forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign 12 from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again, departed to the other side.

14

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they 15 in the ship with them more than one loaf. And he charged them,

saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of 16 the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, 17 saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread ? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet 18 hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye 19 not? and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves

among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye 20 up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? 21 And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

22

And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man un23 to him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him 24 if he saw auglit. And he looked up, and said, I see men as 25 trees walking. After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes,

and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man 26 clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

been on the western side of Lake Gennesaret, a little north of Tiberias, and near Magdala.

12. He was deeply affected, because he saw that they were demanding evidence, which, from the very nature of his kingdom, never could be afforded them. No sign could be given them, such as they desired.

14. One loaf. Such particulari

ties, naturally introduced, mark the true historian.

15. See note on Mark iii. 6.

22. Besought. Should be in the present tense, beseech, corresponding with the verb bring, in the preceding clause.

24. I see men as trees walking. Or, as Campbell renders it, or rather paraphrases it, "I see men, whom I

And 29

And 30

And 31

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cesa- 27 rea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? And they answered, John 28 the Baptist but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. he charged them that they should tell no man of him. he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he 32 spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about, and looked on his 33 disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto 34 him, with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; but 35 whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the 36 whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give 37

distinguish from trees only by their walking." Indistinctness and confusion of vision are described in terms so individual and original, as to leave no doubt of the reality of the fact. The man also could not have been born blind, for he intimates his knowledge of the forms of some objects.

27-38, and chap. ix. 1. Compare Mat. xvi. 13-28, the notes, and Luke ix. 18-27.

30. He would not have a revolution made in his behalf, for his kingdom was not of this world. Furthermore, he would not have the people believe him to be the Messiah, because they were told so, but because they had witnessed the moral and miraculous proofs, that he was the great Teacher from God. To those proofs he would have them give their atten

tion, undisturbed by worldly views and ambitious desires.

31. After three days. dered, within three days.

Better ren

35. For. This word, as Newcome states, refers to some foregoing clause, understood, not expressed, e. g. "And this is your true interest, for," &c. Those who sought to save their lives, lost them in the Roman war, while those who seemed, by their profession of Christianity, to have periled life, saved it by trusting in his predictions, and fleeing from Jerusalem when it was besieged.

36, 37. For here refers to something understood, as that "life is the most valuable consideration," for, &c.-Soul. The primitive meaning of this word, in the original, was life, the secondary one, soul or spirit. So that our Lord here not only speaks

38 in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

2

CHAPTER IX.

The Transfiguration. Jesus instructs his Disciples.

AND he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, that there be

some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

And after six days, Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by 3 themselves; and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller 4 on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias, 5 with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for 6 Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say for they 7 were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my 8 beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with

of the value of animal life, but of the immortal nature. No one has more powerfully eulogized the dignity of man, than he who knew what was in man. He thus teaches us both to respect ourselves and other men, and to be thankful to God for the great and glorious gift of our being.

38. "Oftentimes, doubtless, in after days, when they were preaching the doctrines of their despised Master, in the midst of obloquy and scorn, of peril, privation, and death, they recalled to mind the powerful words in which he had first taught them, that they must endure suffering for his sake, and follow in the bloody path of the cross to their reward; and when they did so, and

then remembered how he had suffered, and was now glorified, they felt themselves armed to endure all things for his sake; they braved persecution and torture; they confessed him before men, in prison and amid flames, and died rejoicing in the confidence that he would confess them before his Father in heaven."

CHAPTER IX.

1. This verse is parallel to Mat. xvi. 28, Luke ix. 27, and properly belongs to the preceding chapter.

2-13. Mat. xvii. 1-13, and notes; Luke ix. 28-36.

6. Wist. Knew. A fact probably communicated to Mark by Peter himself.

themselves. And as they came down from the mountain, he 9 charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. · And 10 they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they 11 asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh 12 first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have 13 done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude 14 about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straight- 15 way all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted him. And he asked the scribes, 16 What question ye with them? And one of the multitude an- 17 swered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he 18 teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth, with his teeth, and pineth away; and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O 19 faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. And they brought him 20 unto him and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed, foaming. And he 21 asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into 22 the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto 23 him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that

24 believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and 25 said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I 26 charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him and 27 he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked 29 him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

30

And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and 31 he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is 32 killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

33

And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way ? 34 But they held their peace for by the way they had disputed 35 among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down,

and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to 36 be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had 37 taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall

if I am able? Do you believe. All things are possible," &c.

24. Lord, I believe, &c. There is an individuality in these words, which is a warranty that they were actually spoken. They come from the depths of human nature.

25. Enter no more into him. As Rosenmüller observes, Jesus says this, to remove all apprehension that the cure was only a natural intermission of the disorder, and that it would again have its periodical re

turn.

29. Is there any reference in this verse to the spiritual exercises in

which Jesus, with three of his disciples, had been engaging in the mount? Luke, ix. 28, 29, speaks of prayer upon that occasion. This kind can come forth, &c. Or, as Furness paraphrases it, "You cannot subdue and command a disease so frightful and intimidating in its appearance, except by a force of faith attainable only by the strictest selfdiscipline.

33-48. See Mat. xviii. 1-9, and notes; also Luke ix. 46-50, xvii. 1-3.

36, 37. The symbolical action of Jesus in this instance, as has been