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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>M A R K.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Mark's narrative does not take rise so early as those of Matthew and
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Luke do, from the birth of our Saviour, but from John's baptism, from
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which he soon passes to Christ's public ministry. Accordingly, in this
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chapter, we have,
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I. The office of John Baptist illustrated by the prophecy of him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>),
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and by the history of him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:4-8">ver. 4-8</A>.
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II. Christ's baptism, and his being owned from heaven,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:9-11">ver. 9-11</A>.
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III. His temptation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:12,13">ver. 12, 13</A>.
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IV. His preaching,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:14,15,21,22,38,39">ver. 14, 15, 21, 22, 38, 39</A>.
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V. His calling disciples,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:16-20">ver. 16-20</A>.
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VI. His praying,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:35">ver. 35</A>.
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VII. His working miracles.
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1. His rebuking an unclean spirit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:23-28">ver. 23-28</A>.
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2. His curing Peter's mother-in-law, who was ill of a fever,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:29-31">ver. 29-31</A>.
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3. His healing all that came to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:32,34">ver. 32, 34</A>.
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4. His cleansing a leper,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:40-45">ver. 40-45</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Mr1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Ministry of John the Baptist.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
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2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger
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before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
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3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
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of the Lord, make his paths straight.
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4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of
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repentance for the remission of sins.
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5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judæa, and they
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of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of
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Jordan, confessing their sins.
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6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of
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a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
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7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after
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me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and
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unloose.
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8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize
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you with the Holy Ghost.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. What the New Testament is--the <I>divine</I> testament, to which we
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<I>adhere</I> above all that is <I>human;</I> the new testament, which
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we <I>advance</I> above that which was old. It is <I>the gospel of
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Jesus Christ the Son of God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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1. It is <I>gospel;</I> it is God's word, and is <I>faithful</I> and
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<I>true;</I> see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:9,21:5,22:6">
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Rev. xix. 9; xxi. 5; xxii. 6</A>.
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It is a <I>good word,</I> and well <I>worthy of all acceptation;</I> it
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brings us glad tidings.
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2. It is the <I>gospel of Jesus Christ,</I> the <I>anointed
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Saviour,</I> the Messiah promised and expected. The foregoing gospel
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began with the <I>generation of Jesus Christ</I>--that was but
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preliminary, this comes immediately to the business--<I>the gospel of
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Christ.</I> It is called <I>his,</I> not only because he is the
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<I>Author</I> of it, and it comes <I>from him,</I> but because he is
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the <I>Subject of it,</I> and it treats wholly <I>concerning him.</I>
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3. This Jesus is the <I>Son of God.</I> That truth is the foundation on
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which the gospel is built, and which it is written to demonstrate; for
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is Jesus be not <I>the Son of God,</I> our <I>faith is vain.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. What the <I>reference</I> of the New Testament is to the Old, and
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its <I>coherence</I> with it. The gospel of Jesus Christ <I>begins,</I>
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and so we shall find it <I>goes on,</I> just <I>as it is written in the
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prophets</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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for it <I>saith no other things than those which the prophets and Moses
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said should come</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+26:22">Acts xxvi. 22</A>),
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which was most proper and powerful for the conviction of the Jews, who
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believed the Old-Testament prophets to be sent of God and ought to have
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<I>evidenced</I> that they did so by welcoming the accomplishment of
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their prophecies in its season; but it is of use to us all, for the
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confirmation of our faith both in the Old Testament and in the New, for
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the exact harmony that there is between both shows that they both have
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the same divine original.</P>
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<P>
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Quotations are here borrowed from two prophecies--that of Isaiah, which
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was the <I>longest,</I> and that of Malachi, which was the
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<I>latest</I> (and there were above three hundred years between them),
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both of whom spoke to the same purport concerning <I>the beginning of
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the gospel of Jesus Christ,</I> in the ministry of John.</P>
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<P>
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1. Malachi, in whom we had the Old-Testament <I>farewell,</I> spoke
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very plainly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+3:1"><I>ch.</I> iii. 1</A>)
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concerning John Baptist, who was to give the New-Testament <I>welcome.
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Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Christ himself had taken notice of this, and applied it to John
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:10">Matt. xi. 10</A>),
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who was God's <I>messenger,</I> sent to <I>prepare Christ's
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way.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. Isaiah, the most evangelical of all the prophets, <I>begins</I> the
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evangelical part of his prophecy with this, which points to the
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<I>beginning of the gospel of Christ</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:3">Isa. xl. 3</A>);
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<I>The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Matthew had taken notice of this, and applied it to John,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:3"><I>ch.</I> iii. 3</A>.
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But from these two put together here, we may observe,
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(1.) That Christ, in his gospel, <I>comes among us,</I> bringing with
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him a treasure of grace, and a sceptre of government.
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(2.) Such is the corruption of the world, that there is something to do
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to <I>make room</I> for him, and to remove that which gives not only
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<I>obstruction,</I> but <I>opposition</I> to his progress.
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(3.) When God sent his Son into the world, he <I>took care,</I> and
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when he sends him into the heart, he <I>takes care,</I> effectual care,
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to <I>prepare his way before him;</I> for the designs of his grace
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shall not be <I>frustrated;</I> nor may any expect the comforts of that
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grace, but such as, by conviction of sin and humiliation for it, are
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<I>prepared</I> for those comforts, and disposed to receive them.
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(4.) When the <I>paths</I> that were <I>crooked,</I> are <I>made
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straight</I> (the mistakes of the judgment rectified, and the
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<I>crooked ways</I> of the affections), then way is made for Christ's
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comforts.
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(5.) It is in a <I>wilderness,</I> for such this world is, that
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<I>Christ's way</I> is prepared, and theirs that follow him, like that
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which Israel passed through to Canaan.
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(6.) The messengers of conviction and terror, that come to prepare
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Christ's way, are <I>God's messengers,</I> whom he sends and will own,
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and must be <I>received</I> as such.
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(7.) They that are sent to <I>prepare the way of the Lord,</I> in such
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a vast howling wilderness as this is, have need to <I>cry aloud,</I>
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and not spare, and to <I>lift up their voice like a trumpet.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. What the <I>beginning</I> of the New Testament was. The gospel
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began in John Baptist; for <I>the law and the prophets were, until
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John,</I> the only divine revelation, but then the <I>kingdom of God
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began to be preached,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:16">Luke xvi. 16</A>.
