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o ch. iii. 12.
see Acts xvi.
17, 18.

p Isa. lxi. 1.

John xvi. 28: xvii. 4.

q Matt. iv. 23.

10.

and

suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. 35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for P therefore P therefore came I forth. 39 9 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44 and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for

r Lev. xiv. 3, 4, thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

sch. ii. 13.

S

m in the original, he.

permitting the dæmons to speak, see note above, ver. 25. I should be disposed to ascribe the account to Peter. Simon, Andrew, James, and John occur together again, ch. xiii. 3.

35-38.] JESUS, BEING SOUGHT OUT IN HIS RETIREMENT, PREACHES AND HEALS THROUGHOUT GALILEE. Luke iv. 42, 43, where see note. Our Lord's present purpose was, not to remain in any one place, but to make the circuit of Galilee; not to work miracles, but to preach. 35.] went out, from the house of Peter and Andrew, ver. 29. 36. they that were with him] Andrew, John, and James, ver. 29. 38.] came I forth = "was I sent," Luke: not "undertook this journey" He had not yet begun any journey, and it cannot apply to "went out" above, for that was not to any city, nor to preach. The word has its more solemn sense, as in John xvi. 28, though of course not understood then by the hearers. To deny this is certainly not safe.

39.] See on Matt. iv. 23: alɛo on Luke iv. 44.

40-45.] CLEANSING OF A LEPER. Matt. viii. 2-4. Luke v. 12-14. The account here is the fullest, and evidently an original one, from an eye-witness. St. Luke mentions (ver. 15) the spreading of the fame of Jesus, without assigning the cause as in our ver. 45. See note on Matthew. It is characteristic of St. Mark, to assign our Lord's being moved with compassion as the reason of His stretching out his hand. 44.] thyself, in the original, has an emphasis: trouble not thyself with talking to others, but go complete thine own case by getting thyself formally declared pure. 45. came] literally,

were coming, which tells us more. Our Lord did not wish to put a stop to the multitudes seeking Him, but only to avoid that kind of concourse which would have beset Him in the towns: the seeking to Him for teaching and healing still went on, and that from all parts.

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II. And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was n no more room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven [P thee]. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man 4 thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way

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CHAP. II. 1-12.] HEALING OF A PARALYTIC AT CAPERNAUM. Matt. ix. 2-8, where see notes. Luke v. 17-26.-The three are evidently independent accounts; St. Mark's, as usual, the most precise in details; e. g. 'borne of four:' St. Luke's also bearing marks of an eye-witness (see ver. 19, end); St. Matthew's apparently at second hand. 2.] In this verse we have again the peculiar minute depicting of Mark. A recent learned Commentator believes "these minute notices... to be recorded by the Evangelist with a studied design, lest it should be supposed that, because he incorporates so much which is in St. Matthew's gospel, he was only a copyist: and in order to shew that he did so because he knew from ocular testimony that St. Matthew's nar rative was adequate and accurate." I mention this, to shew to what shifts the advocates of the theory of the "interdependence" of the Evangelists are now reduced. Literally, So that not even the parts towards the door (much less the

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house) would any longer hold them (they
once sufficed to hold them). preached]
in the original it is in the strict imperfect
sense: He was speaking to them the word,
when that which is about to be related
happened. 3, 4.] It would appear
that Jesus was speaking to the crowd
from the upper story of the house, they
being assembled in the court, or perhaps
(but less probably) in the street. Those
who bore the paralytic ascended the stairs
which led direct from the street to the
flat roof of the house, and let him down
through the tiles (Luke). See the extract
from Dr. Robinson, describing the Jewish
house, in note on Matt. xxvi. 69.
this man thus] the first word depreciates;
the second exaggerates.
8.] The
knowledge was
immediate and super-
natural, as is most carefully and precisely
here signified. 11. I say unto thee]
The stress is on thee. The words are pre-
cisely those used, as so often in Mark,-and
denote the turning to the paralytic and

7.

a Matt. xviii.

