Vers. 10, 11.— Questioning among them- selves what the rising again from the dead should mean; that is, his own rising from the dead, of which our Lord had just been speaking. No doubt the general resurrec- tion at the end of the world was an article of faith with which the disciples were familiar. But they could not understand, when he spake of his own immediate rising from the dead. So their perplexities led them at last to ask him the question; or rather to make the remark to him, The scribes say that Elijah must first come; with a view to ob- taining some clearer understanding. They had just seen Elijih in the Transfiguration, and they had seen him disappear. They wondered why he should have departed. They thought, it may be, that he ought to have remained, that he might be the fore- ranner of Christ and of his kingdom and glory, according to the prophecy of Malachi (iv. 6). ‘his the scribes taught; but they erred in the confusion of times, for they did not distinguish the first coming of Christ in the flesh from his second advent to judgment. The thought upon the mind of the disciples appears to have been this: They heard Christ speak of his own resur- rection as close at hand, and they hed seen the type of it in his transfiguration; and they thought that immediately after that, Ohrist’s kingdom would come, and he would
[on. mx. 1—50,
reign gloriously. Why, then, had not Elijah remained, that he might be his precursor ? St. Matthew (xvii. 13) tells us that our Lord’s words which follow showed the dis- ciples that when he said that Elijah was to come first and restore all things, he meant them to understand “ that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” Upon the question of a future coming of Elijah, it seems safest to confess our ignorance. - The prophecy of Malachi was no doubt in part fulfilled in the coming of John the Baptist; but it would be rash to affirm that it may not receive another and more literal fulfilment before the second advent. A host of ancient Christian expositors have held that Elijah will appear in person before the second advent of Christ. St. Augustine, in his ‘City of God’ (xx. 29), says, “Not with- out reason do we hope that before the coming of our Judge and Saviour Elias will come, because we have good reason to believe that he is now alive; for, as Holy Scripture dis- tinctly informs us, he was taken up from this life in a chariot of fire, When, therefore, he is come he shall give a apiritual explana- tion of the Law which the Jews at present understand carnally, and will torn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers; that is, the Jews who are the children will understand the Law in the same sense as their fathers the prophets understood it.” Indeed, this is one of the principal reasons assigned by the Fathers for this appearanee of Elijah, that he may convert the Jews.
Ver. 14.—And when he came to his diz- ciples, he saw a great crowd around them. High authorities support the reading adopted by the Revisers, when they came to the dis- ciples, they saw a great multitude about them. “They ” would thus mean our Lord and the three chosen disciples who had been with him on the Mount of ‘Transfiguration. “They ” came to the other disciples who had been left below. St. Luke (ix. 87) adds “On the next day, when they were come down from the mountain.” This would seem to confirm the supposition that the trans figuration took place in the night. All the synoptists agree in placing the following miracle immediately after the transfigarae tion, Scribes were questioning with the disciples who had been left behind. Ag usual, they had assembled in the neigh bourhood where Jesus was, for the purpose of watching him. Their object in question- ing with the disciples was doubtless to throw discredit upon Jesus, because they, his disciples, had failed te work the miracle.
Ver. 15.—The multitude were favourably disposed towards Jesus, and were glad that he had returned at an opportune moment to defend his disciples against the scribes.
(Ca. rx. 1—50.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.
But why were they greatly amazed} The
word in the Greek is ¢ée@au84@n. It seems most probable that they saw in his counte- nance, always heavenly and majestic, some- thing even yet more Divine, retaining some treces of the glory of his transfiguration, even as the face of Moses shone when he came down from the mount (Exod. xxxiv. 29). It hardly seems likely that the amaze- -ment of the people was simply caused by our Lord having arrived at an opportune time to relieve his disciples of their diffi- culty. The Greek word expresses some- thing more than would be satisfied by the fact of our Lord having come upon the scene just when he was wanted. Even if there were no remains of the transfizuration glory upon his countenance, the vivid recol- lection of the scene, of the conversation with Moses and Elijah, and the subject of it, and the voice of the Father, must have invested his countenance with a pecu- liar majesty and dignity. The same word, though without its compound (é@ayBodvro), is used further on in oh. x. 32 to express the amazement of the disciples, as he pressed eagerly onwards before them on hia way to Jerusalem and to his cross, There was no doubt something then in his counte- nance which astonished them. The multi- tude running to him, saluted him. The scribes had not been able to shake their faith. In their view he was still “that Prophet that should come into the world.”
Ver. 16.—And he asked them; that is, the multitude. The context shows this.
reading here is abrots, not robs, ypap- €Ls.
Ver. 17.—One of the multitude answered him, Master I brought—the Greek is fveyxe —unto thee my son. He brought his son, expecting to find Jesus; but failing in this, he applied to our Lord’s disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they could not. St. Matthew (xvii 14) says that the man came kneeling to Christ, “and saying, Lord, have mercy on wy son: for he is lunatic.” The word in the Greek there is ceAnuid(eras Etymoiogicaily, no doubt, “lunatic ” conveys the meaning of the word most nearly. But the graphic description here of St. Mark cor- responds exactly to epilepsy, and to epilepsy acted upon by an unclean spirit, who in this instance deprived the sufferer of his speech. Lunatics were so called from the prevailing impression, not without foundation, that the light and the changes of the moon have an influence upon the body, and so act through the body upon the mind, This influence geems to be recognized in Ps. exxi. 6, “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.”
Ver. 13.—Wheresoever it tuketh him (sarardBn); literally, st seizeth hold of him.