mh_parser/vol_split/41 - Mark/Chapter 10.xml

<div2 id="Mark.xi" n="xi" next="Mark.xii" prev="Mark.x" progress="41.96%" title="Chapter X">
<h2 id="Mark.xi-p0.1">M A R K.</h2>
<h3 id="Mark.xi-p0.2">CHAP. X.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Mark.xi-p1">In this chapter, we have, I. Christ's dispute with
the Pharisees concerning divorce, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.1-Mark.10.12" parsed="|Mark|10|1|10|12" passage="Mk 10:1-12">ver. 1-12</scripRef>. II. The kind entertainment he
gave to the little children that were brought to him to be blessed,
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.13-Mark.10.16" parsed="|Mark|10|13|10|16" passage="Mk 10:13-16">ver. 13-16</scripRef>. III. His
trial of the rich man that enquired what he must do to get to
heaven, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.17-Mark.10.22" parsed="|Mark|10|17|10|22" passage="Mk 10:17-22">ver. 17-22</scripRef>. IV.
His discourse with his disciples, upon that occasion, concerning
the peril of riches (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.23-Mark.10.27" parsed="|Mark|10|23|10|27" passage="Mk 10:23-27">ver.
23-27</scripRef>), and the advantage of being impoverished for his
sake, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.28-Mark.10.31" parsed="|Mark|10|28|10|31" passage="Mk 10:28-31">ver. 28-31</scripRef>. V. The
repeated notice he gave his disciples of his sufferings and death
approaching, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.32-Mark.10.34" parsed="|Mark|10|32|10|34" passage="Mk 10:32-34">ver. 32-34</scripRef>.
VI. The counsel he gave to James and John, to think of suffering
with him, rather than of reigning with him, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.15-Mark.10.45" parsed="|Mark|10|15|10|45" passage="Mk 10:15-45">ver. 15-45</scripRef>. VII. The cure of Bartimeus, a
poor blind man, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.46-Mark.10.52" parsed="|Mark|10|46|10|52" passage="Mk 10:46-52">ver.
46-52</scripRef>. All which passages of story we had the substance
of before, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Matt.19.1-Matt.20.34" parsed="|Matt|19|1|20|34" passage="Mt 19:1-20:34">Matt. xix. and
xx.</scripRef></p>
<scripCom id="Mark.xi-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10" parsed="|Mark|10|0|0|0" passage="Mr 10" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Mark.xi-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.1-Mark.10.12" parsed="|Mark|10|1|10|12" passage="Mr 10:1-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Mark.10.1-Mark.10.12">
<h4 id="Mark.xi-p1.12">The Doctrine of Divorce.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mark.xi-p2">1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the
coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: and the 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 <i>his</i> 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 <i>her</i> 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 therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
  10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the
same <i>matter.</i>   11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever
shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery
against her.   12 And if a woman shall put away her husband,
and be married to another, she committeth adultery.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p3">Our Lord Jesus was an itinerant Preacher,
did not continue long in a place, for the whole land of Canaan was
his parish, or diocese, and therefore he would visit every part of
it, and give instructions to those in the remotest corners of it.
Here we have him in the <i>coasts</i> of Judea, by the further side
of Jordan eastward, as we found him, not long since, in the utmost
borders westward, near Tyre and Sidon. Thus was his circuit like
that of the sun, from whose light and heat nothing is hid. Now here
we have him,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p4">I. <i>Resorted to</i> by the <i>people,</i>
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.1" parsed="|Mark|10|1|0|0" passage="Mk 10:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. Wherever he
was, they flocked after him in crowds; they came to him
<i>again,</i> as they had done when he had formerly been in these
parts, and, <i>as he was wont, he taught them again.</i> Note,
Preaching was Christ's constant practice; it was what he was used
to, and, wherever he came, he did <i>as he was wont.</i> In Matthew
it is said, <i>He healed them;</i> here it is said, <i>He taught
them:</i> his cures were to confirm his doctrine, and to recommend
it, and his doctrine was to explain his cures, and illustrate them.
He <i>taught them again.</i> Note, Even those whom Christ hath
taught, have need to be taught <i>again.</i> Such is the fulness of
the Christian doctrine, that there is still more to be learned; and
such our forgetfulness, that we need to be reminded of what we do
know.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p5">II. We have him <i>disputed with</i> by the
Pharisees, who envied the progress of his spiritual arms, and did
all they could to obstruct and oppose it; to divert him, to perplex
him, and to prejudice the people against him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p6">Here is, 1. A question they started
concerning divorce (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.2" parsed="|Mark|10|2|0|0" passage="Mk 10:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>); <i>Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?</i>
This was a good question, if it had been well put, and with a
humble desire to know the mind of God in this matter; but they
proposed it, <i>tempting him,</i> seeking an occasion against him,
and an opportunity to expose him, which side soever he should take
of the question. Ministers must stand upon their guard, lest, under
pretence of being advised with, they be ensnared.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p7">2. Christ's reply to them with a question
(<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.3" parsed="|Mark|10|3|0|0" passage="Mk 10:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>); <i>What did
Moses command you?</i> This he asked them, to testify his respect
to the law of Moses, and to show that he came not to destroy it;
and to engage them to a universal impartial respect for Moses's
writings and to compare one part of them with another.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p8">3. The fair account they gave of what they
found in the law of Moses, expressly concerning divorce, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.4" parsed="|Mark|10|4|0|0" passage="Mk 10:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Christ asked, <i>What did
Moses command you?</i> They own that Moses only <i>suffered,</i> or
<i>permitted,</i> a man to write his wife a <i>bill of divorce,</i>
and to put <i>her away,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.24.1" parsed="|Deut|24|1|0|0" passage="De 24:1">Deut. xxiv.
1</scripRef>. "If you <i>will</i> do it, you must do it <i>in
writing,</i> delivered into her own hand, and so put her away, and
never return to her again."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p9">4. The answer that Christ gave to their
question, in which he abides by the doctrine he had formerly laid
down in this case (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.32" parsed="|Matt|5|32|0|0" passage="Mt 5:32">Matt. v.
