dumb spake. And the multitudes marvelled, saying: It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said: He casteth 34 out devils through the prince of the devils. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in 35 their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with 36 compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his 37 a dumb spirit; a phrase by which dumbness by insanity was distinguished from dumbness by defective organs of speech. 33. When the devil, or demon, was cast out, the dumb spake. When the man was restored to his reason, he resumed the faculty of speech. As his madness was attributed to possession by an evil spirit, when his disorder was cured, it was said that the demon had been cast out. It was never so seen in Israel. Probably the great number and astonishing nature of the miracles, performed by Jesus that day, extorted this burst of wonder and admiration. He had, on the same afternoon, raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, healed the woman with an issue of blood, restored to sight two blind men, and cured a madman, or demoniac. They might well exclaim, "Never before were such wonders as these witnessed in our land." 34. He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. Or, demons. Provoked to envy and jealousy by the admiration expressed by the people, the Pharisees wilfully sought to pervert the evidence God gave his Son of his divine authority. This was the sin against the Holy Ghost. Because it was referring the proofs afforded by the power and spirit of God to the agency of an evil spirit, thus resisting the highest and last proof of a com mission from on high. It is to be remarked, that this opposition was occasioned by and related to but one class of miracles, the cure of demoniacs. The conclusive and unanswerable reply Jesus made to their cavils upon a similar occasion is found in Matt. xii. 25. 35. Parallel to Mark vi. 6; Luke viii. 1. - What a beautiful delineation of character is embodied in this verse! The Greatest of all goes about doing good as the servant of all. He establishes himself in no regal palace, or learned school, issuing thence his commands, or his doctrines; surrounds himself by no pomp and circumstance. But he mingles freely with all, is accessible and gracious to all. He dispenses the truth as freely as light and air. His sympathies are not restricted to any one class or condition of men, but he regards with interest the whole family of mankind. He heals the sick, comforts the unhappy, warns the evil, and blesses all with the visitings of mercy and hope. Labor and love are the motto of his ministry : "From heaven he came, of heaven he spoke, To heaven he led his followers' way; Dark clouds of gloomy night he broke, Unveiling an immortal day." 36. Num. xxvii. 16, 17; John x. 11, 13, and various other passages of Holy Writ, have figures of a similar import, comparing an ignorant or oppressed people to a flock : disciples The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are 38 few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. CHAPTER X. The Appointment and Commission of the Twelve Apostles. AND when he had called unto without a shepherd. They touch- him his twelve disciples, he work of instruction as the harvest." The ignorant, unspiritual multitudes thronging around them were as a field of grain already ripe and_yellow and fit for the sickle. They presented a rich field for religious exertions and instruction. But the reapers were few. Jesus and his little band were all the laborers to cut the boundless waving harvest, and gather it into the granary of God. 38. Pray ye. Those who pray that the kingdom of God may come, and his will be done, will pray that teachers may be raised up and sent forth to advance the great moral work. It should be one of our daily aspirations to Heaven, that religion may become the life and hope of all mankind. - The Lord of the harvest. Or, its owner, God. In the words of Gannett, "The world presents the same spectacle now that was contemplated by Christ, when he looked upon the multitudes that attended his preaching. The harvest is abundant; "would men are longing and crying for truth, for religion; the laborers are few; comparatively few in number, and feeble in strength, for so great a work. Pray the Lord, that he will in his gracious providence raise up and send forth those, who shall gather his children from the face of the whole earth into the kingdom of his Son, as a full harvest is gathered into the granary.” 37. Saith he unto his disciples. He turns to his followers, to call their attention to the spiritual destitution of men, and suggests their duties as the teachers of his religion. - The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. A beautiful proverbial saying. "In the Rabbinical writings, teachers are figured as reapers, and their CHAP. X. 1. Parallel to Mark vi. 7; Luke ix. 1, 2.