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Peter begins <I>from the baptism of John,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+1:22">Acts i. 22</A>.
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The gospel did not begin <I>so soon</I> as the <I>birth</I> of Christ,
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for he took time to <I>increase in wisdom and stature,</I> not so late
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as his entering upon his public ministry, but half a year before, when
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John began to preach the same doctrine that Christ afterward preached.
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His baptism was the dawning of the <I>gospel day;</I> for,</P>
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<P>
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1. In John's way of <I>living</I> there was the beginning of a
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<I>gospel spirit;</I> for it bespoke great self-denial, mortification
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of the flesh, a holy contempt of the world, and nonconformity to it,
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which may truly be called the <I>beginning of the gospel of Christ</I>
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in any soul,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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He was <I>clothed with camels' hair,</I> not with soft raiment; was
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girt, not with a golden, but with a <I>leathern girdle;</I> and, in
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contempt of dainties and delicate things, his meat was <I>locusts and
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wild honey.</I> Note, The more we sit loose to the body, and live above
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the world, the better we are prepared for Jesus Christ.</P>
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<P>
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2. In John's <I>preaching</I> and <I>baptizing</I> there was the
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<I>beginning</I> of the <I>gospel doctrines and ordinances,</I> and the
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first fruits of them.
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(1.) He preached the <I>remission of sins,</I> which is the great
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gospel privilege; showed people their <I>need</I> of it, that they were
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<I>undone</I> without it, and that it might be obtained.
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(2.) He preached <I>repentance,</I> in order to it; he told people that
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there must be a renovation of their hearts and a reformation of their
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lives, that they must forsake their sins and turn to God, and upon
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those terms and no other, their sins should be forgiven. <I>Repentance
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for the remission of sins,</I> was what the apostles were commissioned
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to <I>preach to all nations,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+24:27">Luke xxiv. 27</A>.
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(3.) He preached Christ, and directed his hearers to <I>expect him</I>
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speedily to appear, and to <I>expect great things</I> from him. The
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preaching of Christ is pure gospel, and that was John Baptist's
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preaching,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Like a true gospel minister, he preaches,
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[1.] The great <I>pre-eminence</I> Christ is <I>advanced to;</I> so
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high, so great, is Christ, that John, though one of the greatest that
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was born of women, thinks himself unworthy to be employed in the
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meanest office about him, even to <I>stoop down,</I> and <I>untie his
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shoes.</I> Thus industrious is he to give honour to him, and to bring
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others to do so too.
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[2.] The great <I>power</I> Christ is <I>invested with;</I> He <I>comes
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after me</I> in time, but he is <I>mightier than I,</I> mightier than
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the mighty ones of the earth, for he is able to <I>baptize with the
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Holy Ghost;</I> he can <I>give</I> the Spirit of God, and by him
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<I>govern</I> the spirits of men.
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[3.] The great <I>promise</I> Christ makes in his gospel to those who
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have <I>repented,</I> and have had their sins forgiven them; They shall
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be <I>baptized with</I> the Holy Ghost, shall be <I>purified</I> by his
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graces, and <I>refreshed</I> by his comforts. And, <I>lastly,</I> All
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those who received his doctrine, and submitted to his institution, he
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<I>baptized with water,</I> as the manner of the Jews was to admit
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proselytes, in token of their <I>cleansing themselves</I> by repentance
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and reformation (which were the duties required), and of God's
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<I>cleansing them</I> both by remission and by sanctification, which
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were the blessings promised. Now this was afterward to be advanced into
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a gospel ordinance, which John's using it was a preface to.</P>
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<P>
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3. In the success of John's preaching, and the disciples he admitted by
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baptism, there was the <I>beginning of a gospel church.</I> He baptized
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<I>in the wilderness,</I> and declined going into the cities; but
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<I>there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of
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Jerusalem,</I> inhabitants both of city and country, families of them,
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and <I>were all baptized of him.</I> They entered themselves his
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disciples, and bound themselves to his discipline; in token of which,
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they <I>confessed their sins;</I> he admitted them his disciples, in
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token of which, he <I>baptized</I> them. Here were the stamina of the
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gospel church, the <I>dew of its youth</I> from <I>the womb of the
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morning,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:3">Ps. cx. 3</A>.
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Many of these afterward became followers of Christ, and preachers of
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his gospel, and this grain of mustard-seed became a <I>tree.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Mr1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Baptism of Jesus.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from
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Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
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10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the
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heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
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11 And there came a voice from heaven, <I>saying,</I> Thou art my
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beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
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13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of
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Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered
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unto him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a brief account of Christ's baptism and temptation, which
|
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were largely related
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:1-4:25">Matt. iii. and iv.</A></P>
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<P>
|
|
|
|
I. His <I>baptism,</I> which was his first public appearance, after he
|
|
had long lived obscurely <I>in Nazareth.</I> O how much <I>hidden
|
|
worth</I> is there, which in this world is either lost in the dust of
|
|
contempt and <I>cannot</I> be known, or wrapped up in the veil of
|
|
humility and <I>will not</I> be known! But sooner or later it <I>shall
|
|
be</I> known, as Christ's was.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. See how <I>humbly</I> he <I>owned</I> God, by coming to be
|
|
<I>baptized of John;</I> and thus <I>it became him to fulfil all
|
|
righteousness.</I> Thus he <I>took upon him the likeness of sinful
|
|
flesh,</I> that, though he was perfectly pure and unspotted, yet he was
|
|
<I>washed</I> as if he had been <I>polluted;</I> and thus <I>for our
|
|
sakes he sanctified himself, that we also might be sanctified,</I> and
|
|
be baptized with him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:19">John xvii. 19</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. See how <I>honourably</I> God owned him, when he submitted to John's
|
|
<I>baptism.</I> Those who <I>justify God,</I> and <I>they</I> are said
|
|
to do, who were <I>baptized with the baptism</I> of John, he will
|
|
<I>glorify,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+7:29,30">Luke vii. 29, 30</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He <I>saw the heavens opened;</I> thus he was owned to be the Lord
|
|
from heaven, and had a glimpse of the glory and joy that were <I>set
|
|
before him,</I> and <I>secured</I> to him, as the recompence of his
|
|
undertaking. Matthew saith, <I>The heavens were opened to him.</I> Mark
|
|
saith, <I>He saw them opened.</I> Many have the heavens opened to
|
|
receive them, but they do not see it; Christ had not only a clear
|
|
foresight of his sufferings, but of his glory too.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He <I>saw the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.</I> Note,
|
|
<I>Then</I> we may see heaven opened to us, when we perceive the Spirit
|
|
<I>descending</I> and working upon us. God's good work in us is the
|
|
surest evidence of his good will towards us, and his preparations for
|
|
us. Justin Martyr says, that <I>when Christ was baptized, a fire was
|
|
kindled in Jordan:</I> and it is an ancient tradition, that <I>a great
|
|
light shone round the place;</I> for the Spirit brings both
|
|
<I>light</I> and <I>heat.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He heard a voice which was intended for his encouragement to
|
|
proceed in his undertaking, and therefore it is here expressed as
|
|
directed <I>to him, Thou art my beloved Son.</I> God lets him know,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That he <I>loved him</I> never the <I>less</I> for that <I>low</I>
|
|
and <I>mean</I> estate to which he had now <I>humbled himself;</I>
|
|
"Though thus emptied and made of no reputation, yet he is my <I>beloved
|
|
Son</I> still."