32</scripRef>), <i>That whosoever puts away his wife, except for
fornication, causeth her to commit adultery.</i> And to clear this
he here shows,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p10">(1.) That the reason why Moses, in his
<i>law,</i> permitted divorce, was such, as that they ought not to
make use of that permission; for it was only <i>for the hardness of
their hearts</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.5" parsed="|Mark|10|5|0|0" passage="Mk 10:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>), lest, if they were not permitted to divorce their
wives, they should murder them; so that none must put away their
wives but such as are willing to own that their hearts were so hard
as to need this permission.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p11">(2.) That the account which Moses, in this
<i>history, gives</i> of the institution of marriage, affords such
a reason against divorce, as amounts to a prohibition of it. So
that if the question be, <i>What did Moses command?</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.3" parsed="|Mark|10|3|0|0" passage="Mk 10:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), it must be answered,
"Though by a temporary proviso he allowed divorce to the Jews, yet
by an eternal reason he forbade it to all the children of Adam and
Eve, and that is it which we must abide by."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p12">Moses tells us, [1.] That God made man
<i>male and female, one</i> male, and <i>one</i> female; so that
<i>Adam could not</i> put away his wife and take another, for there
was no other to take, which was an intimation to all his sons, that
they <i>must not.</i> [2.] When this male and this female were, by
the ordinance of God, joined together in holy marriage, the law
was, That a man must <i>leave his father and mother, and cleave to
his wife</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.7" parsed="|Mark|10|7|0|0" passage="Mk 10:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>);
which intimates not only the nearness of the relation, but the
perpetuity of it; he shall so cleave to his wife as not to be
separated from her. [3.] The result of the relation is, That,
though they are <i>two,</i> yet they are <i>one,</i> they are
<i>one flesh,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.8" parsed="|Mark|10|8|0|0" passage="Mk 10:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. The union between them is the most intimate that can
be, and, as Dr. Hammond expresses it, a sacred thing that must not
be violated. [4.] God himself was <i>joined them together;</i> he
has not only, as Creator, fitted them to be comforts and helps meet
for each other, but he has, in wisdom and goodness, appointed them
who are thus joined together, to live together in love till death
parts them. Marriage is not an invention of men, but a divine
institution, and therefore is to be religiously observed, and the
more, because it is a figure of the mystical inseparable union
between Christ and his church.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p13">Now from all this he infers, that men ought
not to <i>put</i> their wives <i>asunder</i> from them, whom God
has put so near them. The bond which God himself has tied, is not
to be lightly untied. They who are divorcing their wives for every
offence, would do well to consider what would become of them, if
God should in like manner deal with them. See <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.1 Bible:Jer.3.1" parsed="|Isa|50|1|0|0;|Jer|3|1|0|0" passage="Isa 50:1,Jer 3:1">Isa. l. 1; Jer. iii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p14">5. Christ's discourse with his disciples,
in private, about this matter, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.10-Mark.10.12" parsed="|Mark|10|10|10|12" passage="Mk 10:10-12"><i>v.</i> 10-12</scripRef>. It was an advantage to
them, that they had opportunity of personal converse with Christ,
not only about gospel mysteries, but about moral duties, for
further satisfaction. No more is here related of this private
conference, that the law Christ laid down in this case—That it is
adultery for a man to put away his wife, and marry another; it is
adultery <i>against the wife</i> he puts away, it is a wrong to
her, a breach of his contract with her, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.11" parsed="|Mark|10|11|0|0" passage="Mk 10:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. He adds, <i>If a woman shall
put away her husband,</i> that is, elope from him, leave him by
consent, and <i>be married to another,</i> she <i>commits
adultery</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.12" parsed="|Mark|10|12|0|0" passage="Mk 10:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>), and it will be no excuse at all for her to say that
it was with the consent of her husband. Wisdom and grace, holiness
and love, reigning in the heart, will make those commands easy
which to the carnal mind may be as a heavy yoke.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Mark.xi-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.13-Mark.10.16" parsed="|Mark|10|13|10|16" passage="Mr 10:13-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Mark.10.13-Mark.10.16">
<h4 id="Mark.xi-p14.5">Christ's Love to Little
Children.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mark.xi-p15">13 And they brought young children to him, that
he should touch them: and <i>his</i> disciples rebuked those that
brought <i>them.</i>   14 But when Jesus saw <i>it,</i> he was
much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not: 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 <i>his</i> hands
upon them, and blessed them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p16">It is looked upon as the indication of a
kind and tender disposition to take notice of little children, and
this was remarkable in our Lord Jesus, which is an encouragement
not only to little children to apply themselves to Christ when they
are very young, but to grown people, who are conscious to
themselves of weakness and childishness, and of being, through
manifold infirmities, helpless and useless, like little children.
Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p17">I. Little children brought to Christ,
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.13" parsed="|Mark|10|13|0|0" passage="Mk 10:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Their
parents, or whoever they were that had the nursing of them, brought
them to him, that he should <i>touch them,</i> in token of his
commanding and conferring a blessing on them. It doth not appear
that they needed any bodily <i>cure,</i> nor were they capable of
being <i>taught:</i> but it seems, 1. That they had the care of
them were mostly concerned <i>about their souls,</i> their better
part, which ought to be the principal care of all parents for their
children; for that is the principal part, and it is well with them,
it if be well with their souls. 2. They believed that Christ's
blessing would do their souls good; and therefore to him they
brought them, that he might <i>touch</i> them, knowing that he
could reach their hearts, when nothing their parents could say to
them, or do for them, would reach them. We may present our children
to Christ, now that he is in heaven, for from thence he can reach
them with his blessing, and therein we may act faith upon the
fulness and extent of his grace, the kind intimations he hath
always given of favour to the seed of the faithful, the tenour of
the covenant with Abraham, and the promise <i>to us and to our
children,</i> especially that great promise of pouring his
<i>Spirit upon our seed,</i> and his <i>blessing</i> upon <i>our
offspring,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.3" parsed="|Isa|44|3|0|0" passage="Isa 44:3">Isa. xliv.
3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p18">II. The <i>dis</i>couragement which the
disciples gave to the bringing of children to Christ; <i>They
rebuked them that brought them;</i> as if they had been sure that
they knew their Master's mind in this matter, whereas he had lately
cautioned them not to <i>despise the little ones.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p19">III. The <i>en</i>couragement Christ gave
to it. 1. He took it very ill that his disciples should keep them
off; <i>When he saw it, he was much displeased,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.14" parsed="|Mark|10|14|0|0" passage="Mk 10:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. "What do you mean? Will
you hinder me from doing good, from doing good to the rising
generation, to the lambs of the flock?" Christ is very angry with
his own disciples, if they discountenance any in coming to him
themselves, or in bringing their children to him. 2. He ordered
that they should be <i>brought to him,</i> and nothing said or done
to hinder them; suffer <i>little children,</i> as soon as they are
capable, to <i>come to me,</i> to offer up their supplications to
me, and to receive instructions from me. Little children are
welcome betimes to the throne of grace with their Hosannas. 3. He
owned them as members of his church, as they had been of the Jewish
church. He came to set up the <i>kingdom of God</i> among men, and
took this occasion to declare that that kingdom admitted <i>little
children</i> to be the subjects of it, and gave them a title to the
privileges of subjects. Nay, the kingdom of God is to be kept up by
such: they must be taken in when they are little children, that
they may be secured for hereafter, to bear up the name of Christ.
