the wisdom and duty of retiring sometimes — 
 
 from threatened danger. 
 
 Observe also how in the eleventh verse the unclean unclean 
 spirits are identified with those whom they inhabited. Sgrdownbe- 
 Unclean spi?*its fell down; that is, the bodies in which 
 they dwelt fell down. Learn from this how fearfully our 
 own independence of action, and our very personality, 
 may be sacrificed by submission to the powers of sin. 
 
 13. And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth s. Matt. 
 unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. s. Luke 
 
 14. And He ordained twelve, that they should be with 
 Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, 
 
 15. And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast 
 out devils. 
 
 The account of the election and ordination of the The election 
 twelve Apostles, furnished by this Gospel, suggests tion of the 
 several useful reflections. 
 
 The time had come when it seemed good to our Lord 
 to put His ministry upon what we may venture to call a 
 more organized footing. Hitherto He had had many dis- 
 ciples, and apparently some more particularly attached to 
 His person; and He had intimated to several that He 
 would entrust to them a very important commission, as 
 when He told James and John that He would make 
 them fishers of men; but He had not yet ordained a 
 certain number from amongst His disciples, who should 
 be recognized as special companions and ambassadors. 
 This He now did, and the number so chosen was twelve, 
 a number evidently having reference to the tribes of 
 Israel and pointing out the first object of their mission. 
 
 Two things I chiefly notice in the appointment of 
 
48 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the twelve. In the first place when Jesus went up 
 _ ' into the mountain, apparently for the express purpose of 
 
 — this solemn ordination of Bishops and Pastors for His 
 
 Church, we are told by S. Mark that He called whom 
 He wouldj and they came unto Him. The words are 
 emphatic: there was no discussion of their relative 
 merits amongst the disciples, much less was there any 
 ambitious pressing of their several claims to be chosen : 
 Christ's will was the only guide of election, and they 
 who were called came to Him in obedience to His call. 
 The manner in which He exercised His will may possi- 
 bly cause us some surprise, when we consider that He 
 not only called a Peter and a John, but also a Judas 
 Iscariot ; yet even this calling is not without its lesson, 
 throwing (as it does) a light upon later Church history, 
 and shewing us that we are not to suppose that the Lord 
 has deserted His Church because sometimes a Judas 
 is found in the seat of the Apostles ; and the whole 
 transaction may in like manner be thought upon, as 
 teaching us, that the call of Christ, and not any ambition 
 on our own part, is the true title to be one of His 
 Ministers. 
 
 The other point which I notice is the fact stated 
 by S. Mark, that the Lord chose twelve disciples to be 
 with Him. They were Apostles, but that was not their 
 only office; they were to preach the Gospel and heal 
 sicknesses and cast out devils, but they had another office 
 to perform when employed on no Missionary journey ; 
 and that was to comfort and support their Master in His 
 troubles, and supply some of that solace which in virtue 
 of His human nature He condescended to require. And 
 perhaps we may venture to draw this lesson, as appli- 
 cable to the ministry of the Church in all times, namely, 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 49 
 
 that they only can be Christ's apostles who are also Chap. 
 Christ's companions, they only can be successful mis- ™- 
 sionaries who love the society of Christ and with ~ Z ~' 9 ' 
 whom Christ Himself condescends to hold close com- 
 munion. 
 
 16. And Simon He surnamed Peter; 17. And s.Matt. 
 James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; VEuke 
 and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is, the sons "' 14 ~ 16 ' 
 of Thunder; 18. And Andrew, and Philip, and Bar- 
 tholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the 
 son ofAlphwus, and Thaddceus, and Simon the Canaan- 
 ite, 19. And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him: 
 and they went into an house. 
 
 The last clause of these verses belongs more naturally catalogue 
 to the following verse. The account of the twelve of Apostles ' 
 Apostles ends with Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed 
 Him; and then the history proceeds, And they went 
 into an house, or rather into the house, or (as we should 
 say) within doors, and the multitude cometh together again. 
 The house spoken of is probably that of which we have 
 already heard much, namely, S. Peter's in Capernaum. 
 
 The catalogue of Apostles agrees almost precisely 
 with that given by S. Matthew; 1 the only difference 
 in arrangement being that S. Andrew is put after James 
 and John instead of before them, and that S. Matthew 
 is placed before S. Thomas. The only addition of im- 
 portance is the mention of the surname given by the 
 Lord to James and John : He surnamed them Boanerges, The sons 
 which is the Sons of Thunder. We have no record f ° f Thunder - 
 this name being used as an ordinary appellation of these 
 two brethren, nor indeed is there any mention of it 
 whatever except in this place. Hence the propriety of 
 1 See the commentary and notes on the parallel passage of S. Matthew. 
 
 F. 
 
50 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the name becomes a question of some difficulty, and the 
 m* chief help given in answering it is to be found in that 
 
 L story which S. Luke has recorded of James and John 
 
 wishing to call down fire from Heaven on a Samaritan 
 village which would not receive Christ. It is very 
 possible, but cannot be proved, that the Lord might 
 have given the name upon this very occasion, and that 
 it never passed into a word of common use amongst the 
 Apostles; as indeed it was not likely to have done, 
 seeing that the use of it in their mouths would imply 
 a censure upon the two brethren, which they were 
 not in a condition to administer. 
 
 But whether the name were given upon the occasion 
 referred to or not, it is very probable indeed that it was 
 used by the Lord to express, and at the same time to 
 check, that temper of mind which burst forth in the 
 desire to destroy a village with fire from Heaven. Such 
 a desire could scarcely have shewn itself only once; 
 it indicated a disposition of mind, which, shewing itself 
 once, would too surely shew itself again ; and viewed 
 as a monument of this disposition the name Boanerges 
 is deeply interesting. S. James was taken away so 
 early that we know very little of his character, but 
 S. John (and probably his brother was something like 
 him) we know better than almost any other saint of the 
 New Testament : the Apostle of love, the dearest friend 
 of Christ, the guardian of the blessed Virgin when 
 her only Son was taken from her, the old man in 
 the assemblies of the Church at Ephesus, who being 
 unable to say more repeated the words, Little children, 
 love one another — how could this gentle disciple of 
 Christ ever have deserved the name of a son of Thunder f 
 How he gained it, as I have said, is uncertain ; but how 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 51 
 
 lie lost it is clear enough, namely, by following Christ Chap. 
 and catching the spirit of His most gentle example. I ^ 1 - 
 
 20. And the multitude cometh together agaiii, so that 
 
 iliey could not so much as eat bread. 21. And when 
 His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: 
 for they said, He is beside Himself. 1 
 
 These verses are peculiar to S. Mark, and we per- The Lord 
 
 , n i • -i i n i • accounted 
 
 ceive in them, as so frequently m other places of this mad by His 
 
 n ii i . ,. . „ , p friends. 
 
 Gospel, the clear indications of the report of an eye- 
 witness. The words bring before our minds very 
 vividly, and all the more so for their extreme simplicity, 
 the scene of the crowd collecting round the house and 
 of the bustle and restlessness inside, which prevented 
 the Lord and His disciples from taking their regular 
 meals. 
 
 And now we find our Lord's conduct growing so 
 marked and peculiar that His friends accounted for it 
 by saying that He was beside Himself, and they con- 
 sequently endeavoured to restrain Him. It may be 
 asked who these persons were, that took this view of 
 His conduct? Our English Version has rendered the 
 Greek phrase by His friends, and this is probably 
 the best rendering; soon after we find His brethren 
 and His mother coming to Him, and endeavouring to 
 speak to Him ; were these the friends referred to ? It 
 is inconceivable that the blessed Virgin should have 
 been amongst those who thought Him beside Himself, 
 but it is quite possible that the notion may have been 
 
 1 Some have thought that the concluding words of this verse were 
 spoken of the multitude, as though the Lord's friends wished to save 
 Him from the madness of the multitude; hut the better opinion seems to 
 be that the English Version is correct in applying the words to the Lord 
 Himself. 
 
 e2 
 
52 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, adopted by some of those described under the general 
 H-I - title of brethren, and the growth of such a notion 
 
 L. amongst them would probably give His mother almost 
 
 as much uneasiness as the fear of His being illused 
 by His enemies : it is not difficult to believe, that she 
 wished to warn Him as much of the mistake of the one 
 as of the malice of the other. 
 
 With regard to the conclusion itself, He is beside 
 Himself, the first thought that strikes the mind is, how 
 easy and convenient a solution of all difficulties this 
 is! When S. Paul stood before Festus, and had 
 produced a considerable effect upon his mind by his 
 earnest account of himself and his doings, Festus told 
 him he was made mad by much learning. The expla- 
 nation is ready to hand for every one who cannot 
 understand a teacher of unpleasant doctrines ; of course 
 it may sometimes be true, but the remembrance of the 
 way in which it was applied in the case of Christ ought 
 to make us cautious of using it, and warn us that 
 the explanation of apparent folly in a teacher may 
 sometimes be found in the dulness or hardheartedness of 
 those, who come to him professing their desire to be 
 taught. 
 s. Matt. 22. And the Scribes which came down from Jerusalem 
 
 s.' Luke ' said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils 
 casteth He out devils. 23. And He called them unto 
 Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan 
 cast out Satan? 24. And if a kingdom be divided 
 against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if 
 a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 
 26. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, 
 he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man can enter 
 into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 53 
 
 he will first bind the strong man; and then he will Chap. 
 spoil his house. 28. Verily I say unto you, All sins 22 _ ' 
 
 shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies 
 
 wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29. But he 
 that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never 
 forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation : 30. 
 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 
 
 S. Matthew, S. Mark, and S. Luke have all recorded Blasphemy 
 
 ' ' • i i • against the 
 
 our Lord's solemn speech concerning blasphemy against Holy Ghost, 
 the Holy Ghost ; there are however two or three points 
 peculiar to S. Mark's report which may be worthy of 
 notice. 
 
 S. Matthew and S. Luke connect the charge of 
 being in league with Beelzebub, and the Lord's solemn 
 warning consequent upon the charge, with a miracle 
 which He had just performed upon one possessed; 
 S. Mark omits this miracle; it is perhaps hard to say 
 why, for we might almost have guessed from internal 
 evidence, I mean from the character of the charge made 
 by the Scribes, that there had been some notable work 
 just performed, which had called attention to the Lord's 
 superhuman power and had led unbelievers to attribute 
 it to an evil source. But if S. Mark is less particular 
 in this point, he gives us immediately afterwards a 
 valuable piece of information which is not found in 
 either of the other Evangelists. He tells us that the 
 objection concerning Beelzebub was made by Scribes 
 which came down from Jerusalem ; and it is not difficult 
 to understand the spirit in which these Scribes would 
 undertake to enlighten the rustic simplicity of the Gali- 
 leans; it is plain from the whole tenor of S. Mark's 
 history that the Lord's fame had spread widely, and 
 that the people of Galilee were well disposed to admit 
 
-3o. 
 
 54 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. His claims, and if the Scribes from Jerusalem denied 
 J_ ^ that He was a teacher sent from God, the Galileans 
 would reply, How then does He do such miracles? 
 The Scribes undertook to get over this difficulty by 
 their supposition concerning Beelzebub ; it was an 
 explanation worthy of men, who, in studying the letter, 
 had lost the whole spirit of religion; plain practical 
 men would have seen that the good fruits of the emanci- 
 pation of men's bodies and spirits from the powers 
 of evil could never have grown upon such a corrupt 
 tree as the evil one himself. 
 
 The expression rendered eternal damnation is ac- 
 cording to some copies eternal sin. Without endeavour- 
 ing to determine which is the true reading, I cannot 
 but remark that the latter is very strikingly emphatic. 
 Eternal damnation, eternal punishment, eternal death, 
 — call it what you will, it is all expressed by the phrase 
 eternal sin; eternal, not (of course) in its commission, 
 but in its consequences, because not wiped out by the 
 blood of Christ. 
 
 S. Mark alone adds the explanatory verse, Because 
 they said. He hath an unclean spirit: an explanation 
 which it is most important to bear in mind in con- 
 sidering the awful question of sin against the Holy 
 Ghost. 1 
 s. Matt. 31. There came then His brethren and His mother, 
 
 el Luke and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 
 32. And the midtitude sat about Him; and they said 
 unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without 
 seek for Thee. 33. And He answered them, saying. 
 Who is My mother, or My brethren ? 34. And He 
 
 1 On this subject I venture to refer to the last three sermons in my 
 Third Series of Parish Sermons. 
 
 viii. 19—21. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 55 
 
 looked round about on them which sat about Him, and Chap. 
 
 said. Behold My mother and My brethren! 35. For 
 
 . . 3 1 — 35- 
 whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My 
 
 brother, and My sister, and mother. 
 
 I have remarked in commenting upon the parallel 
 passage in S. Matthew's Gospel, that the attempt here 
 made by the Lord's mother and His brethren to speak 
 to Him while surrounded by the multitude is probably 
 to be connected with the circumstance which has been 
 already related by S. Mark, namely, that some of His 
 friends thought Him mad. When things had come 
 to this point, it cannot be matter of surprise that the 
 blessed Virgin should have had her fears aroused, and 
 that she should have sought to gain speech with her 
 Son. Her motives however must remain in doubt, 
 in consequence of the brief manner in which her visit 
 is touched upon. 
 
 Two points of interest arise from S. Mark's narrative. The Lord's 
 In the first place observe that the whole story is intro- ceming 
 duced apparently, and I think we may say certainly, brethren. 
 for the sake of the lesson which the Lord hung upon it. 
 The sword must now have begun to pierce the mother's 
 soul; if she had an interview with her Son when the 
 crowd was dispersed, it must have been one of a most 
 affecting kind ; and in an ordinary biography, a writer 
 who was studying effect, and wished to move the feelings 
 of his readers, would not have lost so good an opportunity 
 of painting a most touching scene; but S. Mark does 
 not even tell us whether Son and mother met ; he only 
 records that Christ declared human motherhood and 
 brotherhood to be as nothing in comparison with that 
 spiritual relationship to Himself, which is founded upon 
 the doing of the will of God. 
 
56 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. In the second place, observe that this is the only 
 
 * 11, mention which S. Mark makes of the mother of the 
 
 -J J 7 f , 
 
 Lord. Jesus appeared at once in this Gospel as the 
 
 mo^he^not 8 ^on °^ ^°^ °^ wnom tne prophets had spoken; His 
 SSrSeb human pedigree was never mentioned ; and even at the 
 s. Mark. close of His life, where we read of other women follow- 
 ing Him and ministering to Him, and in the case of the 
 crucifixion itself, at which we know from other sources 
 that His mother was present, S. Mark passes her over 
 in silence. The one allusion to a human mother which 
 S. Mark's Gospel contains is therefore one which re- 
 ceives its colour from the Lord's question, Who is My 
 mother, and His own answer to that question. 
 
 vru. 4. 
 
 Chap. . CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IY. 
 
 If 2 ' 1. And He began again to teach by the sea-side: and 
 
 s. Matt. there was gathered unto Him a great multitude , so that 
 
 Luke' He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the ivhole 
 
 multitude was by the sea on the land. 2. And He 
 
 taught them many things by parables. 
 
 The teach- "We arrive now at a new stage in the history of the 
 
 bies. Lord's Ministry, namely, that in which He commenced 
 
 the teaching by parables. Probably some interval of 
 
 time divides the close of the preceding chapter from the 
 
 commencement of this, though if the words the same 
 
 day in the parallel place of S. Matthew are to be taken 
 
 in their strict sense as referring to the day in which the 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 57 
 
 preceding events occurred, this cannot be. But the Chap. 
 account is so manifestly and intentionally fragmentary, ^' 
 
 the Evangelist passing over all of a private nature 
 
 consequent upon the visit of the Lord's mother and 
 brethren to proceed with the history of the public 
 ministry, that I cannot help leaning towards the belief 
 that some time elapsed before the Lord adopted this new 
 style of teaching. Hitherto we have heard nothing of 
 opposition and obstinacy on the part of the crowd ; it 
 was the Scribes from Jerusalem who attributed His 
 works to the power of Satan ; the leaven of these Scribes 
 would begin to work; the argument have any of the 
 rulers believed in Him ? would be brought to bear upon 
 the ignorant multitude, and so the general admiration of 
 the Lord's teaching would begin to subside, and that 
 hardheartedness begin to shew itself, to which He 
 Himself refers as the explanation of His more mys- 
 terious mode of teaching. 
 
 Yet the Lord's judgment upon the hardheartedness 
 of the Galilseans was tempered with mercy : He still 
 taught them, and in such a manner that they who had 
 ears to hear might hear. There is no relaxation in the 
 efforts which He makes : He still sits as a master in 
 the schools, and expounds, though in a new fashion, 
 the character of His kingdom. S. Jerome observes 
 very beautifully that as the multitude cannot come into 
 the house to Jesus, Jesus goes out to them : He sits 
 by the side of the sea of this world, so that the crowds 
 may gather together to Him, and hear upon the shore 
 the things which they were not able to hear within : 
 Jesus is in the midst of the waves ; the sea tosses Him 
 hither and thither; but secure in the majesty of His 
 own power He causes His vessel to come near the land : 
 
58 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the people free from danger, and not compassed by 
 ^- trials which they could not bear, stand safely on the 
 shore, and listen to His words. 
 
 i— 9 . 
 
 s. Matt. 2. He said unto them in His doctrine, 3. Hearken; 
 
 s.Luke' Behold* there went out a sower to sow: 4. And it came 
 
 viii. 5 
 
 parable. 
 
 to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the 
 fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5. And some 
 fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth ; and 
 immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of 
 earth : 6. But when the sun was up, it was scorched; 
 and because it had no root, it withered away. 7. And 
 some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and 
 choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8. And other fell on 
 good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and 
 increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some 
 sixty, and some an hundred. 9. And He said unto 
 them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 
 T-hefirst This parable, which stands out so conspicuously as 
 
 the first which the Lord spoke, is related by S. Mark in 
 almost the same words as S. Matthew. Any remarks 
 upon it therefore which can be made in this place might 
 have been made when it occurred in the former Gospel. 
 The parable is however so full and instructive, that it 
 might easily be made the subject of many more notes 
 than the method of this Commentary allows ; and even 
 after it has passed under our review this second time its 
 teaching will be far from exhausted. I shall occupy the 
 present note by calling attention to one feature of our 
 Lord's parable, which for many reasons is worthy of 
 attention. 
 
 It will be observed that our Lord makes the success 
 or failure of the seed to depend entirely upon the quality 
 of the soil into which it fell. The seed was all good 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 59 
 
 seed, all in fact of one sort, and was all sown by the Chap. 
 same sower, and therefore all with equal care. But the ** * 
 ground was not all of the same quality, and so some 
 
 seed prospered and some failed. The description is true J Jj/seed 88 
 to nature, and therefore we hardly remark that it intro- fi^quauty 
 duces any theological difficulty ; yet when we consider g^und. 
 the great stress laid upon the operation of God's Holy 
 Spirit in Scripture and in all orthodox divinity, and the 
 countless efforts made by Apostles and Evangelists and 
 preachers of all ages to persuade us that whatever is good 
 is from above and not of ourselves, we may be disposed 
 to indulge a feeling of surprise that all the fertility 
 should be attributed in the parable to the quality of the 
 earth, and no account be taken of the dews of Heaven. 
 
 Two answers may be given concerning the difficulty. 
 In the first place it must not be forgotten, that the divine 
 power of growth is in the seed, and that the seed does 
 not come spontaneously from the earth but from the 
 hand of the Divine Sower. And in the second place it 
 should still more be observed, that our Lord was 
 adapting His teaching to particular circumstances and 
 bringing out a particular side of divine truth : He had 
 sown the seed, and we may assume that all the con- 
 ditions of growth were supplied with the seed, and ever 
 would be : but the result was strangely different in the 
 case of different men : some bringing forth much fruit, 
 others little or none: the Lord described this result, 
 which would be so often repeated in the experience of 
 the Apostles and of all their successors, under a parable, 
 and who can say that the description is not a true 
 one ? the action of divine grace was not that, which this 
 parable was designed chiefly to illustrate ; it was rather 
 the difference between one man and another with respect 
 
60 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, to the result produced upon them by the preaching of 
 
 IV - His Word. 
 
 3 — x 3- 
 
 Hence, I may remark by the way, Christians should 
 
 learn to be charitable in the interpretation they put upon 
 the teaching of Christ's Ministers. They have no right 
 to expect that every sermon should contain every truth 
 of the Gospel. Was the teaching of the Lord Himself 
 constructed upon such a principle ? Was not the prin- 
 ciple of it quite different? witness this parable of the 
 Sower. 
 s.Matt. 10. And when He was alone, they that were about 
 
 b. Luke Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. 11. 
 
 viii 9 10. 
 
 And He said unto them. Unto you it is given to Jcnow the 
 
 mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are 
 
 ivithoutj all these things are done in p arables : 12. That 
 
 seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they 
 
 may hear, and not understand ; lest at any time they 
 
 should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven 
 
 them. 13. And He said unto them, Know ye not this 
 
 parable? and how then will ye 7c?ww all parables? 
 
 Those who S. Mark, in his report of the application of the dis- 
 
 christm- ciples to their Master concerning the parable of the 
 
 parable. Sower, makes an addition to what S. Matthew tells us, 
 
 which may appear slight, but which in reality is very 
 
 valuable. S. Matthew speaks of the disciples coining 
 
 and asking Him, but S. Mark tells us that they who 
 
 came were they that were about Him with the twelve. 
 
 Hence it was not the twelve only to whom Christ 
 
 revealed the mystery of the kingdom of God; it was 
 
 not all except those that were elected by His own free 
 
 choice, who were described by Him as those without : x 
 
 1 The phrase those tvithout may imply those outside the house, into 
 which those who were anxious for teaching had followed the Lord ; those 
 
i3- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 61 
 
 the term disciples had a wider meaning than the twelve; Chap. 
 in fact from the expression used by S. Mark it would ^ 
 seem just to conclude, that all those who listened to the - 
 teaching of Christ and were willing to be reckoned 
 as His disciples were admitted to His more confidential 
 expositions of the mysteries of the kingdom. And if 
 this be so, then the conduct of Christ upon this occasion 
 is no exception to the rule of His actions in general, 
 but quite in accordance with the method of His dealings 
 in our own days with those who really follow Him 
 and with those who only listen to His words. 
 
 S. Mark does not make a formal reference to the ful- 
 filment of prophecy as does S. Matthew, but he reports 
 our Lord as adopting the words of prophecy, and de- 
 claring that He acted as He did lest the people should 
 be converted, and their sins forgiven them : words full 
 of mystery, and which, if used by any other beside Him 
 who did use them, would probably have been carped 
 at by many who think they understand the Gospel 
 thoroughly ; but words to be reverently examined and 
 thought upon and taken as suggestive of the reflection, 
 that there are conditions of heart to which Christ will 
 not openly reveal Himself, but from w T hich He will 
 advisedly conceal His glory. 
 
 Our Lord says to His disciples, knoio ye not this 
 parable ? and how then will ye know all parables ? by 
 which I suppose Him to mean, that the principle of the 
 construction of all His parables is so far the same, that 
 
 without would thus represent symbolically all those who do not seek 
 intimate communion with Christ. Compare S. Mark ix. 28, where we 
 find that the disciples, desiring an explanation of the reason why they 
 could not perform a certain mighty work, asked Him privately when He 
 ivas come into the house. This view is suggested by Neander. 
 
62 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the same key will unlock them all : they all set forth 
 IV- some view of the kingdom of Heaven, and the expla- 
 
 '— nation of one helps very much towards the explanation 
 
 of the rest: not that one is a repetition of the other, 
 far from it, but as the thorough study of one good book, 
 or one good picture, or one branch of science, helps 
 towards the study of others, so I conceive that the Lord 
 would declare the understanding of this great leading 
 parable to be the proper preparation for entering upon 
 the examination of the rest. And I note this the rather, 
 because it involves a general truth : let a man once 
 know God and understand His dealings in any one 
 department of His operations, and then he will find it 
 comparatively easy in all other departments to know 
 His ways and to recognise His hand. 
 s.Matt. 14. The sower sowetk the word. 15. And these are 
 
 s.Luke ' they by the way-side, where the word is sown; but 
 when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and 
 taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 
 16. And these are they likewise which are soion on 
 stony ground; who, when they have heard the ivordj 
 immediately receive it with gladness; 17. And have 
 no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: 
 afterward^ when affliction or persecution ariseth for the 
 word's sake j immediately they are offended. 18. And 
 these are they which are sown among thorns; such as 
 hear the word, 19. And the cares of this world, and 
 the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things 
 entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 
 20. And these are they which are sown on good ground; 
 such as hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, 
 some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred. 
 
 The interpretation of the parable of the Sower, which 
 
 viii. 11—15. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 63 
 
 our Lord was pleased to give, is reported in very nearly Chap. 
 the same manner by S. Matthew and S. Mark; and *■*' 
 the care with which they, and indeed S. Lnke also, have 
 
 recorded His own authoritative explanation of His own . The Lord 
 
 .... interprets 
 
 words, neither adding thereto nor diminishing therefrom, the parable 
 
 ' ° ° ; of the Sower. 
 
 may perhaps supply us with a hint as to the manner in 
 which we should receive divine revelations wherever 
 they have been clearly made to us. 
 
 The few words, the sower soweth the word, are pe- 
 culiar to S. Mark, and it may be noticed that the Lord 
 does not add to this explanation by telling us either who 
 the sower is, or what the word is that he sows. S. Mat- 
 thew speaks of the word of the kingdom, and S. Luke 
 of the word of God; S. Mark's simple expression the 
 word includes both, and comprehends the message of 
 the Gospel in its first publication, and also all messages 
 of whatever kind sent by the Spirit of God to the soul 
 of man. The expression the word is comprehensive 
 therefore, rather than indefinite; and the same may 
 be said of the expression the sower ; the omission of any 
 definition of who he is may suggest to us, that the Lord 
 did not intend to confine the office to Himself, nor 
 even to His disciples, but rather to include in the term 
 all those persons and all those spiritual influences, by 
 which the word of truth is sown in the human heart : 
 sometimes the seed may be sown we know not how, 
 just as in the scattered islands of the Pacific it is some- 
 times hard to say how certain trees were planted there ; 
 family influences, passing hints, accidental as they seem 
 to us, the casual reading of some book, or the like, may 
 sow a seed which will afterwards spring up : and when 
 no human hand can be detected sowing the seed, then 
 the sower is God Himself. 
 
64 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. I have already noticed the fact that the parable of 
 
 _ the Sower, in treating of the good or bad success of the 
 
 seed, omits all mention of those blessed influences by 
 
 which seed is made fruitful. This omission is rendered 
 the more striking by the prominence given to spiritual 
 influences of another kind: in some cases Satan takes 
 away the seed ; in others affliction and persecution arise, 
 in others the cares of this world and the deceitfulness 
 of riches and the lust of other things choke the word ; 
 it is only in the case of the seed on the good ground 
 that all notice of influences from without is omitted. 
 Are we to conclude that there are no such influences? 
 or does not the mention of them in the case of failure 
 argue rather that in the case of success it may be taken 
 for granted that mightier counteracting influences were 
 at work, and still more that such influences are ever 
 at hand for those who will faithfully use them ? 
 s.Luke 21. And He said unto them, Is a candle brought 
 
 compare ' to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to 
 v. 15, and 'be set on a candlestick? 1 22. For there is nothing 
 hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any- 
 thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23. 
 If any man have ears to ear, let him hear. 24. And 
 He saith unto them, Take heed what ye hear : with what 
 measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you; and unto 
 you that hear shall more be given. 2 25. For he that 
 
 1 Is a candle brought : literally does a candle come, implying that the 
 light of which the Lord speaks is not of ourselves hut comes from God. 
 "Christ the true light comes with the Gospel. Each Christian man 
 should he a candlestick from whom His light may shine " — Bengel. 
 
 2 Unto you that hear shall more be given. Dean Alford suggests that 
 the meaning is, " more shall be demanded of you who hear, addition shall 
 be made, i. e. of account, shall be laid on, as we say." 
 
 Tii. 2. 
 
-25- 
 
 8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 65 
 
 hath , to him shall he given : and he that hath not, from Chap. 
 him shall he taken even that which he hath. 
 
 The resemblance between these verses and two 
 passages in the Sermon on the Mount cannot fail 
 to strike us. It may very well be that in this, as 
 apparently in several other instances, the Lord used 
 the same figure and the same form of exhortation more 
 than once ; and this is made still more probable by the 
 consideration that He adopted figures and modes of 
 expression common amongst the Jews of His time. 
 
 It is of more importance to inquire the connection connection 
 between the verses in question and the parable of the verses with 
 Sower which precedes them, or rather the exposition tion of the" 
 of that parable. And perhaps the manner in which the sower, 
 the figure of the light and the bushel occurs in the 
 Sermon on the Mount may help us in this inquiry: 
 for there we find it in immediate connection with the 
 Lord's declaration to the disciples Ye are the light of 
 the world, and if we suppose that this thought was 
 in the Lord's mind when He expounded His parable 
 of the Sower, we may understand Him as desiring to 
 append to that exposition a warning of this kind : " do 
 not suppose that I have given you this explanation 
 merely for your own sakes, to make you wiser than 
 your brethren, to raise you above them, and puff your 
 minds up with self-conceit; but believe rather that I 
 have instructed you in order that you may instruct 
 others." And this warning would be strengthened by 
 the words Take heed how ye hear, conveying the thought, 
 as these words must have done, that it was a deep 
 responsibility to be permitted to listen to the Lord's 
 wisdom, and to be made the channel for the conveyance 
 of the same over the face of the world. 
 
21 2 
 
 6Q A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Nor should it be unnoticed that the phrase, Take heed 
 
 TV • • 
 
 _' how ye hear, would be perceived to have an application 
 
 beyond those, who were appointed to be themselves 
 
 teachers in their turn. The warning is of universal 
 
 application, and is as valuable in our own time as in 
 
 the days of the Lord's life upon earth; each lesson 
 
 concerning the kingdom of God is a trust of which 
 
 an account must be given ; people have no right to have 
 
 their ears tickled with words, or their time made to pass 
 
 pleasantly in listening to advice which they never intend 
 
 to follow ; God will not be so mocked, and if His word 
 
 do not produce the fruit of holy living, it will harden 
 
 the heart and produce the fruit of shame and reproach. 
 
 26. And He said. So is the kingdom of God, as 
 
 if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27. And 
 
 should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should 
 
 spring and grow up, he Jcnoweth not how. 28. For 
 
 the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, 
 
 then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29. But 
 
 when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth 
 
 in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 
 
 Second This parable is recorded by S. Mark only. It is not 
 
 parable: re- r , J J 
 
 corded by so minute, and picturesque (if I may use the word) 
 as the greater number of our Lord's parables, but on 
 that very account is in some respects more instructive. 
 oiS~ I* deals "with the general properties of seed, and gives 
 something of an explanation of the fact of the Lord 
 having in several other instances introduced into His 
 parables the notion of growth. In truth, if we consider 
 that He, who made seed to grow in the ground, and 
 determined that this mysterious process, apparently so 
 hopeless when the seed is buried and begins to rot, 
 should be the means of replenishing the earth, determined 
 
 The 
 
 ties 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 67 
 
 also the law by which His Gospel should spread, we Chap. 
 
 may easily believe that the connection between one / v * 
 J J 26 — 29. 
 
 process and the other is not merely conventional by way 
 
 of parable, but real in the very nature of things. We 
 find it almost impossible to get rid of language which 
 implies such connection ; we talk of the Gospel taking 
 root, we talk of the Church flourishing, we talk of new 
 branches of the Church stretching out here and there; 
 and so we bear witness that the physical process of 
 vegetation is the simplest and best exponent of the 
 spiritual process, by which the Church is spread. 
 
 The parable will (I think) be best understood, not by 
 endeavouring to give to each little clause of it a separate 
 interpretation, but by looking to its general drift. Our 
 Lord was sowing a seed which was to take root and 
 flourish, and spread through the earth. His disciples might 
 feel some fears as to the success of the effort ; was it a 
 suitable seed ? was it a suitable soil ? were all the con- 
 ditions satisfied, which were necessary for a successful 
 issue? Our Lord solves all such doubts and fears by 
 reference to the ordinary case of sowing seed ; the farmer 
 casts his seed into the earth with perfect faith ; his rest is 
 not disturbed by anxiety ; he does not trouble himself to 
 comprehend the mysterious process, by which his seed is 
 to be converted into corn ; he trusts the laws of nature, 
 or, if he would express himself more piously, he trusts 
 to the fact that God who made the seed made also 
 the earth to receive it, the rain to nourish it, the sun 
 to warm it. Now the case of the sowers of the word 
 of God was precisely analogous : they might trouble 
 themselves in vain to explain the process, by which 
 the word which they were preaching in Palestine should 
 take hold upon the heart of the world ; but their trouble 
 
 f2 
 
68 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, would vanish, if they considered that He who made 
 
 ,' the word made also the heart of man to receive it, and 
 26 — 34. , . 
 
 that it mnst and would succeed by its own inherent 
 
 last parable. 
 
 principle of growth. 
 s. Matt. 30. And He said, Whereunto shall we liken the 
 
 s.Luke ' kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we 
 
 xiii. 18, 19. * .'1 0-. t • 7.7 • n ,7 7 
 
 compare it f ol. It is like a gram of mustard-seed, 
 which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the 
 seeds that be in the earth: 32. But when it is sown, 
 it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and 
 shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the 
 air may lodge under the shadow of it. 33. And with 
 many such parables spake He the word unto them, as 
 they were able to hear it. 34. But without a parable 
 spake He not unto them : and when they were alone, He 
 expounded all things to His disciples. 
 Third and This, the last of the parables recorded by S. Mark, 
 is again founded upon the qualities and powers of seed. 
 An example is taken in which the results of vegetation 
 are on a large scale, the seed very small, the plant rising 
 from it not a mere herb, but a tree. In this country 
 we should probably have referred to the acorn and the 
 oak, remarking on the fact of a seed like the acorn 
 supplying after a time fleets of vessels for the war and 
 the commerce of nations. However, after all, the small- 
 ness of the seed and the size of the tree form only a 
 slight portion of the mystery, the essence of which is 
 the power of growth, a power even in these days of 
 science as completely unexplained, as it was when our 
 Lord used it as a parable of the inherent and inex- 
 plicable power of His own word. 
 
 S. Mark tells us that the Lord spake many such 
 parables, and S. Matthew has preserved for us several 
 
3°— 34- 
 
 A MARK'S GOSPEL. 69 
 
 which S. Mark has omitted ; but we can by no means Chap. 
 feel sure that even in S. Matthew's Gospel we have them 
 all, indeed there is every reason to suppose the contrary. 
 The very slight record however which S. Mark has 
 given of so important a portion of the Lord's teaching, 
 consistent as it is with the total omission of such 
 portions as the Sermon on the Mount, may teach us how 
 different is the principle of the construction of the Gos- 
 pels from that of mere human biographies, and should 
 make us cautious in any attempts we may feel disposed 
 to make in forming theories concerning them. 
 
 The words as they were able to hear it are peculiar to 
 S. Mark's account of the Lord's teaching, and ought 
 to be observed. Interpreters have differed as to the 
 meaning to be assigned to them; some being disposed 
 to take them in that which seems their obvious sense, 
 namely, that Christ adapted His teaching to the wants 
 of His hearers ; others thinking that this interpretation 
 brings the words into conflict with what has been said 
 before concerning the intention that the people should 
 not understand. But without forgetting that the para- 
 bolic form of teaching was adopted in consequence of 
 the hardness of heart of the people, may we not see 
 in these words the manner in which the Lord tempered 
 judgment with mercy ? Surely there was still love and 
 condescension in the Lord's teaching ; else why did He 
 teach at all? And though He might feel constrained 
 to teach less plainly than He did in former days, was 
 there not still a gentle concession to infirmity, and 
 a choice of parables which should commend themselves 
 to those amongst the multitude who had ears to hear ? 
 
 35. And the same day, when the even was come, 
 He saith unto them. Let us pass over unto the other side. 
 
70 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 36. And when they had sent away the multitude, 
 
 -*- took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were 
 35 — 4 1- . . 
 also with Him other little ships. 37. And there arose 
 
 "'• 3 i8— 27 a 9 reat storm of wind, and the waves heat into the ship, 
 viii L 22-25. so ^ iat ^ was now full. 38. And He was in the hinder 
 part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, 
 and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that loe 
 perish ? 39. And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and 
 said unto the sea, Peace, he still. And the wind ceased, 
 and there was a great calm. 1 40. And He said unto 
 them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have 
 no faith? 41. And they feared exceedingly, and said 
 one to another, What manner of man is this, that even 
 the wind and the sea obey Him ? 
 
 The storm This account of the storm or squall on the Lake 
 L ' of Gennesaret is one of peculiar interest, regarded as 
 indicating that it has come to us from one who was 
 an eyewitness of the scene described, and was also well 
 acquainted with such scenes. In fact, the general belief 
 of antiquity, that S. Mark's Gospel does in reality repre- 
 sent the teaching of S. Peter, finds in this history a 
 great amount of internal evidence to its truth. I shall 
 content myself with indicating several points which 
 exhibit S. Peter as the real narrator. 
 
 In verse 35 we have the expression, Let us pass over 
 unto the other side; an expression which would hardly 
 be used by any one but a dweller by the side of the 
 
 1 The calm appears to have immediately followed the cessation of 
 the wind, contrary to the ordinary course of things. So that the still- 
 ness of the waters was not a mere consequence of the subsidence of the 
 wind; but, as Christ addressed His words to both elements, so both 
 elements obeyed. I have noted this briefly in the commentary upon the 
 parallel place of S. Matthew. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPJEL. 71 
 
 Lake, and probably not by him if he had committed Chap. 
 
 the account to writing long after the event. S. Luke ^ 
 
 35 — 4 1 - 
 says, the other side of the Lake. - 
 
 In verse 36, there are two points worthy of notice. 
 The expression as He was, which is left unexplained, 
 refers to something peculiar which was in the mind 
 of S. Peter at the time, and would hardly have been 
 inserted by a writer long after the event. An almost 
 similar remark applies to the notice, that there were also 
 with Him other little ships; for this fact is one not 
 used afterwards in the narrative, and is the passing 
 observation of one who saw the little ships in company. 
 
 In verse 37, S. Mark uses an appropriate word to 
 denote the storm, or rather the squall, which S. Matthew 
 does not; and moreover he tells us that the waves 
 struck the boat so that she began to fill, which expresses 
 more accurately what S. Matthew describes by saying, 
 that the ship was covered with waves. 
 
 In verse 38, S. Mark tells us not only the part of 
 the boat in which the Lord was when He fell asleep, 
 namely, the hinder part, but tells us also that He was 
 asleep on a pillow, or rather on the cushion, or seat cover, 
 probably a sheepskin for the accommodation of the man 
 at the helm, and which rolled up formed a pillow. 1 
 
 Little points such as these ought not to be treated as 
 trifles, if they serve to bring home to us the facts re- 
 corded, and to impress upon our minds more vividly 
 the circumstances of our Saviour's life. 
 
 1 " Some of the Fathers give a spiritual meaning to this circumstance. 
 "When the storm of Satan's fury raged most fiercely against the hark of 
 the Church, Christ was reclining in the sleep of death on the wooden 
 pillow of the cross. But He awoke from the slumber of death, and 
 rebuked the waves and the wind, and there was a great calm." — 
 "Wordsworth. 
 
72 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 viii. 26—29. 
 
 Chap. CHAPTEE V. 
 
 V. 
 
 *~ ' 1. And they came over unto the other side of the sea, 
 
 s. Matt. into the country of the Gadarenes. 2. And when He 
 
 viii. 28, 29. „-,,.. 7 . 7 7 TT . 
 
 s. Luke was co??ie om£ or Me skip, immediately there met Jtlim 
 
 out of the tombs a man ivith an unclean spirit, 1 3. Who 
 had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man coidd 
 bind him , no, not with chains : 4. Because that he had 
 been often bound with fetters and chains , and the chains 
 had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken 
 in pieces : neither could any man tame him. 5. And 
 always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and 
 in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 
 6. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and wor- 
 shipped Him, 7. And cried with a loud voice, and 
 said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son 
 of the most High God f I adjure Thee by God, that Thou 
 torment me not. 8. For He said unto him, Come out 
 of the man, thou unclean spirit, 
 sixth S. Matthew speaks of the Lord and His disciples 
 
 coming into the country of the Gergesenes or of the 
 Gerasenes (for that is perhaps the true reading), whereas 
 S. Mark tells us that they came into the country of 
 the Gadarenes. The discrepancy is of no great im- 
 
 i The phrase used here and elsewhere to express demoniacal posses- 
 sion is worthy of notice. A man with an unclean spirit might be 
 translated in an unclean spirit, and might then be compared with the 
 phrase so frequently used by S. Paul, in Christ Jesus, as for example 
 Rom. viii. 1, no condemnation for them which are in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Miracle. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 73 
 
 portance except as an indication of the independence Chap, 
 of the two Evangelists of each other; but it may _ 
 
 be remarked, that whereas we know little or nothing 
 
 of any city or country named Gergesa or Gerasa, we 
 do know something of Gadara, and all that we do know 
 fits in admirably well with what we here read con- 
 cerning it. Gadara was the chief city of Persea, and 
 stood at a short distance from the southern extremity 
 of the sea of Galilee, and was chiefly inhabited by 
 heathen people. If modern travellers have rightly 
 identified it, we may say that it still exhibits those 
 tombs in which the man with the unclean spirit had his 
 dwelling; the country is formed of a limestone rock, 
 well suited for excavations, and generally also exhibiting 
 natural caverns capable of being used as dwellings 
 either for the living or the dead. 
 