|
|
|
|
[2.] That he <I>loved him</I> much the <I>more</I> for that
|
|
<I>glorious</I> and <I>kind</I> undertaking in which he had now
|
|
<I>engaged himself.</I> God is <I>well pleased</I> in him, as referee
|
|
of all matters in controversy between him and man; and so well pleased
|
|
in him, as to be well pleased <I>with us</I> in him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His <I>temptation.</I> The <I>good Spirit</I> that descended upon
|
|
him, <I>led him into the wilderness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Paul mentions it as a proof that he had his doctrine from God, and not
|
|
from man--that, as soon as he was called, he <I>went not to
|
|
Jerusalem,</I> but <I>went into Arabia,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+1:17">Gal. i. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Retirement from the world is an opportunity of more free converse with
|
|
God, and therefore must sometimes be chosen, for a while, even by those
|
|
that are called to the greatest business. Mark observes this
|
|
circumstance of his being <I>in the wilderness</I>--that he was <I>with
|
|
the wild beasts.</I> It was an instance of his Father's care of him,
|
|
that he was preserved from being torn in pieces by the wild beasts,
|
|
which encouraged him the more that his Father would provide for him
|
|
when he was hungry. Special protections are earnests of seasonable
|
|
supplies. It was likewise an intimation to him of the inhumanity of the
|
|
men of that generation, whom he was to live among--no better than
|
|
<I>wild beasts</I> in the <I>wilderness,</I> nay abundantly worse. In
|
|
that wilderness,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The <I>evil spirits</I> were <I>busy with him;</I> he <I>was tempted
|
|
of Satan;</I> not by any inward injections (the prince of this world
|
|
had <I>nothing in him</I> to fasten upon), but by outward
|
|
solicitations. Solicitude often gives advantages to the tempter,
|
|
therefore <I>two are better than one.</I> Christ himself was tempted,
|
|
not only to teach us, that <I>it is no sin to be tempted,</I> but to
|
|
direct us whither to go for succour when we are tempted, even to him
|
|
that <I>suffered,</I> being <I>tempted;</I> that he might
|
|
experimentally sympathize with us when we are <I>tempted.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The <I>good spirits</I> were <I>busy about him;</I> the <I>angels
|
|
ministered to him,</I> supplied him with what he needed, and dutifully
|
|
attended him. Note, The ministration of the good angels about us, is
|
|
matter of great comfort in reference to the malicious designs of the
|
|
evil angels against us; but much more doth it befriend us, to have the
|
|
indwelling of the spirit in our hearts, which they that have, are so
|
|
<I>born of God,</I> that, as far as they are so, <I>the evil one
|
|
toucheth them not,</I> much less shall be <I>triumph</I> over them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Opening of Christ's Ministry.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into
|
|
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
|
|
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is
|
|
at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
|
|
16 Now as he 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 straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
|
|
19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James
|
|
the <I>son</I> of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the
|
|
ship mending their nets.
|
|
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father
|
|
Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
|
|
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath
|
|
day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
|
|
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them
|
|
as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. A general account of Christ's preaching in Galilee. John gives an
|
|
account of his preaching in Judea, before this
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+2:1-3:36"><I>ch.</I> ii. and iii.</A>),
|
|
|
|
which the other evangelists had omitted, who chiefly relate what
|
|
occurred in Galilee, because that was least known at Jerusalem.
