PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1
Edward Henry Bickersteth [1925-1906] · 331,482 words · 374 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 61
reason le expressed in somewhat general terms, as follows:-" Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness ; " but wherein this righteousness consisted, and how it was fulfilled, we proceed briefly to investigate. IV. PRIESTHOOD OB' CHRIST, It will be borne in min a that our Lord, though a priest after the order of …
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temple, as we read in the G(lspel of St. John, xii. 28, "Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from hel\ven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will gl0rify it again." IX. TRIPLE RECORD. Again this acknowled~ment of the Father puts honour on the Divine \\'ord, for, from the three leading divisions or …
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Vere. 12, 13. Parallel passages: Matt. iv. 1-11; Luke iv. 1-13.-The temptation. I. THE REALITY OF THE TEMPTATION. The above passage of St. Mark, an<l the parallel passages of the other Gospels, contain the record of one of the most remarkable transactions in the Word of God. It records the temptation of the Son of God.…
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Then let our humble fnith addrell His mercy and his power, We shall obtain delivering gmce In every trying hour." 5. Forewarned. In the conflict of the Saviour with Satan, as narrated in the Gospels, we have the prototype of, and precedent for, the perfect believer, showing us what manner of adversary we have to con…
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In framing hie temptati,m for the second Adam. Accordin"lY, he tries him first by the lust of the flesh, tempting him to change stones into bread: and so movin" him to the indulgence of appetite. Next be tries him hy the pride of life, temptinu him to throw himaelf down from the temple's pinnacle, and so, in sight of t…
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thick brushwood along the banks, or among the caves of the nei11;hbourlng hills. In addition, therefore, to the natural horrors of the place, were those wild beasts with hungry jaws and glaring eyes and frightful cries, just waiting to seize him as their prey, Few, if any, human feet had trod this particular portion…
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he. is malignant and murderous, took advantage of the moment at which appetite, after bemg so long whetted, bad become keenest, and urged the changf, of stones into bread to meet the wants of noture. Bnt the place as well as the time appeared to second the speciousness and seeming propriety of this suggestion. It wa…
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yet that any word proceeding out of the mouth of Goo, nnything created by God's word and by that i;ame word commanded to be used for food, will serve the purpose. "He can eiiher," sa_ys Bishop Hall in his •Contemplations,'" sustain without bread, as he did Moses and Ehas; or with a miraculous bread, as the Israelite…
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m11ted racee that peopled the Italian peninsula, the ~avage tribes of Germany, the gallant men of Gaul, and the far-off inhabitants of Britain. Southward they saw the unconquered Arabs, the polished Egyptians, the sunburnt dwellers of Ethiopia, the Lybians bordering on the desert, and other sable sons of Africa. "Al…
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that of Israel on the occasion referred to would have been sinful distrust. Here, as 11fter- wards, he could have bidden to his side legions of angels; but in either case he forbore. Obedient trust in God and determined opposition to Satan were the principles that guided the conduct of the Saviour, and that ultimate…
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plead the covenant of God while you disregard its conditions; you a.re not to appro- priate promises that in no way apply to your character or conduct. CoNoLunmo REMARKS. 1. The battle of life is largely a battlef<Yr dai1y bread. In far northern regions it is extremely difficult; in the tropics it is exceedingly easy.…
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Vera. 14, 15. Parallel passages: Matt. iv. 17; Luke iv. 14, 15.-The Galilean, ministry. I. H1s PREACHING BEGAN IN GALILEE. Though our Lord's public ministry may be regarded as having commenced at that Passover at Jerusalem to which reference has been already made, yet his public appearance as a preacher was in Gali…
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"Here may we sit and dream Over the heavenly theme, Till to 0111' sonls the former days return: Till on the grassy bed, Where tholl8Bnds once he fed, The world's incarnate Maker we discern." IV. THE BUDJE0TB OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PREACHING, The precursor had been imprisoned in the castle of Machrerus, some nine miles …
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expressed their earnest wish for that interview, saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus." Aud now that Andrew, in the fulness of bis brotherly affection, had brought Petor to ChriMt, Andrew and Peter were bound together ever after, in a dearer, because a doublo, bond of brotherhood. Here is an exampl<l worthy of imitation…
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the metropolis and university of Judaism. Near this place are steep rocks ancl a moun- tain npproaching the water's edge. Further north we reach Magdala, now a miserahle village called Mejdel, where Mary Magdalene had her home. It is situated at the southern extremity of the plain of Gennesaret, now called El Ghuwei…