 The first three Evangelists all report the very re- 
 markable interview of our Lord with the possessed 
 Gadarene. S. Mark as usual is more circumstantial 
 than S. Matthew. The only real discrepancy between 
 their accounts is, that S. Matthew speaks of two de- 
 moniacs and S. Mark of only one; a discrepancy which 
 it is perhaps hardly worth while to endeavour to account 
 for, as it may be explained in many ways. It is more 
 important to observe, that S. Mark adds several par- 
 ticulars of very great interest. In the first place, he 
 tells us more of the condition of the man with the 
 unclean spirit; many attempts had been made to restrain 
 him without success ; no man could tame him, but he 
 was always night and day in the mountains and in the 
 tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones ; a very 
 fearful picture of the desperate spiritual condition to 
 which the man was reduced. S. Mark makes equally 
 
74 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, prominent the change which came over the man as soon 
 _* as Jesus appeared : lie ran and worshipped Him; notice 
 ~ the word ran; the spell of the Lord's presence affected 
 him at once, and constrained the poor wild creature 
 whom no man could tame to run and worship. Yet, 
 after this promising commencement, observe how the 
 evil spirit reasserts its power; after worshipping Jesus 
 the man cries out, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus 
 Thou Son of the Host High God? I adjure Thee by 
 God that Thou torment me not; here it is the evil spirit 
 speaking, and yet he assumes the personality of the 
 man, and ventures to say /. And it was Christ Him- 
 self who had stirred up this war of opposing elements 
 in the man's mind : Christ had said, Come out of the 
 man j thou unclean spirit; and this command, though 
 one of mercy, had the effect of bringing out all the 
 hatred and fears of the indwelling demon ; and so for 
 the moment love is changed to fear, and worship is 
 replaced by the inhuman adjuration that Christ will 
 not torment. However, it is but for the moment; 
 we shall soon see how Christ dealt with the malady, 
 and how complete was the cure. 
 s .'.^ atl „ 9. And He asked him. What is thy name? And 
 
 Yin. 30—33. ' J 
 
 ^Si L 3o— 34 ^ e answere d, saying , My name is Legion: for we are 
 many. 10. And he besought Him much that He would 
 not send them away out of the country. 11. Now there 
 was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine 
 feeding. 12. And all the devils besought Him, saying, 
 Send us into the swine , that toe may enter into them. 
 13. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the 
 unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine : 
 and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea ) 
 (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 75 
 
 the sea. 14. And they that fed the swine fled, and told Chap. 
 
 9- 
 
 it in the city, and in the country. And they went out 
 
 to see what it ivas that was done. 
 
 The desperate condition of this afflicted man is The legion 
 
 x , , m of demons. 
 
 brought out into great prominence by the inquiry of the 
 Lord, What is thy name? and the answer of the evil 
 spirit. The Lord uses the singular number thy, but 
 the answer shews that the case is far beyond the pos- 
 session of a single spirit ; my name is Legion, 1 is the 
 reply; the Roman word for a body consisting of some 
 thousands of soldiers being adopted to express the 
 multitudinous character of the possession. Possibly 
 the name might display more than mere number ; might 
 it not also convey the notion of a regularly organized 
 force, 2 a body of spirits acting in concert for the one 
 great end of crushing the intellectual and moral being 
 of the man, whom they were permitted to torment? 
 just as we convey a deeper notion of danger when we 
 speak of a city being invested by an army, than when 
 we describe it as attacked by a mob. 
 
 It may be noticed, that it is taken for granted that 
 
 1 "Among the Jews, when a man would express a great number of 
 anything, it was not unusual to name a Legion. R. Eliezer ben Simeon 
 saith, It is easier for a man to nourish a Legion of olives in Galilee, than- 
 to bring up one child in the land of Israel. Among the Talmudists 
 a Legion bespeaks an unclean company, at least they reckoned all the 
 Legions for unclean. The Rabbins deliver, A Legion that passeth from 
 place to place, if it enter into any house, the house is thereby become unclean." 
 
 LlGHTFOOT. 
 
 " The number of men in a legion was different at different times. 
 In the time of Polybius (about B.C. 150) it was 4200." — Adam's Roman 
 Antiquities. 
 
 2 In confirmation of this observe that in verse 12 the legion of demons 
 all agreed in their petition to Christ, and even when they entered the 
 swine they still acted in concert. 
 
76 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the word Legion will be understood by the readers of 
 
 _• the Gospel: so it undoubtedly would be: there was 
 
 no corner of the Roman Empire where the Roman 
 
 Legions did not circulate, and if this Gospel were (as 
 is generally believed) published in Rome there would 
 be still less necessity for explaining the term. 
 
 The existence of difficulties peculiar to this miracle 
 
 has been acknowledged in the commentary upon the 
 
 parallel place of S. Matthew. I shall add nothing on 
 
 Moral the subject here : but, looking to the moral teaching 
 
 teaching of J . J ' & ° 
 
 the miracle, of the miracle, may we not perhaps learn, that when the 
 high powers of a man are permitted to yield to the 
 influence of evil, the vast gap which separates him from 
 the brute creation is rendered fearfully narrow? do we 
 not often speak of men by drunkenness and debauchery 
 lowering themselves to the level of the brutes ? and does 
 not the fact, that upon one occasion a transfer of the 
 powers of evil from the body and soul of a man to the 
 bodies of swine, the type of uncleanness, was actually 
 made, indicate that there is a nearer connection between 
 unspiritualized man and absolute brutality than the pride 
 of human nature would be disposed to allow? 1 
 s.Matt. 15. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was 
 
 s. Luke possessed ivith the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and 
 clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 
 16. And they that saw it told them how it befel to him 
 that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the 
 swine. 17. And they began to pray Him to depart out 
 of their coasts. 
 
 1 Dr. South draws a curious lessou from this miracle. Speaking of 
 the manner in which Satan can adapt himself to circumstances in his 
 temptation of men, he observes: "Though the very nature of swine 
 hurries them into the foulest dirt and mire, yet to serve a turn, we read, 
 he can make them run as violently into the water." 
 
& MARK'S GOSPEL. 77 
 
 The account of the change produced in the condition Chap. 
 of the possessed man is very minute and very beautiful. It ._* 
 S. Mark repeats the phrase of the legion, in order to keep 
 
 The corn- 
 
 Up the remembrance of the intensity of this case of pos- p i e ten°ss of 
 session, and then puts in immediate contrast with this the cure ' 
 description of the poor man's former condition an equally 
 minute picture of that, into which Christ's grace and 
 power had brought him. He w T as sitting, and clothed, 
 and in his right mind; all his excited condition of body 
 gone, his humanity reasserted by his consenting to be 
 clothed, and his mind restored to its tone of health. 1 
 
 What was the effect of such a sight upon those who The effect 
 witnessed it ? They were afraid ; filled, not with love miracle on 
 and desire to worship Christ, but with dread of Him, renes gives 
 as of one having awful power over the rest of His race, concerning 
 They looked upon Him in fact as an enchanter and not miracles. 
 as a Saviour, and therefore their only emotion in His 
 presence was shrinking and fear. This may teach us 
 how mistaken those persons are, who imagine that the 
 power of working miracles is a sufficient instrument for 
 establishing the claims of a teacher. No miracle could 
 be more decisive, or more directed to the hearts of men, 
 than that which the Lord had worked on this occasion, 
 and yet it produced no good effect whatever upon the 
 Gadarenes. The fact is, that much previous education 
 and preparation are necessary in order to make a miracle 
 effectual ; in certain cases it may be wholesome or even 
 necessary, but it is of the nature of a very violent 
 
 1 " The Gentile world was now possessed, as it were, with a Legion 
 of evil spirits ; it could not he hound hy any laws, it tore their bonds 
 asunder. Christ came from Heaven to deliver it from those evil spirits 
 and to cast them out ; so that being clothed in the robe of faith and in its 
 right mind, it might come and sit at His feet." — "Wordsworth. 
 
78 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, medicine, which if administered indiscriminately may 
 _ do much more harm than good. Might not one of the 
 
 purposes of our Lord in working this miracle, which 
 
 in some respects is of so exceptional a kind, have been 
 to shew, how impracticable it would have been for Him 
 to establish His kingdom in the world by mere force 
 of miracles? 
 
 There seems to be something of a reproachful or even 
 sarcastic tone in the account, which S. Mark gives, of 
 the report made of the miracle by the eyewitness : They 
 told how it befel to him that tvas possessed with the devilj 
 and concerning the swine. What a connection of two 
 different things ! And yet it may be questioned, whether 
 the latter part of the account had not more weight with 
 the Gadarenes than the former ; they began to pray Him 
 to depart; surely the deliverance of the demoniac could 
 not be the only cause, it must have been the loss of the 
 swine. 
 
 s.Luke 18. And when He was come into the ship, he that had 
 
 viii. 38, 39. , t . 
 
 been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might 
 be with Him. 19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but 
 saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them 
 how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath 
 had compassion on thee. 20. And he departed, and 
 began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus 
 had done for him : and all men did marvel. 
 The prayer This is an interesting portion of the history of the 
 demoniac. e Gadarene demoniac of which S. Matthew tells us nothing. 
 How natural was the prayer of him, who had been 
 healed of such a malady, that he might be with Jesus ; 
 the past would seem to him as a horrible dream, too 
 horrible to be dwelt upon, and he would fancy himself 
 nowhere safe except in the company of Him, who had so 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 79 
 
 thoroughly understood and pitied his case, and shewn Chap. 
 such power over evil spirits which no other had been v * 
 
 able to bind ; he would fear lest, if left by himself in 
 
 the midst of his old haunts, his mind should be crazed 
 again, and his body again become the abode of demons. 
 It is very much to be noticed therefore, that Christ did 
 not grant the man's prayer. He did not grant it, be- 
 cause His own kingdom could be more advanced, and 
 God's work better done, by refusing the man's request, 
 and sending him on a mission to those of his own 
 country and kindred who were not likely in any other 
 way to hear of Christ. The work of God must come 
 first ; considerations of human comfort and happiness 
 must be taken into account afterwards. 
 
 The refusal of the prayer is made still more prominent 
 by its contrast with the granting of two prayers which 
 preceded it. The devils asked permission to go into 
 the swine, and Christ gave permission ; the Gadarenes 
 asked Him to depart out of their coasts, and He de- 
 parted ; but when the poor man whom he had healed, 
 overcome with wonder and gratitude and love, asked 
 to be permitted to accompany his healer, Jesus suffered 
 him not. Does not this teach us great caution as to the 
 conclusions which we should draw from the appearance 
 of God's favour, and from the open answer of prayers ? 
 Prayers may seem to be granted, and yet there may 
 be no real grace and blessing; and prayers may seem 
 to be refused, and yet there may be wisdom and love 
 in the refusal. 
 
 The man who had been brought to Ms right mind 
 shewed the soundness of the condition into which the 
 Lord had brought him, by the manner in which he 
 acquiesced in the Lord's decision. He did not renew 
 
80 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, his petition or complain that it had not been granted, 
 * but he started at once on his home-missionary work, and 
 
 began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had 
 
 done for him. And he made all men marvel ; how 
 many he converted we do not know, but the expression 
 used by the Evangelist at least proves the zeal, with 
 which this missionary of Christ performed the work, 
 which it had pleased his Master to assign him. 
 s. Matt. 21. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship 
 
 ix 18 19 
 
 s. Luke' unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him : 
 and He was nigh unto the sea. 22. And, behold, there 
 cometh one of the riders of the synagogue, Jairus by name; 
 and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, 23. And 
 besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at 
 the point of death : I pray Thee, come and lay TJiy 
 hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall 
 live. 24. And Jesus went with him ; and much people 
 followed Him, and thronged Him. 
 
 introduc- We have here the commencement of the history of 
 one of our Lord's most notable miracles, the raising from 
 the dead of the daughter of a Jewish ruler. It is one 
 of the three recorded instances of resurrection. S. Mark 
 gives the account of the transaction much in the same 
 way as S. Matthew, but there are one or two remarks 
 arising from a comparison of the two Evangelists which 
 may be worth noting. 
 
 In general it may be stated, that here, as almost 
 always, S. Mark is more full than S. Matthew, and 
 certainly was not in this sense an abbreviator. We 
 learn from this Gospel that the name of the ruler was 
 Jairus, and the mention of the name probably indicates 
 that he was a person well known in Capernaum. S. Mark 
 clears up an obscurity, by telling us that the words of 
 
 tion to the 
 
 eighth 
 
 miracle. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 81 
 
 the ruler were, My little daughter lieth at the point Chap. 
 of death , instead of My daughter is even now deadj 
 
 which is the form preserved by S. Matthew; it was — 
 
 the near approach of death, not the actual close of the 
 scene, which prompted the father to apply to Christ. 
 Again, S. Mark tells us that when Jesus went with 
 Jairus, not only His disciples followed Him, but much 
 people followed Him and thronged Him, which addition 
 is very necessary to enable us to understand fully the 
 history of the woman who was healed of her issue of 
 blood, which immediately follows. It may be noted 
 also, that the sentence which closes the twenty-first 
 verse, and He was nigh unto the sea } a sentence to which 
 no reference is afterwards made and apparently un- 
 important to the rest of the narrative, is thoroughly 
 characteristic of S. Mark's style. 
 
 One remark upon the application of Jairus. It contrast of 
 would be wrong to say that Jairus was not an earnest otTer^S^ 
 disciple of Christ, and that he did not remain faithful synagogue. 
 afterwards, for we have no ground upon which to make 
 such a charge ; but is not the contrast very painful be- 
 tween the conduct of this ruler of the synagogue and that 
 of the rulers of the synagogue in general ? In general 
 they were narrow-minded, and opposed to the claims of 
 Christ; but here was a case of a ruler whose little 
 daughter was on the point of death, and forthwith we 
 find him falling at Jesus' feet and beseeching Him 
 greatly. Jesus, the giver of earthly blessings, was 
 welcome ; Jesus, the teacher of heavenly truth, and the 
 preacher of the kingdom of God, was too often rejected 
 and despised. 
 
 25. And a certain woman, which had an issue of s.Matt. 
 
 ix. 20 21. 
 
 blood twelve years, 26. And had suffered many things s. Luke' 
 
 G ' 
 
Seventh 
 Miracle. 
 
 82 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and 
 __' was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27. When 
 
 she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and 
 
 touched His garment. 28. For she said, If I may touch 
 but His clothes, I shall be whole. 
 
 We have in this Gospel a very full account of the 
 miracle by which this "woman was healed ; it stands out 
 in remarkable contrast with the very brief notice to be 
 found in S. Matthew. It may be observed however that 
 the first three Evangelists have all recorded the miracle ; 
 and not only so; they have placed it at exactly the 
 same point of the history, and have all brought out 
 that feature which distinguishes it, namely, that it was 
 (as it were) a parenthesis in another miracle. The Lord 
 was already pledged to go and do a work of mercy for 
 Jairus, and one of the greatest works He ever performed ; 
 but the faith of a poor woman in the crowd compelled 
 Him to perform another work first, and so has given us 
 a lesson upon the abundant character of Christ's mercy, 
 ever ready to flow in all fit channels, an inexhaustible 
 store of blessing to those who come to Him in faith. 
 
 The language in which S. Mark describes the con- 
 dition of this woman is very strong, and its force is 
 made greater by the fact that S. Luke, who was himself 
 a physician, has (if I may so speak) softened it down : 
 she had suffered many things of many physicians, 1 and 
 
 1 On the vords had suffered many things of many physicians, Lightfoot 
 observes, " And it is no wonder : for see what various and manifold kinds 
 of medicines are prescribed." He then gives a number of curious 
 remedies, one of which is as follows : "Let them dig seven ditches : in 
 which let them burn some cuttings of such vines as are not circumcised, 
 (that is, that are not yet four years old). And let her take in her hand 
 a cup of wine. And let them lead her away from this ditch, and make 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 83 
 
 had spent 1 all that she had; and the result was, not the Chap. 
 proof of the incurability of her malady, as in S. Luke, g 
 
 but the continued increase of her infirmity ; she was 
 
 nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. This language 
 is worthy of notice, regarded merely as an illustration of 
 the style of the Evangelist ; but it is still more worthy 
 of notice when looked upon in its spiritual bearings, and 
 taken as descriptive of the utterly helpless condition of 
 human souls, if left to the care of human physicians. 
 The evil of our hearts, which shews itself in so many 
 ways and with various degrees of intensity, is typified 
 by all the bodily evils which Christ healed, but most 
 pointedly by this, because the woman who was suffering 
 under it had tried all human means and had failed ; she 
 had spent her all, and still found herself growing worse ; 
 she needed something which by nature she could not 
 have, a regeneration which Divine Power might bring 
 about, but which no human treatment could. And the 
 faith which brought the poor woman to Christ, pressing 
 herself through the crowd, determining not to lose her 
 opportunity, may teach us in like manner the zeal, with 
 which they, who are convinced of the insufficiency of 
 human aid, should seek for that which comes from God. 
 
 29. And straightway the fountain of her blood was . s. Matt. 
 dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed s. Luke 
 of that plague. 30. And Jesus , immediately knowing 
 in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned 
 
 her sit down over that. And let them remove her from that, and make 
 her sit down over another. And in every removal you must say to her, 
 Arise from thy flux." 
 
 1 The word is the same as that employed in S. Luke to express the 
 conduct of the prodigal son; when he had spent all ; it is sometimes, but 
 not always, used to express squandering, lavish expenditure. 
 
 g2 
 
84 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Him about in the press, and said, Who touched My 
 _ clothes? 31. And His disciples said unto Him, Thou 
 
 seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, 
 
 Who touched Me? 32. And He looked round about 
 to see her that had done this thing. 33. But the woman 
 fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, 
 came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the 
 truth. 34. And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith 
 hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy 
 plague. 
 
 immedi- S. Mark (as has been observed before) is very fond 
 
 of the word immediately. It occurs frequently in the 
 course of his history, and is found twice in this passage. 
 The manner in which it occurs is worthy of notice. The 
 woman touched Jesus in faith, and immediately (straight- 
 way in the English Version) the fountain of her blood 
 was dried up, and she felt that she was healed; the 
 touch acted as a charm, the healing followed at once. 
 But there was another thing which happened immedi- 
 ately; Jesus immediately knew in Himself that virtue 
 was gone out of Him ; quickly as the healing had fol- 
 lowed the touch, it had not done so without His know- 
 ledge and volition ; inexhaustible as was the supply of 
 Christ's grace and power, it was not like a large stock 
 of human wealth, from which a little might be taken 
 slily and not be missed ; this was the woman's conception 
 of the case, but it was a false one ; Christ had performed 
 the miracle just as completely by His own will, as if the 
 woman had applied openly; and therefore, as she was 
 healed immediately, so He knew immediately that she 
 was healed. 
 
 The notice taken by the Lord of the healing, which 
 resulted from touching His clothes, may teach us a lesson 
 
S. MARJTS GOSPEL. 85 
 
 as to the manner in which we should regard the gifts of Chap. 
 
 God. We are prone to take certain things as matters 
 
 • * ° 29 — 34. 
 
 of course ; we regard them as natural consequences, as 
 
 though God's government were a mere machine, in the V ^J^J" 
 working of which He has no power or concern. This is ™l* ma ~ 
 precisely the error, into which the woman, whose case 
 we are discussing, fell ; she thought that healing would 
 follow from the touching of Christ by necessary con- 
 sequence ; but Christ taught her that everything which 
 comes from Him must be a gift, and that He can with- 
 hold healing power if He will. 
 
 No wonder that the woman came fearing and trem- 
 bling, when she perceived that Christ knew all that had 
 happened. It opened to her an entirely new view of the 
 Saviour. She had regarded with great astonishment One, 
 the touch of whose clothes could heal ; but her awe was 
 immeasurably greater, when she felt herself in the 
 presence of One, whose touch would not heal without 
 His own cognizance and permission. Here was teach- 
 ing for the woman's mind, healing for her spirit. 
 
 35. While He yet spake, there came from the ruler s. Matt. 
 of the synagogue s house certain which said. Thy daugh- s. Luke ' 
 ter is dead: icliy troublest thou the Master any further? 
 36. As soon as Jesus heard the icord that was spoken. 
 He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, 
 only believe. 37. And He suffered no man to follow 
 Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of 
 James. 1 38. And He cometh to the house of the ruler 
 
 1 I may here call attention to the peculiarity of the phrase, John the 
 brother of James; the same description of S. John is given in the 
 catalogue of Apostles, chap. iii. 17, and S. Matthew has, James the son of 
 Zebedee and John his brother, chap. x. 2. Considering the relative magni- 
 tude of the two brothers, as we now look back upon their earthly history, 
 
86 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that 
 __" wept and wailed greatly. 39. And when He teas come 
 
 in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and 
 
 weep ? the damsel is not dead, hut sleepeth. 1 40. And 
 they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them 
 all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, 
 and them that were with Him, and enter eth in where 
 the damsel was lying. 41. And He took the damsel 
 by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi ; which 
 is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 
 42. And straightivay the damsel arose, and walked ; 
 for she was of the age of tivelve years. 2 And they 
 were astonished with a great astonishment. 43. And 
 He charged them straitly that no man should know it; 
 and commanded that something should be given her to 
 eat. 
 
 Eighth Peter, James, and John were the three chosen witnesses 
 
 of this miracle, as of several other manifestations of the 
 Lord's glory. Remembering the close connection of 
 S. Peter with the Gospel according to S. Mark, we 
 may consider that we have in this very minute record 
 
 we should certainly be disposed to describe S. James by bis relationship 
 to S. John, not the opposite ; and the more so, because there were two 
 James's, but not two Johns. The fact that S. Mark has adopted the 
 opposite course so emphatically is interesting, as one of the numerous 
 indications of the early origin of his Gospel. 
 
 1 On the words, She is not dead, but sleepeth, S. Augustine observes : 
 " He spoke the truth. She slept ; but she slept to Him only, who had 
 power to raise her up." And in like manner of the words of our Lord 
 concerning Lazarus, Our friend Lazarus sleeijeth, compared with the 
 words, Lazarus is dead, the same father writes, " Both statements were 
 true. To you, he is dead; to Me, he sleeps." 
 
 2 Twelve years : it is a singular coincidence, that the disease of the 
 woman who was healed in this chapter, and the life of the girl who was 
 raised from the dead, began together. 
 
35—43- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 87 
 
 of the miracle the report of an eyewitness. Let us Chap. 
 notice a few particulars, which in S. Matthew's shorter ^- 
 history do not appear. 
 
 First we find, that after Jairus had left his house 
 to seek assistance from Christ his little daughter died, 
 and then certain persons went to him to tell him 
 that all was over, and that he need not trouble the 
 Master any further. Christ, as we with our knowledge 
 of His being and character might have supposed, did 
 not allow the death to interfere with the work of mercy 
 which He had undertaken; but is it not worthy of 
 remark, that the family of Jairus should have at once 
 taken it for granted that death had made all efforts 
 hopeless? They could believe in a miraculous healer 
 of sickness, but not in a miraculous raiser of the dead. 
 Christ shewed that there was in reality no distinction, 
 that He who could do the one work could do the other 
 also: but the people, who thought otherwise, followed 
 (as I apprehend) a natural instinct ; and it was therefore 
 a necessary part of our Lord's ministry, that He should 
 in a few cases demonstrate the completeness of His 
 power by loosing even the bands of death. He did this 
 three times, and then He rose from the dead Himself. 
 
 The secrecy, with which this miracle was performed, 
 deserves also to be observed. S. Mark tells us, that the 
 Lord suffered the presence only of the father and mother 
 of the damsel and them that were with Him. Why not 
 have made the work as public as possible ? "What could 
 have advanced the Gospel more, than such a work done 
 in the face of the world? Let it suffice to say, that 
 Christ knew best how to carry on His own work, and 
 that His views of what was best were probably in many 
 things different from our own. 
 
88 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 Y. 
 
 35—43- 
 
 Talitha 
 Cumi : the 
 Lord's own 
 words. 
 
 S. Mark has recorded the very words, which the Lord 
 spake in raising the maiden from death. How few 
 of His very words remain to ns ! and yet, though the 
 actual sounds are forgotten, the words themselves can 
 never be lost, though Heaven and Earth pass away. 
 
 Lastly, notice a curious difference between the termi- 
 nations of the history in S. Matthew and S. Mark. 
 S. Matthew tells us, that the fame of the miracle went 
 through the whole land ; S. Mark records, that Christ 
 straitly charged those who had witnessed the miracle 
 that no man should know it, adding (so entirely in his 
 own style) the little command given by the Lord con- 
 cerning supplying the damsel with food. We see there- 
 fore, by the comparison of the accounts, what we have 
 seen on other occasions ; Christ forbidding the publi- 
 cation of His miracles, and forbidding in vain. He 
 could not be hid. It was impossible for men who had 
 seen His works to keep them entirely to themselves, 
 even when Christ commanded them to do so. 
 
 Chap. 
 VI. 
 i—6. 
 
 S. Matt, 
 xiii. 54—58. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1. And He went out from thence, and came into 
 His oivn country; and His disciples follow Him. 2, 
 And when the Sabbath-day was come, He began to teach 
 in the synagogue : and many hearing Him were astonished, 
 saying, From whence hath this man these things? and 
 what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even 
 
A MARK'S GOSPEL. 89 
 
 such mighty works are wrought by His hands ? 3. Is Chap. 
 not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, the Brother __^ 
 
 of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon ? and are 
 
 not His sisters here with us? And they were offended 
 at Him. 4. And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is 
 not without honour, but in His own country, and among 
 His own kin, and in His own house. 5. And He could 
 there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands 
 upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6. And He 
 marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round 
 about the villages, teaching. 
 
 It is to be remarked, in comparing these verses is not this 
 
 ' x o the carpen- 
 
 witli the parallel passage in S. Matthew, that whereas ter ? 
 S. Matthew reports the people of Nazareth as saying, Is 
 not this the carpenter s Son f S. Mark gives the phrase 
 thus, Is not this the carpenter? This latter version 
 appears to imply that the legend which has been pre- 
 served concerning the Lord's early life is true, namely, 
 that He Himself was employed in the workshop. On 
 general grounds there is every probability that it was 
 so ; and it is a feature in the Lord's earlier life, which 
 we should by no means shrink from admitting, but 
 contrariwise receive very readily : the admission throws 
 honour upon honest labour, it brings home to our minds 
 more thoroughly the Lord's humanity, and it helps to 
 brings before our minds more vividly the humiliation 
 which the Lord's life on earth involved. 
 
 The people spoke of Jesus as the Son of Mary, and ^he son of 
 some might fancy that such words hinted at the doctrine 
 of the virgin conception. If we use the phrase as applied 
 to the Lord, we probably do mean to imply this doctrine : 
 but I think that the true interpretation of the words 
 is rather this, that Joseph was now dead: there are 
 
90 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, several indirect hints in the Gospels of his having early 
 * ** departed from the miraculous scene, in which by God's 
 
 providence he had been called to take a part; and if 
 
 he had been now dead for some little time, it is not 
 to be wondered at that the name of Mary, the surviving 
 parent, should be used by the people of Nazareth in 
 order to identify the Lord Jesus. 
 
 One other remarkable expression (already noticed in 
 the Commentary on S. Matthew) occurs in this passage. 
 Jesus, we read ; could there do no mighty works. The 
 unbelief of the people (so to speak) tied His hands. 
 It matters not, whether the Lord abstained from shewing 
 His power in order not to increase the condemnation 
 of unbelieving witnesses, or what the ground really was ; 
 it is enough to know, that unbelief is able to shut up that 
 fountain, which faith alone can open. Let it be observed 
 however, that under these circumstances of displeasure 
 the Lord still allowed His mercy to be seen ; He could 
 not, or would not, do any mighty work, would not give 
 any public demonstration of His character and His 
 power ; but there were some sick folk who needed healing, 
 and He laid His hands upon them privately, in order 
 to exercise His mercy, though He would not work 
 a miracle, in order to remove the general unbelief. 
 
 s. Matt. 7. And He called unto Him the twelve, and began 
 
 x s. Luke to send them forth by two and two ; and gave them power 
 over unclean spirits ; 8. And commanded 1 them that 
 
 1 Any one desirous of finding contradictions between two evangelists 
 may here be gratified. S. Mark represents our Lord as giving permission 
 to the Apostles to take a staff on their journey ; but S. Matthew records 
 a staff as amongst the things which they were forbidden to take (Chap. 
 x. 10). How many of the alleged discrepancies of Holy Scripture are of 
 about the same degree of importance ! 
 
 ix. l 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 91 
 
 they should take nothing for their journey ', save a staff Chap. 
 only ; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: \ 
 
 9. But be shod with sandals ; and not put on two 
 
 coats. 10. And He said unto them, In what place 
 soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart 
 from that place. 11. And whosoever shall not receive 
 you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the 
 dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily 
 I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 
 12. And they went out, and preached that men should 
 repent. 13. And they cast out many devils, and anointed 
 with oil many that were sick, and healed them. 
 
 We cannot fail to notice the considerate kindness TheAposties 
 of the Lord in sending the Apostles out by two and two : two. 
 in this first missionary journey especially, each of them 
 would require that peculiar support and assistance, which 
 can be gained from a dear companion, and not easily 
 in any other way. It is a lesson of missionary wisdom 
 for all times ; and it teaches us also how that when He 
 was Himself present to superintend the work, the Lord 
 did not neglect those precautions for success, which 
 human foresight would suggest. 
 
 It may be observed by the way, that S. Matthew 
 does not tell us, in his account of this mission, that the 
 Apostles were sent two and two ; but in enumerating the 
 Apostles, immediately before giving the history of their 
 mission, he gives their names in pairs. 
 
 Thus then the twelve Apostles were sent out for the 
 first time by themselves, on what may be regarded 
 perhaps as a trial mission, preparatory to their more 
 continuous missionary work throughout the world after 
 the Lord's ascension into Heaven. And a theological 
 
92 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, conclusion of some interest may be drawn from a com- 
 * ■*■• parison of the statements, made by the first three Evan- 
 
 gelists. Concerning the mission S. Matthew tells us, 
 
 that the Lord commanded them to preach, The kingdom 
 of Heaven is at hand. S. Mark, that they preached that 
 men should repent. S. Luke, that they went preaching 
 the Gospel. Hence it would seem to follow, that preach- 
 ing the Gospel and preaching repentance are not so dif- 
 ferent as some would have us believe, and that both the 
 one and the other must be included in preaching the 
 kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 The use of oil in the healing of the sick by the 
 Apostles in this mission stands out in contrast with the 
 Lord's own practice. We never read of the Lord Him- 
 self using oil ; the Apostles appear to have adopted it 
 from the common practice of the Jews ; the distinction 
 between their application of the remedy and that made 
 by others was, that in their hands the remedy was 
 always effectual through the present power of Christ. 1 
 s. Matt. 14. And king Herod heard of Him, (for His name 
 
 s.Luke was spread abroad:) and he said. That John the Baptist 
 was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works 
 do shew forth themselves in Him. 15. Others said, 
 TJiat it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, 
 
 1 Lightfoot's note is as follows : 
 
 " The oil therefore was, saith the famous Beza, a symbol of their 
 miraculous power, not a medicament whereby they cured diseases. But 
 the Jews say, and that truly, such an anointing was physical, although 
 it did not always obtain its end. But this anointing of the Apostles ever 
 obtained its end." He adds, "Let it be granted, such anointing was 
 medicinal, which cannot possibly be denied, and then there is nothing 
 obscure in the words of James (v. 14), Let the elders of the Church be 
 called, and let the sick man be anointed by them, or by others present, that 
 their prayers may be joined with the ordinary means " 
 
S. MARKS GOSPEL. 93 
 
 or as one of the prophets. 16. But when Herod heard Chap. 
 thereof, he said. It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen _* 
 from the dead. 
 
 S. Mark here calls Herod by the name of king; he The views 
 is more correctly designated tetrarch by S. Matthew and others con- 
 S. Luke ; he was the son of Herod the Great, and Christ. 
 his government extended over Galilee. I have remarked, 
 in the parallel passage of S. Matthew, upon the fact of 
 his not having heard of the fame of Jesus before ; and 
 I may here add, that possibly the missionary expedition, 
 of which we read in this chapter, may have assisted 
 to bring the result about by giving a wider spread to 
 the Lord's preaching. I may take occasion to observe 
 further upon the curious want of discernment, which 
 characterized the remarks of Herod and his servants 
 concerning the Lord Jesus. Herod himself thought 
 it must be John the Baptist risen from the dead; his 
 conscience suggested this to him ; the feeling of shame 
 at having murdered a good man would not let him rest. 
 Others said it was Elijah come upon earth again; and 
 others, who did not venture to assert positively which of 
 the prophets it was, still thought that it was one of the 
 number returned to life. Now the point which I wish 
 to notice is this, that Herod and his servants, though 
 they differed in opinion as to who Christ was, still 
 agreed in seeking for the truth in the graves of the 
 departed; they all sought for the living amongst the 
 dead; it might be a prophet just slain, like John the 
 Baptist, or it might be a prophet taken from the earth 
 centuries before, like Elijah ; but certainly it must be 
 backwards and not forwards that they were to look for 
 the explanation of the riddle. That God had visited His 
 people in a more glorious and blessed manner than He 
 
94 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, had ever visited them before, never entered into the 
 
 VJ - minds of such inquirers as these. 
 
 14 — 23. * 
 
 May we not gain some instruction from the error 
 
 committed by these men ? Of course we may learn, that 
 they who have sinned, as Herod did, have to a great 
 extent blinded their own eyes ; but besides this, may 
 we not learn, that, in order to understand God's dealings, 
 we must look to Him as one, who not only spake in 
 old times by prophets, but who speaks still, and is ever 
 ready to speak to willing and obedient hearts ? 
 
 s. Matt. 17. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold 
 
 upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias sake, 
 his brother Philips wife: for he had married her. 
 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful 
 for thee to have thy brother s wife. 19. Therefore He- 
 rodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed 
 him; but she could not: 20. For Herod feared John, 
 knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and 
 observed him; and when he heard him, he did many 
 things, and heard him gladly} 
 
 Death of S. Matthew and S. Mark both give us the history 
 
 Baptist. of the death of S. John the Baptist ; S. Mark, as usual, 
 with a much greater amount of particularity of detail. 
 
 But S. Mark not only gives additional details ; he 
 throws some very valuable light upon the history. It 
 might have been imagined from S. Matthew's account, 
 
 1 The phrase rendered by observed him probably means rather tvatched 
 over him, guarded him, protected him. The margin gives kept him or 
 saved htm. This is one of the instances given by Dean Trench of " better 
 renderings forsaken, or placed in the margin," and he observes, " It will 
 at once be evident in how much stricter logical sequence the statement of 
 the Evangelist will follow, if this rendering of the passage is admitted." 
 — Trench on the Authorized Version of the New Testament, p. 80. 
 
VI. 
 
 17 — 20. 
 
 & MARE'S GOSPEL. 95 
 
 that Herod had an unmitigated dislike of S. John, and Chap. 
 that nothing kept him from destroying him except fear 
 of the people ; but we find from S. Mark, that, although 
 Herod had been angry with S. John on account of 
 his boldness in rebuking his adulterous connection with 
 Herodias, and had imprisoned him in consequence, still 
 Herod's feeling was very far from being one of mere 
 dislike or hatred. S. Mark's account of Herod's feeling 
 is very worthy of attention. Herod feared John, know- 
 ing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed 
 him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and 
 heard him gladly. Here was a feeling of reverence, and 
 almost of regard ; but there was no determination to give 
 up his lusts in obedience to S. John's preaching, and 
 therefore there could be no permanent peace and love 
 between Herod and John. We may be reminded per- 
 haps of our own monarch Charles II., who certainly 
 reverenced Ken and several others like him, and reve- 
 renced them because they were just men, but who could 
 not shake himself free from his lusts and submit himself 
 to their teaching. And as I have mentioned this illus- 
 tration from history, I may perhaps add another, which 
 is somewhat parallel to the case of Herod and John, 
 in respect of the elevation of the poor preacher and the 
 humiliation of the king, implied in the terms, Herod 
 feared John. Palissy, the famous French potter, was 
 imprisoned in the Bastille, when nearly eighty years old, 
 on account of his religious opinions. The king of France 
 visited him, and strove to make him recant. u My good 
 man," said the king, " you have been forty-five years 
 in the service of my mother, or in mine, and we have 
 suffered you to live in your own religion, amidst all the 
 executions and the massacres. Now, however, I am so 
 
96 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, pressed, that I have been compelled in spite of myself to 
 26 i m P r i son you; you will be burnt, if you will not be 
 
 converted." u Sire," answered Palissy, " you have said 
 
 several times that you feel pity for me ; but it is I who 
 pity you, who have said, / am compelled. That is not 
 speaking like a king. I will teach you to talk royally. 
 All your people and yourself cannot compel a Potter 
 to bow down to images of clay." 1 
 s. Matt. 21. And when a convenient dm/ was come, that Herod 
 
 xiv. 6—9. p ... 
 
 on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, 
 and chief estates of Galilee ; 22. And when the daugh- 
 ter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased 
 Herod, and them that sat with him, the king said unto 
 the damsel, Ash of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will 
 give it thee. 23. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever 
 thou shalt ash of me, I will give it thee, unto the half 
 of my hingdom. 24. And she went forth, and said unto 
 her mother, What shall I ash f And she said, The head 
 of John the Baptist. 25. And she came in straightway 
 with haste unto the hing, and ashed, saying, I ivill that 
 thou give me by-and-by in a charger the head of John 
 the Baptist. 26. And the hing was exceeding sorry ; 
 yet for his oatKs sake, and for their sahes which sat with 
 him, he would not reject her. 
 The con- The word, which is translated convenient, is regarded 
 
 veiuent day. ' # . 
 
 by some as rather meaning festive; it was a high day 
 and a holiday. Our translators however seem to have 
 thought, that convenient expressed the meaning of the 
 original word more correctly; and the use of the ex- 
 pression may at least suggest to us, that even for such 
 tragical events, and events apparently so injurious to 
 God's Church and the cause of truth, as the murder 
 
 1 Palissy the Potter, by H. Morley, vol. ii. p. 197. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 97 
 
 of S. John the Baptist, there are seasons permitted in Chap. 
 the providence of God. Even in the case of the Lord ^J' 
 
 Jesus Himself there was a convenient day. At one period 
 
 He said, My time is not yet come; when He saw the 
 day approaching, He said, My time is at hand. 
 
 It was a sad day for Herod, when he allowed himself 
 in the midst of his revelry to be trapped into a promise, 
 which he would not have made if he had seen to what 
 it would lead him. But is he to be pitied? Ought 
 we not rather to learn a lesson concerning the danger of 
 joining m such scenes, and putting ourselves in such cir- 
 cumstances, as shall make it probable that we shall 
 be led into sin ? Allowance is frequently made for men 
 who commit crimes, because they committed them in 
 a state of intoxication ; it may be right and necessary 
 for human law to do this, but it may well be questioned 
 whether in the sight of God the blackness of the crime 
 is much alleviated by the excuse. What right had the 
 criminal to be in a state of intoxication ? What right 
 had he to resign the attributes of manhood, and the 
 powers of self-control, which God had given him ? 
 
 However, in Herod's case there was more than this. Herod 
 He was guilty in making the promise, but he was still keeping Ma 
 more guilty in keeping it. Any casuist would have 
 told him, that his promise could not extend to things 
 in themselves unlawful; John Baptist's head was ex- 
 cluded by the nature of the case ; but I suspect that 
 Herodias was the keeper of Herod's conscience, and 
 she would take care that he should not get free when 
 once entangled. What a picture we have of the slavery 
 in which a man has bound himself, when he lives such 
 a life as Herod lived; how simple a thing to say, as 
 Joseph did, How can I do this great wickedness, and sin 
 
 promise. 
 
98 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chajp. 
 VI. 
 
 21 29. 
 
 S. Matt. 
 xiv. 10—12. 
 
 The execu- 
 tioner one 
 of Herod's 
 bodyguard. 
 
 against God ? But a wicked man cannot say this, be- 
 cause the devil has the answer ready. How can you 
 do it? In the same way as you have already done 
 a hundred similar things in time past. 
 
 27. And immediately the king sent an executioner, 
 and commanded his head to be brought: and he went 
 and beheaded him in the prison, 28. And brought his 
 head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the 
 damsel gave it to her mother. 29. And when his dis- 
 ciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, 
 and laid it in a tomb. 1 
 
 The name of the officer, who is called in the English 
 version an executioner, denotes rather one of the king's 
 bodyguard; the word used by S. Mark is a Latin one, 
 and seems to have belonged to those who were im- 
 mediately about the Emperor. This remark is of no 
 great importance, except as it shews the influence of 
 Eoman customs and Koman language, and as it calls 
 our attention to the hasty arbitrary death which was 
 inflicted upon S. John ; no pretence of a trial, no 
 delay in order to see whether the rash promise could 
 not be more mildly interpreted, but an attendant sent 
 out from the banqueting chamber then and there to 
 bring back the head of him, who came as the forerunner 
 of Christ. 
 The death There are few events more worthy of the consider- 
 SL S Bapt£t. ation of humble Christian believers, and of scoffing 
 unbelievers, than this death. Christ had declared John 
 
 1 It may be noted that the word translated by corpse, which is ap- 
 plicable to the carcases of animals (S. Matt. xxi. 28), and which from its 
 derivation is expressive of ruin and corruption, is not applied to the 
 body of the Lord. The disciples of John took up his corpse and laid 
 it in a tomb ; but Joseph of Arimathsea craved the body of Jesus and laid 
 Sim in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 99 
 
 to be the greatest of those born of women up to, that Chap. 
 
 time, and we can well understand on what ground 
 
 . . 2 7 — 2 9- 
 the high honour was allotted to him ; and the people 
 
 in general were disposed to assent to the Lord's de- 
 scription of His servant; they were moved by his 
 teaching, and his baptism, as they had not been moved 
 for a long while ; they were willing (as our Lord said) 
 for a season to rejoice in his light ; and what was the 
 end of it all ? John is shut up in prison ; he languishes 
 there in apparent uselessness and helplessness, and then 
 on occasion of a merry revelling feast his head is suddenly 
 taken away from him, and his disciples come and bury 
 his corpse in a tomb ! So ended to human eyes the life 
 and ministry of S. John the Baptist. But if we regard 
 this as the real end of all, we manifestly make an infinite 
 mistake ; S. John had made preparation for the coming 
 of Christ, and now Christ was come, and so S. John 
 was called to his rest and his works followed him. And 
 we may draw from his history this conclusion, ap- 
 plicable to our own times, namely, that when missionaries 
 of Christ's Gospel lose their lives in the work, have 
 their heads cut off (it may be) by savages, and when 
 their bodies are buried in the tomb, the end is not yet ; 
 they have prepared the way for the coming of Christ, 
 and their work will not be useless in the eye of Him, 
 whom appearances can never deceive. 
 