4. That there must be something of the temper and disposition of
little children found in all that Christ will own and bless. We
must <i>receive the kingdom of God as little children</i>
(<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.15" parsed="|Mark|10|15|0|0" passage="Mk 10:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>); that is, we
must stand affected to Christ and his grace as little children do
to their parents, nurses, and teachers. We must be
<i>inquisitive,</i> as children, must learn as children (that is
the learning age), and in learning must <i>believe, Oportet
discentem credere—A learner must believe.</i> The mind of a child
is white paper (<i>tabula rasa—a mere blank</i>), you may write
upon it what you will; such must our minds be to the pen of the
blessed Spirit. Children are under government; so must we be.
<i>Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?</i> We must receive the
kingdom of God as the child Samuel did, <i>Speak, Lord, for thy
servant heareth.</i> Little children depend upon their parents'
wisdom and care, are carried in their arms, go where they send
them, and take what they provide for them; and thus must we receive
the <i>kingdom of God,</i> with a humble resignation of ourselves
to Jesus Christ, and an easy dependence upon him, both for strength
and righteousness, for tuition, provision, and a portion. 5. He
received the children, and gave them what was desired (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.16" parsed="|Mark|10|16|0|0" passage="Mk 10:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>); <i>He took them up in
his arms,</i> in token of his affectionate concern for them; <i>put
his hands upon them,</i> as was desired, and <i>blessed them.</i>
See how he out-did the desires of these parents; they begged he
would touch them, but he did more. (1.) He <i>took them in his
arms.</i> Now the scripture was fulfilled (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|11|0|0" passage="Isa 40:11">Isa. xl. 11</scripRef>), <i>He shall gather the lambs
in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.</i> Time was, when Christ
himself was taken up in old Simeon's arms, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.28" parsed="|Luke|2|28|0|0" passage="Lu 2:28">Luke ii. 28</scripRef>. And now he took up these
children, not complaining of the burthen (as Moses did, when he was
bid to <i>carry Israel,</i> that peevish child, <i>in his bosom, as
a nursing father bears the sucking child,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Num.11.12" parsed="|Num|11|12|0|0" passage="Nu 11:12">Num. xi. 12</scripRef>), but pleased with it. If we in a
right manner bring our children to Christ, he will take them up,
not only in the arms of his power and providence, but in the arms
of his pity and grace (as <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p19.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.8" parsed="|Ezek|16|8|0|0" passage="Eze 16:8">Ezek. xvi.
8</scripRef>); underneath them are the <i>everlasting arms.</i>
(2.) He <i>put his hands upon them,</i> denoting the bestowing of
his Spirit upon them (for that is the hand of the Lord), and his
setting them apart for himself. (3.) He <i>blessed</i> them with
the spiritual blessings he came to give. Our children are happy, if
they have but the <i>Mediator's blessing</i> for their portion. It
is true, we do not read that he baptized these children, baptism
was not fully settled as the door of admission into the church
until after Christ's resurrection; but he asserted their visible
church-membership, and by another sign bestowed those blessings
upon them, which are now appointed to be conveyed and conferred by
baptism, the seal of the promise, which is <i>to us</i> and <i>to
our children.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Mark.xi-p19.8" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.17-Mark.10.31" parsed="|Mark|10|17|10|31" passage="Mr 10:17-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Mark.10.17-Mark.10.31">
<h4 id="Mark.xi-p19.9">A Hopeful Youth Falling Short of
Heaven.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mark.xi-p20">17 And when he was gone forth into the way,
there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good
Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?   18
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? <i>there is</i>
none good but one, <i>that is,</i> God.   19 Thou knowest the
commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do
not bear 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.   23 And Jesus looked round about,
and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have
riches 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?
  27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men <i>it is</i>
impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
  28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all,
and have followed thee.   29 And Jesus answered and said,
Verily I 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 a hundredfold 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 <i>that
are</i> first shall be last; and the last first.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p21">I. Here is a <i>hopeful meeting</i> between
Christ and a <i>young man;</i> such he is said to be (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.19.20 Bible:Matt.19.22" parsed="|Matt|19|20|0|0;|Matt|19|22|0|0" passage="Mt 19:20,22">Matt. xix. 20, 22</scripRef>), and a
<i>ruler</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.18.18" parsed="|Luke|18|18|0|0" passage="Lu 18:18">Luke xviii.
18</scripRef>), a person of quality. Some circumstances here are,
which we had not in Matthew, which makes his address to Christ very
promising.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p22">1. He came <i>running</i> to Christ, which
was an indication of his humility; he laid aside the gravity and
grandeur of a ruler, when he came to Christ: thus too he manifested
his earnestness and importunity; he <i>ran</i> as one <i>in
haste,</i> and longing to be in conversation with Christ. He had
now an opportunity of consulting this great Prophet, in the things
that belonged to his peace, and he would not let slip the
opportunity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p23">2. He came to him when he was <i>in the
way,</i> in the midst of company: he did not insist upon a private
conference with him by night, as Nicodemus did, though like him he
was a ruler, but <i>when he shall find him without,</i> will
<i>embrace</i> that opportunity of advising with him, <i>and not be
ashamed,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.8.1" parsed="|Song|8|1|0|0" passage="So 8:1">Cant. viii.