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says Dr. Thomson in 'The Land and the Book,' "can be more interestin"'? A quiet, ramble along the head of this sacred sea I 'l'he blessed feet of Emmanuel h~vo hallowed every acre, and the eye of Divine love has gazed a thousand times upon this fair expanse o( lake and land. Oh I it is surpassingly beautiful at this…
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may be, he promises to give us rest; if be bids us take his yoke upon us, he assures us it will be light; if he bids us seek, he promises we shall find; if he urges us to ask, h11 promises we shall receive; if he presses us to knock, he pledges his word that it shall be opened to us; e.nd so of e.11 the rest. Thus it i…
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we are considering. It may be observed tbat in some copies of the Italic Version the ••and" in the clause" and not as the scribes" is omitted, but erroneously, for the copula. tive is used of things different rather than of opposites. In case of thino-s not merely different, but opposite or contrary, the omission of…
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eons of God co.me together o.nd presented themselves before the Lord, Satan came amon"' them o.nd put in o.n appearance too. Nor can it be reasonably doubted that he con~ tinues his custom of frequenting the place of religious assemblies still. To the present hour he is sometimes with the preacher in the pulpit, someti…
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well as of J:i.uman _sym~athy, on ~he p~rt or our L~rd.: There are several ~raphio touches of a very mterestmg kmd, especially m the dcscnpt10n of the cure, by St. Mark. Our Lord approached 1.be sufferer ( ,rpoa-•X6.5v); St. Luke interjects the additional detail that he stood over her ( 1..-ur..-as 1..-dv"') ; he ra…
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we road that he " healed all that were sick," and in St. Luke tha.t "he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them." 3. ProhibitiV/1, of dem<miac testimony. He had already rebuked an unclean spirit tha.t volunteered his unwelcome testimony. He forbids their speaking at all, because they knew him-not as the mar…
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unin_fluenced by_ pop1:1Iar!ty, disabuses t?eir minds _of their narro_wness in selfishly seckmg to localize him lil Capernaum, city though 1t was, calmly informing them of his purpose to itinerate throughout the villages or country towns of that then populous distr_ict.. A_t once he puts his plan into execution, ass…
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covenant head and representative of his descendants, the guilt or punishableness of his first sin was incurred by them, nnteccdently to their own actual transgressions and that the corruption of their nature was the first part of that punishmcnt--which is known as the doctrine of antenatal forfeiture; or whether we …
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J.cprons Bcurf or shining scale&; BOree and ewellings ensued. For a long tlmo 1t aeomod only cutaneous. But it did not stop with the skin; it ponotrated dcop down. It nte ita way to the bones, it attacked tho joints, it reached the marrow, The blood la corrupt, portions of tbo extremities mortify and drop off, a was…
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would not such a one himself, Uzzlah-like, haste to get awa.y from so pure a place, and to eeco.pe from such holy companionship? for heaven would not be heaven, and could not be heo.vcn, to an unregenerate soul. How terrible the sinner's condition, shunned as he is by the saintly, dreaded as he is by the pure and holy,…
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come in humility, feeling that we are nothing and that Christ is all. We must come in earnest, feeling the desperate nature of our disease and our hopeless, perishin", and lost condition without him. The lepers of Samaria ventured at all hazards to fall into the host of the Syrians, " If they save us alive, we shall …
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earnest desire to effect a cure, the appliances may be unavailing, the utmost exertions unsucce6sful, and the disease may prove fate.I. The soul's leprosy is beyond the power of any earthly physician; it baffles all human skill, and, if uncured, it ends in eternal death. We bless God there is one, though only one, Phys…
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EXPOSITION, CHAPTER II. we must also notioe the authoritative oh~ meter of the address, " Thy sins are for- Ver.1.-Tbe first sentence of this verse is given." Bede observes here that our Lord better rendered thus: And when he entered first forgives his sins, that he might show again (da-,xe,;,., ..-cf>.,v) into Ca…
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heard beyond themselves. But Jeeus per- of sin. He has first applied to Christ ceived in his spirH their ree.sonings. He perhaps by his own sense of his need' knew their thoughts, not by communication perhaps with the help of others. He may from another, e.s the prophets of old had have had difficulty in approaching hi…
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came into the world to save sinners, of Gentiles and idolaters. They considered whom I am chief" (1 Tim. i. 15). Follow that it was contrary to the liberty and me ; me, that ie, whom you have alre&dy dignity of the children of God that they heard pre&<'hing the gospel of the kingdom should pay tribute to them, a vie…
