be im11.gined ? And snrely they must be his enemies, the soribes 11.nd Pharisees; and guilty of this sin who e.scribe the fruits 11.nd so she WR8 willingly pursue.ded to come and !lotions of the Holy Spirit to 11.n impure 11.nd use her inllueuce with him to induce him to unholy source, and so strive to m11.r his work es~~e from what appeared evidently to be a and t.o hinder his influence in the hearts of pos1t1on of some danger. If so, this explains men. our Lord's behaviour on this occa.sion. The Ver. 29.-R11.th never forgiveness. Not multitude was sitting about him, a.nd he w11.s that any sinner need despair of forgiveness teaching them ; and then e. message was through the fear that he may have committed brought to him from his mother e.nd his this sin; for his repent.ance shows that his brethren who were without, perhaps in the state of mind he.s never been one of entire cou~tyard, perhaps beyond in the open street, enmity, a.nd tha.t he has not so grieved the calhng for him. The interruption was un- Holy Spirit as to have been entirely forMken timel~, not to s11.y unseemly. And so he says, by him. But is in danger of eternal damna.- not without a little tone of severity in his tion. The Greek words, a.ooordiug to the most words, Who is my mother and my brethren, approved reading, are .¼>.A' lvoxds 'tr·r-.v Our Lord did not speR.k thus as denying a.iowiou a.µ..ap'T"t/µ.a'Tos: but is guilty of an eternal his human relationship; 11.s though he was ain; thus showing that there a.re sins of which not "very ma.n," but 11. mere "phantom," as the effects a.nd the punishment belong to some early heretics taught; and still less 11.s eternity. He is bound by a. cha.in of sin though he was ashwned of his earthly re- from which he ca.n nover be loosed. (See lationships; but partly perh11.ps because the St. John ix. 41, " Therefore your sin re- messengers too boldly and inconsiderately maineth. ") interrupted him while he was teaching; and Vers. 31-33.-Our Lord's brethren and his chiefly that he might show that his heavenly mother had now arrived (see ver. 21) to look Father's business was more to him than the after him. He was in the house teaching; affection of his earthly mother, greatly as he but the crowd was so great that they could valued it; e.nd thus he preferred the spirituR.l 11ot approach him. The multitude filled not relationship, in which there is neither male enly the room, but the courtyard and all the nor female, bond nor free, but all st11.nd approaches. St. Luke (viii 19) says," they alike to Christ in the relationship of brother, could not come at him for the crowd." His sister, and mother. It is remarkable, 11.nd brethren here spoken of were in all proba- yet the reason for the omission is obvious, bility his cousins, the sons of Mary, the wife that our Lord does not mention "father " in of Alph.ens or Clopas. But two of these, this spiritu11.l category. already chosen to be apostles, were most Ver. 34.-Looking round on them (1rep1- likely with him in the room, e.nd of the /!>..,,j,clµ.,11os) whioh sa.t round about him. number of those towards whom he stretched Here is one of the graphio touches of St. out his hand and said, "Behold, my mother Mark, reproduced, it me.y be, from St. Peter. and my brethren I " whilst Me.ry e.nd the Our Lord's intellectue.l and loving eye swept others had come (Mary, perhaps, induced by the inner circle of his disciples. The twelve, the others in the hope that the sight of his of course, would he with him, and others with mother might the more move him) for the them. His enemies were not for off. But purpose of bringing him be.ck to the quiet immediately about him were those who con- of Nazareth. We cannot suppose that the stituted his chosen ones. As man, he had his Virgin Mary came with any other feeling human affections and his earthly relation- than that of a mother's anxiety in behalf of ships; but o.a the Son of God, he knew no her Son. She me.y have thought that he was other relatives but God's children, to whom in danger, exposed to the fickle temper of a the performance of his will and the promo- large multitude, who might at any moment tion of his glory are the first of all duties have their p11,11siona atirred against him by a.nd the dominant principle of their lives.
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-5.-The withered hand. This incident serves to bring out the antagonism between the spiritual a.nd benevolent ministry of the Lord Jesus, and the formalism, self-righteousness, and hard-_heartedness of. the religious _leaders of the Jews.. It serves to explain, not only the enmity of the Pharisees, but theu- resolve to league with whom- soever would help them in carrying out their purposes and plot against the very life of the Son of man. It serves to exhibit the mingled feelings of indignation and of pity with which Jesus regarded his enemies, whose hat~ed was direc~cd,, not only against his person but against his works of mercy and heahng. But the mc1dent shall here be treated as ~ symbol of man's need and of Christ's authority and method as man's f."'4riour. (!JI, UL 1-35.] THE GOSPEL ACCOllDING TO ST. MARK. 121