11. Luke xix 10.

ITim. i. 15.

into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. 13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the [son] of Alphæus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. 15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners [ to repentance]. 18 And the disciples of John and [t of] the Pharisees tt used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot

a

tt

r some of the oldest MSS. read, He is eating and drinking with publicans and sinners. tomit. render, were fasting: u read, the disciples of.

8 omit. namely, at this particular time.

addressing him. There may have been something in his state, which required the emphatic address.

13-22.] THE CALLING OF LEVI. FEAST AT HIS HOUSE: QUESTION CONCERNING FASTING. Matt. ix. 9-17. Luke v. 27-39. have discussed the question of the identity of Matthew and Levi in the notes on Matthew. The three accounts

are in matter nearly identical, and in diction so minutely and unaccountably varied, as to declare here, as elsewhere, their independence of one another, except in having had some common source from which they have more or less deflected. These remarks do not apply to the diversity of the names Matthew and Levi, which must be accounted for on other grounds. See, as throughout the passage, the notes on Matthew. 13.] again, see ch. i. 16. On the [son] of Alphæus see notes, Matt. xiii. 55; and x. 1 ff. 15.] The entertainment was certainly in Levi's house, not as

some think, in that of our Lord, which
last is a pure fiction, and is not any where
designated in the Gospel accounts. Cer-
tainly the call, ver. 17, gives no counte-
nance to the view. Our Lord, and those
following Him as disciples, were ordinarily
entertained where He was invited, which
will account for their following Him.
there were many, and they followed him,
is peculiar to Mark. 16.] The question
was after the feast, at which, being in the
house of a Publican, they were not present.

18.] St. Mark here gives a notice for the information of his readers, as in ch. vii. 3, which places shew that his Gospel was not written for the use of Jews. It appears from this account, which is here the more circumstantial, that the Pharisees and disciples of John asked the question in the third person, as of others. In Matthew it is the disciples of John, and they join we and the Pharisees. In Luke, it is the Pharisees and Scribes, and they ask as here.

fast. 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in ▾ those days. 21 No man also seweth a piece of w new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the [new] wine 7 doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles y will be marred: [ but new wine must be put into new bottles.] 23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of b Deut. xxiii. corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why

do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25.

25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what c 1 Sam. xxi. 6. David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and

▾read, that day.

I omit.

yy read, marred.

19.] The repetition in the last clause, contained neither in Matthew nor Luke, is inconsistent with the design of an abridger; and sufficiently shews the primary authority of this report, as also in that day, ver. 20. St. Mark especially loves these solemn repetitions: compare ch. ix. 42 ff. It is strange to see such a Commentator as De Wette calling the repetition, in that day, a proof of carelessness. It is a touching way, as Meyer well observes, of expressing in that dark day.' 21.]

Render, according to the correct reading, which cannot well be explained in the margin, the filling-up takes away from it, the new from the old, and a worse rent takes place. See note on Matthew. The addition here of the new confirms the view taken of the parable there.

23-28.] THE DISCIPLES PLUCK EARS OF CORN ON THE SABBATH. Matt. xii. 1-8. Luke vi. 1-5. The same may be said of the three accounts as in the last case, with continually fresh evidence of their entire independence of one another.

23. began, as they went, to pluck] literally, began to make their way, pluck ing... is matter of detail and minute depiction. The interpretation of this narrative given by Meyer, I believe to be an entirely mistaken one. He urges the strict sense of 'to make a way,' and insists on the sense conveyed by our narrative being, as VOL. I.

W literally, un-fulled.
y read, will.