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were (11eting at the very time when Matthew them. The bridegroom shall be taken away gave hie fe11et. Thie wlie not one of the from the1!1. 'fhe Greek word (lurap9fi) con- fasts prescribed by the Lo.w; had it been eo, veys the idea of a painful severance. And it would have been observer! by our Lord. then will they fas…
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adds to St. Mark's account the words, "and worthy of being spoken of with this special did eat, rubbing them [that is, the ears of oommendntion, and Ill! though he was aotu- corn Jin their h1mds;" an incidental evidenoe e.lly high priest, even though his father was of a simple life, that they did not here eat then l…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-12.-Christ's authority to pardon. Our Lord's miracles of healing we1e, upon the surface and obviously, designed to relieve from suffering and to restore to health. They, at the same time, directed the attention of both those benefited, and of spectators, to the supernatural power and to the bene…
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Vers. 1~17.-Lem~s discipleship and hospitality. The story of Matthew illustrates the part of improbabilities in human life. Some would see in it the irony of fate ; we would recognize the mystery of Providence. 'l'he evangelists tell us of a man who occupied the humble and even despised position of collector of Roma…
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should bring together thoHe who need and those who are prepared to impart some spiritual blessing, and should thus instrumentally bring together the sinner and the Saviour I II. But we have here also lessons derivable from THE CONDUCT OP CHRIST, 1. Christ's disregard and defiance of public opinion, This is evident (1…
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"Whilst be was with them, how could they be sad? how could they fast? how could they refrain from holy mirth and pious songs? There is no ground of joy so just, so sacred, a.s the friendship of Jesus. To have him with us a.lwa.y, to hear his voice, to be assured of his interest a.nd love,-tbis is the purest satisfac…
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Christianity was in the act of vanquishing paganism, it submitted to assume much that was heathen, 'l'he great system of sacerdotalism, with its sacramentarianism, its saint-worship, and its mortifications and asceticism, was acquired from heathenism. And how much of this survives even to the present day, we have only …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-12.-Cure of the paralytic. I. DIFFICULTIES ABE READILY OVERCOME WBEBB THERE IS FAITH. The house was probably a poor one, roofed with mud and shingle. It would be easy, therefore, to dig a hole and obtain entrance in that way. But doin<> it required a certain amount of ingenuity …
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may exercise this authority and power. "What they did not think of was the possibility of him whom they accused being "very God of very God." IV. DIFl!'IOULTIEB ARE CREATED WHERE FAITH 18 ABSE:!."'T. The simple soul of the paralytic grasped the secret of Divinity which escaped the subtlety of the scribes. Their very k…
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11piritual guidance of Christ. The contrast would, therefore, be very marked. A schism seemed to discover itself within the circle of the brethren. 2. The general life of the disciples of Ohri.st was not so ascetic as that of John's, and the traditional fasts o/ Jwlaism were not so strictly observed by them. The spec…
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Vere. 3-5.-The pardon of tht, paralytic. This miracle is recorded also by Matthew and Luke. The former indicates its chronological position as occurring after the return from Gadare.. Our gracious Lord "a.gain entered into Capernaum," so slow is he to leave the most undeserving. '£he news of his arrival quickly spread;…
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of a people whose he,ad was faint and whose heart was sick is followed by tho invitation, "Come now, and let us reason together,'' etc., and this is intensified by the gracious words of Christ, "Come unto me, all ye that labour," eto. Facts suggest the same truth, e.g. God's dee.ling with Adam, the call of idolatrous .…
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Vere. 18-20.-On fasting. Weak brethren too often do the work of evil men, The disciples of John, who were not hostile to our Lord, were made on this occasion the tools of the Pharisees, whose great object was to damage our Lord's reputation amongst the people, and to weaken the allegiance of his followers. The Bapti…
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and the Bridegroom came back to his waiting bride, to fulfil the promise, "I l\m with you always," then, and on the day or Pentecost, they could not fast. If now there are times when to our doubting minds the heavenly Bridegroom seems far away; if now we ever feel that temporary abstinence from food, or from pleasur…
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lead of joy is in the best sense natural. Let the face and manner reflect the inner mind; to reverse this is to act a part. 'l'he pure ancl lovely hypocrisy is that which tries to affect the mien of mirth, though the heart be heavy. To put on the mask of irloom for the sake of warning others is Pharisaic, not Christi…