 30. And' the Apostles gathered themselves together s. Luke 
 unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they 
 had done, and what they had taught. 31. And He 
 said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert 
 place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming 
 and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 
 
 The Apostles made their report to their Master of 
 
 h2 
 
100 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 their first 
 mission 
 
 Hints for 
 missionary 
 work. 
 
 Chap, what they had done and what they had taught, but 
 the Evangelist has not preserved any record of what 
 
 —their report was; and -the reason probably is this, that 
 
 o?5i e doings tne m i ss i° nar 7 expedition on which the Apostles had 
 Apostles in been sen t was chiefly of a tentative kind, more for the 
 education of the Apostles themselves than for the sake 
 of any permanent results that it was to produce. It was 
 well that the Apostles should be tried, and should realize 
 some of the difficulties of their situation, while yet 
 Christ was with them and was able to hear their troubles 
 and to give them advice. 
 
 It will be noted, that when the Apostles returned 
 from this expedition, Christ did not at once send them 
 upon another: on the other hand, He invited them to 
 retire with Him to a desert place and there take rest. 
 We see in this conduct an example of that gentle 
 considerateness of character, which comes out so often 
 in the dealings of Christ with His disciples ; He knew 
 what nature could bear, and He knew when nature 
 needed repose; and He knew this, not only because 
 He was the Son of God, but because as the Son of Man 
 He carried that nature Himself and had part in its 
 weaknesses. But besides this lesson concerning our 
 Lord's character, we may learn something concerning 
 the work of the Gospel, and especially missionary work, 
 in all times ; we may learn that besides the spirit which 
 will make men go forth without scrip or 'money, there 
 is needed also the quiet spirit of contemplation apart 
 from the multitude ; and when men are chiefly excited 
 by the thought of what they have done and what they 
 have taught, then it may be wise for them to go apart 
 into a desert place and rest awhile with Christ. 
 
 The retirement of Christ and His disciples may 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 101 
 
 teach us a still more general lesson concerning re- Chap. 
 ligious retirement. Perhaps upon no point has more _ 
 error, and consequently more mischief, arisen in the 
 
 Church ; and it may be safely said, that all such error r JKent 
 and mischief would have been avoided, if Christians had 
 noticed the principle of the Lord's conduct when He 
 advised His Apostles to retreat. It was when they 
 were worn out with active labour, and as a preparation 
 for renewed labour, that Christ told His Apostles to 
 retire : the desert was a meaus, not an end : the Apostles 
 were not to become hermits, but they were to rest awhile, 
 in order that they might renew their work. 
 
 32. And they departed into a desert place by ship s. Matt. 
 privately. 33. And the people saw them departing, .s. Luke 
 and many knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all 
 cities, and outwent them, and came together unto Him. 
 34. And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, 
 and was moved with compassion toward them, because 
 they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He 
 began to teach them many things. 
 
 A word occurs in these verses, which I cannot but The people 
 think characteristic of S. Mark's style, or perhaps more Christ. 
 properly of S. Peter's. In describing the manner in 
 which the people followed our Lord, S. Mark says, they 
 ran, — an expression which gives the notion of excite- 
 ment and haste, and the more so because it can hardly 
 be intended to be taken in its literal and strict signifi- 
 cation. 1 I note that S. Mark has used the same phrase 
 with regard to that young man, who came to ask the 
 Lord what he should do to attain eternal life; he tells 
 
 1 Notice the word run again in verse 55. S. Mark's favourite word 
 straightway or immediately occurs just before : straightway they 
 Him, and ran through the whole region round about. 
 
102 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, us that there came one running and kneeling to Him. 
 __* But besides this passage, in which the Evangelist 
 
 probably describes the simple fact of the case, I may- 
 refer to the frequent use of the word immediately or 
 straightway in this Gospel, which has already been 
 noticed, and which gives a character of haste and move- 
 ment to the narrative, as being an example of the same 
 general style of writing. 
 
 The phrase when Jesus came out appears to refer to 
 the boat, in which they had crossed the lake ; when 
 Jesus came out of the boat ; and this accords with the 
 expression in the previous verse, the people outwent 
 them. The little fact thus revealed is worthy of ob- 
 servation, as a commentary upon the weary life of our 
 Lord; He wished His disciples to retire to the desert 
 to take some rest, but the people would let them have 
 none. If the reasons which prompted them to follow 
 Christ were really the love of His doctrine, then we may 
 gain a lesson from their importunity, and we may be 
 sure that, however much it might increase His labours, 
 Christ would be pleased by such importunity; what 
 displeases Christ is the quiet easy indifference of those, 
 who care not for His presence, and will not put them- 
 selves out of the way to hear His words. 
 
 Teaching g # Mark tells us that the Lord was moved with com- 
 
 and healing. 
 
 passion, and began to teach the people many things : 
 S. Matthew tells us that He healed their sick : both state- 
 ments no doubt are true, and it is interesting to observe 
 how intimately the two kinds of ministry were associated 
 together in our Lord's practice. He healed the body, 
 and so did an act of compassion and made His way 
 to the heart ; and, having done this, He attempted His 
 deeper work of healing, and applied His divine words 
 to the spirits of those who came to hear Him. 
 
A MARK'S GOSPEL. 103 
 
 35. And ivhen the day was now far spent. His dis- Chap. 
 ciples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place, _ 
 and now the time is far passed : 36. Send them away, 
 
 that they may go into the country round about, and into s - Mi 
 
 xiv. 15—21. 
 Luke 
 12—17. 
 
 the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have x s> 
 nothing to eat. 37. He answered and said unto them, 
 Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall 
 we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and 
 give them to eat? 38. He saith unto them, How many 
 loaves have ye ? go and see. And when they knew, they 
 say, Five, and two fishes. 39. And He commanded them 
 to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 
 40. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by 
 fifties. 41. And when He had taken the five loaves and 
 the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and 
 brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set 
 before them; and the two fishes divided He among them 
 all. 42. And they did all eat, and were filled. 43. And 
 they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments,, and of 
 the fishes. 44. And they that did eat of the loaves were 
 about five thousand men. 
 
 S. Mark's account of this miracle of feeding the mmh 
 multitude in the wilderness differs very little from that 
 given by S. Matthew, but there are one or two little 
 touches indicative of his own peculiar style. Thus 
 S. Mark mentions that the multitude sat down on the 
 green grass ; and this passing observation of the colour of 
 the grass is interesting, when taken in connection with 
 the fact which S. John records, namely, that the Feast 
 of the Passover was nigh, because it thus appears that the 
 miracle was wrought in the spring time, when the grass 
 would be green. Again, S. Mark is true to his own 
 style when he mentions the two hundred pennyworth 
 
104 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of bread; not merely, shall we go and buy bread, but 
 _ shall we buy two hundred pennyworth? And again, 
 
 S. Mark adds to the general account of the distribution 
 
 of the food this little circumstance concerning the two 
 fishes, that He divided them amongst them all. 
 The arrang- A more instructive point is brought under our notice, 
 multitude, when S. Mark tells us, more particularly than S. Mat- 
 thew, the arrangements which the Lord Himself made 
 for feeding the multitude. He commanded to make 
 them all sit down by companies; and in accordance with 
 this command they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and 
 by fifties. In other words, the feeding of the multitude 
 was conducted upon an orderly, well arranged plan ; 
 there was no confusion, no giving to this man before 
 that, because he was more importunate, no possibility 
 of the strong gaining an advantage over the weak, and 
 no hurry to begin the work before all the arrangements 
 were properly made. Now if we regard the feeding of 
 the multitude as a parable concerning the work which 
 the Apostles were to do in the world afterwards, a para- 
 ble of the spiritual feeding of mankind with the bread 
 from Heaven, which Christ should supply them withal, 
 then these orderly arrangements made by the command 
 of our Lord are very full of instruction : the tendency 
 of men, when they once realize the fact that they are 
 surrounded by a hungry multitude, is to throw a piece 
 of bread here and a piece there, to make irregular efforts 
 to supply the wants which they perceive to exist; but 
 this is not Christ's way, and therefore it is not the wise 
 way ; order must in this, as in every other work of God, 
 be the root of all success, 
 s. Matt. 45. And straiqhtway He constrained His disciples 
 
 x j v> 22 27. 
 
 to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 105 
 
 Bethsaida, while He sent away the people. 1 46. And Chap. 
 when He had sent them away. He departed into a moun- ' 
 
 tain to pray. 47. And when even was come, the ski 
 was in the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. 
 48. And He saiv them toiling in roiving; for the wind 
 was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of 
 the night He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and 
 icould have passed by them. 49. But when they saw 
 Him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been 
 a spirit, and cried out: 50. For they all saw Him, and 
 were troubled. And immediately He talked with them, 
 and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not 
 afraid. 2 
 
 What did the Apostles expect that the Lord would Thedis- 
 
 # ciples sent 
 
 do, when He sent them away in the boat and Himself away from 
 remained behind with the multitude? Certainly they 
 did not expect that He would follow them upon the 
 water; but I apprehend that they had now advanced 
 so far in their Christian education as to refrain from 
 questioning their Master's purposes; they felt that 
 He was altogether above themselves, and that they had 
 only to obey and leave results with Him. 
 
 Accordingly the disciples got into the boat, and left 
 their Master, who, after dismissing the multitude, retired 
 
 1 This Bethsaida was on the west side of the Lake of Gennesaret, 
 and was the city of Andrew and Peter : the Bethsaida, afterwards called 
 Julias, near which the miracle of the loaves and fishes was performed 
 (S. Luke ix. 10) was on the east side. The name Bethsaida signifies 
 a place offish, a fishing place, and we need not wonder that two villages 
 on the horder of a lake abounding in fish should bear such a name. 
 
 2 I cannot fail in passing to call attention to S. Mark's remarkable 
 omission of the history of S. Peter's walking on the water. As I have 
 observed in my introduction to S. Matthew, possibly S. Peter's modesty 
 may have prevented him from making this event a part of his own 
 memoirs. 
 
themselves. 
 
 106 A. COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, to a mountain, according to His wont, for prayer. By 
 ^- so doing, it may be remarked by the way, He has 
 
 — taught all His ministers, that their success in dealing 
 
 with the multitude depends very much upon their mode 
 of employing their time, when the multitude is not with 
 them ; to be alone with God and make application to 
 Him in secret is an absolutely necessary condition of 
 producing an effect for good upon their brethren. 
 The dis- But how fare the disciples by themselves ? S. Peter, 
 
 Satby 1 the speaking through S. Mark, has given us a very minute 
 account of the trouble into which they immediately fell ; 
 the wind was contrary, their sails useless, they were 
 obliged to toil at their oars, and even so they could make 
 no progress : probably S. Peter, himself a fisherman on 
 the lake, was one of those to whom the toil of rowing 
 fell. Then came Jesus walking on the waves ; S. Mark 
 says that He ivould have passed by them, that is, as 
 I suppose, He did not walk straight towards the vessel, 
 as though it were His intention to join them at once ; He 
 only shewed Himself to them, and allowed the vision to 
 work in their minds and to call forth their faith. This 
 conduct is symbolical; it may intimate to us, that the 
 Saviour does not always come directly to those who are 
 in trouble, but approaches them by degrees and slowly, 
 allows their faith to grow, and permits them to deem 
 Him only a phantom, until they are convinced of His 
 reality by the words, It is /, be not afraid. 
 
 The words, Be not afraid, do not, I apprehend, apply 
 to the fear arising from the roughness of the sea; that 
 merely caused them to toil, but the indistinct vision of 
 Christ, and the uncertainty who or what He was caused 
 them all to be troubled; and it was this trouble of mind, 
 arising from His own appearance to them in the dark 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 107 
 
 and upon the sea, which Christ graciously dispelled by Chap. 
 talking with them and bidding them to be of good cheer. _ * 
 
 51. And He icent up unto them into the ship ; and 
 the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves f;.^!^ 
 beyond measure, and wondered. 52. For they considered 
 not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hard- 
 ened. 53. And when they had passed over, they came 
 into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 
 54. And when they were come out of the ship, straight- 
 icay they knew Him. 55. And ran through that whole 
 region round about, and began to carry about in beds 
 those that ivere sick, ichere they heard He ivas. 1 56. And 
 whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or 
 country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought 
 Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His 
 garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole. 
 
 We may note in these verses that S. Mark uses 
 
 the technical expression for bringing a ship to land 
 
 or into harbour, translated in our version by the words 
 
 they drew to the shore, and that he is the only New 
 
 Testament writer who uses it. 
 
 We may observe also that the conclusion of this Theexcite- 
 ■ ■ (i « ^r i i i t men t pro- 
 
 chapter is very characteristic of b. Mark s style, and duced by the 
 
 . i i • ■ -i i i -i-i Lord ' s 
 
 may with this view be advantageously compared with presence. 
 
 the conclusion of his first chapter; there is an excite- 
 ment and movement in the description of the effect 
 produced by our Lord's presence, which does not belong 
 to any other Evangelist. We find here again S. Mark's 
 favourite word, straightway or immediately ; straightway 
 they knew Him; and it will be seen that the earnestness 
 
 1 To carry about. The word "implies that they occasionally had 
 wrong information of His being in a place, and had to carry the sick 
 about, following the rumour of His presence." — Alford. 
 
108 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, with which the Evangelist tells his story has driven 
 
 ' him into an ambiguity of expression. Who were they 
 
 that straightway knew Him ? From S. Mark's account 
 
 alone it might appear to be they who were with Him in 
 the boat; but S. Matthew has inserted the words, the 
 men of that place, and so has corrected the ambiguity. 
 The amaze- A more important remark arises from the account 
 disciples not which S. Mark gives of the conduct of the disciples 
 when the Lord joined them in the boat. He tells us 
 that they were sore amazed and wondered ; and he adds 
 a few words which seem to shew that they ought not 
 to have been so much astonished. It can hardly fail, 
 I think, to strike a reader of the Gospels, that one 
 miracle did not prepare the minds of the disciples for 
 the next so completely as we should have expected. 
 We might have thought that when one great demonstra- 
 tion of power had been given, all others could have been 
 taken for granted; that a miracle once understood and 
 believed would have completed the work of preparing 
 the mind of the person witnessing it for all other 
 miracles. This however was not the case ; and it ap- 
 pears from the observation here made by the Evangelist, 
 that in reviewing the conduct of the disciples this strange 
 feature was not unnoticed by him. They considered not 
 the miracle of the loaves ; they ought to have done so, 
 otherwise the Evangelist would not have commented 
 upon the omission; and he adds the explanation, for their 
 hearts were hardened, not hardened by any wilfulness of 
 conduct like the heart of Pharaoh, but simply, as I con- 
 ceive, by circumstances and old habits of thought ; and 
 when hardness of heart shews itself not in disobedience 
 but in amazement at Christ's power, it is a hardness 
 which He will easily forgive. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Chap. 
 
 VII. 
 
 1—4. 
 
 1. Then came together unto Him the Pharisees , and _ 
 
 certain of the Scribes, which came from Jerusalem, s. Matt. 
 2. And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread 
 with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen hands, they 
 found fault. 3. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, 
 except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the 
 tradition of the elder •s. 1 4. And when they come from the 
 market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other 
 things there be, which they have received to hold, as the 
 washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.' 2 ' 
 
 The Evangelist has mentioned that these Pharisees scribes 
 and Scribes came from Jerusalem, probably not merely saiem. 
 
 1 For the word oft the margin gives with the fist, or up to the elbows. 
 It should be noted also that the word wash in verse 3 is not in the 
 original the same as the word wash in verse 4. The meaning is perhaps 
 this : Those that remain at home eat not unless they wash the fist, but those 
 that come from the market eat not unless they plunge their fists in the water, 
 being ignorant as to what uneleanliness they may have come near in the 
 market. The latter is a more extensive washing than the former, in- 
 tended to guard against possible defilement. This is the view of 
 Lightfoot. 
 
 2 Tables : the margin gives beds, which appears to be the better 
 rendering. Dean Trench observes that " the context points clearly here 
 to these in a special aspect, namely, to the benches or couches on which the 
 Jews reclined at their meals." The passage would however be quite 
 intelligible, if beds were taken in an unrestricted sense ; beds might, as 
 Lightfoot writes, become unclean in two ways ; namely, either by having 
 been used by persons in a state of defilement, as by a leper or a woman 
 in childbirth, or by having been touched by anything which had come in 
 contact with persons so defiled. 
 
110 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, because this was a fact, but because the mention of it 
 
 _ implies that the persons who now came together unto 
 
 Jesus were fresh from the fountain-head of all Jewish 
 
 wisdom ; they might have been residents in Jerusalem 
 who had followed Christ from thence, or they might be 
 Galileans who had been keeping the Passover, which 
 we know was approaching when the miracle of the loaves 
 recorded in the preceding chapter was performed; but 
 anyhow S. Mark appears to wish to impress upon us, 
 that the lore of Jerusalem doctors was now brought to 
 bear upon Christ, 
 why people The expression, then came together unto Him, may 
 Christ. raise a sad thought in our minds, when we compare it 
 with similar phrases used concerning those, who came to 
 Christ to sit at His feet and hear His words. Thus the 
 report of the Sermon on the Mount opens with the 
 phrase, His disciples came unto Him; the Pharisees 
 came and the disciples came, but those came to carp 
 and find fault and shew their own superior wisdom, 
 these to listen as little children and learn the way of 
 life. And so there may be many who in a certain sense 
 come to Christ amongst ourselves, and there may be 
 very different causes of their coming, and also very 
 different effects. 
 Defiled I apprehend that these Pharisees were ready to find 
 
 fault as soon as circumstances permitted ; and the occa- 
 sion was given by some of the disciples, who eat with 
 defiled hands. S. Mark differs from S. Matthew in 
 giving an explanation of the meaning of defiled hands : 
 S. Matthew's Jewish readers would need no such ex- 
 planation, but S. Mark, publishing his Gospel at Rome, 
 might well assume that there would be many readers 
 of his Gospel, who would be at a loss to understand 
 
 hands. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. Ill 
 
 in what way the disciples had offended ; and so S. Mark Chap. 
 explains that defiled means merely unwashen hands. _' 
 
 It may be added, that the Greek word nsed by S. Mark 
 
 requires explanation more than the word defiled by 
 which our translators have rendered it; for the strict 
 meaning of the word is common, and it is so rendered 
 in Acts x. 14, where S. Peter says, that he has never 
 eaten anything common or unclean; the word implies 
 therefore legal rather than natural defilement, a pollution 
 according to a ceremonial tradition, not according to 
 ordinary rules of cleanliness. 
 
 The disciples undoubtedly broke through the tra- 
 ditional custom with the Lord's sanction ; we find that s. Luke 
 on another occasion He broke through it Himself. A 
 religious principle was involved in doing so ; traditions 
 had been allowed to take the place of divine laws ; 
 a yoke had been gradually put upon the necks of men 
 which they could not bear, and the road to Heaven 
 was darkened and perplexed by human inventions and 
 follies. 
 
 5. Then the Pharisees and Scribes ashed Him, Why s. Matt. 
 walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of 
 the elders , but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6. He Third refe- 
 answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias pro- prophecy. 
 phesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people 
 honoureth one with their lips, but their heart is far from 
 Me. 7. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching 
 for doctrines the commandments of men. 8. For laying 
 aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition 
 of men, as the washing of pots and cups : and many 
 other such like things ye do. 
 
 Our translators appear to have used a text which 
 gives in the fifth verse the same Greek word as that 
 
112 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, which is rendered by unwashen in the second verse. 
 T5' Other copies of S. Mark's Gospel give the word which 
 
 in the second verse is rendered defiled: and this is, 
 
 I think, the more suitable word; for the Scribes and 
 Pharisees objected against the disciples that their hands 
 were unwashen, simply on the ground that as such they 
 were ceremonially denied or technically unclean, and 
 they would therefore most probably ask the question 
 in a form which would imply this : Why do Thy 
 disciples eat bread with hands common or unclean? 
 
 how the The Lord replied to the cavil by a reference to 
 
 ■wora? of , r . . _ _ 1 
 
 prophets the prophet Isaiah, which pointed out the hypocrisy 
 fined. f the accusers and the difference between a formal 
 
 service according to traditions of elders and a service 
 of the heart. No one can doubt the applicability of 
 the prophet's words to the spiritual state of the Scribes 
 and Pharisees of our Lord's time ; and therefore I will 
 pass by this view of the subject, in order to remark that 
 the manner of our Lord's quotation throws some light 
 upon the general structure of prophecy and its relation 
 to events to come after. If we look to the chapter 
 of Isaiah from which our Lord quotes, we shall perceive 
 that the prophet is pouring out in the name of the Lord 
 a vehement sentence upon the Jews of those days, 
 and is contending in the spirit with existing iniquities ; 
 it was the sickness of the body of Jewish society from 
 the crown of the head to the sole of the foot in his 
 own times, which moved the prophet's mind, and led him 
 to prophesy so warmly and sometimes so indignantly. 
 But our Lord does not say, Isaiah prophesied so and 
 so, and what he said of the men of those days is equally 
 applicable to you ; He says, Well hath Esaias prophesied 
 of you hypocrites, — prophesied of you, — so that the 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 113 
 
 words of the prophet, which in this case had undoubtedly Chap. 
 another application much nearer home, could be rightly * **• 
 
 described as spoken, through the power of the Holy 
 
 Spirit, of the men of the Lord's time. It gives perhaps 
 an imperfect notion of this prophetical principle to say 
 that the words are adapted or accommodated; it is 
 better to say that this comprehensiveness of meaning 
 is of the essence of divine prophecy, and that in this 
 sense, according to Scripture phrase, the words of pro- 
 phets are fulfilled. 
 
 9. And He said unto them. Full well ye reject the s.Matt. 
 commandment of God that ye may keep your own tra- 
 dition. 10. For Hoses said. Honour thy father and 
 thy mother y and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let 
 him die the death: 11. But ye say, If a man shall 
 say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, 
 a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 
 he shall be free. 12. And ye suffer him no more to 
 do ought for his father or his mother y 13. Making 
 the ivord of God of none effect through your tradition, 
 which ye have delivered: and many such like things 
 do ye. 
 
 In the phrase, full well ye reject the commandment of Ir ° n icai 
 God, we find an instance of severe irony, all the more 
 severe as coming from lips which so seldom adopted such 
 a tone. The phrase is the same as that which occurred 
 in a former verse : well hath Esaias prophesied — here the 
 expression is to be taken in its simple meaning : well ye 
 reject the commandment of God — here the expression is 
 ironical. The use of such a form of speech perhaps 
 declares the folly and wickedness of the conduct of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees more strongly than any serious 
 discussion of the reasons why it deserved to be con- 
 
114 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, demned : there was God's commandment on one side, 
 man's tradition on the other — you have chosen the latter 
 
 — who can doubt your wisdom ? who can say that you 
 
 have not made a holy choice ? 
 
 Instances of irony are not abundant in Scripture, but 
 there seem to be some. Thus it has been thought that 
 the language attributed to Almighty God on occasion of 
 the fall of man is to be so taken : behold the man is be- 
 come as one of us y to know good and evil — become like 
 his Maker by breaking that Maker's laws. 
 
 Observe the manner in which our Lord speaks of 
 Moses: ye reject the commandment of God ',... for Moses 
 said : therefore what Moses said was the commandment 
 of God. Moses was in fact to the children of Israel the 
 voice of God ; he came to them in the name of I AM, 
 and the people were bound to hear his words as the 
 words of Him who sent him. The Lord recognizes and 
 supports this authority ; He blames the Jews for setting 
 it aside ; He calls the commandments given by Moses 
 the commandments of God. How striking is this 
 acknowledgment when taken in connection with the 
 fact, that on one occasion the Lord declared that Moses 
 had given a permission, which was a virtual command- 
 ment, because of the hardness of the people's hearts ! 
 
 corban. S. Mark records the original word Corban, as he has 
 
 done in some other places ; the introduction of the word is 
 not important, except as an illustration of the Evangelist's 
 style. The nature of the fiction, which our Lord repro- 
 bates, has been already described in the commentary 
 upon the parallel passage of S. Matthew ; but I will add 
 that the language of our Lord seems to be made some- 
 what more pointed by S. Mark : ye suffer him no more 
 to do ought — as though the feelings of natural affection 
 
S. MARE'S GOSPEL. 115 
 
 rebelled against the fiction, and the tradition of the Chap. 
 Scribes and Pharisees not only made a way for some to * 
 
 escape from a duty, but opened a path of iniquity, into 
 
 which the good were forced by the power of custom in 
 company with the bad. 
 
 14. And when He had called all the people unto s. Matt. 
 Him, He said unto them. Hearken unto Me every one 
 of you, and understand : 15. There is nothing from 
 without a man, that entering into him can defile him: 
 hut the things which come out of him, those are they 
 that defile the man. 16. If any man have ears to 
 hear, let him hear. 17. And when He was entered into 
 the house from the people, his disciples ashed Him 
 concerning the parable. 18. And He saith unto them, 
 Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not 
 perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth 
 into the man, it cannot defile him; 19. Because it 
 entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and 
 goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20. 
 And He said, That xohich cometh out of the man, 
 that defileth the man. 21. For from within, out of the 
 heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica- 
 tions, murders, 22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, 
 deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, 
 foolishness : 23. All these evil things come from within, 
 and defile the man. 
 
 This passage is substantially the same as the parallel 
 one in S. Matthew. There are however a few points of 
 difference which are worthy of notice. 
 
 We may observe that S. Mark gives the words of our 
 Lord concerning defilement in a broader form. There is 
 nothing, says our Lord, from toiihout a man, that enter- 
 ing into him can defile him : the whole principle of pollu- 
 
 i2 
 
VII 
 
 '4—23 
 
 116 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, tion by meat and drink is swept away, and that without 
 even a reference to the old law, which seemed to teach 
 a different doctrine. Our Lord appears to have felt that 
 His doctrine would he regarded as hard by many of His 
 hearers, not hard to understand so much as hard to ac- 
 cept as true and to reconcile with previous divine teach- 
 ing. Therefore He adds the words, used on several 
 other occasions, if any man have ears to hear, let him 
 hear. The possibility of being misunderstood did not 
 deter the Lord from enunciating His great principle 
 with fulness and boldness ; and we may learn therefore 
 that there are cases, in which doctrines must be declared 
 at any risk, and notwithstanding the probability of their 
 being misunderstood. 
 The Law "We see in this teaching of our Lord an illustration of 
 
 a school- ° 
 
 master. what S. Paul says, that the Law was a schoolmaster to 
 bring us to Christ. The Law, with its regulations of clean 
 and unclean, had had a purpose to serve, and, if the Jews 
 had not abused it, would have served that purpose well ; 
 but even if it had not been abused, it was only a shadow 
 of good things to come, and all the formal regulations 
 concerning clean and unclean ceased to have any value, 
 when in the fulness of time Christ taught the true law 
 of uncleanness as connected with the thoughts and in- 
 tents of the heart. 
 The things Note that S. Mark is more full than S. Matthew in 
 a man. the catalogue given of evil things which defile a man : 
 he adds, according to the English version, covetousness, 
 wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness , an evil eye, pride, 
 foolishness. It may be remarked that all these belong- 
 to the general class of evil thoughts; those evil things 
 which S. Matthew and S. Mark record in common are 
 all open actions, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 117 
 
 blasphemies; those which S. Mark has added are not so Chap. 
 many more sinful actions, but they belong to a different ^"*-' 
 kind of sin. 
 
 24. And from thence He arose, and went into the s. Matt. 
 
 xv. 21—29. 
 
 borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, 
 and would have no man knoio it: but He could not be 
 hid. 25. For a certain woman, whose young daughter 
 had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and 
 fell at His feet: 26. The woman was a Greek, a 
 Syrophenician by nation; and she besought Him that 
 He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 
 27. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be 
 filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and 
 to cast it unto the dogs. 28. And she ansivered and said 
 unto Him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table 
 eat of the children's crumbs. 29. And He said unto 
 her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone 
 out of thy daughter. 30. And when she was come to 
 her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter 
 laid upon the bed. 31. And again, departing from 
 the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the sea of 
 Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. • 
 
 This miracle, according to S. Mark's report of it, Eleventh 
 exhibits very strikingly the two sides of our Saviour's 
 being, the human and the divine. The manner of deal- 
 ing with the case of possession brought before Him 
 demonstrates the Lord's divine power, as do all other of 
 His miracles ; indeed, if preeminence be possible, this is 
 a preeminent instance of that power; it realizes the 
 centurion's conception, which Christ so much com- 
 mended, Say in a word and my servant shcdl be healed; 
 the healing words are merely these, Go thy way, the devil 
 is gone out of thy daughter. Nothing could better illus- 
 
 miracle. 
 
118 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, trate tlie Lord's power, or His own declaration that He 
 _ had seen Satan like lightning fall from Heaven. But 
 then, on the other hand, we gather from S. Mark's ac- 
 count that our Saviour was led to perform this great 
 miracle in the most human manner possible, if I may so 
 venture to express myself. He went into the borders of 
 Tyre and Sidon apparently to rest from His ministry : 
 He entered into an house and loould have no man know 
 it: He desired retirement; He seems to have needed 
 rest, and therefore He betook Himself secretly to a part 
 of the country lying beyond the usual round of His 
 journeys : but though He entered into an house, and 
 wished no one to know it, He could not be hid. And so 
 the Lord was, as it were, forced out of His retirement, 
 and compelled by the importunity of a heathen woman 
 to perform a notable miracle. 
 
 It may be said that He foresaw the miracle from the 
 first : doubtless He did so : but the task of reconciling 
 such foreknowledge with His desire to be hid is one 
 beyond our powers, and involving the very mystery of 
 our Lord's compound being: we must be content to 
 leave such questions unsolved, and must not diminish 
 the force of expressions which declare the human nature 
 of Christ. 
 
 The thirtieth verse may be noted as very character- 
 istic of S. Mark's style. He tells us not only that the 
 girl was healed, but that the mother found her laid 
 upon the bed. And this instance of exactness is more 
 especially to be observed, because it shews us that the 
 minuteness of description which characterizes this Gospel 
 is not wholly due to the fact of the narrative having 
 come from an eyewitness ; in this case there is no pro- 
 bability that either S. Peter or S. Mark witnessed that 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 119 
 
 i 
 
 which the Gospel records ; no, minuteness of detail be- Chap. 
 longs to the style of this Evangelist; and it is useful to **■*■• 
 
 observe this, because it shews that the inspired writers 
 
 did not cease to guide human pens when they wrote 
 under the influence of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 32. And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, Twelfth 
 and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Peculiar to 
 Him to put His hand upon him. 33. And they took 
 Him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers 
 into his ears, and He spit, and touched his tongue; 
 34. And looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith 
 unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35. And 
 straightway his ears were opened, and the string of 
 his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36. And 
 He charged them that they should tell no man: but the 
 more He charged them, so much the more a great deal 
 they published it; 37. And were beyond measure as- 
 tonished, saying, He hath done all things well: He 
 maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. 
 
 This is one of the two miracles for the report of which 
 we are wholly indebted to this Gospel. It is related 
 with great particularity, and S. Mark gives us (as in 
 some other cases) the very word which Jesus spake when 
 He performed the miracle. In taking that general view 
 of the miracle, which befits the character of this com- 
 mentary, two points present themselves as chiefly worthy 
 of attention. 
 
 In the first place, Jesus took the man aside from the The miracle 
 crowd, and afterwards charged him to tell no man of his 
 cure ; the act of mercy was therefore what may be called 
 a private one, and all the circumstances of it acquire 
 a peculiar interest from the fact of their having been in- 
 tended, not as lessons for the public, but as parts of 
 
120 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, a work of mercy in which the suffering man alone was 
 
 concerned. This consideration leads me to lay stress 
 32 — 37. _ j 
 
 upon the fact that the Lord did not merely say Ephpha- 
 
 tha, but also put His fingers into the man's ears and 
 spit and touched his tongue : why did He do this ? For 
 the spiritual benefit, I apprehend, of the man himself 
 and his friends. He shewed thereby that mere touch 
 would not do the work required. Christ put His fingers 
 into the man's ears, and they still remained deaf; He 
 spit and touched his tongue, but the impediment of 
 speech remained. It was only when the divine will was 
 exerted, and the creative word put forth, that the ears 
 were opened, and the string of the tongue loosed, and the 
 powers of speech restored. 
 
 The Lord's The other point of especial interest is the Lord's 
 sigh. Looking up to Heaven, He sighed. This sigh has 
 been made the subject of an exquisite poem in the 
 Christian Year* and I apprehend that the solution of 
 
 1 Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 
 
 O'er whelming thoughts of pain and grief 
 
 Over His sinking spirit sweep ; — 
 " "What hoots it gathering one lost leaf 
 
 Out of yon sere and withered heap, 
 "Where souls and hodies, hopes and joys, ' 
 
 All that earth owns or sin destroys, 
 Under the spurning hoof are cast, 
 
 Or tossing in th' autumnal blast?" 
 
 The deaf may hear the Saviour's voice, 
 
 The fettered tongue its chain may break ; 
 But the deaf heart, the dumb by choice, 
 
 The laggard soul, that will not wake, 
 The guilt that scorns to be forgiven ; — 
 
 These baffle e'en the spells of Heaven ; 
 In thoughts of these, His brows benign 
 
 Not even in healing cloudless shine. 
 
32—37- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 121 
 
 the question there given is not less poetical than true. Chap. 
 The performance of a miracle of healing might well 
 bring to the mind of the Saviour the thought of the 
 enormous amount of sickness, both bodily and spiritual, 
 unhealed, and in consequence of human perversity to 
 a great extent unhealable. The explanation is simple ; 
 our own poor limited experience of doing good seems to 
 testify of the possibility of sadness of heart arising from 
 such a cause. The only difficulty, if difficulty it be, is to 
 say why Christ did not always sigh when He performed 
 a work of mercy : perhaps He did : certainly He sighed, 
 and more than sighed, at the grave of Lazarus. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. Chap . 
 
 VIII. 
 1. In those days the multitude being very great, 1—9. 
 
 and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples g 
 
 unto Him, and saith unto them, 2. / have compassion xv - 32 ~ 39 - 
 
 on the multitude, because they have now been with Me 
 
 three days, and have nothing to eat : 3. And if I send 
 
 them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint 
 
 by the way : for divers of them came from far. 4. And 
 
 His disciples answered Him, From whence can a man 
 
 satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness ? 
 
 5. And He ashed them, How many loaves have ye? 
 
 And they said, Seven. 6. And He commanded the 
 
 people to sit down on the ground: and He took the 
 
 seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave 
 
Thirteenth 
 miracle. 
 
 122 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 to His disciples to set before them: and they did set 
 them before the people. 7. And they had a few small 
 fishes: and He blessed, and commanded to set them 
 also before them. 8. So they did eat, and were filled : 
 and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven- 
 baskets. 9. And they that had eaten were about four 
 thousand: and He sent them away. 
 
 This second miraculous feeding of a multitude in the 
 wilderness is related by S. Mark almost precisely in the 
 same manner as by S. Matthew ; the only difference of 
 any importance being, that S. Matthew mentions the 
 fact that the number was about four thousand, not in- 
 cluding the women and children. I shall take the op- 
 portunity of making two remarks, which are applicable 
 to both miracles. 
 Thecrea- The miracles may be said in a certain sense to in- 
 
 mvoi^eTfn volve creative power. Any one who believes that the 
 Lord Jesus was the Word of God, by whom all things 
 were made, will perceive that He was only performing 
 what may be called His ordinary work when He sup- 
 plied food for a multitude ; He who supplied bread in 
 the wilderness is the same who makes the earth to bring 
 forth corn and fruits, and who first called the herbs of 
 the field into being. At the same time it should be 
 observed, that there is a broad line of distinction be- 
 tween the multiplication of the loaves and the creation 
 of corn or the causing the herbs to grow in the fields : it 
 was a creation, but a creation of a different kind, an in- 
 crease of a substance already existing, concerning which 
 we can really say little else but this, that the food was 
 multiplied, and that the multitude eat and were filled. 
 
 This character of the miracle has made it one of the 
 most easy for the application of that method of explana- 
 
 the miracle. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 123 
 
 tion which was some time since devised, but now almost Chap. 
 forgotten, for the purpose of reducing the miracles of our V -^ L1 - 
 
 Lord to the standard of mere ordinary works of charity. 
 
 It was said that what our Lord really did was not to J ] tll( 
 
 multi- 
 
 The effect 
 
 multiply the food by miraculous power, but so to move p^jjj^e 
 the minds of the multitude that they who had abundance JES^™* 
 gave to those who had none, and that thus He supplied own days ' 
 the wants of all. The explanation will not hold on 
 general grounds, nor can it be reconciled with various 
 distinct statements made concerning this particular 
 miracle ; but I have thought it worth noting, because 
 the works of our Lord have had for successive genera- 
 tions very much of that effect, which, according to these 
 foolish interpreters, constituted the whole substance of 
 the miracles. The feeding of the multitude in the wilder- 
 ness has fed many multitudes since in the very way 
 described. Christ is not here present in the body to feed 
 the poor with miraculous bread ; but He has infused such 
 a new spirit into the world, as to ensure an imparting of 
 the rich to the poor, and the supply of the wants of 
 many. Christ is in fact the true feeder of multitudes ; 
 and that which He did twice during His life on earth by 
 the power of His creative word, He does now on a much 
 larger scale by the power of His Spirit. 
 
 10. And straightway He entered into a ship with s. Matt. 
 His disciples , and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. xvi. i-U. 
 11. And the Pharisees came forth^ and began to question 
 with Him, seeking of Him a sign from Heaven, tempting 
 Him. 12. And He sighed deeply in His spirit^ and 
 saithj Why doth this generation seek after a sign f verily 
 I say unto you. There shall no sign be given unto this 
 generation. 13. And He left them, and entering into 
 the ship again departed to the other side. 
 
124 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. S. Matthew tells us, that after sending away the 
 
 Viil. mu ltitude the Lord and His disciples took ship and 
 
 came into the coasts of Magdala, S. Mark that they 
 
 Magdaia came into the parts of Dalmanutha. Of Dalmanutha 
 
 and Dalma- , ■"- 
 
 nutna. there is now no trace to be found by travellers, and we 
 can only conclude that it was a village in the neighbour- 
 hood of Magdala ; probably to a person acquainted with 
 the Holy Land in the days of our Lord's life upon earth, 
 the coasts of Magdala, and the parts of Dalmanutha, 
 would describe the locality equally well. The hypo- 
 theses which may be made as to the connection between 
 the Evangelists, implied by such a change of name as 
 this, are manifold and various, and generally of very 
 doubtful validity. 
 
 why the It will be more profitable to notice, that the four 
 
 Lord crossed l • i t l - ,i 
 
 and re- verses, upon which 1 am now commenting, convey the 
 Lake. ' history of a passage and repassage of the Lake. Our 
 Lord and His disciples go to the parts of Dalmanutha, 
 and apparently soon embark again, and go over to the 
 other side. What was the purpose of this expedition ? 
 What did the Lord do in the parts of Dalmanutha ? If 
 S. Mark's account be complete, He merely encountered 
 some hardheartedness from the Pharisees, and having 
 sighed deeply over their state of mind left them and 
 departed. They required a sign from Heaven,* their 
 demand was, I conceive, founded on the report they had 
 heard of the recent miracle • the discussion recorded in 
 S. John vi., which however arose out of the first 
 miraculous feeding, perhaps explains their demand ; 
 they pretended to think that the feeding of a multitude 
 in the wilderness was nothing more than what Moses 
 had done ; Messiah must do much more ; His character 
 must be attested in some signal manner from Heaven. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 125 
 
 What a result from such a miracle ! No wonder that the Chap. 
 Lord sighed deeply in His spirit, and declared that no * 
 
 sign should be given. He left them, and departed ; and 
 
 so the Saviour of mankind crossed the Lake and re- 
 crossed it again, in order that He might come in contact 
 with the hardheartedness of Pharisees and be caused to 
 sigh. 
 
 14. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, s -. Matt. 
 neither had they in the ship with them more than one 
 loaf. 15. And He charged them, saying, Take heed, 
 beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven 
 of Herod. 16. And they reasoned among themselves, 
 saying, It is because we have no bread. 17. And when 
 Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, be- 
 cause ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither 
 understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18. 
 Having eyes, see ye not ? and having ears, hear ye not ? 
 and do ye not remember? 19. When I brake the five 
 loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of 
 fragments took ye up? They say unto Him, Twelve. 
 20. And when the seven among four thousand, how 
 many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they 
 said, Seven. 21. -And He said unto them, How is it 
 that ye do not understand? 
 
 S. Mark tells us not merely in general as does 
 S. Matthew, that the disciples had forgotten to take 
 bread, but more particularly that they had not more than 
 one loaf with them ; this (I need hardly say) is alto- 
 gether according to what we have so frequently observed 
 in the style of this Evangelist. 
 
 It should be noticed also that in S. Mark's report of The two 
 the Lord's words, as in that of S. Matthew, the distinc- basket. 
 tion between the two kinds of basket used for collecting 
 
126 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the fragments in the two miracles of feeding a multitude 
 Vlll. j n t j ie w ii^ erness i s carefully preserved. 1 
 
 14 — 21. . 
 
 There is one difference between the reports of the two 
 
 (Jthe leaven Evangelists which may give rise to some discussion. 
 Pharisees g # Matthew represents the Lord as speaking of the leaven 
 Herod. Q £ t | ie pharos an ^ Sadducees y S. Mark of the leaven 
 of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod: what did our 
 Lord mean by the leaven of Herod ? Some have thought 
 that He intended by this expression, as by the other 
 concerning the Pharisees, to warn the disciples against 
 hypocrisy : and they have explained this by saying, that 
 Herod was at the same time paying court to the Jews 
 and to the Roman Emperor for the sake of his crown, 
 and that he and his party (of whom we seem to get 
 a glimpse under the name of Herodians) were thus the 
 type of men, who would adopt any religion or no religion 
 for the sake of worldly advantage. May it not possibly 
 be, that the name of Herod was intended to stand for 
 the court of Herod, with all the pomp and pleasure and 
 Hypocrisy worldliness that belonged to it ? May not the Pharisees 
 
 and world- ° J 
 
 liness. stand for wickedness under the cloak of religion, Herod 
 for wickedness in the form of the world and the flesh ? 
 And if so, may we not get a hint that the disciples of 
 Christ have ever these two dangers to avoid? hypo- 
 crisy on the one side, worldliness on the other ; and do 
 we not see, as a matter of fact, that what is called the 
 religious world is ever expressing its horror of world- 
 liness ; and that worldly people on the other side comfort 
 themselves by talking of the abominable character of 
 religious hypocrisy, and congratulating themselves that 
 they are at least free from this ? 
 
