The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 12

ilonary tour. Thie would be the momlng clean I" It was in some caeos hereditary. It of the first day of the weok, A great while we.s e. very revolting disease. It was a. beforo d11y he loft the econo of excitement. poisoning of the springs of life. It was a. That was not B time for preo.ohing the living death. It wa.e incurable by any human Gospel of the Kingdom. 'fhe miracles a.rt or skill. It was the awful sign of sin attro.oted ottention to him, but they were reaching nnto death; e.nd it was cured, a,. not the object for which he came. They sin is cured, only by the mercy and favour of ,;vero necessary llB mee.na of stirring nnd God. No wonder, then, that our Lord specially awakening men's minds, nnd of fixing their displayed his power over this terrible disease, attention upon him e.nd upon the great eal• that he might thus prove his power over votion which he ea.me to reveal. Bo he left the still worse malady of sin. St. Mark the mire.oles to do their eubordine.te work; here tella us that this leper knelt down e.nd he himself went into e. desert place, (Kai ')1011tnrnw11), St. Matthew says (viii. 2) the.t he might pray with more quiet and that he "worshipped him," (1rpo1md,11« au-r,f,); less distraction. He retired the.t he might St. Luke says (v. 12) that "he fell on his escape the e.pple.use of men, which they face" (1r,o-w11 i1rl 1rp60-i.nrov). We thns see that were ree.dy to lavish upon him after seeing the scriptural idea of worship is associated eo me.ny miracles; that he might thus teach with some lowly posture of the body. But us to shun the praise of men. Let us learn with this worship of the body, the leper from Christ to give the early morning to ofiered also the homage of the son!. His prayer, and to rise with the dawn of de.y, prostration of himself before Obrist was not that we mBy have time for medite.tion, and merely e. rendering of honour to an earthly give the fustfruits of the morning to God. being; it was e. rendering of reverence to e. 'fhe early morning is fe.voure.ble for study; Divine Being. For he does not say to him, but it i.a specially dear to God and hi.a "If thou wilt ask of God, he will give it angels. thee;" bnt he says, "If thou wilt, thou Ver. 36,-And Simon and they that were canst make me clean." It is e.s though ho with him followed after him (Ka-reoC,.,(av); ea.id, "I know that thou art cif equa power the word implies an "earnest pursuing." with the Father, e.nd therefore snpreme They that were with him would doubtless Lord over diseases; so that by thy word alono include Andrew and Jo.mes and John, and then canst remove this leprosy from me. I probably others whose enthusiasm bad been ask, therefore, that thou wouldst be willing kindled by Simon Peter. St. Luke, in the to do this, and then I know that the thing ia parallel passage (iv. 42), tells us that "the done." The leper had faith in the Di.ine multitudes sought after him, e.nd came unto power of Christ, partly out of his own in- him, and would have stayed him, the.t he ward illumination, and partly by the evi- should not go from them." dence of the miracles which Christ bad Ver. 37.-All are seeking thee. The already wrought. If thou wilt, thou ce.nst. "thee" ia here emphatio (1r1£11-res (11-rov,rl a,). Observe the hypothetic expression," If thou Vere. 88, 89.-'.l.'hese two verses indicate wilt." He he.a no doubt as to Christ's power, the extent and duration of our Lord's first but the words," If thou wilt" show that his missione.ry journey. It must have been desire for healing wae controlled by resig- considerable. He preached in the syna- nation to the will of God. For bodily diseases gogues, This would be on successive se.b- are often necessary for the health of the bathe. According to Josephus, Galilee was soul; and this God knows, though man a densely populated district, with upwards knows it not. Therefore, in asking for earthly of two hundred villages, ea.eh containing blessings, it behoves us to resign ourselves B0veral thousand inhabitants. to the will and wisdom of God. Ver. 40.-The healing of the leper is Ver. 41.-Observe in this verse that Jesus recorded in e.11 the three synoptic Gospels; stretched forth hie hand and touched the but St. Mark gives more full details. From leper. Thus he showed that he was superio~ St. Me.tthew we lee.rn that it took place after to the Law, which forbade contact witll ,. the sermon on the mount ; and yet not at leper. He touched him, knowing that he the very close of his missione.ry circuit. could not bo defiled with the touch. He St. Luke (v. 12) so.ye that the diseased man touched him that he might heal him, and we.a" full ofleprosy" (1r>.:f1p11s ll.<1rpas). The that his Divine power of beaiing might be disorder we.s fully developed; it had spread me.de manifest. "Thus," so.ye Bede, "God over hie whole body; he was leprous from stretched out hie hand e.nd touched th<' head to foot. This leprosy was designed humtlD ne.tnro iu his incarnation, and to be specially typical of the disease of sin. restored to the Church those who Im,! been It was not infectious. It was not because it cnst out, that they might be able to offer was either infeotious or contagious that the their bodies n living sacrifice to him of leper we.a bidden under the Jewish Law to whom it is said,' Thou art a priest for flver we.rn others off, in the words," Unclean I un- arter the order of Melchisecleo,' " I will; ba s THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [on. 1.1-4~