16 And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphæus, 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 that they could not so much as eat bread. t 21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him for they said, He is beside himself. : *Or, home. Verse 17. Boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder. However verbal critics may differ as to the derivation of the latter part of this compound word, the interpretation of Mark fixes its sense. The sons of Zebedee were surnamed vio Bpovins, the sons of thunder. This could not refer, as some have dreamt, to their hasty impetuous disposition, of which, however, but one instance is given, and that one rather of mistaken zeal than natural ardour; and it is not at all probable that our Lord would perpetuate the remembrance of an infirmity which his divine grace was to cure, even did it exist, by affixing it upon them with their new name. Nor was the name descriptive of the manner of their preaching. That of John appears from his writings to have been as sweet and attractive as his disposition, and the reverse of either loud stentorian declamation or the hurling of the flaming thunderbolts of the divine threatenings. From what little appears of James's character, he filled his high office, chiefly at Jerusalem, with "meekness of wisdom," and stands forth as a calm, rather than an impetuous, man. The reason of the appellation is probably drawn from the truth of which they were to be such eminent ministers, rather than their own mode of preaching. The + Or, kinsmen. thunder is the gospel itself, the public voice of God in the world, moving and shaking the minds of men wherever proclaimed; and when James and John are called sons of thunder, the meaning is, that they should rank among the greatest instruments of sounding forth the voice of God, the authoritative declaration of his will contained in the gospel. Verse 21. And when his friends heard of it.-Our Lord, having called his apostles, returned home; and again the multitudes so press upon him for instruction that he and the disciples could not eat bread: so that it is evident that Christ denied himself of his regular meals to continue his discourses to a people so eager to hear him. It was this which led his friends, his kinsmen or natural relations, to go forth to lay hold upon him, that is, to constrain him to spare himself from such excessive labours, and to retire for repose: for they said, He is beside himself. Some of the relations of Christ did not believe on him; and if these were of that infidel number, notwithstanding the natural kindness they felt towards him, they might use this expression in its opprobri ous, though not in an exactly literal, sense, and might in truth regard him as a dreaming enthusiast, and not of sober judgment; and his excessive zeal on this 22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 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. d 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation : 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 31 ¶There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto d Matt. xii. 31. c Matt. ix. 34. occasion would seem to confirm the injurious opinion of men of worldly minds, disqualified from judging rightly on a spiritual case and character. If this be the correct view, there is in it nothing injurious to the character of our Lord's sobriety, as those critics seem to have thought who have struggled so hard to torture the passage to several other senses, in order to avoid the apparent difficulty. But if these relations of Christ, through the same prejudices and worldliness of heart as other Jews, did not believe on him, as we are expressly told some of his brethren did not, they could not comprehend his character and motives, and by consequence could not rightly estimate his conduct. To them Christ would appear beside himself, in the same sense as St. Paul ap e Matt. xii. 46. peared "beside himself, and mad" to Festus, that is, under the influence of an irrational religious excitement; but all this was nevertheless "truth and soberness," and only proves that "the spiritual man is judged of no man" not spiritual. These friends of Christ might not, however, be his unbelieving brethren, but others better affected towards him; and then the words may be taken to mean, he is carried out of himself by his zeal; on which account they interfered kindly to care for one who was so absorbed in his work as not to spare himself. Verse 22. He hath Beelzebub.-See the notes on Matt. xii. 24-32. Verse 31. His brethren and his mother, &c.-See the notes on Matt. xii. 46-50. him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren ? 34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. CHAPTER IV. 1 The parable of the sower, 14 and the meaning thereof. 21 We must communicate the light of our knowledge to others. 26 The parable of the seed growing secretly, 30 and of the mustard seed. 35 Christ stilleth the tempest on the sea. a 1 AND he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. a Matt. xiii. 1. CHAPTER IV. Verse 3. There went out a sower to sow, &c.-See the notes on Matt. xiii. 3-23. 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 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: 12 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. 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 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. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 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. : 18 And these are tl ey which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, с 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 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. 21 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? b Matt. xiii. 14. c 1 Tim. vi. 17. d Matt. v. 15. * The word in the original signifieth a less measure, as Matt. v. 15. Verses 21-23. Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, &c.—Because passages similar to this and one that immediately follows are found in the sermon on the mount, some interpreters have thought that St. Mark scatters portions of what might have been related to him of that divine discourse, promiscuously in his Gospel. But this is both an uncritical and a mischievous conclusion. The passages in question have something of a proverbial character, and were therefore e 22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And he saith 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. e Matt. x. 26. applicable to quite distinct occasions; and accordingly we here find this allusion to the candle, or family lamp, applied to his exposition of the important parable of the sower. It contains the reason why, though he spoke in parables for a time, he explained their meaning to the inquiring disciples, that it was not for themselves but for others, and that he was thus qualifying them to be the public instructers of mankind. He had lighted their candle or lamp by this exposition of the parable; and now they were to put the lamp upon its stand, that it might give light to all. In other words, Christ teaches his apostles that when they became public instructers, they were not, like the Jewish Rabbins, or the Gentile philosophers, to have a secret and an open doctrine, but that they were to "declare the whole counsel of God;" and lest any in future should attempt to jus tify a reservation of peculiar truths from the people at large, and the restriction of them to the initiated, from our Lord's own example, who had left parables spoken to the multitude, and had confined the interpretation to a few disciples only, which arose out of circumstances of an obviously peculiar character, he himself adds, with direct reference to his own practice, and to show that his conduct in this respect was temporary only, For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. Whatever Christ hid for the time under parable, or type, or enigmatical allusion, or his own mysterious conduct on some occasions, was all with reference to that full and "manifestation of the truth" open f Matt. vii. 2. which succeeded his ascension; which manifestation was the great office of his apostles and first disciples. To them he therefore turns in the next verses, and enjoins the most diligent and careful hearing upon them, that they might so understand as to teach. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Verse 24. Take heed what ye hear. Here BET signifies to consider, to pay attention to; for our Lord is not cautioning them against hearing false doctrine, but is exhorting them to attend seriously to the true. The words might therefore have been rendered, Carefully consider what ye hear. With what measure ye mete.-This proverbial expression occurs in the sermon on the mount, in the form of a caution against censorious judging. Here it is used in quite a different application, and offers the most persuasive motive to the serious hearing of the word. According to the measure of attention you pay to the instructions of heavenly wisdom shall be your improvement in it; give your ear to God, and he will pour knowledge into it; give your heart to the truth, and the truth shall enlighten and sanctify it: accordingly it is added, Unto you that hear, attentively and obediently, more shall be given. The connexion of these words with our Lord's discourse, is now apparent: he enjoins it upon the apostles, diligently to LEARN, because they were appointed to TEACH; and to acquaint themselves with the whole doctrine of his religion, because no part of it was to be reserved to any privileged few; but its light was to diffuse itself upon all, like the beams of the family lamp, or the sun |