PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels — St. Mark
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816–1900 · 128,053 words · 339 reading sections
MARK IX. 38—50.
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us : and we forbad him, because he follow- eth not its. 09 But Jesus said, Forbid him not : for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me, 40 For he that is not agains…
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subject of toleration in religion. The apostle John said to Him, " Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and he followeth not us : and we forbad him, because he followeth not us." The man was doing a good work without doubt. He was warring on the same side as the apostles, beyond question. But this did not…
297 wordsSECTION 183MARK, CHAP. IX. 191
Let us be on our guard against this feeling. It is only too near the surface of all our hearts. Let us study to realize that liberal, tolerant spirit which Jesus here recommends, and be thankful for good works wheresoever and by whosoever clone. Let us beware of the slightest inclination to stop and check others, merel…
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We see, for another thing, in these verses, the need of giving up anything that stands between us and the salvation of our souls. The " hand" and the " foot" are to be cut off, and the " eye" to be plucked out, if they offend, or are occasions of falling. The things that are dear to us as eye, foot, or hand, are to be …
330 wordsSECTION 185MARK, CHAP. IX. 193
" I keep under ray body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away." (1 Cor. ix. 27.) We see, in the last place, in these verses, the reality, awf ulness, and eternity of future punishment. Three times the Lord Jesus speaks of " hell." Three ti…
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not possible to say too much about Christ. But it is quite possible to say too little about bell. Let the concluding words of our Lord ring in our ears, as we leave the passage : — " Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another." Let us make sure that we have in our hearts the saving grace of the Holy Ghos…
371 wordsSECTION 187MAEK X. 1—12.
1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea, by the farther side of Jordan: and the Eeople resort unto him again ; and, as e was wont, he taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife ? tempting him. 8 And he answered and said unto…
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farther side of Jordan : and the people resort unto Him again ; and, as He was wont, He taught them again." Wherever our Lord went, He was always about His Father's business, preaching, teaching, and laboring to do good to souls. He threw away no opportunity. In the whole history of His earthly ministry, we never read…
324 wordsSECTION 189MARK, CHAP. X. 197
as well as reapers and binders of sheaves. The honest master pays his laborers according to the work they do, and not acording to the crops that grow on his land. Our Master in heaven will deal with all His servants at the last day in like manner. He knows that success is not in their hands. He knows that they cannot c…
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bands towards wives, and of wives towards husbands, as a natural consequence, were little understood. To cor- rect this state of things, our Lord sets up a high and holy standard of principles. He refers to the original in- stitution of marriage at the creation, as the union of one man and one woman. He quotes and endo…
394 wordsSECTION 191MARK, CHAP. X. 199
The importance of the whole subject, on which our Lord here pronounces judgment, can hardly be overrated. We ought to be very thankful that we have so clear and full an exposition of His mind upon it. The marriage relation lies at the very root of the social system of nations. The public morality of a people, and the p…
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There is, unhappily, only too much necessity for im- pressing these truths upon people. It is a mournful fact, that few steps in life are generally taken with so much levity, self-will, and forgetfulness of God as marriage. Few are the young couples who think of inviting Christ to their wedding ! It is a mournful fact …
431 wordsSECTION 193MAEK X. 13—16.
not ; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whoso- ever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not en- ter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. The scene brought before us in these four verses is deeply interesting. —…
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Let us learn, for one thing, from this passage, how much attention the souls of children should receive from the Church of Christ. The Great Head of the Church found time to take special notice of children. Al- though His time on earth was precious, and grown-up men and women were perishing on every side for lack of kn…
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is on this account that the passage occupies a prominent place in the baptismal service of the Church of England. The subject of infant baptism is undoubtedly a delicate and difficult one. Holy and praying men are unable to see alike upon it. Although they read the same Bible, and profess to be led by the same Spirit,…
284 wordsSECTION 196MARK, CHAP. X. 205
is difficult to understand why an infant may not receive the outward sign of admission into the church, just as the Jewish child received the outward sign of circumcision. The objection that baptism ought only to be given to those who are old enough to repent and believe, does not appear a convincing one. We read in t…
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The subject may be safely left here. Few controversies have done so much harm, and led to so little spiritual fruit as the controversy about baptism. On none has so much been said and written without producing conviction. On none does experience seem to show that Christians had better leave each other alone, and agree …
356 wordsSECTION 198MAEK X. 17—27.
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? 18 And Jesus said unto him, "Why callest thou me good ? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the command- ments, Do not commit adul…
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kneeling to Him, while Scribes and Pharisees despised Hirn. Yet all this time this man was profoundly igno- rant of his own heart. He hears our Lord recite those commandments which make up our duty to our neighbor, and at once declares, " All these have I observed from my youth/' The searching nature of the moral law, …
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Him by the Father, and watched with a special care. They are His bride, joined to Him in an everlasting covenant, and dear to Him as part of Himself. But the heart of Jesus is a wide heart. He has abundance of pity, compassion, and tender concern even for those who are following sin and the world. He who wept over un- …
328 wordsSECTION 201MARK, CHAP. X.
