The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 22

power or hie discourse wa.s, however, the chief ea.use of this general wonder. There were occasions when astonishment led to repugnance, and the people would fain shun the presence of One so awful; but there were instances in which astonishment glowed into a<lmira.tion and kindled into faith. And this la.st is the proper and intended result. If we are to have a Tea.cher, let us welcome One who speaks with authority; if we are to have a Sa.viour, who so fit as One mighty to save? if we are to submit to a. Lord, a King, may it be One whose right it is to reign I Ver. 22.-" Having authority." St. Ma.rk's Gospel has been characterized a.s the Gospel for the Romans, as the Gospel of Power, as the Gospel of the Resurrection. 'l'he symbol denoting this second evangelist is the lion. There has always been a feeling tba.t the dignity and majesty, the might and victory, of Emmanuel are in a.n especial ma.nner set before the reader in this one of the four Gospels. Certainly the first chapter strikes the key-note of this strain. Jesus appears as the mysterious Lord, who with authority summons fishermen to forsake their nets and follow him; who teaches with authority in the syna.gogues, and awakens the amazement of his hea.rers; who with authority commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him; whose a.uthority rebukes the fever a.nd heals the leprosy; who by the ma.gnetism of his power and love gathers the people from every quarter into his gracious presence, to hear his authorita- tive voice, and to receive a thousand blessings from his beneficent and powerful ha.nds. In one word, he appea.rs before us, at the very outset of his ministry, as" One that had authority." I. How CHBrsT's AUTHORITY WAS ASSERTED. Tha.t we may understand that Christ ela.ims authority, we must refer to the gospel narra.tive, in which his words are recorded, his chara.cter delineated, and his ministry related. Does he assert authority? Is he such a Being that his claims demand attention? Was his authority for a season only, or was it intended to subsist through all time and in eternity? Was his an authority local in its range, or universal as the presence of mankind on earth? That Christ possessed and exercised authority during his earthly ministry admit-s of no dispute or question. Satan himself confessed it; for Jesus spurned his assumptions, resisted his temptations, and sent him who claimed the lordship of the earth defeated and uncrowned from his holy and authoritative presence. .Angels recognized it; for they came to minister to his wants, and stood in countless legions ready, at a word, to rescue and to honour him. Demons felt it, and quailed beneath his glance, did homage to his supremacy, and fled at his rebuke. Nature knew it; and the winds were hushed and the Rea was calmed at his authoritative word, bread multiplied in his hand, and water at his bidding turned to wine, trees withered at his breath, the very grave gave up its dead at his command, and the gentle air floated his gracious form to heaven, His enemies were conscious of his superiority; for they were abashed and silenced by his reasoning, they fell backward at his look. Men generally acknowledged him to be other and higher than themselves; "Never man," said the officers sent to apprehend him-" never man spake like this man ; " Pilate and Pilate's wife were undEr the mysterious spell of his Divine authority; and the Roman centurion w~ constrainei:. to exclaim, "Truly this was the Son of God I" His friends were sensible that he w.is to them more than a friend; at his summons they forsook their callings and their homes, they attempted impossibilities with confidence, they consecrated their powers and they hazarded their lives for the mission to which he called them. But he had greater witness than that of man. The works which he performed, they testified to him. The seal of God was set upon his actions. The voice of God honoured the Holy One and Just; heaven itself was opened, and from the excellent glory came the attesta- tion and the approval of the Most High, "'l'his is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 1>leased I" and there was added the demand which sanctions the authority of Emmanuel over universal man," Hear ye him!" 'l'he Jews sometimes felt that Jesus of Nazareth was laying claim to a special and unrivalled authority. His bold and thorough r;leansing of the temple is a case in point~ How came he to take upon himself so remarkable a function as this? Who was he that he should do what none of the grea~ officials ventured upon? We cannot wonder thnt "the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, Dy what authority doest thou these things, and who gnve thee this authority?" The only explanntion was that IIT, UARK, C 18 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [oH. L 1-46.