Chapter 1

(Verses 1 through 8) "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem , and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan , confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; and preached, saying, There cometh One mightier than I after me, the latchet of Whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

Thus Mark introduces Jesus as the Christ, the son of God, and John as the messenger of God, prophesied of by Isaiah, (Isaiah 40:3,) and Malachi, (Mal. 3:1,) and sent before Jesus the Christ, to prepare His way before Him. He describes John as to his dress and his diet, both of which were very simple; and as to his activities, which were, he baptized in the Jordan river those who confessed their sins, and he preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. He also delivered a message to the effect that One was shortly to come, Who was so much greater than he that he was not worthy to stoop down and loose the latchet of His shoes. He further declared, "I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

(Verses 9 through 12) "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan . And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness."

According to John, the place where John the Baptist was baptizing at this time was a place a little southeast of Jerusalem . Jesus lived at Nazareth of Galilee. He went all the way down to this point to be baptized of John the Baptist, who testified that one reason for his being sent to baptize was that the Son of God might be identified by the descending of the Spirit upon Him at this baptism. When Jesus came up out of the water, the Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove, and remained upon Him. Mark's choice of words might make it seem that He only was able to see this, and to hear the voice from heaven declaring Him to be the beloved Son of the Father in heaven, and well pleasing to Him. But the other writers make it clear that it was also manifest to others. Immediately after His baptism the Spirit caused Him to depart into the wilderness. Matthew words it thus, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil," which clearly indicates that not only would He be tempted of the devil, but that this was the purpose of His being "led up into the wilderness."

(Verse 13) "And He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him."

Thus Mark passes over the event with no further comment or details. For a detailed account of this, see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.

(Verses 14 and 15) "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God , and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

It is apparent that Mark passes over some more events at this point. One might think, from his account, that John was imprisoned shortly after the baptism of Jesus, and that only then did Jesus return to Galilee. This however is not exactly the sequence of events. According to John's record, Jesus did return to Galilee shortly after His baptism, but He returned to Judaea again before John was imprisoned, and did some baptizing, as witnessed by John 3:22. Then (John 4:1-3) "when therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus baptized not, but His disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee." Mark passes over all of this, and picks up his account after John the Baptist was put into prison. As Jesus went, He preached the good news of the kingdom of God . His message was, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Some have taken this message to mean that it was God's intention, if the people would just accept it, to establish the glorified, eternal phase of His kingdom on earth immediately, that the time for this was at hand; and all they had to do was to repent, and believe the gospel. Then He would immediately establish it. Had that been His intention, He would be a complete failure, all because puny man would not conform to His will. If it had taken place thus, where would have been the fulfilling of the first prophecy of the Christ, when God said to the serpent, "and thou shalt bruise His heel," not to mention the many other, and far more detailed prophecies of the suffering, death, and resurrection, of our Lord? Rather, the meaning of this message is, "It is time for the beginning of the fulfilling of the promises and prophecies of God concerning the bringing in of the kingdom, all of which are dependent upon the death, resurrection, ascension, and return of the King. So it is time to repent of your sins, and to believe in the good news of this wonderful kingdom."

(Verses 16 through 20) "Now as He walked by the Sea of Galilee , He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him. And when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway He called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him."

This is Mark's version of the calling of Simon, (who is later called Peter,) Andrew, James, and John. Each of the gospel writers gives slightly different details of this event, but one thing shows clearly through every account. In the calling of each one, the call was immediately effective. In not a single case did one refuse to follow Jesus, and not one asked for time to consider the matter. In only one instance given in scripture did one whom Jesus called to follow Him even ask for "an extension," that he might go and bury his father. When Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead," there is no more mention of delay. Some will try to say that the rich man, who went away sorrowful, refused to follow Him; but examination of the incident will show that this was all conditional, in the first place: for Jesus said, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me." The man had initiated the matter by asking what he might do to inherit eternal life. He wanted to obtain eternal life by his own works, which is totally impossible. Here Jesus does not say, "If you will follow Me, I will make you to become fishers of men." That would have been conditional. Instead He said, "Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." This is a command followed by a promise. No conditions are even implied. The wording of His call to James and John is not given, but it was equally effective.

(Verses 21 and 22) "And they went into Capernaum ; and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as One having authority, and not as the scribes."

The people were accustomed to listening to the scribes as they taught in the synagogues, say, "Moses says," or "The law says," and, sometimes, "Rabbi ____ has interpreted this to mean _ _ _." On the other hand, Jesus very often said, "Verily I say unto you," which is indeed a show of authority; and it was especially so when what He said was in direct contradiction to some of their traditions. This was very strange to the people, and it is no wonder that they were astonished.

(Verses 23 through 28) "And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee Who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth He the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him. And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee ."

This, though certainly needing no explanation, presents some points, which should be carefully noted. The first in importance is that it shows the power of Jesus, the Son of God. He not only had authority, but also had the power to back it up by working miracles, which no man could do. Next it shows that even the unclean, or evil, spirits recognize His Divinity, and fear Him. As soon as the unclean spirit addressed Him as "the Holy One of God," He rebuked him and ordered him to hold his peace. His purpose in this appears to have been that this should not be published abroad, until after His resurrection, for He even commanded His disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ, until then. The Greek word translated, "had torn," in verse 26, actually means "convulsed." So the sense of the expression is that the unclean spirit brought the man into a convulsion before coming out of him. It is only natural that the report of such s miracle would be spread immediately throughout the region.