-His twelve disciples. It gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: the first, 2 Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James appears from comparing the Evangelists together, that Jesus had already selected twelve men to be his Apostles, having passed the whole night previous to his choice in prayer to God. Luke vi. 12. Twelve was a hallowed number, to a Jewish mind, as corresponding to the number of the patriarchs and the tribes of Israel. Matt. xix. 28. It was also a medium between too large and too small a number. The wisdom of Jesus was manifested upon the slightest occasions, and in the smallest particulars.-Power against unclean spirits, to cast them out. Or, more literally, power of, or over, unclean spirits, to expel them. notes on Matt. iv. 24, and viii. 28 - 34. Unclean. In the eye of the law. · All manner of sickness, &c. That is, every kind of sickness and disease. The Apostles and early preachers of Christianity were gifted with miraculous powers for the same purpose as was Jesus himself. The attention of a sensual world and age was aroused, and a divine sanction was given to their instructions. Men saw that God was with them in the signs and wonders which they did, which no other man could do, unless thus authorized and empowered from on high. See 2-4. Parallel to Mark iii. 1319; Luke vi. 12-16. 2. Names of the twelve apostles are these. We have four lists of this band, one by Matthew, one by Mark, and two by Luke, one in his Gospel, and one in the Acts, i. 13. The same order is not always observed, and there is a variation as to the names, which, however, is easily reconciled. The word Aposfle signifies one sent, a messenger, and was thus used in Jewish and heathen authors. It is now limited to those employed by Christ in spreading the Gospel, to the Twelve first selected, and to Matthias and Paul. The original corresponds to our word missionaries, in its sense. -The first. This means the first in order, not in authority, or dignity. It is merely a word of introduction to the list, and not a declaration of Peter's superiority to the other Apostles, as some have contended. - Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother. We learn from Mark vi. 7, that they were sent forth by two and two, and hence there was a reason for their being registered in the same manner. It is a pleasant thought that several of the Apostles were near relatives, brothers one of another, and some of them related to Jesus, and that the affections of kindred mingled in their spiritual heroism. The home sentiments keep the character true and balanced, as the history of all reformers testifies. The Apostles could not have been fanatics, or enthusiasts, or impostors, or dupes, for they were brethren. Peter and Andrew were brothers; also James the Greater, as he was called, and John; also James the Less, Jude, or Thaddeus, and Simon Zelotes. Seven out of the Twelve were thus in three distinct sets of brothers. Is there no type here to an imaginative soul of that grand truth of Human Brotherhood, which pervades Christianity as one of the component elements of its vital strength? Peter and Andrew were sons of John, or Jona, or Jonas. John i. 42, xxi. 15. Hence Peter 3 the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus ; 4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed in the New Testament. — Bartholomew. Supposed to be the same as Nathanael. John i. 45, xxi. 2. The word means the son of Tolmai, as Barjonas means the son of John, or Jona. He was of Cana. John xxi. 2. Jesus pronounced upon him the memorable eulogium, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Thomas. Called Didymus. John xxi. 2. Both words signify a twin, which he perhaps was. Matthew the publican. He was also called Levi, Mark ii. 14, the son of Alpheus. He wrote this Gospel to which we are devoting our attention.—James, the son of Alpheus. Or, of Cleophas and Mary. John xix. 25; Luke xxiv. 18. He was brother to the two next, Thaddeus, or Jude, and Simon. Compare Mark xv. 40; John xix. 25; Gal. i. 19; Luke vi. 16; Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3. He wrote the epistle called by his name, and was martyred at Jerusalem. —Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus. Thaddeus and Jude are the same names, in derivation and meaning. Luke vi. 16; Mark vi. 3. He was the author of one epistle in the canon of the New Testament. was called Barjona; Bar, a Syriac word, meaning son. Matt. xvi. 17. He was also called Cephas, a Hebrew word, which in Greek is Peter, and in English is Rock. By this appellation, Jesus marked him out as one fitted by his energy and resolution to aid in establishing his religion upon an indestructible basis. It was common, in ancient as well as modern times, for persons to be called by surnames. Andrew was honored by being the first called, John i. 40, 41, or as confessing Jesus to be the Messiah. They had been disciples of John the Baptist. John i. 35, 40.