1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p24">3. He <i>kneeled to him,</i> in token of
the great value and veneration he had for him, as a teacher come
from God, and his earnest desire to be taught by him. He bowed the
knee to the Lord Jesus, as one that would not only <i>do
obeisance</i> to him now, but would <i>yield obedience</i> to him
always; he <i>bowed the knee,</i> as one that meant to <i>bow the
soul</i> to him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p25">4. His address to him was serious and
weighty; <i>Good Master, what shall I do, that I may inherit
eternal life?</i> Eternal life was an article of his creed, though
then denied by the Sadducees, a prevailing party: he asks, What
shall he do now that he may be happy for ever. Most men enquire for
good to be <i>had</i> in this world (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.4.6" parsed="|Ps|4|6|0|0" passage="Ps 4:6">Ps.
iv. 6</scripRef>), <i>any good;</i> he asks for <i>good to be
done</i> in this world, in order to the enjoyment of the greatest
good in the other world; not, Who will make us to <i>see good?</i>
But, "Who will make us to <i>do good?</i>" He enquires for
<i>happiness</i> in the way of <i>duty;</i> the <i>summum
bonum—chief good</i> which Solomon was in quest of, was <i>that
good for the sons of men which they do should do,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.3" parsed="|Eccl|2|3|0|0" passage="Ec 2:3">Eccl. ii. 3</scripRef>. Now this was, (1.) A very
serious question in itself; it was about eternal things, and his
own concern in those things. Note, <i>Then</i> there begins to be
some hope of people, when they begin to enquire solicitously, what
they shall do to get to heaven. (2.) It was proposed to a right
person, one that was every way fit to answer it, being himself
<i>the Way, the Truth,</i> and <i>the Life,</i> the true way to
life, to eternal life; who came <i>from heaven</i> on purpose,
first to <i>lay open for us,</i> and then to <i>lay open to us;</i>
first to make, and then to make known, the way to <i>heaven.</i>
Note, Those who would know what they shall do to be saved, must
apply themselves to Christ, and enquire of him; it is peculiar to
the Christian religion, both to show eternal life, and to show the
way to it. (3.) It was proposed with a good design—to be
instructed. We find this same question put by a lawyer, not
<i>kneeling,</i> but standing up (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.10.25" parsed="|Luke|10|25|0|0" passage="Lu 10:25">Luke
x. 25</scripRef>), with a bad design, to pick quarrels with him; he
<i>tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do?</i> It is not so
much the good <i>words</i> as the good <i>intention</i> of them
that Christ looks at.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p26">5. Christ encouraged this address, (1.) By
<i>assisting his faith,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.18" parsed="|Mark|10|18|0|0" passage="Mk 10:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>. He called him <i>good Master;</i> Christ would have
him mean thereby, that he looked upon him to be <i>God,</i> since
there is none good but <i>one,</i> that is <i>God,</i> who is one,
and his name one, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.9" parsed="|Zech|14|9|0|0" passage="Zec 14:9">Zech. xiv.
9</scripRef>. Our English word <i>God</i> doubtless hath affinity
with <i>good;</i> as the Hebrews name God by his power, <i>Elohim,
the strong God;</i> so we by his goodness, the <i>good God.</i>
(2.) By directing his practice (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.19" parsed="|Mark|10|19|0|0" passage="Mk 10:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>); <i>Keep the commandments;</i>
and thou <i>knowest</i> what they are. He mentions the six
commandments of the second table, which prescribe our duty to our
neighbour; he inverts the order, putting the seventh commandment
before the sixth, to intimate that <i>adultery</i> is a sin no less
heinous than <i>murder</i> itself. The fifth commandment is here
put last, as that which should especially be remembered and
observed, to keep us to all the rest. Instead of the tenth
commandment, <i>Thou shalt not covet,</i> our Saviour here puts,
<i>Defraud not.</i> <b><i>Me apostereses</i></b>—that is, saith
Dr. Hammond, "Thou shalt not rest contented with thy own, and not
seek to increase it by the diminution of other men's." It is a rule
of justice not to advance or enrich ourselves by doing wrong or
injury to any other.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p27">6. The young man bid fair for heaven,
having been free from any open gross violations of the divine
commands. Thus far he was able to same in some measure (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.20" parsed="|Mark|10|20|0|0" passage="Mk 10:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), <i>Master, all these
have I observed from my youth.</i> He thought he had, and his
neighbours thought so too. Note, Ignorance of the extent and
spiritual nature of the divine law, makes people think themselves
in a better condition than they really are. Paul was alive
<i>without the law.</i> But when he saw that to be
<i>spiritual,</i> he saw himself to be <i>carnal,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.7.9 Bible:Rom.7.14" parsed="|Rom|7|9|0|0;|Rom|7|14|0|0" passage="Ro 7:9,14">Rom. vii. 9, 14</scripRef>. However, he that
could say he was free from scandalous sin, went further than many
in the way to eternal life. But though we <i>know nothing by
ourselves, yet are we not thereby justified.</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.4.4" parsed="|1Cor|4|4|0|0" passage="1Co 4:4">1 Cor. iv. 4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p28">7. Christ had a kindness for him; <i>Jesus,
beholding him, loved him,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.21" parsed="|Mark|10|21|0|0" passage="Mk 10:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. He was pleased to find that he
had lived inoffensively, and pleased to see that he was inquisitive
how to live better than so. Christ particularly <i>loves</i> to see
young people, and rich people, <i>asking the way to heaven, with
their faces thitherward.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p29">II. Here is a <i>sorrowful parting</i>
between Christ and this young man.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p30">1. Christ gave him a command of trial, by
which it would appear whether he did in sincerity aim at eternal
life, and press towards it: he seemed to have his heart much upon
it, and if so, he is what he should be; but has he indeed his heart
upon it? Bring him to the touchstone. (1.) Can he find in his heart
<i>to part with his riches</i> for the service of Christ? He hath a
good estate, and now, shortly, at the first founding of the
Christian church, the necessity of the case will require that those
who have <i>lands, sell them, and lay the money at the apostles'
feet;</i> and how will he dispense with that? <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.34-Acts.4.35" parsed="|Acts|4|34|4|35" passage="Ac 4:34,35">Acts iv. 34, 35</scripRef>. After awhile, tribulation
and persecution will arise, because of the word; and he must be
forced to sell his estate, or have it taken from him, and how will
he like that? Let him know the worst now; if he will not come up to
these terms, let him quit his pretensions; as good as the first as
at last. "<i>Sell whatsoever thou hast</i> over and above what is
necessary for thy support;" probably, he had no family to provide
for; let him therefore be a <i>father to the poor,</i> and make
them his heirs. Every man, according to his ability, must relieve
the poor, and be content, when there is occasion, to straiten
himself to do it. Worldly wealth is given us, not only as
<i>maintenance</i> to bear our charges through this world,
according to our place in it, but as <i>talent,</i> to be used and
employed for the glory of our great Master in the world, who hath
so ordered it, that the poor we should have always with us as his
receivers. (2.) Can he find it in his heart to go through the
hardest costliest services he may be called to as a disciple of
Christ, and depend upon him for a recompence <i>in heaven?</i> He
asks Christ what he should do more than he has done to obtain
<i>eternal life,</i> and Christ puts it to him, whether he has
indeed that firm belief of, and that high value for, eternal life
that he seems to have. Doth he really believe there is a true
treasure in heaven sufficient to make up all he can leave, or lose,
or lay out, for Christ? Is he willing to deal with Christ <i>upon
trust?</i> Can he give him credit for all he is worth; and be
willing to bear a present cross, in expectation of a future