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uttered, m_en, "re:i.soning in their hearts/' believe not, Where Jesus to-day sees faith -and he 1s always on the look-out for it-there he heals. The faith of sufferers and, helpers must have respect to his promise and his power to heal, and not busy itself so much with listening for the word which declares the hea\…
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the word applies itself. The really" sick" may be the carping complainers. 'rhen, more precisely, he declares hie mission : " ' I came not to call the righteouR, but sinners. My dealings are with sinners, How can I reach them if I avoid them ? " Let every self-conscious sinner who, bruised and sick, desires healing,…
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the glow of the bright light, would'\iring near to these self-sacrificing disciples thou<rhts of him who now most truly must provide for them their daily bread, the firstfruits of whose care they now gat.her. Gladly the lynx-eyed Pharisees arrest the great 'l'eaoher with their "Why do they on the sabbath day that wh…
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reported thn.t he was back in Capernftum-that, having previously arrived (,/,),he was now in the house. But what house? Some say Peter's; others, as Euthymius, that it we.a eirnpl:, a house ( eis ol,c611 .,.,,,,.); better perhaps understand it indefinitely of a house which he used as an inn or place of temporary abode,…
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by both alike. They would not have engaged in the friendly offico unloss they had had faith in the probable result, nor would they have undertaken it against the will or -wish of the invalid; neither would he have consented to allow himself to be conveyed 11e- be did, without believing in the power of him from whom …
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Lulrn, however, gives us the additional lnformat.ion that " there were Pharisees and doctors of the Law sitting by." The latter had to do with the Law of the Old 'l'estament. just as the scribes, but in the capacity of jurists. Hence the lawyers and scribes are- commonly thought to have been identical. No doubt the …
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Vers. 13-22. Parallel passages: Matt. ix. 9-17; Luke v. 27-39.-Call of Levi, Feo.sting, and Fasting. I. THE CALL OF LEVL 1.Publicans,who were tltey1 The publicans proper, who paid a certain sum contracted for into the public treasury (publicum), were Roman knights, a wealthy class of citizens. These, again, had thei…
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that his menne were respectable; that, if not very wealthy, he was at least in comfortable circumstances ; that by consequence the sacrifice he made for the Master was very cons_idemble, and. that hi~ attachment was proporti?nately great. 6. Further ob:ject of Levi's feast. This complimentary feast to the Saviour was a…
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moral lazars the great Physician found the widest field of operation. We may not forgot, however, that it is with much caution and certain restrictions that any mere man can eo have intercourse with the degraded of his species; but Jesus, the God-man, ran no risk -0f moral taint, or of compromising character by asso…
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was festive and joyous, to enunciate e. maxim of deep import and great significance, as also of far-reaching tendency and manifold applications. The new patch on an old garment is e. sample of incongruity. The words in St. Mark rea.d thus: "No man also tieweth e. piece of unfulled cloth on an old garment: else the new …
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God ; on the sabbath, thenceforth the first day of the week, the Holy Spirit descended in Pentecostal power and plenty, while by means of St. Peter's sermon three thousand were converted that same day; on the sabbath the primitive Christians, taught by apostles and following apostolic example, met together to break …
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of David; and not only of David, whose eminence might be thought such as to entitle him to greater consideration, and sufficient to make his case exceptional, but in favour of those who wore with him, Our Lord adduces this instance of violating the letter of the Law, asking the Pharisees, according to a formula of t…
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IX. THE SoN OF lllAN's LORDSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE SABBATH, The Son of man here mentioned is, in spite of all rationalistic quibbling, the Saviour, anJ. he is Lord of the sabbatb. In St. Mark and St. Luke rtczl stands before "sabbath ·" it is likewise inserted in St. Matthew by some, but excluded by others. It may …
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scribes and Pharisees with regord to the him that help which he owes him by the law obeervance of the enbbn th. of charity." Our Lord thne plainly signi- Ver. 1.-He entered age.in into the ayna- fiee that not to do an act of kindneee to a sick ,sogue. St. Mu.tthew (xii. 9) au.ye, '' their man on the sabbath day when…
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deem and BBVe them. Stretoh forth thy visiting, there were vast numbers from other hand. And ha metohed it forth : and hie pnrts who hnd now henrd of his fame, &nd hand WBII reatore,1. The words "whole ae flocked to him from every qunrter. This the other" (u-y,~s ws ;; ~U,i) are not found in description sets before …
998 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.