211 having money, as the trusting in it, which ruins the soul. Let us pray for contentment with such things as we have. The highest wisdom is to be of one mind with St. Paul, " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Phil. iv. 11.)…
50 wordsSECTION 202MARK X. 28—34.
28 Then Peter "began to say xmto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my sake, and the Gospel's, 30 But he shall receive an hundr…
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in Christ's service look at this promise. Let all who are enduring hardness and tribulation for Christ's sake, study this promise well; and drink out of it comfort. To all who make sacrifices on account of the Gospel, Jesus promises " an hundred-fold now in this time." They shall have not only pardon and glory in the …
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the history of Christian churches ! There was a time when Asia Minor, and Greece, and Northern Africa, were full of professing Christians, while England and America were heathen lands. Sixteen hundred years have made a mighty change. The churches of Africa and Asia have fallen into complete decay. The English and Ameri…
293 wordsSECTION 205MARK, CHAP. X. 215
and death. Calm]y and deliberately He tells His disci- ples of His coining passion at Jerusalem. One after another He describes all the leading circumstances which would attend His death. Nothing is reserved. Nothing is kept back. Let us mark this well. There was nothing involun- tary and unforeseen in our Lord's deat…
247 wordsSECTION 206MAEK X. 35—45.
35 And James and John, the sons do for us whatsoever we shall desire, of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, I 38 And he said unto them, What Master, we would that thou shouldest would ye that I should do for yo.u ?…
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37 They said unto him, Grant unto ns, that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto thern, Ye know not what ye ask : can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and he baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? 39 And they said unto him, We can. And…
432 wordsSECTION 208MARK, CHAP. X. 217
tion, and to think only of the crown. We form an incorrect estimate of our own patience and power of endurance. We misjudge our own ability to stand temptation and trial. And the result of all is that we often buy wisdom dearly, by bitter experience, after many disappointments, and not a few falls. Let the case before…
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down in the preceding chapter, " Whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all." And He backs up all by the overwhelming argument of His own exam- ple : " Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister/'* Let all who desire to please Christ, watch and pray against self-esteem. It i…
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atoning character of Christ's death. That death was no common death, like the death of a martyr, or of other holy men. It was the publicjp^yTn^nt^by an Almighty Representative, of theTTeoTs of sinful man to a holy God. It was the ransom which a Divine Surety under- took to provide, in order to procure liberty for sinne…
352 wordsSECTION 211MARK X. 46—52.
4b And they came to Jericho : and as he went out of Jericho with bis disciples and a great number of people, blind BartimaeuB, the son of Timseus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of Da- vid, have mercy on me. 48 And man…
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In the first place, we have here an example of strong faith. We are told that as Jesus went out of Jericho, a blind man named Bartimseus u sat by the wayside begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Na- zareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Bartimseus was blind in bo…
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not for the rebukes of unfeeling bystanders. He heeded not the ridicule which his importunity probably brought on him. " He cried the more a great deal/' and so cry- ing obtained his heart's desire, and received his sight. Let all who wish to be saved, mark well this conduct of Bartimgeus, and walk diligently in his s…
313 wordsSECTION 214MARK, CHAP. X. 225
the Son of David who had worked the cure. His history concludes with the touching expression, he " followed Jesus in the way." Let us see in these simple words, a lively emblem of the effect that the grace of Christ ought to have on every one who tastes it. It ought to make him a follower of Jesus in his life, and to …
293 wordsSECTION 215MARK XI. 1—11.
1 And when tliey came nigh to Je- rusalem, unto Bethnhage and Beth- any, at the mount ot Olives, he send- etii forth two of his disciples, 2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye he entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied where- on never man sat ; loose him and bring …
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tidings of our Lord's arrival. It is probable there was not a house in Jerusalem in which the entry of the prophet of Nazareth was not known and talked of that night These things should always be remembered in reading this portion of our Lord's history. It is not for nothing that this entry into Jerusalem is four time…
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the eyes of all Jerusalem were fixed upon Him, and when He died, He died before many witnesses. Let us see here one more proof of the unspeakable importance of the death of Christ. Let us treasure up His gracious sayings. Let us strive to walk in the steps of His holy life. Let us prize His intercession. Let us long f…
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we might forget that He was man. If we saw His seasons of poverty and weakness only, we might forget that He was God. But we are intended to see in Jesus divine strength and human weakness united in one per- son. We cannot explain the mystery ; but we may take comfort in the thought, " this is our Saviour, this is our …
299 wordsSECTION 219MAKE XI. 12—21.