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. When Jesus began to preach in Galilee; <I>After that John was put in
|
|
prison.</I> When he had <I>finished</I> his testimony, then Jesus
|
|
<I>began</I> his. Note, The silencing of Christ's ministers shall not
|
|
be the suppressing of Christ's gospel; if some be laid aside, others
|
|
shall be raised up, perhaps mightier than they, to carry on the same
|
|
work.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What he preached; <I>The gospel of the kingdom of God.</I> Christ
|
|
came to set up the kingdom of God among men, that they might be brought
|
|
into <I>subjection to it,</I> and might obtain <I>salvation in it;</I>
|
|
and he set it up by the preaching of his gospel, and a power going
|
|
along with it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The great <I>truths</I> Christ preached; <I>The time is fulfilled,
|
|
and the kingdom of God is at hand.</I> This refers to the Old
|
|
Testament, in which the kingdom of the Messiah was promised, and the
|
|
time fixed for the introducing of it. They were not so well versed in
|
|
those prophecies, nor did they so well observe the signs of the times,
|
|
as to understand it themselves, and therefore Christ gives them notice
|
|
of it; "The time prefixed is now <I>at hand;</I> glorious discoveries
|
|
of divine light, life, and love, are now to be made; a new dispensation
|
|
far more spiritual and heavenly than that which you have hitherto been
|
|
under, is now to commence." Note, God keeps time; when <I>the time is
|
|
fulfilled,</I> the <I>kingdom of God is at hand,</I> for the vision is
|
|
<I>for an appointed time,</I> which will be punctually observed, though
|
|
it tarry past our time.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The great <I>duties</I> inferred from thence. Christ gave them to
|
|
<I>understand the times,</I> that they might know <I>what Israel ought
|
|
to do;</I> they fondly expected the Messiah to appear in external pomp
|
|
and power, not only to free the Jewish nation from the Roman yoke, but
|
|
to make it have dominion over all its neighbours, and therefore
|
|
thought, when that <I>kingdom of God</I> was <I>at hand,</I> they must
|
|
prepare for war, and for victory and preferment, and great things in
|
|
the world; but Christ tells them, in the prospect of that kingdom
|
|
approaching, they must <I>repent, and believe the gospel.</I> They had
|
|
broken the <I>moral law,</I> and could not be saved by a <I>covenant of
|
|
innocency,</I> for both Jew and Gentile are concluded <I>under
|
|
guilt.</I> They must therefore take the benefit of a <I>covenant of
|
|
grace,</I> must submit to a <I>remedial law,</I> and this is
|
|
it--<I>repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus
|
|
Christ.</I> They had not made use of the prescribed preservatives, and
|
|
therefore must have recourse to the prescribed restoratives. By
|
|
repentance we must lament and forsake our sins, and by faith we must
|
|
receive the forgiveness of them. By repentance we must give glory to
|
|
our Creator whom we have offended; by faith we must give glory to our
|
|
Redeemer who came to <I>save us from our sins.</I> Both these must go
|
|
together; we must not think either that reforming our lives will save
|
|
us without trusting in the righteousness and grace of Christ, or that
|
|
trusting in Christ will save us without the reformation of our hearts
|
|
and lives. Christ hath joined these two together, and let no man think
|
|
to put them asunder. They will mutually assist and befriend each other.
|
|
Repentance will quicken faith, and faith will make repentance
|
|
evangelical; and the sincerity of both together must be evidenced by a
|
|
diligent conscientious obedience to all God's commandments. Thus the
|
|
preaching of the gospel began, and thus it continues; still the call
|
|
is, Repent, and believe, and live a <I>life of repentance</I> and a
|
|
<I>life of faith.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Christ appearing as a teacher, here is next his <I>calling of
|
|
disciples,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:16-20"><I>v.</I> 16-20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Christ will have followers. If he set up a school, he will have
|
|
scholars; if he set up his standard, he will have soldiers; if he
|
|
preach, he will have hearers. He has taken an effectual course to
|
|
secure this; for <I>all that the Father has given him, shall,</I>
|
|
without fail, <I>come to him.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The instruments Christ chose to employ in setting up his kingdom,
|
|
were the <I>weak</I> and <I>foolish things of the world;</I> not called
|
|
from the great sanhedrim, or the schools of the rabbin, but picked up
|
|
from among the tarpaulins <I>by the sea-side, that the excellency of
|
|
the power</I> might appear to be wholly <I>of God,</I> and not at all
|
|
<I>of them.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. Though Christ needs not the help of man, yet he is pleased to make
|
|
use of it in setting up his kingdom, that he might deal with us not in
|
|
a formidable but in a familiar way, and that in his kingdom the
|
|
<I>nobles and governors may be of ourselves,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:21">Jer. xxxi. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. Christ puts honour upon those who, though mean in the world, are
|
|
<I>diligent in their business,</I> and <I>loving to one another;</I> so
|
|
those were, whom Christ called. He found them <I>employed,</I> and
|
|
employed <I>together. Industry</I> and unity are <I>good</I> and
|
|
<I>pleasant,</I> and there the Lord Jesus commands the blessing, even
|
|
this blessing, <I>Follow me.</I>
|
|
|
|
5. The business of ministers is to <I>fish for souls,</I> and <I>win
|
|
them to Christ.</I> The children of men, in their natural condition,
|
|
are lost, wander endlessly in the great ocean of this world, and are
|
|
carried down the stream of its course and way; they are unprofitable.
|
|
Like leviathan in the waters, they <I>play therein;</I> and often, like
|
|
the fishes of the sea, they devour one another. Ministers, in
|
|
preaching the gospel, <I>cast the net</I> into the waters,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:47">Matt. xiii. 47</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some are enclosed and brought to shore, but far the greater number
|
|
escape. <I>Fishermen</I> take great pains, and expose themselves to
|
|
great perils, so do <I>ministers;</I> and they have need of wisdom. If
|
|
many a draught brings home nothing, yet they must go on.
|
|
|
|
6. Those whom Christ called, must <I>leave all,</I> to follow him; and
|
|
by his grace he inclines them to do so. <I>Not that we must needs go
|
|
out of the world</I> immediately, but we must sit loose to the world,
|
|
and forsake every thing that is inconsistent with our duty to Christ,
|
|
and that cannot be kept without prejudice to our souls. Mark takes
|
|
notice of James and John, that they left not only <I>their father</I>
|
|
(which we had in Matthew), but <I>the hired servants,</I> whom perhaps
|
|
they loved as their own brethren, being their <I>fellow-labourers</I>
|
|
and pleasant comrades; not only relations, but companions, must be left
|
|
for Christ, and old acquaintance. Perhaps it is an intimation of their
|
|
care for their father; they did not leave him without assistance, they
|
|
left the <I>hired servants</I> with him. Grotius thinks it is mentioned
|
|
as an evidence that their calling was gainful to them, for it was worth
|
|
while to keep servants in pay, to help them in it, and their
|
|
<I>hands</I> would be much <I>missed,</I> and yet they <I>left
|
|
it.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Here is a particular account of his preaching in Capernaum, one of
|
|
the <I>cities</I> of Galilee; for though John Baptist chose to preach
|
|
<I>in a wilderness,</I> and did <I>well,</I> and did <I>good,</I> yet
|
|
it doth not therefore follow, that Jesus must do so too; the
|
|
inclinations and opportunities of ministers may very much differ, and
|
|
yet both be in the <I>way of their duty,</I> and both useful. Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. When Christ <I>came into Capernaum,</I> he <I>straightway</I>
|
|
applied himself to his work there, and took the <I>first</I>
|
|
opportunity of preaching the gospel. Those will think themselves
|
|
concerned not to <I>lose time,</I> who consider what a deal of work
|
|
they have to do, and what a little time to do it in.