(Verses 29 through 31) "And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. And He came, and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them."

Apparently Simon and Andrew lived in the same house. Since in all accounts of this the only reference we have to Simon's wife is in the phrase, "Simon's wife's mother," or "Peter's wife's mother," it is not clear whether or not his wife was still living. However, her mother was, and was evidently, for the time at least, staying in Simon's house, and was very sick of a fever. When informed of this Jesus went to her, took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and she was immediately healed, and was able to serve them.

(Verses 32 through 34) "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered them not to speak because they knew Him."

Again we see that Jesus would not permit the evil spirits to declare to the people Who He is. He did cast out many of them, and healed many people of various diseases. No doubt, since "all the city was gathered at the door," they brought all who needed to be healed, and all who were possessed of devils.

(Verses 35 through 39) "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after Him. And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, All men seek for Thee. And He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee , and cast out devils."

When Jesus instructed His disciples how to pray, He told them, "When ye pray, enter into your closet, and shut the door." No doubt that was unavailable to Him at this time, so He arose before daybreak, and went out to a solitary place to pray. Thus, as always, His actions were in harmony with His teaching. Some might think it unnecessary that He, being God in the flesh, should engage in prayer, except to demonstrate prayer to His disciples: but, in truth, He was in constant communion with the Father in prayer, even sometimes spending the whole night in prayer. When the disciples arose, they went out to find Him; and when they did find Him, they told Him that everyone was seeking Him. Yet, instead of going back with them to the crowd, He told His disciples that He must continue His mission by going to the next towns to preach there. So they continued their tour throughout Galilee , and He preached in all the synagogues of the area, healed the sick, and cast out devils.

(Verses 40 through 45) "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. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 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 unto Him from every quarter."

Leprosy is a disease, which, in ancient times was thought to be really something more than a disease. One who was a leper was driven out of society, and considered unclean. We seldom find anything said of healing a leper: rather the common phrase is "cleansing the leper." The law of Moses required a leper, when approaching, or being approached by, someone who was not a leper, to cry, "Unclean, unclean," as a warning. Usually, when a leper approached, the people would warn him to go away, and if he did not, they would take up stones to throw at him until he did. No one would deliberately touch a leper. Yet, though Jesus could have cleansed this leper just as easily by simply speaking the word, He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be thou clean." Though nothing is said to that effect, this of itself must have seemed somewhat amazing to the people. As soon as he spoke the leprosy was gone. He then instructed the man to keep the matter quiet, go to the priest, let him pronounce the leprosy cleansed, and make the offering required by the law, "for a testimony unto them." This offering being made to God would be testimony that God had cleansed his leprosy. Whether or not the man went to the priest, we do not know, but instead of saying nothing to any man, as he had been instructed, he, apparently, told everyone he saw. As a result of this, the crowds thronged so about Jesus that He could no longer openly enter into the cities. Even with His staying in desert places, the multitude came to Him from all of the adjoining area.

The first twelve verses of this chapter tell of a miracle wrought by Jesus in Capernaum . Since the first four verses only give the background of the matter, we refer the reader to them, and begin our comments with the fifth verse.

(Verses 5 through 12) "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? 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? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."

We sometimes give the name, palsy, to a disease, which causes the hands, and sometimes other members of the body, to shake uncontrollably; but the Greek word used here means that the man was a paralytic. The first thing Jesus said to him was, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." This immediately caused consternation in the minds of the scribes. They had been taught rightly that only God has the power to forgive sins. What they did not know, and what Jesus was demonstrating to them, was that He, the Son of man, and the Son of God, has this power, because He is "God with us." As they reasoned these things in their hearts, all the while considering Him as only a man, He was well aware of their thoughts. So He asked them a question, "Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy," (one who is paralyzed,) "Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" Obviously, His meaning is not, "Which words are easier to say," but, "Which can you more easily accomplish by speaking the words?" Since they could do neither, they had no answer, and He continued, "But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." This was His purpose in this in the first place, that they might know this. Then to prove that He did have this power, He said to the paralytic, "I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine own house." Since Jesus had, by His question, put both works on the same level, had the man not been healed, someone might also conclude that neither were his sins forgiven. But "immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion." Apparently, even the scribes were satisfied: for they made no comment.

(Verses 13 through 17) "And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And as He 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. 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? When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

