on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and 2 said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went 3 out a sower to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell 4 by the way-side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much 5 earth: and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because 6 it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, 7 and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang 8 up, and increased, and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears 9 to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that 10 were about him, with the twelve, asked of him the parable. And 11 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: that seeing they may see, and not per- 12 ceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? 13 and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the 14 word. And these are they by the way-side, where the word is 15 sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And 16 these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a 17 time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they 18 which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the 19 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 thirty21 fold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a 22 bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept 23 secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to 24 hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: 25 and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be 26 taken even that which he hath. And he said, So is the king27 dom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring 28 and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full 29 corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediate30 ly he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. And 19. The deceitfulness of riches. Riches deceive men, because they often take wings and fly away suddenly, because they fail to satisfy the immortal mind, as they seem to promise to do, and because, in addition to their transitoriness and their unsatisfactoriness, they seduce the soul from its real interest, and thwart its true life. 21-25. See Luke viii. 16-18, and the notes on Mat. v. 15, vii. 2, x. 26, xiii. 12. 26-29. This parable is found only here. Its point lies in the beautiful analogy between things spiritual and things material. As the sown grain springs up and grows, shoots forth successively the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear, and ripens to the harvest, so is it with the principles of the gospel, whether in the heart, or the larger field of the world. They are sown by the Saviour and his apostles and ministers. They take root in the congenial soil of human nature. Their growth is gradual and natural. While men sleep and wake, and little heed the mighty on-goings of Providence, or the silent diffusion of these spiritual powers, they spread from heart to heart, until they send their roots through the sluggish mass of society, and render to heaven the offering of a waving, boundless harvest. The lessons here taught are ever needed: viz. that we should not despair of the growth of true religion, for it is in the hands of God, and often flourishes we know not how; that the coming of religion to its maturity, in the heart or the world, is gradual and gentle, not sudden or violent; is most he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of 31 mustard-seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: but when it is sown, it groweth 32 up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto 33 them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake 34 he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto 35 them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had 36 sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And 37 there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of 38 the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, 39 and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said 40 unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, 41 What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? like the putting forth of the tender shoot, the blossoming of the plant, and its ripening into the golden grain. 35. 30-34. See on Mat. xiii. 31– 33. As they were able to hear it. Great as Jesus was as a Teacher, he disregarded not the law of adaptation in his instructions, and ill it becomes any of his disciples to neglect it. The babe requires milk, the strong man meat. lers tell us, blowing strongly against the current in the lake, made by the Jordan, immediately raises a high and dangerous sea. 39. God had delegated power to his Son to still the raging elements, raise the dead, cure the sick, and foretell the future. These things were the seal and sign-manual of a more than mortal authority. They leave him apparently without excuse, who bows not to one who has thus been appointed, as the spiritual 35-41. See notes on Mat. viii. Guide and Saviour of mankind, and 18, 23-27. furnished with the most weighty 37. A south-east wind, as travel- credentials of his office. CHAPTER V. Several Miracles of Jesus. AND they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the 2 country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an 3 unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no 4 man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: 5 neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting 6 himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran 7 and worshipped him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? 8 I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. (For he said 9 unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.) And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My 10 name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much CHAPTER V. Mark is generally more minute in the detail of facts than Matthew; a characteristic, which will be apparent from a comparison of this chapter with the parallel parts of that Gospel. This is an indication that Mark was not an abridger of Matthew, but an original and independent writer. Matthew contains a fuller report of the discourses and conversations of our Lord. 1-20. Mat. viii. 28-34, and the notes. 2. A man. Matthew mentions two; Mark and Luke speak of only one, probably the worst diseased, or the most known.. With an unclean spirit. Goadby justly remarks here, "It being the design of the sacred writers to instruct men in religion, and not natural philosophy; therefore in natural philosophy they retained the vulgar language, though that language owed its rise to false opinions; so the Scripture speaks as if the earth was fixed and immovable; which every one skilled in mathematics now knows to be absolutely false. The sacred writers contented themselves, to speak according to appearances and the vulgar conceptions. Hence, from the language made use of, we have no reason to conclude that devils possessed men; or that demons, or the souls of departed men, occasioned madness or the like disorders." 3-13. These verses contain a perfect and vivid delineation of raging insanity, which was caused, probably, as madness is now, by sickness or injury, but which was attributed, in the superstitious opinions of the people, to possession by evil spirits; in which hallucination the maniac himself naturally participated. Legion. A Roman division of about six thousand. The furious madman seized upon this tremendous name, as representing the number of spirits which he believed haunted him. that he would not send them away out of the country. Now 11 there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into 12 the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus 13 gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the 14 city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was 15 possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they that 16 saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray 17 him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into 18 the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but 19 saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how 20 great things Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other 21 side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the Nothing was ever more real or nat- 18, 19. Prayed him that he might be with him. From an impulse of gratitude, or through fear of a return of his malady. Go home to thy friends, and tell, &c. There was no apprehension of a popular sedition or tumult on this side of the lake, for Jesus was soon to leave it, and he therefore commands the man to spread the news of his restoration, token as it was of the divine compassion. 20, 21. Parallel to Luke viii. 39, 40.- Decapolis. See note on Mat. iv. 25.-All men did marvel. The miracles of Jesus accomplished a great moral result. They rolled off the dead weight of indifference from the minds of his hearers, and opened the fountains of wonder, awe, interest, and curiosity. Men listened to the words of one whose deeds were more than human. - He was nigh unto the sea. The words signify that |