crown?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p31">2. Upon this he flew off (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.22" parsed="|Mark|10|22|0|0" passage="Mk 10:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>); <i>He was sad at that
saying;</i> was sorry that he could not be a follower of Christ
upon any easier terms than leaving all to follow him; that he could
not <i>lay hold</i> on eternal life, and <i>keep hold</i> of his
temporal possessions too. But since he could not come up to the
terms of discipleship, he was so fair as not to pretend to it;
<i>He went away grieved.</i> Here appeared the truth of that
(<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.6.24" parsed="|Matt|6|24|0|0" passage="Mt 6:24">Matt. vi. 24</scripRef>), <i>Ye cannot
serve God and mammon;</i> while he held to mammon he did in effect
<i>despise</i> Christ, as all those do who prefer the world before
him. He bids for what he has a mind for in the market, yet goes
away grieved, and leaves it, because he cannot have it at his own
price. Two words to a bargain. Motions are not marriages. That
which ruined this young man was, <i>he had great possessions;</i>
thus the <i>prosperity of fools destroys them,</i> and those who
spend their days in wealth are tempted to say to God, <i>Depart
from us;</i> or to their hearts, <i>Depart from God.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p32">III. Here is Christ's discourse with his
disciples. We are tempted to wish that Christ had <i>mollified</i>
that saying which frightened this young gentleman from following
him, and by an explanation taken off the harshness of it: but he
knew all men's hearts; he would not court him to be his follower,
because he was a <i>rich man</i> and a ruler; but, if he will go,
let him go. Christ will keep no man against his will; and therefore
we do not find that Christ called him back, but took this occasion
to instruct his disciples in two things.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p33">1. The difficulty of the salvation of those
who have an abundance of this world; because there are few who have
<i>a deal to leave,</i> that can be persuaded to <i>leave it</i>
for Christ, or to lay it out in doing good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p34">(1.) Christ asserts this here; <i>He looked
about</i> upon his <i>disciples,</i> because he would have them all
take notice of what he said, that by it they might have their
judgments rightly informed, and their mistakes rectified,
concerning worldly wealth, which they were apt to over-rate; <i>How
hardly shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of
God!</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.23" parsed="|Mark|10|23|0|0" passage="Mk 10:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. They
have many temptations to grapple with, and many difficulties to get
over, which lie not in the way of poor people. But he explains
himself, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p34.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.24" parsed="|Mark|10|24|0|0" passage="Mk 10:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>,
where he calls the disciples <i>children,</i> because as such they
should be <i>taught</i> by him, and <i>portioned</i> by him with
better things than this young man left Christ to cleave to; and
whereas he had said, <i>How hardly will those who have riches get
to heaven;</i> here he tells them, that the danger arose not so
much from their <i>having</i> riches as from their <i>trusting to
them,</i> and placing their confidence in them, expecting
protection, provision, and a portion from them; saying that <i>to
their gold,</i> which they should say only to their God, <i>Thou
art my hope,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p34.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.31.24" parsed="|Job|31|24|0|0" passage="Job 31:24">Job xxxi.
24</scripRef>. They have such a value as this for the wealth of the
world, will never be brought to put a right value upon Christ and
his grace. They that <i>have</i> ever so much riches, but do not
<i>trust in them,</i> that see the vanity of them, and their utter
insufficiency to make a soul happy, have got over the difficulty,
and can easily part with them for Christ: but they have ever so
little, if they set their hearts upon that little, and place their
happiness in it, it will keep them from Christ. He enforces this
assertion with, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p34.4" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.25" parsed="|Mark|10|25|0|0" passage="Mk 10:25"><i>v.</i>
25</scripRef>, <i>It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle, than for a rich man,</i> that <i>trusts in riches,</i> or
inclines to do so, <i>to enter into the kingdom of God.</i> The
disproportion here seems so great (though the more it is so the
more it answers the intention), that some have laboured to bring
the camel and the eye of the needle a little nearer together. [1.]
Some imagine there might be some wicket-gate, or door, to
Jerusalem, commonly known by the name of <i>the needle's eye,</i>
for its straitness, through which a camel could not be got, unless
he were unloaded, and made to kneel, as those camel, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p34.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.24.11" parsed="|Gen|24|11|0|0" passage="Ge 24:11">Gen. xxiv. 11</scripRef>. So a rich man cannot
get to heaven unless he is willing to part with the burthen of his
worldly wealth, and stoop to the duties of a humble religion, and
so enter <i>at the strait gate.</i> [2.] Others suggest that the
word we translate a <i>camel,</i> sometimes signifies a cable-rope,
which, though not to be got through a needle's eye, yet is of great
affinity to it. A rich man, compared with the poor, is as a cable
to a single thread, stronger, but not so pliable, and it will not
go through the <i>needle's eye,</i> unless it be untwisted. So the
rich man must be loosed and disentangled from his riches, and then
there is some hope of him, that thread by thread he may be got
through the eye of the needle, otherwise he is good for nothing but
to cast anchor in the earth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p35">(2.) This truth was very surprising to the
disciples; <i>They were astonished at his words,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.24" parsed="|Mark|10|24|0|0" passage="Mk 10:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. <i>They were astonished
out of measure, and said among themselves, Who then can be
saved?</i> They knew what were generally the sentiments of the
Jewish teachers, who affirmed that the Spirit of God chooses to
reside in rich men; nay, they knew what abundance of promises there
were, in the Old Testament, of temporal good things; they knew
likewise that all either are rich, or fain would be so, and that
they who are rich, have so much the larger opportunities of doing
good, and therefore were amazed to hear that it should be so hard
for rich people to go to heaven.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p36">(3.) Christ reconciled them to it, by
referring it to the almighty power of God, to help even rich people
over the difficulties that lie in the way of their salvation
(<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.27" parsed="|Mark|10|27|0|0" passage="Mk 10:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>); He
<i>looked upon them,</i> to engage their attention, and said,
"<i>With men it is impossible;</i> rich people cannot by their own
skill or resolution get over these difficulties, but the grace of
God can do it, for <i>with him all things are possible.</i>" If
<i>the righteous scarcely are saved,</i> much more may we say so of
the <i>rich;</i> and therefore when any get to heaven, they must
give all the glory to God, who worketh in them <i>both to will and
to do.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p37">2. The greatness of the salvation of those
that have but a little of this world, and leave it for Christ. This
he speaks of, upon occasion of Peter's mentioning what he and the
rest of the disciples had left to follow him; <i>Behold,</i> (saith
he), <i>we have left all to follow thee,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p37.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.28" parsed="|Mark|10|28|0|0" passage="Mk 10:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. "You have <i>done well,</i>"
saith Christ, "and it will prove in the end that you have done well
<i>for yourselves;</i> you shall be abundantly recompensed, and not
only you shall be <i>reimbursed,</i> who have left but a little,
but those that have ever so much, though it were so much as this
young man had, that could not persuade himself to quit it for
Christ; yet they shall have much more than an equivalent for it."