 Note, before leaving this passage, that it was the 
 
 1 See note upon S. Matthew xvi. 10. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 127 
 
 disciples who had forgotten to take bread. 1 Our Lord Chap. 
 
 then did not concern Himself with these matters : so * In ; 
 
 14 — 26. 
 
 when the woman of Samaria found Him resting by 
 
 Himself at the well, it was because the disciples had 
 gone away to buy meat. The meat and drink of 
 Christ were such as could never be forgotten or left 
 behind. 
 
 22. And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring Fourteenth 
 a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. Peculiar to 
 23. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led 
 him out of the town; and when He had spit on his 
 eyes, and put His hands upon him, He ashed him if 
 he saw ought. 24. And he looked up, and said, I see 
 men as trees, tvalking. 25. After that He put His 
 hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: 
 and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26. 
 And He sent him away to his house, saying, Neither 
 go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. 
 
 Another miracle peculiar to this Gospel. It offers 
 several points for consideration. 
 
 The most notable feature of it, that in which it Gradual 
 
 \ character ot 
 
 differs from every other miracle which Jesus wrought, the miracle. 
 is the gradual character of the cure. Interpreters have 
 discussed much the reason of this, and some have at- 
 tributed it to the spiritual condition of the blind man 
 himself, some have sought it rather in the purpose 
 of our Lord. It is certainly gratuitous to assume that 
 there was any want of faith on the part of the man, 
 and we might have expected that had this been so, 
 the miracle would have been rendered impossible rather 
 
 1 The word disciples, which is supplied in the English version, is not 
 in the original, hut is manifestly implied. In the parallel place of 
 S. Matthew the word is given. 
 
128 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, than gradual. It seems to me the wiser course to en- 
 _ 6 quire what lesson may be learnt from the Lord's conduct, 
 
 assuming that in this as in every other case He did 
 
 all things well. And this lesson, I think, we certainly 
 may gather, namely, that the works which Christ per- 
 forms upon the spirits of men are not the less miraculous, 
 nor the less genuine, because they are gradual: there 
 may be growth of spiritual discernment, as there was 
 growth of this man's power of seeing, and the growth 
 may nevertheless be not a mere natural development, 
 but a gift proceeding direct from the creating power 
 of Christ. Men are too apt to confine the works of God 
 within limits of their own devising; but as in nature 
 there is scarcely any kind of growth, however widely 
 divergent from the ordinary rule, of which instances may 
 not be found, so in grace there are divers kinds of ex- 
 perience, and no one has a right to lay it down as a 
 rule, that the dealings of God with his neighbour are 
 precisely like the dealings of God with himself. 
 
 The miracle This miracle is one of those which may be described 
 as private miracles. The Lord took the blind man 
 out of the town, and when He had completed the cure, 
 He bid him go, not into the town, that is, into Bethsaida, 
 but to his own house, and not to tell it to any in 
 the town ; whence it appears incidentally that the blind 
 man did not belong to Bethsaida ; he was to go home, 
 but not to go there ; and the command laid upon him 
 was apparently not entire silence concerning the miracle, 
 but silence so far as Bethsaida was concerned. Why 
 was this? Here again we are compelled to take upon 
 trust the wisdom and propriety of our Lord's command ; 
 but it cannot fail to strike us, that there must have 
 been some very special reason. Bethsaida was not 
 
VIII. 
 
 22 3°' 
 
 S. MARKS GOSPEL. 129 
 
 without its miracle; on the other hand, it was one of Ch\^- 
 those places which received a special woe, because it 
 had neglected the mighty works done within it ; is it 
 possible that its time had now expired, and that the 
 things which belonged to its peace were now hidden 
 from its eyes? 1 
 
 27. And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the s.Matt. 
 towns of Cesarea Philippi : mid by the way He ashed s.Luke 
 His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say 
 that I am f 28. And they answered, John the Baptist : 
 but some say, Elias ; and others, One of the prophets. 
 29. And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that 
 I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, 
 Thou art the Christ. 30. And He charged them that 
 they should tell no man of Him. 
 
 I have remarked in my commentary upon the parallel s. Peter's 
 
 n n -\r i i i • 1 • 1 confession 
 
 passage of S. Matthew, the incidental manner m which the centre 
 this very important conversation between our Lord and Gospel. 
 His disciples took place; by the way He asked His 
 disciples. The manner of its introduction is especially 
 notable, because of the importance of it as a portion of 
 the history. It is (so to speak) the turning point ; and 
 the confession of S. Peter seems to have put our Lord 
 henceforth upon new terms with His disciples. Finding 
 that their faith was sound upon the great point of 
 His own being and character, He was able to lead 
 them on to truths which they had never suspected 
 before, and to shew them that Christ must suffer many 
 things and be rejected and killed. Viewing this passage 
 as the turning point of the history, it is perhaps not 
 unworthy of observation, that we are now as nearly as 
 may be in the centre of S. Mark's Gospel. 
 
 1 It is a question, however, which of the two Bethsaidas this was. 
 
 K 
 
130 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. The chief point which strikes us in comparing the 
 
 2 * account given in this Gospel with that given by S. Mat- 
 
 thew, is the omission of the blessing given to S. Peter : 
 
 _The Mess- an om i ss i on which it is impossible not to deem of great 
 
 omuted'by significance, if (as I have everywhere assumed) S. Peter 
 s.Mark. be really the author of ^ Ma j k » s G ospe i # How are 
 
 we to account for it? We may perhaps compare it 
 with the omission of the history of his walking on the 
 water, and we may say that in his ordinary teaching 
 S. Peter shrank from reporting words of our Lord 
 which appeared to raise him so much above his brethren, 
 and which in his mouth would imply that he valued 
 himself much upon the distinction. I can easily believe 
 that S. Peter could seldom bring himself to repeat 
 words of such unparalleled greatness; we shall see 
 presently that he did report the other words of our Lord 
 which were words of unparalleled rebuke. If this be 
 the right solution of the difficulty, it throws much 
 light upon the apostolic character, and shews how well 
 S. Peter had learned the lesson of humility which our 
 Lord so often enforced; but it also shews how very 
 much that lesson of humility Jias been forgotten by 
 many of those, who have professed themselves to be 
 the true successors of S. Peter, and have claimed a 
 supremacy over their brethren in virtue of our Lord's 
 words. 
 s - ] ^? tt «o 31. And He began to teach them, that the Son of 
 
 xw. 21—23. " ' J 
 
 Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the 
 elders , and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be hilled, 
 and after three days rise again. 32. And He spake 
 that saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began 
 to rebuke Him. 33. But when He had turned about 
 and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 131 
 
 Get thee behind Me, Satan: for thou savourest not the Chap. 
 
 things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Vni - 
 
 In after-days S. Peter must have been much amazed 3I 33 ' 
 
 at the presumption of his conduct towards the Lord The rebuke 
 upon this occasion. .But we may be thankful that no 
 feeling of shame prevented him from recording the 
 circumstances, and so leaving a lesson behind him for 
 other disciples, who may feel tempted to presume upon 
 their privileges and so lose their humility. S. Paul 
 speaks of a thorn in the flesh being sent to buffet him, 
 lest he should be exalted above measure by the abund- 
 ance of revelations which he received; and so in the 
 case of S. Peter, the special revelation made to him 
 of the glory of Christ in the Mount of Transfiguration, 
 and the prominent place which he had just been per- 
 mitted to occupy in answering the question of the Lord, 
 Whom say ye that I am ? seem to have been too much 
 for his humility, and to have caused him to receive 
 a very severe rebuke. 
 
 S. Mark adds one little sentence to the account 
 which we have in S. Matthew,, and perhaps throws 
 thereby some light upon S. Peter's conduct. He tells 
 us that our Lord spake that saying openly; that is, 
 He made no secret of the sufferings which He was 
 about to undergo, and the rejection with which He was 
 about to meet; and from the way in which S. Mark 
 tells us this, I think we may conclude that it was the 
 plain open undisguised character of our Lord's declara- 
 tion concerning Himself, which chiefly offended S. Peter. 
 He would have the feeling probably, that if such mis- 
 fortunes were in store, they were at least not things 
 to be talked of to all the disciples; such a course 
 would dispirit them; if the Lord felt anxious about 
 
 k2 
 
132 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the future success of His mission, it would be better 
 
 * ■*■ „ to talk over His fears to himself and James and John, 
 31 — 38. , .... . 
 and not run the risk of His misgivings becoming gene- 
 rally known. And so Peter took the Lord aside and 
 rebuked Him ; but the Lord, as we are expressly told, 
 turned about and looked on His disciples, and then 
 rebuked Peter; He had no secret communications for 
 Peter ; what He said to one He said to them all ; Peter 
 did Him little justice in supposing that He was dis- 
 couraged and out of heart ; He knew what was coming 
 and that it was all part of His redeeming work, and 
 now was the time for making it known. The disciples 
 had all confessed through Peter that Jesus was Christ ; 
 and therefore now they were all fit to hear that He must 
 suffer and be rejected of men. 
 s. Matt. 34. And when He had called the people unto Him 
 s.Luke ' with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever 
 will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take 
 up his cross, and follow Me. 35. For whosoever will 
 save his life shall lose it; hut xohosoever shall lose his 
 life for My sake and the GospeVs, the same shall save 
 it. 36. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall 
 gain the whole tcorld, and lose his own soul? 37. Or 
 what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 
 38. Whosoever therefore shall he ashamed of Me and 
 of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, 
 of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He 
 cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels. 
 Did the These words were not intended to be of private 
 understand interpretation, for Christ spoke them not to His dis- 
 
 our Lord's . _ _ L 
 
 words? ciples only, but to the people, whom He called to Him 
 for the purpose. Could the words have been entirely 
 understood at the time by those who heard them? 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 133 
 
 could they thoroughly enter into the meaning of taking Chap. 
 up their cross and following Him? I should conceive _ g * 
 
 that the Lord's hearers would understand that complete 
 
 devotion to Him was needful, so that even if crucifixion 
 stared them in the face they must not shrink; but 
 I should think also, that they hardly realized that, 
 which even the Apostles themselves found it difficult 
 to believe, namely, that they were to follow One, who 
 was not only to be crucified with shame, but whose 
 crucifixion was to be the ground of His disciples' preach- 
 ing and His disciples' boast. 
 
 But however much or however little of the Lord's 
 meaning was taken in by His hearers at the time, this 
 we may say concerning the solemn declaration made 
 on this occasion, that it contained the fundamental 
 principle of the preaching of the Gospel to the world. 
 Our Lord knew from the beginning the opposition with 
 which His Church would meet; He knew that His 
 own cross was the very type and symbol of the whole 
 history of the preaching of the Gospel, that the Gospel 
 would raise up in active and most malevolent opposition 
 all the powers of sin the world and the devil, and that 
 it was only by suffering that He Himself, or His 
 disciples after Him, could gain the victory. What 
 a wonderful truth! how painful to the Apostles to 
 realize ! how completely in accordance with that which 
 took place afterwards ! 
 
 And no doubt the words of our Lord upon this 
 occasion were words frequently in the mouths of early 
 apostles and martyrs. It was the words, What shall 
 it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose 
 his own soul, that sent Francis Xavier upon his wonder- 
 ful missionary labours ; and doubtless the simple force 
 
134 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of such words, and the full belief that the Son of Man 
 _ g * would come one day in the glory of His Father with the 
 
 holy Angels, and reward those who had not been ashamed 
 
 of Him, were a tower of strength to simple faithful 
 followers of Christ, from which no power of men or 
 devils could expel them. What could persecutors do 
 with those, who looked thus beyond the misery of the 
 present to the glories of the future? and what can the 
 temptations of the world do with us, if we in like 
 manner look beyond present pleasure and advantage 
 to the restitution of all things, when the Son of Man 
 will be revealed ? 
 
 Chap. CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IX. 
 
 j g 
 
 1. And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 
 
 s.Matt. That there he some of them that stand here, which shall 
 
 xvi. 28 ; «/ j 
 
 x s U Li!ik"e 8 ' not tastG °f d eat h) ^H they ^ ave seen the kingdom of God 
 ix. 27—35. come w ith 'power. 2. And after six days Jesus taketh 
 with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them 
 up into an high mountain apart by themselves : and He 
 was transfigured before them. 3. And His raiment be- 
 came shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller 
 on earth can white them. 4. And there appeared unto 
 them Elias with Moses: and they ivere talking with 
 Jesus. 5. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, 
 Master, it is good for us to be here : and let us make 
 three tabernacles ; one for Thee, one for Moses, and one 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 135 
 
 for Elias. 6. For he wist not what to say ; for they Chap. 
 were sore afraid. 7. And there was a cloud that over- _ • 
 
 shadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, 
 
 saying, This is my beloved Son: hear Him. 8. And 
 suddenly , when they had loolced round about, they saw 
 no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. 
 
 The history of the Transfiguration here given is The Trans- 
 almost identical with that given by S. Matthew ; in 
 comparing the two we may however note the little 
 sentence peculiar to S. Mark, so as no fuller on earth 
 can white them, not so much because this description 
 adds much to the history, as because it is characteristic 
 of this Evangelist. There can hardly be any question 
 that the account of the transfiguration, as given by 
 S. Mark, is that, from which S. Matthew derived his ; 
 S. Peter was one of the three witnesses of the wonderful 
 scene, and neither of the other two (as far as we know) 
 recorded it ; S. Peter therefore is the real authority for 
 the history, and in the Gospel of S. Mark we find, as 
 I have so frequently remarked, the testimony of S. Peter 
 himself. 
 
 It may perhaps be worth while to observe, that they 
 who divided the Gospels into chapters have made a 
 singular difference between the division of subject in 
 this Gospel and that adopted in S. Matthew's. In 
 S. Matthew's, the verse, in which our Lord speaks of 
 some of those standing with Him who should not taste 
 of death until they saw the Son of Man coming in His 
 kingdom^ appears to belong to the discourse which pre- 
 cedes it, and to be separated from the history of the 
 transfiguration by being made to close a chapter. In 
 S. Mark's the same verse is separated from the discourse 
 alluded to by the arbitrary division of the chapter, and 
 
136 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, made the commencement of the story of the transfigura- 
 _ " tion. It would seem from this, that they who divided 
 
 S. Mark's Gospel believed that there was a connection 
 
 between the promise of seeing the Son of Man coming- 
 in His kingdom, and the revelation of the Son of Man 
 in glory which followed. Is this so, or is it not ? 
 The king- I am disposed to think that the division in S. Mat- 
 coming with thew and that in S. Mark may each have a portion of 
 the truth. Doubtless the promise of Christ was not 
 exhausted by the transfiguration; and yet that event 
 seems so to mark the beginning of the coming of the 
 kingdom of God with power, that I can believe that our 
 Lord intended His disciples to see in it a reference to 
 His promise lately given. It formed a new epoch in 
 Gospel history, and was the first foreshadowing of that 
 complete revelation of the Son of Man as the judge of 
 quick and dead, which is to take place hereafter. Ob- 
 serve, with reference to this commencement of a new 
 epoch, that we have (as before remarked) completed the 
 first half of S. Mark's Gospel, 
 s. Matt. 9. And as they came down from the mountain, He 
 
 x s?Luke 13 " charged them that they should tell no man what things 
 1X1 36, they had seen, till the Son of Man were risen from 
 the dead. 10. And they kept that saying with them- 
 selves^ questioning one with another what the rising from 
 the dead should mean. 11. And they ashed Him, 
 saying, Why say the Scribes that Elias must first come ? 
 12. And He answered and told them, Elias verily cometh 
 first, and restoreth all things ; and how it is written 
 of the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things, 
 and be set at nought. 13. But I say unto you. That 
 Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him what- 
 soever they listed ', as it is written of him. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 137 
 
 The rising from the dead, of which the Lord spoke Chap. 
 to the three disciples, was a source of great perplexity ^* 
 to their minds. It was not that the notion of a resur- - 
 
 rection was new and strange to them, for the Jews gene- J^® c ^ 
 rally believed this : and in particular we may call to ci P le . s co ?- 
 
 •> ' L <J cernmg the 
 
 mind, that, when Jesus told Martha that her brother resurrection. 
 
 Lazarus should rise again, she replied at once that she 
 
 knew her brother should rise again -at the last day. 
 
 The difficulty was to connect their ordinary belief in 
 
 a resurrection with those things which their Master 
 
 had told them to connect with it ; how could they keep 
 
 the scene of the transfiguration a secret until after the 
 
 resurrection, if that resurrection were what they, as 
 
 orthodox Jews, believed it to be ? and yet of what other 
 
 resurrection could the Lord speak? I suspect that 
 
 their partial knowledge of truth helped in this instance 
 
 to add to their difficulties; and indeed nothing but 
 
 the actual witnessing of the event could have made 
 
 them completely to understand what the rising from the 
 
 dead should mean. 
 
 The answer of our Lord to the question concerning 
 Elias is given more fully by S. Mark than by S. Mat- 
 thew, and may be made more striking than it appears in 
 our English version, if we regard the latter part of the 
 twelfth verse as a question, which it most probably 
 was. How is it written t How do you account for the 
 fact, that, notwithstanding this restoration of all things 
 by Elias, it should nevertheless be written of Messiah, 
 that He should be a sufferer and should be made of 
 no account, utterly disregarded and despised? Here 
 indeed was the difficulty, which all expectants of the 
 Messiah had to conquer; there were prophecies of the 
 restoration of all things, there were prophecies not less 
 
138 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, clear of contempt and rejection : the Scribes were willing 
 -^* to take the first, they were unwilling to accept the 
 
 second : like many others they wished to read the 
 
 Scriptures in their own way, and to reject what they 
 could not reconcile with their own theories. Nor was 
 it easy for men, who lived before the coming of Messiah, 
 to twine all the threads of prophecy into one uniform and 
 consistent string ; but also it was not required of them 
 that they should ; the fault of the Scribes and those who 
 followed them was I apprehend this, that they would 
 not open their eyes to receive the light when it came. 
 Who could be more ignorant, more gross in their con- 
 ceptions, than the disciples? Yet they followed Jesus, 
 because they loved Him; and so they were led by 
 degrees to understand mysteries, and to see how all 
 Scripture centered in Him and in Him was fulfilled. 
 
 s. Matt. 14. And when He came to His disciples, He saw a 
 
 x s?Luke great multitude about them, and the Scribes questioning 
 with them. 15. And straightway all the people, when 
 they beheld Him, were greatly amazed, and running to 
 Him saluted Him. 
 
 Fifteenth The history of the cure of the child, who had been 
 brought ineffectually to the disciples while the Lord was 
 in the Mount, is given by each of the first three Evan- 
 gelists, and as usual with most minuteness by S. Mark. 
 Some of the particulars which S. Mark supplies will 
 afford matter for comment. 
 The scribes S. Mark tells us, that our Lord found the Scribes 
 
 with the** questioning with His disciples; a fact which is worth 
 noticing, because it indicates, that the failure of the dis- 
 ciples in their attempt to perform a miracle had created 
 a considerable stir in what may be called the religious 
 world. It was not merely that the father of the child, 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 139 
 
 and those who happened to witness his application to Chap. 
 the Apostles, were disappointed, "but that the news of ■*-*" 
 the failure had soon reached the ears of the leaders of — - — 
 the people in religious matters ; and the failure was 
 looked upon as a new fact in the case, an evidence of 
 the kind for which they had long been seeking against 
 the claims of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 The people, I apprehend, were still on the side of the 
 disciples and their Master ; and so, when they saw Him 
 coming to them again, they were overjoyed, and running 
 to Him saluted Him. They had been trembling perhaps 
 lest the Scribes should get the better of the disciples in 
 the argument ; certainly for the moment the advantage 
 seemed to be on their side ; but as soon as they saw 
 Christ again all their anxiety vanished; His calm, 
 dignified, gentle face reassured them; and they were 
 confident that He could explain everything, and could 
 deliver themselves and His disciples from their per- 
 plexity. Yet we read that they were greatly amazed: 
 the word so translated expresses fear 7 alarm; what 
 could they fear? It may be, that the Evangelist in- 
 tends to express that the tumult was hushed, and the 
 hearts of the people awed by the sudden arrival of 
 Christ amongst them ; or it may be, that something of 
 the divine glory still remained, and that the visage of 
 Christ was to such an extent changed for the time, like 
 that of Moses when he returned from the Mount, as to 
 produce an effect, which they could scarcely explain 
 themselves, upon the minds of those who saw Him. 
 We read, on other occasions, of fear and great joy 
 being emotions excited by our Lord's presence; and 
 perhaps we may learn this at least from S. Mark's 
 words, that the joy excited by the presence of Christ is 
 
140 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 
 IX. 
 
 1 6 — 24. 
 
 different from mere worldly joy, and is then safest and 
 best when it is accompanied by godly fear. 
 
 16. And He asked the Scribes, What question ye 
 S \. M ?"* . , with them f 17. And one of the multitude answered and 
 i^'3^41 said, Master, I have brought unto Thee my son, which 
 hath a dumb spirit ; 18. And wheresoever he taheth 
 him, he teareih him : and he foameth, and gnasheth with 
 Ms teeth, and p>ineth away: and I spake to Thy disciples 
 that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19. 
 lie answer etli him, and saith, faithless generation, how 
 long shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ? 
 Bring him unto Me. 20. And they brought him unto 
 Him : and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare 
 him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 
 21. And He asked his father, How long is it ago since 
 this came unto him ? And he said, Of a child. 22. 
 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the 
 waters, to destroy him: but if Thou canst do anything, 
 have compassion on us, and help us. 23. Jesus said 
 unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to 
 him that believeth. 24. And straightway the father of 
 the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe ; 
 help Thou mine unbelief. 
 
 Our Lord gives the Scribes the opportunity of stating 
 their own case ; no doubt they had some knotty question 
 concerning the Law, or the traditions of the elders, 
 which they wished to be solved ; and Christ would assist 
 His disciples in unravelling the difficulty. But we see 
 very clearly the difference between the questionings of 
 Scribes and the real pressure of spiritual distress, in the 
 manner, in which the man in the crowd contrives by his 
 quickness to take the reply out of the mouth of the 
 Scribes. They were discussing why it was that the dis- 
 
 The ques- 
 tioning of 
 Scribes. 
 
S. MAE^S GOSPEL. 141 
 
 ciples, who had done so many other works, had failed Chap. 
 here ; the man himself cares little about the reason of * 
 
 failure, he is only concerned with the fact ; his son is 
 
 grievously tormented, and the disciples cannot set him free 
 from his torment. Can Jesus Christ Himself? That is 
 the great question, which exercises the father's heart. 
 
 The variety of ways, in which the infirmity of the The malady 
 afflicted child is described, is worthy of attention. Ac- as described 
 cordins; to S. Matthew, we find the father saving, He is several 
 
 7 . 7 7 -i • -i p n , Evangelists. 
 
 lunatic and sore vexed, and in the alter part of the story 
 we read of the Lord rebuking the devil. According to 
 S. Mark, the father says that his son has a dumb spirit, 
 and afterwards Christ rebukes the foul spirit, saying unto 
 him, Tlwu dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out 
 of him. According to S. Luke, the father says of his 
 son, that a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; 
 and afterwards we read, that the devil threw him down 
 and tare him, and that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit. 
 This appears therefore to have been a true case of de- 
 moniacal possession, and yet we find S. Matthew speak- 
 ing of the boy as being lunatic ; from which I think we 
 may conclude as much as this, that we must not fancy 
 that the Evangelists were always scientifically strict in 
 their phraseology concerning spiritual maladies; and 
 therefore we must not hope to clear up completely 
 the very difficult subject of demoniacal possession by 
 examination of the Evangelists' words. 
 
 The conversation between our Lord and the father is 
 peculiar to S. Mark, and very beautiful. Jesus talks 
 kindly about the affliction; brings out the man's 
 faith, makes the healing a religious lesson to the parent 
 as much as a boon to the child, and teaches us in the 
 most emphatic manner that it is possible, by our faith, 
 
142 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, to obtain blessings for those, who are unable to ask them 
 
 for themselves. 
 2 5 — 29. 
 
 25. TTAe?* Jesus saiv that the people came running 
 
 xTii M ?8-2i. together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, 
 ix.42. Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out 
 of Mm, and enter no more into Mm. 26. And the spirit 
 cried, and rent Mm sore, and came out of Mm : and 
 he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is 
 dead. 27. But Jesus took Mm by the hand, and lifted 
 Mm up; and he arose. 28. And when He ivas come 
 into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why 
 could not we cast him out? 29. And He said unto 
 them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer 
 and fasting. 
 
 The Lord having produced the right condition of 
 heart in the father of the child, delays no longer to 
 work the miracle. Lord, I believe, help Thou mine 
 unbelief. The condition of mind evinced by these words, 
 even the apparent contradiction which they contain, 
 proving as it did that the father's faith had not taken 
 away his humility, were a proper preparation for the 
 performance of a work so great and difficult as this 
 seems to have been. Moreover the people began to 
 crowd round; and the Lord was perhaps anxious to 
 avoid any additional display of His power, and therefore 
 He did not defer to speak the word of command. 
 The word And I remark upon the word of command, not only 
 
 of command ■••.,„ 
 
 totneun- because it is much more fully reported by S. Mark 
 
 clean spirit. ^ *■ J 
 
 than by either S. Matthew or S. Luke, but because 
 it is very striking in itself. It indicates a completeness 
 of healing, which must have been very comforting to the 
 afflicted child and his father, and may be comforting 
 to ourselves. Christ charges the spirit not merely to 
 
IX. 
 
 25—29. 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 143 
 
 come out of the child, hut not to enter into him again ; Ckap. 
 and so He delivers the afflicted one, not only from 
 present pain, hut from future anxiety. Many of our 
 deliverances from evil, it is to he feared, are not of this 
 complete and final character; hut at least it is well 
 to know that such deliverances are not beyond Christ's 
 power, to question whether they would not always be 
 of this kind if not interfered with by human sinfulness, 
 and to look forward with hope to that time, when 
 deliverance from evil shall be complete, and when all 
 that separates us from God shall be banished from our 
 hearts, never to enter into them again. 
 
 The cure was not effected without a severe struggle. The strug- 
 The spirit rent him sore ; the child fell down as one fiverance. 
 dead; many in fact thought that he was dead; but 
 Jesus lifted him gently by the hand, and he arose. 
 May we not see in this a hint, that evil spirits, which 
 cannot be cast out but by prayer and fasting, will only 
 leave us with extreme difficulty, and well-nigh kill 
 us in the act of departure? It is the very character 
 of evil, that it by degrees takes possession of the whole 
 being, and becomes a part of the man's self, so that to 
 get rid of it is like wrenching soul and body asunder ; 
 and when it is got rid of by prayer and fasting, or such 
 like severe discipline, many say he is dead ; he is such 
 an altered man, his tastes so changed, his thoughts so 
 different: but what of that? Jesus will take him by 
 the hand, and shew that he is not dead, but in reality 
 is restored to life. 
 
 30. And they departed thence, and passed through s. Matt. 
 Galilee : and He would not that any man should know s. Luke 
 it. 31. For He taught His disciples, and said unto 
 them, The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of 
 
144 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, men, and they shall hill Him; and after that He is 
 
 -*-■*-• killed, He shall rise the third day. 32. But then under- 
 go — 32. -, . , 
 stood not that saying, and were afraid to ash Him. 
 
 gTveTtothe 6 ^' -^ ai 'k gives a more prominent place to this teach- 
 teachi- m & °f our Lord concerning His approaching sufferings 
 HfeS** an ^ death an ^ resurrection, than either S. Matthew or 
 fermgs. <^ Luke. These two Evangelists give us substantially 
 the same account of what Christ said ; but S. Mark 
 adds that the journey through Galilee was kept secret, 
 in order that He might have the opportunity of in- 
 structing His disciples on the awful future, which was 
 now approaching. So at least I understand the Evan- 
 gelist, when he says that Christ 'would not that any 
 man should hnow it, for He taught His disciples. It is 
 impossible not to remark the place which this special 
 teaching occupies; it is impossible, I mean, not to 
 observe, that it follows immediately upon the great 
 revelation of divine glory on the Mount of Transfigura- 
 tion; it was in fact the glory, revealed during that 
 exaltation, that gave the chief importance and meaning 
 to the declaration of sufferings and death, which the 
 Lord made after His return to the level of this world 
 and to the society of men. He who is declared to 
 be the Son of God by a voice from Heaven, is He, who 
 as the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands 
 of men and to be crucified and slain. 
 
 Observe also the lesson, which is to be learned from 
 the importance assigned by our Lord to the duty of 
 instructing His Apostles. His general work was that 
 of doing good to the people, healing their sicknesses, 
 and instructing their ignorance, leading them towards 
 the kingdom of Heaven ; but He will not allow this 
 great work to interfere with one of a more quiet yet not 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 145 
 
 less important kind. His Apostles must be taught: Chap. 
 they must learn the mysteries of His kingdom in order _ 
 
 that they may teach others; and the importance as 
 
 signed by our Lord to this work may perhaps be a hint 
 to His ministers in these days, not to allow the work 
 of their open and public ministrations to interfere with 
 private study and their own religious improvement : 
 sometimes they must retire from the multitude, that 
 they too may be instructed of Christ. 
 
 Christ taught His disciples, and yet they did not 
 understand Him. He spoke of His death and His 
 resurrection, and they understood neither the one nor 
 the other. But His work was not thrown away ; a time 
 came, when they did understand; and then His old 
 lessons, which seemed dark at the time, started up into 
 new life and light, and their hearts were encouraged, 
 and their faith confirmed. 
 
 33. And He came to Capernaum: and being in s.Matt. 
 the house He ashed them. What was it that ve disputed s. Luke ' 
 
 7 a T1 777 77. iX< 46 ~ 48 - 
 
 among yourselves by the way ? 34. But they held their 
 peace : for by the way they had disputed among them- 
 selves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat 
 down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any 
 man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and 
 servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him 
 in the midst of them : and when He had taken him in 
 His arms, He said unto them, 37. Whosoever shall 
 receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me : 
 and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but 
 Him that sent Me. 
 
 It was on the occasion of this arrival at Capernaum The story 
 that the incident of the tribute-money, and the com- tribute- 
 
 J ' money omit- 
 
 mission to Peter to pay it by means of a coin found | e< ^ k# 
 
146 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, in a fish's mouth, occurred. Seeing that S. Peter was 
 ' the chief actor in this miraculous transaction, we might 
 
 perhaps have expected to find the history of it in 
 
 S. Mark rather than any other of the Evangelists ; but 
 the omission is quite of a piece with that of the history 
 of the walking on the water, and of the signal blessing 
 pronounced on the occasion of S. Peter's great con- 
 fession. We should in common language say, that 
 a disciple might have been proud to have been treated 
 by his master as S. Peter was, when Christ said to him, 
 that take and give for thee and Me ; and this may 
 be the very reason why S. Peter in his teaching laid 
 little stress upon it, or altogether passed it by. 
 
 The rebuke The story of the tribute-money is omitted, that of 
 
 of ambition 1 . 
 
 not omitted, the dispute for precedence is given most fully. The 
 latter illustrated the weakness of the disciples, and on 
 that very account they wished to publish it, although 
 (humanly speaking) it might easily have been con- 
 cealed. It was when they were in the house, that the 
 Lord called them to account for their foolish dispute by 
 the way. We may very well believe, that by reserving 
 His censure for a private interview He intended to spare 
 their feelings ; and we may add that a censure given so 
 gently, so delicately, so kindly, would certainly have 
 a tenfold force ; but, although it was given thus pri- 
 vately, the Apostles would not keep the benefit of it to 
 themselves ; what they thus had heard in the closet 
 they would proclaim upon the housetops, in order that 
 their brethren, having the same infirmities, might have 
 
 The ambi- the benefit of the rebuke. 
 
 tion of the . •■»•/« • 
 
 disciples It is a striking fact that this dispute for precedence 
 
 connected -,■,-,, . , .. ,. . 
 
 with the should have taken place m immediate connection with 
 
 prophecy of # x 
 
 the Lord's a declaration of the Lord's sufferings. The explanation 
 
 sufferings. ° A 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 147 
 
 is perhaps this. The Lord had finished the prophecy Chap. 
 of His sufferings with the declaration that He should _ • 
 
 rise again : the disciples did not know what this meant, 
 
 and they feared to ask Him ; but they probably imagined 
 that it at least pointed to a speedy termination of their 
 Master's humiliation, and an entrance upon His glory; 
 hence their carnal minds at once jumped to the thought 
 of personal greatness; they did not know that they 
 must suffer and die with Christ, in order that they might 
 be great in His kingdom. 
 
 S. Mark gives the lesson concerning humility much 
 more fully than S. Matthew; but there is only one 
 additional circumstance to which I shall call attention. 
 S. Matthew tells us that our Lord called a little child 
 and set him in the midst of them ; S. Mark adds that 
 He took him up in His arms; the lesson given is 
 the same, but it becomes more emphatic when we think 
 upon Christ as giving it, not with the child standing 
 before Him, but carrying the child gently in His own 
 arms. 
 
 38. And John answered Him, saying, Master, we s. Luke 
 saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and he followeth 1X ' ' 
 not us : and ice forbad him, because he followeth not us. 
 39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man 
 which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly 
 speak evil of Me. 40. For he that is not against us is on 
 ourjjart. 
 
 The connection of these verses with the context is The man 
 not free from obscurity. Some have thought that the disciples 
 S. John said what he did, because, after hearing the devils in 
 humility of a little child so highly extolled, he began name. 
 to doubt whether the conduct of himself and his fellows, 
 in the matter to which he referred, had been as humble 
 
 l2 
 
148 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, as it should have been. Others imagine that the con- 
 8 _ • necting link is the words in My Name; the Lord had 
 
 spoken of receiving children in His Name; had the 
 
 Apostles then done right in forbidding one, who was 
 doing a miracle in His Name ? And some have thought 
 that the remark of S. John does not really belong to 
 the place in which S. Mark has put it; but this is 
 an hypothesis which we should be slow to adopt; the 
 very difficulty arising from the apparent want of con- 
 nection makes it probable, that S. Mark would not have 
 inserted it here, unless this had been its true place. 
 When men are discussing some matter in which they 
 are deeply interested, who shall undertake to say what 
 is the train of thought that suggests each individual 
 remark? How often there is in reality a connection 
 in the mind of the person who makes it, which does 
 not readily present itself to any one but himself. And 
 so there may have been many reasons why S. John 
 should have introduced this subject of the man casting 
 out devils, which we cannot now easily trace. 
 
 However this may be, the important point is, that 
 the Lord desired the disciples not to rebuke men under 
 such circumstances. Might we not have anticipated 
 His decision? In the great battle between the king- 
 dom of God and the powers of Satan, surely the services 
 of volunteers were not to be refused. If a man could 
 cast out a devil in the name of Christ, that might 
 be taken as in itself a sufficient proof of his faith and 
 allegiance. The decision could not be intended to apply 
 only to the literal case of men casting out devils; it 
 must have a wider application : and it teaches us to 
 be very tolerant of those, who fight on Christ's side, 
 and who yet follow not us. But is this a general 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 149 
 
 license for dissent? Does it make schism impossible? Chap. 
 Is. there no possibility of rending the body of Christ? _ • 
 
 I conceive that this would be a wrong conclusion : 
 
 Christ founded one Church, and established one baptism, 
 and He would not have blamed the advice of His 
 Apostle, to mark those who cause divisions, and to 
 avoid them. 
 
 41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to s. Matt. 
 drink in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily ^in. *H>. 
 I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. 42. And*™- 2 - 
 whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe 
 in Me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged 
 about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43. And 
 if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to 
 enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into 
 hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 4A. 
 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for 
 thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast 
 into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46. 
 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out : it is better 
 for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, 
 than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire; 48. Where 
 their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
 
 Commentators have discussed much the nature of connection 
 the connection of the first of these verses with those with the 
 that precede. Some have come to the conclusion, that 
 the words were in reality not spoken upon this occasion 
 at all ; and it is certainly in favour of this latter view 
 that S. Matthew gives the words in a different con- x s ' 4 ^ att - 
 nection, making them the conclusion of the address 
 given by the Lord to His Apostles, when He sent them 
 
150 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, upon their first mission. I do not feel sure, however, 
 ' 8 that any such supposition is necessary; and I think 
 
 that the connection is sufficiently clear, if we regard 
 
 the passage, which contains S. John's question con- 
 cerning one who cast out devils and the answer to it, 
 (that is, verses 38 — 40,) as a parenthesis. If we do 
 this, we shall have to seek the context for the forty-first 
 verse, not in that which immediately precedes it, but 
 in the thirty-seventh verse; we must suppose that 
 S. John thrust in his question upon our Lord's dis- 
 course, as he seems to have done, for some reason which 
 it matters not here to determine, and that our Lord, 
 when He had answered him, recurred to His old subject. 
 Observe how the passage will then run. Whosoever 
 shall receive one of such children in My Name, receiveth 
 Me; and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, 
 but Him that sent Me. For whosoever shall give you 
 a cup of ivater to drink in My Name, because ye belong 
 to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose His 
 reward. In this way all seems orderly and intelligible. 
 S. Mark gives the warning concerning the millstone, 
 which would be a slighter burden than the curse in- 
 curred by offending the little ones, in nearly the same 
 manner as S. Matthew; but the rest of the discourse 
 he has recorded much more fully and strongly. No- 
 tice especially the emphasis of the words, which occur 
 three times, where their worm dieth not, and the fire 
 is not quenched. The words are quoted from the 
 prophet Isaiah, and occur in his book with peculiar 
 force as being a portion of the concluding verse; but 
 they are lifted by our Lord far above their apparent 
 meaning, as they stand in Isaiah's prophecy ; or rather 
 perhaps it should be said, that we may judge of the 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 151 
 
 real elevation of that prophecy by observing how our Chap. 
 Lord has applied the words. The Lord has stamped _ 
 
 His own seal upon Isaiah's words, and has given us His 
 
 own infallible authority for asserting, that there is a hell 
 into which human spirits may fall, and in which the 
 condition of human spirits can be rightly described 
 under the figure of an unquenchable fire and an un- 
 dying worm. 
 
 49. For every one shall he salted with fire, and every s. Matt. 
 sacrifice shall he salted with salt. 50. Salt is good: hut s. Luke 
 if the salt have lost his saltnesSj wherewith will ye season 
 it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with 
 another. 
 
 No one can read these verses without being sensible The sacri- 
 of their obscurity, or rather of the obscurity of the with salt. 
 
 „ . . , - ir>ii p • Difficulty of 
 
 former verse in itself, and of the latter from its con- the passage. 
 nection with the former. I shall make such remarks 
 as seem to me helpful in rendering the passage in- 
 telligible, without venturing to hope that the difficulty 
 will be all removed. 
 
 With regard to the second verse, some commentators 
 have suspected that it was not spoken in the connection 
 in which we now find it. This, as we have seen, is 
 a common way of getting over a difficulty : but it must 
 be admitted that the opinion is supported by the fact, 
 that we meet with nearly the same words in a different 
 connection in S. Matthew v. 13, and again in a still 
 different one in S. Luke xiv. 34. I am not sure, 
 however, that this reason is conclusive ; it seems possible 
 that the comparison of salt losing its savour may have 
 been, if I may so express myself with reverence, a 
 favourite one with our Lord, that He may have used 
 it several times and in different connections, and that 
 
152 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, here the reference to salt in the forty-ninth verse may 
 1 ^- have suggested the application of a figure, which the 
 
 — ■ disciples had heard from the Lord's lips on other oc- 
 casions, and which would on that very account affect 
 their minds the more. 
 
 This, however, seems certain, that in endeavouring 
 to understand the verses, the two must be considered 
 apart, and then the difficulty attaches itself almost 
 entirely to the former. In the elucidation of it, it is to 
 
 Lev. u. 13. be observed that reference is clearly made to the Le- 
 vitical law, according to which every offering was 
 to be offered with salt ; and it is further to be observed, 
 that the and between the two clauses of the verse has 
 probably the sense of as, or even as; so that the verse 
 would run thus, Every one shall be salted with fire, even as 
 every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Further it seems 
 probable that the phrase every one refers to what the 
 Lord has already spoken, every one of the persons to whom 
 He has been alluding as those whose fire is not quenched: 
 as though He had said, Do not be surprised that I speak 
 of fire, for every one of those who do not enter into the 
 kingdom of God shall be salted toith fire : they are in 
 a certain sense sacrifices too; not living sacrifices in 
 this world, but men who having transgressed against 
 
 isaiah the Lord must be consumed, and must become an ab- 
 horring unto all flesh. And lastly, when the Lord 
 speaks of salt having lost its saltness, He seems to 
 recognize the fact, that there may be and is, in the 
 judgment of God, a fire which will be able to consume, 
 when it has no power to purify. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 153 
 
 CHAPTER X. Chap. 
 
 X. 
 
 1 . And He arose from thence? and cometli into the 
 
 coasts of Judea, by the farther side of Jordan : and the s. Matt. 
 people resort unto Him again ; and, as He was wont, He 
 taught them again. 2. And the Pharisees came to Him, 
 and asked Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his 
 wife? tempting Him. 3. And He answered and said 
 unto them , What did Moses command you? 4. And 
 they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, 
 and to put her away. 5. And Jesus answered and said 
 unto them , For the hardness of your heart he wrote you 
 this precept. 6. But from the beginning of the creation 
 God made them male and female. 7. For this cause 
 shall a man leave his father and mother , and cleave to 
 his wife ; 8. And they twain shall be one flesh : so then 
 they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9. What there- 
 fore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 
 10. And in the house His disciples ashed Him again of 
 the same matter. 11. And He said unto them, Who- s. Luke 
 soever shall put away his wife, and marry another, com- 
 mitteth adultery against her. 12. And if a woman 
 shall put away her husband, and be married to another, 
 she committeth adultery. 
 