|
|
|
|
2. Christ religiously observed the sabbath day, though not by tying
|
|
himself up to the tradition of the elders, in all the niceties of the
|
|
<I>sabbath-rest,</I> yet (which was far better) by applying himself to,
|
|
and abounding in, the <I>sabbath-work,</I> in order to which the
|
|
sabbath-rest was instituted.
|
|
|
|
3. Sabbaths are to be sanctified in <I>religious assemblies,</I> if we
|
|
have opportunity; it is a <I>holy day,</I> and must be honoured with a
|
|
<I>holy convocation;</I> this was the <I>good old way,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:27,15:21">Acts xiii. 27; xv. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
On the sabbath-day, <B><I>pois sabbasin</I></B>--<I>on the
|
|
sabbath-days;</I> every sabbath-day, as duly as it returned, he <I>went
|
|
into the synagogue.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. In <I>religious assemblies</I> on sabbath-days, the gospel is to be
|
|
preached, and those to be <I>taught,</I> who are willing to learn the
|
|
<I>truth as it is in Jesus.</I>
|
|
|
|
5. Christ was a non-such preacher; he did not preach <I>as the
|
|
scribes,</I> who expounded the law of Moses by rote, as a school-boy
|
|
says his lesson, but were neither <I>acquainted </I> with it (Paul
|
|
himself, when a Pharisee, was ignorant of the law), nor <I>affected</I>
|
|
with it; it came not <I>from the heart,</I> and therefore came not
|
|
<I>with authority.</I> But Christ taught <I>as one that had
|
|
authority,</I> as one that knew the mind of God, and was commissioned
|
|
to declare it.
|
|
|
|
6. There is much in the doctrine of Christ, that is <I>astonishing;</I>
|
|
the more we hear it, the more cause we shall see to <I>admire
|
|
it.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_28"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Expulsion of Evil Spirits.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean
|
|
spirit; and he cried out,
|
|
24 Saying, Let <I>us</I> alone; what have we to do with thee, thou
|
|
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, Hold 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
|
|
<I>is</I> 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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
As soon as Christ began to preach, he began to work miracles for the
|
|
confirmation of his doctrine; and they were such as intimated the
|
|
design and tendency of his doctrine, which were to conquer Satan, and
|
|
cure sick souls.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses, we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Christ's <I>casting the devil</I> out of a man that was possessed,
|
|
in the synagogue at Capernaum. This passage was not related in Matthew,
|
|
but is afterward in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+4:33">Luke iv. 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>There was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,</I>
|
|
<B><I>en pneumati akatharto</I></B>--<I>in an unclean spirit;</I> for
|
|
the spirit had the man in his possession, and led him captive at his
|
|
will. So the whole world is said to lie <B><I>en to
|
|
ponero</I></B>--<I>in the wicked one.</I> And some have thought it more
|
|
proper to say, The <I>body</I> is <I>in the soul,</I> because it is
|
|
governed by it, than the soul <I>in the body.</I> He was <I>in the
|
|
unclean</I> spirit, as a man is said to be <I>in a fever,</I> or in a
|
|
frenzy, quite overcome by it. Observe, The devil is here called <I>an
|
|
unclean spirit,</I> because he has lost all the purity of his nature,
|
|
because he acts in direct opposition to the <I>Holy</I> Spirit of God,
|
|
and because with his suggestions he pollutes the spirits of men. This
|
|
man <I>was in the synagogue;</I> he did not come either to be taught or
|
|
to be healed, but, as some think, to confront Christ and oppose him,
|
|
and hinder people from believing on him. Now here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The rage which the unclean spirit expressed at Christ; <I>He cried
|
|
out,</I> as one in an agony, at the presence of Christ, and afraid of
|
|
being dislodged; thus the <I>devils believe and tremble,</I> have a
|
|
horror of Christ, but no hope in him, nor reverence for him. We are
|
|
told what he said,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>,
|
|
|
|
where he doth not go about to <I>capitulate</I> with him, or <I>make
|
|
terms</I> (so far was he from being in league or compact with him), but
|
|
speaks as one that knew his doom.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He calls him <I>Jesus of Nazareth;</I> for aught that appears, he
|
|
was the first that called him so, and he did it with design to possess
|
|
the minds of the people with <I>low thoughts</I> of him, because no
|
|
good thing was expected out of Nazareth; and with <I>prejudices</I>
|
|
against him as a Deceiver, because every body knew the Messiah must be
|
|
of Bethlehem.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Yet a confession is extorted from him--that he is <I>the holy One
|
|
of God,</I> as was from the damsel that had the spirit of divination
|
|
concerning the apostles--that they were the <I>servants of the most
|
|
high God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+16:16,17">Acts xvi. 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those who have only a <I>notion</I> of Christ--that he is the <I>holy
|
|
One of God,</I> and have no faith in him, or love to him, go no further
|
|
than the devil doth.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He in effect acknowledgeth that Christ was too hard for him, and
|
|
that he could not stand before the power of Christ; "<I>Let us
|
|
alone;</I> for if thou take us to task, we are undone, thou canst
|
|
<I>destroy us.</I>" This is the misery of those wicked spirits, that
|
|
they persist in their rebellion, and yet know it will end in their
|
|
destruction.