— James the son of Zebedee. His mother's name was Salome, who was an attendant on Christ's ministry. Matt. xxvii. 56; Mark xv. 40. He was called James the Greater, to distinguish him from James the Less, in respect to age or size. He was put to death by Herod Agrippa. Acts xii. 2. John. Termed the beloved disciple. He wrote the Gospel called after his name, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation, although in respect to two of the Epistles and Revelation there is some doubt entertained. The four disciples mentioned above were all fishermen, Mark i. 16, 19, and probably others also of the Twelve. James and John were called Boanerges, Mark iii. 17, sons of thunder, either on account of their warm tempers, or glowing eloquence, or on account of an incident related in Luke ix. 54. 3. Philip. Philip, Peter and Andrew, James and John, were inhabitants of Bethsaida. Matt. iv. 21; John i. 44. Little is known of Philip, except from the few notices Or, 4. Simon the Canaanite. Zealot, so called from belonging to Cana in Galilee, or on account of his zeal, the word in the original having such an import. This latter view is corroborated by the epithet used by Luke vi. 15, Acts i. 13. Some suppose that he belonged to a Jewish sect called Zealots. -Judas Iscariot, i. e. Judas of Kerioth, or Carioth, a city of Palestine. Judg. v. 25. His crime and his fate are recorded in the Gospels and him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, 5 saying: Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost 6 sheep of the house of Israel. as ye go, preach, saying: 7 The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the 8 lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, Acts. He was enrolled among the Twelve. The unblemished conduct and character of Jesus were the more substantiated, inasmuch as this bad man had nothing whereof to accuse him, but declared him innocent. Matt. xxvii. 4. 5. Into the way of the Gentiles. Rather, into the way to the Gentiles. This prohibition was made that the Gospel might be first offered to the Ĵews, to whom it was promised, Acts iii. 26, and if rejected by them, then preached to the Gentiles and Samaritans. It was to be supposed, that the Jews were better prepared for Christianity than other nations, and they were to be its bearers to the rest of the world. In the short time the Twelve would have opportunity to labor during the mission upon which they were now sent out, they would accomplish more in confining their exertions to Judea. Jesus came in an official character, as the Messiah of the Jews, and to them therefore he ought first to be announced. He confined his ministry, with slight exceptions, among the Jews. The command now given was afterwards superseded by another: "Go and teach all nations." Matt. xxviii. 19. Samaritans. Samaria lay between Judea and Galilee. Its population at this time was a mixed one, springing from a colony of heathen foreigners, and remnants of some of the Jewish tribes settling there after the Babylonish captivity. They seceded from the worship at Jerusalem, and built a temple on Mount Gerizim. They were And, in a state of deadly hostility towards the Jews, and had no friendly dealings with them. John iv. 9, viii. 48. It was prudent therefore to appeal first to the Jews, and not excite their jealousy by preaching among the Samaritans. 6. The lost sheep of the house of Israel. A figure of frequent use in the Scriptures. The Jews were in a truly pitiable state. Misled by their religious teachers; oppressed by their foreign conquerors and rulers: too corrupt to welcome the only one who could have redeemed them; too proud to acknowledge their unhappy condition; well might the Saviour have compassion on them, and send forth his disciples to gather these wanderers home into the true and safe fold. — House. Posterity, nation. 7. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The apostles were not sent forth to preach that Jesus was the Messiah, but to proclaim the approach of his kingdom. They were to prepare the way of the Lord, and, going into different parts of the land, to spread everywhere the hope of the speedy establishment of the reign of God, in the person of his Son and Messenger, and by a moral and spiritual awakening of the soul, prepare men to admit the claims of Jesus to the Messiahship, In this respect their office resembled that of John the Baptist, and the commencement of Christ's ministry. Matt. iii. 2, iv. 17. 8. Raise the dead. This clause is believed by many to be an interpolation. · Devils. i. e. demons. |