The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 43

power or sympR.thy. But if we would get the benefit of solitude If we would· achieve victory over self and sin i-n our own hour of temptation, we m~st be like our Lord, who was baptizcd before he was tempted, who was filled with the Holy Spirit before he fou2:ht with the evil spirit. 'l'hen out of such an experience wo oan speak lovingly and helpfully to others. IL Tms l4L"'1STBY SUCCEEDED THE SILENCING OF JOHN, Our text very pointedly s.iggests thnt the public appearance of the Lord occurred immediately after the ending and completion of the Baptisl's work. The words are significant: ".After that John was cast into prison, Jesus came." God will never let his work fall to the ground. If one ~oble_,witness to t~e truth is removed, another springs up in his place. If persecution s11ences one voice, another at once takes up the testimony. So when the disciples of John were most helpless and disheartened, and were becrinnina- 0 to scatter suddenly the Lord of life stepped down into their midst, and railying them ":-ound aboui himself, proved that he could do far more towards the victory th:i.n any fabled Achilles among his Greeks. Therefore let us reflect that when we or our fellow-workers fail or are removed, God can raise up others to accomplish his purpose ; and let us cheer ourselves with the thought that when heart and flesh fail he himself will appear amongst us. It was" when John was cast into prison" that "Jesus came." III. Tms MINISTRY STRUCK THE KEY-NOTE OF MEROY. we must remember that our Lord came forth amongst the people as one humanly and divinely great, endued with power beyond all others. Yet by that wonderful self-restraint which always charac- terized him (Matt. xxvi. 53; John xviii 36) he brought no immediate retribution on those who were foes both of God and man. Herod, for example, by his imprisonmeni of John, had done a wrong against conscience and against God, as well as against that faithful servant of the Most High. But Christ raised no revolt against the tyrant, which wonld have hurled him from the throne he desecrated; nor did he threaten or curse him and his followers. He came preaching "the gospel," proclaiming the glad tidings, calling upon all-ay, even Herod himself-to repent and believe, and so receive salvation. This was the key-note of his ministry, and was heard throughout it, even to its last chord; for on the cross he prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." IV. Tms MD-"ISTRY PBOCLADUID TBE ESTABLIBHME:NT OF A xmGDOM. "The time i& fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." The long waiting for deliverance was over. God, in the person of his Son, had come to establish a kingdom, in which the Divine love and power and will would be revealed as never before. The forerunner had been making the way straight, and now the King had come and was ready to rule over all who would welcome him. This kingliness of Christ is one of the special characteristics of the revelation given to us through Mark. :Matthew presents the Messiah who fulfilled ancient predictions; Luke describes the Son of man in his pitifulness and graciousness; John proclaims the Divine Word, who was in the beginning with God, and who himself was God; but Mark, instructed possibly by Peter, who dwells so much on the kingdom in his Epistles, begins by announcing "the kingdom of God is at hand." Christ shall reign for ever, over all nations and kindreds and tongues; and each one of UB is invited to bow to his sceptre and submit ourselves to his gracious rule, that ours may be the bliss of those who shouted" Hosanna[" and not the curse of those who cried" Crucify him I" To enter that kingdom we are called upon to "repent and believe the gospel ; '' to change our minds and ways, to turn from sin to God, from self to Christ, and to trust and follow him in whom the glad tidings are incamate.-A. R. Vers. 16, 17.-Christ', call to "busy men. Simon and Andrew were just beginning. their day's work by c.asting their net into the sea, and at that critical moment, when, if ever, delay would seem excusable, Christ called them to follow him. But he had already won their hearts, and they were only waiting for such a summons to come, "and strait- way they forsook their nets, and followed him." In their daily work these fishermen had acquired. devotion, patience, and enterprise, which were now to be consecrated to nobler service, when, as fishers of men, they would gather spoil from the restless, dreary sea of human life. A call coming to men in the midst of their daily business- reminds us of the following truths:- <lH, I, 1-45,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 39