|
|
|
|
(4.) He desires to have <I>nothing to do</I> with Jesus Christ; for he
|
|
<I>despairs</I> of being <I>saved</I> by him, and <I>dreads</I> being
|
|
<I>destroyed</I> by him. "<I>What have we to do with thee?</I> If thou
|
|
wilt let us alone, we will let thee alone." See whose language they
|
|
speak, that <I>say to the Almighty, Depart from us.</I> This, being an
|
|
<I>unclean spirit,</I> therefore hated and dreaded Christ, because he
|
|
knew him to be a <I>holy One;</I> for the <I>carnal mind is enmity
|
|
against God,</I> especially against <I>his holiness.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The victory which Jesus Christ obtained over the unclean spirit;
|
|
<I>for this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might
|
|
destroy the works of the devil,</I> and so he makes it to appear; nor
|
|
will he be turned back from prosecuting this war, either by his
|
|
flatteries or by his menaces. It is in vain for Satan to beg and pray,
|
|
<I>Let us alone;</I> his power must be broken, and the poor man must be
|
|
relieved; and therefore,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Jesus <I>commands.</I> As he taught, so he healed, <I>with
|
|
authority.</I> Jesus <I>rebuked him;</I> he chid him and threatened
|
|
him, imposed silence upon him; <I>Hold thy peace;</I>
|
|
<B><I>phimotheti</I></B>--<I>be muzzled.</I> Christ has a muzzle for
|
|
that unclean spirit when he <I>fawns</I> as well as when he
|
|
<I>barks;</I> such acknowledgments of him as this was, Christ
|
|
<I>disdains,</I> so far is he from <I>accepting</I> them. Some confess
|
|
Christ to be the <I>holy One of God,</I> that under the cloak of that
|
|
profession they may carry on malicious mischievous designs; but their
|
|
confession is doubly an abomination to the Lord Jesus, as it sues in
|
|
his name for a license to sin, and shall therefore be put to silence
|
|
and shame. But this is not all, he must not only <I>hold his peace,</I>
|
|
but he must <I>come out of the man;</I> this was it he dreaded--his
|
|
being restrained from doing further mischief. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) The unclean spirit <I>yields,</I> for there is no remedy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>);
|
|
|
|
He <I>tore him,</I> put him into a <I>strong convulsion;</I> that one
|
|
could have thought he had been pulled in pieces; when he would not
|
|
<I>touch</I> Christ, in fury at him he grievously disturbed this poor
|
|
creature. Thus, when Christ by his grace delivers poor souls out of
|
|
the hands of Satan, it is not without a grievous toss and tumult in the
|
|
soul; for that spiteful enemy will <I>disquiet</I> those whom he cannot
|
|
<I>destroy.</I> He <I>cried with a loud voice,</I> to frighten the
|
|
spectators, and make himself seem terrible, as if he would have it
|
|
thought that though he was conquered, he was but just conquered, and
|
|
that he hopes to rally again, and recover his ground.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The impression which this miracle made upon the minds of the
|
|
people,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:27,28"><I>v.</I> 27, 28</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. It astonished them that saw it; <I>They were all amazed.</I> It was
|
|
evident, beyond contradiction, that the man was possessed--witness the
|
|
tearing of him, and the <I>loud voice</I> with which the <I>spirit
|
|
cried;</I> it was evident that he was <I>forced out</I> by the
|
|
authority of Christ; this was surprising to them, and put them upon
|
|
considering with themselves, and enquiring of one another, "<I>What is
|
|
this new doctrine?</I> For it must certainly be of God, which is thus
|
|
confirmed. <I>He</I> hath certainly an authority to command us, who
|
|
hath ability to <I>command even the unclean spirits,</I> and they
|
|
cannot resist him, but are forced <I>to obey him.</I>" The Jewish
|
|
exorcists pretended by charm or invocation to drive away evil spirits;
|
|
but this was quite another thing, <I>with authority he commands
|
|
them.</I> Surely it is our interest to make <I>him</I> our Friend, who
|
|
has the control of infernal spirits.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. It raised his reputation among all that heard it; <I>Immediately his
|
|
fame spread abroad into the whole adjacent region of Galilee,</I> which
|
|
was a third part of the land of Canaan. The story was presently got
|
|
into every one's mouth, and people wrote it to their friends all the
|
|
country over, together with the remark made upon it, <I>What new
|
|
doctrine is this?</I> So that it was universally concluded, that he was
|
|
a <I>Teacher come from God,</I> and under that character he shone more
|
|
bright than if he had appeared in all the external pomp and power which
|
|
the Jews expected their Messiah to <I>appear</I> in; and thus he
|
|
<I>prepared his own way,</I> now that John, who was his harbinger, was
|
|
clapped up; and the fame of this miracle spread the further, because as
|
|
yet the Pharisees, who <I>envied</I> his fame, and laboured to
|
|
<I>eclipse</I> it, had not advanced their blasphemous suggestion, that
|
|
he <I>cast out devils</I> by compact with the <I>prince of the
|
|
devils.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_38"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_39"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Christ Healing Many Patients.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue,
|
|
they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and
|
|
John.
|
|
30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they
|
|
tell him of her.
|
|
31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and
|
|
immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
|
|
32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all
|
|
that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
|
|
33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
|
|
34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and
|
|
cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak,
|
|
because they knew him.
|
|
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 that were with him followed after him.
|
|
37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All <I>men</I>
|
|
seek for thee.
|
|
38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I
|
|
may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
|
|
39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee,
|
|
and cast out devils.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses, we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. A particular account of one miracle that Christ wrought, in the cure
|
|
of Peter's wife's mother, who was ill of a fever. This passage we had
|
|
before, in Matthew. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. When Christ had done that which <I>spread his fame</I> throughout
|
|
all parts, he did not then sit still, as some think that they may
|
|
<I>lie in bed</I> when their <I>name is up.</I> No, he continued to
|
|
<I>do good,</I> for that was it he aimed at, and not his own honour.
|
|
Nay, those who are in reputation, had need be busy and careful to keep
|
|
it up.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. When he <I>came out of the synagogue,</I> where he had taught and
|
|
healed with a divine authority, yet he conversed familiarly with the
|
|
poor fishermen that attended him, and did not think it below him. Let
|
|
the same mind, the same lowly mind, be in us, that was in him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He went into Peter's house, probably invited thither to such
|
|
entertainment as a poor fisherman could give him, and he accepted of
|
|
it. The apostles left all for Christ; so far as that what they had
|
|
should not hinder them from him, yet not so, but that they might use it
|
|
for him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. He cured his mother-in-law, who was sick. Wherever Christ comes, he
|
|
comes to do good, and will be sure to pay richly for his entertainment.
