12 And he said to them, Truly, Elijah does come first, and puts all things in order; and how is it said in the Writings that the Son of man will go through much sorrow and be made as nothing?
And Herod, with the men of his army, put shame on him and made sport of him, and dressing him in shining robes, he sent him back to Pilate.
Who would have had faith in the word which has come to our ears, and to whom had the arm of the Lord been unveiled? For his growth was like that of a delicate plant before him, and like a root out of a dry place: he had no grace of form, to give us pleasure; Men made sport of him, turning away from him; he was a man of sorrows, marked by disease; and like one from whom men's faces are turned away, he was looked down on, and we put no value on him. But it was our pain he took, and our diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God's punishment had come. But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed: he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well. We all went wandering like sheep; going every one of us after his desire; and the Lord put on him the punishment of us all. Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word. They took away from him help and right, and who gave a thought to his fate? for he was cut off from the land of the living: he came to his death for the sin of my people. And they put his body into the earth with sinners, and his last resting-place was with the evil-doers, though he had done no wrong, and no deceit was in his mouth. And the Lord was pleased ... see a seed, long life, ... will do well in his hand. ... ... made clear his righteousness before men ... had taken their sins on himself. For this cause he will have a heritage with the great, and he will have a part in the goods of war with the strong, because he gave up his life, and was numbered with the evil-doers; taking on himself the sins of the people, and making prayer for the wrongdoers.
And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God. And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord.
And in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the waste land of Judaea, Saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of heaven is near. For this is he of whom Isaiah the prophet said, The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight. Now John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather band about him; and his food was locusts and honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea went out to him, and all the people from near Jordan; And they were given baptism by him in the river Jordan, saying openly that they had done wrong. But when he saw a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come? Let your change of heart be seen in your works: And say not to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; because I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children for Abraham. And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; every tree then which does not give good fruit is cut down, and put into the fire. Truly, I give baptism with water to those of you whose hearts are changed; but he who comes after me is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to take up: he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire: In whose hand is the instrument with which he will make clean his grain; he will put the good grain in his store, but the waste will be burned up in the fire which will never be put out.
And by him the hearts of fathers will be turned to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers; for fear that I may come and put the earth under a curse.
As peoples were surprised at him, And his face was not beautiful, so as to be desired: his face was so changed by disease as to be unlike that of a man, and his form was no longer that of the sons of men.
I was offering my back to those who gave me blows, and my face to those who were pulling out my hair: I did not keep my face covered from marks of shame.
The Lord who takes up Israel's cause, even his Holy One, says to him whom men make sport of, who is hated by the nations, a servant of rulers: Kings will see and get up from their places, and chiefs will give worship: because of the Lord who keeps faith; even the Holy One of Israel who has taken you for himself.
A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley, And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it.
<To the chief music-maker; put to Shoshannim. Of David.> Be my saviour, O God; because the waters have come in, even to my neck. My feet are deep in the soft earth, where there is no support; I have come into deep waters, the waves are flowing over me. I am tired with my crying; my throat is burning: my eyes are wasted with waiting for my God. Those who have hate for me without cause are greater in number than the hairs of my head; those who are against me, falsely desiring my destruction, are very strong; I gave back what I had not taken away. O God, you see how foolish I am; and my wrongdoing is clear to you. Let not those who have hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of armies: let not those who are waiting for you be made low because of me, O God of Israel. I have been wounded with sharp words because of you; my face has been covered with shame. I have become strange to my brothers, and like a man from a far country to my mother's children. I am on fire with passion for your house; and the hard things which are said about you have come on me. My bitter weeping, and my going without food, were turned to my shame. When I put on the clothing of grief, they said evil of me. I am a cause of wonder to those in authority; a song to those who are given to strong drink. But as for me, let my prayer be made to you, O Lord, at a time when you are pleased; O God, give me an answer in your great mercy, for your salvation is certain. Take me from the grip of the sticky earth, so that I may not go down into it; let me be lifted up from the deep waters. Let me not be covered by the flowing waters; let not the deep waters go over my head, and let me not be shut up in the underworld. Give an answer to my words, O Lord; for your mercy is good: be turned to me, because of your great pity. Let not your face be covered from your servant, for I am in trouble; quickly give me an answer. Come near to my soul, for its salvation: be my saviour, because of those who are against me. You have seen my shame, how I was laughed at and made low; my haters are all before you. My heart is broken by bitter words, I am full of grief; I made a search for some to have pity on me, but there was no one; I had no comforter. They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink. Let their table before them be for their destruction; let their feasts become a net to take them. Let their eyes be blind so that they may not see; let their bodies for ever be shaking. Let your curse come on them; let the heat of your wrath overtake them. Give their houses to destruction, and let there be no one in their tents. Because they are cruel to him against whom your hand is turned; they make bitter the grief of him who is wounded by you. Let their punishment be increased; let them not come into your righteousness. Let their names be taken from the book of the living, let them not be numbered with the upright. But I am poor and full of sorrow; let me be lifted up by your salvation, O Lord. I will give praise to the name of God with a song; I will give glory to him for what he has done. This will be more pleasing to the Lord than an ox, or a young ox of full growth. The poor will see it and be glad: you who are lovers of God, let your hearts have life. For the ears of the Lord are open to the poor, and he takes thought for his prisoners. Let the heavens and the earth give praise to him, the seas, and everything moving in them. For God will be the saviour of Zion, and the builder of the towns of Judah; so that it may be their resting-place and heritage. The seed of his servants will have their part in it, and there the lovers of his name will have rest.