This Levi is also called Matthew. He is the writer of The Gospel According To Matthew, and was a publican, or tax collector. Likely, a publican was the most despised person of Jewish society. First, he was considered a traitor to Israel , because he worked for the Roman government as a collector of taxes. Second, he obtained that job by guaranteeing to the Roman government a certain sum of money as the taxes from the area under his control, and his salary, or profit, was what ever above that amount he could squeeze out of the people. It might be that some of the publicans were compassionate persons. But the majority of them were so greedy, that all were hated so much, that although they were Jews, they were not welcome in the synagogues, and were considered so evil that, in speaking of them, the common phrase in which they were included was, "publicans and sinners." The term "sinners," although it also included people who did evil things, was in most instances applied in blanket fashion to all who did not profess to hold to all the "traditions of the elders" as did the Pharisees. As before noted, Levi was a publican; and if he was the kind of man all publicans were perceived to be, it makes his calling all the more remarkable, because a single call, "Follow Me," brought immediate response. He asked no questions concerning where they would go, or when, if ever, they would come back. At the time of the call he was "sitting at the receipt of custom," actually engaged in the very work from which he obtained his wealth. Nevertheless, at a single call of two words from a total stranger, he arose, left the entire operation, and followed Jesus. Yet men tell us today, that Jesus is begging men, and pleading with them to follow Him, but they just will not. There must be some mistake. They must be thinking of a different Jesus. Not only did Levi get up, and follow Jesus, but Luke says, "And Levi made Him a great feast at his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them." This is the same occasion Mark records here. The scribes and Pharisees thought themselves so righteous that they would be defiled if a sinner even touched them. So when Jesus went to eat with a crowd of publicans and sinners, as usual they had to criticize; but they directed their remarks and questions to His disciples instead of to Him. However, Jesus heard their question, and answered them Himself, saying, "They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Had men been righteous, there would have been no cause for Jesus to come into this world, suffer, and die on the cross. At the same time, these self-righteous hypocrites, who are, in reality, as great sinners as any other, are not the ones for whom He came either.

(Verses 18 through 22) "And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees 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? 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 fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast in those days. No man also seweth a piece of 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. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles."

True fasting has always been indication of sorrow and repentance, although the Pharisees, in particular, had adopted it as a ritual for show, that is to be seen of men; and for that reason they fasted much more than was required by the laws of God. Jesus declared that, while He, the bridegroom, is with His disciples, their happiness is too great for them to fast; but when He shall be taken from them will be days of sorrow, in which they will fast.

Then He sets forth a parable. He says that to sew a piece of new cloth on an old garment will only make the rent worse. An old garment that has become torn has, likely, also been washed so many times that the material will no longer shrink when it is washed. To use a piece of new cloth to patch it might be thought to work with our modern pre-shrunk fabrics, but not with the old fashioned homemade cloth. It would shrink so badly that it would tear out the old cloth around it, and make the tear much worse. Just so, trying to use the gospel to repair the old worship service of the legal traditions and rituals would only make the whole garment worse, because they will not be found compatible.

The parable of the wine and the old bottles has to do not with glass bottles, as we are accustomed to see today, but with the wine bottles of that time, which were goatskins, taken off the animals without splitting them open. After being removed from the carcasses, the skins were cleaned and prepared, and the openings were tied up, leaving one opening untied until the bottle was filled. The chemical action of the wine on the goatskin weakened it so that after being used once for storing wine, it was too much weakened to be used again for new wine. The new wine would burst it. Just so, the gospel cannot be confined under the traditions and rituals of the law service. It must be put into "new bottles."

(Verses 23 through 28) "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 corn. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and they that were with him? how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath day."

It is to be kept in mind that the law gave anyone the right, as he passed through his neighbor's grain field, to pluck the heads ("ears") with his hand, but he could not use an iron tool to cut them. So the objection here is not against their plucking the grain, but against their doing it on the Sabbath day. Sabbath breaking was the only complaint. Since, as Matthew tells us, the disciples were doing this because they were hungry, and were eating the grain, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of another incident of long ago, about which they had never raised an objection. It was an occasion when David and his men were hungry, the details of which are recorded in 1 Kings, chapter 21. So Jesus declared to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath day." This left the Pharisees with no excuse for further complaint.

(Verses 1 through 6)"And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand, And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, 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. 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 thy hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him."

This is another example of the vehement hatred the Pharisees had for Jesus. That hatred was also coupled with fear, fear that the majority of the people, as they listened to the teaching of Jesus, and witnessed the miracles He wrought, would turn away from them, and follow Him. This would cost them their standing with the people. They would be seen for the hypocrites they were, and not viewed as the "righteous servants of God" they professed themselves to be. Jesus knew their evil thoughts, and for that reason He boxed them with His question before healing the man's withered hand. Since they would not answer His question, they had no room for comment after He healed him. So seeing themselves thus put to shame before the people, they immediately had a meeting with the Herodians to plot some way to destroy Jesus. (The Herodians were not another religious sect of the Jews, but a small political party that, for some obscure reason, were followers of Herod.) The reason why they had to plot their scheme so carefully is that they had to find a way of getting Him officially condemned by the council of the priests and elders before the people knew what was being done. Otherwise the people might have turned against them.

Verses 7 through 12 give a simple account of Jesus' activities for a short while without giving any details. He left the city, and went down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee . There not only His disciples, but also great crowds from Galilee, Judaea, Jerusalem , Idumaea, beyond Jordan , Tyre , and Sidon , followed. There was such a multitude that Jesus had His disciples get a small ship (a boat) in which He could sit, and teach the multitude who stood on the shore. During this time He healed many sick people, and cast out many evil spirits, always charging them not to make Him known to the people.

(Verses 13 through 19) "And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve, 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 devils. And Simon He surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him: and they went into an house."

Verse 13 is a very simple statement, but one, which we should always keep in mind, "And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him." We do not know how high, or how steep this mountain was, but it was above the place where He left the multitude, and it did require some effort to get up there. Then after going up this mountain, Jesus did not call and say, "Anyone who wishes may come to Me." Instead He called "whom He would," that is, He called them by name. "And they came unto Him." Whatever effort was necessary to get up to where He was, each, when called, put forth, without any delay, or complaint. Today we sometimes hear it said, "This man was called to preach, but he never would surrender to the call." This statement would be extremely difficult to prove, if not totally impossible. Out of twelve men called at this time, all twelve responded immediately; and that this was a call to preach the gospel is clearly set forth in the next verse. "And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach." The Greek verb here translated "ordained" literally means "created," or "made." And in that sense He ordained them to the office of being with Him, and being sent forth by Him to preach; and in doing this, He made them "to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." These powers were necessary to them to prove to the people that they were His representatives.

