16 he would; and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, 14 that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out 15 devils. And Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of 17 Zebedee, and John the brother of James, (and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder,) and Andrew, 18 and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him. 19 And they went into a house. And the multitude cometh to- 20 gether again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And 21 when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came 22 down from Jerusalem, said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto 23 xvii.; in the agony of Gethsemane, Mat. xxvi. 42; and on the cross, Mat. xxvii. 46, Luke xxiii. 34, 46; besides other occasions mentioned in the Gospels. These facts reveal his deep spiritual life, piety, and filial union with God. Would that they might quicken us to a like close and confiding intimacy of prayer with the Father of our spirits! It is the only true life. Ordained, i. e. appointed. No reference is made to ordination, as existing in later times. 16-19. Compare Mat. x. 2-4, and the notes. 17. Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder. So called, as some have conjectured, from the zeal and ardor of their tempers, Mark ix. 38, x. 37, Luke ix. 54, or the glow and power of their eloquence. 20. Could not so much as eat bread. With what vividness does this little circumstance call up the hurry, pressure and tumult of vast, thronging multitudes! Who but a real witness would have thought of it to throw into his picture so slight, but so natural a stroke? 21. His friends were, perhaps, afraid of his personal safety in such an immense crowd, or deemed him imprudent or over-zealous in deed or word, and hence, with an exaggeration not uncommon, called him beside himself. 22-30. See notes, Mat. xii. 24 32. The scribes appear to have caught at what his relatives said, that he was beside himself, and charge him with being in league with evil spirits. As spoken against him personally, this accusation mattered little, and might be passed over, ver. 28; Matt. xii. 32; but as a lie and wilful impiety against the holiest and mightiest manifestations of God's Spirit, it was an unpardonable sin; unpardonable, because it showed such opposition to the clearest light, and the best possible proofs of the divine power and love, as seemingly to preclude penitence and reformation, and therefore forgiveness. It is noticeable that some copies read, everlasting trespass or sin. If they repented of, and forsook this sin, it would be forgiven as well as any other. Or, in general, the language is designed to convey the idea, that him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out 24 Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that king25 dom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, 26 that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, 27 and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28 Verily, I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never 30 forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and standing 32 without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him; and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy 33 brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, 34 Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold, my mother 35 and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. CHAPTER IV. Jesus speaks in Parables, and stills the Tempest. AND he began again to teach by the sea-side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea, this sin would be pardoned with great difficulty. 29. Eternal damnation is translated, by the orthodox Campbell, eternal punishment, who remarks, that "by the frequent, unnecessary, and sometimes censurable, recourse of translators to the terms damned, damnation, damnable, and others of like import, an asperity is given to the language of most modern translators of the New Testament, which the original evidently has not." 30. The nature of the sin which fell under the heaviest condemnation of our Lord, is here specified. It was, the attributing of the works of God to the agency of demons. 31-35. See notes on Mat. xii. 46-50. 32. This verse is connected with ver. 21. During this time, his relatives had been endeavoring to approach him. CHAPTER IV. 1-20. See notes on Mat. xiii. 1 - 23. 1. Sat in the sea. Sat in the vessel on the sea. on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and 2 said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went 3 out a sower to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell 4 by the way-side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much 5 earth: and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because 6 it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, 7 and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang 8 up, and increased, and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears 9 to hear, let him hear.. And when he was alone, they that 10 were about him, with the twelve, asked of him the parable. And 11 he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not per- 12 ceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? 13 and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the 14 word. And these are they by the way-side, where the word is 15 sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And 16 these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a 17 time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they 18 which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the 19 10. Alone. Rather, in private. 11, 12. The mystery of the kingdom of God, i. e. the spiritual nature and object, and the universal design of the gospel, which was a mystery, or, more properly expressed, a secret at first, but which afterwards became fully known. They may see and not perceive. Winer remarks, that Jesus cannot intend to affirm the general impossibility of understanding such parables, (for then it would have been strange for him to speak in parables ;) but that unto him who did not understand this so plain parable, the words of the prophet were applicable: he sees and does not understand; and that there would be such men, was predicted. cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty21 fold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a 22 bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept 23 secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to 24 hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: 25 and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be 26 taken even that which he hath,- And he said, So is the king27 dom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring 28 and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full 29 corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediate30 ly he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. - And 19. The deceitfulness of riches. Riches deceive men, because they often take wings and fly away suddenly, because they fail to satisfy the immortal mind, as they seem to promise to do, and because, in addition to their transitoriness and their unsatisfactoriness, they seduce the soul from its real interest, and thwart its true life. 21-25. See Luke viii. 16-18, and the notes on Mat. v. 15, vii. 2, x. 26, xiii. 12. 26-29. This parable is found only here. Its point lies in the beautiful analogy between things spiritual and things material. As the sown grain springs up and grows, shoots forth successively the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear, and ripens to the harvest, so is it with the principles of the gospel, whether in the heart, or the larger field of the world. They are sown by the Saviour and his apostles and ministers. They take root in the congenial soil of human nature. Their growth is gradual and natural. While men sleep and wake, and little heed the mighty on-goings of Providence, or the silent diffusion of these spiritual powers, they spread from heart to heart, until they send their roots through the sluggish mass of society, and render to heaven the offering of a waving, boundless harvest. The lessons here taught are ever needed: viz. that we should not despair of the growth of true religion, for it is in the hands of God, and often flourishes we know not how; that the coming of religion to its maturity, in the heart or the world, is gradual and gentle, not sudden or violent; is most 1 he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of 31 mustard-seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: but when it is sown, it groweth 32 up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto 33 them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake 34 he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto 35 them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had 36 sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And 37 there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of 38 the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, 39 and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said 40 unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, 41 What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? lers tell us, blowing strongly against the current in the lake, made by the Jordan, immediately raises a high and dangerous sea. 39. God had delegated power to his Son to still the raging elements, raise the dead, cure the sick, and foretell the future. These things were the seal and sign-manual of a more than mortal authority. They leave him apparently without excuse, who bows not to one who has thus been appointed, as the spiritual Guide and Saviour of mankind, and furnished with the most weighty credentials of his office. |