<To the chief music-maker on Aijeleth-hash-shahar. A Psalm. Of David.> My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my crying? O my God, I make my cry in the day, and you give no answer; and in the night, and have no rest. But you are holy, O you who are seated among the praises of Israel. Our fathers had faith in you: they had faith and you were their saviour. They sent up their cry to you and were made free: they put their faith in you and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man; cursed by men, and looked down on by the people. I am laughed at by all those who see me: pushing out their lips and shaking their heads they say, He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him. But it was you who took care of me from the day of my birth: you gave me faith even from my mother's breasts. I was in your hands even before my birth; you are my God from the time when I was in my mother's body. Be not far from me, for trouble is near; there is no one to give help. A great herd of oxen is round me: I am shut in by the strong oxen of Bashan. I saw their mouths wide open, like lions crying after food. I am flowing away like water, and all my bones are out of place: my heart is like wax, it has become soft in my body. My throat is dry like a broken vessel; my tongue is fixed to the roof of my mouth, and the dust of death is on my lips. Dogs have come round me: I am shut in by the band of evil-doers; they made wounds in my hands and feet. I am able to see all my bones; their looks are fixed on me: They make a division of my robes among them, by the decision of chance they take my clothing. Do not be far from me, O Lord: O my strength, come quickly to my help. Make my soul safe from the sword, my life from the power of the dog. Be my saviour from the lion's mouth; let me go free from the horns of the cruel oxen. I will give the knowledge of your name to my brothers: I will give you praise among the people. You who have fear of the Lord, give him praise; all you seed of Jacob, give him glory; go in fear of him, all you seed of Israel. For he has not been unmoved by the pain of him who is troubled; or kept his face covered from him; but he has given an answer to his cry. My praise will be of you in the great meeting: I will make my offerings before his worshippers. The poor will have a feast of good things: those who make search for the Lord will give him praise: your heart will have life for ever. All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship. For the kingdom is the Lord's; he is the ruler among the nations. All the fat ones of the earth will give him worship; all those who go down to the dust will make themselves low before him, even he who has not enough for the life of his soul. A seed will be his servant; the doings of the Lord will be made clear to the generation which comes after. They will come and make his righteousness clear to a people of the future because he has done this.
But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men; And being seen in form as a man, he took the lowest place, and let himself be put to death, even the death of the cross.
Up! O God, be the judge of your cause; keep in mind the bitter things which the man of evil behaviour says against you every day.