Mark then gives the names of the twelve. Matthew's list of names is identical with Mark's, except that, he lists an additional name, Lebbaeus, for Thaddaeus, saying that Thaddaeus was his surname. Apparently, Lebbaeus had still another name, Judas, since Luke lists neither Lebbaeus nor Thaddaeus, but does list a Judas, who was the brother of James. This gives us a list of, at least, three sets of two brothers each, who were apostles. They are Simon and Andrew, James and John, and James and Judas (or Lebbaeus). Although it is nowhere stated in scripture, from John's account of Nathanael's coming to Jesus, one might wonder if Bartholomew is another name for Nathanael. If so, that would make four sets of brothers among the apostles. Judas Iscariot is said to be the son of Simon; but, since Simon was such a common name among the Jews, we have no idea who that Simon was. After making choice of these twelve apostles, Jesus and they went into a house.

(Verses 20 and 21) "And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself."

Just as before, the crowd came together; some, no doubt, to hear His teaching, others to be healed, others to see the miracles He wrought, and still others out of idle curiosity. As is usual with crowds, they showed no consideration for Him or His disciples, not even giving them opportunity to eat. His friends, that is, those of His home town, and who were well acquainted with Him, hearing how the multitude flocked after Him, decided that He was crazy, and went out to try to catch Him, perhaps intending to bring Him back home.

(Verses 22 through 30) "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth He out devils. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, 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. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an evil spirit."

These scribes from Jerusalem had come for one purpose only, to find fault with Jesus in one way or another. Here they make the most ridiculous accusation possible against Him, "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth He out devils." In order to insure that they hear His answer, Jesus called them to Him, and asked, "How can Satan cast out Satan?" As He continues His address, it becomes clear that His meaning extends beyond the actual words of His question. The full meaning is, "How can Satan cast out Satan without destroying himself?" He reminds them that no kingdom or house divided against itself can stand. Such always ends in the destruction of that house, or kingdom. Therefore, if Satan has begun to cast out Satan, his whole kingdom will soon self destruct, and be no more. Then He tells them how He does cast out devils. He illustrates it by "a strong man," who in this parable represents Satan. No one can enter into his house, and spoil his goods, (which includes the evicting of his servants,) unless he be strong enough to overpower, and bind, or render defenseless, that strong man. Jesus, in casting out devils, has proved Himself stronger than Satan: for He is able to "bind the strong man," and spoil his goods.

The remainder of this address has long been a subject of controversy among men. Jesus declares that all manner of sins and blasphemies "shall be forgiven unto the sons of men," except that of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. He who does this has "never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." It is easy enough to understand what blaspheming the Holy Ghost is. It is the believing and speaking evil against Him. This is obvious from verse 30, "Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit," while it was by the Holy Ghost that Jesus wrought His miracles. They therefore were calling the Holy Ghost an unclean spirit. When they said, "By the prince of devils casteth He out devils," they were saying that the Holy Ghost was the prince of devils. Such is blaspheming the Holy Ghost. What may be more difficult to ascertain is whether He means, that to commit this sin once, forever bars one from forgiveness, or whether He means, that those who continue in this will never be forgiven. His language is, "But whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." The first part of this seems to indicate that there is never any forgiveness for this sin, whether it be a one time occurrence, or an ongoing thing, but it is not followed by, "but is eternally damned." Instead, the statement is, "but is in danger of eternal damnation," which seems to indicate that, as long as he maintains that position, there is no hope for him; but that, God might see fit to remove him from such a condition, in which case, he would no longer be "in danger of eternal damnation." This is the point upon which most of the controversy has hinged. Of one thing we can be absolutely sure, There is no pleasant prospect for those who continue to blaspheme the Holy Ghost.

(Verses 31 through 35) "There came then His brethren and His mother, and standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. And the multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold, My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother."

In verse 21, we saw that Jesus' friends thought Him crazy, and went out to get Him. Now His mother and His brothers, with perhaps the same idea, had come, and though they could not get through the crowd to Him, they sent Him word to come to them. Jesus' answer to them might to some seem strange. It might seem that he was trying to sever all connections to them, but such was not the case. He was only declaring that in the kingdom of God only one family is recognized, the family of God. A total stranger in the flesh who shows that he loves God is to be considered just as close as a brother, a sister, or a mother; and though not here mentioned, he should be as close as a father in the flesh.

This chapter begins by telling us that Jesus returned to the seaside; and again, because of the great multitude who came to hear Him, He got into a boat, and sat down while He taught them as they stood on the shore. The first thing He taught them was a parable, which is commonly called The Parable Of The Sower. The setting forth of this parable continues through the ninth verse. The disciples did not understand this parable, and in private, asked Him to explain it to them. We shall not quote the parable itself, but take it up at the point where He begins the explanation. First, however, let us consider what He told His disciples before explaining to them the parable.

(Verses 11 and 12) "And 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 perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them."

