else the new piece that filled it up | him, Behold, why do they on the taketh away from the old, and the sabbath day that which is not lawrent is made worse. ful? 22 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. 23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 3 24 And the Pharisees said unto 1 Job xxxii. 19. Psa. cxix. 83. 2 Matt. xii. 1-8. Luke vi. 1-5. 3 Deut. xxiii. 25. 23-28. See Matt. xii. 1-8. The corn fields. The fields sown with grain, wheat, or barley. The word corn, in the Bible, refers only to grain of that kind. pluck the ears of corn. They were hungry. See Matt. xii. 1-8. They, therefore, gathered the wheat, or barley, as they walked, and rubbed it in their hands to shell it, and thus to satisfy their appetite. Though our Lord was with them, and though he had all things at his control, yet he suffered them to resort to this method to supply their wants. Since Jesus, thus with his disciples, suffered them to be poor, we may learn that poverty is not disgraceful; that God often permits it for the good of his people; and that he will take care, in some way, that their wants shall be supplied. It was lawful for them thus to supply their wants. Though the property belonged to another, yet the law of Moses allowed the poor to satisfy their wants from such property when they were hungry. See Deut. xxiii. 25. 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, 5 which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The 4 1 Sam. xxi. 2-6. 5 Exod. xxix. 32, 33. Lev. xxiv. 9. And from 1 Sam. xxiii. 6, it appears that Abiathar was the son of Abimelech. Some difficulty has been felt in reconTociling these accounts. The probable reason why Mark says it was in the days of Abiathar is that Abiathar was better known than Abimelech. The son of the high priest was regarded as his successor, and was often associated with him in the duties of his office. It was not improper, therefore, to designate him as high priest, even during the life of his father, especially as that was the name by which he was afterwards known. Abiathar, moreover, in the calamitous times when David came to the throne, left the interest of Saul, and fled to David, bringing with him the ephod, one of the peculiar garments of the high priest. For a long time, during David's reign, he was high priest, and it became natural, therefore, to associate his name with that of David; to speak of David as king, and Abiathar the high priest of his time. This will account for the fact that he was spoken of rather than his father. At the same time this was strictly true, that this was done in the days of Abiathar, who was afterwards high priest, and was familiarly spoken of as such. Bishop Butler was author of the book entitled, "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed," though he was not made bishop till a few years after that book had been published; and so of many other cases. Shew-bread. See Note, Matt. xii. 3. 24. That which is not lawful. That is, that which they esteemed to be unlawful on the sabbath day. It was made lawful by Moses, without any distinction of days, but they had denied its lawfulness on the sabbath. Christ shows them, from their own law, that it was not unlawful. 25. Have ye never read, &c. See Note, Matt. xii. 3. 26. Abiathar the priest. From 1 Sam. xxi. 1, it appears that Abimelech was high priest at the time here referred to. 27. The sabbath was made for man. 1 sabbath was made for man, and man there which had a withered not man for the sabbath: hand. 2 And they watched 5 him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it AND he entered again into the lawful to do good on the sabbath synagogue; and there was a days, or to do evil? to save life, 7 1 Neh. ix. 14. Isa. lviii. 13. Ezek. xx. 12. 2 Col. ii. 16. 20. 3 John ix. 14. Eph. i. 22. Rev. i. 10. Matt. xii. 9-13. Luke vi. 6--10. For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns, and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labours; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof, that no institution has been more signally blessed to man's welfare than the Christian sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no sabbath, there are ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day, the poor and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation. On that day man may offer his praises to the great Giver of all good, and in the sanctuary seek the blessing of Him whose favour is life. Where that day is observed in any manner as it should be, order prevails, morals are promoted, the poor are elevated in their condition, vice flies away, and the community puts on the appearance of neatness, industry, morality, and religion. The sabbath was, therefore, pre-eminently intended for man's welfare, and the best interests of mankind demand that it should be sacredly regarded as an appointment of vi. 6. Luke xiv. 1. Arise, in the midst. * Hos. merciful Heaven, intended for our highest good; and, where improved aright, infallibly resulting in our temporal and eternal peace. ¶Not man for the sabbath. Man was made first, and then the sabbath was appointed for his welfare. Gen. ii. 2. The sabbath was not first made or contemplated, and then the man made with reference to that. Since, therefore, the sabbath was intended for man's real good, the law respecting it must not be interpreted so as to oppose his real welfare. It must be explained in consistency with a proper attention to the duties of mercy to the poor and the sick, and to those in peril. It must be, however, in accordance with man's real good on the whole, and with the law of God. The law of God contemplates man's real good on the whole; and we have no right under the plea that the sabbath was made for man, to do anything contrary to what the law of God admits. It would not be for our real good, but for our real and eternal injury, to devote the sabbath to vice, to labour, or to amusement. 