The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 109

reported thn.t he was back in Capernftum-that, having previously arrived (,/,),he was now in the house. But what house? Some say Peter's; others, as Euthymius, that it we.a eirnpl:, a house ( eis ol,c611 .,.,,,,.); better perhaps understand it indefinitely of a house which he used as an inn or place of temporary abode, or to which as a sort of home he usually resorted. The expression may thus, in a certain sense, be equivalent to the German zu Hause. II. STRANGE METHOD OJ!' APPROACH. Again multitudes flocked to him; the humble dwelling was soon filled to overflowing, and still the crowd pressed on towards the doo.r-even the parts next to it became so thronged that they could no longer contain ,or afford them room. As was his wont, he was speaking, perhaps conversationally ( h,&>.. ..) the word, that is, of the kingdom or of bis doctrine unto them. Just then a novel and curious incident added a new feature to the scene. On the outskirt of the crowd four men appeared, bearing a pallet between them, as St. Mark informs us-one at each corner probably; and on it lay a helpless invalid. But so intently were all eyes fixed on, or all necks stretched out towards, the great Teacher that the crowd paid no attention to the invalid and his bearers, or at least showed no disposition to make way for them. But, wherever there is a strong will, there is sure to be a way. They were not to be deterred from their purpose, nor to be kept back from him whose presence .they sought. They mount the flat roof of the house, whether by steps outside or other- wise. They remove a sufficient portion of the roof, or, as it is literally, they unroof the ~oof, digging out the tiling overlaid with earth, and so let down the couch on which the sick of the palsy lay," into the midst before Jesus," as we learn from St. Luke. III. ITS FEASIBILITY. The objections of infidel writers, who have shown much ignorance and wasted much strength in attacking the plan resorted to in bringing the paralytic into the presence of the Saviour, are sufficiently and satisfactorily refuted by the fcllowing plain statements of facts in' The Land and the Book':-" Those (houses) of Capernaum, as is evident from the ruins, were, like those of modem villages in the same region, low, very low, with flat roofs, reached by a stairway from the yard or court. . . . '!'hose who carried the paralytic . . . ascended to the roof, removed so much of it as was necessary, and let down their patient through the aperture. Examine one of these houses, and you will see at once that the thing is natural, and easy to be accomplished. The roof is only a few feet high, and by stooping down, and holding the corners of the couch-merely a thickly padded quilt, as at present in this region-they -could let down the sick roan without any apparatus ofropes or cords to assist them. . . . 'l'he whole affair was the extemporaneous device of plain peasants, accustomed to open their roofs, and let down grain, straw, and other articles, as they still do in this country. . . . The materials now employed are beams about three feet apart, across which short sticks are arranged close together, and covered with the thickly matted thorn bush called bellan. Over this is spread a coat of stiff mortn.r, and then comes the marl or earth that makes the roof. Now, it is easy to remove any part of this without injuring the rest. . • . They bad merely to scrape back the earth from a. portion of the roof over the lewan, take up the thorns and the short sticks, and let down the couch between the beams at the very feet of Jesus. The end achieved, they could speedily restore the roof as it was before. I have the impression, however," Dr. Thomson goes on to say," that the covering at least of the lewan was not made of earth, but of materials more easily taken up. It may have been merely of coarse ma.1l4.ing, like the walls and roofs of Turkman huts; or it may have been made of boards, or even stone slabs (and such I have seen), that could be quickly removed. All that is necessary, however, for us to know is, that the roof was flat, low, easily reached, and -easily opened, so as to let down the couch of the sick man; and all these points are rendered intelligible by an acquaintance with modern houses in the villages of Palestine." The frequency and force with which this portion of the miracle bas been -assailed must be our apology for quoting the above somewhat long extract. IV. THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR FAITII. The evangelist Matthew informs us that Jesu~ saw their faith, but makes no mention of the circumstances just referred to, which are so fully related by St. Luke, and with such particularity and minuteness of detail by St. Mark. The singularity of the effort which they made to reach the Savionr afforded ucular demonstration of their belief in his power to help and heal. The faith thus manifested was net restricte<l to the invalid, nor to those that bore him. It ww. sharnd  106 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [oB, ll. 1-28..