Ver. 31.—The words of Christ and the world-revolution with which they were associated. I. A PREDICTION oF IT, The date of these utterances and their authorship beyond all reasonable question. A daring forecast, identifying the fortunes of Chris- tianity with vast cosmical movements. Insight such as this more than human; dependent upon perception of unseen principles and absolute faith in God. The immediate effect of the changes predicted is acknowledged to be adverse to the outward circumstances of his followers; yet inwardly and ultimately the result is regarded as beyond question, and declared with unfaltering authority. This predictive element in the gospel not accidental, but essential; its entire credibility as a word of God to man being made to depend upon its fulfilment as a prophecy.
IL. A SUSTAINING PRINCIPLE THROUGH IT. The faith of Christians is fostered: 1. By the fact that all things were foretold: “1 have told you all things beforehand,” 2. By their intelligent perception of the signs, the method, and the outline of God's working. 3. Ly their experience of special Divine yrace—(1) in guidance and indwelling of the Holy Ghost; (2) in experience of special Iivine favours, ¢.g. the shortening of the days of tribulation; and (3) in the inward spiritual comfort and edification of the precepts and promises of the gospel.
Ill, A cause oF IT, As representing the eternal moral principles which underlie and determine the historic evolution of the race. An exciting cause of the hatred to Divine things which was the motive of so much that was done. A directive influence in shaping the destinies of the new institutions and movements which were evolved from the chaos of the old world,
~
oR, act, I—37.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 211
IV, A survival From IT. Not one has passed away. The great doctrines of Christendom have slowly but surely formulated themselves in sympathetic relation to the experience and progress with which they have been associated. As a system of truth, they can be more comprehensively grasped now than at any previous time.
_ The fulfilment of its predictions did not exhaust the moral fulness and depth of Chris-
tian truth, or its applicability to the extant problems of future ages. The gospel is thus seen to be, not only for a time, but for all time, the central principle of progress and destiny for the human race.—M.
Vers. 32—37.— The element of uncertainty tn the Christian revelation. 1. To wHat it RELATES. “That day or that hour.” Pioximately and very evidently these wordr refer to the precise date of the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom, through the destruc- tion of Jerusalem (a.p. 70), about forty years subsequent to their utterance. Through that period it was possible for any of those addressed to continue alive, and conse- quently they were all admonished with respect to it. But, secondarily, the absolute, final coming of the Son of man is referred to adumbratively, and so also all inter- mediate advents connective of these two terms of the progress of his coming. That the attention of the hearers was specially or particularly addressed to this secondary coming does not appear. There were other words which more clearly ind:cated it.
IJ. WHom rr arrectep. That it should affect believers could be understood, although at first to them it must have been an occasion of perplexity; that angels should not know might be explicable on the ground that it was an earthly evolution of events, and that although in a state of blessedness and spiritual illumination ther nature is finite; but that the “Son” should be ignorant is a great mystery. Yet there are considerations which throw some light even upon this, “The Father’s absolute omniscience, and his consequent absolute prescience, is assumed by the Saviour, even although the object of the prescience is chronologically conditional on millions of inter- vening free acts on the part of millions of free agents. When absolute prescience, however, is denied by the Son on the part of himself, he is, of course, referring to him- self as Son, begotten on a certain day (Ps. ii. 7; Acts xiii. 33) in the Virgin’s womb Gee i. 35). He is, in other words, referring to himself, as he was self-realized in his
nite nature, to be for ever distinguished from that infinite essence in which he made the worlds (Jéhn i. 3), sustains them (Col. i. 17), sees the end from the beginning (John vi. 64), and ‘ knows all things’ (John xxi. 17). . . . It is only when we proceed on a ‘monophysist’ hypothesis, and assume that our Saviour’s divinity was his only mind, and the soul of his humanity, that overwhelming difficulty is encountered ” (Morison). Apart from this, although intimately connected with it, there were moral reasons for Christ’s remaining ignorant. As “ Christ’s not knowing rests upon his knowing rightly (in a natural manner), or upon the holy extension of his range of vision” (Lange), it follows that this ignorance, referring to a subject of such tran- scendeut consequence in relation to his own work amongst men, must have formed an important elemer+ and condition of his moral and spiritual subjection to the Father. He rose through weakness, limitation of knowledge of Divine counsels (although not of Divine principles), and finitude of nature, to the full comprehension of the mind of God, and realization of the perfection of the Divine-human personality, beyond the cross. To the spiritual and perfect Christ, therefore, belongs all power ; for he was made perfect through suffering and subjection. His obedience was perfect, and his gradual moral development in act and consciousness because of this limitation of knowledge.
III. How rr Is TO BE REGARDED BY BELIEVERS. The parabolic form of Christ’s teaching here is very beautiful and striking. Vers. 34, 35 should be translated thus: ‘*As a man away from home, having (or, who has) left his house, and given the authority to his servants, and to each his work, also commanded the porter to watch— ‘ Watch, therefore’ (i.e. so say J, ‘ Watch,’ etc.), ‘for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh,’” etc. (1) With watch/ulness ; that is, sleepless vigilance, which comprehends and leads to (2) prayer and (3) diligence, And these duties are of universal obligation (ver. 37).—M.
Ver. 34.—* To every man his work.” The circumstances under which these words were uttered imparted to them peculiar solemnity. Our Lord had left the temple for
212 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 7TU Si. MARK. [cn. xu 1—37.
i