The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 246

no longing for his presence, no thirsting for his grace, no hunsering for his righteous- ness, no earnest inquiry, "What must we do to be saved?• and no seeking of the fulfilment of the promises ;-in all such, or any such cases, are we not thronging Christ instead of t-0uching him? If custom, or curiosity, or the crowd, or habit, or respect- ability, or worldly advantage, or early training, brings us near to Christ, and if we have no higher object and no holier end in view, are we not thronging Christ, and yet not t-0uching Christ? "Many,'' we know from the declaration of God's own Word," will say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast 0ut devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then,'' adds the Saviour, "will I profess unto them, I never knew you." What was all this more or better than thronging Christ without touching him? 6. Confession consequent on cure. She sought Christ privately, but was obliged to confess publicly. So with ourselves; we must confess his name before men, and tell of the gracious Saviour we have found; just as the psalmist says, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he bath done for my soul." "With the heart. men believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth make confession unto salvation." 6. Character of the cure. The cure was immediate; "from that hour." It was complete; the fountain was staunched. It was perpetual; "Be thou whole." This our Lord probably added lest she should think the cure too sudden to continue, too speedy to last, too good news to be true. Not so; it was no transient remedy, no mere temporary relief. All that God does is well done; he does not leave any part of his work unfinished. Having" begun a good work in us, he will perform [rather, perfect] it till the day of Jesus Christ." 'l'he testimony t-0 the Saviour's work on earth was that "he bath done all things well." 7. Peculiarity of e:r;pression. The words ••s •lp{iv7111 are properly" into peace," which refer more to the future than to the present. Peace is not only the present element in which she finds herself, but the future sphere in which her life is to move. Brought into peace by the great Peacemaker, she is ever after t-0 continue therein. 'l'he addition of the words rcrB, {ry,¾,s was not superfluous, but most reassuring, in order to ratify tho stolen cure and to convince her of its durability and permanence. Further, we may notice the relation of the r.lnu of the woman to the liovaµ.,s of the Saviour. The former saved ber mediately, or instrumentally, that is, as the connecting link between herself and Christ; the latter was the healing power of Christ, which, working along the line of that faith, saved her as the energetic and efficient cause. IIL THE RESTORATION TO LIFE OF JAraus's DAUGHTER. 1. Position of J7,irus. The official position of Jairus was highly respectable. He was ruler of the synagogue. Though there is some difference of opinion on the subject, yet the officers of the synagogue appear to have been the following :-(1) The ruler or president of the synagogue, on whom devolved the right ordering and regulation of the service, and with whom were conjoined the elders; (2) the sheliach tsibbor, the angel or messenger of the congregation, who offered up the public prayers, and who acted as secretary to conduct the correspondence, or to serve as deputy, when required, between one synagogue and another; (8) the cltazzan ({,'11T/pfr11s), or ordinary reader, who read the appointed portions, or who handed the book to an occasional reader; he also had charge of the sacred books; (4) the 1i,d.1eovos, or sexton. 2. The substantial harmony of the narra- tives. The ruler of the synagogue, according to St. Mark, tells our Lord that his daughter ( lrrxd.-r"'s txe,) is extremely ill," at the point of death "-in fact, in extremia; according to St. Matthew, that (!.p-r, ln11.£vr11rr•v) she is dead by this time-" even now dead;• she was so ill when he left that he did not now expect to see her again alive when he returned; according to St. Luke, that (a.1d8v11111e,v) she was dying, or" lay a dying; "-all perfectly consistent. 3. J'he special tenderness of the parent. '!'hough St. Mark very frequently employs diminutives with little, if any, difference from the simpler form, yet we see good reason for his use of the diminutive 8v-yd.-rp1011 here. It becomes a term of special endearment and affectionate tenderness in this place, from the circumstance, of which another evangelist, St. Luke, apprises us, namely, that this little girl was an only daughter (6,ryd.-r11p µ.o11o-y•1111s), perhaps, indeed most probably, an only child. We can easily imagine the terrible uneasiness of the father, when our Lord had been delayed by the unwelcome incident of the cure of the woman with the bloody issue. Jairus must have looked on this as a most provoking and unpleasant interruption; and now that the messenger, bring word that his daughter is dead, and so his worst fears OH. VI. 1-5G.J 'l'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING 'I'O ST. MARK.