(1.) The loss is supposed to be very great; he specifies, [1.]
Worldly wealth; <i>houses</i> are here put first, and <i>lands</i>
last: if a man quit his <i>house,</i> which should be for his
habitation, and his <i>land,</i> which should be for his
maintenance, and so make himself a beggar and an outcast. This has
been the choice of suffering saints; farewell houses and lands,
though ever so convenient and desirable, through the inheritance of
fathers, for the house which is from heaven, and the inheritance of
the saints in light, where are many mansions. [2.] Dear relations.
<i>Father and mother, wife and children, brethren and sisters.</i>
In these, as much as in any temporal blessing, the comfort of life
is bound up; without these the world would be a wilderness; yet,
when we must either for sake these or Christ, we must remember that
we stand in nearer relation to Christ than we do to any creature;
and therefore to keep in with him, we must be content to break with
all the world, and to say to father and mother, as Levi did, <i>I
have not known you.</i> The greatest trial of a good man's
constancy is, when his love to Christ comes to stand in competition
with a love that is lawful, nay, that is his duty. It is easy to
such a one to forsake a <i>lust</i> for Christ, for he hath that
within him, that rises against it; but to forsake a <i>father,</i>
a <i>brother,</i> a <i>wife,</i> for Christ, that is, to forsake
those whom he knows he must love, is hard. And yet he must do so,
rather than deny or disown Christ. Thus great is the loss supposed
to be; but it is <i>for Christ's sake,</i> that he may be honoured,
and the <i>gospel's,</i> that it may be promoted and propagated. It
is not the <i>suffering,</i> but the <i>cause,</i> that makes the
<i>martyr.</i> And therefore, (2.) The advantage will be great.
[1.] <i>They shall receive a hundred-fold in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters;</i> not <i>in specie,</i> but that which is
equivalent. He shall have abundance of comfort while he lives,
sufficient to make up for all his losses; his relation to Christ,
his communion with the saints, and his title to eternal life, shall
be to him <i>brethren,</i> and <i>sisters,</i> and <i>houses,</i>
and all. God's providence gave Job double to what he had had, but
suffering Christians shall have a <i>hundred-fold</i> in the
comforts of the Spirit sweetening their creature comforts. But
observe, It is added here in Mark, <i>with persecutions.</i> Even
when they are gainers by Christ, let them still expect to be
sufferers for him; and not be out of the reach of persecution, till
they come to heaven. Nay, The <i>persecutions</i> seem to come in
here among <i>the receivings</i> in this present time; for unto you
it is given, not only to believe in Christ, but also to <i>suffer
for his name;</i> yet this is not all, [2.] They shall have
<i>eternal life in the world to come.</i> If they receive a
hundred-fold in this world, one would think they should not be
encouraged to expect any more. Yet, as if that were a small matter,
they shall have <i>life eternal</i> into the bargain; which is more
than ten thousand-fold, ten thousand times told, for all their
losses. But because they talked so much, and really more than
became them, of <i>leaving all</i> for Christ, he tells them,
though they were <i>first called,</i> that there should be
disciples called after them, that should be preferred before them;
as St. Paul, who was one <i>born out of due time,</i> and yet
laboured more abundantly than all the rest of the apostles,
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p37.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.15.10" parsed="|1Cor|15|10|0|0" passage="1Co 15:10">1 Cor. xv. 10</scripRef>. Then the
<i>first</i> were <i>last,</i> and the last <i>first.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Mark.xi-p37.3" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.32-Mark.10.45" parsed="|Mark|10|32|10|45" passage="Mr 10:32-45" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Mark.10.32-Mark.10.45">
<h4 id="Mark.xi-p37.4">Christ's Prediction of His
Sufferings.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mark.xi-p38">32 And they were in the way going up to
Jerusalem; 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
<i>Saying,</i> 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.   35 And James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we 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 ask: can ye drink 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 <i>it shall be given to them</i> for whom
it is prepared.   41 And when the ten heard <i>it,</i> they
began to be much displeased with James and <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:John.42" parsed="|John|42|0|0|0" passage="John. 42">John.   42</scripRef> But
Jesus called them <i>to him,</i> 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 chiefest, 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p39">Here is, I. Christ's prediction of his own
sufferings; this string he harped much upon, though in the ears of
his disciples it sounded very harsh and unpleasing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p40">1. See here how bold he was; when they were
going up to Jerusalem, <i>Jesus went before them,</i> as the
<i>captain of our salvation,</i> that was now to be <i>made perfect
through sufferings,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p40.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.32" parsed="|Mark|10|32|0|0" passage="Mk 10:32"><i>v.</i>
32</scripRef>. Thus he showed himself forward to go on with his
undertaking, even when he came to the hardest part of it. Now that
the time was at hand, he said, <i>Lo, I come;</i> so far was he
from <i>drawing back,</i> that now, more than ever, he <i>pressed
forward.</i> <i>Jesus went before them, and they were amazed.</i>
They began now to consider what imminent danger they ran themselves
into, when they went to Jerusalem; how very malicious the Sanhedrim
which sat there was against their Master and them; and they were
ready to tremble at the thought of it. To hearten them, therefore,
Christ <i>went before them.</i> "Come," saith he, "surely you will
venture where your Master ventures." Note, When we see ourselves
entering upon sufferings, it is encouraging to see our Master go
before us. Or, <i>He went before them,</i> and <i>therefore</i>
they were <i>amazed;</i> they admired to see with what cheerfulness
and alacrity he went on, though he knew he was going to suffer and
die. Note, Christ's courage and constancy in going on with his
undertaking for our salvation, are, and will be, the wonder of all
his disciples.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p41">2. See here how timorous and faint-hearted
his disciples were; <i>As they followed, they were afraid,</i>
afraid for themselves, as being apprehensive of their own danger;
and justly might they be <i>ashamed</i> of their being thus
<i>afraid.</i> Their Master's courage should have put spirit into
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p42">3. See here what method he took to silence
their fears. He did not go about to make the matter better than it
was, nor to feed them with hopes that he might escape the storm,
but told them <i>again</i> what he had often told them before, the
<i>things that should happen to him.</i> He knew the worst of it,
and therefore went on thus boldly, and he will let them know the
worst of it. Come, <i>be not afraid;</i> for, (1.) There is no
remedy, the matter is determined, and cannot be avoided. (2.) It is
only the <i>Son of man</i> that shall suffer; their time of
suffering was now at hand, he will now provide for their security.