This entire statement is exactly counter to the doctrine the religious world is constantly setting forth. They teach that God wants every one to believe His word, and all to accept Jesus, the Christ as their Savior. Yet Jesus says the privilege of knowing the mystery (secret) of the kingdom of God is given to some, and, at the same time, deliberately hidden from others, "lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." These two doctrines are as directly opposite as are east and west, or north and south.

(Verses 13 through 20) "And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? And how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And 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 time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns: such as hear the word, and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

If one looks closely at this, he can readily see that the question about which most preaching and most arguing are done concerning this parable, is never even hinted at in our Lord's explanation of it, the question of Who Is, And Who Is Not, A Child Of God? The ONLY subject in this discussion by our Lord is Under What Conditions The Preached Word Will Be Fruitful. He begins His explanation with the seed that is sown by the way side. He says this seed is like the word preached to those who, before they even have an opinion about it, forget it completely, that is, Satan takes it completely away, just as do the birds that seed which fell by the side of the road. In such cases the word cannot bring forth fruit: "it becometh unfruitful." The emphasis is on the seed, not the ground; or the word, not the person.

The seed which falls on stony ground, that is, ground, which just covers the stones, but does not have enough depth to hold moisture, is like the word preached to someone who is immediately impressed with it, and receives it gladly, but does not have deep enough faith to endure persecutions and afflictions. and so, in time of stress turns away. Under such conditions the word is again rendered unfruitful. Still the item for consideration is the seed, (the word,) not the ground (the person).

The third illustration is the seed, which fell among thorns: the thorns grew up and choked the seed (the sprouts of the seed), and so again it becomes unfruitful. This is the situation with the word when preached to those who, after hearing it, are so involved with worldly things that they turn to them instead of following after the word; and thus the word bears no fruit. We are still discussing the seed, not the field; or the word, not the man.

Finally, we come to seed which falls into good ground, ground which, if it was by the way side, has been broken up and prepared; if it was stony, the stones have been removed; if it had thorns, they have been removed; and now it is ready for the seed. Here the seed springs up, grows, and produces fruit. Even here the amount of fruit varies, but all the seed sown in this ground is fruitful. Still the emphasis is exactly where it has been all the way through, on the seed (the preached word). There is no excuse for men to try to inject into this parable the questions of "Who Is," and "Who Is Not," a child Of God. It is not here, and neither is it any of our business to try to make such judgments. That is for God to judge, and if He had declared to us what His judgment of the matter is, we still would have no need to argue over it.

(Verses 21 through 23) "And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."

Our Lord's question anticipates only one answer, the negative. Everyone should recognize this truth: the purpose of bringing a candle is, that it may be placed on a candlestick, and may thus give light. Surely, then the work of God will be manifested. There are those who would snuff it out if they could; but in spite of all their efforts it will shine forth. On the other hand, those who try to hide their wickedness behind a cloak of self-righteousness, will find it brought to light in spite of all their efforts to the contrary.

(Verses 24 and 25) "And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: 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 taken even that which he hath."

This saying of our Lord is recorded in other places also, twice in Matthew's writing, and twice in Luke's, with slight variations of words. However the meaning is always the same. To those who have been blessed with the gift of life in our Lord Jesus the Christ, will also be given additional blessings of understanding, wisdom, faith, etc. But those who do not have eternal life will have stripped from them all the pretense of righteousness they have tried to present to men. So He cautions His disciples, "Take heed what ye hear," that is. be careful what teachings, or doctrines, you receive and follow. The saying, "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you," is that same old message He taught from the beginning, "You will reap what you sow," just set in different words; and He says, "And unto you that hear shall more be given." He had, in verse 23, said, "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." By obeying this command, those who hear shall have more given to them.

(Verses 26 through 29)"And He said, So is the kingdom 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 and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of itself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."

In this parable, the man who sows the grain in his field, waits after the sowing, sleeping at night, and rising, and attending his daily activities in the day, not knowing how it is done, but nevertheless knowing that the earth will bring forth the plants. Then will come the formation of the head of grain, which will, in course of time, mature, and finally ripen. Then, and not before, will he take his sickle, and harvest it. He knows that harvest time comes only when the grain is ripe. So is the kingdom of God . God is represented by the man, who plants the seed, and reaps the harvest. Although, surely, God knows exactly how and why it all works, instead of being as the man of whom it is said, "he knoweth not how," He still, as does the man, waits until the whole process of growing and ripening is completed before reaping the harvest. In another parable He tells us that the harvest is the end of the world. So the end will come when the harvest of God is finished. He will not cut it short.

(Verses 30 through 32) "And He said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God ? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of 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 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."

This is another parable about which men have created great arguments, not about what the parable says, but about what they want to inject into it. The mustard to which our Lord refers is the oriental mustard, which will grow to a height of eight or ten feet, and has a very small seed. The comparison is very simple. Just as from this tiny seed grows a plant large enough to shelter the fowls of the air, so from so small a beginning as the twelve apostles Jesus chose and ordained in Chapter 3, will the kingdom of God grow into such a great kingdom that, in the day of its glory, it will become "a great mountain, and fill all the earth," as did the smiting stone of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The argument men engage in so much concerning this parable, comes from their wanting to "spiritualize" the "fowls of the air," which are not even mentioned in connection with the kingdom of God, but only with the mustard plant; and their only value there is to emphasize the size of the mustard plant in comparison to the size of the seed from which it came.

