PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels — St. Mark
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816–1900 · 128,053 words · 339 reading sections
MAEK XII. 18—27.
18 Then come unto him the Sad- ducees, -which say there is no resur- rection ; and they asked him, saying, 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 20 Now there were seven br…
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These verses relate a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. The religion of these men, we know, was little better than infidelity. They said there was " no resurrection." They too, like the Pharisees, thought to entangle and perplex our Lord with hard questions. The Church of Christ must not exp…
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times when the Bible was kept back from the people. The Protestant Reformation was mainly effected by translating and circulating the Bible. The churches whicli are most flourishing at this day, are churches which honor the Bible. The nations which enjoy most moral light, are nations in which the Bible is most known. T…
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misery and a curse. Let us never rest till we are one with Christ and Christ in us? and then we may look for- ward with joy to a life to come.* * The text by which our Lord silenced the Sadducees, and proved the resurrection to be a scriptural doctrine — has been a cause of sur- prise to many Bible readers. Some have …
490 wordsSECTION 245MAEK XII. 28—34.
28 And one of the Scribes came, as thyself. There is none other com- and having heard them reasoning mandment greater than these, together, and perceiving that he had 32 And the Scribe said unto him, answered them well, asked him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: Which is the first commandment of for there is on…
390 wordsSECTION 246262 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Let us observe, in these verses, how high is our Lord Jesus Christ's standard of duty to God and man. The question that the Scribe propounded was a very wide one : " Which is the first commandment of all ?" The answer he received was probably very unlike what he expected. At any rate, if he thought that our Lord would…
603 wordsSECTION 247264 EXPOSITOKY THOUGHTS.
The Scribe, in the passage now before us, was evi- dently a man of more knowledge than most of his equals. He saw things which many Scribes and Pharisees never saw at all. His own words are a strong proof of this. " There is one God : and there is none other but He : and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the…
474 wordsSECTION 248MAEK XII. 35-44.
35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the Scrihes that Christ is the son of*David i 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lop.o said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till 1 make thine enemies thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord ; aud whence is h…
239 wordsSECTION 249266 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
We have seen in the former part of this chapter, how the enemies of our Lord endeavored to " catch Him in His words." We have seen how the Pharisees, the Sad- ducees, and the Scribes successively propounded to Him hard questions — questions we can hardly fail to observe, more likely to minister strife than edification.…
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exceedingly sinful as false profession and hypocrisy. At all events, none have drawn from our Lord's mouth such strong language, and such heavy denunciations. It is bad enough to be led away captive by open sin, and to serve divers lusts and pleasures. But it is even worse to pretend to have a religion, while in realit…
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seen in the long annual lists of self-complacent guinea subscribers, of whom many could easily give hundreds of pounds. The stinginess of professing Christians in all matters which concern God and religion, is one of the crying sins of the day, and one of the worst signs of the times. The givers to Christ's cause are b…
320 wordsSECTION 252MARK XIII. 1—8.
1 And as lie went out of the tem- })le, one of bis disciples saith unto lim, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here ! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great build- ings ? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon th…
436 wordsSECTION 253272 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Chapters like this ought to be deeply interesting to every true Christian. No history ought to receive so much of oar attention as the past and future history of the Church of Christ. The rise and fall of worldly em- pires are events of comparatively small importance in the sight of God. Babylon, and Greece, and Kome, …
660 wordsSECTION 254274 EXPOSITORY TTIOUGIITS.
And yet there may be no religion at all. It may be all form, and show, and appeal to the senses. There may he nothing to satisfy the conscience — nothing to cure the heart. It may prove on inquiry that Christ is not preached in that stately building, and the Word of God not expounded. The ministers may perhaps be utter…
309 wordsSECTION 255MARK, CHAP. XIII. 275
We are told that four of His disciples, aroused no doubt by His warning prediction about the temple, ap- plied to Him for further information. " Tell us," they said, " when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled ?" The answer which our Lord gives to these questions,…
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" The prophets that have been before, prophesied of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophe- sieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him." (Jer. xxviii. 8, 9.) Let us learn from our Lord's opening prediction t…
312 wordsSECTION 257MARK, CHAP. XTII.
277 Lord's word strictly true : " Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matt, v. 14.)…
23 wordsSECTION 258MAEK XIII. 9—13.
9 But take heed to yourselves : for they shall deliver you up to councils ; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten ; and ye shall be brought be- fore rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. 10 And the Gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you and deliver y…
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troubles to which believers in Jesus Christ are liable, and of these our Lord gives them plain warning. They roust expect trouble from the world. They must not look for the help of " rulers and kings." They will find their ways and their doctrines bring them no favor in high places. On the contrary, they will often be…
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severance shall result in final salvation. " He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Not one of those who endure tribulation shall miss his reward. All shall at length reap a rich harvest. Though they sow in tears, they shall reap in joy. Their light afflic- tion, which is but for a moment, shall l…
314 wordsSECTION 261MAEK XIII. 14-23.
