The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 347

Ven. H-21.-The kaven of the Phari.<ees and of Herod, The parabolic habit of :.iind of Christ was essential to the setting forth of Divine truth to the comprehension )f men; but as yet the persons who might have been expected to understand his teaching most thoroughly, were continually mistaking it. Whilst their Master dis- coursed of heavenly things, the thoughts of the disciples were upon the earth. There· is nothing so reveals the moral and spiritual distance of persons from one another as the difference in their habitl:I of mind. I. How TOO GREAT A REGARD FOR OUTWARD TIIINGS BETRAYS ITSELF, 1. Jn ()'l}er- anziety. The disciples bad by inadvertency omitted to take in a supply of bread ere leaving the shore, and their minds were full of trouble. 'l.'hey beo-an to forecast the- inconvenience to which it might expose them. Over-carefulness is a ";:ommon feature of worldly character. It arises from t,oo great self-dependence and too little faith in God, A certain, moderate a~tention to earthly :w9:nts is a duty, nnd will be bestowed by every well-regulated mmd; but there are limits to be observed, "Be not anxious for your life," etc. (Matt. vi. 25). It is a great aim of the spiritual life to be free from this bondage to minute worries and cares. 2. In failure to attend to or understand Divine things. The disciples were so taken up with this little matter that they utterly failed to perceive Christ's meaning, when he warned them against the Pharisees and Herodians. 'l'hat they should be so was also a proof that they had forgotten the teaching of the· two miracles of the loaves and fishes. For this Christ reproved them, His cross- questionin~ elicited the fact that the details of these miracles were still recollected;· but the spiritual lessons had been completely lost. So to speak, these spiritual tours de· force had been thrown away upon them. How hard a race has the Divine life with earthly concern and anxiety in the soul I There is a littleness in such habits of thought that effectually prevents the great ideas of the Divine kingdom from enterin<P" the mind. H"rein is to be fou.nd the explanation or the failure of many services and sermons, which in themselves may have been faithful and devout enough: the hearers are occupied with worldly cares. " The cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lnsts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitrul" (eh. iv. 19). IL THE DANGER TO WHICH IT EXPOSES. 1. Christ, referring to the doctrine of the- Pharisees and Herodians, warned against that conception of the Messi,ah, as one wh<> -u;as to be an earthly king, eswlJlishing a temporal dominion, which the leaders of Judaism held. The state of mind of the disciples was ewinently favourable to such a view. In them it was only a tendency, in the l'harisees a fixed point of view; and thu8 the latter wholly missed the spiritual element in the Saviour's teaching. 'fhey were filled with visions of national restoration and individual aggrandizement; and failing to receive encouragement from Christ in these, "they were offended in him," and began to seek his destruction. The same danger still haunts the Church of Christ, the- absolutely spiritual natnre of the Divine kingdom having been one of the most slowly developed of Christian doctrines. 2. The power and the insidiousness of this point of view are suggested by thefi_qure of" leaven." Leaven works slowly, but a very little- affects a large amount. ".A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." To minds already prepared by habit and tendency in that direction, it would be a comparatively easy thing to adopt the worldly interpretation of prophecy gi,en forth by the Pharisees. Indeed, if they were only let alone, the "leaven" was already within them, and would· assuredly develop into the same fu.ndamental heresy. To think thus of Christ and his kingdom is "to come short of it," to our own hurt and ruin; "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Ilom. xiv. 17).-M. Ver. 21.-" Do ye not understand , " The last of a series of surprised, eorrowful, and indignant questions on the part of Christ. 1. SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING WAS A RESULT TO BE LOOKED FOB FROM CHRISTIAN :EXPERIENCE, 1. l!rom the teaching of Scripture. It unfolds the will of God, and reveals his mind and character. It is the record of the spiritual history of man in the r,ast. The lives of the Old Testament saints and the history of God's chosen people were intended to acquaint us with the principles of the Divine kingdom, and the- purpose of God's dealings with men. "Now these things happened Wlto them by way ou. vm. 1-38.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 34fi