I. PeacricaL vsE oF THE QuEsTIon. “ What think ye of Christ ?” was his question, as recorded by St. Matthew. We repeat to ourselves and others the same question —What think we—“ What think ye of Christ?” What think ye of his life—that sin- less life, that surprising life, that life which believer and unbeliever alike so much admire, and even rival each other in lauding and extolling? What think ye of the events of that life—its purity and yet its suffering, its power and yet its sorrows? What think ye of his death—so wonderful in many ways, so singular in all its aspects, and so efficacious in all respects? What think ye of his resurrection? Are ye risen with him, to seek the things above? Do ye look to him as the firstfruits of a glorious harvest ? and are ye seeking a part in the resurrection of the just? What think ye of his ascension? Are ye satisfied that he has ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, and having received gifts, even for rebellious men? And have ye shared in these gifts? What think ye of his intercession? Do ye feel that he is interceding for you, and are ye glad—right glad—of having an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous? By your answers to such questions ye may judge your state, and entertain, we trust, “ good hope through grace.”—J. J. G.
Vers. 388—40. Parallel passages: Matt. xxiii. 13—39; Luke xx. 45—47,— Warning against the scribes and Pharisees. He warns his disciples against (1) their ambition, (2) against their avaricious greed, and @) against their hypocrisy. We need daily to pray for preservation from all these.—J. J. G.
Vers. 4144. Parallel passage: Luke xxi. 1—4.—-The widow's mite. I. Tam VALUE INDICATED. A mite (Aerrdy) was something very small; our word to represent it being from minute, through the French mite. The value of the two was three-fourths of an English farthing. But it was her all, and showed her singular self-denial. Ac~ cordingly, our Lord measured the merit of her liberality not by the amount she gave, but by the self-denial which the gift involved.
Il. Curist sEE8 ALL THINGS. He saw this poor widow—what ske gave and why she gave. He sees all we do and al] we think, for he knows what is in man. He sees us to restrain the evil that we do, overrule it, and punish it; he sees us to approve of the good we do, encourage in the present time and recompense it in the time to come.
II]. TRUE STANDARD OF LIBERALITY. Christ on this occasion did not overlook the large gifts of the rich ; but they could spare these out of their abundance, without stinting themselves or really pitying the poor. He fixed attention on the widow’s mite, for it was her all; and so she could ill spare it, and could only be considered as giving it from sympathy with and compassion on the poor. Three things are to be taken into account in our estimate of Christian liberality: (1) the motive of giving—it must be the glory of God and the good of man; (2) the manner of giving—not by constraint, but of a ready mind, and so God loves the cheerful giver; and (8) the measure, which should be just in proportion as God has prospered us.—J. J. G.
EXPOSITION,
CHAPTER XII.
Ver. 1.—And as he went forth ont of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! This would be in the evening. According to St. Luke (xxi. 37), our Lord, during the early part of this weck, passed his nights upon the Mount of Olives, taking his food at Bethany with Martha and Mary, and spending his days in the temple at Jerusalem, teaching the people. It is most probable that he left the |
temple by the golden gate on the from whence the view of the temple woul
be particularly striking. We learn from St. Matthew (xxiv.) that our Lord had just been predicting the fall of Jerusalem. I¢ was, therefore, natural for the disciples te call his attention at that moment to the grandeur and beaaty of tiie building and its surroundings. The temple at Jerusalem was one of the wonders of the world. Josephus says that it wanted nothing that the eye and the mind could admire. It shone with a fiery splendour; so that when
oH. XL 1—37.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.
the eye gazed upon it, it turned away as from the rays of the sun. The size of the foundation-stones was enormous. Josephus speaks of some of the stones as forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and six in breadth. One of the foundation-stones, measured in recent times, proved to be nearly twenty-four feet in length, by four feet in depth. But all this magnificence had no effect upon our Lord, who only repeated the sentence of its downfall.
Ver. 2.—There shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down. The word (éde) “here” is rightl inserted; and the prophecy is justifi by scientific investigation. The expression is not hyperbolic. Modern investigation shows that the present wall has been rebuilt, probably on the foundation of the older one.
Ver. 3.—And as he sat on the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? St. Matthew and St. Luke only mention his disciples generally. St. Mark, going more into detail, gives the names of those who thus asked him; namely, Peter and James and John, already distinguished, and Andrew, who enjuyed the distinction of having been the first called. These men appear to have been our Lord’s inner council; and they asked him (kaz’ idlav) privately, or separately, not only from the multitude, but from the rest of the disciples. It was a dangerous thing to speak of the destruction of the temple, or even to inquire about such an event, for fear of the scribes and Phari- sees. It was this accusation that led to the stoning of Stephen. It is evident from St. Matthew (xxiv. 3) that the disciples closely associated together the destruction of the temple and his final coming at the end of the world. They knew from our Lord’s words that the destruction of Jerusalem was near at hand, and therefore they thought that the destruction of the world itself, and the day of judgment, were also near at hand. Hence their questions.
Vers. 5, 6.—Take heed that no man lead you astray. The Greek word is mAavicp. Their first temptation would be of this kind—that many would come in Christ's name, saying, “I am he;” claiming, that is, the title which belonged to him alone. Such were Theudas (Acts vy. 36) and Simon Magus (Acts viii. 10), who, according to Jerome, said, “Ego sum Sermo Dei, ego speciosus, ego Paracletus, ego omnipotens, ego omnia.” Such were Menander and the Gnostics.
Ver. 7.—Wars and rumours of wars. “ Rumours of wars” are mer tioned, because they are often worse and more distressing
197