Z omitted in some ancient copies.

distinguished from those in Matthew, Luke,
that the disciples made a way for them-
selves through the wheat field, by plucking
the ears of corn, further maintaining, that
there is no allusion here to their having caten
the grains of wheat, as in Matthew, Luke.
But (1) the foundation on which all this is
built is insecure. The same Greek expres-
sion in the LXX does undoubtedly mean
'to make one's journey.' And (2) as to no
allusion being made to their having eaten
the corn, how otherwise could the 'had
need' have been common to the dis-
ciples and to David. Could it be said
that any necessity compelled them to clear
the path by pulling up the overhanging
stalks of corn? How otherwise could the
remarkable addition in our narrative, ver.
27, at all bear upon the case? Fritzsche's
rendering, 'to mark the way by plucking
ears, and strewing them in it,' is still
25. he] emphatic,-Himself,
taking up the cause of his disciples, and not
leaving their defence to themselves.
26.] In the days of Abiathar the high
priest: i. e. necessarily in the original,
during the high priesthood of Abiathar.
But in 1 Sam. xxi., from which this ac-
count is taken, Ahimelech, not Abiathar,
is the High Priest. There is however con-
siderable confusion in the names about this.
part of the history: Ahimelech himself is
called Ahiah, 1 Sam. xiv. 3; and whereas

worse.

32, 33. Lev.

xxiv. 9.

d

d Exod. xxix. did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made zz for man, and not man zz for the sabbath: 28 therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

III. 1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, a Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored whole [as the other]. And the Pharisees e Matt. xxii. 16. went forth, and straightway took counsel with the zz render, on account of. a literally, Rise in the midst. up

(1 Sam. xxii. 20) Ahimelech has a son
Abiathar, in 2 Sam. viii. 17, Ahimelech
is the son of Abiathar, and in 1 Chron.
xviii. 16, Abimelech. Amidst this varia-
tion, we can hardly undertake to explain
the difficulty in the text. In some MSS.
the words are omitted; in others they are
altered, to give the words strictly the
sense In the time of Abiathar the High
Priest,' so that the difficulty might be
avoided by understanding the event to
have happened in the time of (but not
necessarily during the high priesthood of)
Abiathar (who was afterwards) the High
Priest. But supposing the reading to be
so, what author would in an ordinary nar-
rative think of designating an event thus ?
Who for instance would speak of the
defeat of the Philistines at Ephesdammim,
where Goliath fell, as happening in the
time of David the king? Who would ever
understand, in the time of Elisaus the
prophet,' as importing, in matter of fact,
any other period than that of the prophetic
course of Elisha ?
Yet this is the way
in which the difficulties of the Gospels
have been attempted to be healed over.
With the restoration of the true reading
(see my Greek Test.), even this resource
fails. 27.] peculiar to Mark, and highly
important. The Sabbath was an ordinance
for man; for man's rest, both actually and

bomit.

e

typically, as setting forth the rest which
remains for God's people (Heb. iv. 9). But
He who is now speaking has taken on
himself Manhood, the whole nature of
Man and is rightful lord over creation as
granted to man, and of all that is made
for man, and therefore of the Sabbath.
The whole dispensation of time is created
for man, for Christ as He is man, and is
in his absolute power. There is a remark-
able parallel, in more than the mere mode
of expression, in 2 Macc. v. 19: God did
not choose the people for the place's sake,
but the place for the people's sake.
28.] also, as well as of His other domains
or elements of lordship and power.

CHAP. III. 1-6.] HEALING OF THE
WITHERED HAND. Matt. xii. 9-14. Luke
vi. 6-11. On Matthew's narrative, see
notes on Luke. The two other accounts
are cognate, though each has some parti-
culars of its own.
1.] again, see ch. i.
21; 66 Ion another Sabbath," Luke. The
synagogue was at Capernaum. 2.] St.
Luke only adds that it was the Scribes and
Pharisees who watched Him. 4.] unto
them. St. Luke adds "I will ask you one
thing" as his account is the most de-
tailed, I refer to the notes there.
being grieved for the hardness of their
hearts-peculiar to Mark: the word im-
plies sympathy with their (spiritually)

5.]

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