(Verses 33 through 35) "And with many such parables spake He the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake He not unto them: and when they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples. And the same day, when even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side."

In keeping with what He told His disciples in verse 12, Jesus spoke to the multitudes only in parables, and when alone with the disciples He explained all these things to them. Having thus spent the day in teaching, He gave orders that they, He and His disciples, should go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee .

(Verses 36 through 41) "And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. And 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 the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish? And He arose, 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 unto them, Why are ye fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

This episode should not be surprising to us, although the disciples were very much surprised at it. It really needs no explanation, but a few comments may be in order. We should not be misled by the word, "ship." This was not an ocean going vessel, as we usually think of when using this word, but was only a large open rowboat, suitable for fishing in the Sea of Galilee. The sea of Galilee is only about six miles wide, and about thirteen miles long, but capable of raising some fairly large waves, when whipped by a strong wind, since it is more than eight hundred feet deep in some parts. Jesus, exhausted from the day's activities, was asleep on a pillow in the back part of the boat. The storm evidently arose suddenly, and before the disciples could do anything about the situation, the boat was practically full of water. So they awakened Jesus, saying, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?" He first said to the storm, "Peace, be still," and the wind and the sea both subsided immediately. Then He questioned His disciples, "Why are ye fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" This is often our trouble today. Our faith weakens, and we become afraid in a crisis, forgetting that, when He is with us, nothing can harm us. In spite of their having been chosen of Him, and ordained apostles with special powers, they still were not prepared for this. So being greatly afraid, they questioned among themselves, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

When Jesus and His disciples reached the other side of the sea, they landed in the area of the Gadarenes. As soon as Jesus disembarked, there came to Him a man possessed of an evil spirit. His condition was such that his strength was almost superhuman. He had many times been bound with ropes and chains, but to no avail: he simply broke them, and went his way. He was so deranged that he would not live in a house, but in the tombs; and no one could quiet him down. Night and day he wandered, crying, through the mountain and the tombs. He evidently had suicidal tendencies, for he was often cutting himself with stones. At this point we return to the words of Mark.

(Verses 6 through 10) "But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, the Son of the most high God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not. For He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And He asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought Him much that He would not send them away."

When this man saw Jesus at a distance, he ran, and fell prostrate at His feet. The phrase, "worshipped Him," has no reference to worshipping in the sense of rendering praise and adoration, but has to do only with the act of prostrating himself before Him, as did the unfaithful steward in Matthew 18:26, "The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." That instance is much like the present one, in that both men were under great fear: the servant under fear of having himself, his wife, his children, and all his possessions sold to pay his debt to his master; and this man driven by the unclean spirits who feared that Jesus had come to torment them "before the (appointed) time," as is said in Matthew 8:29. Notice that the conversation here is not between Jesus and the man, per se, but between Jesus and the evil spirit by which the man was possessed. When the man fell down before Jesus, the evil spirit spoke thus, "What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not." As we read other accounts of His casting out devils, we find that this type of declaration from them was typical, when Jesus permitted them to speak, though many times, "He would not suffer them to speak, because they knew Him." The evil spirits, including Satan himself, know Jesus. They know that He is the Son of God, and that He is the great Judge, Who shall, in that final Day of Judgment, cast them all into hell. These were afraid that He had come to torment them "before the time," that is, before the Day of Judgment. He had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man, and He asked the spirit, "What is thy name?" not because He didn't know: for He knew all things, but that His disciples might hear the answer. The evil spirit said, "My name is Legion: for we are many." One individual name would not have sufficed, because it was not one spirit, but many. The evil spirit who was the spokesman for them all, begged Jesus not to "send them away out of the country." Luke's wording of this is, "And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep," (or the abyss,) which is the same as "outer space."

(Verses 11 through 14) "Now there was nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done."

When the herd of swine ran down into the sea, and were drowned, their keepers were so frightened that they left the scene. Apparently they told the story to every one they met, thus spreading the news everywhere, both in the city and throughout the country. The people, probably did not believe them, and came out to see for themselves what had taken place.

(Verses 15 through 17) "And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they that saw it told them how it befell him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts."

When the people came to Jesus, they found a sight they could not understand. This man who had been so wild that he would neither live in a house, nor wear clothes, and could not even be effectively bound with ropes or chains, was sitting clothed, and in his right mind. Mark has made no mention of it, but when Luke described this man as he came to Jesus, said, "And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs." Now this same man is sitting quietly, instead of running around crying, and cutting himself with stones; he is clothed, instead of going around naked; and he is in his right mind, (he is perfectly sane,) instead of being so wild that no man can tame him. As people are often frightened by what they cannot understand, so were these. When the witnesses told them not only how this came about, but also the story of the swine, it was more than they could take. They began begging Jesus to go away from their entire area. They were afraid of what might take place next, if He remained with them.

(Verses 18 through 20) "And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel."

In compliance with the requests of the people, Jesus entered the boat, and the man who had been possessed of the devil begged Him to let him go with Him; but Jesus had a different mission for him. He told him, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." The man may have felt a little disappointment that Jesus would not let him go with Him. But, as in all other cases of Jesus' calling, or sending forth someone to do His bidding, the man "departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel." He must have preached with wonderful power!

The remainder of this chapter is taken up with the account of two miracles wrought by Jesus. We refer the reader to Mark's record of it as written for the actual sequence of events; but since the record of one is broken by the insertion of the other, we shall, in commenting, take out the one inserted, and discuss it first. Then we shall attempt to join the two segments of the other together. This may cause a slight overlap.

