The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 11

further, the time wo.s not yet arrived when Luke spe&k of this houae as the ho1111e or Christ was to be publicly proclaimed 11.11 Simon Peter only: but St. Mark, writing the Son of God. This great truth WM! to probably under St. Peter's direction, inoludea be gmdually unfolded, &nd the people "·ere Andrew as &joint owner with Simon Pet.er. to be persuaded by many miracles. But &t Vere. 30, 31.-L&y siok of &fever ( 1<aTt1<e1To present they were not prepared for this, and .,,,,plcrcrovcra). St. Luke (iv. 38) uses a therefore our Lord charged his apostles that stronger expression, " W&S holden with a they should not me.ke him known. great fever" ( cr1JV•xoµlv71 ,rvp<Tqi µe-yd}l.'I' ). Yer. 26.-And when the unolean spirit There were marshes in that district; henoe had torn him, and cried with a loud voioe, the prev&lence of fevers of u. malign&nt he ea.me out of him (Kal <Nrap&.J;av cwTlw). ch&raoter. There is no mention of the wife The Greek word <Nraptfcrcrw may be rendered of Peter by name in the New Testament. in the passive to be oomml.sed. It is so used We may infer, from the f&ot that his wife's by medical writers, as Galen. It could mother lived with him, th&t he was the hardly here mean physically "laceration," head of the fomily. St. Paul (1 Oor. ix. 5) for St. Luke (iv. 35) is careful to se.y that intim&tes that be W&S & married man, &nd "'when the de'fil had thrown him down in that his wife accompanied him on his mis- the midst, he came out of him, having done sion&ry tours. According to the testimony him no hurt." At all events, the ex- of Clement of Alexandria, &nd of Eusebius pression indicates the close union of the (iii. 30), she suffereJ martyrdom, &nd was e,il spirit with the possessed man's con- led &W&y to death in the sight of her hus- sciousness and with his physical frame. band, whose last words to her were, "Ro- And the manner in which he depe.rted member thou the Lord,'' St. M&rk here showed his malignity, as though, being tells us that J esns o&me and took [Simon's compelled by the supreme authority of wife's mother] by the hand, &nd raised Christ to leave the man, he would injure her up. St. Luke (iv. 39) says that "he him as far as he was able to do so. But stood over her &nd rebuked the fever." the power of Christ prevented him from Immedi&tely the fever left her. The doing &ny real injury. And all this was word " immediately" (,Mews), familiar &s it done (1) that there might be clear evidence is to St. Mark, is here omitted by the best that the man was actually possessed by the &uthorities. But the omission is of no evil spirit; (2) that the anger &nd malice of importance; for the fact th&t " the fever the evil spirit might be shown; and (3) that left her," and that she w&s at once strong it might be manifest that the unclean spirit enough to "minister to them," proves th&t came out, not of his own accord, but con- it was not like &n ordinary recovery from strained and vanquished by Christ. We fever, which is wont to be slow &nd tedious. may observe also the.t the power of Christ Ver. 32.-At even, when the sun did set. restrainf'<l him from the use of any articulate It was the sabbath d&y; &nd, therefore, the words. While he was in possession he used sick were not brought to our Lord until six the posseBBed man's organs of sp;iech; but o'clock, when the sabb&th ended. When when he came ont there was no e.rticule.te the sun did set (8Te lliu t, ij}l.1os). St. Luke's speech-it was nothing but a cry. phrase is (M,vovTor ..-oii /,}l.(ou), " When the Ver. 27.-What thing is this1 what new sun was, so to spe&k, submerged in the sea." doctrine is this 1 The now generally ap- So in Virgil, '2Eneid,' lib. vii. 100- proved text gives a different rendering, " . . . qua sol utrumque reourrens namely, What ia this f a new t.eaching J Adspicit Oceanum;" (TI EtrT, .,.ovro; o,oax11 Ka.11/4). H this is the trne reading-and there is excellent &u- the popular idea being that, when the thority for it-it would mean that the sun sets, it sinks into the ocean. byete.nders inferred that this new &nd Vere. 33, 34.-The whole city w&s g&thered unexampled power indic&ted the accom- together &t the door. This would prob&bly panying gift of a "new teaching," a new be the outer door in the w&ll, opening into revelation. Nay, more, it indicated that the street; so that this need not be reg&rded he who wrought these miracles must be as a hyperbolic statement. It is evidently the promised Messiah, the true God ; for he the description of &n eye-witness, or of one alone by his power could rule the evil spirits. who had it from an eye-witness. He he&led Ver. 28.-All the region round &bout &11 that ha.d need of he&ling, and he suJfered Galilee; more literally, all the region of not the devils to speak, for the reasons Galilee, round ahwt; and the best readings assigned at ver. 25. add "everywhere" ( 1ra1"raxoii ,ls 8}1.7111 Ver. 35.-And in the morning, a great ...¾,v "'P'X"'pov ..-,is ra11.i>..a.Ca.s). This is, of while before day, he rose up &nd went out, course, said by anticip&til>n. &nd departed into a desert pl.&ce, and there Ver. 29.-They oa.me;. a better reading prayed. Our Lord thus prepared himself u, 1 lie eovie (1/M•v). St. Matthew and St. by vrayer for his first dep1uture on a mis- CB, I, 1-45,] TRE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 7