 The conversation of our Lord with the Pharisees re- The ques- 
 specting divorce is given substantially in the same form divorce. 
 
 1 "Here is need of a discerning eye, to distinguish of the true time, 
 and method of this story, and of Christ's journey. If you make use of 
 such an eye, you will find half-a-year or thereabouts to come between 
 
154 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, by S. Matthew and S. Mark. 1 The chief distinction is 
 "X" . * 
 
 ' this, that whereas in the former Evangelist we find our 
 
 Lord, in speaking of the unlawfulness of putting away 
 
 a wife, throwing in the parenthesis, except it he for 
 fornication, we do not find any such qualification intro- 
 duced in the latter. The question has consequently 
 been raised, which of the evangelical reports is to be 
 taken as ruling the meaning of the other? are we to 
 suppose that S. Mark omitted an important restriction 
 of the generality of our Lord's decision; or are we 
 to regard his omission of the exception recorded by 
 S. Matthew as indicating, that we do not rightly under- 
 stand that exception, if we take it in its obvious sense ? 
 
 To me I confess there seems to be no reasonable 
 ground of doubt. S. Mark appears to have omitted only 
 that, which it might be supposed that every one would 
 supply; whether after separation for the cause of un- 
 faithfulness to the marriage vow parties should be per- 
 
 the uttering the words immediately before going, and this travail of our 
 Saviour : however it seems to be intimated by our Evangelist, and like- 
 wise by Matthew, that when He had finished these words, forthwith He 
 entered upon His journey : when in truth He went before to Jerusalem, 
 through the midst of Samaria, to the Feast of Tabernacles, Luke ix. 51, 
 &c. ; John vii. And again from Galilee, after He had returned thither, 
 through the cities and towns, to Jerusalem, Luke xiii. 22, to the Feast of 
 Tabernacles, John x. 22. And again beyond Jordan indeed, John x. 40, 
 but first taking His way into Galilee, and thence beyond Jordan, according 
 to that story which is before us." — Lightfoot. 
 
 1 But compare verses 3, 4, 5 with the parallel verses in S. Matthew 
 xix. 7, 8, 9, and observe that, whereas our Evangelist represents the Lord 
 as referring to Moses, according to the other the refererjce is made by the 
 Pharisees : this is a difference of no moment, but it proves that the two 
 accounts are independent of each other. Observe, in like manner, that 
 the saying of our Lord contained in verse 11, which in S. Mark is spoken 
 to the disciples in the house, would seem from S. Matthew, xix. 9, to 
 have been spoken in public to the Pharisees. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPZZ. 155 
 
 mitted to marry again is not so clear, but that unfaith- Chap. 
 fulness is a sufficient ground for separation appears to X. 
 
 be dictated by the laws of nature ; and I apprehend that '__ 
 
 our Lord did but express an exception to the general law 
 of marriage, which the very nature of the marriage bond 
 both implies and justifies. 
 
 The question concerning marriage was one intro- 
 duced by the Pharisees. They came tempting Him. 
 The question which they put was one debated in their 
 schools, one great division of their learned men taking 
 one side, and another the other side ; and it was therefore 
 a very good test of the pretensions of any new teacher. 
 How does our Lord solve the difficulty? By going 
 beyond all the school arguments of the Scribes, and 
 looking at the original act of God. He celebrated the 
 first marriage. What did He mean when He made 
 Adam and Eve one flesh? What was the idea of 
 marriage, as indicated by that primaeval wedding, in 
 which God Himself was both father and priest ? 
 
 Yet the subject was evidently one which puzzled 
 the people of those days ; we see this from a little fact, 
 which S. Mark after his manner has preserved for us. 
 In the house His disciples ashed Him again of the same 
 matter. It was not merely a wicked mischief-making 
 question on the part of the Pharisees ; it was one which 
 troubled the disciples as well ; and they did what was 
 veiy wise, namely, waited until they were with Christ 
 alone 3 and then asked Him to enlighten their minds. 
 
 13. And they Drought young children to Him, that s. Matt. 
 He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those s.Luke 
 that brought them. 14. But tohen Jesus saw it, He 
 was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the 
 little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not : 
 
156 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, for of such is the kingdom of God. 15. Verily I say 
 ■*■' unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of 
 
 God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16. 
 
 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon 
 them, and blessed them. 
 Christ S. Mark's report of this most interesting scene in our 
 
 little child- Saviour's life, is the one chosen by the Church of Eng- 
 land for the lesson read to the people on the occasion of 
 the public baptism of infants. On comparing it with 
 the reports given by S. Matthew and S. Luke, we may 
 easily perceive that it is rightly chosen ; it is the fullest 
 and most minute of the three. There are however only 
 two additional circumstances given, but both of these 
 are interesting, 
 infant In the first place, S. Mark tells us that when the 
 
 impiie™ Lord saw the disciples rebuking those who brought the 
 little children, He was much displeased. They might 
 possibly fancy that they were consulting His dignity, 
 or His comfort; but they were certainly shewing a 
 glaring ignorance of His true character and His real 
 wishes. The Lord's displeasure indicates, I conceive, 
 disappointment at the spiritual state of His disciples, 
 grief that having heard His teaching so long they had 
 not understood it better. He had never yet said, in 
 so many words, " I am willing to bless little children ;" 
 but the spirit of His ministry implied it. And in like 
 manner, though the Scripture nowhere says, " Bring 
 your little children to holy baptism," I think the spirit of 
 Scripture is so clear, that Christ may well be displeased 
 with those who forbid them to be brought. 
 
 The other addition made by S. Mark is in the 
 description of our Lord's conduct towards these children. 
 He tells us that the Lord not only put His hands upon 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 157 
 
 them and blessed them, but that He took them up in His Chap. 
 
 arms. The action indicated gentleness of heart and *, 
 
 o 13 — IO. 
 
 true human affection; 1 He laid His hands upon the 
 
 children and blessed them as a priest, He took them 
 up in His arms as an elder brother of the same family. 
 His blessing was not a cold ministerial act, but one 
 of true human love. Who could doubt, after seeing 
 Christ's conduct, what His real feeling towards little 
 children was ? 
 
 One other point may be noticed as distinguishing outward 
 S. Mark from S. Matthew, though it is not an addition, inward 
 
 2T3.CG 
 
 S. Matthew tells us that the children were brought 
 to Christ, that He might put His hands on them and 
 pray ; S. Mark, that He might touch them. What 
 does the comparison of the expressions teach us? I 
 think it may fairly suggest, that in the dispensation 
 of Christ outward and visible signs have inward and 
 spiritual grace attached to them. To speak of Christ 
 touching was the same thing as to speak of Christ 
 praying; and so, when persons speak of the partici- 
 pation of the Lord's sacraments with warmth and 
 earnestness, they may seem to speak of that which 
 is outward, and yet they mean that which is not out- 
 ward at all, but which brings them spiritually very 
 near to Christ. 
 
 17. And when He was gone forth into the wag, there s. Matt. 
 came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, s.Luke 
 Good Master, what shall I do that I mag inherit eternal ' 
 life? 18. And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou 
 Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 2 
 
 1 Attention has already been called to the phrase in the preceding 
 chapter, verse 36, When He had taken him in His arms. 
 
 2 In one of his Epistles S. Augustine says, " Looking to your man- 
 
158 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 X. 
 
 17 — 22. 
 
 The rich 
 man who 
 came Tun- 
 ing and 
 kneeled to 
 Christ. 
 
 19. Thou lenowest the commandments, Do not commit 
 adultery, Do not hill, Do not steal, Do not hear false 
 
 - witness. Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 
 
 20. And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all 
 these have I observed from my youth. 21. Then Jesus 
 beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing 
 thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and 
 give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : 
 and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. 22. And 
 he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved : for 
 he had great possessions. 
 
 This very interesting story is related by each of the 
 first three Evangelists, and in some respects more 
 pointedly by S. Mark than by either of the others. 
 
 In the first place, S. Mark gives us a vivid picture 
 
 mer of life I have called you a good man ; but you, looking to the words 
 of Christ, may say to yourself, There is none good but one, that is, God. 
 "Which must needs be true, for The Truth said it; notwithstanding, I 
 must not be regarded as having spoken in the false spirit of flattery, and 
 as having contradicted the words of the Lord, as though He had said, 
 There is none good but one, that is, God, and yet I had ventured in despite 
 of this to call you good : for the Lord Himself did not contradict Himself, 
 when He said, The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth 
 forth good things. God is good absolutely, and cannot possibly lose this 
 quality ; for He is not good by the participation of the goodness of any 
 other, because the good in virtue of which He is good is Himself: 
 whereas man whenever he is good is good in virtue of Him, and can by 
 no means be so through his own power. For whoever is good becomes 
 so by the Spirit of God ; by His will our nature has been so created as to 
 be capable of becoming good. It pertains to us therefore, if we would 
 be good, to receive and keep that which He bestows who is good in 
 Himself: and he who neglects to do this becomes in himself bad. 
 "Wherefore so far as a man acts rightly, that is, does good consciously 
 and lovingly and piously, so far he is good: but so far as he sins, that 
 is, deviates from the path of truth and charity and piety, so far he is bad. 
 "Who in this life can be free from sin ? yet we call him good, whose good 
 deeds prevail ; and him best, who sins least." 
 
[7— 22. 
 
 S. MARIfS GOSPEL. 159 
 
 of the earnestness with which the rich man came to Chap. 
 make his application to Christ. The Lord had been X ; 
 in the house; and when He came out again into the 
 way, there came one running, and kneeled to Sim. The 
 expression indicates at once the character of the man, 
 and the manner in which his character shewed itself in 
 this instance; his mode of presenting himself before 
 Christ is quite in keeping with his application ; he 
 may be described throughout as one running and kneel- 
 ing, full of the spirit of worship, but yet lacking the 
 spirit of cool, quiet caution. This it was apparently, 
 which the Lord wished to point out to him by catching 
 him at the words Good Master: the man was too 
 much in a condition of excitement : he was saying more 
 than he thought of: he would do well to reflect before 
 he went any further. 
 
 However, notwithstanding all this, Jesus, beholding 
 him, loved him. 1 For this plain statement of our Lord's 
 feelings we are indebted also to S. Mark. Let us 
 not allow ourselves to deprive the words of their full 
 meaning: when the Evangelist says that Jesus loved 
 him, no doubt he means the words in their true sense, 
 just as S. John uses the same phrase concerning Lazarus 
 and Mary and Martha. There was, therefore, something 
 in the rich man which was really loveable ; and we must 
 not put his case aside as that of an empty hypocritical 
 person, having no claim upon our regard. The fact 
 of his ultimately going away sad and grieved is all 
 
 1 It has been suggested, that the Lord might have given some out- 
 ward sign of love, as the Rabbis kissed the foreheads of their pupils 
 when they wished to indicate approbation. Bengel remarks that the 
 words, beholding him loved him, imply that the Lord shewed by His way 
 of beholding him, by His looks, that He did love him. 
 
160 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, the more weighty and instructive, if we take it in 
 _' connection with this record of our Lord's feelings. 
 
 In the address of our Lord, as reported by S. Mark, 
 thecrc»s? p occm ' the remarkable words take up the cross. They 
 could hardly be regarded afterwards as otherwise than 
 a prophecy of His own cross, and they would harmonise 
 well with language adopted by the Apostles, when 
 the cross of Christ had become the centre of their 
 affections and the symbol of their faith. Our Lord 
 might however have used the phrase in not so definite 
 a manner ; he might possibly have intended to represent, 
 that following Him involved the very extremity of self- 
 sacrifice, that any one who wished to do so must do 
 it in the frame of mind of one, who saw violent death 
 before him and did not shrink from meeting it. 
 s. Matt. 23. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto 
 
 s'.Luke ' His disciples, How hardly shall then that have riches 
 
 xviii.24 27. 
 
 enter into the kingdom of God! 24. And the disciples 
 were astonished at His words. But Jesus answereth 
 again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for 
 them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of 
 God! 25. It is easier for a camel to go through 
 the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into 
 the kingdom of God. 26. And they were astonished 
 out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then 
 can be saved f 27. And Jesus looking upon them saith, 
 With men it is impossible, but not with God: for 
 with God all things are possible. 
 The rich The astonishment, expressed by the disciples at our 
 
 save/: the Lord's teaching concerning the danger of riches, takes 
 astonish- the reader, I think, somewhat by surprise. Their as- 
 tonishment seems almost to have amounted to alarm, 
 if we may judge from the expression, Who then can be 
 
23—27. 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 161 
 
 saved! They received the Lord's warning precisely Chap. 
 as they might have done had they been rich men _• 
 themselves, instead of being (as they were) very poor 
 men; they did not, in fact, take a merely selfish view 
 of their Master's words, and say, tl Well, they do not 
 touch us;" but they took them seriously to heart as 
 conveying a very awful thought. 
 
 They might have been led to regard their Lord's 
 words in this manner by two considerations. They 
 might have said, " What is our hope of bringing men 
 into the kingdom of God, if it be so difficult to enter it ? 
 Seeing that the world is such as it is, and that the love 
 of money is so prevalent, what chance is there of our 
 being able to effect a conversion, which our Master 
 describes as well nigh impossible?" They might also 
 have said, " We are not rich, but still this warning 
 about riches comes very near to ourselves. We have the 
 same tendency to love the world, which shews itself 
 in rich men in the form of love of money. We must 
 not be too confident concerning our permanent possession 
 of the kingdom ; for if the entrance be difficult, surely 
 the exit may be easy." 
 
 In this way they might have done what all disciples 
 of Christ ought to do, namely, apply as much as possible 
 to themselves the spirit of their Master's teaching. 
 They could do so all the better in consequence of the 
 explanation which the Lord gave, and for which we are 
 indebted to S. Mark's Gospel. When the disciples 
 were astonished at their Master's first declaration con- 
 cerning riches, He added the explanation, How hard 
 is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the 
 kingdom of God! thus shewing that He referred not 
 to the mere amount of a man's gold, but to the spirit 
 
162 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, in which he used it ; so that possibly one man might 
 , have ten talents and might enter into the kingdom 
 
 of God, and another might have but one talent, and 
 
 might yet find it impossible to get through the narrow 
 gate. 
 s.Matt.xix. 28. Then Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have 
 s.Luke left all. and have folloiced Thee. 29. And Jesus an- 
 
 xviii. 28— 30. " ' _ " T 
 
 swerea and said, verily 1 say unto you, there is no 
 man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, 
 or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, 
 and the gospel's^ 30. But he shall receive an hundred- 
 fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, 
 and mothers, and children, and lands, with 'persecutions ; 
 and in the world to come eternal life. 31. But many 
 that are first shall be last, and the last first. 
 Christ's In these verses there is an important word for which 
 
 His disciples we are indebted to this Gospel. S. Peter, referring no 
 
 included . . . 
 
 persecu- doubt in his mind to what our Lord had said concerning 
 the difficulty of rich men entering His kingdom, in- 
 quired what they, the Apostles, should have, who had 
 left all and followed Him. The answer was a very 
 bright and glowing one, more so as reported by 
 S. Mark than as we find it in either of the other Gospels. 
 There is an emphatic balancing of the things to be 
 gained against the things lost. If any man had left 
 houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or 
 wife, or children, or lands, he was to receive an hundred- 
 
 1 Dr. "Wordsworth remarks that the word translated the Gospel in this 
 and other passages of the New Testament signifies, in classical Greek, 
 not good news, hut the reward given to the bearer of good news. The 
 former signification is peculiar to the New Testament, and may he 
 regarded as an instance of the change wrought in language by the 
 introduction of new thoughts to be expressed. The privilege of preaching 
 the Gospel is the reward of time Evangelists. 
 
8. MARE'S GOSPEL. 163 
 
 fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, 
 and mothers, 1 and children, and lands; a very emphatic 
 balancing, I say, of things gained against things lost ; 
 and all the more emphatic, because manifestly in a 
 certain degree rhetorical; lands might be gained, but 
 mothers not; and the effect of the whole would be to 
 impress as deeply as possible the belief of an infinite 
 gain to be secured by those who left all for Christ's sake. 
 But now observe : S. Mark adds, with persecutions ; a 
 very remarkable addition, and perhaps more remarkable 
 in consequence of the other evangelists having omitted 
 it ; for this omission can bear no other interpretation but 
 this, that they regarded the sufferings of this present 
 time as not worthy to be compared with, the glory which 
 should be revealed. So there may be infinite gain, and 
 yet persecution and distress. Christ did not deceive 
 His disciples by raising hopes which would never be 
 realized, and leading them to expect such peace as the 
 world can give ; but He promised them emphatically 
 such peace as the world cannot give, and that peace is 
 compatible with persecution. Observe that the Apostles 
 never complained of being disappointed ; they all testified 
 that their Master had not deceived them, but had abun- 
 dantly fulfilled His promises. 
 
 By the words of the thirty-first verse our Lord warns 
 us, as I have observed in commenting upon the parallel 
 passage in S. Matthew, not to be guided too strictly by 
 
 1 It will be observed that our Lord omits fathers and wives from this 
 list. It is not easy to see why the former should have been omitted, 
 unless to prevent any confusion between human fathers and Him who is 
 emphatically our Heavenly Father, to whom men are reconciled in Jesus 
 Christ. It may be noted that some MSS. do insert and father ; but none, 
 I believe, repeat the word wife, which might have been misunderstood 
 or abused. 
 
 m 2 
 
164 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, appearances. We must not form too decided a judgment 
 _ of men's condition "before God by observing either what 
 
 — - they have apparently left for Christ's sake, or what they 
 
 have apparently gained ; the last day will decide ; till 
 then we must wait. But I wish to note upon the words, 
 that they seem to have been what I may reverently call 
 favourite words with our Lord. They occur in S. Luke's 
 Gospel in quite a different connection, and twice in 
 S. Matthew; and their occurrence affords an example 
 of a feature which I conceive to have belonged to our 
 Lord's teaching, namely, that He was wont to reiterate 
 weighty statements, and so to give them additional 
 force. 
 
 s.Matt.xx. 32. And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem ; 
 s.Luk'e and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; 
 and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took 
 again the twelve, and began to tell them what things 
 should happen unto Him, 33. Saying, Behold, we go 
 up to Jerusalem ; and the Son of man shall be delivered 
 unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes ; and they 
 shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the 
 Gentiles: 34. And they shall mock Him, and shall 
 scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill 
 Him : and the third day He shall rise again. 
 
 jesus going Observe that the Lord Jesus went before the disciples 
 
 before His . _ J _ c _ 
 
 disciples to upon this last journey, and that they were amazed, and. 
 that as they followed they were afraid. 1 The emphasis 
 with which the Evangelist relates this seems to suggest 
 that there was something in the Lord's manner different 
 
 1 "We may, perhaps, be reminded of our Lord's words in S. John x. : 
 
 " When he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them 
 
 I am the good shepherd : the good shepherd giveth His life for the 
 sheep." 
 
32—34- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 165 
 
 from ordinary. If we interpret the passage strictly we Chap. 
 are almost compelled to take this view of it ; for S. Mark ^\ 
 speaks of this amazement and fear of the disciples before - 
 he tells us of Jesus taking them and speaking to them of 
 the things which He was about to suffer. It is quite 
 conceivable that the circumstance of His walking before 
 them, apparently thinking but little of their company, 
 as though He had some great work in hand in which 
 they could not aid Him, and the fixed earnest but sad and 
 thoughtful look, which His face exhibited, might have 
 been enough to produce upon the minds of the disciples 
 the effect described, without any explicit declaration of 
 the awful events in store. 
 
 It may be, however, that the Evangelist is not so 
 strictly to be interpreted, and that he gives in the thirty- 
 second verse a general account of what took place in this 
 last journey, and that the amazement and fear were caused 
 by the Lord's description of His sufferings and death. 
 Certainly if they were amazed and frightened before 
 they heard their Master's declaration, they would be 
 much more so afterwards : they knew how truthful 
 He was, and they had confidence in the performance of 
 His prophecies ; and yet there they saw Him walking 
 before them, pressing on towards the awful scene of 
 His passion, neither asking nor needing their advice, 
 marching on with steady step towards the dreadful 
 combat alone. 
 
 Whichever we take to be the true view we may draw 
 this conclusion, that our Lord's conduct shews as by a 
 parable the relation in which He stands to His disciples. 
 In every case He goes before, and they are bound to 
 follow. They may be amazed for a time and afraid, 
 but they have no choice but to follow Him ; and 
 
166 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, following Him faithfully, they find at length their fears 
 
 subside, and all the sorrows, which both they and He 
 
 35 — 40. 1 ' J 
 
 — have to endure, change into joy unspeakable and full 
 of glory. 
 s. Matt. sx. 35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come 
 
 20—23. , 7 J 
 
 unto Him, saying, Master, ive would that Thou shouldest 
 do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36. And He said 
 unto them, What would ye that I should do for you ? 
 37. They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, 
 one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, 
 in Thy glory. 38. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know 
 not what ye ash : can ye dri?ik of the cup that I drink 
 of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
 with? 39. And they said unto Him, We can. And 
 Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup 
 that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized 
 withal shall ye be baptized: 40. But to sit on My 
 right hand and on My left hand is not mine to give; 
 but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 
 Theambi- This passage occurs almost precisely in the same 
 of James and form in S. Matthew's Gospel; the only important dif- 
 ference being that S. Matthew attributes the ambitious 
 request of the sons of Zebedee to their mother ; and the 
 principal points suggested by the passage have been 
 there commented upon. One or two remarks may how- 
 ever here be added. 
 
 Although the mother was the actual applicant, still 
 it is manifest that James and John were themselves 
 parties to the request, and their conduct is therefore 
 worthy of notice as throwing light upon their characters. 
 Concerning the character of James we have probably 
 for the most part formed no definite notion ; he appears 
 so slightly in Gospel history, except as an almost 
 
X. 
 
 35— 4°- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 167 
 
 passive though faithful and beloved follower of the Chap. 
 Lord, and he is so early removed from the scene, and 
 we are so entirely without any of his writings, that 
 he probably presents himself to the minds of Christians 
 as a faithful martyr and nothing more. With S. John 
 the case is very different ; nothing can be more different ; 
 we have a distinct conception of S. John ; painters and 
 poets have helped us to form it, and his Gospel and 
 Epistles seem to bear it out. He is the gentlest and 
 most loving of all the Apostles, almost feminine in his 
 cast of countenance, feminine too in his patient, for- 
 bearing, loving spirit; he is the disciple whom Jesus 
 loved, and every quality of mind which we think Jesus 
 would have loved we instinctively attribute to him. 
 With this notion in our mind it is well to look at the 
 story of his ambitious conduct. Here we find him, not 
 humbling himself that he may be exalted, not choosing 
 for himself the lowest place, but ambitiously demanding 
 for himself and his brother the two chief places in their 
 Master's triumphant kingdom. Is this the conduct we 
 should have expected from him whom Jesus loved? 
 is it not rather the conduct of one rightly surnamed a 
 son of Thunder f 
 
 If, indeed, S. John had known what he was asking, 
 and had been aware that in asking for the primacy in 
 station in the Lord's kingdom he was asking for primacy 
 in suffering, his ambition might well have been par- 
 doned. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what 
 ye ash : and the answer of the Lord is worthy of notice, 
 because it has a very wide application with respect to 
 prayers which His disciples make. The literal granting 
 of prayers may often involve a very different gift from 
 that which the suppliant desired: and this truth is 
 
168 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, admirably seized in that Collect which commences thus, 
 
 Lord, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and 
 41 — 44. 7 J ' 
 
 our ignorance in ashing, we beseech Thee to have com- 
 passion on our infirmities. 
 
 s. Matt. xx. 41. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much 
 displeased with James and John. 42. But Jesus called 
 them to Him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they 
 which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise 
 lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority 
 upon them. 43. But so shall it not be among you: but 
 whosoever will be great among you, shall be your 
 minister : 44. And whosoever of you will be the chief est, 
 shall be servant of all. 45. For even the Son of man 
 came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
 give His life a ransom for many. 
 
 There may possibly be an emphasis belonging to 
 the phrase, they which are accounted to rule over the 
 Gentiles, or (as it might be translated) they which seem 
 to rule over the Gentiles; the phrase may possibly 
 express the emptiness of authority which is merely 
 earthly in its aims and conduct, and the fact that real 
 authority is from God alone. It is not however wise to 
 lay too much stress upon such a form of speech, inas- 
 much as there are certainly cases in which the word 
 translated by the phrase which are accounted is without 
 any special force, and inasmuch as S. Matthew gives 
 the simple phrase the princes of the Gentiles. 
 
 Preemi- With the conduct of these Gentile rulers our Lord 
 
 church, as contrasts that which He desires should be seen in His 
 
 defined by ,**, , , . . _ .. 
 
 Christ. own Church ; and it is very important for us to gather 
 as accurately as we can from our Lord's own mouth 
 what His commands on the subject really were. In the 
 first place it cannot be that He intended that there 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 169 
 
 should be in His Church no rulers, none raised above Chap. 
 their brethren for the purpose of ordering their conduct 6 _ 
 and administering the laws of the Church. This is 
 
 manifest even from our Lord's reference to His own case 
 as an illustration of His meaning. He says, The Son 
 of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; 
 and yet on another occasion He said to His disciples, 
 Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so L 
 am. But when He thus asserted His preeminence, it 
 will be remembered that it was in connection with that 
 symbolical act of general humility and ministering to 
 others, the washing of His disciples' feet; in fact, He 
 added immediately, Lf then L have washed your feet, ye 
 ought also to wash one another's feet. The conclusion 
 to be drawn therefore is, not that there is to be no 
 preeminence of one above another in Christ's Church, 
 but that readiness to minister to others and to sacrifice 
 self is to be the ground of advancement to such pre- 
 eminence. There has been no more fruitful source of 
 mischief in the Church than neglect of our Lord's words : 
 men have been advanced in almost all ages upon very 
 different grounds from those which He laid down, and 
 the consequence has been the introduction of a worldly 
 spirit, and the same principles of conduct as those which 
 Christ condemned in the rulers of the Gentiles. Men 
 have become rulers, and emphatically not ministers; 
 and because they have not been ministers, therefore 
 they have been fundamentally and radically unfit for 
 advancement before their brethren. 
 
 46. And they came to Jericho : and as He went out of s.Matt.xx. 
 Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, s. Luke 
 blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway- ™ 
 side begging. 47. And when he heard that it was Jesus 
 
170 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son 
 
 /^- of David, have mercy on me. 48. And many charged 
 
 him that he should hold his peace : but he cried out the 
 
 more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 
 49. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be 
 called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, 
 Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee. 50. And he, 
 casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 
 51. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt 
 thou that I should do unto thee ? The blind man said 
 unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52. And 
 Jesus said unto him, Go thy way ; thy faith hath made 
 thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and 
 followed Jesus in the way. 
 sixteenth The history of the healing of this blind man is to be 
 
 found in all the first three Evangelists, and there is no 
 fact of importance added by this Gospel to what we 
 already know from that of S. Matthew. There are, 
 however, several points in S. Mark's account which 
 are of interest as characteristic of that Evangelist's own 
 peculiar style, and as giving brightness and emphasis 
 to the story. 
 
 Thus, for instance, S. Mark gives us the name of the 
 blind man, and he speaks of him as one who was well 
 known ; it was natural that S. Peter should have noted 
 down this name, and if S. Peter's account of the miracle 
 was the basis, direct or indirect, of those given in the 
 Gospels of S. Matthew and S. Luke, it is not to be 
 wondered at that these Evangelists should have omitted 
 the name, as being a matter of no importance to those 
 for whom they wrote. And, in connection with this 
 remark, it may be observed that if Bartimeus was a 
 well-known character, the healing of his blindness would 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 171 
 
 be very appropriate just now, when our Lord no longer Chap. 
 desired to conceal Himself, but to prepare for a triumphal 6 _' 
 entry into Jerusalem. 
 
 Again, S. Mark has recorded the words spoken by The man 
 those whom Jesus sent to call the blind man, Be of good Ss gafmS 
 comfort j rise ; He calleth thee. And then we have one 
 of those little touches which so especially distinguish 
 this Gospel ; the man cast aivay Ms garment, and rose, 
 and came to Jesus. One might perhaps put a spiritual 
 interpretation upon this, and say that every suppliant 
 who comes to Christ to be healed must throw away the ' 
 rags of righteousness which have hitherto covered him, 
 and come to Jesus simply as he is ; but I think that the 
 indication afforded by the mention of such an incident, 
 that we have in our hands the report of one who actually 
 saw the man rise and disencumber himself of his garment, 
 is of more solid worth than any such spiritual inter- 
 pretation. 
 
 Lastly, we have in this story an example of those Adis- 
 notable contradictions amongst the Evangelists, of which amongst the 
 
 ° . ° 7 Evangelists. 
 
 some persons have spoken and written so much. b. Mark 
 is at issue with both S. Matthew and S. Luke ; S. Mat- 
 thew says there were two blind men, S. Mark mentions 
 only one ; S. Luke speaks of the miracle as having been 
 performed when they were approaching Jericho, S. Mark 
 says it was done when they were leaving it. I will not 
 try to get rid of these varieties of statement, but take 
 the occasion of asking, Is it possible that on such dis- 
 crepancies as these earnest-minded men can ever rest 
 any serious doubts concerning the truthfulness of the 
 Gospels ? 
 
172 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. CHAPTER XI. 
 
 XI. 
 i — 10. 1. And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Beth' 
 
 s Matt phage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives , He sendeth 
 ^Luke* f or th two of His disciples, 2. And saith unto them, Go 
 xix. 29—40. y 0ur wa y j n fo tne v iU a g e over against you : and as soon 
 as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon 
 never man sat ; loose him, and bring him. 3. And if 
 any man say unto you, Why do ye this ? say ye that the 
 Lord hath need of him ; and straightway he will send 
 him hither. 4. And they went their icay, and found the 
 colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways 
 met; and they loose him. 5. And certain of them that 
 stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 
 6. And they said unto them even as Jesus had com- 
 manded : and they let them go. 7. And they brought 
 the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and 
 He sat upon him. 8. And many spread their garments 
 in the way : and others cut down branches off the trees, 
 and strawed them in the way. 9. And they that went 
 before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna ; 
 Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: 
 10. Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that 
 cometh in the name of the Lord : Hosanna in the highest. 
 The trium- In recording the history of the triumphal entry into 
 fntoJeru- Jerusalem S. Matthew mentions an ass with its colt; 
 S. Mark speak of one animal only, confining attention 
 apparently to the animal upon which the Lord actually 
 rode. In describing the manner in which the disciples 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 173 
 
 found the colt, S. Mark, as usual, gives some minute Chap. 
 details, which seem to bring the whole picture very ^_- 
 
 clearly before our eyes. The colt was tied by the door 
 
 without , and it was in a place where two ways met, or 
 rather in the street, for that appears to be the meaning of 
 the Greek word. 1 It may well be supposed that S. Peter 
 was one of the two disciples who were sent, and that this 
 his own account of what he did. But the chief distinc- 
 tion between S. Matthew and S. Mark is this, that 
 S. Matthew refers the whole transaction to ancient 
 prophecy, and S. Mark does not. Of course the entry Reference 
 into Jerusalem was not the less a fulfilment of prophecy onSd t>y y 
 because S. Mark does not point it out as such ; but his 
 omission to do so seems to shew that the story has a 
 meaning and significance additional to, and independent 
 of, that which belongs to it as a fulfilment of prophecy. 
 In fact, this remark is one of very general application. 
 Events are said to have come about in order that 
 prophecy might be fulfilled, but it is equally true that 
 prophecies declared the coming of events, because those 
 events were necessary in themselves. Christ was born 
 of a pure virgin that prophecy might be fulfilled, but it 
 is also true that it was necessary in the economy of 
 God that Christ should be so born, and that the event 
 being thus rendered necessary was declared by the 
 prophet while still in the womb of time. 
 
 What, then, was the special significance of the Lord's The signm- 
 
 c\ t i n • i i i cance of the 
 
 triumphal entry ? It has for us this value at least, that triumphal 
 
 ... entry. 
 
 it gives us something of a measure of the humiliation of 
 Christ. It was the only occasion upon which He per- 
 
 1 Dean Trench suggests a crooked lane; Dr. "Wordsworth says that 
 the word does not mean the highway in the front of the house, but the 
 back way, which went round the house. 
 
174 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 XI. 
 
 S. Matt. 
 xxi. 12—17. 
 
 A lesson 
 concerning 
 Christian 
 discretion. 
 
 mitted Himself to be the object of public honour, and it 
 suggests to us what the humility of the rest of His life 
 was, if this be the occasion most full of worldly glory. 
 And, besides this, it seemed to declare that the Lord's 
 hour was now come ; there was to be no more con- 
 cealment of His person or His character, no more 
 charge to His disciples, See ye tell no man ; the people 
 might shout their Hosannas, might proclaim Him 
 to be the King of Israel ; the Son of Man was now to 
 be glorified, glorified first by the shouts of the people 
 rejoicing, then by the cross and passion. 
 
 11. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the 
 Temple: and ivhen He had looked round about upon all 
 things, and now the eventide was come, He went out unto 
 Bethany ivith the twelve. 
 
 I have observed, in commenting upon S. Matthew 
 xxi. 12, that this verse supplies an important correction, 
 or rather explanation, of what S. Matthew tells us. It 
 shews, as I have there remarked, that our Lord did not 
 cleanse the Temple with a multitude at His back ; He 
 availed Himself of no popular excitement; but He 
 simply went up to the Temple and examined the 
 condition of things there, and then retired to Bethany. 
 
 If we may venture to draw from so august an occasion 
 a lesson applicable to common life, it may be said that 
 our Lord's conduct gives us a good example of religious 
 discretion. We know how hotly within the Saviour's 
 heart the zeal for the honour of His Father's house was 
 burning, but His time was not yet come, and therefore 
 He could observe all that was going on without saying a 
 word ; the fire kindled, but the Lord restrained Himself, 
 and would not yet speak with His tongue ; this was the 
 time to be silent, the morrow was the time both to 
 
14- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 175 
 
 speak and to act. How much mischief is sometimes Chap 
 done, and how much good lost, by not speaking and t7 _ t * 
 acting at the right time ! 
 
 But, leaving this homely view of the subject, how The Lord 
 
 , . . . ,... , . <• t looking 
 
 very grand, in its simplicity is the picture ot J esus round about 
 looking round upon all things in the Temple ! He had things in the 
 come as the Son into His Father's house, as the Lord 
 and the heir to claim His own. The Temple had been 
 built for Him ; all the sacrifices which had been offered 
 up within it had pointed to Him ; all the answers to 
 prayer which had been received in it had been given 
 through Him ; and now the shadow was to pass away, 
 and the substance to take its place. If we may venture 
 to guess what thoughts passed through the Lord's mind, 
 I should say that He did not wholly think of those 
 evils and corruptions which the next day He rebuked ; 
 these were excrescences, so to speak ; these were incur- 
 sions made by the Evil One into the sacred precincts ; 
 but the Temple itself was still God's house, it was the 
 holiest spot upon earth, the most especial place of the 
 Divine presence. If it would have affected any serious- 
 minded Jew, who knew the past and the future of that 
 Temple, to stand within its walls at such a time as this, 
 when the true Paschal Lamb had just entered its enclo- 
 sure, what must have been the thoughts of the Lord 
 Himself as He entered the Temple and looked round 
 about upon all things ? 
 
 12. And on the morrow, when they were come from s. Matt. 
 Bethany ', He was hungry \ 13. And seeing a fig-tree afar 
 off having leaves. He came, if haply He might find any- 
 thing thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but 
 leaves ; for the time of figs was not yet. 14. And Jesus 
 
176 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee 
 ^-*- hereafter for ever. And His disciples heard it. 
 — The history of the fruitless fig-tree is given in this 
 
 iJbV"?*" Gospel with great particularity. One sentence which 
 occurs has given considerable trouble to commentators ; 
 according to the English version we read that the time of 
 figs was not yet; and the question has suggested itself, 
 if this were so, why should the Lord have pronounced a 
 curse upon the tree? In order to avoid the difficulties 
 raised by this question, various attempts have been 
 made to educe a different sense from the original. It 
 would be rash to give a positive decision in such a case, 
 but it may certainly be stated that the meaning conveyed 
 by the English version is that which is obviously sug- 
 gested by the original, and which would probably have 
 been adopted at once, if no difficulties had appeared to 
 be necessarily bound up with it. 
 
 Is it not possible, however, to adopt the words as 
 given by our English version, and yet to assign to them 
 a meaning not inconsistent with our Lord's character or 
 with the whole spirit of the history? It should be 
 remembered that our Lord had been attracted at a 
 distance by the appearance of this tree ; there was an 
 abundant show of leaves, and, inasmuch as in the case of 
 the fig-tree the fruit appears before the leaves, there was 
 reason to suppose that there might also be fruit; the 
 show of leaves was extraordinary, and it would not have 
 been much more strange if there had been an extra- 
 ordinary crop of fruit. Had the tree been like its 
 companions in respect of leaves, Christ would not, as 
 we may suppose, have expected to find in it a difference 
 from them in other respects. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL, 111 
 
 But the fig-tree had leaves, and thereby admirably Chap. 
 well typified the Jewish nation, of which beyond question _ * 
 
 it is to be regarded as a symbol. Doubtless the time 
 
 of figs in the garden of God's Church was not yet ; the 
 time could not be until Christ had accomplished His 
 work ; and accordingly the nations were barren, and God 
 pitied their barrenness. But the fig-tree of the house 
 of Israel had leaves; they gloried in their appearance 
 of growth, they would not allow themselves to be ac- 
 counted like the rest of the nations; and indeed they 
 ought to have been different; they were (if we may 
 so speak) a tree which had been cultured in a special 
 manner, and the same treatment which had produced 
 the leaves ought to have produced fruit. The sin of 
 Israel was, that, whereas the leaves of profession were 
 abundant, the fruit of practical holiness was for the 
 most part not to be found. 
 
 15. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went s. Matt. 
 into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold and x s! # Luke 
 bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the X1X * 
 money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 
 16. And would not suffer that any man should carry any 
 vessel through the Temple. 17. And He taught, saying 
 unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of 
 all nations the house of prayer? 1 but ye have made it 
 a den of thieves. 18. And the scribes and chief priests 
 heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him : for 
 they feared Him, because all the people were astonished 
 at His doctrine. 19. And when even was come, He went 
 out of the city. 
 
 The cleansing of the Temple may be deemed to have 
 
 1 My house shall be called an house of prayer for all nations, would 
 probably be a better rendering. It is given in the margin. 
 
178 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, been the special work of the Lord for that day upon 
 -^ which He accomplished it. We learn from S. Matthew 
 
 — that He also healed some blind and lame persons in the 
 
 Temple, and that the children sang Hosanna, much 
 to the displeasure of the chief priests and scribes ; still 
 the cleansing of His Father's house from pollution and 
 desecration was the special work of the day, and as 
 such is worthy of reverent consideration. 
 The Lord's In general we may say, that we might have been 
 Father's s quite sure, even without such evidence as the Lord's 
 conduct afforded, that he would have been very zealous 
 for the honour of God's Temple. Was it not His 
 Father's house ? had it not been the scene of the chief 
 manifestations of God's presence? had not prophets 
 and psalmists declared its glories, and spoken of it as 
 the earthly spring of God's grace and mercy? How 
 could He, who was the very Son of God, regard the 
 house otherwise ? And yet there is something notable in 
 the period chosen by Christ for this work of purification : 
 when we find Him, according to S. John's Gospel, 
 performing a similar work at the commencement of 
 His ministry, we easily understand the meaning of 
 the act; it was symbolical of that reformation of the 
 worship of God, which it was the business of His 
 ministry to preach ; but now that the Temple is 
 doomed, according to His own emphatic words (uttered 
 soon afterwards) left desolate, is it not strange that He 
 should think it worth while to shew jealousy for its 
 honour, that He should treat it, not as the symbol of 
 Jewish corruption, but as the symbol of the presence 
 of God? Does he not thus teach us that God's pur- 
 poses change not, that when God has chosen a place 
 as His Temple He ever claims it as such, that human 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 179 
 
 perversity cannot destroy His title to that which He Chap. 
 has once consecrated as His own ? -^ I - 
 
 If we try to realize the scene to our imaginations I - 
 
 think we cannot fail to account it strange, that the Lord 
 should have been permitted to carry out His work of 
 purification so peacefully and without opposition. Doubt- 
 less the interest shewn in Him by many of the people 
 had (humanly speaking) something to do with the 
 result ; but we may well believe that there was an 
 influence more than human at work, subduing the 
 minds of men and compelling them to submit to the 
 gentle force which Christ used. And, if we may 
 venture from so extraordinary a case to draw a lesson 
 for ordinary life, we may say that the result shews how 
 great things may be done for the honour of God by 
 simplicity of purpose and boldness of conduct in His 
 behalf. 
 
 Note that in this case, as in others, that which moved 
 the people in favour of Christ moved the scribes and 
 chief priests in the same proportion against Him. The 
 people wished to hear Him, they wished to destroy Him. 
 
 And do not omit to observe, before leaving the The bodies 
 
 i^n ? i • f i m °f Christians 
 
 passage, how that Christ s cleansing ot the 1 emple to be 
 may be regarded as a figurative lesson concerning His being Tem- 
 jealousy for the purity of the bodies of Christians, in 
 which God has condescended to dwell, and which are 
 called Temples of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 20. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw s. Matt. 
 the fig-tree dried up from the roots. 21. And Peter 
 calling to remembrance saith unto Him, Master, behold, miracle. 
 the fig-tree which Thou cursedst is withered away. 
 22. And Jesus answering saith unto than, Have faith 
 in God. 23. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever 
 
 n2 
 
the fig-tree. 
 
