Mark 2:1-12. The Paralytic and the Power to forgive Sins 1. _he entered_ after the subsidence of the late excitement. _the house_ Either His own house, which He occupied with His mother and His brethren (Mark 3:21), or possibly that of St Peter.... [ Continue Reading ]
_about the door_ All the avenues of approach to the house were blocked up, and the courtyard or vestibule was filled.... [ Continue Reading ]
_borne of four_ Notice the pictorial definiteness of the Evangelist.... [ Continue Reading ]
_they uncovered the roof_ They appear (1) to have ascended to the flat roof probably by a flight of steps outside (Luke 5:19); (2) to have broken up the tiling or thin stone slabs, sometimes used at this day; (3) to have lowered the paralytic upon his bed through the opening into the presence of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_their faith_ The faith of all, of the paralytic himself and those that bore him. The Holy One did not reject this "charitable work" of theirs in bringing him before Him, any more than He does that of those who bring infants to Him in Holy Baptism. _Son_ St Luke, Luke 5:20, gives the words thus, "_... [ Continue Reading ]
_certain of the scribes_ During our Lord's absence from Capernaum it would seem there had arrived not only from Galilee, but even from Judæa and Jerusalem (Luke 5:17), Pharisees and lawyers, who were insidiously watching all that He did. Emissaries from the hostile party at Jerusalem, where the Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
_blasphemies_ for the claim to forgive sins implied a distinct equality with God in respect to one of His most incommunicable attributes.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in his spirit_ His soul was human, but His "Spirit" was divine, and by this divine faculty He penetrated and then revealed to them the "thoughts and counsels of their hearts," comp. Hebrews 4:12. On this peculiarly Divine faculty see 1 Samuel 16:7; 1Ch 28:9; 2 Chronicles 6:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whether is it easier_ Observe what is here contrasted, Not, "Which is easier, to forgive sin or to raise a paralytic?" but "Which is easier, to _claim_this power or _claim_that; _to say_, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or _to say_, Arise and walk"? as He had already said to the impotent man at the pool... [ Continue Reading ]
_that ye may know_ "By doing that which is capable of being put to the proof, I will vindicate My right and power to do that which, in its very nature, is incapable of being proved." _the Son of man_ This is the first time this title occurs in St Mark, where we find it 14 times. This title is never... [ Continue Reading ]
_thy bed_ The original word thus rendered means a portable pallet, little more than a mat, used for mid-day sleep, and the service of the sick. It was of the commonest description and used by the poorest.... [ Continue Reading ]
_immediately_ Observe the suddenness and completeness of the cure, and contrast it with the miracles of an Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24), or an Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-36). _before them all_ Now yielding before him and no longer blocking up his path.... [ Continue Reading ]
Call of St Matthew; the Discourse at his House 13. _he went forth_ i. e. from the town of Capernaum to the shore of the Lake, probably through a suburb of fishers" huts and custom-houses.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Levi_ This was probably the name by which he was known to his Jewish brethren. He may have changed his name after and in memory of his call, so that he who had before been known by the name of Levi, was now known as Matthew, or Mattathias, a favourite name amongst the Jews after the Captivity, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_sat at meat_ It is St Luke who tells us that St Matthew made, "great feast" in honour of his new Master (Luke 5:29), and to it, perhaps by way of farewell, he invited many of his old associates. This shews that he had made large sacrifices in order to follow Christ; see Neander's _Life of Christ_,... [ Continue Reading ]
_they said unto his disciples_ Overawed by the miracles He had wrought and the overthrow they had lately experienced at the healing of the paralytic, and not as yet venturing on any open rupture with Him, they vent their displeasure on His disciples. It is not likely that the Pharisees were present... [ Continue Reading ]
_the disciples of John_ The contrast between their Master in prison and Jesus at the feast could not fail to be felt. Perhaps the Pharisees had solicited them to make common cause with themselves in this matter. Their rigorous asceticism offered various points of contact between them and the discipl... [ Continue Reading ]
_the children of the bridechamber_ i. e. the friends and companions of the bridegroom, who accompanied him to the house of the bride for the marriage. Comp. Judges 14:11. _the bridegroom_ He reminds the disciples of John of the image under which their own great Master had spoken of Him as the Bride... [ Continue Reading ]
_the days will come_ The thought of death accompanies our Lord even to the social meal, and in the now undisguised hatred of His opponents He sees a token of what must hereafter come to pass. A dim hint of the same kind He had already given in His saying to the Jewish rulers, "Destroy this Temple an... [ Continue Reading ]
_new cloth_ Literally UNCARDED OR UNTEAZLED cloth. _else_ i. e. IF HE DO, the new piece taketh from the old garment, and makes worse its original rents.... [ Continue Reading ]
_new_ Men do not pour new, or unfermented, wine into old and worn wine-skins. "My disciples," our Lord seems to say, "are not yet strong. They have not yet been baptized into the Spirit. They need tenderness and consideration. They could no more endure severe new doctrine than an old robe could the... [ Continue Reading ]
The Disciples pluck the Ears of Corn 23. _on the sabbath day_ St Luke tells us that this was a "_second first Sabbath_" i. e. either (1) the first Sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread; or (2) the first Sabbath in the second year of a Sabbatical cycle; or (3) the first Sabbath of the sec... [ Continue Reading ]
_that which is not lawful_ They did not accuse them of theft, for the Law allowed what they were doing (Deuteronomy 23:25). They accused them of profaning the Sabbath. The Law of course forbade reaping and threshing on that day, but the Rabbis tad decided that even to pluck corn was to be construed... [ Continue Reading ]
_Have ye never read_ Rather, DID YE NEVER READ? With a gentle irony He adopts one of the favourite formulas of their own Rabbis, and inquires if they had never read what David their favourite hero had done when flying from Saul. He came to the high priest at Nob, and entered the Tabernacle, and ate... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abiathar_ In 2 Samuel 8:17, and the parallel passage 1 Chronicles 18:16, we find _Ahimelech_substituted for Abiathar; while in 2 Samuel 20:25, and every other passage of the O. T., we are told it was Abiathar who was priest with Zadok in David's reign, and that he was the son of Ahimelech. Some the... [ Continue Reading ]