(Verses 24 through 29) "And Jesus went with him: and much people followed Him and thronged Him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may but touch His clothes, I shall be made whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague."

If there were no more to this incident than this, it would still be wonderful. For twelve long years this woman had suffered from a disorder for which neither she nor any of the doctors to whom she had gone even knew the cause. As is true in many cases today, all they knew was the major symptom of the disease. She, no doubt, had tried every treatment they suggested. She had spent everything, in the way of finances, she had, and instead of being healed, or even improved, she only got worse. Probably, she had almost given up in despair; but when she heard of Jesus, that is, that He had come to her town, God also gave her faith to believe that if she could just touch the garment of Jesus, she would be healed. Surely, with all the crowd pressing around Him, one little touch would not be noticed. And since her condition was such that it would have been embarrassing to tell the whole story before the multitude, she managed to come close enough in the crowd behind Him to touch His garment; and, glory to God! She was healed, just as she had been made to believe. What joy must have filled her heart at that very moment! But this is not the end of the story.

(Verses 31 through 34) "And Jesus, immediately knowing that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, "Who touched My clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me? And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

We, no doubt, would have thought just as did His disciples, with all of this multitude bumping into one another, and certainly brushing against His clothing in passing, to ask, "Who touched My clothes?" was somewhat foolish. But He was not concerned about accidental touching by someone who brushed by, but the deliberate touch of one who had been given faith to believe in His healing power. When He asked, "Who touched My clothes?" He was not asking for information, but to call this woman to witness what had been done. Mark does not say, "And He looked round about to see if He could find her that had done this thing," but "And He looked round about to see her _ _ _." He knew who had done it before He looked, and He looked to see her. This woman had suffered much, and was greatly embarrassed that Jesus had known what she had done. Nevertheless, with all her fear and trembling, she came forth and declared the whole matter to Him, not knowing how her testimony would be received. What great comfort it must have been to her, when Jesus said to her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

Now we shall take up the other miracle, which was interrupted by this incident.

(Verses 21 through 24) "And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him: and He was nigh unto the sea. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, and besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him _ _ _."

This account is, surely, clear enough to be in no need of explanation, but it does present a point worthy of note. This "ruler of the synagogue," being a Jew, and especially being a teacher in the synagogue, would, probably, be thought to have as strong faith as anyone we could find, since, in his plea to Jesus, he says, "Come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live." But compare this with a statement made by a Roman centurion not far from this same place. He was at Capernaum ; and when Jesus said to him concerning his servant, "I will come and heal him," the centurion's answer was, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed." His faith was such that he believed Jesus could, by speaking the word only, and not even being in the presence of the sick servant, heal him with no difficulty, while this teacher in the synagogue thought that He must come to the child to be effective. So Jesus went with him.

(Verses 35 through 43) "While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with great astonishment. And He charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat."

"While He yet spake," refers to His dismissing the woman whose healing we have already discussed. While He spoke to her, the message came that Jairus' daughter was already dead. Therefore the messenger thought it futile to have Jesus go any farther. However Jesus' answer to Jairus was, "Be not afraid, only believe;" and they continued on to Jairus' house. Jesus would permit no one except Peter, James, and John, to go with them.

We do not know how far they had to go, but it did take some time to get there. The interval from the girl's death to their arrival had been sufficient for professional mourners to be called, and to make their appearance. For Matthew says, "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." All testify that the people "laughed Him to scorn." They knew that the girl was dead. However, to Jesus, as He said regarding God and the dead, "_ _ _ all live unto Him." When He had driven out the professional mourners, He took the father and mother of the girl and His three disciples, and entered the room where the girl was lying. With no fanfare, He took her by the hand, and called her to arise, whereupon she immediately arose, and walked. He next gave orders that she be given something to eat; and He also charged all present that they tell no one about what was done. He evidently preferred that the people He had driven out, when they should find out that the girl lived, should just think that they were mistaken in the first place, and that she was only sleeping. He often took precautions to keep His fame from spreading too swiftly.

Chapter 6

(Verses 1 through 6) "And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and of Simon? and are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief."

If Jesus had been a great politician, a great soldier, or some other great man, in the things of this world, the towns in His home territory might have "given Him the key of the city," had a great parade in His honor, or fostered some other big event to commemorate His achievements; but He was none of these. In our present day society, if He were a great rock and roll artist, a movie star, a comedian, or a great athlete, He would be welcome everywhere; and towns that thought they had any chance of making such a claim stick, would be claiming Him as a "native son." Yet He, the Lord of glory, the only Saviour, the great Prophet, Priest, and King, when He returned to the area where He had grown up, not only was not welcomed with open arms, but the people were offended at Him because of the great wisdom and power that were His. Although we have no ministers that can be compared to Him, we yet see that same attitude of people, and the sad thing is that we see it among those who profess to be Christians. God may bless one He has called to the ministry with great talents for that work. But the usual reaction of the people in his home area is, "He is a very good preacher, but we have known him all his life, so he is surely not so able as Brother ______, who comes from ______." some place three or four hundred miles away. In fact this attitude is so prevalent that it has produced a very common saying, "The difference between a big preacher and a little one is about three hundred miles." Of course, this is really not new at all. Jesus said, "A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." These people were the losers in the matter, because "He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them." The statement, "And He could there do no mighty work," does not mean that His power was in any wise diminished, nor that He had to have their cooperation to accomplish such. But, since His mighty works were for the purpose of confirming faith already given, they would have been out of place where there was no faith. Miracles witnessed by the natural eye do not produce faith: it is produced by the Spirit, Which is given within the heart, and not by outside means. Jesus was neither surprised, nor overwhelmed by their lack of faith, but He did "marvel" at it in the sense that He called their attention to it by His saying. However, in spite of it, He taught in all their villages.