 180 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be 
 thou cast into the sea ; and shall not doubt in his heart, 
 
 20 23. ' ' 
 
 - — but shall believe that those things which he saith shall 
 
 come to pass ; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 
 Alight The moral which the Lord draws from the miracle 
 
 thrown upon , , 
 
 our Lord's f the fi2:-tree is very worthy of observation, because 
 
 teaching hy ° . . 
 
 of e th istory ** throws a light upon the interpretation of much of His 
 the r fi e i!t?ee teaching. It i s impossible to read the account of the 
 miracle without feeling sure that it was intended as 
 a parable concerning the Jewish Church; the leaves 
 without fruit, the promise of a crop without any per- 
 formance, and the destruction which followed, so exactly 
 exhibit the relation in which the Jews stood to Christ, 
 and the curse which was on the point of falling upon 
 them, that no reader can easily miss the interpretation 
 of our Lord's symbolical act. And yet, when our Lord 
 comments upon the miracle Himself, He never once 
 alludes to the Jews, or hints at any reference to 
 them in the work which He has performed : instead 
 of this, He gives a lesson concerning faith, and brings 
 the lesson home immediately to His own disciples by 
 promising that they should do greater works than that 
 which they had witnessed, if only they had faith. 
 
 Here, then, we have a miracle, which the terms of 
 the history compel us to recognise as having a special 
 local interpretation with respect to the Jews, and which 
 our Lord has Himself rescued from being deemed as 
 of only local interpretation by His own more general 
 comment. And I say that we may obtain from this 
 a light for the interpretation of other portions of His 
 teaching. We have virtually the Lord's own assertion 
 of the double teaching of His parables. Frequently we 
 find a parable which the Lord Himself applied to the 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 181 
 
 people of His time, or which they so applied themselves, Chap. 
 or which is so manifestly applicable as to admit of _' 
 
 no doubt ; and yet it appears to have a wider meaning ; 
 
 it exactly suits ourselves ; it could not have suited better 
 if Christ had spoken it to us directly. What is the 
 conclusion to be drawn from this? Surely that both 
 applications were intended, and one as much as the 
 other, by Him who in His wisdom spoke the parable. 
 Christ's words are not of private interpretation; they 
 adapt themselves to the wants of all, provided only that 
 they be studied humbly and with prayer. 
 
 But how are we to understand the Lord's declaration The promise 
 concerning the removal of the mountain into the sea ? faith which 
 Some commentators have remarked that actual physical mountains. 
 miracles, really as great and striking, were performed in 
 the name of Christ in early times. This however brings 
 us upon dangerous ground, and looks like a sacrifice of 
 the spirit of the Lord's promise to its letter : ought we 
 not rather to look away from the material mountain 
 of rock, to which our Lord pointed as He spoke the 
 words, to the spiritual mountains of difficulty which 
 would have to be removed, before the rough places 
 could be made plain before Him, and His kingdom 
 established upon earth ? 
 
 24. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye 
 desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
 shall have them. 25. And when ye stand praying, 
 forgive, if ye have ought against any : that your Father 
 also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 
 26. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father 
 which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. 
 
 The precepts of these verses are almost identical 
 with the teaching which our Lord had already given 
 
182 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, long before in the Sermon on the Mount. The repe- 
 _• tition of them upon this occasion is instructive in 
 
 general as an example of His manner of teaching ; He 
 
 fromthe 1 brought out of His treasurehouse on many occasions 
 ?he Mount tnm g s old. as well as new, and has thus suggested to 
 repeated. ourselves that we also can only hope to make religious 
 teaching permanent by a reiteration of simple lessons. 
 But the repetition is still more instructive if we observe 
 the wide difference of the circumstances upon this occa- 
 sion from those of the Sermon on the Mount. Then the 
 Lord was professedly sitting down to teach, then He 
 was commencing His ministry; now His ministry was 
 nearly completed, and the time of teaching the multi- 
 tudes gone by ; but He will not omit an opportunity of 
 impressing a lesson important to be remembered and 
 very easily forgotten. And would not the disciples 
 feel, do not we ourselves feel, that that lesson must 
 have been of extreme importance, that forgiveness of 
 injuries must be very nearly connected with our spiritual 
 life, when we find the Lord almost at the close of His 
 ministry, and on the eve of such tremendous events, 
 impressing so plain and homely a lesson ? 
 
 But what was the connection between the cursing 
 of the fig-tree and forgiveness of trespasses? From 
 the power which our Lord had exerted upon the fig-tree 
 He took occasion to teach His disciples how they might 
 do equally great things. How ? By prayer. But how 
 is prayer to be rendered availing? By forgiveness of 
 our brother on our part. Hence, according to our Lord's 
 teaching, any consideration of the efficacy of prayer 
 leads at once to the consideration of brotherly love and 
 forgiveness. Even the cursing of a fig-tree pointed to 
 this great Christian duty ; and perhaps all the more 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 183 
 
 decidedly because it was a case of cursing. The Lord Chap. 
 
 might intend His disciples to draw a distinction between ^* 
 
 • 2 7 — 33- 
 themselves and Him ; He had pronounced a curse, 
 
 because vengeance was His; they must not do so; 
 
 blessing not cursing must be the foundation of their 
 
 mighty works ; it was in the exercise of brotherly love 
 
 that they could remove mountains. 
 
 27. And thei/ come again to Jerusalem: and as He s. Matt. 
 
 *J <-> ~^s\ 23 ^7 
 
 was walking in the Temple, there come to Him the chief s. Luke 
 priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28. And say 
 unto Him, By what authority doest thou these things? 
 and who gave Thee this authority to do these things? 
 29. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also 
 ask of you one question, and answer Me, and I will tell 
 you by what authority I do these things. 30. The baptism 
 of John, was it from heaven, or of men ? answer Me. 
 31. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we 
 shall say, From heaven ; He will say, Why then did ye 
 'not believe him? 32. But if we shall say, Of men ; they 
 feared the people : for all men counted John, that he was 
 a prophet indeed. 33. And they answered and said 
 unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith 
 unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I 
 do these things. 
 
 This passage agrees almost word for word with the 
 corresponding passage in S. Matthew, and the slight 
 differences which exist are not of a kind to give rise to 
 any particular remark. Hence I might refer in this as 
 in several other instances to what I have said in illus- 
 tration of the passage as it occurs in the former Gospel. 
 It may, however, be profitable to contemplate the story 
 from a new point of view. 
 
 May not our Lord's conduct be usefully regarded as 
 
184 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, a lesson upon Christian Evidences f The question, By 
 ^' what authority doest Thou these things f is that which has 
 
 been asked by all the modern schools of unbelief; and 
 
 christian ° n ** * s ^ ne endeavour to answer this question that has 
 Evidences. f orme ^ the basis of that department of theology, which 
 we term the Evidences. Now it is quite right that this 
 department of theology should receive its full share of 
 attention. From the earliest times the religion of 
 Christ has had its apologists; and instead of needing 
 defence less and less as time rolls on, the probability is 
 rather that the need will be greater and greater, because 
 the arguments become more complicated, and each oppo- 
 nent of Christianity has the benefit of the efforts of 
 all his predecessors. But however this may be, we may 
 be quite sure that the question, By what authority doest 
 Thou these things ? will often be asked ; and we ought 
 by all means to supply answers adapted to the par- 
 ticular sense in which the question is asked ; but so far 
 as the practical result of such answers upon the minds 
 of those who ask the question is concerned, we should 
 do well to remember what our Lord said to those who 
 asked Him the question. He referred them to the 
 baptism of John; and He did so, I apprehend, not 
 merely with the view of asking them a question which 
 they could not answer, but chiefly because that baptism 
 was a baptism of repentance; that baptism was the 
 door to the Lord's own ministry; men who had not 
 accepted that baptism could not expect to understand 
 the authority of Jesus ; and if the querists had sincerely 
 and humbly received John's baptism of repentance, they 
 would have been prepared to receive without difficulty 
 the higher baptism of Christ. May we not from this 
 view of the history draw the conclusion, that they who 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 185 
 
 would understand by what authority Christ has done Chap. 
 all that He has done in the world, must first repent 
 of their sins, and do works meet for repentance ? 
 
 27—33- 
 
 CHAPTER XII. Chap. 
 
 XII. 
 
 I 12. 
 
 1. And He began to speak unto them hy parables. A 
 
 certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about ££$£l 
 
 , S. Luke 
 ■) xx. 9—19. 
 
 it, and digged a place for the ivine-fat, and built a tower, s 
 
 and let it out to husbandmen, and went into afar country. 
 2. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, 
 that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of 
 the vineyard. 3. And they caught him, and beat him, 
 and sent him away empty. 4. And again he sent unto 
 them another servant ; and at him they cast stones, and 
 wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully 
 handled. 5. And again he sent another; and him they 
 hilled, and many others ; beating some, and killing some. 
 6. Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent 
 him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my 
 son. 7. But those husbandmen said among themselves, 
 This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance 
 shall be ours. 8. And they took him, and killed him, 
 and cast him out of the vineyard. 9. What shall there- 
 fore the Lord of the vineyard do? he will come and 
 destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto Fourth 
 others. 10. And have ye not read this Scripture, The prophecy. to 
 
186 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, stone which the builders rejected is become the head of 
 X**-*- the corner: 11. This was the Lord's doing, and it is 
 
 marvellous in our eyes ? 12. And they sought to lay 
 
 hold on Him , but feared the people: for they knev: that 
 He had spoken the parable against them: and they left 
 Him, and went their ivay. 
 
 Fourth The near agreement of S. Matthew and S. Mark in 
 
 several of the phrases employed, and the very con- 
 siderable differences which nevertheless exist in their 
 reports of this parable, make the passage worthy of 
 study to those who wish to examine into the relation in 
 which the first two Gospels stand to each other. He 
 who so examines will be equally struck with their unity 
 and their independence. The only points in which 
 S. Mark's account is more striking are the description 
 which he gives of the treatment of the successive 
 servants, who were sent to demand the fruits of the 
 vineyard, and that of the mission of the son : having 
 yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also 
 last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 
 
 universal We may note in the case of this as of other parables, 
 
 o??peciai n how wonderfully the teaching of our Lord, which was 
 called forth by the special circumstances of His own 
 history, nevertheless adapts itself completely to the 
 wants of humanity at large. Here we have a parable 
 clearly spoken with the intention of bringing the sins 
 of the rulers of the Jews to their remembrance; they 
 so understood it, and were only restrained from taking 
 vengeance upon the unwelcome teacher by fear of the 
 people. Every circumstance of the parable finds its 
 minute fulfilment in Jewish history ; and yet how 
 thoroughly does the parable set forth human duties 
 and responsibilities ! Take it as a picture of a nation, 
 
 parables. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 187 
 
 and we see God calling for the results of His care and Chap. 
 guardianship; or take it as a picture of the history of ■ _' 
 
 an individual man, and you have still the great truth 
 
 that God hedges in human hearts as His vineyard, and 
 demands fruit. The greatest claim that He has ever 
 made has been through His only and well-beloved Son. 
 He sends Him last; if that claim be neglected, then no 
 demand is made further, but the Lord of the vineyard 
 comes in wrath to take vengeance. 
 
 Note also that the phrase, he sent him also last, 
 may suggest to our minds the final character of the 
 Gospel dispensation ; all previous revelations led up to 
 Christ ; now God has spoken to us by His own Son, 
 and it is for us not to look for new revelations, but to 
 guard with all fidelity the faith once delivered unto 
 the saints. 
 
 13. And theii send unto Him certain of the Pharisees s. Matt. 
 
 *J " xxii. 15 22. 
 
 and of the Herodians, to catch Him in His words, s. Luke 
 
 J xx. 19—26. 
 
 14. And when they were come, they say unto Him, 
 Master, we know that TJwu art true, and carest for no 
 man: for Thou regardest not the person of men, but 
 teachest the way of God in truth : Is it lawful to give 
 tribute to Ccesar, or not? 15. Shall we give, or shall 
 we not give? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said 
 unto them, Why tempt ye Me f bring Me a penny, that 
 I may see it. 16. And they brought it. And He saith 
 unto them, Whose is this image and superscription ? And 
 they said unto Him, Cossars. 17. And Jesus answering 
 said unto them, Bender to Cwsar the things that are 
 Ccesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And 
 they marvelled at Him. 
 
 I have said all that I consider necessary for the 
 elucidation of this passage in the parallel place of 
 
188 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. S. Matthew's Gospel. I may take this opportunity of 
 _ i# adding two remarks, which, though extremely different 
 
 in kind, may both be found useful. 
 
 a modem In the first place it is strange, but it is the fact, that the 
 considered, ingenuity of some modern thinkers has discovered that 
 after all the conduct of our Lord did not shew the wisdom 
 which those who witnessed it imagined. It has been sug- 
 gested that the existence of the image and superscription 
 of Caesar did not prove that the coin belonged to him, and 
 that therefore the argument, Render to Ccesar the things 
 that are Cwsars, was fallacious. Of course there was no 
 proof that the individual coin belonged to Caesar, but 
 there was proof that Caesar was admitted on the evi- 
 dence of the current coin of the country to be the ruler, 
 and therefore to be the person to whom tribute was due. 
 I have thought this quibble worth mentioning, because 
 it is a specimen of the devices which they are content 
 to adopt, who are determined to reduce to an ordinary 
 history the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 a spiritual In the second place, it is hardly possible for any one 
 tion of the to read the story of the tribute-money and our Lord's 
 words. comment, Bender to God the things that are God'sj 
 without giving to the words a spiritual interpretation, 
 which brings them nearly home to himself. 1 For does 
 
 1 " Lord, take my affections which the world has stolen ; take hack 
 the treasure, for it is Thine, as a tribute which I owe to Thee, for Thine 
 image is impressed upon it. Thou didst form it, Lord, at the moment of 
 my baptism, which was my second birth; but it is all defaced. The 
 image of the world is so graven, that Thine can no longer be recognised. 
 Thou alone couldst create my soul ; Thou alone canst create it anew ; 
 Thou alone couldst form Thine image there ; Thou alone canst form it 
 again, and reimpress Thy defaced likeness, that is, Jesus Christ my 
 Saviour, who is the brightness of Thy glory, and the express image of 
 Thy person." — Pascal. 
 
8. MARKS GOSPEL. 189 
 
 not the imprint of the image and superscription of God Chap. 
 exactly describe the peculiar condition of each one of -^ I# 
 
 ourselves, first as men, then as Christians ? If we look - 
 
 at any Christian man, and say, whose image and super- 
 scription has he received ? the answer is ready, He is 
 created in the image of God, and he has been signed with 
 the sign of the cross in token that he shall not be ashamed 
 to confess the faith of Christ crucified. And hence also 
 the words, Render to God the things that are God's, 
 apply with a wonderful fulness and force to all baptized 
 Christians. God has marked them as His own : He has 
 impressed His own image, and called them by His 
 own name, as a memorial and proof that they have 
 no right, to serve any other gods but Him, that they 
 are bound to offer themselves up body, soul, and spirit 
 to Him and His service. 
 
 18. Then come unto Him the Sadducees, which say s. Matt. 
 there is no resurrection ; and they ashed Him, saying, ^"iukT 33 ' 
 19. Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a mans brother die, xx " ~~ ' 
 and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, 
 that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed 
 unto his brother. 20. Now there were seven brethren: 
 and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. 21. And 
 the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: 
 and the third likewise. 22. And the seven had her, and 
 left no seed : last of all the woman died also. 23. In the 
 resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife 
 shall she be of them ? for the seven had her to ivife. 
 24. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not 
 therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither 
 the power of God ? 25. For when they shall rise from 
 the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; 
 but are as the angels which are in heaven. 26. And as 
 
190 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, touching the dead, that they rise : have ye not read in the 
 lg ' booh of Moses j how in the bush God spake unto him, 
 
 1 — saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of 
 
 Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 1 27. He is not the God 
 of the dead, but the God of the living : ye therefore do 
 greatly err. 
 Belief of the The prevalence of the belief in a resurrection of the 
 resurrection, dead amongst the Jews of our Lord's time, is a fine 
 instance of the power exerted by the spirit of the 
 revelation which was made to the ancient Church. So 
 far as the letter is concerned, it cannot be doubted 
 that the doctrine of the resurrection was not made one 
 of the special articles of divine revelation ; no sanctions 
 were given to the law depending upon future retribution ; 
 and if we read the accounts of the death of prophets and 
 patriarchs and kings, we do not find the hope of the 
 life to come uniformly illuminating their dark hours. 
 Here and there may be a text which may possibly be 
 interpreted as referring to' the resurrection ; but certainly, 
 taking the Old Testament as a whole, it is impossible to 
 deny, that one of its most striking distinctions from the 
 New is the absence of clear declarations concerning the 
 life to come. And thus, if the Sadducees chose to take 
 their stand upon literal interpretation of Scripture, they 
 would undoubtedly be able to make out a very good 
 case, and to set themselves up as men who took a plain 
 view of the oracles of God. 
 
 And yet, to any person who looked below the surface, 
 how much there was in the spirit of God's dealings that 
 
 1 The bush in this passage means that portion of Scripture which 
 was known hy the name of the bush. In somewhat in the same way we 
 have in 2 Sam. i. 18, the bow put for the portion of Scripture following, 
 or the song of the bow. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 191 
 
 pleaded for belief in a world to come ! Our Lord fixed Chap. 
 
 TTT 
 
 attention upon one passage in which this spirit shewed ^_ 
 
 itself. By calling Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, 
 
 and Jacob, God put such honour on these patriarchs, 
 and so clearly implied their present union with Himself, 
 as to suggest to thoughtful minds the impossibility of 
 believing that they had wholly passed away from the 
 earth. Might not . the original creation of man have 
 been quoted for the same purpose? We find God 
 creating man in His own image, threatening death as 
 the consequence of sin, and thus passing sentence upon 
 sin, and putting a curse upon the tempter, but evidently 
 holding out hopes to men. Does not this point to some 
 destiny for man essentially higher in kind than any that 
 is reserved for beasts? Certain it is that the spirit of 
 the revelation did somehow make itself felt ; and in our 
 Lord's time the general orthodox belief was in a resur- 
 rection, while the Sadducees were a small minority, 
 whose general tone and manner of life would have a 
 tendency to strengthen" the persuasion that they at least 
 had not laid hold upon the truth. 
 
 28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard s. Matt. 
 them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had 
 answered them well, ashed Him, Which is the first com- 
 mandment of all f 29. And Jesus answered him, The 
 first of all the commandments is, Hear, Israel ; the 
 Lord our God is one Lord: 30. And thou shalt love 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : 
 this is the first commandment. 31. And the second is 
 like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
 thyself. There is none other commandment greater than 
 these. 32. And the scribe said unto Him, Well, 
 
192 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Master, Thou hast said the truth : for there is one God; 
 
 „ and there is none other but He : 33. And to love Him 
 
 28 — 34. 
 
 with all the hearty and with all the understanding , and 
 
 with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to 
 love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole 
 burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34. And when Jesus 
 saw that he answered discreetly. He said unto him, Tliou 
 art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man 
 after that durst ash Him any question. 
 Thecharac- The estimate which we are led to form of this scribe 
 scribe from the account of his conversation with our Lord 
 s. e Mark. y preserved in this Gospel, is much higher and more 
 favourable than that which results from the perusal 
 of the parallel passage of S. Matthew. S. Matthew 
 tells us that a lawyer ashed Him a question, tempting 
 Him, which might imply that the question was asked 
 with the same wicked intention as many others that 
 were put by persons of the same class ; but S. Mark 
 represents the questioner, whom he calls one of the 
 scribes, as having heard the reasoning which had been 
 going on and having been struck with the wisdom of 
 our Lord's answers, and as having thus been led to 
 propound his question, Which is the first commandment 
 of all? The remainder of S. Mark's account will make 
 us feel quite sure that the scribe did come in good faith 
 and honesty to Christ, and not with any wicked design 
 of entangling Him in His talk. 
 
 When our Lord had given His determination of 
 the question put to Him, the scribe added a commentary 
 of his own. He applauded the simple and wise decision 
 which the Lord had given, and declared that the result 
 of all his study of the law had been to produce the 
 conviction, that to love God with all the heart, and 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 193 
 
 understanding, and. soul, and strength, and to love our Chap. 
 
 neighbour as ourselves, is more than all outward ritual „ ^- 
 
 ■ 2 ^ — 34- 
 
 performances. This was indeed a grand and noble 
 
 result of his study, and it shews us that however the 
 design of the ceremonial of the Temple might have been 
 mistaken by some, and however much ritual observances 
 might have been abused, yet there were some who did 
 arrive at the truth, and many more who might have 
 done so had they honestly made the attempt. The 
 scribe's answer is rendered specially memorable by 
 our Lord's declaration concerning it: Thou art not far 
 from the kingdom of God: you have advanced as far 
 as the law can bring you : you have perceived that the 
 love of God and your neighbour is the end of the law : 
 what hinders you from advancing a step further, and 
 recognizing the revelation which God has made to you 
 in His Son? What more do you need? You need 
 repentance and faith ; you need the conviction of your 
 own deficiencies in discharging the duties of which you 
 have spoken; you need faith in Him who alone can 
 give you what you need, who can reveal the Father 
 to you, and prove Himself to be the way, and the truth, 
 and the life. 
 
 35. And Jesus answered and said, while He taught s. Matt. 
 in the Temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the s. iukexx. 
 son of David f 36. For David himself said by the 
 Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on 
 My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. 
 37. David therefore himself calleth Him Lord: and 
 whence is He then his son? And the common people 
 heard Him gladly. 38. And He said unto them in 
 His doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in 
 long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, 
 
194 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 39. And the chief seats in the synagogues , and the upper- 
 
 • most rooms at feasts : 40. Which devour widows houses. 
 35 — 40. * 7 
 
 and for a pretence make long prayers : these shall receive 
 
 greater damnation. 
 
 S. Augustine remarks 1 that the Lord's question 
 puzzled the Jews u because they knew of the Lord 
 Christ only what could be seen with the eyes, not that 
 which could be understood by the heart. But, if they had 
 had eyes within as they had without, from that which 
 they saw without they would have known Him to 
 be David's son ; from that which they saw within they 
 would have known Him to be David's Lord." And 
 again he observes 2 that the Catholic faith solves the 
 Lord's question, "How is He Lord? Because in the 
 beginning to as the Word, and the Word was with God y 
 and the Word was God. How is He the Son ? Because 
 the Word was made fleshy and dwelt amongst ws." 
 
 The words, which follow the Lord's question in 
 verse 37, seem to belong more properly to the suc- 
 ceeding verse. There was a large multitude ready to 
 listen to Him, and therefore He began to teach them. 
 The Pharisees and the Sadducees had failed to entangle 
 Him in His talk, and He had silenced them by His 
 questions ; but there were many who were anxious 
 to hear Him, and to them therefore He now addressed 
 Himself. S. Mark gives us a very brief account of 
 what the Lord said; less than three complete verses 
 a remark- contain the whole of what he has recorded ; and the 
 jn s.Mark's reader of S. Mark's Gospel, who wishes to form an 
 opinion of the relation in which it stands to S. Mat- 
 thew's, should compare this brief report with that which 
 S. Matthew has given. He will observe that it is at this 
 
 1 On Psalm xxxiii. 2 On Psalm liv. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 195 
 
 point that we find in S. Matthew the terrible woe- Chap. 
 discourse, with which our Lord concluded His public _ 1 * 
 
 ministry in the Temple ; and of this discourse S. Mark 
 
 has given us only the faintest hint. 
 
 In my commentary on S. Matthew I have contrasted 
 this closing sermon with the Sermon on the Mount, 
 with which the report of the Lord's public ministry 
 opens ; and it is worthy of remark that whereas S. Mark 
 has almost omitted the one, he has quite passed over the 
 other. I can form no theory, nor do I think it needful 
 to do so, to account for facts such as these ; but certainly 
 it is to me entirely inconceivable that S. Mark should 
 have seen S. Matthew's Gospel when he wrote the 
 passage now under consideration ; and we have therefore 
 at least this advantage from the difference between the 
 two Evangelists, that it establishes S. Mark's inde- 
 pendence. It is easy to say in general that S. Mark 
 abbreviated S. Matthew, but let any one compare 
 S. Matthew xxiii. with S. Mark xii. 38 — 40, and say 
 whether he believes it possible that S. Mark could have 
 abbreviated in such a manner. 
 
 41. And Jesus sat over against the treasury ', and s. Luke 
 heheldhow the people cast money into the treasury : and 
 many that were rich cast in much. 42. And there came 
 a certain poor widow , and she threw in two mites, 1 which 
 make a farthing, 43. And He called unto Him His 
 disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, 
 That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they 
 which have cast into the treasury : 44. For all they did 
 
 1 The word translated mite occurs in one other place of the New 
 Testament, namely, S, Luke xii. 59. For the benefit of his Roman 
 readers S. Mark gives the explanation that two mites make a farthing, or 
 quadrans, the fourth part of an as. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, cast in of their abundance ; hut she of her want did cast 
 in all that she had, even all her living. 
 
 This is one of those passages which exhibit to us in 
 
 XII. 
 
 41—44, 
 
 tvSow who * ne most striking manner the character of our Lord's 
 Srinto teaching. All the discussions upon the principle of 
 the treasury. a i mS gi vm g ? a ^ the exhortations to liberality that ever 
 were given, have not done as much as this simple story 
 towards impressing upon the hearts of men the character 
 of that giving which is acceptable to God. S. Matthew 
 has not recorded the story, and has thereby given further 
 evidence that he never saw S. Mark's Gospel in its 
 present form, for he could hardly have omitted it ; but 
 it is worth while to bear in mind S. Matthew's account 
 of this last visit to the Temple, while we read this 
 addition to his history which S. Mark has preserved. 
 The whole character of our Lord's conduct was that 
 of one giving a final severe reproof to those who had 
 rejected Him; we seem for the moment to see Christ 
 come to judgment, Christ taking vengeance, and yet 
 under such circumstances He would not lose the oppor- 
 tunity of giving a permanent lesson to His disciples and 
 to mankind upon the simple homely duty of ofTering for 
 the service of God. 
 
 Jesus sat over against the treasury ', and watched the 
 people putting in their money. He might have been 
 weary and have been taking His rest, or He might have 
 placed Himself where He could see those who offered for 
 the very purpose of giving a lesson to His disciples. 
 Anyhow He saw all that was done ; and it is well for 
 us to remember that this is a parable of that which goes 
 on now, when we make our offerings to God. Christ sits 
 over against the treasury. He knows what men give 
 and why they give it : and He estimates offerings now 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 197 
 
 upon the same principle as that which He adopted in Chap. 
 the days of His flesh, namely, the principle of looking XTl. 
 
 to the motive and the amount of effort made for the 
 
 purpose of offering to God. Widows' mites in these 
 days are often more valuable than gold, more pleasing 
 to God, it may be more effective in promoting His 
 service. 
 
 The abundant contribution to God's treasury, which 
 our Lord witnessed, was going on at the very time that 
 the Jews rejected Him. Thus there may be a form 
 of godliness without the power; and men may be 
 punctual in the performance of outward observances 
 while the spirit of religion has not entered their hearts. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. Chap 
 
 XIII. 
 
 1. And as He went out of the Temple, one of His L 
 
 disciples saith unto Him, Master ', see what manner of s.Matt. 
 stones and what buildings are here! 2. And Jesus s.Luke 
 answering said unto him, Seest thou these great build- 
 ings f there shall not be left one stone upon another, 
 that shall not be thrown doion. 3. And as He sat upon 
 the Mount of Olives over against the Temple, Peter and 
 James and John and Andrew ashed him privately, 
 
 4. Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall 
 be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? 
 
 5. And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed 
 lest any man deceive you: 6. For many shall come 
 
198 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, in My name, saying , I am Christ; and shall deceive 
 !_8 many. 7. And ivhen ye shall hear of wars and rumours 
 
 — of wars , he ye not troubled : for such things must needs 
 
 he : hut the end shall not he yet. 8. For nation shall rise 
 against nation, and kingdom against kingdom : and there 
 shall he earthquakes in divers places, and there shall he 
 famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. 
 comparison Any reader of the Gospels, who wishes to observe the 
 parallel manner in which the first two are connected with each 
 b. Matthew, other, would do well to compare this chapter with the 
 twenty-fourth of S. Matthew. The first eight verses 
 are as nearly as possible the same in the two ; the chief 
 distinction is, that whereas S. Matthew speaks generally 
 of the disciples coming to Him upon the Mount of 
 Olives, S. Mark tells us more particularly that it was 
 Peter and James and John and Andrew who made the 
 inquiry, When shall these things be? Had the resem- 
 blance been as close throughout as in these eight verses, 
 we should probably have said without hesitation that 
 they came from the same report ; but when we compare 
 the entire chapters we can hardly fail to come to another 
 conclusion, namely, that the means of information of 
 the two Evangelists were not entirely the same, and 
 that certainly neither of them ever saw the work of the 
 other in its finished form. 
 
 In one respect S. Mark's account may, I think, be 
 regarded as a guide to the interpretation of that of 
 S. Matthew. The question of the disciples, as recorded 
 in verse 4, is free from the ambiguity attaching to the 
 parallel place in S. Matthew ; it is distinctly limited to 
 an inquiry concerning the time when those things will 
 be fulfilled of which the Lord has spoken ; there is no 
 reference to the end of the world, as distinct from all 
 
I — I 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 199 
 
 these things, 1 and we are therefore justified in interpreting Chap. 
 the whole of the prophecy as having reference to the \_ 8 
 destruction of the Jewish Temple and polity, and 
 regarding it as involving further and more distant 
 events, only upon that principle which applies to many 
 other if not to all prophecies, and according to which 
 they stretch out beyond that which appears to be their 
 immediate intention into a more dim future. And yet 
 they stretch into that future so distinctly, and the 
 results which hang upon their connection with it are so 
 great and important, that it would be wrong to speak 
 of interpretations which go beyond the events more 
 immediately contemplated as secondary interpretations ; 
 on the other hand they are, in respect of lasting and 
 general interest, frequently the primary interpretations 
 of the prophecy, as any one will be compelled to allow, 
 who reads (for instance) the book of Isaiah, and observes 
 how the vision tvhich he saw concerning Judah and 
 Jerusalem contains a vision of the universal kingdom 
 of Christ. 
 
 9. But take heed to yourselves : for they shall deliver s. Matt. 
 
 . xxiv. 9—14. 
 
 you up to councils ; and in the synagogues ye shall be ' s. Luke 
 beaten : and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings 
 for My sake, for a testimony against them. 10. And the 
 gospel must first be 'published among all nations. 11. But 
 when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no 
 thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye 
 premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that 
 hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but 
 the Holy Ghost. 12. Now the brother shall betray the 
 
 1 Some interpreters, however, draw a distinction between these things 
 in the first clause of verse 4, and all these things in the second clause, 
 referring the former to the Temple, and taking the second more generally. 
 
200 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, brother to death, and the father the son ; and children 
 
 YJTT . 
 
 ^^ shall rise up against their parents , and shall cause them 
 — to be put to death. 13. And ye shall be hated of all 
 men for My name's sake : but he that shall endure unto 
 the end, the same shall be saved. 
 The These words of Christ exhibit in a very clear light the 
 
 the weak™ peculiar strength and peculiar weakness of His servants. 
 disciples. Nothing can be more open and plain than the declaration 
 which He makes of future troubles ; councils and syna- 
 gogue s 7 rulers and kings, are all exhibited, and the ill- 
 treatment which will accompany His service not in any 
 degree veiled ; but then on the other hand the Lord no 
 less distinctly intimates that His servants stand upon a 
 ground which no enemies can reach, they are not even 
 to trouble themselves to think what they will answer, 
 because the proper answer will be given them by that 
 Holy Ghost who will in reality be the speaker of all 
 they say. 
 
 This appearance of weakness and consciousness of 
 real power we find very manifestly in the after history 
 of the Apostles. We find them speaking of them- 
 selves as the ofFscouring of all things ; and yet, when- 
 ever they were put upon their defence, there was given 
 to them a dignity and power of speech which must 
 at once have amazed their adversaries and convinced 
 themselves that their Master's promise was fulfilled. 
 I apprehend that when our Lord told His disciples that 
 it would be the Holy Ghost that would speak in them, 
 they could not fully understand Him; the Holy Ghost 
 was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified, 
 nor could the disciples have any very clear conception 
 of the method of the Spirit's operations ; but when the 
 Day of Pentecost was fully come and the Spirit had 
 
XIII. 
 
 14—23. 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 201 
 
 descended with power, then they would understand that £^^- 
 all the promises concerning the Holy Ghost would be 
 realized to them in a very full and unmistakeable way ; 
 and they would feel entirely confident, that He, who 
 had come upon them on that great day with tongues 
 of fire, would really inspire their tongues and put His 
 language in their mouths. 
 
 Observe that here, as in other places, endurance to 
 the end is the condition of salvation. It was well for 
 the disciples that they had this condition put before 
 them, and especially it was well for them to remember 
 that there would be an end. However painful their lives 
 might be, they would say, these light afflictions are hut 
 for a moment, and their true strength would be their 
 unswerving faith in the reality and joys of that life 
 which has no end. 
 
 14. But when ye shall see the abomination of deso- s. Matt. 
 lation, spoken of hy Daniel the prophet, standing where s. Luke 
 it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let 
 them that he in Judcea flee to the mountains : 15. And 
 let him that is on the house-top not go down into the 
 house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his 
 house : 16. And let him that is in the field not turn 
 hack again for to take up his garment. 17. But woe 
 to them that are with child, and to them that give suck 
 in those days I 1 18. And pray ye that your flight he 
 
 1 S. Augustine, in his commentary upon Psalm xcvi., gives a curious 
 interpretation of the words, Woe to them that are with child, and to them 
 that give such. He says : " These words were spoken figuratively. 
 Who are they that are with child, and who are they that give suck? 
 Those souls are said to be with child which have hope in this present 
 world, and those which have obtained what they hoped for are repre- 
 sented by those that give suck. For example : a man wishes to buy 
 a house ; he is with child, the thing is not yet done, he is pregnant with 
 
202 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, not in the winter. 19. For in those days shall be 
 u _ affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the 
 
 creation which God created unto this time, neither shall 
 
 be. 20. And except that the Lord had shortened these 
 days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, 
 whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days. 21. 
 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; 
 or, Lo, He is there; believe him not: 22. For false 
 christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew 
 signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the 
 elect. 23. But take ye heed : behold, I have foretold you 
 all things. 
 fSm tation ■"■ ta k- e tm * s opportunity of inserting a passage from 
 EuseMus. thg Christian historian Eusebius. The chapter is 
 headed The Predictions of Christ. After having de- 
 scribed in the previous chapter some of the horrors of 
 the siege of Jerusalem, he adds, " To these accounts it 
 may be proper to add the infallible prediction of our 
 Saviour, in which He foretold these very events as 
 follows : But woe to them that are with child and those 
 that give suck in those days; but pray ye that your flight 
 be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath. For there shall 
 be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning 
 of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. The 
 historian (Josephus) adding up the whole number of 
 those slain, says, that eleven hundred thousand perished 
 
 hope : lie buys the house, he has brought forth his child, and is amongst 
 those who give suck. Woe to them that are with child and to them that 
 give suck ! Woe to those who fix their hopes upon this present world, 
 woe to those who are bound up with the things of this world which their 
 hopes have brought forth !" 
 
 In verse 15 the same father interprets the Lord's words spiritually of 
 being tempted to descend from a spiritual to a merely carnal life, and of 
 looking back in our Christian course. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 203 
 
 by famine and the sword, and that the rest, the factious Chap. 
 and robbers, mutually informing against each other after -^ J ^- i - 
 
 the capture, were put to death. Of the young men, the 
 
 tallest, and those that were distinguished for beauty, 
 were preserved for the triumph. Of the remaining 
 multitude, those above seventeen were sent prisoners 
 to labour at the mines in Egypt ; but great numbers 
 were distributed to the provinces, to be destroyed by 
 the sword or wild beasts in the theatres. Those under 
 seventeen were carried away to be sold as slaves. Of 
 these alone there were as many as ninety thousand. 
 All this occurred in this manner, in the second year 
 of the reign of Vespasian, according to the predictions 
 of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who by His 
 divine power foresaw all these things as if already present 
 at the time, who also wept and mourned at the prospect, 
 as the holy Evangelists shew in their writings. These 
 give us the very words that He uttered, when He said 
 to this same Jerusalem, If thou hadst known, even thou, 
 at least in this thy day, the things lohich belong unto thy 
 2?eacef but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the 
 days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a 
 trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee 
 in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, 
 and thy children within thee. Afterwards he says of the 
 people : For there shall be great distress in the land, and 
 wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge 
 of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
 nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the 
 Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And 
 again, When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed about with 
 armies, then know that the desolation is nigh." 
 
204 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 24. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun 
 
 XHI. shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 
 25. And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers 
 
 S -. M *"- „ that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26. And then shall 
 
 xxiv. 29— 51. 
 
 xi L 25-36 ^ ie V see ^ ie ® on °f M an coming in the clouds with great 
 power and glory. 27. And then shall He send His 
 angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four 
 winds, from the uttermost part of the earth [to the utter- 
 most part of heaven. 1 28. Now learn a parable of 
 the fig-tree: When her branch is yet tender, and putteth 
 forth leaves, ye know that summer is near : 29. So ye 
 in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to 
 pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30. Verily 
 I say unto you, That this generation shall not pass, till 
 all these things be done. 31. Heaven and earth shall 
 pass away : but My words shall not pass away. 32. But 
 of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the 
 angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the 
 Father. 33. Take ye heed, watch and fray : for ye 
 know not when the time is. 34. For the Son of Man 
 is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and 
 gave authority to his servants, and to every man his 
 
 1 The Greek names for the four points of the compass happen to 
 begin with the letters A, D, A, M. Hence S. Augustine sees in the 
 expression, shall gather together from the four winds, a promise of the 
 bringing together again of the scattered fragments of the body of Adam. 
 He says : " Adam himself is scattered through the whole world. He 
 was originally in one place, but he fell, and was in a certain sense 
 reduced to fragments which filled the whole earth ; but the mercy of 
 God has brought the fragments together again, and has blown upon 
 them with the fire of love, and made that one which was broken. He 
 knew well how to do the work ; let no one despair : it is a great work 
 doubtless, but consider who is the workman. He who made can 
 remake ; He who formed can reform." 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 205 
 
 work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35. Watch ye Chap. 
 therefore : for ye know not when the Master of the house _ ' 
 
 cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-croiving, 
 
 or in the morning : 36. Lest coming suddenly He find 
 you sleeping. 37. And what L say unto you I say unto 
 all, Watch. 
 
 I have remarked in discussing the parallel place of The scrip- 
 
 tural method. 
 
 S. Matthew on the language of S. Mark with respect to the of teaching 
 
 00 L doctrines. 
 
 Son : neither the Son, hut the Father. I would only observe 
 here, in addition, that this is an example of the general 
 scriptural method of dealing with doctrine, and as such 
 is worthy of our deep attention. Divines are tempted 
 to put doctrines in a very compact and logical form, to 
 say that such or such a statement is heretical, because 
 it is opposed to some other which is orthodox ; and of 
 course there are statements which are heretical, and 
 there are orthodox doctrines to which they are opposed ; 
 but when a doctrine has confessedly and in its very 
 nature two sides, we are very likely to err if we say 
 that a statement of one side of the doctrine cannot be 
 true because it is opposed to an acknowledged truth 
 contained in the statement of the other side. Had not 
 the words been recorded in Scripture and ascribed to 
 our Lord Himself, I believe that the statement con- 
 cerning the Son, contained in verse 32, would have been 
 regarded by many orthodox divines as inconsistent with 
 the Catholic faith. 
 
 S. Mark reports the prophetical discourse of our Lord The Lord's 
 
 ■*- x -*• t warning 
 
 as concluding with an emphatic application of the words applicable 
 which He had been speaking to all who should hear 
 them. It is manifest that the Lord intended His 
 warnings of the approaching judgment to go beyond 
 those four disciples to whom they were addressed. He 
 
24—37- 
 
 206 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, was giving a prediction of things about to come to pass 
 ^- II *- which was to prove the safety, and did prove the safety, 
 of the whole Christian body ; and I apprehend that the 
 primary intention of the concluding words of the 
 prophecy was to give a general warning to the whole 
 body of the disciples. But the Lord's words have an 
 application far beyond this : they declare the general 
 character and spirit of all His words, and indeed of all 
 the words of Scripture dictated by the co-equal Spirit : 
 they are not of private interpretation ; the message 
 of God is not to this man or that, but to the whole 
 human family : what God says to one He says to all. 
 And with regard to the special message contained in 
 this concluding warning of our Lord, how fitting a 
 message it is for all ! Who is there that needs it not ? 
 who is there who would not be the better for bearing 
 in mind carefully that a day is coming upon him, as 
 upon all flesh, when he must stand before a judgment- 
 seat, and that he knows neither the day nor the hour 
 when the summons will come? 1 
 
 1 S. Augustine remarks, in speaking of the second coming of Christ, 
 "Why does He say to all that which concerns those only who are here 
 when He comes ? Because that day will virtually come to each of us, 
 when the day comes in which we shall depart from this world such as 
 we shall be when we are judged in that day. Therefore every Christian 
 ought to watch, lest the day of the Lord find him unprepared ; and that 
 day will find him unprepared if the last day of his life find him so." 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. Chap. 
 
 XIY. 
 
 1. After two days was the feast of the Passover, and 
 
 of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes xx Vi. 1,2. 
 sought how they might take Kim by craft, and put Him xx 'ii. 1, 2. 
 to death. 2. But they said, Not on the feast-day, lest 
 there be an uproar of the people. 
 
 This is the first Passover of which we have any Notice of 
 notice in this Gospel. From S. John we find that our by thf 801 " 
 Lord did keep the Passover during His ministry, though, 
 for some reason which has never yet been satisfactorily 
 explained, the first three Evangelists have confined their 
 account of the Lord's ministry almost entirely to 
 Galilee. The only Passover mentioned by any one 
 of them is that to which the Lord went, when twelve 
 years old, with His parents. Whatever may be the 
 reason for the plan adopted by the first three Evan- 
 gelists, certainly it has this advantage, namely, that it 
 brings out into very clear light the one Passover which 
 they do record; it suggests that the connection of our 
 Lord's sufferings and death with that feast was not 
 in any way (if we may venture so to speak) accidental ; 
 that there was a special significance in the connection ; 
 that in fact the Passover, with its lamb slain and eaten 
 with bitter herbs, and blood sprinkled on the door-posts, 
 was not fully intelligible until this Passover gave to 
 all others their interpretation, not destroying the ordi- 
 nance of God, but in the most unspeakable manner 
 fulfilling it. 
 
