The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 119

scribes and Pharisees with regord to the him that help which he owes him by the law obeervance of the enbbn th. of charity." Our Lord thne plainly signi- Ver. 1.-He entered age.in into the ayna- fiee that not to do an act of kindneee to a sick ,sogue. St. Mu.tthew (xii. 9) au.ye, '' their man on the sabbath day when you are able tr> -,yne.gogue" ( Eis .,.~,, '1v11a-yrry~11 ab.,.w11). do it, is really to do him a wrong. But it i" '.l'hie would probably be on the next eabbath never lawful to do a wrong; and there- after that named at the cloee of the last fore it is always lawful to do good, not chapter. And there waH a man there which excepting even the sabbath day, for that had a withered hand (l(11paµ.µ.l111111 lxw11 .,.-hv ie dedicated to God and to good works. x•i'pa); litere.lly,which had hiahand v:ithered, Whence it is a greater ein to do a wrong on or dried up. And they watched him (1rap•• the eabbath tl,an on other days; fol' th118 Tf/pov11 aho11); Ttept watching him. There the sanctity of the sabbath is violated, just were probably ecribee sent for this purpose as it ie all the more honoured and eanctified from Jerusalem. St. Jerome informs us by doing good. In om Lord's judgment, that, in an e.pooryphal Goepel in use then, to neglect to save, when yon have it .amongst the Ne.zarenee and Ebionites, the in yom power to do so, is to destroy. They man whoee hand was withered is de- held their paace. They could not answer scribed ae o. mason, and is said to have him. They are obstinate indeed in their -e.eked for help in the following terms:-" I infidelity, who, when they can eay nothing was a mason, seeking my living by manna.I againet the truth, refUBe to say anything labour. I beseech thee, Jesus, to restore to for it. me the use of my hand, that I may not be Ver. 5.-When he had looked round about compelled to beg my bread." Thie ie on them with anger, being grieved (1Jv>..- so far consistent with St. Mark's de- ,\u1ro6µ.E11os)-the word bas a touch of" con- scription ( J{11paµ.µ.l111111 txw11 ... ~,, x•i'pa) as to dolence" in it-at the hardening of their -ehow that the malady was the result of heart. All this is very characteristio of diseaee or accident, and not congenital. St. St. Mark, who is careful to notice the visible Luke (vi. 6) informs us that it wae the right expreBBion of our Lord'e feelings in l:i;i hand. The disease probably extended looks. The account is evidently from an through the whole arm according to the eye-witneee, or from one who harl it from 11n wider meaning of the Greek word x•lp. eye-witness. He looked round about 01• It seems to have been a kind of atrophy, them with anger. He was indignant at their -0aueing a gradual drying up of the limb; blindness of he,lrt, and their unbelief, which which in such a condition was beyond the led them to attack the miracles of mercy -reaoh of any mere human skill. wrought by him on the sabbath day n,. Ver. 2.-The scribes had alreRdy the though they were a violation of the lo.w of ,evidence that our Lord had permitted hie the sabbatb. We eee here how pl11inly -dieciplee to rub the ears of corn on the there were in Christ the pnssione and affec- eabbo.th day. But thie wee the a.at of the tione common to the humRn nature, only ,disciples, not hie. What he wa.e now pre- reetrained and eubordina ted to reason. Here paring to do was an act of miraculoue power. ie the difference between the anger of fallen And hare the case wo.s etronger, becaUBe man and tha anger of the sinlces One. worlr, which wae prohibited under pnin of Wilh fallen mo.n, anger is the desire of ileath by the Law (Exod. uxi 14), was retaliating, of punishing those by whom you understood to include every act not abso- consider yourself unjustly treated. Hence, lutely neoeesary. in other men, anger springs from self-love: Vere. 3, 4.-Stand forth. The words in in Christ it spnlDg from the love of God. the original are "E-y..pa, £ls.,..', µ.fro11, Rise up He loved God above 1111 things; hence he into the midst. In St. Matthew'e account (xh. wae dietressed and irritated on &coount o( 10), the scribes and Phariseee here o.sk our the wrongs done to God by eins o.nd einnere. Lord, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbo.th So thnt his anger was a righteoUB zeal for day?" The two aocounte are easily reconciled the honour of God; and hence it wns if we fi::-et euppoee the ecribcs and Pharieees mingled with grief, because, in their blind- to ask thie question of our Lord, and then nese 11nd obstinacy, they would not o.cknow- our Lord to a.newer them by putting their lcdge him to be the lllessiuh, but misrepre- own queetion to them in another form. sented his kiuilneseee wrought on the sick Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, on the sabbnth day, and found fault with or to do harm t to save a life, or to kill t them ae evil. Thus our Lore), by showing Our Lord's meo.ning appenre to be thie: grief and sorrow, mRkes it plain that his "If any one, having it in his power, omits anger diJ not epring from the desire of to do an act of mercy on the eabbath dny revenge. :He wo.s indeed angry o.t the sin, for one grievously afflinted, ae thie rnnn is, while he grieved over and with the sinners, if he ie able to cure him, ne I Christ nm RB those whom he loved, nm! for whose soke able, he doeij him a wrong; for he denies he came into the world th11t he might re- 116 TllE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO sr. MARK. [os. Ill. 1-35-