(3.) He <i>shall rise again;</i> the issue of his sufferings will
be glorious to himself, and advantageous to all that are his,
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p42.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.33-Mark.10.34" parsed="|Mark|10|33|10|34" passage="Mk 10:33,34"><i>v.</i> 33, 34</scripRef>. The
method and particulars of Christ's sufferings are more largely
foretold here than in any other of the predictions—that he shall
first be delivered up by Judas to the <i>chief priests and the
scribes;</i> that they shall condemn him to death, but, not having
the power to put him to death, shall <i>deliver him to the
Gentiles,</i> to the Roman powers, and they shall <i>mock him,</i>
and <i>scourge him,</i> and <i>spit upon him,</i> and <i>kill
him.</i> Christ had a perfect foresight, not only of his own death,
but of all the aggravating circumstances of it; and yet he thus
went forth to meet it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p43">II. The check he gave to two of his
disciples for their ambitious request. This story is much the same
here as we had it <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p43.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.20.20" parsed="|Matt|20|20|0|0" passage="Mt 20:20">Matt. xx.
20</scripRef>. Only there they are said to have made their request
by their mother, here they are said to make it themselves; she
introduced them, and presented their petition, and then they
seconded it, and assented to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p44">Note, 1. As, on the one hand, there are
some that do not <i>use,</i> so, on the other hand, there are some
that <i>abuse,</i> the great encouragements Christ has given us in
prayer. He hath said, <i>Ask, and it shall be given you;</i> and it
is a commendable faith to ask for the great things he has promised;
but it was a culpable presumption in these disciples to make such a
boundless demand upon their Master; <i>We would that thou shouldest
do for us whatsoever we shall desire.</i> We had much better leave
it to him to do for us what he sees fit, and he will do more than
we can desire, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p44.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.20" parsed="|Eph|3|20|0|0" passage="Eph 3:20">Eph. iii.
20</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p45">2. We must be cautious how we make general
promises. Christ would not engage to do for them whatever they
desired, but would know from them what it was they did desire;
<i>What would ye that I should do for you?</i> He would have them
go on with their suit, that they might be made ashamed of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p46">3. Many have been led into a snare by false
notions of Christ's kingdom, as if it were <i>of this world,</i>
and like the kingdoms of the potentates of this world. James and
John conclude, If Christ <i>rise again,</i> he must be a king, and
if he be a king, his apostles must be peers, and one of these would
willingly be the <i>Primus par regni—The first peer of the
realm,</i> and the other next him, like Joseph in Pharaoh's court,
or Daniel in Darius's.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p47">4. Worldly honour is a glittering thing,
with which the eyes of Christ's own disciples have many a time been
dazzled. Whereas to <i>be good</i> should be more our care than to
<i>look great,</i> or to have the pre-eminence.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p48">5. Our weakness and short-sightedness
appear as much in our prayers as in any thing. We cannot order our
speech, when we speak to God, by reason of darkness, both
concerning him and concerning ourselves. It is folly to
<i>prescribe</i> to God, and wisdom to <i>sub</i>scribe.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p49">6. It is the will of Christ that we should
prepare for sufferings, and leave it to him to recompense us for
them. He needs not be put in mind, as Ahasuerus did, of the
services of his people, nor can he forget their <i>work of faith
and labour of love.</i> Our care must be, that we may have wisdom
and grace to know how to suffer with him, and then we may trust him
to provide in the best manner how we shall reign with him, and
when, and where, and what, the degrees of our glory shall be.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p50">III. The check he gave to the rest of the
disciples, for their uneasiness at it. <i>They began to be much
displeased,</i> to have <i>indignation about James and John,</i>
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p50.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.41" parsed="|Mark|10|41|0|0" passage="Mk 10:41"><i>v.</i> 41</scripRef>. They were
angry at them for affecting precedency, not because it did so ill
become the disciples of Christ, but because each of them hoped to
have it himself. When the Cynic trampled on Alexander's foot-cloth,
with <i>Calco fastum Alexandri—Now I tread on Alexander's
pride,</i> he was seasonably checked with <i>Sed majori fastu—But
with a greater pride of thine own.</i> So these discovered their
own ambition, in their displeasure at the ambition of James and
John; and Christ took this occasion to warn them against it, and
all their successors in the ministry of the gospel, <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p50.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.42-Mark.10.44" parsed="|Mark|10|42|10|44" passage="Mk 10:42-44"><i>v.</i> 42-44</scripRef>. He <i>called them
to him</i> in a familiar way, to give them an example of
condescension, then when he was reproving their ambition, and to
teach them never to bid their disciples keep their distance. He
shows them,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p51">1. That dominion was generally <i>abused in
the world</i> (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p51.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.42" parsed="|Mark|10|42|0|0" passage="Mk 10:42"><i>v.</i>
42</scripRef>); <i>That they seemed to rule over the</i> Gentiles,
that have the name and title of rulers, <i>they exercise lordship
over them,</i> that is all they study and aim at, not so much to
protect them, and provide for their welfare, as to <i>exercise
authority upon them;</i> they <i>will be obeyed,</i> aim to be
arbitrary, and to have their will in every thing. <i>Sic volo, sic
jubeo, stat pro ratione voluntas—Thus I will, thus I command; my
good pleasure is my law.</i> Their care is, what they shall get by
their subjects to support their own pomp and grandeur, not what
they shall do for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p52">2. That therefore it ought not to be
<i>admitted into the church;</i> "<i>It shall not be so among
you;</i> those that shall be put under your charge, must be as
sheep under the charge of the <i>shepherd,</i> who is to tend them
and feed them, and be a servant to them, not as horses under the
command of the driver, that works them and beats them, and gets his
pennyworths out of them. He that affects to be great and chief,
that thrusts himself into a secular dignity and dominion, <i>he
shall be servant of all,</i> he shall be mean and contemptible in
the eyes of all that are wise and good; <i>he that exalteth himself
shall be abased.</i>" Or rather, "He that would be <i>truly</i>
great and chief, he must lay out himself to do good to all, must
stoop to the meanest services, and labour in the hardest services.