|
|
Observe, How complete the cure was; when <I>the fever left her,</I> it
|
|
did not, as usual, leave her <I>weak,</I> but the same hand that
|
|
<I>healed</I> her, <I>strengthened</I> her, so that she was able to
|
|
<I>minister</I> to them; the cure is in order to that, to fit for
|
|
action, that we may minister to Christ, and to those that are
|
|
<I>his</I> for his sake.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A general account of many cures he wrought--diseases healed, devils
|
|
expelled. It was on the <I>evening of the sabbath,</I> when the <I>sun
|
|
did set,</I> or <I>was set;</I> perhaps many scrupled bringing their
|
|
sick to him, till the sabbath was over, but their weakness therein was
|
|
no prejudice to them in applying to Christ. Though he proved it
|
|
<I>lawful to heal on the sabbath days,</I> yet, if any stumbled at it,
|
|
they were welcome at another time. Now observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. How <I>numerous</I> the patients were; <I>All the city was gathered
|
|
at the door,</I> as beggars for a dole. That <I>one cure</I> in the
|
|
synagogue occasioned this crowding after him. Others speeding well with
|
|
Christ should quicken us in our enquiries after him. Now the <I>Sun of
|
|
righteousness rises with healing under his wings;</I> to him shall the
|
|
<I>gathering of the people be.</I> Observe, How Christ was flocked
|
|
after in a <I>private house,</I> as well as in the <I>synagogue;</I>
|
|
wherever he is, there let his servants, his patients, be. And in the
|
|
<I>evening of the sabbath,</I> when the public worship is over, we must
|
|
continue our attendance upon Jesus Christ; he healed, as Paul preached,
|
|
publicly, and from house to house.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How <I>powerful</I> the Physician was; he <I>healed all</I> that
|
|
were brought to him, though ever so many. Nor was it some one
|
|
particular disease, that Christ set up for the cure of, but he healed
|
|
those that were <I>sick of divers</I> diseases, for his word was a
|
|
<I>panpharmacon--a salve for every sore.</I> And that miracle
|
|
particularly which he wrought in the synagogue, he <I>repeated in the
|
|
house</I> at night; for he <I>cast out many devils,</I> and <I>suffered
|
|
not the devils to speak,</I> for he made them <I>know who he was,</I>
|
|
and that silenced them. Or, He <I>suffered them not to say that they
|
|
knew him</I> (so it may be read); he would not permit any more of them
|
|
to say, as they did
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I know thee, who thou art.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. His <I>retirement</I> to his <I>private devotion</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>He prayed,</I> prayed alone; to set us an example of secret prayer.
|
|
Though as God he was <I>prayed to,</I> as man he <I>prayed.</I> Though
|
|
he was glorifying God, and doing good, in his public work, yet he found
|
|
time to be alone with his Father; and thus <I>it became him to fulfil
|
|
all righteousness.</I> Now observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The time <I>when</I> Christ prayed.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was <I>in the morning,</I> the morning after the <I>sabbath
|
|
day.</I> Note, When a sabbath day is over and past, we must not think
|
|
that we may intermit our devotion till the next sabbath: no, though we
|
|
go not <I>to the synagogue,</I> we must go to the <I>throne of
|
|
grace,</I> every day in the week; and the morning after the sabbath
|
|
particularly, that we may preserve the good impressions of the day.
|
|
This <I>morning</I> was the morning of the <I>first day of the
|
|
week,</I> which afterward he sanctified, and made remarkable, by
|
|
another sort of <I>rising early.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was early, <I>a great while before day.</I> When others were
|
|
asleep in their beds, he was <I>praying,</I> as a genuine Son of David,
|
|
who seeks God <I>early,</I> and <I>directs his prayer in the
|
|
morning;</I> nay, and <I>at midnight will rise to give thanks.</I> It
|
|
has been said, <I>The morning is a friend to the Muses--Aurora Musis
|
|
amica;</I> and it is no less so to the <I>Graces.</I> When our spirits
|
|
are most fresh and lively, then we should take time for <I>devout</I>
|
|
exercises. He that is the <I>first</I> and <I>best,</I> ought to have
|
|
the <I>first</I> and <I>best.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The place <I>where</I> he prayed; He <I>departed into a solitary
|
|
place,</I> either out of town, or some remote garden or out-building.
|
|
Though he was in no danger of distraction, or of temptation to
|
|
vain-glory, yet he retired, to set us an example to his own rule,
|
|
<I>When thou prayest enter into thy closet.</I> Secret prayer must be
|
|
made secretly. Those that have the most business in public, and of the
|
|
best kind, must sometimes be <I>alone with God;</I> must retire into
|
|
<I>solitude,</I> there to converse with God, and keep up communion with
|
|
him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. His <I>return</I> to his <I>public</I> work. The disciples thought
|
|
they were <I>up early,</I> but found their Master was up <I>before
|
|
them,</I> and they enquired which way he went, <I>followed him</I> to
|
|
his <I>solitary place,</I> and there <I>found him</I> at prayer,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:36,37"><I>v.</I> 36, 37</A>.
|
|
|
|
They told him that he was much wanted, that there were a great many
|
|
patients waiting for him; <I>All men seek for thee.</I> They were proud
|
|
that their Master was become so popular already, and would have him
|
|
appear <I>in public,</I> yet more in that place, because it was
|
|
<I>their own city;</I> and we are apt to be partial to the places we
|
|
know and are interested in. "No," saith Christ, "Capernaum must not
|
|
have the monopoly of the Messiah's preaching and miracles. <I>Let us go
|
|
into the next towns,</I> the <I>villages</I> that lie about here,
|
|
<I>that I may preach there also,</I> and work miracles there, <I>for
|
|
therefore came I forth,</I> not to be constantly resident in one place,
|
|
but to <I>go about doing good.</I>" Even the <I>inhabitants of the
|
|
villages in Israel</I> shall <I>rehearse the righteous acts of the
|
|
Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:11">Judg. v. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe, Christ had still an eye to the end <I>wherefore he came
|
|
forth,</I> and closely pursued that; nor will he be drawn by
|
|
importunity, or the persuasions of his friends, to decline from that;
|
|
for
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>)
|
|
|
|
he <I>preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee,</I> and, to
|
|
illustrate and confirm his doctrine, <I>he cast out devils.</I> Note,
|
|
Christ's doctrine is Satan's destruction.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_40"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mr1_41"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_42"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_43"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_44"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mr1_45"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec6"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Healing of a Leper.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling
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down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make
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me clean.
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41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth <I>his</I> hand, and
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touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
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42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy
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departed from him, and he was cleansed.
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43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
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44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go
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thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing
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those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
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45 But he went out, and began to publish <I>it</I> much, and to
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blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly
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enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they
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came to him from every quarter.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the story of Christ's <I>cleansing a leper,</I> which we
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had before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+8:2-4">Matt. viii. 2-4</A>.