And this was John's answer: A man is unable to have anything if it is not given to him from heaven. You yourselves give witness that I said, I am not the Christ. What I said was, I am sent before the Christ. He who has the bride is the husband: but the husband's friend, whose place is by his side and whose ears are open to him, is full of joy because of the husband's voice: such is my joy, and it is complete. He has to become greater while I become less.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for witness, to give witness about the light, so that all men might have faith through him. He himself was not the light: he was sent to give witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to every man, was then coming into the world. He was in the world, the world which came into being through him, but the world had no knowledge of him. He came to the things which were his and his people did not take him to their hearts. To all those who did so take him, however, he gave the right of becoming children of God--that is, to those who had faith in his name: Whose birth was from God and not from blood, or from an impulse of the flesh and man's desire. And so the Word became flesh and took a place among us for a time; and we saw his glory--such glory as is given to an only son by his father--saw it to be true and full of grace. John gave witness about him, crying, This is he of whom I said, He who is coming after me is put over me because he was in existence before me. From his full measure we have all been given grace on grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and the true way of life are ours through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only Son, who is on the breast of the Father, he has made clear what God is. And this is the witness of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him with the question, Who are you? He said quite openly and straightforwardly, I am not the Christ. And they said to him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And his answer was, I am not. So they said to him, Who are you then? We have to give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the waste land, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. Those who had been sent came from the Pharisees. And they put this question to him, saying, Why then are you giving baptism if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet? John's answer was: I give baptism with water; but there is one among you of whom you have no knowledge; It is he who is coming after me; I am not good enough to undo his shoes. These things took place at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was giving baptism. The day after, John sees Jesus coming to him and says, See, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, One is coming after me who is put over me because he was in existence before me. I myself had no knowledge of him, but I came giving baptism with water so that he might be seen openly by Israel. And John gave this witness, saying, I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I had no knowledge who he was, but he who sent me to give baptism with water said to me, The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting, it is he who gives baptism with the Holy Spirit. This I saw myself and my witness is that he is the Son of God. The day after, John was there again with two of his disciples; And looking at Jesus while he was walking he said, See, there is the Lamb of God!
And one of the evil-doers on the cross, with bitter feeling, said to him, Are you not the Christ? Get yourself and us out of this.
When Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the waste land. And he came into all the country round about Jordan, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed. As it says in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight. Every valley will be lifted up, and all the mountains and hills made low, and the twisted will be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.
And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;
Even as it is said in the book of Isaiah the prophet, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way; The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight; John came, and gave baptism in the waste land, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed. And there went out to him all the people of Judaea, and all those of Jerusalem, and they were given baptism by him in the river Jordan, saying that they were sinners. And John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather band about him; and his food was locusts and honey. And he said to them all, There is one coming after me who is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo. I have given you baptism with water, but he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit.
From that time Jesus went on to make clear to his disciples how he would have to go up to Jerusalem, and undergo much at the hands of those in authority and the chief priests and scribes, and be put to death, and the third day come again from the dead.
Now when John had news in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples To say to him, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another? And Jesus, answering, said to them, Go and give news to John of the things which you are seeing and hearing: The blind see; those who were not able to, are walking; lepers are made clean; those who were without hearing, now have their ears open; the dead come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them. And a blessing will be on him who has no doubts about me. And when they were going away, Jesus, talking of John, said to all the people, What went you out into the waste land to see? a tall stem moving in the wind? But what went you out to see? a man delicately clothed? Those who have fair robes are in kings' houses. But why did you go out? to see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it has been said, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way before you. Truly I say to you, Among the sons of women there has not been a greater than John the Baptist: but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way in, and men of force take it. For all the prophets and the law were in force till John. And if you are able to see it, this is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him give ear. But what comparison may I make of this generation? It is like children seated in the market-places, crying out to one another, We made music for you and you did not take part in the dance; we gave cries of sorrow and you made no signs of grief. For John came, taking no food or drink, and they say, He has an evil spirit.
Seventy weeks have been fixed for your people and your holy town, to let wrongdoing be complete and sin come to its full limit, and for the clearing away of evil-doing and the coming in of eternal righteousness: so that the vision and the word of the prophet may be stamped as true, and to put the holy oil on a most holy place. Have then the certain knowledge that from the going out of the word for the building again of Jerusalem till the coming of a prince, on whom the holy oil has been put, will be seven weeks: in sixty-two weeks its building will be complete, with square and earthwork. And at the end of the times, even after the sixty-two weeks, one on whom the holy oil has been put will be cut off and have no ...; and the town and the holy place will be made waste together with a prince; and the end will come with an overflowing of waters, and even to the end there will be war; the making waste which has been fixed.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Mark 9
Commentary on Mark 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
Mr 9:1-13. Jesus Is Transfigured—Conversation about Elias. ( = Mt 16:28-17:13; Lu 9:27-36).
See on Lu 9:27-36.