208 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. To ourselves, perhaps, the light which shines upon 
 
 i J' the sacrifice of the death of Christ from the old Paschal 
 
 feast of the Jews is comparatively faint. We may 
 
 Christ our indeed gain help in understanding something of its 
 
 PcLSSOVPl* 
 
 mystery, and we cannot fail to be struck by the manner 
 in which the type set forth the great antitype ; but to 
 us the whole history of the Lord's incarnation and life 
 and death and resurrection and ascension is so full of 
 glory, that it rather throws light upon all previous signs 
 and shadows than itself gains illumination from them. 
 To the Jews, however, to whom Christ was first preached, 
 the case would be very different ; the triumphant phrase 
 of S. Paul, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, there- 
 fore let us keep the feastj would express the manner in 
 which a devout Jew would be led to find in Christ the 
 substance after which he had long been feeling. In the 
 midst of the disruption and confusion of his country 
 and religion, when God seemed to have forgotten His 
 people, and given them over to their enemies, th 
 believer in Christ would perceive that God had in 
 reality remembered them, that He had visited them so 
 as He had never visited them before, and sent them 
 a new redemption from their house of bondage, of 
 which the first Paschal deliverance was only the faintest 
 sign. 
 s. Matt. 3. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the 
 
 leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an 
 alabaster-box of ointment of spikenard very precious ; 
 and she brake the box, and poured it on His head. 1 
 
 1 The following is part of Lightfoot's note on the anointing : 
 " It was accounted unfitting for Rabbins to smell of aromatical 
 ointments. It is indecent, say the Jerusalem Talmudists, for a scholar 
 of the wise men to smell of spices From this opinion 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 209 
 
 4. And there were some that had indignation within Chap. 
 themselves, and said. Why was this waste of the ointment ^V- 
 made f 5. For it might have been sold for more than — 
 
 _s to 
 Christ. 
 
 three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor, 
 And they murmured against her. 6. And Jesus said, 
 Let her alone: why trouble ye her? she hath wrought 
 a good work on Me. 7. For ye have the poor with you 
 always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: 
 but Me ye have not always. 8. She hath done what she 
 could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the 
 burying. 9. Verily L say unto you. Wheresoever this 
 Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this 
 also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial 
 of her. 
 
 How very much alike are the excuses made in Excuses for 
 different ages by those who grudge offering to Christ offering 1 ^ 
 the best things that the world has! Some object to 
 foreign missions because there is plenty to be done 
 at home ; and some will not waste money upon hand- 
 some churches when the poor require all that can be 
 done for them; and so forth. The excuses are made, 
 not because men care for the accurate performance of 
 the duties in question, but because they wish to avoid 
 the performance of duties altogether. The woman who 
 had anointed Christ with the spikenard had done a good 
 
 everywhere received among them, you may more aptly understand why 
 the other disciples as well as Judas did bear the lavish of the ointment 
 with some indignation : he out of wicked covetousness, but they partly 
 as not willing that so precious a thing should be lost, and partly as 
 not liking that so nice a custom should be used towards their Master, 
 from which the masters of the Jews were themselves so averse. And our 
 Saviour, taking off the envy of what was done, applies this anointing to 
 His burial, both in His intention and in the intention of the woman, 
 that it might not seem to be done out of some delicate niceness." 
 
210 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, work ; let no one carp at it ; let those who think it a 
 ^_ • mistake hold their peace and do a better ; let those who 
 
 are very anxious about the poor go and do them good ; 
 
 Christ will bless them in doing so ; but let not the 
 pretence of helping the poor be made a ground for con- 
 demning an act of manifest affection to Himself. 
 
 The faith of The woman seems to have shewn a faith concerning 
 
 the -woman . 
 
 ^ d h0 an 9int- His approaching death beyond that of the disciples. 
 When the Lord says, she is come aforehand to anoint 
 My body to the burying, I think He intends to intimate 
 that she perceived that He was about to die, as He said 
 He should : probably she perceived no more than this ; 
 there is no reason for asserting that her faith had carried 
 her beyond the grave, and enabled her to anticipate the 
 resurrection of which the Lord had spoken : but if her 
 knowledge on this point was not clear, her love was all 
 the greater. Grant that He was going to die and to 
 be seen no more ; grant that no glorious hope of a 
 resurrection lighted up the grave ; then the woman 
 had seen enough of Christ already to make her perceive 
 that He was worthy of any effort she could make to 
 do Him honour, and to shew forth her own gratitude 
 and love. 
 
 she Mth She hath done what she could. For these beautiful 
 
 done what . 
 
 she could, words we are indebted to S. Mark. They express the 
 judgment of Christ, not only in the case of the woman 
 who had anointed Him, but in that of every one who 
 endeavours in his own sphere to do his duty and to 
 glorify God. Men may adopt another standard : their 
 eyes may be dazzled with what is grand and sparkling 
 and showy, but God looks into the heart ; and as Christ 
 commended the poor widow who threw her two mites 
 into the treasury of God, so in this case He commended 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 211 
 
 the woman's piety, not because what she had done was Chap. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 IO, II. 
 
 the greatest work conceivable, but because she had done 
 
 what she could. 
 
 10. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto s. Matt. 
 the chief priests, to betray Him unto them. 11. And's. Luke 
 
 7 77 7.7 77 7 .7 • xxii. 3— 6. 
 
 when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give 
 him money. And he sought how he might conveniently 
 betray Him. 
 
 This important passage in our blessed Lord's history Ju das going 
 is given in almost exactly the same manner by the priests? 
 first two Evangelists, the only important difference 
 being, that S. Mark does not mention the sum for which 
 the bargain was made. It should be observed that 
 in all the accounts which we have of the transaction, 
 it is very plainly stated that Judas Iscariot went to 
 the chief priests, not they to him ; there was no tam- 
 pering with his principles ; in fact, there was probably 
 nothing that the chief priests expected less than that 
 the means of accomplishing their designs should be 
 supplied by Christ's own disciples. Hitherto their 
 fidelity under trying circumstances had been so true, 
 that it was hardly to be expected that offers could 
 be made to them with any probability of success. 
 The chief priests and scribes several times took 
 counsel how they might destroy Him, but we have 
 no hint that they expected to do so through the aid 
 of Judas. No, it was his own act : he went him- 
 self to the tempters, threw himself in their way, him- 
 self made an offer of service; and so he illustrated a 
 very general truth : when men are tempted to sin, they 
 are led away of their own lusts and enticed; so lust 
 conceives and brings forth sin, and sin when it is 
 finished brings forth death. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Many persons, says Bede, condemn the crime of 
 
 ; Judas as a monstrous and abominable wickedness, and 
 
 12 — 16. t } 
 
 yet take no care lest they commit the same crime 
 
 themselves. When for the sake of money they speak 
 against the truth, they sell the Lord for money, for 
 He hath said, I am the truth. When they disturb 
 society with strife and discord, they betray the Lord, 
 because God is love; and therefore they who despise 
 the precepts of love and truth do (as it were) betray 
 Him who is love and truth, especially when they 
 commit the sin in consequence of no infirmity or 
 ignorance, but after the likeness of Judas seek oppor- 
 tunity of exchanging truth for falsehood, and virtue for 
 wickedness. 
 s. Matt. 12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they 
 
 s. Luke hilled the Passover, His disciples said unto Him, Where 
 
 xxii. 7—13. , 7 
 
 wilt Thou that we go and prepare that Thou mayest eat 
 
 the Passover f 13. And He sendeth forth two of His 
 
 disciples, and saith unto them. Go ye into the city, and 
 
 there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water : 
 
 follow him. 14. And wheresoever he shall go in, say 
 
 ye to the good man of the house, The Master saith. Where 
 
 is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with 
 
 My disciples ? 15. And he will shew you a large upper 
 
 room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. 
 
 16. And His disciples went forth, and came into the 
 
 city, and found as He had said unto them : and they 
 
 made ready the Passover. 
 
 particulars S. Mark gives us a more particular account of 
 
 the prepara- the preparation for the last supper than S. Matthew. 
 
 last supper, He tells us that the Lord sent two of the disciples, who 
 
 s. Mark. (as S. Luke further records) were Peter and John ; 
 
 and he describes the sign which the Lord gave them 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 213 
 
 in order that they might know the house at which Chap. 
 the preparation was to be made: they should meet ; 
 
 a man carrying a pitcher of water (in which some 
 
 have seen a symbol of holy baptism), and him they 
 were to follow. S. Mark tells us moreover that the 
 Lord described beforehand the conduct of the man: 
 he will sheio you a large upper room furnished and 
 prepared. 
 
 These particulars are chiefly valuable as causing us 
 to think upon the kind of preparation which our blessed 
 Lord made for His own death. So far as the history of 
 His death was public, it might be said that His enemies 
 got the better of Him and slew Him ; an historian not 
 believing in Him, or not knowing much about Him, 
 might say, u He went about preaching His doctrines 
 for several years without serious interruption; the 
 leading people were always opposed to Him, but He 
 continued to escape their hands, and they were afraid 
 to take any very active steps in consequence of the 
 favour in which He stood with the multitude. At 
 length however they managed to gain possession of 
 His person at one of the Passovers, and having brought 
 Him to a trial they succeeded in getting Him con- 
 demned." Looking on from without, this is the kind 
 of view we might form of the Lord's history. I suppose 
 that it is very much the view which heathen historians 
 of the time would take ; but when we are permitted by 
 means of the Gospel narratives to look behind the 
 scenes, and to perceive the part which the Lord Himself 
 was taking in His own death, how very false such a view 
 becomes ! We then perceive that He Himself knew all, 
 that all was going on with His permission, that it was 
 with His own full consent that He became our Passover. 
 
214 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. As an old writer has remarked, u If Christ could influence 
 
 -J7-TTT m t ' 
 
 _ the mind of the man with the pitcher of water so as 
 
 to persuade him to receive Him into his house, and this 
 
 by a mere message, The Master saith, what could He 
 not have done in the case of those who crucified Him, 
 if it had not been His own good will to suffer?" 
 
 s. Matt. 17. And in the evening He cometh with the twelve. 
 
 s. Luke ' 18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily 
 I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me shall 
 betray Me. 19. And they began to be sorrowful, and to 
 say unto Him one by one, Is it If and another said, 
 Is it I? 20. And He answered and said unto them, 
 It is one of the twelve that dippeth with Me in the dish. 
 
 sixth 21. The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of 
 prophecy. ° Him : but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man 
 is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never 
 been born. 
 
 The whole of the history of the Last Supper agrees 
 almost word for word with the narrative in S. Matthew's 
 Gospel; but it is impossible to read such a portion of 
 history, however often, without having fresh thoughts 
 stirred up in the mind. 
 
 The What a strange commencement for the discourse 
 
 Apostles n ' % r\ r • 
 
 asking, is it f the Lord on such an occasion ! One of you which 
 eateth with Me shall betray Me. There was one of 
 the twelve who understood it, to the rest it was happily 
 a riddle; but we note the full confidence which the 
 disciples had in their Master's knowledge, as evidenced 
 by the fact that they trusted Him more than themselves, 
 and said each for himself, Is it If The eleven were 
 as unconscious of disloyalty as it was possible to be, 
 their hearts were thoroughly free from any thought of 
 treason, but they considered that Christ was greater than 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 215 
 
 their hearts and knew all things, and that possibly He Chap. 
 
 might have discovered a flaw where they had been able ^v- 
 °, J 17 — 21. 
 
 to find none. 
 
 The warning was no doubt given for the sake of The conduct 
 Judas, and it seems strange that he did not take it. enigma. 
 No one, I think, has completely solved the enigma 
 of his character and conduct. There might be avarice, 
 there might be disappointment, there might be vexation, 
 and there might be a mixture of all these feelings and 
 others besides, but no supposition seems entirely to 
 give the right clue to conduct so strange and in some 
 sense so unnatural. Yet if this be so, is not the 
 character of Judas perhaps all the more worthy of 
 study? Does it not shew us that it is possible for 
 men to be led to commit the most fearful crimes, and 
 yet not to have any distinct explanation to give of 
 their deeds? and are not many sins committed in our 
 own days in the same strange way? Men become 
 sinners by little and little, and then Satan leads them 
 captive at his will, and the only explanation of their 
 conduct is, that they are following the leading of some 
 wicked unseen power. 
 
 Woe to that man by whom the So?i of man is betrayed! 
 Woe also, says Bede, now and for evermore to that 
 man who comes to the Table of the Lord with evil 
 intent, who with wickedness lurking in his mind, or 
 with his heart polluted by any abominable sin, does not 
 fear to participate in the consecrated elements of the 
 Christian mysteries. For he too, after the example 
 of Judas, betrays the Son of Man, not indeed to sinners 
 of the Jews, but to sinners notwithstanding, namely, 
 to his own members, to which he presumes rashly to 
 deliver up the inestimable and most holy sacrament 
 
XIV. 
 
 22 26. 
 
 216 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of the body and blood of the Lord. He also sells his 
 God who, neglecting His fear and love, is persuaded 
 to love and care for transitory and even sinful things 
 instead of Him. 
 s. Matt. 22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed. 
 
 xxvi.26— 30. a 7 ; / 
 
 s. Luke and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat : this 
 is My body. 23. And He took the cup, and when He had 
 given thanks, He gave it to them : and they all drank 
 of it. 24. And He said unto them, This is My blood 
 of the New Testament, which is shed for many. 25. 
 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit 
 of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the 
 kingdom of God. 26. And when they had sung an 
 hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. 
 
 Eucharistic If we take up any of the publications in which what 
 is called the Eucharistic controversy is discussed, and 
 examine some of the questions which arise concerning 
 the manner of the Lord's presence in the consecrated 
 elements, and then look to the inspired narrative of the 
 original institution, what a contrast we find! How 
 different is the atmosphere of that upper room, in which 
 Christ celebrated the Passover with the disciples, from 
 that of many of the rooms in which the mystery of the 
 celebration has been discussed since ! How little inti- 
 mation (if we may venture so to speak) is there that the 
 Feast, which was then instituted so simply and solemnly 
 and affectionately, would prove to be one of the great 
 sources of division and controversy amongst those, who 
 profess themselves disciples of Him who instituted the 
 Feast ! 
 
 I do not at all mean to urge that there is no mystery 
 and consequently no difficulty connected with the 
 doctrine of the holy Eucharist; it is impossible that 
 
 contro- 
 versies. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 217 
 
 it should be free from mystery; and if a person says, Chap. 
 There is no difficulty about it, you have only to take _H* 
 
 a plain common sense view of it, it is only this or only 
 
 that, and the like, then we may be quite sure that the 
 view so taken is inadequate, and only seems to be clear 
 because it is extremely shallow. But I think it is 
 quite justifiable to beg of those, who are puzzled by 
 the arguments and counter arguments of divines, to 
 leave modern divinity for a while, and study the original 
 history of the institution of the blessed sacrament. 
 They who do so will be very foolish if they say that 
 this history is such as to shew that there is no difficulty 
 in the matter; the words This is My body and This 
 is My blood are alone sufficient (one would think) to 
 guard against such folly ; but certainly they may come 
 safely to this conclusion, that much of the argu- 
 mentation of divines is out of place, and that our 
 Lord's own words are much easier to understand than 
 much which has been written in explanation of them. 
 They will be sure also, from the whole tone of the his- 
 tory, that there is a doctrine of the Eucharist intended for 
 the simple, which the wise and prudent may perchance 
 miss, and that it is possible to eat and drink to the satis- 
 fying of the soul, though there may be thousands of 
 questions unanswered by divines, ancient or modern, 
 which will remain unanswered to the end of time. 
 
 27. And Jesus saith unto them. All ye shall be s. Matt. 
 
 . . . xxvi. 31—35, 
 
 offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I s. Luke 
 
 will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. 
 
 28. But after that I am risen. I will go before you into reference to 
 
 '' i u j o prophecy. 
 
 Galilee. 29. But Peter said unto Him, Although all 
 shall be offended, yet will not I. 30. And Jesus saith 
 unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in 
 
218 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny 
 XIV. Me thrice. 31. But he spake the more vehemently, If 
 I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise. 
 Likewise also said they all. 
 The cock The account of S. Peter's declaration of his allegiance 
 
 Se mg is precisely the same as that found in S. Matthew, with 
 one exception. S. Matthew gives the words of our 
 Lord, This night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny 
 Me thrice, and S. Mark, This day, even in this night, 
 before the cock crow TWICE, thou shalt deny Me thrice. 
 The difference is however apparent rather than real ; the 
 cock-crowing was a mark of time, and did not always 
 imply the actual note of a bird. Now it was believed that 
 the cock usually crowed about midnight, and again at 
 the early dawn, so that the first cock-crowing would 
 indicate midnight, and the second crowing the dawn 
 of day. 1 The latter of these being the more important, 
 as summoning mankind to work, would be considered 
 the cock-crowing, and it might also be spoken of with 
 reference to the earlier one as the second cock-crowing. 
 The phrase as reported by S. Matthew comes therefore 
 to the same thing as that reported by S. Mark ; the 
 latter Evangelist probably gives us the Lord's precise 
 words, S. Matthew translates them into a more ordinary 
 form. 
 
 There was, however, good reason why S. Peter, 
 recording his recollection of this important passage in 
 his life, should hand over to S. Mark the Lord's very 
 words. The second cock-crowing might for other people 
 be merely a synonyme for early dawn, but it was not 
 so to him. We find afterwards that the Lord's words 
 
 1 For example, S. Mark xiii. 35 : At even, or at midnight, or at the 
 cock-crowing, or in the morning. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 219 
 
 were literally fulfilled. After the first denial he actually Chap. 
 
 heard the cock crow ; it made little impression upon him, XI Y. 
 
 and he completed the threefold denial. But when the 32 3 ' 
 
 cock crowed the second time he could no longer mis- 
 understand his Lord's words; then he perceived that 
 the second cock-crowing was much more than the dawn 
 of day, it was the second voice of God to his soul, the 
 second warning to his almost stifled conscience. Others 
 might forget that Christ had spoken of the cock crowing 
 twice ; S. Peter himself never could. 
 
 So it is that the words of Christ are often much deeper 
 than at first sight they appear to be ; and we never know 
 how much they mean until we have seen their fulfil- 
 ment, and learnt to interpret them by the result. 
 
 32. And they came to a place which was named s. Matt. 
 Gethsemane : and He saith to His disciples, Sit ye here, s. Luke 
 while I shall pray. 33. And He taketh with Him 
 Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, 
 and to be very heavy ; 34. And saith unto them, My 
 soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, 
 and watch. 35. And He went forward a little, and fell 
 on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the 
 hour might pass from Him. 36. And he ■ said, Abba, 
 Father f all things are possible unto Thee / take away 
 this cup from Me : nevertheless not what I will, but what 
 Thou wilt. 
 
 We may seize upon one word in these verses, not Abba, 
 as having any importance in itself, but because it 
 commends itself to our hearts as a word which actually 
 
 1 S. Augustine suggests that there may he a mystery in the use of 
 the two words Abba, and Father, and that the Lord may he regarded as 
 speaking in the person of His Church, and implying the union in that 
 Church of Jews and Gentiles, 
 
 Father. 
 
220 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, passed the Saviour's lips. In this, as in several other 
 XI V- instances, S. Mark has preserved for us the very word 
 
 1 used when the other Evangelists have given us a 
 
 translation: Abba was one of the sounds which fell 
 upon the stillness of Gethsemane, when Jesus Christ 
 prayed in His agony to His Father in heaven. Does 
 not the occurrence of this word under such circum- 
 stances give an additional emphasis to the words of 
 S. Paul, We have received the spirit of adoption, whereby 
 we cry, Abba, Father ! 
 
 The Lord urges His prayer with the incontestable 
 truth, all things are possible unto Thee; and yet He 
 did so in order that He might shew that all things were 
 not possible : there was at least one thing that could 
 not be, and that was His deliverance from death. The 
 death of Christ was a thing which must be ; the cross 
 could not pass away. 
 
 jesus sore But the chief addition which S. Mark has made to 
 the picture of the Lord's agony is in the word which 
 has been rendered sore amazed ; Jesus was not only 
 sorrovjful and very heavy, but sore amazed and very 
 heavy. The word expresses something of the nature of 
 fear, horror, alarm : as though the sorrow were not of 
 that quiet subdued kind which belongs (for instance) 
 to mourning for friends and the like, but rather of 
 that kind which is excited by the sight of something 
 horrible, which shocks the nerves and makes the heart 
 palpitate. We must not shrink from the full force 
 of the word which S. Mark has used; it is one which 
 beyond almost all others expresses at once the human 
 and divine nature of Christ: the human, in that He 
 was capable of being sore amazed ; the divine, in that 
 the future was clothed to His mind in an inexpressible 
 
 amazed. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 221 
 
 horror, which would have been concealed from one like Chap. 
 ourselves. An old writer 1 savs : "Christ is afraid: XIV. 
 
 when Peter fears not, Christ fears. Peter says, I will 
 
 lay down my life for Thy sake. Christ says, My soul 
 is troubled. Each is true and each is reasonable. The 
 lower fears not, the higher is full of fear. The one as a 
 man knows not the power of death ; the other as God 
 in a human body shews forth the frailty of His flesh, 
 that they who deny the mystery of His incarnation 
 should have their impiety rebuked." 
 
 37. And He cometh, and findeih them sleeping, and g. Matt. 
 saith unto Peter, Simon, steepest thou? couldst not thou s.Luke 
 watch one hour f 38. Watch ye and fray, lest ye enter ' ' 
 into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh 
 is weak. 39. And again He went away, and prayed, 
 and spake the same icords. 40. And when He returned, 
 He found them asleep again : for their eyes were heavy : 
 neither tvist they what to answer Him. 41. And He 
 cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on 
 now, and take your rest : it is enough, the hour is come ; 
 behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of 
 sinners. 42. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betray eth 
 Me is at hand. 
 
 In the extremity of His agony Christ is left alone. Christleft 
 He calls upon His disciples to watch with Him, but the 
 weakness of the flesh is too great ; even Peter, who had 
 made such professions of loyalty, is overcome by sleep. 
 Meanwhile Christ wrestles and struggles and repeats 
 the same prayer with increasing earnestness. He is 
 not alone even now, because the Father is with Him, 
 and because angels are sent from heaven to comfort 
 and console Him. The picture is every way both 
 1 Bede. 
 
 alone in His 
 agony. 
 
222 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, touching and mysterious. Upon the lowest view of 
 37— 4a. ^ ie lord's nature it is most touching, upon the true 
 
 and high view it is awfully and unspeakably mysterious ; 
 
 but its chief import is seen perhaps when we regard it 
 as figurative and symbolical. Christ was left alone to 
 work out the redemption of man. Peter and James and 
 John were the type of the whole human race : Christ 
 invited them to watch with Him, to assist Him in His 
 great work, to take their share of the burden ; but they 
 found themselves unable to help by the value of a 
 straw; not that they did not perceive the necessity, 
 not that they would not willingly have assisted their 
 Master, but because of human infirmity ; the spirit was 
 willing , the flesh was weak; and so Christ was left to 
 work by Himself, according to the words of the prophet, 
 I have trodden the winepress alone. 
 
 Man unable Does not this illustrate the true position of Christ 
 
 to assist in ini\/r ii 
 
 the work of with reference to ourselves i Many no doubt are 
 
 redemption. . . " 
 
 entirely indifferent to His labours ; but there are such 
 as Peter and James and John, who are willing to labour 
 and watch with Christ ; can they do nothing ? No ; 
 the essential infirmity of the flesh prevents even the 
 most willing and zealous from taking part in the great 
 work. There is much that they may do, much that 
 they must do ; but so far as that great and peculiar work 
 is concerned, whereby Christ made reconciliation for 
 them and for all mankind with the Father, we must 
 hold that they can do absolutely nothing. It cost more 
 to redeem their souls, so that they must let that alone 
 for ever. 
 s. Matt. 43. And immediately, while He yet spake, cometh 
 
 s. Luke ' Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude 
 with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 223 
 
 scribes and the elders. 4A. And he that betrayed Him Chap. 
 
 YTV 
 
 had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall _ £ 
 
 kiss, that same is He ; take Him, and lead Him away 
 
 safely. 45. And as soon as he was come, he goeth 
 straightway to Him, and saith, Master, Master: and 
 kissed Him. 46. And they laid their hands on Him, 
 and took Him. 
 
 Jeremy Taylor remarks upon the kiss of Judas, that Remark of 
 u the holy Jesus had been accustomed to receive every Taylor upon 
 
 . the kiss of 
 
 of His disciples after absence with entertainment of a Judas. 
 kiss, which was the endearment of persons and the 
 expression of the oriental civility : and Judas was con- 
 fident that his Lord would not reject him, whose feet 
 He had washed at the time when He foretold this event, 
 and therefore had agreed to signify Him by this sign ; 
 and did so, beginning war with a kiss, and breaking 
 the peace of his Lord by the symbol of kindness ; which, 
 because Jesus entertained with much evenness and 
 charitable expressions, calling him friend, He gave 
 evidence that if He retained civilities to His greatest 
 enemies in the very acts of hostility, He hath banquets 
 and crowns and sceptres for His friends, that adore Him 
 with the kisses of charity, and love Him with the 
 sincerity of an affectionate spirit." 
 
 If this be the true view, it exhibits the villainy of 
 Judas in very dark colours. The kiss was more than 
 a mere sign ; it was a pledge of faithfulness and loyalty, 
 and it was in the very act of giving this pledge that the 
 treachery was accomplished. So it is that the worst 
 sins are committed against Christ by the profanation 
 of those solemn bonds which bind us to Him ; it is not 
 an open enemy whose attacks Christ cannot bear, but 
 
224 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 the faithlessness and disloyalty of those who are bound 
 
 to Him by promises and vows and sacraments. 
 
 We read, I believe, of only two kisses which Christ 
 receivedty received, and they stand against each other in very 
 striking contrast. There was this devilish kiss of 
 Judas, and there was the kiss of that penitent woman 
 who kissed the feet of Jesus as He sat at meat in 
 Simon's house. What a different spirit under the same 
 outward form ! Judas kissed Jesus and hanged himself 
 in remorse, and went unto his own place: the penitent 
 woman kissed Jesus, and the Lord said of her to His host, 
 TJwu gavest Me no hiss, but this woman from the time 
 I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet ; wherefore I 
 say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven her, 
 for she loved much. 
 s. Matt. 47. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and 
 
 ^Luke" 56 ' smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 
 xxu * ~~ ' 48. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye 
 come out, as against a thief with swords and with staves 
 to take Me? 49. I was daily with you in the Temple 
 Eighth preaching, and ye took me not : but the Scriptures must 
 prophecy. be fulfilled. 50. And they all forsook Him, and fled. 
 Peter One of them that stood by — it was S. Peter himself, 
 
 drawmg the ag we £ n( ^ f rom ^g m0re complete account of the trans- 
 action recorded by S. John. I have remarked on former 
 occasions that the selection of facts made by the author 
 of the second Gospel is not always that which we might 
 have expected, had we simply taken account of the 
 tradition concerning S. Peter's connection with it, and 
 had concluded that all events in which S. Peter was 
 chiefly concerned would be found detailed in it more 
 clearly than elsewhere. No better illustration of this 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 225 
 
 remark can be found than that which is afforded by the Chap. 
 
 YTV 
 
 verses at present under consideration ; Peter drew the _ ' 
 
 sword in his Master's defence, but it is not Peter who 
 
 records the fact ; and as it was observed with reference 
 to the walking on the water, that possibly S. Peter's 
 own modesty might have led him to refrain from dwell- 
 ing upon the story, so it is probable that the same 
 principle may be applicable here. When the Lord was 
 attacked in the garden by an overwhelming number of 
 His foes all armed and prepared, the single instance 
 of courage and heroism, the single evidence of loyalty 
 on the part of the disciples, was this drawing of 
 the sword upon the high priest's servant ; it shewed 
 that at that time at least Peter had no intention of 
 playing false, and if the Apostle in after days had been 
 intent upon composing an Apology and not a Gospel, he 
 might very plausibly have brought forward into promi- 
 nence his own conduct at this critical moment : he 
 might have said, I did intend to be faithful, I drew 
 my sword against overwhelming odds, it was only at 
 my Master's own command that I put my sword again 
 into its sheath. And surely the knowledge of the fact 
 that Peter was the man described as one of them that 
 stood by does modify our feeling with regard to his sub- 
 sequent fall; but the knowledge does not come from 
 himself; it was S. John, writing at Ephesus many 
 years afterwards, who first published the fact that 
 S. Peter, whose conduct as the denier of Christ was so 
 well known in the Church, was the only disciple who 
 raised his hand in his Lord's defence. The mention 
 which is made of S. Peter's conduct is contained in the 
 simple and to the disciples not very creditable announce- 
 ment, They allforsoolc Him and fled. 
 
226 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 51. And there followed Him a certain young man, 
 
 . * having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the 
 
 young men laid hold on Mm : 52. And he left the 
 
 linen cloth, and fled from them naked. 
 The young Many commentators, as miffht have been expected, 
 
 man, with J / ° r . 7 
 
 the nnen have speculated who this young man was, and, as might 
 followed a lgo have been expected, with very little success. No 
 inquiry can in fact be more hopeless ; and if any good 
 purpose could have been answered by informing us on 
 the point, we may well believe that the information 
 would not have been withheld. 1 
 
 But without entering upon this hopeless enquiry we 
 may perceive one or two advantages arising from these 
 two verses. In the first place they are peculiarly charac- 
 teristic of the style of this Gospel, in which alone they 
 occur, and they mark the writing of an eyewitness, or at 
 least of one who was immediately concerned in the 
 events he relates. It is almost inconceivable that any 
 one writing a history long afterwards should have in- 
 serted a story, which has so little connection with the 
 rest, and no bearing at all upon the principal events 
 which he records. The verses constitute one of those 
 little touches by which, as in the case of paintings, an 
 original may almost certainly be detected. 
 
 In the next place, the story seems to reflect some 
 light upon the situation of the Apostles. This young 
 man, who was regarded as a friend of Jesus Christ, and 
 who is marked as such by the Evangelist when he says 
 that there followed Him a certain young man, (not the 
 
 i Jeremy Taylor writes : John, the evangelist, who with grief and an 
 overrunning fancy, had forgot to lay aside his upper garment, which in 
 festivals they are used to put on, began to make escape, but, being arrested 
 by his linen upon his bare body, was forced to leave that behind him, 
 that himself might escape his Master's danger. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 227 
 
 multitude but Him,) was laid hold upon by the guards. Chap. 
 The intention therefore was to seize anyone who took the ; 
 
 part of the prisoner. In the first instance perhaps this — 
 was not so ; Judas betrayed Christ, and said hold Him 
 fast ; but probably after the drawing of the sword by 
 Peter the guards determined to seize anyone who opposed 
 them; and so when they perceived a young man evi- 
 dently watching them, and following their prisoner, they 
 tried to lay hold upon him. The fear of the disciples 
 therefore was not imaginary; when they forsook Him 
 and fled, it was really necessary to do so, if they would 
 save themselves. 
 
 And may there not be a spiritual lesson ? To leave a spiritual 
 
 I.6SSOT1. 
 
 all and follow Christ is the lesson which disciples ought 
 to learn ; it is a hard lesson ; the Apostles had just 
 shewn how hard it was ; but to leave all and save our 
 lives, even though we leave Christ behind us, this is 
 comparatively speaking easy, and men do it by the 
 mere force of instinct. 
 
 53. And they led Jesus away to the high priest: s. Matt. 
 and with him were assembled all the chief priests and s. Luke 
 the ciders and the scribes. 54. And Peter followed" 
 Him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest : 
 and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the 
 fire. 55. And the chief priests and all the council 
 sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death ; 
 and found none. 56. For many bare false witness 
 against Him, but their witness agreed not together. 
 
 Bede remarks, u Well might he follow afar off, who Peter foi- 
 was soon to deny his Master so near. Nor indeed could off. 
 he have denied Christ if he had stuck close to Him. 
 But in this Peter is worthy of our deepest veneration, in 
 that he did not altogether desert the Lord when he was 
 
 q2 
 
228 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, so sore afraid. For that he was afraid, this was nature ; 
 
 v ; that he followed Christ, this was devotion; that he 
 53 — 56. ... . 
 
 denied Him, this was the craft of the devil ; that he 
 
 repented, this was faith. The history may also be taken 
 figuratively. Peter following the Lord afar off may 
 signify the Church following the same Lord, that is 
 imitating His passion, but imitating it afar off. For 
 the Church suffers on her own account: but Christ 
 suffered for the Church." 
 
 In the warming himself at the fire we have another 
 of those little life-like touches which distinguish this 
 Gospel. S. Matthew and S. Luke have both omitted 
 it, but S. John, who was also an eyewitness, refers 
 to the same thing, more particularly telling us that 
 the servants and officers had made a fire of coals; for 
 it was cold ; and they warmed themselves : and Peter stood 
 with them and warmed himself This agrees in a striking 
 manner with what we know of the climate of Palestine : 
 travellers tell us of the extreme coldness of the nights, 
 even when the day has been unbearably hot; and so 
 too in the book of the prophet Jeremiah we have the 
 
 jerem. words, in the day to the heat and in the night to the frost. 
 S. Mark does not tell us of the Lord's being taken 
 first to Annas ; the high priest of whom he speaks was no 
 doubt Caiaphas. And here it was that it was intended 
 the trial should take place, for here the Sanhedrim were 
 gathered in anticipation of the coming of the prisoner. 
 Here they sat for the purpose of obtaining evidence 
 against Jesus. S. Matthew says that they sought false 
 witness; but S. Mark's expression is, I think, a better 
 one; they sought witness; the witnesses would neces- 
 sarily be false if they testified to any evil as done by 
 Christ, but the Sanhedrim sat with the semblance of 
 
 xxxvi. 30. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 229 
 
 justice; they sifted the evidence that was brought be- Chap. 
 fore them, rejecting what could be proved to be false; _)■' 
 and they waited until some persons could come forward 
 
 and give evidence, which should at least have the ap 
 pearance of being sound. 
 
 57. And there arose certain, and hare false witness s. Matt. 
 against Him, saying, 58. We heard Him say, I will ITLuke - 
 destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within 
 three days I will build another made without hands. 
 59. But neither so did their witness agree together. 60. 
 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and ashed 
 Jesus, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? what is it 
 which these witness against Thee? 61. But He held 
 His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high 
 priest ashed Him, and said unto Him, Art Thou the 
 Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62. And Jesus said, 
 I am : and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the 
 right hand of 'power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 
 63. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and said, 
 What need we any further witnesses? 64. Ye have 
 heard the blasphemy: what thinh ye? And they all 
 condemned Him to be guilty of death. 65. And some 
 began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to 
 buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy: and the 
 servants did strihe Him with the palms of their hands. 
 
 S. Paul has availed himself of the expression not The house 
 made with hands in 2 Cor. v. 1, where he contrasts the Sith hands. 
 earthly house of our tabernacle upon earth with the 
 building of God, the house not made with hands, eternal 
 in the heavens. The expression is a forcible one and 
 I should think that in all probability our Lord had used 
 it, or something equivalent to it, upon the occasion 
 reported by S. John, to which the false witnesses re- ii ^ 1 J ohn 
 
230 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, ferred ; the Jews would at once seize upon it as savouring 
 - X - I y > of magic, interpreting His speech as implying that He 
 — — — could by magic power raise a temple like that of Jeru- 
 salem in a night. The false witness, or misrepresentation, 
 of our Lord's words consisted, I apprehend, chiefly in 
 the making Him to have said, I will destroy this Temple ; 
 whereas according to S. John he had really said, Destroy 
 this Temple, thereby not vaunting of any feat which He 
 would perform Himself, but prophesying what the Jews 
 were about to do. Even in this witness however, S. Mark 
 tells us they did not agree together ; the fact being this, 
 that those who heard the words of our Lord did not at all 
 understand them, and therefore were almost sure to give 
 different versions of them, even though they had no 
 intention of speaking falsely. 
 
 I may remark by the way, that the whole of this im- 
 portant examination of our Lord before the Sanhedrim is 
 wanting in S. Luke ; and this is one of many indications 
 that S. Luke never saw the Gospels of S. Matthew and 
 S. Mark in their present form. 
 
 One statement of S. Mark seems to require that it 
 should be understood with some qualification. He says, 
 They ALL condemned Him to be guilty of death ; but 
 S. Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathgea had not 
 consented to the counsel and deed of them; and we 
 may well believe that Nicodemus would also be a dis- 
 sentient, and probably there would be others. Either 
 these just men were absent from the Sanhedrim, 1 re- 
 
 1 It seems worthy of notice, that in describing the meeting at the 
 house of the High Priest, S. Mark uses the phrase, all the Chief Priests 
 and the elders and the Scribes; whereas in describing the meeting of the 
 following morning he says that the Chief Priests held a consultation with 
 the elders and scribes and the whole council ; as though the whole council 
 had not been summoned on the former occasion. 
 
S. MARIOS GOSPEL. 231 
 
 fusing to have anything to do in a matter in which they Chap. 
 could not do what was right ; or else S. Mark uses the XIV * 
 word all in a wide signification, meaning that the con- - 
 
 demnation was carried by an immense majority. 
 
 66. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there s. Matt. 
 cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67. And s.Luke 
 when she saw Peter warming himself she looked upon 
 him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of 
 Nazareth. 68. But he denied, saying, I know not, 
 neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went 
 out into the porch ; and the cock crew. 69. And a maid 
 saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by. 
 This is one of them. 70. And he denied it again. And 
 a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, 
 Surely thou art one of them : for thou art a Galilean, 
 and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71. But he began to 
 curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom 
 ye speak. 72. And the second time the cock crew. And 
 Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, 
 Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. 
 And when he thought thereon, he wept. 
 
 We may regard this as S. Peter's own account of his s. Peter's 
 sad fall; and by comparing it with what the other Ms fail. 
 Evangelists have written we see how candid an account 
 it is, how free from all attempt to gloss over the shame- 
 ful character of his conduct or to make excuse. The 
 Lord gave command to S. Peter when he was converted 
 to strengthen his brethren, and we may regard his record 
 of his own denial as one of the chief things which he 
 did in obedience to the command : nothing would be so 
 effectual in preserving his brethren from the like danger 
 and keeping them faithful to Christ, as a confession of 
 his own weakness and the sorrow that it caused him. 
 
232 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. Two points I notice as characteristic of S. Mark's 
 
 VTV i 1 
 
 ,, ' narrative. The first is the mention of the two cock- 
 
 66 — 72. 
 
 cro wings. I have already commented upon the allusion 
 
 to the same in our Lord's words to S. Peter, but it is not 
 until now that we see the importance of the two : the 
 second cock-crowing was not (as I have already observed) 
 a mere mark of time, not merely the signal of morning 
 having broken, it was the second cock-crowing in a very 
 emphatic sense, the second warning ', the second call to 
 Peter's conscience, the second voice of God to his soul. 
 Humanly speaking we may say, it is strange that the 
 first cock-crowing did not call Peter to his senses; he 
 was outside in the porch when it happened, away from 
 the crowd, and pondering (one would suppose) his Lord's 
 words; what a favourable moment for conviction! and 
 it was just at this moment that the cock crew ; how 
 could it fail to make Peter think and to make him 
 weep, and so save him from further sin ? 
 
 However, warnings are of little value without God's 
 Spirit, and we may suppose that it was not God's will 
 yet to call Peter to himself. The second time we are 
 told by S. Luke, when the cock crew, the Lord turned 
 and looked on Peter, and this look had. the desired effect ; 
 it made Peter think. This is the second point cha- 
 racteristic of S. Mark's narrative ; he tells us that when 
 Peter thought thereon, he wept. His tears were not the 
 effect of a sudden gush of feeling, but the result of dwell- 
 ing upon the whole history of his fall ; he remembered 
 his own professions and the Lord's warnings; he saw 
 now his own cowardice and the blackness of his own 
 sin. If he did think upon these things, how could he fail 
 to weep ? 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XV. Chap. 
 
 XV. 
 
 i — 5. 
 1. And straightway in the morning the chief priests 
 
 held a consultation with the elders and scribes and thk x ^ a ^ 2 . 
 whole council, and hound Jesus, and carried Him away, n ~^ 
 and delivered Him to Pilate. 2. And Pilate asked Him, %^z£ ; 
 Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering 
 said unto Him, TJiou sayest it. 3. And the chief priests 
 accused Him of many things : but He answered nothing. 
 4. And Pilate ashed Him again, saying, Answerest Thou 
 nothing? behold how many things they witness against 
 Thee. 5. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate 
 marvelled. 
 
 Perhaps no portion of the history exhibits the dif- Peculiarity 
 
 t-1 v J j/l , of the Gospel 
 
 ference between the method of the Jiivangehsts and that narrative. 
 of ordinary historians more strikingly than this, in which 
 we read of the taking of Jesus before the judgment-seat 
 of Pilate. Certain facts are given, the explanations 
 which we might have looked for are not given ; no com- 
 ment is made upon the conduct of the rulers of the 
 Jews ; and a few verses contain what might very well 
 have been expanded into a chapter, or into several 
 chapters. 
 
 In the morning: we find the chief priests holding Design of 
 
 ° , , -, -• the morning- 
 
 a consultation with the elders and scribes, and the whole consultation 
 council ; apparently a secret consultation, but the steps Priests. 
 taken immediately afterwards shew what the matter 
 discussed was. Immediately after they bound Jesus 
 and delivered Him over to Pilate; and doubtless the 
 
234 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, matter for consultation was, what account they should 
 _ ' give to Pilate of their prisoner when He was brought be- 
 
 fore the judgment-seat ; it would be useless to give in 
 
 a report of the examination of Jesus the night before ; if 
 all the evidence had been true, Pilate would have found 
 in it no cause for death ; therefore all this must be sup- 
 pressed, and the new ground taken of Jesus having 
 declared Himself a king. It would be necessary that 
 they should all be of one mind about this, that they 
 should agree upon their spokesman, that they should 
 not contradict each other ; hence the consultation which 
 was held concerning Jesus, after He had been declared 
 worthy of death. 
 
