ech. iii. 5: xvi.

14

and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves.
were [about] five thousand men. 45 And straightway he
constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to
the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away
46 And when he had sent them away, he

the people.
departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even
was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he
alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing;
for the wind was contrary unto them and about the
fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking
upon the sea, and a would have passed by them. 49 But
when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed
it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 for they all saw
him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with
them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be
not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship;
and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in them-
selves beyond measure [, and wondered]. 52 For they
considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was
hardened.

t omitted by all ancient authorities.

a render, the.

▼i.e. was minded to pass by them.

W render, an apparition: literally, a phantasm.

Xomitted in several ancient authorities.

y render, they understood not concerning the loaves.

fishes, and (ver. 43) the taking up fragments from the fishes, are both peculiar to and characteristic of Mark: but it would have been most inconsistent with his precision to have omitted "besides women and children" in ver. 44, had he had it before him.

45-52.] JESUS WALKS ON THE SEA. Matt. xiv. 22-33. John vi. 16-21. Omitted in Luke. Matthew and Mark are very nearly related as far as ver. 47. John's account is altogether original, and differing materially in details : see notes there, and on Matthew.

45.] the ship, i. e. the ship in which they had come. Bethsaidathis certainly seems (against Lightfoot, Wieseler, Thomson, "The Land and the Book," al.: see Bishop Ellicott's note, Lectures on Life of our Lord, p. 207) to have been the city of Peter and Andrew, James and John,-on the west side of the lakeand in the same direction as Capernaum, mentioned by John, ver. 17. The miracle just related took place near the other Bethsaida (Julias),-Luke ix. 10.

48. and

would (was minded) have passed by them]
Peculiar to Mark. "A silent note of Inspi-
ration. He was about to pass by them. He
intended so to do. But what man could say
this? Who knoweth the mind of Christ but
the Spirit of God? Compare 1 Cor. ii. 11."
Wordsw. But it may be perhaps doubted
whether this is quite a safe or a sober com-
ment. would has here but a faint sub-
jective reference, and is well expressed by
the English phrase in the text. See on
Luke xxiv. 28, for the meaning. Lange well
remarks, that this "would have passed by'
and the "willingly received him" of John
vi. 21, mutually explain one another.

50.] all saw him, and were troubled: pecu-
liar to Mark. After this follows the history
respecting Peter, which might naturally be
omitted here if this Gospel were drawn up
under his inspection-but this is at least
doubtful in any general sense.
Peculiar to Mark. for they understood
not] They did not, from the miracle which
they had seen, infer the power of the Lord

over nature.

52.1

53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 and ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the

Acts xix. 12.

sick in the streets, and besought him that they might ach. v. 27, 28. touch if it were but the border of his garment and as many as touched him were made whole.

VII. Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen hands, [they found fault.] 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands doft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And [when they come] from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He [answered and] said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites,

a

as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, a Isa. xxix. 13.

Z render, their beds.

a render, market-places, as in Matt. xx. 3, ch. xii. 38, &c.

b render, hem, as in Matt. xiv. 36.

CHAP. VII. 1-23.] DISCOURSE CON

CERNING EATING WITH UNWASHED

HANDS. Matt. xv. 1-20. The two reports differ rather more than usual in their additions to what is common, and are not so frequently in verbal agreement, where the matter is the same. 2.] See ch. ii. 16. A mark of particularity. that is to say, with unwashen is supposed by some to be a gloss, explaining defiled: but the explanation seems necessary to what follows, especially

f

comitted by the majority of ancient MSS.
omitted by several ancient MSS.
for Gentile readers. 3.] The word oft
thus rendered has perplexed all the Com-
mentators. Of the various renderings which
have been given of it, two only seem to be
admissible: (1) that given in the text, oft;
and (2) diligently, which is adopted by
the ancient Syriac version, and seems agree-
able to Hebrew usage. Between these two
it is not easy to decide.
4.] wash

(baptize in original) is variously under-
stood,-of themselves, or the meats bought.
It certainly refers to themselves; as it
would not be any unusual practice to wash
things bought in the market :-but pro-
bably not to washing their whole bodies:
see below.
brasen vessels] earthen
ones, when unclean, were to be broken,
Lev. xv. 12. These baptisms (for such
is the word in the original), as applied to
couches (meaning probably here those used

Deut. v. 16.

8

but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. [ For] laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men [, has the washing of pots and cups and many other such like things ye do]. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses

b

b Exod. xx. 12. said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso Exod. xxi. 17 curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 but ye

Lev. xx. 0.
Prov. xx. 20.

g omit.

[he

:

say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, i It is
Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; he shall be free.] 12 And ye suffer him no
more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 making
the word of God of none effect through your tradition,
which ye have delivered and many such like things do ye.
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he
said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and
understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man,
that entering into him can defile him: but the things
which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16 [m If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.]
17 And
when he was entered into the house from the people, his
disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he
saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also?
Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without
entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 because it
entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth
out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he
said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the

homitted by several ancient authorities.

i render, That wherein thou mightest have been benefited by me, is Corban, that is to say, a gift.

knot expressed in the original.
momitted by several ancient authorities.

at meals), were certainly not immersions,
but sprinklings or affusions of water.
8.] Not contained in Matthew, but impor-
tant, as setting forth their depreciating of
God's command in comparison with human
tradition, before their absolute violation of
that command in vv. 10, 11.
9.] Full
well-ironical-see 2 Cor. xi. 4.
For Moses said = "for God commanded”
Matthew. 11.] Corban, an offering

without a sacrifice. Matthew, ver. 5.

