Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

CHAPTER III.

JESUS CURES A MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND ON THE SABBATH DAY.

Ver. 1-6.

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do 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 about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

N considering the miracle here recorded, it will be

the close of the preceding chapter. The concert of the Pharisees with the Herodians to destroy Jesus, is very intelligible, if we suppose that his miracle of healing on the sabbath day had confirmed the suspicion, already awakened, that he was assuming the character of Lord of the sabbath. They now felt justified in proceeding against him, because he had not only avowed it, but was acting up to the avowal; he was practically shewing, that his words were to be

construed in a sense which, to their apprehension, was blasphemous.

JESUS CHARGES THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS, NOT TO
MAKE HIM KNOWN.
Ver. 7-12.

But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judæa, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumæa, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they 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 of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

The unclean spirits called Jesus the Son of God. Now it was his object gradually to exercise the faith of his hearers-to prepare them for truth after truthand he did not, therefore, wish that those should know who he was, whose docility and candour had not been so exercised. Even to his disciples his revelation of himself was gradual. It might also have exposed him to the hazard of an attempt to force on him temporal royalty; and that there was some risk of this may be inferred from his removal into a mountain.

JESUS APPOINTS AND SENDS FORTH THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

Ver. 13-19.

And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained

twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphæus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him,

Our Lord appointed the twelve,' that they might be with him;' and so be witnesses of the course of his ministry. Hence they are called emphatically his Witnesses.*

This view of their office is one which deserves to be dwelt on, because it is connected with an important feature of the Christian religion, as distinguished from all others. It is an historical religion; that is, it is a religion whose doctrines arise out of facts; chiefly, miraculous facts. In this respect Christianity essentially differs from all the philosophical systems, or false religions of the world. Even Mahomet only propounded doctrines; but Jesus performed actions out of which doctrines flow. For example, he died for us, and hence the doctrine of the atonement; he sent the Holy Spirit to us, and hence the doctrine of grace. And this will account for our not always finding doctrines with which we are familiar, set forth, as such, in the sacred narratives. They are contained there, yet not as abstract propositions, but as involved in the facts related.

*Acts i. 8.

Our Lord, after appointing the twelve, sent them away from him for a short time; partly, no doubt, for the purpose of spreading his Gospel; partly, perhaps, to give them proof and experience of his assistance in their ministry, when he should be withdrawn from them in the flesh, and present only by the Spirit.*

Two names are recorded as on this occasion given by our Lord to individuals amongst them. Simon was called Peter;† James and John, Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder. Peter is a word signifying 'rock,' and it was applied to the apostle, either to intimate that it was through men like-minded with him, the Church was to be established; or as a prophecy or promise that he was to be the first stone laid in that spiritual edifice. This was fulfilled in his

* See p. 50.

+ Cephas was really the name given to Simon; but as this word, in the corrupt Hebrew, in which our Lord and his disciples conversed, meant a stone, the Greek word for a stone, Téτρоs, which we render Peter, became in time his more common title. The original name Cephas is preserved in John i. 42, where it is explained by the Greek word πérpos, “Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone,' (πérpos.) It occurs also several times in St. Paul's Epistles. See 1 Cor. i. 12. iii. 22. ix. 5. XV. 5. Galat. ii. 9.

[ocr errors]

See Matth. xvi. 13-18. The change, in the original Scripture, from réтрos to rérрa would seem to suggest this interpretation. συ εἶ πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. 'Thou art rock, and on this kind of rock will I build my church.' Peter, it will be remembered, had just replied to the question which Jesus put to the apostles— 6 Whom say ye that I am ?'-by saying, 'Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.'

being the first who made converts to Christianity. Why James and John were named Boanerges, does not appear from Scripture. Their title might have been designed to indicate the energy for which they would be remarkable in the exercise of the office to which he had called them.

JESUS IS ACCUSED OF BEING BESIDE HIMSELF, AND OF BEING AN AGENT OF SATAN.

:

Ver. 19-30.

And they went into an house. And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And 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 down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, 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. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Both the friends of Jesus and the scribes were unwilling to admit that he was one commissioned by God. The reason was this. The whole nation, with one consent, looked at this time for their Messiah, but

« PredošláPokračovať »