14 But when ye shall see the abom- ination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Juda?a flee to the mountains : 15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing …
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The lesson is one of wide application, and of much usefulness. A Christian is not to neglect the use of means, because he is a Christian, in the things of this life, any more than in the things of the life to come. A believer is not to suppose that God will take care of him, and provide for his wants, if he does not ma…
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made like the image of God's only-begotten Son. Jesus Christ. They walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, attain to everlasting felicity." To them belong the precious promises of the Gospel. They are the bride, the Lamb's wife. They are the Holy Catholic Church, which is Christ's body. They are …
419 wordsSECTION 264MAKE XIII. 24-31.
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shali he darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 20 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall "he se…
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This part of our Lord's prophecy on the Mount of Olives is entirely unfulfilled. The events described in it are all yet to take place. They may possibly take place in our own day. The passage therefore is one which we ought always to read with peculiar interest. Let us observe, in the first place, what solemn majesty …
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Christ without fear. However terrible the things that shall come upon the earth, his Master will take care that no harm comes to him. He may well bear patiently the partings and separations of this present time. He shall have a joyful meeting, by and bye, with all his brethren in the faith, of every age, and country, a…
625 wordsSECTION 267EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
of the truth of every jot of its predictions. Let us be- lieve that every word of it shall prove at last to have been fully accomplished. Above all, let us strive to live under an abiding sense of its truth, like good servants ready to meet their master. Then, whatever be the ful- filment of it, or however soon, we sha…
64 wordsSECTION 268MAEK XIII. 32—37.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray : for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man…
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There is deep wisdom and mercy in this intentional silence. We have reason to thank Grod that the thing has been hidden from us. Uncertainty about the date of the Lord's return is calculated to keep believers in an attitude of constant expectation, and to preserve them from despoDdency. What a dreary prospect the early…
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His second advent, should be marked, noted, and avoid- ed. " Let us not sleep as do others," says the apostle, " but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. v. 6.) We are to pray. We are to keep up habits of regular communion and intercourse with G-od. We are to allow no strangeness to come in between us and our Father …
326 wordsSECTION 271MARK, CHAP. XIV. 295
Are we looking for our Saviour's return ? Do we long for His appearing ? Can we say with sincerity, Come, Lord Jesus ? Do we live as if we expected Christ to come again ? These are questions which demand serious consideration. May we give them the attention which they deserve ! Does our Lord require us to neglect any …
219 wordsSECTION 272MAEK XIV. 1—9.
1 After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread : and the Chief Priests and the Scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. -2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having a…
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5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence and have been given to the poor. And they murmered against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone ; why trouble ye her ? she hath wrought a good work on me. 7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good : but me ye have…
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and in token of her own gratitude and love towards Him. Yet this act of her's was blamed by some. Their cold hearts could not understand such costly liberality. They called it " waste." " They had indignation within them- selves/' They " murmured against her." The spirit of these narrow-minded fault-finders is un- hap…
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Jesus Christ esteems any service done to Himself, No- where, perhaps, in the Gospels, do we find such strong praises bestowed on any person, as this woman here receives. Three points, in particular, stand out promi- nently in our Lord's words, to which many who now ridicule and blame others for their religion's sake, w…
441 wordsSECTION 276MASK XIV. 10—16.
10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the Chief Priests, to betray him unto them. 11 And when they heard U, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him. 12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto…
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disciples. The false apostle, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Him. We ought to mark, firstly, in this passage, to what lengths a man may go in a false profession of religion. It is impossible to conceive a more striking proof of this painful truth, than the history of Judas Iscariot. If ever there was a man who at one time …
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the Jewish nation to Him as the true Lamb of God. It was meant to bring to their minds the true object and purpose of His death. Every sacrifice, no doubt, was intended to point the Jew onward to the one great sac- rifice for sin which Christ offered. But none, certainly, was so striking a figure and type of our Lord's…
309 wordsSECTION 279MARK, CHAP. XIV. 305
fathers were safe from the destroying angel, in the night when he slew the first-born, unless he actually ate of the slain lamb ? No doubt it did. But it was meant to guide his mind to the far higher lesson, that all who would receive benefit from Christ's atonement, must actually feed upon Him by faith, and receive Hi…
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Those who examine them with Christ as the key to their meaning, will find them full of Gospel light and com- fortable truth.*…
23 wordsSECTION 281MARK XIV. 17—25.