Those not only shall be most <i>honoured</i> hereafter, but are
most <i>honourable</i> now, who are most useful." To convince them
of this, he sets before them his own example (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p52.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.45" parsed="|Mark|10|45|0|0" passage="Mk 10:45"><i>v.</i> 45</scripRef>); "The <i>Son of man</i> submits
first to the greatest hardships and hazards, and then enters into
his glory, and can you expect to come to it any other way; or to
have more ease and honour than he has?" (1.) He takes upon him
<i>the form of a servant,</i> comes not to be <i>ministered to,</i>
and waited upon, but <i>to minister,</i> and wait to be gracious.
(2.) He comes <i>obedient to death,</i> and to its dominion, for he
<i>gives his life a ransom for many;</i> did he die for the benefit
of good people, and shall not we study to live for their
benefit?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Mark.xi-p52.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.46-Mark.10.52" parsed="|Mark|10|46|10|52" passage="Mr 10:46-52" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Mark.10.46-Mark.10.52">
<h4 id="Mark.xi-p52.3">The Eyes of Bartimeus
Opened.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mark.xi-p53">46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out
of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side begging.
  47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began
to cry out, and say, Jesus, <i>thou</i> Son of David, have mercy on
me.   48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace:
but he cried the more a great deal, <i>Thou</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p54">This passage of story agrees with that,
<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p54.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.20.29" parsed="|Matt|20|29|0|0" passage="Mt 20:29">Matt. xx. 29</scripRef>, &amp;c. Only
that there were told of <i>two</i> blind men; here, and <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p54.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.18.35" parsed="|Luke|18|35|0|0" passage="Lu 18:35">Luke xviii. 35</scripRef>, only of <i>one:</i>
but if there were <i>two,</i> there was <i>one.</i> This one is
named here, being a <i>blind beggar that</i> was much talked of; he
was called <i>Bartimeus,</i> that is, <i>the son of Timeus;</i>
which, some think, signifies <i>the son of a blind man;</i> he was
the blind son of a blind father, which made the case worse, and the
cure more wonderful, and the more proper to typify the spiritual
cures wrought by the grace of Christ, on those that not only are
born blind, but are born of those that are blind.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p55">I. This blind man sat <i>begging;</i> as
they do with us. Note, Those who by the providence of God are
disabled to get a livelihood by their own labour, and have not any
other way of subsisting, are the most proper objects of charity;
and particular care ought to be taken of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p56">II. He cried out to the Lord Jesus for
<i>mercy;</i> <i>Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David.</i>
Misery is the object of mercy, his own miserable case he recommends
to the compassion of the <i>Son of David,</i> of whom it was
foretold, that, when he should come to save us, <i>the eyes of the
blind should be opened,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p56.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.5" parsed="|Isa|35|5|0|0" passage="Isa 35:5">Isa. xxxv.
5</scripRef>. In coming to Christ for help and healing, we should
have an eye to him as the promised Messiah, the Trustee of mercy
and grace.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p57">III. Christ encouraged him to hope that he
should find mercy; for he <i>stood still, and commanded him to be
called.</i> We must never reckon it a hindrance to us in our way,
to <i>stand still,</i> when it is to do a good work. Those about
him, who had discouraged him at first, perhaps were now the persons
that signified to him the gracious call of Christ; "<i>Be of good
comfort, rise, he calls thee;</i> and if he calls thee, he will
cure thee." Note, The gracious invitations Christ gives us to come
to him, are great encouragements to our hope, that we shall speed
well if we come to him, and shall have what we come for. Let the
guilty, the empty, the tempted, the hungry, the naked, be of good
comfort, for he <i>calls them</i> to be pardoned, to be supplied,
to be succoured, to be filled, to be clothed, to have all that done
for them, which their case calls for.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p58">IV. The poor man, hereupon, made the best
of his way to Christ; He <i>cast away his</i> loose upper
<i>garment,</i> and came to Jesus (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p58.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.50" parsed="|Mark|10|50|0|0" passage="Mk 10:50"><i>v.</i> 50</scripRef>); he cast away every thing that
might be in danger of throwing him down, or might in any way hinder
him in coming to Christ, or retard his motion. Those who would come
to Jesus, must cast away the garment of their own sufficiency, must
strip themselves of all conceit of that, and must free themselves
from <i>every weight,</i> and the sin that, like long garments,
doth <i>most easily beset them,</i> <scripRef id="Mark.xi-p58.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.1" parsed="|Heb|12|1|0|0" passage="Heb 12:1">Heb. xii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p59">V. The particular favour he begged, was,
that his <i>eyes might be opened;</i> that so he might be able to
work for his living, and might be no longer burthensome to others.
It is a very desirable thing to be in a capacity of earning our own
bread; and where God has given men their limbs and senses, it is a
shame for men by their foolishness and slothfulness to make
themselves, in effect, <i>blind</i> and <i>lame.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mark.xi-p60">VI. This favour he received; his eyes were
opened (<scripRef id="Mark.xi-p60.1" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.52" parsed="|Mark|10|52|0|0" passage="Mk 10:52"><i>v.</i> 52</scripRef>); and
two things Mark here adds, which intimate, 1. How Christ made it a
double favour to him, by putting the honour of it upon his faith;
"<i>Thy faith hath made thee whole;</i> faith in Christ as the Son
of David, and in his pity and power; not thy importunity, but
<i>thy faith,</i> setting Christ on work, or rather Christ setting
thy faith on work." Those supplies are most comfortable, that are
fetched in by our faith. 2. How he made it a double favour to
himself; When he had <i>received his sight,</i> he <i>followed
Jesus by the way.</i> By this he made it appear that he was
thoroughly cured, that he no more needed one to lead him, but could
go himself; and by this he evidenced the grateful sense he had of
Christ's kindness to him, that, when he had his sight, he made this
use of it. It is not enough to <i>come to Christ</i> for spiritual
healing, but, when we are healed, we must continue to follow him;
that we may do honour to him, and receive instruction from him.
Those that have spiritual eye-sight, see that beauty in Christ,
that will effectually draw them to <i>run after him.</i></p>
</div></div2>