28. Therefore, the Son of man, &c. See Note, Matt. xii. 8. CHAPTER III. 1-5. See this explained in Matt. xii. 9-13. 4. Or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? It seems to have been a maxim with the Jews, that not to do good when we have an opportunity, was to do evil; not to save life was to kill, or to be guilty of murder. If a man has an opportunity of saving another's life when he is in danger, and does not do it, he is evidently peace. or to kill? But they held their | hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 6 And the Pharisees went forth, 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their 1 Or, blindness. guilty of his death. On this principle our Saviour puts this question to the Jews, whether it was better for him, having the power to heal this man, to do it, or to suffer him to remain in this suffering condition. And he employs for illustration an example, in a matter of much less importance, that respecting their cattle, they would do on the sabbath just as he would if he should heal this man. The same remark may apply to all opportunities of doing good. "The ability to do good imposes an obligation to do it."-Cotton Mather. He that has the means of feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, and instructing the ignorant, and sending the gospel to the destitute, and that does it not, is guilty; for he is practically doing evil; he is suffering evils to exist which he might remove. So the wicked will be condemned in the day of judgment, because " they did it not." Matt. xxv. 45. If this be true, what an obligation rests on the rich to do good! 5. With anger. With a severe and stern countenance; with indignation at their hypocrisy and hardness of heart. This was not, however, a spiteful or revengeful passion; it was caused by excessive grief at their state. It was not sudden and tumultuous hatred of the men whose hearts were so hard; it was hatred of the sin which they exhibited, joined with extreme grief that neither his teaching, nor the law of God, nor any means which could be used, overcame their confirmed wickedness. Such anger is not unlawful. Eph. iv. 26. And in this instance, our Lord has taught us that anger is never lawful, except when it is tempered with grief or compassion for those who have offended. Hardness of their hearts. The heart, figuratively the seat of feeling, or affection, is said to be tender when it is easily affected by the sufferings of others; by our own sin and danger; by the love and commands of God; when we are easily made to feel on 1 Kin. xiii. 6. John v. 8, 9. the great subjects pertaining to our interest. Ezek. xi. 19, 20. It is hard, when nothing moves it; when a man is alike insensible to the sufferings of others, the dangers of his own condition, and the commands, the love, and the threatenings of God. It is most tender in youth, or when we have committed fewest crimes. It is made hard by indulgence in sin; by long resisting the offers of life; or by opposing any great and affecting appeals which God may make to us by his Spirit, or providence, by affliction, or by a revival of religion. Hence it is, that the most favourable period for securing an interest in Christ, or for becoming a Christian, is in youth; the first, the tenderest, and the best days of life. Nay, in the days of childhood, in the sabbath school, God may be found, and the soul prepared for removal to a better world. 6. Straightway. Immediately; or as soon as possible. Took counsel. Laid a plan. Consulted with them. Literally, made a consultation. The Herodians. See Note, Matt. xxii. 16. How they might destroy him. They hated him for his holiness, because he reproved them, because he laid open their hypocrisy, and because he won the hearts of the people, and lessened their influence. They, therefore, determined to remove him, if possible, and thus avoid his reproofs. Sinners would often rather put to death the man that reproves them, than forsake their sins. The Pharisees had rather commit any crime, even to the murder of the Messiah, than forsake the sins for which he rebuked them. 7,8. To the sea. The sea of Galilee. Or to the desert and lonely regions which surrounded the sea, where he might be in obscurity, and avoid their designs against his life. His time had not yet come, and he prudently took care of his life, thus showing that we are not needlessly to throw ourselves into danger. ¶ Galilee. See Matt. ii. 22. Judea. See Matt. ii. 1. ¶ Jerusalem. Jerusalem was in Judea. It is mentioned particularly to show that not only the people of the surrounding country came, but also many from the capital, the place of wealth and honour, and power. Idumea. The country formerly inhabited by the Edomites, in the time of the Saviour, the most southern part of the land of Canaan. The word Idumæa is a Greek word, made from the Hebrew Edom. It signifies the land of Edom, a name given to Esau, one of the sons of Isaac. Gen. xxv. 30. The word signifies red, and was given to him because he sought of Jacob red pottage, as the price of his birthright. He settled in Mount Seir, Deut. ii. 5, on the south of the land of Canaan, and the country of Idumea was bounded by Palestine on the north. During the Babylonish captivity, the Edomites spread themselves into the country of Judea, and occupied a considerable part of the south of Palestine. They had, however, submitted to the rite of circumcision, and were incorporated with the Jews. From them sprang Herod the Great. From beyond Jordan. From the east coast of the river Jordan. The sacred writers lived on the west side of Jordan, and by the country beyond Jordan, they meant that on the east side. Tyre and Sidon. See Note, Matt. xi. 21. 