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It teaches us,</P>
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<P>
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1. <I>How to apply ourselves to Christ;</I> come as this leper did,
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(1.) With great <I>humility;</I> this leper came <I>beseeching him, and
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kneeling down to him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:40"><I>v.</I> 40</A>);
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whether giving divine honour to him as God, or rather a less degree of
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respect as a <I>great Prophet,</I> it teaches us that those who would
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receive grace and mercy from Christ, must ascribe honour and glory to
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Christ, and approach to him with humility and reverence.
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(2.) With a firm belief of <I>his power; Thou canst make me clean.</I>
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Though Christ's outward appearance was but <I>mean,</I> yet he had this
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faith in his power, which implies his belief that he was <I>sent of
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God.</I> He believes it with application, not only in general, <I>Thou
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cast do every thing</I> (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:22">John xi. 22</A>),
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but, <I>Thou cast make me clean.</I> Note, What we believe of the power
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of Christ we must bring home to our particular case; <I>Thou canst do
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this for me.</I>
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(3.) With submission to the will of Christ; <I>Lord, if thou wilt.</I>
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Not as if he had any doubt of Christ's readiness in general to help the
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distressed, but, with the modesty that became a poor petitioner, he
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refers his own particular case to him.</P>
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<P>
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2. <I>What to expect from Christ;</I> that according to our faith it
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shall be to us. His address is not in the form of prayer, yet Christ
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answered it as a request. Note, Affectionate professions of faith in
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Christ, and resignations to him, are the most prevailing petitions for
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mercy from him, and shall speed accordingly.
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(1.) Christ was <I>moved with compassion.</I> This is added here, in
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Mark, to show that Christ's power is employed by his pity for the
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relief of poor souls; that his reasons are fetched from within himself,
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and we have nothing in us to recommend us to his favour, but our
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<I>misery</I> makes us the objects of his <I>mercy.</I> And what he
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does for us he does with all possible tenderness.
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(2.) He <I>put forth his hand, and touched him.</I> He <I>exerted</I>
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his power, and directed it to <I>this</I> creature. In healing souls,
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Christ <I>toucheth them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+10:26">1 Sam. x. 26</A>.
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When the queen toucheth for the evil, she saith, <I>I touch, God
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heals;</I> but Christ <I>toucheth and healeth too.</I>
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(3.) He said, <I>I will, be thou clean.</I> Christ's power was put
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forth in and by a <I>word,</I> to signify in what way Christ would
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ordinarily work spiritual cures; <I>He sends his word and heals,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:20,Joh+15:3,17:17">Ps. cvii. 20;
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John xv. 3; xvii. 17</A>.
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The poor leper put an <I>if</I> upon the will of Christ; <I>If thou
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wilt;</I> but that <I>doubt</I> is soon put <I>out of doubt; I
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will.</I> Christ most readily <I>wills</I> favours to those that most
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readily <I>refer themselves</I> to his will. He was confident of
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Christ's <I>power;</I> Thou <I>canst make me clean;</I> and Christ will
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show how much his power is drawn out into act by the faith of his
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people, and therefore speaks the word as one having authority, <I>Be
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thou clean.</I> And power accompanied this word, and the cure was
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perfect in an instant; <I>Immediately his leprosy</I> vanished, and
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there remained no more sign of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. <I>What to do when we have received mercy from Christ.</I> We must
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with his favours receive his commands. When Christ had cured him, <I>he
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strictly charged him;</I> the word here is very significant,
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<B><I>embrimesamenos</B></I>--<I>graviter interminatus--prohibiting with
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threats.</I> I am apt to think that this refers not to the directions
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he gave him to conceal it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:44"><I>v.</I> 44</A>),
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for those are mentioned by themselves; but that this was such a charge
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as he gave to the impotent man whom he cured,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:14">John v. 14</A>,
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<I>Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee;</I> for the
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<I>leprosy</I> was ordinarily the punishment of some particular
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sinners, as in Miriam's, Gehazi's, and Uzziah's, case; now, when Christ
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healed him, he <I>warned</I> him, he <I>threatened</I> him with the
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fatal consequence of it if he should <I>return to sin</I> again. He
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also appointed him,
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(1.) To <I>show himself to the priest,</I> that the priest by his own
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judgment of this leper might be a witness for Christ, that he was the
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Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:5">Matt. xi. 5</A>.
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(2.) Till he had done that, not to <I>say any thing</I> of it <I>to any
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man:</I> this is an instance of the <I>humility</I> of Christ and his
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self-denial, that he did not seek his own honour, <I>did not strive or
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cry,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:2">Isa. xlii. 2</A>.
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And it is an example to us, not to <I>seek our own glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:27">Prov. xxv. 27</A>.
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He must not <I>proclaim</I> it, because that would much increase the
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crowd that followed Christ, which he thought was too great already; not
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as if he were unwilling to <I>do good to all,</I> to as many as came;
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but he would do it with as little <I>noise</I> as might be, would have
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|
no offence given to the government, no disturbance of the public peace,
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|
not any thing done that looked like ostentation, or an affecting of
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|
popular applause. What to think of the leper's <I>publishing</I> it,
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|
and <I>blazing it abroad,</I> I know not; the concealment of the good
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|
characters and good works of good men better become <I>them</I> than
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|
<I>their friends;</I> nor are we always bound by the modest commands of
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|
humble men. The leper ought to have observed his orders; yet, no doubt,
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|
it was with a good design that he <I>proclaimed</I> the cure, and it
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had no other ill effect than that it increased the multitudes which
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followed Christ, to that degree, that he <I>could no more openly enter
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into the city;</I> not upon the account of persecution (there was no
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|
danger of that yet,) but because the crowd was so great, that the
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streets would not hold them, which obliged him to go into <I>desert
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places,</I> to a <I>mountain</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+3:13"><I>ch.</I> iii. 13</A>),
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to the <I>sea-side,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+4:1"><I>ch.</I> iv. 1</A>.
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This shows how <I>expedient</I> it was for us, that Christ should <I>go
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|
away,</I> and <I>send the Comforter,</I> for his bodily presence could
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|
be but in one place at a time; and those that <I>came to him from every
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|
quarter,</I> could not get <I>near him;</I> but by his spiritual
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|
presence he is with his people wherever they are, and comes to them to
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<I>every quarter.</I></P>
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