if he had never been born. 22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them : and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament,…
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not receive them rightly, worthily, and with faith. To assert, as some do, that the Lord's supper must do good to all communicants, whatever be the state of mind in which they receive it, is a monstrous and unscriptural figment, and has given rise to gross and wicked superstition. The state of mind which we should loo…
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Finally, we learn from these verses, the nature of the spiritual benefits which the Lord's supper is intended to convey, and the persons who have a right to expect them. We may gather this lesson from the significant actions which are used in receiving this sacrament. Our Lord commands us to " eat" bread and to " drink…
294 wordsSECTION 284MARK, CHAP. XIV. 311
the sacrament will not do our souls the slightest good, if we do not receive it with repentance and faith. The Lord's supper is not a converting or justifying ordinance, and those who come to it unconverted and unjustified, will go away no better than they came, but rather worse. It is an ordinance for believers, and n…
363 wordsSECTION 285MAKE XIV. 26—31.
though all shall he offended, yet will not I. 30 And Jesus saitk unto him, Verily I say unto thee. That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow- twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. 31 But he spake the more vehem- ently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Like- wise also said they al…
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When He was betrayed, they forsook Him. When He was crucified, they were almost in despair. And when He rose again on the third day, they would not believe that it was true. They had heard of it frequently with the hearing of the ear, but it had never made any impres- sion on their hearts. What an exact picture we hav…
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hidden in our hearts. They only need the convenient season to spring forth into a mischievous vitality "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." " He that trusteth his own heart is a fool." (1 Cor. x. 12. Prov. xxviii. 26.) Let our daily prayer be, " Hold thou me up and I shall be safe."…
58 wordsSECTION 288MAEK XIV. 32-42.
32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane : and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. 33 And he taketk with him Peter and James and John, and hegan to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy ; 34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death : tarry ye here, and watch.…
349 wordsSECTION 289MARK, CHAP. XIV. 317
There is only one reasonable explanation of these ex- pressions. It was no mere fear of the physical suffering of death, which drew them from our Lord's lips. It was a sense of the enormous load of human guilt, which began at that time to press upon Him in a peculiar way. It was a sense of the unutterable weight of our…
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want may not be granted at once. The thing that tries us may never be removed and taken away. But the mere act of pouring out our hearts, and unbosoming our- selves at a throne of grace will do us good. The advice of St. James is wise and weighty : " Is any afflicted ? Let him pray." (James v. 13.) Let us mark, in the…
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and that, so long as saints are in the body, they are compassed with infirmity. These things are written for our learning. Let us take heed that they are not written in vain. Let us ever be on our guard against the slothful, indolent, lazy spirit in religion, which is natural to us all, and especially in the matter of…
304 wordsSECTION 292MARK, CHAP. XIV. 321
Watching without praying is self-confidence and self- conceit. Praying without watching is enthusiasm and fanaticism. The man who knows his own weakness, and knowing it both watches and prays, is the man that will be held up and not allowed to fall.…
42 wordsSECTION 293MAEK XIV. 43-52.
43 And immediately, while he yet of the High Priest, and cut off his spake, cometh Judas, one of the ear. twelve, and with him a great multi- 48 And Jesus answered and said tude with swords and staves, from the unto them, Are ye come out, as against Chief Priests and the Scribes and the a thief, with swords and with s…
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We shall do well to remember this in all our endea- vors to extend the kingdom of true religion. It is not to be propagated by violence, or by an arm of flesh. " The weapons of our warfare are not carnal/' " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." (2 Cor. x. 4. Zech. iv. 6.) The cause of…
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There is something deeply instructive in this incident. It deserves the attentive study of all professing Chris- tians. Happy is he who marks the conduct of our Lord's disciples, and gathers from it wisdom ! Let us learn from the flight of these eleven disciples not to be over-confident in our own strength. The fear o…
747 wordsSECTION 296MARK XIV. 53—65.
53 And they led Jesus away to the High Priest : and with him were as- sembled all the Chief Priests and the elders and the Scribes. 54 And Peter followed him afar off, even unto the palace of the High Priest : and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. 55 And the Chief Priests and all the council s…
519 wordsSECTION 297MARK, CHAP. XIV. 327
passage before us. We see the Son of God, " in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge " arraigned as a malefactor before " the chief priests, and elders, and scribes." We see the heads of the Jewish nation combining together to kill their own Messiah, and judging Him who will one day come in glory to ju…
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slide and leave his first faith, he seldom stops short at his first mistake. He seldom makes only one stumble. He seldom commits only one fault. A blindness seems to come over his understanding. He appears to cast over-board his common sense and discretion. Like a stone rolling down-hill, the further he goes on in sin-…
301 wordsSECTION 299MARK, CHAP. XIV. 329
inventing false charges against us and coining slanders — to listen to all the malignant virulence of unscrupulous tongues let loose against our character, and know that it is all untrue — this is a cross indeed ! " The words of a talebearer," says Solomon, " are as wounds." (Prov. xviii. 8.) " Deliver my soul," says D…
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These words of our Lord ought always to be had in remembrance. The Jews could never say after theso words, that they were not clearly told that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ of God. Before the great councils of their priests and elders, He declared, " I am the Christ." The Jews could never say after these words, tha…
281 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.