Mr 9:14-32. Healing of a Demoniac Boy—Second Explicit Announcement of His Approaching Death and Resurrection. ( = Mt 17:14-23; Lu 9:37-45).
Healing of the Demoniac Boy (Mr 9:14-29).
14. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them—This was "on the next day, when they were come down from the hill" (Lu 9:37). The Transfiguration appears to have taken place at night. In the morning, as He came down from the hill on which it took place—with Peter, and James, and John—on approaching the other nine, He found them surrounded by a great multitude, and the scribes disputing or discussing with them. No doubt these cavillers were twitting the apostles of Jesus with their inability to cure the demoniac boy of whom we are presently to hear, and insinuating doubts even of their Master's ability to do it; while they, zealous for their Master's honor, would no doubt refer to His past miracles in proof of the contrary.
15. And straightway all the people—the multitude.
when they beheld him, were greatly amazed—were astounded.
and running to him saluted him—The singularly strong expression of surprise, the sudden arrest of the discussion, and the rush of the multitude towards Him, can be accounted for by nothing less than something amazing in His appearance. There can hardly be any doubt that His countenance still retained traces of His transfiguration-glory. (See Ex 34:29, 30). So Bengel, De Wette, Meyer, Trench, Alford. No wonder, if this was the case, that they not only ran to Him, but saluted Him. Our Lord, however, takes no notice of what had attracted them, and probably it gradually faded away as He drew near; but addressing Himself to the scribes, He demands the subject of their discussion, ready to meet them where they had pressed hard upon His half-instructed and as yet timid apostles.
16. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?—Ere they had time to reply, the father of the boy, whose case had occasioned the dispute, himself steps forward and answers the question; telling a piteous tale of deafness, and dumbness, and fits of epilepsy—ending with this, that the disciples, though entreated, could not perform the cure.
17. And one of the multitude answered, and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son—"mine only child" (Lu 9:38).
which hath a dumb spirit—a spirit whose operation had the effect of rendering his victim speechless, and deaf also (Mr 9:25). In Matthew's report of the speech (Mt 17:15), the father says "he is lunatic"; this being another and most distressing effect of the possession.
18. And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away—rather, "becomes withered," "dried up," or "paralyzed"; as the same word is everywhere else rendered in the New Testament. Some additional particulars are given by Luke, and by our Evangelist below. "Lo," says he in Lu 9:39, "a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly [or with difficulty] departeth from him."
and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not—Our Lord replies to the father by a severe rebuke to the disciples. As if wounded at the exposure before such a multitude, of the weakness of His disciples' faith, which doubtless He felt as a reflection on Himself, He puts them to the blush before all, but in language fitted only to raise expectation of what He Himself would do.
19. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation—"and perverse," or "perverted" (Mt 17:17; Lu 9:41).
how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?—language implying that it was a shame to them to want the faith necessary to perform this cure, and that it needed some patience to put up with them. It is to us surprising that some interpreters, as Chrysostom and Calvin, should represent this rebuke as addressed, not to the disciples at all, but to the scribes who disputed with them. Nor does it much, if at all, mend the matter to view it as addressed to both, as most expositors seem to do. With Bengel, De Wette, and Meyer, we regard it as addressed directly to the nine apostles who were unable to expel this evil spirit. And though, in ascribing this inability to their "want of faith" and the "perverted turn of mind" which they had drunk in with their early training, the rebuke would undoubtedly apply, with vastly greater force, to those who twitted the poor disciples with their inability, it would be to change the whole nature of the rebuke to suppose it addressed to those who had no faith at all, and were wholly perverted. It was because faith sufficient for curing this youth was to be expected of the disciples, and because they should by that time have got rid of the perversity in which they had been reared, that Jesus exposes them thus before the rest. And who does not see that this was fitted, more than anything else, to impress upon the by-standers the severe loftiness of the training He was giving to the Twelve, and the unsophisticated footing He was on with them?
Bring him unto me—The order to bring the patient to Him was instantly obeyed; when, lo! as if conscious of the presence of his Divine Tormentor, and expecting to be made to quit, the foul spirit rages and is furious, determined to die hard, doing all the mischief he can to this poor child while yet within his grasp.
20. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him—Just as the man with the legion of demons, "when he saw Jesus, ran and worshipped Him" (Mr 5:6), so this demon, when he saw Him, immediately "tare him." The feeling of terror and rage was the same in both cases.
and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming—Still Jesus does nothing, but keeps conversing with the father about the case—partly to have its desperate features told out by him who knew them best, in the hearing of the spectators; partly to let its virulence have time to show itself; and partly to deepen the exercise of the father's soul, to draw out his faith, and thus to prepare both him and the by-standers for what He was to do.
21. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child, &c.—Having told briefly the affecting features of the case, the poor father, half dispirited by the failure of the disciples and the aggravated virulence of the malady itself in presence of their Master, yet encouraged too by what he had heard of Christ, by the severe rebuke He had given to His disciples for not having faith enough to cure the boy, and by the dignity with which He had ordered him to be brought to Him—in this mixed state of mind, he closes his description of the case with these touching words:
22. but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us—"us," says the father; for it was a sore family affliction. Compare the language of the Syrophœnician woman regarding her daughter, "Lord, help me." Still nothing is done: the man is but struggling into faith: it must come a step farther. But he had to do with Him who breaks not the bruised reed, and who knew how to inspire what He demanded. The man had said to Him, "If Thou canst do."
23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe—The man had said, "If Thou canst do anything." Jesus replies.
all things are possible to him that believeth—"My doing all depends on thy believing." To impress this still more, He redoubles upon the believing: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Thus the Lord helps the birth of faith in that struggling soul; and now, though with pain and sore travail, it comes to the birth, as Trench, borrowing from Olshausen, expresses it. Seeing the case stood still, waiting not upon the Lord's power but his own faith, the man becomes immediately conscious of conflicting principles, and rises into one of the noblest utterances on record.
24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe: help thou mine unbelief—that is, "It is useless concealing from Thee, O Thou mysterious, mighty Healer, the unbelief that still struggles in this heart of mine; but that heart bears me witness that I do believe in Thee; and if distrust still remains, I disown it, I wrestle with it, I seek help from Thee against it." Two things are very remarkable here: First, The felt and owned presence of unbelief, which only the strength of the man's faith could have so revealed to his own consciousness. Second, His appeal to Christ for help against his felt unbelief—a feature in the case quite unparalleled, and showing, more than all protestations could have done, the insight he had attained into the existence of a power in Christ more glorious them any he had besought for his poor child. The work was done; and as the commotion and confusion in the crowd was now increasing, Jesus at once, as Lord of spirits, gives the word of command to the dumb and deaf spirit to be gone, never again to return to his victim.
26. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him; and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead—The malignant, cruel spirit, now conscious that his time was come, gathers up his whole strength, with intent by a last stroke to kill his victim, and had nearly succeeded. But the Lord of life was there; the Healer of all maladies, the Friend of sinners, the Seed of the woman, "the Stronger than the strong man armed," was there. The very faith which Christ declared to be enough for everything being now found, it was not possible that the serpent should prevail. Fearfully is he permitted to bruise the heel, as in this case; but his own head shall go for it—his works shall be destroyed (1Jo 3:8).
27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28. Why could not we cast him out?
29. And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting—that is, as nearly all good interpreters are agreed, "this kind of evil spirits cannot be expelled," or "so desperate a case of demoniacal possession cannot be cured, but by prayer and fasting." But since the Lord Himself says that His disciples could not fast while He was with them, perhaps this was designed, as Alford hints, for their after-guidance—unless we take it as but a definite way of expressing the general truth, that great and difficult duties require special preparation and self-denial. But the answer to their question, as given in Mt 17:20, 21 is fuller: "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Mt 17:20). See on Mr 11:23. "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21), that is, though nothing is impossible to faith, yet such a height of faith as is requisite for such triumphs is not to be reached either in a moment or without effort—either with God in prayer or with ourselves in self-denying exercises. Luke (Lu 9:43) adds, "And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God"—"at the majesty" or "mightiness of God," in this last miracle, in the Transfiguration, &c.; or, at the divine grandeur of Christ rising upon them daily.
Second Explicit Announcement of His Approaching Death and Resurrection (Mr 9:30-32).
30. And they departed thence, and passed—were passing along.
through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it—By comparing Mt 17:22, 23 and Lu 9:43, 44 with this, we gather, that as our Lord's reason for going through Galilee more privately than usual on this occasion was to reiterate to them the announcement which had so shocked them at the first mention of it, and thus familiarize them with it by little and little, so this was His reason for enjoining silence upon them as to their present movements.
31. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them—"Let these sayings sink down into your ears" (Lu 9:44); not what had been passing between them as to His grandeur, but what He was now to utter.
The Son of man is delivered—The use of the present tense expresses how near at hand He would have them to consider it. As Bengel says, steps were already in course of being taken to bring it about.
into the hands of men—This remarkable antithesis, "the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men," it is worthy of notice, is in all the three Evangelists.
and they shall kill him—that is, "Be not carried off your feet by all that grandeur of Mine which ye have lately witnessed, but bear in mind what I have already told you and now distinctly repeat, that that Sun in whose beams ye now rejoice is soon to set in midnight gloom."
and after he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32. But they understood not that saying—"and it was hid from them, [so] that they preceived it not" (Lu 9:45).
and were afraid to ask him—Their most cherished ideas were so completely dashed by such announcements, that they were afraid of laying themselves open to rebuke by asking Him any questions. But "they were exceeding sorry" (Mt 17:23). While the other Evangelists, as Webster and Wilkinson remark, notice their ignorance and their fear, Matthew, who was one of them, retains a vivid recollection of their sorrow.
Mr 9:33-50. Strife among the Twelve Who Should Be Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, with Relative Teaching—Incidental Rebuke of John for Exclusiveness. ( = Mt 18:1-9; Lu 9:46-50).
Strife among the Twelve, with Relative Teaching (Mr 9:33-37).
33. What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?—From this we gather that after the painful communication He had made to them, the Redeemer had allowed them to travel so much of the way by themselves; partly, no doubt, that He might have privacy for Himself to dwell on what lay before Him, and partly that they might be induced to weigh together and prepare themselves for the terrible events which He had announced to them. But if so, how different was their occupation!
34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest—From Mt 18:1 we should infer that the subject was introduced, not by our Lord, but by the disciples themselves, who came and asked Jesus who should be greatest. Perhaps one or two of them first referred the matter to Jesus, who put them off till they should all be assembled together at Capernaum. He had all the while "perceived the thought of their heart" (Lu 9:47); but now that they were all together "in the house," He questions them about it, and they are put to the blush, conscious of the temper towards each other which it had kindled. This raised the whole question afresh, and at this point our Evangelist takes it up. The subject was suggested by the recent announcement of the Kingdom (Mt 16:19-28), the transfiguration of their Master, and especially the preference given to three of them at that scene.
35. If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all—that is, "let him be" such: he must be prepared to take the last and lowest place. See on Mr 10:42-45.
36. And he took a child—"a little child" (Mt 18:2); but the word is the same in both places, as also in Lu 9:47.
and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms—This beautiful trait is mentioned by out Evangelist alone.
he said unto them—Here we must go to Matthew (Mt 18:3, 4) for the first of this answer: "Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven:" that is, "Conversion must be thorough; not only must the heart be turned to God in general, and from earthly to heavenly things, but in particular, except ye be converted from that carnal ambition which still rankles within you, into that freedom from all such feelings which ye see in this child, ye have neither part nor lot in the kingdom at all; and he who in this feature has most of the child, is highest there." Whosoever, therefore, shall "humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven": "for he that is [willing to be] least among you all, the same shall be great" (Lu 9:48).
37. Whosoever shall receive one of such children—so manifesting the spirit unconsciously displayed by this child.
in my name—from love to Me.
receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but Him that sent me—(See on Mt 10:40).
Incidental Rebuke of John for Exclusiveness (Mr 9:38-41).
38. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbade him, because he followeth not us—The link of connection here with the foregoing context lies, we apprehend, in the emphatic words which our Lord had just uttered, "in My name." "Oh," interposes John—young, warm, but not sufficiently apprehending Christ's teaching in these matters—"that reminds me of something that we have just done, and we should like to know if we did right. We saw one casting out devils "in Thy name," and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. Were we right, or were we wrong?" Answer—"Ye were wrong." "But we did it because he followeth not us." "No matter."
39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me—soon, that is, readily "speak evil of me."
