18 no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. And the disciples of John, and of the Pharisees, used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John, 19 and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom 20 with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they 21 fast in those days. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up, taketh away from 22 the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new 23 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. And it came to pass, that he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck 24 the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, 25 why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was a hungered, he and they that were with 26 him? how he went into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar the high-priest, and did eat the show-bread, which is not lawful to eat, but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with 27 him? And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, 28 and not man for the Sabbath: therefore, the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. 17. To repentance. These words are generally regarded as spurious. 21, 22. New cloth on an old garment -new wine into old bottles. Expressions to denote great incongruity and unfitness. 23-28. See Mat. xii. 1-8, and the notes. 23. The ears of corn. The heads of grain. 26. In the days of Abiathar the high priest. From 1 Sam. xxi. 1, 2, 8, we infer, that the chief actor in the scene with David was not Abiathar, but his father, Ahimelech. Various modes have been resorted to for the explanation of this difficulty. It is sufficient to say, that the event in question did in fact occur in the days of Abiathar, who was afterwards, if he was not then, high-priest; and that his name may have been mentioned rather than that of Ahimelech, as being more famous. 1 Sam. xxii. 20, 21, 22, xxiii. 6. 27. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The institutions, and means, and influ CHAPTER III. Miracles of Jesus, and his Choice of the Twelve. AND he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had withered hand. And they watched him, 2 whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered 3 hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do 4 good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round 5 about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. ences, of religion were given for the benefit of man. The Sabbath follows the general rule. Man is not a secondary appendage to this system of things, but its centre and prime object. He is the lord of this lower world, and heir of God. Not simply the sweet and hallowed rest and devotion of the Sabbath were prepared for him, but all Nature, Providence, and Grace, are tasked for his good. What a wretch must he be, if no throbbings of gratitude, no tears of contrition, no breathings of devotion, no efforts of obedience, no cheerful surrender of himself into the hands of his mighty Father, ever testify that he recognizes and praises this blessed nurture of Heaven! God forgive us, that we are so slow to appreciate, and so cold to feel, his infinite kindness! The Sabbath was made for man. Man did not make it himself. He is so blind to his highest, spiritual interest, and so bound up in his earthly cares, that he never would have devised for himself such an institution. Its nature and object carry with them intrinsic marks of a divine origin, apart from the proofs of Scripture. God made it for his child in his twofold condition of laborer and sinner, that he might have rest from toil, and victory over sin. And in both lights, what an un speakable blessing it is to us! The weary find repose, the young instruction, the erring the way of peace, the indifferent the needed rebuke, and the sad consolations to reach their inmost griefs. The judicious observance of this institution is the pillar of morality and religion. Every returning Sabbath sun beholds a wider, purer worship of the Almighty Father, a closer knitting of the ties of human brotherhood, and a fleeing away of the darkness of sin and sorrow before the spreading light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "The Sabbath-the jubilee of the whole world; whose light dawns welcome alike into the closet of the philosopher, into the garret of toil, and into prison cells, and every where suggests, even to the vile, a thought of the dignity of spiritual being. Let it stand, forevermore, a temple, which new love, new faith, new sight, shall restore to more than its first splendor to mankind." CHAPTER III. 1-12. See on Mat. xii. 9-16. 5. Few descriptions can be found more graphic than this. As Jesus asked his questions, and paused for a reply, he looked round upon the circle of hollow-hearted, cautious religionists, with strong indignation, And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the 6 other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they 9 had heard what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him, because 10 of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, 11 as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son 12 of God. And he straitly charged them, that they should not make him known. 13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom joined with the tenderest compassion for their perverseness. In that look, what depth, and power, and sensibility, were concentrated, that it should have been remembered ever after by his disciples! The anger of Jesus was not a mere impulse of irascible or petulant feeling, but a sorrowful indignation, the emotion of a deeply-stirred, but compassionate and forgiving spirit. The evangelist relates the fact as it was, without comment or explanation, and trusts, without one shade of suspicion, to the good sense and candor of the reader, never fearing that any inference could be drawn from it, in the least degree, unfavorable to the character of his spotless Master. Such conduct attests his guileless honesty and veracity. 6. Herodians. Milman remarks, in his late History of Christianity, that "this appellation probably includes all those who, estranged from the more inveterate Judaisin of the nation, and having, in some degree, adopted Grecian habits and opinions, considered the peace of the country 2 VOL. II. best secured by the government of the descendants of Herod, with the sanction and under the protection of Rome. They were the foreign faction, and, as such, in general, in direct opposition to the Pharisaic or national party." 8. Idumea. Usually called Edom, a country lying south of Palestine. The fame of Jesus had gone out beyond the confines of his native land. Tyre and Sidon. See note, Mat. xi. 21. 10. Plagues. Literally, scourges, or judgments from God, as all diseases were regarded by the Jews. 11. Unclean spirits, i. e. those who were supposed to be possessed by evil spirits, as epileptic and insane persons. 13-15. Compare Luke vi. 12, 13, where we learn he went up into a mountain to pray. Jesus uniformly resorts to the exercises of devotion in the great emergencies of his life, as at his baptism, Luke iii. 21; at the raising of Lazarus from the dead, John xi. 41; at this appointment of the twelve; after the supper, John he would; and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, 14 that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out 15 devils. And Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of 16 Zebedee, and John the brother of James, (and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder,) and Andrew, 18 and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him. 17 19 And they went into a house. And the multitude cometh to- 20 gether again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And 21 when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him : for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came 22 down from Jerusalem, said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto 23 xvii.; in the agony of Gethsemane, Mat. xxvi. 42; and on the cross, Mat. xxvii. 46, Luke xxiii. 34, 46; besides other occasions mentioned in the Gospels. These facts reveal his deep spiritual life, piety, and filial union with God. Would that they might quicken us to a like close and confiding intimacy of prayer with the Father of our spirits! It is the only true life. Ordained, i. e. appointed. No reference is made to ordination, as existing in later times. 16-19. Compare Mat. x. 2-4, and the notes. 17. Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder. So called, as some have conjectured, from the zeal and ardor of their tempers, Mark ix. 38, x. 37, Luke ix. 54, or the glow and power of their eloquence. 20. Could not so much as eat bread. With what vividness does this little circumstance call up the hurry, pressure and tumult of vast, thronging multitudes! Who but a real witness would have thought of it to throw into his picture so slight, but so natural a stroke? 21. His friends were, perhaps, afraid of his personal safety in such an immense crowd, or deemed him imprudent or over-zealous in deed or word, and hence, with an exaggeration not uncommon, called him beside himself. 22-30. See notes, Mat. xii. 24 – 32. The scribes appear to have caught at what his relatives said, that he was beside himself, and charge him with being in league with evil spirits. As spoken against him personally, this accusation mattered little, and might be passed over, ver. 28; Matt. xii. 32; but as a lie and wilful impiety against the holiest and mightiest manifestations of God's Spirit, it was an unpardonable sin; unpardonable, because it showed such opposition to the clearest light, and the best possible proofs of the divine power and love, as seemingly to preclude penitence and reformation, and therefore forgiveness. It is noticeable that some copies read, everlasting trespass or sin. If they repented of, and forsook this sin, it would be forgiven as well as any other. Or, in general, the language is designed to convey the idea, that him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out 24 Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that king25 dom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, 26 that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, 27 and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 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. 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 30 forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and standing 32 without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him; and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy 33 brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, 34 Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold, my mother 35 and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. CHAPTER IV. Jesus speaks in Parables, and stills the Tempest. 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, |