(Verses 7 through 13) "And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: but be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And He said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."

In the tenth chapter of his gospel record, Matthew gives a more detailed account of this matter. Mark covers it, but in a more condensed version; but he sets forth most of the principal items of instruction given to the apostles by our Lord. Jesus did not send the apostles forth singly, but in teams of two each. He had, when He ordained them, given them power to heal the sick and cast out demons. Since that is again mentioned here, we assume that he reaffirmed it to them at this time. He commanded them to take no money and no provisions, and not even an extra coat. They were to be shod with sandals, and to carry a staff. This is all the equipment they were to have. When they entered into a town or village, and found a house in which they were received willingly, they were not to go from house to house, but abide in that house until they were ready to move on to the next destination. If they found no one in a town or village that would receive them, He said, "Shake off the dust from under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment; than for that city." Many will not accept this last statement at face value, because they do not believe that there will be any degrees of punishment in the day of judgment. However that is exactly what Jesus said, and I, for one, find no difficulty in accepting His word as spoken. In obedience to our Lord's commands, the apostles went out, and preached repentance, the very same message that John the Baptist began to preach, and Jesus later preached. They were also successful in healing the sick and casting out demons.

(Verses 14 through 18) "And king Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and He said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in Him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold on John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."

Mark refers to Herod as "king Herod," because Herod had adopted the title, and really had an ambition to be king, though he was only a tetrarch under the Roman government. He seems to have been more superstitious than religious. When he heard of the mighty miracles done by our Lord, he was convinced that John the Baptist, whom he had had beheaded in the prison, had risen from the dead, and was doing these miracles. Among the people there were various ideas as to the identity of Jesus, all the way from that held by Herod, through the whole list of the prophets, and even to His being "as one of the prophets." But the superstition of Herod was such, that he held adamantly to his theory that He was John the Baptist, risen from the dead. This, no doubt, caused him some fear, and may in that way have contributed to the vehement hatred he developed against Jesus. The reason for Herod's imprisonment of John is, that John had declared to Herod that it was not lawful for him to have Herodias, who had been the wife of his brother Philip, as his wife. The circumstances of this situation were: Herodias, who was the niece of both Herod Philip and Herod Antipas, was also the wife of Herod Philip. She abandoned Philip, and married Antipas. This, according to the law of God, was an adulterous marriage, and John the Baptist told Herod Antipas so, and declared that it was not lawful. This greatly enraged Herodias. So, for her sake Herod had John cast into prison.

(Verses 19 and 20) "Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him, and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."

Because John maintained that their marriage was not lawful, Herodias wanted to kill him, but Herod was afraid to do that. He knew that John was a just and righteous man, and he liked to hear him. When he did hear him, he remembered what he said. (The word here translated, "observed," does not mean obeyed, but only "kept in mind.") "He heard him gladly." Nevertheless, he had John put into prison, and the story continues to develop.

(Verses 21 through 23) "And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, it pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of the kingdom."

This is the second great birthday celebration recorded in scripture; and both of them ended in murder. In the first, Pharaoh had his baker executed, and the present one was the occasion of the murder of John the Baptist. At this great feast, Salome, the daughter of Herodias, put on the floor show. She danced, and her dancing so pleased Herod, that He, in the presence of his guests, promised to give her anything she might ask, even to the half of the kingdom. This was an exceedingly rash promise, not only because of the way in which it turned out; but had she asked for half of the kingdom, he could not have fulfilled the request. Because he was tetrarch only at the pleasure of the Roman emperor, and had no authority to give away any part of his "kingdom," which indeed was not a kingdom at all. He even confirmed this rash promise with an oath.

(Verses 24 and 25) "And she went forth, and said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist."

In the past three hundred and eighty years the English language has undergone many changes. One of them shows up very vividly in this quotation. Today, when we use the phrase, "by and by," we mean "sometime in the future," and very often we think of it as the far distant future; but not so here, in verse 25. The Greek word from which this phrase is translated means "on the instant," or "immediately." So the girl went to her mother, and asked what request she should make; and Herodias said, "The head of John the Baptist." Without further delay, Salome returned to Herod, and said, "I want you to give me this instant the head of John the Baptist on a platter." We might be somewhat appalled at such a bloodthirsty request from a young girl, but this seems to be a case of "like mother, like daughter."

(Verses 26 through 29) "And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came, and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb."

Here we see that regardless of the statement in verse 20, "And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly," Herod's liking for John was not so important to Herod as was saving face. "For his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.” Though Herod may have been glad to hear some things John said, he did not like to hear him condemn the marriage of Herod and Herodias; and now through the cunning of Herodias, and his own weakness, he had eradicated that. When the news of John's murder reached his disciples, they came, and obtained his body for burial.

(Verses 30 through 32) "And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately."

Back in verse 7, Jesus sent forth His apostles by two's to preach, to he