9. A small ship. Rather, a boat. There were, properly speaking, no ships on the sea of Tiberias. This was probably a small boat that belonged to his disciples, in which he could sit off from the shore, and teach the people without being pressed by them. ¶ Lest they should throng him. They pressed upon him in great numbers. He had healed many, and those who were still diseased pressed or crowded on him so as to endanger his life. He, therefore, withdrew from the multitude, and sought a situation where he might be free from danger. As many as had plagues. As many as had diseases, or maladies of body or mind. The word plague, now confined to a particular disease, does not express the meaning of the original, and tends to mislead. 11, 12. Unclean spirits. Persons who were possessed of evil spirits. Thou art the Son of God. The Son of God, by way of eminence. In this place, it is equivalent to the Messiah, who, among the Jews, was called the Son of God. Hence they were charged not to make him known, because he was not desirous that it should be blazoned abroad that he claimed to be the Messiah. He had not yet done what he wished to establish his claims to the Messiahship; he was poor and unhonoured, and the claim would be treated as that of an impostor, as it was afterwards, and would endanger his life. For the present, therefore, he did not wish that it should be proclaimed abroad that he was the Messiah. This circumstance proves the existence If these were merely of evil spirits. diseased or deranged persons, then it is strange that they should be endowed with knowledge so much superior to those in health. If these persons were under the that they should not make him and he surnamed them Boanerges, known.1 which is, The sons of thunder: 5 influence of an order of spirits superior to man whose appropriate habitation was in another world, then it is not strange that they should know him, even in the midst of his poverty, to be the Messiah, the Son of God. 13-19. For an account of the appointment of the apostles, see Matt. x. 1-4. And calleth unto him whom he would. Those whom he chose, whom he was about to appoint to the apostleship. 14. He ordained twelve. The word rendered ordained here, does not express our notion of ordination to the ministry. It means, literally, he made, or he appointed twelve to be with him. Twelve. The reason why twelve were chosen was, probably, that such a number would be deemed competent witnesses of what they saw, that so many could not be supposed to be imposed upon, that they could not be easily charged with being excited by sympathy, or being deluded as a multitude might, and that, being destined to go into all the world, a considerable number seemed indispensable. Perhaps, also, there was some reference to the fact that twelve was the number of the tribes of Israel. 17. Boanerges. This word is made up of two Hebrew words, signifying sons of thunder, meaning that they on some accounts resembled thunder. Note, Matt. i. 1. It is not known why this name was given to James and John. They are no 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Al phæus, and Thaddæus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. 20 And the multitude cometh together again, so 7 that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 And when his & friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on 5 Isa. lviii. 1. Jer. xxiii. 29. 6 Or, home. * Ch. vi. 31. Ver. 31. John vii. 3-10. Heb. iv. 12, 13, 8 Or, kinsmen. where else called by it. Some suppose it was because they wished to call down fire from heaven, and consume a certain village of the Samaritans. Luke ix. 54. It is, however, more probable that it was on account of something fervid, and glowing, and powerful in their genius and eloquence. 20. They could not so much as eat bread. Their time and attention were so occupied, that they were obliged to forego their regular meals. The affairs of religion may so occupy the attention of ministers, and others, as to destroy their relish for the ordinary comforts and employments of life, and prevent their engaging in their customary pursuits. Religion is all important, far more important than the ordinary business of this life; and there is nothing unreasonable if our temporal affairs sometimes give way to the higher interests of our own souls, and the souls of others. At the same time, it is true that religion is ordinarily consistent with a close attention to worldly business. It promotes industry, economy, order, neatness, and punctuality, all indispensable to worldly prosperity. Of these there has been no more illustrious example than that of our Saviour himself. 21. When his friends. Greck, they who were of him. Not the apostles, but his relatives, his friends, who were in the place of his nativity. Heard of it. Heard of his conduct, his preaching, his |