10.]

12.] See note on 13.] A repetition

1 read, again called.

14.]

n i.e. the sink, or sewer. from ver. 8;-common in Mark. Both St. Matthew and St. Mark notice that our Lord called the multitude to Him, when He uttered this speech, It was especially this, said in the hearing of both the Pharisees and them, that gave offence to the former. 17.] his disciples asked him "Peter answered and said" Matthew. 19. purging] The participle refers to the draught (sewer). There need not be any difficulty in this additional clause: what is stated is physically true. The sewer is that

viii. 21.

man. 21 d For from within, out of the heart of men, Gen. vi. 5: proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,

an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25 • For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet : 26 the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But P Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst 0 read, But immediately. ¶ render, for even.

read, he came through Sidon. which, by the removal of the part carried off, purifies the meat; the portion available for nourishment being in its passage converted into chyle, and the remainder being 21, 22.] The heart is the laboratory and the fountain-head of all that is good and bad in the inner life of man.

cast out.

St. Matthew's catalogue follows the order of the second table of the decalogue. St. Mark's more copious one varies the order. Compare Rom. i. 29: Eph. iv. 19: Wisd. xiv. 25, 26.

24-30.] THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. Matt. xv. 21-28. Omitted by St. Luke. A striking instance of the independence of the two narrations. St. Mark, who is much more copious in particulars, omits a considerable and important part of the history: this would be most arbitrarily and indeed inexcusably done, if the common account of his having combined and epitomized Matthew and Luke is to be taken. Our Lord's retirement was to avoid the Pharisees: see notes on Matthew throughout.

P read, he.

↑ render, borders.

24.] from thence is not, from the
land of Gennesaret (Meyer),—for ch. vi.
55, 56, has completely removed definiteness
from the locality;-but refers to the (un-
specified) place of the last discourse.
the borders] The place must have been the
neighbourhood of Tyre.
25.] The
woman had been following Him, and His
disciples before, Matthew. 26.] Syro-
phenician, because there were also Liby-
phenicians, Carthaginians.
27. Let

the children. . .] This important addition
in Mark sets forth the whole ground on
which the present refusal rested. The
Jews were first to have the Gospel offered
to them, for their acceptance or rejection;
it was not yet time for the Gentiles.
28.] yet... see on Matthew.
particulars are added here.
laid upon
the bed] which the torments occasioned by
the evil spirit would not allow her to be be-
fore-lying peacefully, as Euthymius says.

30.] These

31-37.] HEALING OF A DEAF DUMB PERSON. Peculiar to Mark.

AND

Luke xi. 14.

f ch. viii. 23. John ix. 6.

gạch. vi. 41.

John xi. 41:

xvii. 1.

38.

e

e Matt. ix. 32. of the t coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and 'he spit, and touched his tongue; 3+ and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, h John xi. 38, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the " string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

i Isa. xxxv. 5,

6. Matt. xi.

5.

k ch. v. 43.

:

VIII. In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, a Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three

A miracle which serves a most important
purpose; that of clearly distinguishing
between the cases of the possessed and
the merely diseased or deformed. This
man was what we call deaf and dumb;'
the union of which maladies is often
brought about by the inability of him
who never has heard sounds to utter them
plainly-or, as here apparently, by some
accompanying physical infirmity of the
organs of speech. 31.] He went first
northward (perhaps for the same reason,
of privacy, as before) through Sidon, then
crossed the Jordan, and so approached the
lake on its E. side. On Decapolis, see Matt.
iv. 25. We have the same journey related
Matt. xv. 29; and "the dumb speaking"
mentioned among the miracles, for which
the people glorified the God of Israel.
33. took him aside] No reason that we
know can be assigned why our Lord should
take aside this man, and the blind man,
ch. viii. 23; but how many might there be
which we do not know,--such as some
peculiarity in the man himself, or the
persons around, which influenced His de-
termination.
It is remarkable that
the same medium of conveying the mira-
culous cure is used also in ch. viii. 23.
By the symbolic use of external means,

a read, he.

our Lord signified the healing virtue for afflicted human kind, which resides in and proceeds from Him incarnate in our flesh. He uses either his own touch,-something from Himself,-or the cleansing element to which He so often compares his word.

...

34.] He looked to heaven in prayer: see John xi. 41, 42. He sighed, as grieving over the wreck of the nature which He had made, occasioned by the malice of the devil and the sin of man. Ephphatha] the same word as that used in Isa. xxxv. 5, "Then shall the ears of the deaf be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb sing." 35.] the fetter, or the bond: the hindrance, whatever it was, which prevented him from speaking plainly before. 36.] See ch. i. 45. 37.] He hath done all things well. So "God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good," Gen. i. 31. This work was properly and worthily compared with that first one of creation-it was the same Beneficence which prompted, and the same Power that wrought it.

CHAP. VIII. 1--10.] FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Matt. xv. 32-39. The accounts agree almost verbatim. Mark adds for divers of them came from far, ver. 3, and again omits "besides women and chil