40. For he that is not against us is on our part—Two principles of immense importance are here laid down: "First, No one will readily speak evil of Me who has the faith to do a miracle in My name; and second, If such a person cannot be supposed to be against us, ye are to consider him for us." Let it be carefully observed that our Lord does not say this man should not have "followed them," nor yet that it was indifferent whether he did or not; but simply teaches how such a person was to be regarded, although he did not—namely, as a reverer of His name and a promoter of His cause.
41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward—(See on Mt 10:42).
Continuation of Teaching Suggested by the Disciples' Strife (Mr 9:42-50).
What follows appears to have no connection with the incidental reproof of John immediately preceding. As that had interrupted some important teaching, our Lord hastens back from it, as if no such interruption had occurred.
42. For whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me—or, shall cause them to stumble; referring probably to the effect which such unsavory disputes as they had held would have upon the inquiring and hopeful who came in contact with them, leading to the belief that after all they were no better than others.
it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck—The word here is simply "millstone," without expressing of which kind. But in Mt 18:6 it is the "ass-turned" kind, far heavier than the small hand-mill turned by female slaves, as in Lu 17:35. It is of course the same which is meant here.
and he were cast into the sea—meaning, that if by such a death that stumbling were prevented, and so its eternal consequences averted, it would be a happy thing for them. Here follows a striking verse in Mt 18:7, "Woe unto the world because of offences!" (There will be stumblings and falls and loss of souls enough from the world's treatment of disciples, without any addition from you: dreadful will be its doom in consequence; see that ye share not in it). "For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" (The struggle between light and darkness will inevitably cause stumblings, but not less guilty is he who wilfully makes any to stumble).
43. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell—See Mt 5:29, 30. The only difference between the words there and here is that there they refer to impure inclinations; here, to an ambitious disposition, an irascible or quarrelsome temper, and the like: and the injunction is to strike at the root of such dispositions and cut off the occasions of them.
47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire—On the words "hell" and "hell-fire," or "the hell of fire," see on Mt 5:22.
48. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched—See on Mt 5:30; The "unquenchablesness" of this fire has already been brought before us (see on Mt 3:12); and the awfully vivid idea of an undying worm, everlastingly consuming an unconsumable body, is taken from the closing words of the evangelical prophet (Isa 66:24), which seem to have furnished the later Jewish Church with its current phraseology on the subject of future punishment (see Lightfoot).
49. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt—A difficult verse, on which much has been written—some of it to little purpose. "Every one" probably means "Every follower of mine"; and the "fire" with which he "must be salted" probably means "a fiery trial" to season him. (Compare Mal 3:2, &c.). The reference to salting the sacrifice is of course to that maxim of the Levitical law, that every acceptable sacrifice must be sprinkled with salt, to express symbolically its soundness, sweetness, wholesomeness, acceptability. But as it had to be roasted first, we have here the further idea of a salting with fire. In this case, "every sacrifice," in the next clause, will mean, "Every one who would be found an acceptable offering to God"; and thus the whole verse may perhaps be paraphrased as follows: "Every disciple of Mine shall have a fiery trial to undergo, and everyone who would be found an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing to God, must have such a salting, like the Levitical sacrifices." Another, but, as it seems to us, farfetched as well as harsh, interpretation—suggested first, we believe, by Michaelis, and adopted by Alexander—takes the "every sacrifice which must be salted with fire" to mean those who are "cast into hell," and the preservative effect of this salting to refer to the preservation of the lost not only in but by means of the fire of hell. Their reason for this is that the other interpretation changes the meaning of the "fire," and the characters too, from the lost to the saved, in these verses. But as our Lord confessedly ends His discourse with the case of His own true disciples, the transition to them in Mr 9:48 is perfectly natural; whereas to apply the preservative salt of the sacrifice to the preserving quality of hell-fire, is equally contrary to the symbolical sense of salt and the Scripture representations of future torment. Our Lord has still in His eye the unseemly jarrings which had arisen among the Twelve, the peril to themselves of allowing any indulgence to such passions, and the severe self-sacrifice which salvation would cost them.
50. Salt is good; but if the salt have lost his saltness—its power to season what it is brought into contact with.
wherewith will ye season it?—How is this property to be restored? See on Mt 5:13.
Have salt in yourselves—See to it that ye retain in yourselves those precious qualities that will make you a blessing to one another, and to all around you.
and—with respect to the miserable strife out of which all this discourse has sprung, in one concluding word.
have peace one with another—This is repeated in 1Th 5:13.