August 1929
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
380
Seed Thoughts From St. Mark B y R ev . W ilfred M. H opkins C hapter VI.
i N HIS FATHERLAND—i.e., Nazareth, or its imme diate neighborhood. He had taught here once before and been rejected (cf. Luke 4:16). Christ does not easily give men tip, nbx should we. (There is a point at which He will abandon■■men,/as in the case of those Mil the country of Gadara.) FOLLOWED HIM—Or they ¿wild not have been His disciples; for a disciple means a learned and we, 'cannot learn of Christ unless •we follow Him; and that always, whithersoever He may lead. 2—BEGAN TO TEACH, etc.—Note His continuous habit of attending public worship, and that He never missed an op portunity:.<■of, v:teaching, WHENCE HATH HE THESE THINGS, etc.?—They were not used to such teaching (cf. Jno. 7:46). They should have realized that He was the fulfillment of prophecy and known Him by that sign (cf. Isa. 11:1, 2). If we desire true wisdom we shall always find it in Him (cf. 1 Cor. 1 :30). SUCH POWERS ARE WORKED—There are four names for miracles in the Gospels: (1) Terata , i.e., marvels, never used alone because His miracles were never intended to be merely marvels; (2) semeia , i.e., signs, tokens of His divinity and commission; (3) dunameis , i.e., powers, pointing to the source of the miracle; manifestation of the divine energy; (4) erga , i.e., works, the name for the common everyday occupa tions—mighty works are part of the daily occupation of the Divine (cf Jno. 5:17). 3—THE CARPENTER—Every Jew was taught a trade, but the village carpenter would be poor, and not likely to get a literary education; in this case they knew that He had had none (cf. Jno. 7:15. “Letters” here is used in its classic sense for lit erature —every Jew was taught to read). When Christ came He humbled Himself to the lowliest position: all such positions and all forms of toil are sanctified thereby. [N. B. As a car penter He would understand all about yokes; He had, doubtless, made many, and they were good ones, or He could not have said what He did where He was so well known (cf. Matt, ll :30) ]. HIS BRETHREN AND HIS SISTERS—Never mentioned* ex cept in connection with Mary. No doubt they were her sons and daughters. THEY WERE SCANDALIZED—The word means “to be made to stumble” (1 Pet. 2:6-8). Had He been a learned Pharisee, like Gamaliel, or a rich man, like Dives, it would not have been so bad, but a carpenter! One of themselves! Pride and jealousy (two most deadly sins) hindered them from accepting Him. 4—Familiarity too often breeds contempt; but in these cases the trouble is that men look at the messenger instead of lis tening to the message, an error which we should ever be most careful to avoid. 5—NOT ABLE TO DO A SINGLE MIGHTY WORK— Note the inability (not the unwillingness) of the Omnipotent! Unbelief, in this dispensation, ties His hands. A FEW SICK FOLK—Who felt their need, and therefore did not quibble as to His origin. It is the soul that feels the need of salvation that is the least inclined to raise questions as to the Saviour: there would be less heresy in the world if there were more sense of sin and danger. 6—MARVELLED AT T H E I R UNBELIEF—Another human characteristic found in the Divine. How often must He marvel at us, who know far more about Him than they did, yet display the same want of faith and trust. WENT ROUND ABOUT THE VILLAGES—Neither unbelief nor rejection
stopped His work; we must not allow it to stop ours; we are to go on proclaiming the message “whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear” (cf. Ezek. 2:7); and as to rejec tion, “the servant is not above his Lord.” 7— CALLED TWELVE—i.e., from the body of the follow ing disciples. BEGAN TO SEND them—This is the commence ment of Christian Missions; He is still sending their successors. These men are now made apostles, i.e., “those who are sent” ; we should realize that every true Christian is an apostle, for He has said to us also, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.” TWO AND TWO'—For companionship and fellowship —they were going forth as sheep among wolves—there should be a closer fellowship between Christian workers than there often is ; it would be both stimulating and encouraging. GAVE THEM AUTHORITY, etc. A delegated authority which the spirits would and must recognize; they had none of their own, nor have we—we must seek both for authority and power at His hands, or the Evil One will defy us and we shall labor in vain (cf. Acts 19:15, 16). 8— TAKE NOTHING IN THE WAY—They were not to ■ be cumbered with the things of earth (cf. Heb. 12:1); their minds were to be fixed on their mission, not more than was un avoidable upon worldly things. BUT ONLY A STAFF—To lean upon in the journey and as a protection against the wild beasts. From S. Matthew (10 :10) we learn that they were not to provide a staff (“two staves” is undoubtedly a copyist’s error), i.e., not a special one for their mission; they were to go with the ordinary everyday staff that they already possessed. We shall need something special to lean upon and to defend us in our work for Christ, but we are not to provide it; it is to be provided by the Lord Himself (cf. Ex. 12:11; Ps. 23:4). NO WALLET (in which to carry food). NO BREAD, NO MONEY—They were to rely entirely upon the divine provision; this reliance should be ours, but the method of showing it should be otherwise, unless we are specially called to follow their actual example in these details. At any rate the grasping after earthly riches displayed by some of God’s servants is not at all in har mony with these directions. 9— SHOD WITH SANDALS—They were not to go bare foot, lest they should be mistaken for slaves (we are His bond- slaves, but we are not to court the contempt of men) ; nor were they to wear shoes, which were luxuries inconsistent with their position in relation both to their Master and to those to whom they were sent (for they were to be servants of both). 10— THERE ABIDE—The custom was for the stranger to be entertained in house after house; this would waste their time, distract their attention, tend to the development of gossip, and tempt them to seek popularity—all things to be avoided by the minister of Christ. His regulation in the matter would make them very unpopular, but they must face that for His sake; as also must we, whatever its cause. 11— SHAKE OFF THE DUST—A sign of the renunciation of all fellowship and of all responsibility. The former is express ly commanded (cf. Eph. 5:11; 2 Jno. 10) ; the latter is inherent in the Mission—the duty is ours; the responsibility as to the results, is His and His alone, so be we are faithful in our stew ardship. MORE TOLERABLE, etc.—The punishment of the former shall not be so great because they had not had the same privilege and chance (cf. Lk. 12:47, 48).
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