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry : 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon : and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves ; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answei'ed and said unto it, No man eat fruit…
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to sympathize with His believing people on earth. He knows their sorrows by experience. He can be touched with the feeling of their infirmities. He has had ex- perience of a body and its daily wants. He has suffered Himself the severe sufferings that the body of man is liable to. He has tasted pain, and weakness, and w…
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the Jewish Church if it had had eyes to see its peril ! — There was a voice in the fig tree for all the branches of Christ's visible Church in every age, and eveiy part of the world. There was a warning against an empty pro- fession of Christianity unaccompanied by sound doctrine and holy living, which some of those br…
316 wordsSECTION 222M^RK, CHAP. XI. 235
striking manner by our Lord Jesus Christ's conduct, when He went into the temple. We are told that " He cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves." And we are told that He enforced this action by warrant of Scripture, saying, …
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it is foolish and unwise to brand as superstitious, and confound with Popery. There is a certain feeling of sanctity and solemnity which ought to belong to all pla- ces where Christ is preached, and souls are born again, a feeling which does not depend on any consecration of man, and ought to be encouraged rather than …
226 wordsSECTION 224MAEK XI. 22—26.
22 And Jesus answering saitli unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That ■whosoever shall say unto this moun- tain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and s!<all not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass ; lie shall have whatso- ev…
133 wordsSECTION 225MAKE, CHAP. XI. 237
Let us learn from these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immense importance of faith. This is a lesson which our Lord teaches first by a proverbial saying. Faith shall enable a man to accom- plish works, and overcome difficulties, as great and formidable as the "removing of a mountain, and casting it into the sea."…
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that faith which is essential to justification. In principle undoubtedly all true faith is one and the same. It is always trust or belief. But in the object aud operations of faith, there are diversities, which it is useful to under- stand. Justifying faith is that act of the soul by which a man lays hold on Christ, an…
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cherish malice towards our fellow men. We must have the heart of a brother toward our neighbor on earth, if we wish God to be our Father in heaven. We must not flatter ourselves that we have the Spirit of adoption if we cannot bear and forbear. This is a heart-searching subject. The quantity of malice, bitterness, and…
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241 is our highest privilege in this world. God's free for- giveness will be our only title to eternal life in the world to come. Then let us be forgiving during the few years that we are here upon earth.'1'…
41 wordsSECTION 229MARK XI. 27—33.
27 And they come again to Jerusa- lem : and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the eld- ers, 28 And say unto him, By what au- thority doest thou these things ? and who gave thee this authority to do these things ? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will…
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rulers of the Jewish Church. They were regarded by the Jews as the fountain and spring-head of religious knowledge. They were, most of them, regularly or- dained to the position they held, and could trace their orders by regular descent from Aaron. And yet we rind these very men, at the time when they ought to have bee…
352 wordsSECTION 231MARK, CHAP. XI. 243
the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him alone is no weakness, no failure, no shadow of infirmity. Let us learn to lean more entirely on Him. Let us " call no man father on earth." (Matt, xxiii. 9.) So doing, we shall never be disappointed. Let us observe, in the second place, how envy and unbe- lief make ?nen throiu discredit o…
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regularly appointed to the work. St. Paul himself de- clares that this was the case with our Lord, in the matter of the priestly office : " No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." (Heb. v. 4.) And even now, when the office of the sac- rificing priest no longer exists, the wor…
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rule, they are as worthless as the chief priest's answer, " We cannot tell." The plain truth is that we ought to be very slow to give credit to the unconverted man's professed reasons for not serving Christ. We may be tolerably sure that when he says " I cannot/' the real meaning of his heart is "I will not." A really…
153 wordsSECTION 234MARK XII. 1—12.
1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the^winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandme…
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God to take our mercies away. If Israel had peculiar national privileges, so also has England. Let English- men mark this well, and take heed lest that which happened to Israel should happen also to them. Let us observe, in the second place, God's patience and long suffering towards the Jewish nation. What is their wh…
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is enough to make a man a Christian. The great ex- periment has been made in the instance of the Jewish nation. We, too, like Israel, might have among us miracles, prophets, and the company of Christ Himself in the flesh, and yet, like Israel, have them in vain. Nothing but the Spirit of God can change the heart. " We …
295 wordsSECTION 237MARK, CHAP. XII. 251
change of heart and will. For this let us pray ear- nestly. Till we have this, let us never rest. Without this, we shall never be real Christians, and reach hea- ven. Without it we may live all our lives, like the Jews, knowing inwardly that we are wrong, and yet, like the Jews, persevere in our own way, and die in our…
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13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man : for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth : Is it lawful to give tribute to…
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Worldly men and formalists have little real sympathy with one another. They dislike one another's principles, and despise one another's ways. But there is one thing which they hoth dislike even more, and that is the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. And hence, whenever there is a chance of opposing the Gospel, we shall alwa…
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penny ? They are obliged to reply, " Caesar's." They were themselves using a Roman coin, issued and circulated by the Roman government. By their own confession they were in some way under the power of the Romans, or this Roman money would not have been current among them. At once our Lord silences them by the memorable…
409 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1857). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.