 5. Mark does not relate the story in very exact order : 
 in one verse he tells us that Pilate asked Jesus, Art 
 Tliou the king of the Jews? and in the next that the 
 chief priests accused Him of many things; it is clear 
 however that the question of Pilate was founded upon 
 the accusations of the chief priests; how else could 
 Pilate have known anything about our Lord's preten- 
 sions to be a king ? The fact was (I conceive) this ; the 
 chief priests had agreed upon the great accusation 
 against the Lord, namely, that He had set Himself 
 up for a king; they had also other accusations, which 
 they threw out as occasion served; but the only one 
 which at all attracted Pilate's attention was that about 
 being the king of the Jews; all the rest was clearly 
 malice, and might safely be set aside, but in the existing 
 state of the country anything connected with treason to 
 Caesar might, if neglected, involve the governor in trouble. 
 Hence Pilate fixed upon this, and asked Jesus what 
 it meant. 
 
 6. Noiv at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 235 
 
 whomsoever they desired. 7. And there was one named Chap. 
 
 TV 
 
 Bar abbas j which lay bound with them that had made 6 __' 
 
 insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the 
 
 insurrection. 8. And the multitude crying aloud began ^vSis^-23. 
 to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9. xx'm.ns— 23. 
 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release 
 unto you the King of the Jews ? 10. For he knew that 
 the chief priests had delivered Him for envy. 11. But 
 the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather 
 release Bar abbas unto them. 12. And Pilate answered 
 and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall 
 do unto Him whom ye call the King of the Jews f 13. 
 And they cried out again, Crucify Him. 14. Then 
 Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath He done? 
 And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him. 
 The general turn of tlie narrative in this part of the Light 
 
 • ■ ch tut 1 -i tnrown by 
 
 history is very much the same in S. Matthew and s. Mark 
 
 * » t upon the 
 
 S. Mark : indeed certain coincidences, such as the character of 
 
 7 ' Barabbas. 
 
 remark made by both that Pilate knew the chief priests 
 had delivered Him for envy, shew that the source of the 
 two is to some extent the same : but S. Mark has made 
 an addition concerning Barabbas, which (as I have noted 
 in the Commentary on S. Matthew) adds much to the 
 clearness of the history. Barabbas, as S. Mark tells us, 
 lay bound with those who had made insurrection with 
 him ; he was not a mere thief, not a mere murderer, but 
 one of a band of insurgents who had been engaged in 
 a popular rising against the government, and who had 
 failed in their attempt, and so had been thrown into 
 prison. On this account probably the chief priests sug- 
 gested his name as that of the prisoner who was to be 
 asked from Pilate. 
 
 I am not sure as to the manner in which the language 
 
236 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of the seventh verse will strike the English, reader ; but 
 _ ' it appears to me not improbable, that it may be taken 
 by such as implying that Barabbas had made insurrec- 
 tion with others, and that he, Barabbas, had committed 
 murder; as though his guilt were greater than that of 
 his fellows, he having added murder to his other faults. 
 This however is not the meaning of S. Mark's words; 
 the who refers to all the insurgents of whom Barabbas 
 was one, possibly the captain, but still only declared 
 to be a murderer as being one of a band of men who 
 had committed violence in their insurrection. 
 
 I observe also that there is an apparent reference 
 to the ground on which Barabbas was demanded, in 
 Pilate's question to the people, as given by this Evan- 
 gelist. Pilate says, Will ye that I release unto you the 
 King of the Jews? He uses the title which expresses 
 the alleged crime of Jesus, and thereby virtually says 
 something of this kind, u This is one of your popular 
 champions ; this is one of those who set themselves 
 up as the deliverers of your nation ; will you have him 
 as the released Passover prisoner?" He thus contrasts 
 in a certain way Jesus and Barabbas, and suggests 
 to them that on their own principles they ought to ask 
 for the life of Him, the only accusation against whom 
 was that He had set Himself up as their king. The 
 argument was good ; but the chief priests had delivered 
 him for envy; and in such cases argument has not 
 much force, 
 s. Matt. 15. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, re~ 
 
 s. Luke leased Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he 
 
 xtiii. 24 25. 
 
 had scourged Him, to be crucified. 16. And the soldiers 
 led Him away into the hall, called Prostorium ; and they 
 call together the tvhole band. 17. And they clothed Him 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 237 
 
 with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it Chap. 
 about His head, 18. And began to salute Him, Hail, 2 * Q 
 
 King of the Jews! 19. And they smote Him on the — - — 
 head with a reed, and did spit upon Him, and bowing 
 their knees worshipped Him. 20. And when they had 
 mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put 
 His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify 
 Him. 
 
 The phrase to content the people is very expressive: The con- 
 it shews that although Pilate to a certain extent loved mate. 
 justice, there was something that he loved more : he 
 perceived that the fact of his having set at liberty one 
 who was known by the name of the king of the Jews 
 might be made to wear a very dangerous look if reported 
 at Kome, and he thought that if he only gave this 
 victim to the people all would be smooth and safe. 
 What was the life of one Jew ? Why should he sacri- 
 fice his own position for the sake of doing justice in 
 such a case ? 
 
 This was the view of the matter suggested by a 
 corrupt human heart; and we see here upon a scale 
 of colossal magnitude the contrast between such a view, 
 and that taken by God. The question in Pilate's mind 
 was, whether an innocent man should be sacrificed and 
 himself put at his ease ; the real question was, whether 
 the Lord of glory should be given up to the hands of 
 wicked men and by them be crucified and slain. Pilate 
 thought of contenting the people, and forgot that in doing 
 this he would commit a most heinous sin against God. 
 
 So Pilate scourged Jesus and gave Him up to be conductor 
 crucified, and the soldiers then took Him to their [n \^ p£J 
 quarters till the time for crucifixion should be come, and num " 
 that they might sport with Him meanwhile. S. Mark 
 
238 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, says they led Him to the Prsetorium, and S. Matthew 
 
 ■^ * • uses the same word, though our translators have rendered 
 15 — 25. 
 it by the phrase common hall. The Prsetorium was 
 
 in reality the residence of the governor, and in this 
 residence no doubt a certain number of soldiers would 
 be lodged; these would be the soldiers to whom the 
 Lord was committed, and they would take Him to their 
 own guardroom, and there pass some idle time in mocking 
 Him. The history of this mocking as given by S. Mark 
 differs in no important particular from that given by 
 S. Matthew; we have the purple robes, the crown of 
 thorns, and the derisive acknowledgment of royalty 
 recorded by both. One little point of distinction may 
 be worthy of notice : S. Mark tells us that they smote 
 Him on the head with a reed ; what reed ? how came it 
 to be there? S. Matthew tells us that it was a reed 
 which the soldiers had put in His hand in mockery for 
 a sceptre. 
 s. Matt. 21. And they compel one Simon, a Gyrenian, who 
 
 x s.™u 3 ke~ 37 ' passed by, coming out of the country, the father of 
 36^38. ' Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. 22. And they 
 bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being in- 
 terpreted, The place of a skull. 23. And they gave Him 
 to drink wine mingled with myrrh : but He received it 
 not. 24. And when they had crucified Him, they parted 
 His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man 
 should take. 25. And it teas the third hour, and they 
 crucified Him. 26. And the superscription of His ac- 
 cusation was written over, THE KING OF THE 
 JEWS. 
 simon the Our Lord went forth to be crucified carrying His 
 KiSgttie own cross, but when they met Simon the Cyrenian 
 they compelled him to carry it instead. S. Mark tells 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 239 
 
 us that Simon was coming out of the country, and Chap. 
 as the heathen were called Pagans, that is, country-folk, , 
 
 some writers have seen in the history a type of the - 
 
 pagans coming out of their old habits of idolatry and 
 taking up the cross of Jesus Christ. This man Simon, 
 who has become notable in Christian history by being 
 called upon to take so very peculiar a part in the Lord's 
 crucifixion, was evidently some one well known among 
 the early disciples ; probably having been made to carry 
 the cross literally he afterwards by God's grace carried 
 it spiritually, and became a Christian with his whole 
 house. Alexander and Rufus his sons are mentioned 
 as if they were Christians likewise, and I think there 
 can be no doubt of this being the case. By what 
 different and what strange ways are different men 
 brought to faith in Jesus Christ and His Cross ! 
 
 It may be worth while to notice, as illustrating* the The super- 
 
 . t -. ^ t n -n t t P n scri P tion as 
 
 independence of the four Evangelists, that the form of given by the 
 
 . . , , . , t t i several 
 
 inscription over the cross which was so public a docu- Evangelists. 
 ment is not given in precisely the same form by any 
 two of the Evangelists. Here are the four forms : 
 
 S. Matthew : This is Jesus the king of the Jews. 
 
 S. Mark : The king of the Jews. 
 
 S. Luke : This is the king of the Jews. 
 
 S. John : Jesus of Nazareth the Icing of the Jews. 
 
 Now it may be said of events which take place that 
 no two witnesses are likely to give precisely the same 
 account, each describing that which he saw from his 
 own point of view ; but here we have the account of 
 a writing, which was certainly expressed in a definite 
 form of words, and in no other form ; and yet when we 
 look for the report of this we find discrepancies in the 
 details. The words the king of the Jews, however, identify 
 
240 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, them as one; this was the pith of the accusation and 
 _'n this was common to all. May we not gather hence 
 
 a useful lesson concerning Scripture in general, and the 
 
 Gospels in particular ? Substantial identity, superficial 
 variety, — this is the law of their composition. 
 s. Matt. 27. And with Him they crucify two thieves, the one 
 
 XXVU. 6i. 
 
 s. Luke on His nqht hand, and the other on His left. 28. And 
 
 xxiii. 32, 33. . J 1 _ > i a i rr 
 
 the scripture was futiiued. which saith, Ana lie was 
 
 Ninth 77.77 1 
 
 reference to numbered with the transgressors. 
 
 prophecy. 
 
 S. Mark calls to mind that the crucifixion of the Lord 
 between two thieves fulfilled the prophecy which said, 
 and He was numbered with the transgressors. It would 
 be an imperfect view however to take of the matter if 
 we were to suppose that now for the first time this 
 prophecy was fulfilled ; we should rather say, that the 
 Lord's whole life was a fulfilment of the prophecy, that 
 it was fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and 
 was exhibited in its most striking form of fulfilment 
 when He was crucified on Calvary. For, in truth, what 
 was the whole sojourn of our Lord upon earth in a human 
 body but this, a taking part with transgressors, a 
 humbling of Himself to the condition of sinners, a vol- 
 untary leaving of His heavenly glories to become one of 
 a race who had broken His Father's laws ? As the cross 
 was the culminating point of all the sufferings and self- 
 denial of the Lord, so was it the chief exhibition of the 
 fulfilment of this prophecy to which S. Mark refers. 
 The super- The Evangelists speak of the two men between whom 
 the thieves Jesus was crucified as thieves : how did they know what 
 
 crucified ,.. r> -r» -i i r> 
 
 with the their crime wasr rossibly irom a superscription written 
 
 1 I have registered this verse in the margin as containing a reference 
 to prophecy ; hut it ought to he observed that the verse is very possibly 
 not genuine, being omitted by almost all the best MSS. 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 241 
 
 up over their heads, as a superscription was written up Chap. 
 over that of Christ : it was a common practice to put ■ * 
 
 over the heads of criminals the crimes for which they 
 suffered : and if this were so, the contrast between our 
 Lord and the two men who hung on either side of Him 
 would be very noticeable to all passers by. There would 
 be three men hanging together : you look up to see what 
 they have done : you see that two of them are crucified 
 because they are thieves, and one because He is a King ! 
 You wonder at the different causes which have led to 
 the same result; but if you study the Scriptures and 
 learn to understand the ways of God, you soon perceive 
 that you have here the profoundest and truest view of 
 His dealings with men. Sin brings death, and that is why 
 the two thieves die ; but there is (as it were) also a royal 
 road to death, and this is the road by which Christ 
 reaches it : He dies because He has not sinned, but be- 
 cause He is the king of those who have. 
 
 29. And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging s. Matt. 
 
 _ _ _ _ _ xxyii,39 — 42. 
 
 their heads, and saying, Ah, Thou that destroy est the s. Luke 
 temple, and buildest it in three days, 30. Save Thyself, 
 and come down from the cross. 31. Likewise also the 
 chief priests mocking said among themselves with the 
 scribes, He saved others ; Himself He cannot save. 32. 
 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, 
 that we may see and believe. And they that were cruci- 
 fied with Him reviled Him. 
 
 The principal feature of the picture set before us in Jt^ shame 
 these verses is the shame and consequent pain of the the Cross - 
 crucifixion. We see the Lord Jesus raised up on the 
 cross, and His agonies not exciting compassion, but 
 calling forth the rude remarks and graceless reproaches 
 of those who witnessed them : and the effect produced 
 
29—32. 
 
 242 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, upon our minds can hardly fail to be that which the 
 -^* inspired writer, or the Holy Spirit through him, in- 
 tended that it should be. If the effect be anything at 
 all, it must be that of a deep sense of the sufferings 
 which our blessed Lord was pleased to undergo; and 
 when we take the sufferings in connection with the fact 
 that they were for us men and our salvation, our hearts 
 must be hard and cold indeed if they are not moved 
 with a sense of gratitude and a determination to love 
 and serve Him who underwent so much for us. 
 
 But if we look away from the principal feature of 
 the picture and endeavour to understand all the parts 
 of it, some effort will be necessary. We find S. Mark 
 speaking of three classes of persons who reviled the 
 Lord on the cross : there were those who passed by and 
 wagged their heads, there were the Chief Priests and 
 Scribes, and there were the thieves crucified with Him. 
 For the first we may perhaps say that it is of little 
 importance to consider what actuated the minds of mere 
 passers by ; and the only remark I think it necessary 
 to make is, that although Christ was crucified as having 
 endeavoured to make Himself king of the Jews, no 
 sooner is He crucified than the old charge about destroy- 
 ing the Temple is cast in His teeth, as though He had 
 been condemned for that. Then again with regard 
 to the thieves, we know from S. Luke that it was not 
 strictly true that they both reviled Him: one did so, 
 the other maintained His cause : and the consideration 
 of their case is best left to its own place in S. Luke's 
 Gospel. But for the Chief Priests and Scribes, what 
 shall be said? what was really at the bottom of their 
 hearts ? if you could have turned them inside out, what 
 motives would you have found? This is a question 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 243 
 
 made more significant by the words of S. Mark, the Chap. 
 chief priests mocking said among themselves ; it was not ^_ ' 
 
 merely a lying mockery which they propagated among 
 
 the ignorant people, knowing that it was mere lying 
 mockery, but it was their own private conversation, and 
 therefore probably represented to a considerable extent 
 the real thoughts of their hearts. What shall we say 
 concerning them ? I think we must regard them in this, 
 as in other instances, in the light of men blinded by 
 their own sinful conduct: their condition was made 
 more fearful than it otherwise would have been by this 
 fact, that they had now persuaded themselves that they 
 had done God service in crucifying His well-beloved 
 Son. 
 
 33. And when the sixth hour was come, there was s. Matt. 
 darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. s.Luke 
 
 xxui. 44. 
 
 34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 saying ', Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being 
 interpreted, My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken 
 me ? x 35. And some of them that stood by, when they 
 heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elias. 36. And one 
 ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on 
 a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let alone ; let us 
 see whether Elias will come to take Him down. 
 
 The comparison of the Lord's words upon the cross, The effect 
 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? with words from s 
 the comment upon them by the bystanders, affords as the by- 
 good an instance as we can well have of the possibility 
 of persons hearing words with their outward ears and 
 missing the force of them. Some explanation of the 
 
 1 Lightfoot notes, "In Matthew it is Eli, Eli, in the very same 
 syllables of Ps alm xxii. 1. Mark, according to the present dialect, namely, 
 the Chaldee, useth the pronunciation of the word Eloi." 
 
 r2 
 
244 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, misunderstanding may perhaps be found in consideration 
 \_' 6 of the language which our Lord used; but the fact 
 
 whether explained or not is this, that while the Son 
 
 of God on the cross was addressing Himself to His 
 Father in the most wonderful words ever uttered, 
 persons standing by heard nothing but a superstitious 
 exclamation of a dying man to a departed saint. How 
 differently must these words have sounded in the ears 
 of those who understood them, and (if there were no 
 human beings present to understand them) in the ears 
 at least of those ministering spirits who doubtless were 
 near the cross! and what a lesson is it to us to take 
 care how we interpret any of the words, which Christ 
 spoke for our instruction while upon earth. 
 Light It is almost needless to remark upon the sanction 
 
 the Book P of n given to the Psalms by the circumstance of our Lord's 
 theLord'I quotation from them in His death agony. It was not 
 I suppose merely that the words which He quoted ex- 
 pressed the feeling, which His soul desired to utter, 
 more appropriately than any other words, but rather 
 that the adoption of words from the sacred writings 
 of God's ancient Church threw a light upon those 
 writings, and connected Him with the ancient Church 
 in the most marked way possible. A Jew might often 
 have read the words in the Psalm, and might have been 
 led to believe that they and the other words of the 
 same Psalm expressed a bitterness of anguish beyond 
 anything that the writer of the Psalm could ever have 
 known from experience; he might even have been led 
 to refer them in some way to Messiah; but he never 
 could have conceived of the literal applicability of such 
 words to the sufferings of Him, whom he expected to be 
 a glorious Lord and King. Would not the adoption 
 
A MARK'S GOSPEL. 245 
 
 of the words lead a Jew to think, and perhaps to take Chap. 
 a new view of the whole of the Scriptures, and to see in _ V 
 
 many of the ancient prophecies clear indications of Jesus 
 of Nazareth ? 
 
 37. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up s. Matt. 
 
 7 • xxTii.50— 56. 
 
 the ghost. 38. And the veil of the temple was rent in s. Luke 
 
 • /> 7 77 oft a 7 xxiii.45— 49. 
 
 twain from the top to the oottom. 39. And when the 
 centurion, which stood over against Him, saw that He so 
 cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man 
 was the Son of God. 40. There were also women looking 
 on afar off-' among whom was Mary Magdalene, and 
 Mary the mother of James the less, and of Joses, and 
 Salome; 41. (Who also, when He was in Galilee, fol- 
 lowed Him, and ministered unto Him ;) and many other 
 women which came up with Him unto Jerusalem. 
 
 There is a difference of some importance between ^Smob 
 S. Matthew and S. Mark as to the effect produced upon JJ!£ntu-° f 
 the mind of the centurion. S. Matthew tells us that rion - 
 when the centurion and they that were with him watching 
 Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, 
 they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of 
 God; whereas S. Mark tells us nothing of the earth- 
 quake, but that when the centurion which stood over 
 against Him saw that He so cried out and gave up 
 the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of 
 God. Now it is not necessary to suppose, that the mind 
 of the centurion and those with him were uninfluenced 
 by the sights and signs which they saw, merely 
 because S. Mark has omitted to refer to this circum- 
 stance after the manner of S. Matthew ; but I think we 
 may infer that S. Mark saw enough in the account 
 which he has given to make the conduct of the centurion 
 intelligible, without the additional particulars furnished 
 
246 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, by S. Matthew : that is to say, the cries of Christ on 
 
 the cross and the manner of His death, full of weakness 
 37 — 47- 
 as they might seem to be, had yet something in them 
 
 which appealed to the heart and judgment of a heathen 
 soldier, and constrained him to confess the righteousness 
 of Him whom he had been engaged in crucifying. So 
 it is frequently found that weak things are changed by 
 God's Spirit into strength, and that those portions of 
 the Gospel which seem the least powerful do in reality 
 chiefly affect the human heart, and prove to be the 
 power of God unto salvation. 
 
 Note that while the hard Roman soldier was con- 
 fessing Christ, the other witnesses were women: they 
 had accompanied the Lord from Galilee, having followed 
 Him and ministered to Him there, and now as He hung 
 upon the cross they still testified their love and sym- 
 pathy by watching His sufferings and death. 
 s. Matt. 42. And now when the even was come, because it was 
 
 s. Luke ' the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43. 
 Joseph of Arimathcea, an honourable counsellor, which 
 also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in 
 boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44. And 
 Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling 
 unto him the centurion, he ashed him whether he had been 
 any while dead. 45. And when he knew it of the cen- 
 turion, he gave the body to Joseph, 46. And he bought 
 fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the 
 linen, and laid Him in a sepulchre ivhich was hewn out 
 of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 
 47. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses 
 beheld where He was laid. 
 ome^uS The history of the burial of our Lord is given by 
 sf Mark. y S. Mark without any important variations from S. Mat- 
 
42—47- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 247 
 
 thew; the account is, as usual, a little more circum- Chap. 
 stantial; for example, S. Mark tells us that when ^; 
 application was made for the body of the Lord, Pilate - 
 expressed his astonishment that death should have 
 taken place so soon, and made enquiry of the centurion 
 before he granted the request; from which we learn 
 incidentally that the death of our Lord took place earlier 
 than was usual with those crucified, and we find a coin- 
 cidence with S. John, who tells us that the legs of the 
 two thieves were broken to hasten their death, but that 
 the Lord was passed by because He was dead already. 
 
 S. Matthew calls Joseph of Arimathsea a disciple of 
 Jesus j and S. Mark describes him as one who waited 
 for the kingdom of God. I suppose that the two de- 
 scriptions are to be regarded as meaning the same thing, 
 and each may be used to throw light upon the other. 
 Also this is to be observed, that if in the early days of 
 the Gospel a disciple of Jesus could properly be de- 
 scribed as one who waited for the kingdom of God, 
 then a disciple of Jesus can probably be described 
 in these days as one who has found the kingdom of 
 God, who has been able to recognise God as the king 
 of the whole earth, asserting and exercising His sove- 
 reignty through Jesus Christ His Son. This at least is 
 certain, that unless we acknowledge ourselves to be true 
 and loyal subjects of the kingdom of God, we cannot be 
 true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ ; the mere belief 
 in our own individual salvation will not establish our 
 right to be called disciples. It may be added that 
 disciples of Christ must even now in a certain sense 
 be waiting for the kingdom of God: the kingdom of 
 God is come, but only partly so ; it is still coming ; we 
 still pray daily that it may come, and the entire estab- 
 
248 
 
 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap. 
 XY. 
 
 42—47. 
 
 The bold- 
 ness of 
 Joseph. 
 
 lishment of the kingdom will be the consummation of 
 our privileges as disciples of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Joseph went in boldly, or dared to go in, to Pilate. 
 It was perhaps not a service of actual corporal danger, 
 but it was at least a service from which many would 
 have shrunk : to declare himself on the side of one who 
 had just suffered as a malefactor, to go to the ruler and 
 ask as a special favour to be allowed to take away His 
 body, this was a task which few would have undertaken, 
 and I have no doubt that S. Mark expressed the charac- 
 ter of the act correctly when he spoke of it as the deed 
 of a bold man. 
 
 Chap. 
 XVI. 
 1—4. 
 
 S. Matt, 
 xxviii. 1. 
 
 S. Luke 
 xxiv. 1, 2. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1. And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, 
 and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought 
 sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2. 
 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, 
 they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 
 3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us 
 away the stone from the door of the sepulchre ? 4. And 
 when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled 
 away: for it was very great. 
 
 The women here mentioned by name are they who 
 
 stancyofthe J . J 
 
 women who we re spoken of before as beholding the crucifixion from 
 
 came to the x ° 
 
 sepulchre. a distance. They are a very good example of persons 
 acting up to the light vouchsafed to them ; they knew 
 
 The con- 
 
1—4- 
 
 S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 249 
 
 not the Scriptures, that Jesus must rise again from the Chap. 
 dead, and therefore having seen their Lord crucified and \_, 
 buried they came for the purpose of anointing His body. 
 They shewed that their love was by no means shaken 
 by all that had taken place ; even if all their hopes had 
 perished in the tomb they yet could never forget what 
 Christ had done for them, and they would at least 
 do honour to His remains, however much the world 
 might scoff at them and account them fools. 
 
 It is evident that the thought of a resurrection had 
 never entered the minds of these women ; all that they 
 thought of doing was to pay the last sad tribute of 
 affectionate respect to One, whom they had loved and 
 reverenced while living; but having done what they 
 could, God did for them what they could not do for 
 themselves; having believed in the Lord's death, and 
 having not stumbled at the burial, God revealed to 
 them the mystery of the resurrection. 
 
 They came to the sepulchre at the rising of the Sun : 
 a fit season for such a visit; and typical of the great 
 truth that Jesus Christ is risen to be the Sun of 
 Righteousness, and the source of light and health to 
 all those who awake out of their sleep and arise from the 
 dead. 
 
 Note also how early the women came to the sepul- 
 chre, and how determined they were not to allow any 
 ordinary cares and engagements to stand in the way 
 of their great duty. They did not know how the great 
 stone would be rolled away for them : they knew they 
 could not do it for themselves, but they believed that 
 God would clear all difficulties out of their way : and so 
 He did : when they looked, the stone was rolled away. 
 So Christ's disciples will ever find it; insuperable 
 
250 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, difficulties may seem to stand between them and Him, 
 r _8 ' but if they only seek Him early and with earnestness of 
 
 purpose, God will roll away all the great stones and 
 
 reveal Christ to their hearts. 
 
 xxYiLi at 2— 8 *-*• And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young 
 
 xxi^ U 3— 7 man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white 
 garment; and they were affrighted. 6. And he said 
 unto them, Be not affrighted : ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, 
 which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here: behold 
 the place where they laid Him. 7. But go your way, tell 
 His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into 
 Galilee : there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you. 
 8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepul- 
 chre ; for they trembled and were amazed : neither said 
 they any thing to any man ; for they were afraid. 
 
 a lesson These women may teach us the right way of arriving 
 
 at a true knowledge of Christ's resurrection. They had 
 first followed Him in Galilee, and ministered to Him 
 there ; then they had come up after Him to Jerusalem ; 
 there they watched the closing scenes of His ministry, 
 and were witnesses of His death on the cross; and 
 lastly, they were first at the sepulchre, and when they 
 found the stone rolled away they went in to pay the 
 only tribute of respect still possible to the body of their 
 Lord: and this constancy of affection was rewarded 
 abundantly ; they were permitted before others to know 
 Christ and the power of His resurrection, and to be 
 messengers concerning the same to His disciples and to 
 Peter. 
 
 I say that these women may teach us the right way 
 of arriving at a true knowledge of Christ's resurrection, 
 because it is not as a mere prodigy, testified by com- 
 petent witnesses, that this great fact of the Christian 
 
 concerning 
 
 Christ's 
 
 resurrection 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 251 
 
 dispensation must be regarded, in order that its im- Ch*p. 
 portance may be realised. It is necessary to follow 5 _ g ; 
 
 Jesus (as it were) through His ministry, to see Him 
 
 in His sorrows, to listen to His teaching and acknow- 
 ledge that no man ever spake such words as He, to 
 look upon Him when crucified, and finally to rejoice 
 in the resurrection as the event which crowns the whole 
 and saves us from being driven to the confession, Our 
 faith is vain, we are yet in our sins. 
 
 It may be noted that the effect upon the minds of 
 the women of the new revelation, which had been made 
 to them, was to cause great fear and trembling. This 
 shewed that their knowledge of the resurrection was 
 real. They did not merely repeat the words, " I believe 
 in Jesus Christ, who has risen again from the dead ;" 
 they perceived that they were standing upon very awful 
 ground, when they occupied the floor of that tomb in 
 which the body of Christ had been laid. True faith 
 will ever produce something of the nature of fear and 
 trembling: Jacob said, How dreadful is this place! the 
 Lord was in this place and L knew it not! 
 
 Tell His disciples and Peter— this was the way in which ma^ 
 Christ dealt with him, who said he was not a disciple. Peter. 
 I think S. Peter would blush, if he heard any claim laid 
 on his behalf to supremacy over the rest of the Apostles 
 on the ground of this message : the words His disciples 
 and Peter would certainly not suggest to him, that 
 he was so great that he might not be mentioned in the 
 common herd, but rather that he was least of all, and 
 not worthy to be called a disciple, because he had so 
 shamefully and so cruelly denied that Christ was his 
 
 Lord. 
 
 9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day 
 
252 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out 
 
 ' of whom He had cast seven devils. 1 10. And she went 
 9 — ii. v 
 
 and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned 
 
 and wept. 11. And they f when they heard that He 
 was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 
 Mary Mag- Mary Magdalene is here described by that title 
 first witness which makes her so remarkable as one of the foremost 
 
 oftheresur- , . . , _ _.. . _.. . _ _ 
 
 rection. disciples ol Christ, one was the woman out of whom 
 Christ cast seven devils; a description which sufficiently 
 shews the depth of degradation from which she had 
 been raised by the Lord's mercy and power ; she has in 
 fact become the type of those of her sex, who having 
 fallen into the pit of corruption have been drawn thence 
 by the grace of God, and restored through penitence 
 to the ways of holiness. Now was it not wonderful 
 that Mary Magdalene, being such as she was, should 
 have been the very first person who was permitted 
 to see the risen Lord ? The evangelist in recording the 
 fact seems to have felt the marvellous character of it, 
 and to have added the description, out of whom Christ 
 had cast seven devils^ in order that his readers might 
 
 1 The passage commencing with this verse and extending to the end 
 of the Gospel is probably not by S. Mark, but an addition made by some 
 person in apostolic times. Dean Alford sums up the case thus : "On 
 external grounds its authenticity and authority are beyond any question. 
 Our only inquiry then is as to its genuineness as a work of the evan- 
 gelist Mark. And here internal evidence is, I think, very weighty 
 against Mark's being the author. No less than seventeen words and ex- 
 pressions occur in it (and some of them several times) which are never 
 elsewhere used by Mark, whose adherence to his own peculiar phrases is 
 remarkable. The inference therefore seems to me to be, that it is an 
 authentic fragment, placed as a completion of the Gospel in very early 
 times : by whom written, must of course remain wholly uncertain ; but 
 having just the same claim to reception and reverence as the rest of the 
 Gospels." 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 253 
 
 not fail to perceive the same. I think that we should Chap. 
 have regarded the blessed Virgin Mother, or the beloved 2TL 
 
 disciple John, as the more probable person to be chosen — 
 
 as the first witness ; but in this, as in so many other 
 things, God's choice is different from ours ; and this 
 at least we may learn from the circumstance, namely, 
 how thoroughly Christ does the work of healing and 
 restoration ; if Mary Magdalene could be raised from 
 her condition of spiritual wretchedness into one of such 
 exalted privilege, what a powerful operation must that of 
 Christ be, and in what case need we despair ? 
 
 And the spiritual condition of Mary Magdalene is 
 rendered more notable by the contrast in which it is put 
 with the unbelief of the Lord's more especial disciples. 
 Mary Magdalene seems never to have doubted the 
 identity of her risen Lord, and her evidence following 
 upon the message they had already received and upon 
 all the previous instruction given them ought to have 
 convinced the disciples at once ; but they believed not ; 
 they were mourning and weeping, and the news that 
 Christ had been seen did not comfort them ; the news 
 seemed too good to be true, and they could not bring 
 themselves to accept it. Mary Magdalene, out of whom 
 seven devils had been cast, is now the believer and the 
 preacher of Christ; the chosen Apostles are the un- 
 believers, who will not receive the message concerning 
 Him. 
 
 12. After that He appeared in another form unto 
 two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 
 13. And they went and told it unto the residue : neither 
 believed they them. 
 
 S. Luke gives us a detailed account of this walk into The Lord 
 
 -, • i • i t t „ TT . appearing in 
 
 the country, in which J esus appeared to two of His another 
 
254 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, disciples in another form. He tells us that their eyes 
 
 were holden that then should not know Him ; and in fact 
 12, 13. . . 
 they did not know who their companion was, although 
 
 He walked with them, and talked with them, and ex- 
 pounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things 
 concerning Himself, until in the evening He took bread 
 and blessed it, and brake, and gave unto them, and their 
 eyes were opened and they knew Him. This difficulty 
 in recognizing the Lord, which we may note as a fact 
 connected with His other appearances after the resur- 
 rection, is what S. Mark expresses by saying that He 
 appeared in another form : it is difficult to realize what 
 kind of change it was, for it was such that it amounted 
 to a perfect disguise at first, and yet when the eyes 
 were opened there was no doubt in the minds of the 
 spectators of the Lord's identity. The truth is that we 
 are treading upon the boundaries of the spiritual world, 
 and the rules of sense and sight begin to lose their 
 applicability. This however we may note, that while 
 the two evangelists are describing the same fact, one 
 of them attributes the result to a change of form on the 
 part of our Lord, the other to a restraint put upon the 
 eyes of the disciples ; and we may learn therefore not 
 to be too precise and positive in drawing conclusions 
 from the language used by the evangelists in describing 
 those portions of our Lord's history, which transcend our 
 ordinary experience. 
 
 What was the result of this second appearance of 
 Christ upon the minds of the Apostles ? Again we read, 
 neither believed they them. Strange perhaps that this 
 should have been so ; but stranger still that the evange- 
 list should have been so careful to record the unbelief, 
 and in such unqualified terms. Probably he intended 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 255 
 
 to shew us, that there was no strong prejudice in favour Chap. 
 of the resurrection which made the Apostles accept the ^\ 
 
 report of it without good proof, that on the other hand - 
 
 there was every disposition to disbelieve it, that the 
 disciples had not in the least expected it, and that they 
 were only made to accept it by overwhelming evidence. 
 We may regret their unbelief for their own sakes ; but 
 we cannot fail to perceive, that in the good providence 
 of God their unbelief was permitted for the more con- 
 firmation of the faith. 
 
 14. Afterwards He appeared unto the eleven as they 
 sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and 
 hardness of heart, because they believed not them which 
 had seen Him after He was risen. 15. And He said 
 unto thenij Go ye into all the world) and preach the 
 Gospel to every creature. 
 
 Let us draw a sharp line of distinction between the Theun- 
 
 i t n r> i a m ^ • _ belief of the 
 
 unbeliei ot the Apostles concerning the resurrection of disciples 
 the Lord, and the unbelief of the Scribes, Pharisees, and with that of 
 
 , P , . , , i • -i /-. ! Scribes and 
 
 the rest, of which we hear so much in the Gospels. Pharisees. 
 This latter unbelief was for the most part that of men 
 unwilling to believe, an unbelief which our Lord re- 
 buked by saying, How can ye believe which receive 
 honour one of another , and seek not the honour which 
 cometh from God only f it was what may. be called 
 a moral unbelief, and this is why it proved so incurable. 
 The unbelief of the Apostles was culpable, for we see 
 that Christ upbraided them for it ; but it was culpable 
 on very different grounds and in a very different degree 
 from that of the Scribes and Pharisees; the Apostles 
 would have been most glad to believe; there was no 
 moral bar to hinder them, and in fact they very soon 
 did believe ; the difficulty in their way was merely the 
 
256 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, exceeding wonderfulness, the extraordinary character, 
 x " of the fact they were called upon to admit ; it was hard- 
 
 ness of heart, not rottenness of heart, which stood in the 
 
 way of their faith. 
 
 Christ appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat, 
 and soon dispelled their doubts: it was He Himself: 
 they could doubt no longer, and they listened to the 
 accents of His voice again with full hearts and minds 
 relieved from an overwhelming anxiety, even while He 
 told them of their hardness of heart and rebuked their 
 unbelief. And the transition from their condition of 
 unbelief to one of greater privilege than ever was con- 
 sequently immediate ; there was no need for any period 
 of probation; those who in one verse are rebuked for 
 unbelief and hardness of heart, are commissioned in the 
 next to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel 
 to every creature. Nor are these two things uncon- 
 nected : it was the trial of the Apostles' faith, which had 
 fitted them to be preachers of the Gospel ; it was because 
 they had been brought by slow and painful discipline to 
 acknowledge the truth of Jesus Christ, that they were 
 able to declare without doubt or fear of refutation this 
 great truth to the world. 
 
 Observe, before leaving these verses, the universal 
 character of the Lord's commission to His Apostles. It 
 was not the eleven only, upon whom the weight of the 
 command to preach the Gospel to every creature fell ; they 
 indeed could only have given scant performance to their 
 Master's words at best; they of course were bound to 
 labour in the spread of the Gospel ; but it was as repre- 
 sentatives of the Church of Christ through centuries to 
 come, that they received a command in trust for posterity, 
 the carrying out of which was to be the test of the 
 Church's fidelity and the means of her own growth. 
 
8. MARK'S GOSPEL. 257 
 
 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; Chap. 
 but he that believeth not shall be damned. Xyl. 
 
 io. 
 
 It is very easy to make the words of the sixteenth 
 
 verse the ground of controversy. It may be argued ^amia 
 that baptism is an indispensable requisite to salvation, of faith - 
 because our Lord says, he that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved; it may be argued that baptism is not an 
 indispensable requisite, because our Lord in speaking 
 of condemnation says only that they shall be condemned 
 who do not believe. If, however, instead of looking 
 in the words for arguments either for or against any 
 particular view of faith and of baptism, we look to the 
 general spirit of the words, and consider the circum- 
 stances under which they were spoken, we can find, 
 as I apprehend, very little difficulty in them. Our Lord 
 was not giving an explanation of the meaning and 
 efficacy either of faith or baptism ; He was giving 
 general directions to His Apostles concerning the manner 
 in which they should spread His kingdom ; they were 
 to go everywhere to preach it, and they were to admit 
 men into its fellowship by the ordinance of baptism; 
 to believe was therefore to accept the message of the 
 kingdom, and to be baptized was to seal the belief 
 in the manner appointed by Christ, and to enter into 
 complete fellowship ; not to believe was to reject Christ 
 as king, and those who did this of course would not be 
 baptized. Hence I should understand our Lord as 
 declaring His kingdom, His Church, His Gospel, as the 
 power of God unto salvation, and the rejection of the 
 same as involving condemnation. There is no difficulty 
 in the words if we take them thus ; and the Apostles, 
 who were armed with them, would not consider that 
 they were in possession of a divine definition of the 
 
258 A COMMENTARY ON 
 
 Chap, respective importance of faith and baptism, but would 
 T_ o rather remember their Master's words as the ground 
 
 of the great work committed to them, from which neither 
 
 faith nor baptism could possibly be excluded. 
 
 17. And these signs shall follow them that believe; 
 in My name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak 
 with new tongues ; 18. They shall take up serpents; 
 and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt 
 them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall 
 recover. 
 The signs The consideration of these verses should make us 
 to h foiiow ere cautious in the interpretation of Scripture. If a person 
 beSeved. should take the words by themselves, or rather with 
 reference only to the verse immediately preceding them, 
 he might conclude that the power of working miracles 
 was the invariable mark and proof of true faith in Christ : 
 for in the preceding verse we have the declaration, he 
 that believeth not shall be damned, and then in immediate 
 connection with this we find the promise, these signs 
 shall follow them that believe: whence it might seem 
 to be a just and inevitable conclusion, that they who 
 believed in such a manner as to escape damnation should 
 also by their belief be exalted to that condition in which 
 it would be possible for them to work miracles. Taking 
 the words merely as we find them, how can we resist 
 the conclusion? and if the fallacy of the conclusion 
 proves that there must be some fallacy in the argument, 
 ought we not to draw a lesson of caution as to the 
 drawing of conclusions in general ? 
 
 The fact seems to be that we must interpret our 
 Lord's words by reference to the history of His Church 
 which followed. We find that signs did follow those 
 who believed in His Name, but not all of them, not 
 
S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 259 
 
 invariably, not throughout the whole subsequent history Chap. 
 of the Church. God lorought special miracles by the -*-j -■•• 
 
 hand of Paid: here is an instance of the Lord's words 
 
 coming true : but many believed and died in the faith, 
 
 concerning whom no such statement could be made. 
 
 As S. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, there were diver- 1 cor. xu. 4. 
 
 sities of gifts , but the same Spirit; and it might in general 
 
 be made quite evident, without any outward visible 
 
 sign, whether a man believed in the Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 or not. An inward spiritual grace might often exist 
 
 without any outward visible sign. 
 
 The question of the disappearance of miraculous 
 powers from the Church is one of much difficulty ; the 
 mass of mediseval miracles we may without much 
 hesitation throw aside ; but the Fathers of the third and 
 fourth centuries testify to miracles in their days, in 
 a manner which it is difficult to understand, if no such 
 power were then vouchsafed. 
 
 19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, 
 Lie was received up into heaven, and sat on the right 
 hand of God. 20. And they went forth, and preached 
 everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming 
 the word with signs following. Amen. 
 
 These concluding verses of S. Mark's Gospel very 
 much favour the supposition, which many learned men 
 have made and which is supported by considerations 
 arising from the style of the language employed, that 
 the last twelve verses of the chapter were a subsequent 
 addition to the history, made probably in the time of 
 the Apostles, but not by S. Mark himself. The Lord's 
 ascension is mentioned as an event well known, and 
 introduced here for the sake of giving completeness 
 to the history ; no explanation is given of the circum- 
 
260 A COMMENTARY ON S. MARK'S GOSPEL. 
 
 Chap, stances, nor any description of the occasion upon which 
 
 ^ it took place, but it is stated in general terms that after 
 19, 20. r J . & 
 
 the Lord had spoken to the disciples He was received 
 
 up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God ; He 
 assumed that position, which it was the general faith 
 of the Church that He occupied. And the subsequent 
 conduct of the Apostles is related in the like general 
 manner ; they went forth and preached everywhere ; but 
 we know that they did not do this immediately ; they 
 waited in Jerusalem until they received power from 
 on high; the events of the day of Pentecost had first 
 to take place, and there was much to be done in Jeru- 
 salem itself before the general mission to the world could 
 be commenced. The last verse gives us, in fact, a con- 
 densed view of the whole of the early history of the 
 Church ; it is the general moral and conclusion to the 
 whole of the Gospel ; and it carries us on to the later 
 history too, shewing us what the duty is of those 
 disciples of Christ, who have had the opportunity of 
 knowing the deeds of Christ upon earth. 
 
 The Lord ivorked with them. So He does still ; His 
 arm is not shortened, nor His love diminished; and 
 though there be no signs following, such as blessed and 
 supported the early labourers, yet there are signs of 
 another and more spiritual kind, which are quite as 
 remarkable and quite as valuable as testimonies that 
 Christ is with His Church. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 JONATHAN PALMKR, PRINTER, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
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