mancl which could brook no delay — a command which had sacred grounds, and flowed from the divine perception of the Saviour. We ought to surrender ourselves wholly and imme diately. — Toug sctvruv, their own) sc. relatives. See Gen. xxiii. 4. It was the duty of this disciple to deny his father.1
23. To crXo/fcy, the vessel) The article refers by implication to ver. 18. Jesus had a moving school : and in that school His disciples were instructed much more solidly than if they had dwelt under the roof of a single college, without any anxiety or temptation.
24. Zsiapbs fj,s~/as, a great tempest) The faith of the disciples was greatly exercised by these maritime perils. — xa^-rt-ffdai, icas covered) the danger reached the highest pitch : then came the succour. — sKdiifvbs, slept) No fear fell on Jesus. Nay, in ver. 2(3, He marvelled at the fear of men, even in the utmost peril. He slept, wearied by the various labour of the day.
25. 2w<rov, save) An abrupt prayer. — axo^vpefa, tee perish) It is a proof of candour in the disciples to have recorded their own weaknesses : this was not, however, difficult to them, since after the coming of the Paraclete they had become other men.
20. 2A=/?.o/ — o?./7oV/ffro/, fearful — of little faith) Synonymous terms. Cf. Mark v. 36. Our Lord does not find fault with the disciples for their importunity in disturbing His rest, but for their timidity.3 — roVs, then) Jesus calmed first the minds of His disciples, then the sea. — s^iri^ai, rebuked) Satan probably had ruled in this tempest.
27. ' YxaKo-jo-jffiv Avrw, obey Him) Cf. Mark i. 27. The winds and the sea acknowledge no other control.4
28. Ttfytmfkfof of the Gergesenes) Gerasa (said for Gergescha)
1 The winds and the sea, on this occasion, sooner obeyed the will of Christ than did men. — Harm. 269, 270.
2 Kxt hiyu, And He saith) Being not at all discomposed or agitated. — V. g.
3 In the whole life of Christ, never is there any fear oi any creature evinced in all the incidents which occurred to Him. — V. g.
4 In the original, " Venti et mare alias libera." — Bengel is very fond of the adverb " alias," and frequently employs it emphatically. — (I. B.)
5 This reading, which Michaelis supposed to rest on the mere conjecture of Origen, is estimated by the Margin of Beng. more highly in this passage than in the parallels, Mark v. 1, and Luke viii. 2G. — E. B.
BCA, Syr. (Peschito) and Hard, (txt.) Syr. read Yxloiowuv. Lachm.