December 1927
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our Lord’s reluctance, but always of ap propriating His willingness (v. 40). Great faith is not always obedient (v. 45). More than one immature testimony has hindered the Lord’s work. —o— S uggestive Q uestions Are the expressions ;(i‘gospel of the kingdom of God” (v. 14) and the gospel of ‘ the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 4:17) synonymous ? What is to be preached in all the world before Christ comes ? (V. 14. Cf. Mt. 24: 14.) Has “this gospel” of the kingdom of heaven (or kingdom of God) evidently been preached throughout this dispensa tion? (Mt. 26:13.) Did this kingdom Gospel. have to do with a temporal proposition of outward pomp and glory? (Rom. 14:17.) How did the demon-possessed man get his knowledge of Jesus? (l,:24-25. Cf. Jas. 2:19.) What was the reason Jesus requested the healed leper not to advertise His mir acle? (V. 43. Cf. v. 45.) G olden T ext I llustration He hath done all things well; He maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak (Mk. 7:37). The writer once owned a French clock which became out of order. For many months it remained useless because no clock-maker could be found who under stood its mechanism. One day he met a man who had been in the clock factories of France and understood the workings of these complicated clocks. Quickly he put the timepiece in order. So it is with the spirit disordered by sin and Satan. Not until the divine Maker, Jesus Christ, comes and repairs men, can they be ca pable of that for which they were origi nally made. I Site, I ¿y? \ 7 21. After the baptism and tempta- ' tation of Jesus, He seems to have established His headquarters at Caper naum, located on the northwest shore of
Scribes should have known the law be cause of their daily contact with it, but not all people who come into contact with the word of God allow it to enter their hearts. V. 23, In the synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit. Unclean spirits and demons are fallen spirits, whose leader is Satan (Eph. 2:1-3; 6 :10f). V. 24. The demons, speaking through the man, using his vocal cords, asked what Jesus was going to do to him, and ac knowledged who Jesus was. Jesus is called by the demon “a Nazarene.” Naza- rene means a resident of Nazareth, a de spised city. The demons asked of Jesus if He had come- to destroy them. De - stroy is in this sense not annihilation, but means to take away their contentment by casting them into the “pit of the abyss.” (Cf. Lk. 8 :31.) Jesus is “The Holy One of God,” the Jehovah mentioned in many passages in the Old Testament. V. 25. Jesus, rebuking the spirit, called an “unclean spirit,” commanded him to hold his peace, for He did not wish the testimony of evil spirits. V. 26. This spirit was doubtless called “unclean” because of the results which he had caused in thé life of the man, as the spirit mentioned in Mk. 9 :25 is called a “dumb and deaf spirit” because he had caused dumbness and deafness in the per sons possessed. On former occasions demons upon leaving people tore their bodies violently, while others they seem to have left peacefully. V. 27. The miracle caused great amazement and questioning on the part of the people, because they had never heard such teachings and had never be fore seen evil spirits obedient to any one. V. 28. The fame of Jesus spread rapidly throughout Galilee. It is the un usual that travels most rapidly. V. 29. Upon leaving the Synagogue, Jesus, with his disciples, went home with Simon Peter. In the orient hospitality is freer and more general than in the oc cident. Vs. 30, 31. Upon reaching Peter’s house, Jesus found his mother-in-law sick with fever, and, entering in, He, the “Great Physician,” took her by the hand and lifted her up. Instantly the fever left her and she began to minister unto them. Jesus saves people who accept Him not for their good only, but that they may minister to others, and may advance the kingdom because of truth and righteous ness. V. 32. The people who saw the mir acle at the Synagogue on that Sabbath returned to their homes, but, as soon as the sun went down, which was the end of the Sabbath, the city was disturbed, and the people brought those who were sick and demon-possessed to Jesus. Demon possession must not be thought of as something confined to heathen lands and the dark ages, but demon activity is, ac cording to prophecy, to be prevalent in Christendom (1 Tim. 4:1-3). V. 33. Those who did not bring sick with ¡them rushed together in the throng because of curiosity. V. 34. On this occasion Jesus healed many sick people and cast out many de mons.; , on other occasions, however, He healed “all who came.” His not healing some of these doubtless is caused by their lack of faith and the presence of unre- pented-of sins in the lives of those who were not healed. The demons seem to have had a desire to confess who Jesus
was. They had supernatural knowledge, but even this was limited. God does not care for the testimony of demons or evil men. (Cf. Ps. 50:16.) . V. 35. Though Jesus was God mani fest in the flesh, He realized His need of communion with God His Father in prayer; hence, He arose “a great while before day” and went out into a desert place to pray. Prayer played a great part in the personal life of the Lord. From this fact it is evident that one must be much in prayer to live the life acceptable to God. “Take time to be holy.” Vs; 36, 37. The disciples of Jesus fol lowed Him and finding Him reported, “All are seeking Thee.*’ . The excitement was running high. Some were really longing to know the truth and to get into closer touch with God, whereas many were moved with mere curiosity. V. 38. Jesus replied to His disciples that there were other cities to which it was necessary that He should preach the gospel. Every creature of every gener ation should have the opportunity of hearing the gospel. V. 39. True to His conviction, Jesus went forth through all Galilee, preaching and ministering to the physical needs of the people. This verse gives the resume of the first of the three evangelistic tours of Galilee which Jesus made. V. 40. On this tour a leper came to Him who paid divine honors and wor ship to Him; “If Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean.” This man had the proper conception of Jesus and his own relation to Him. Furthermore, he recog nized Christ’s ability to heal and plead for mercy by saying, “If Thou wilt.” All prayer should be conditioned upon the will of God. V. 41. Upon seeing this unfortunate man Jesus, moved with compassion, touched him and immediately the man was made whole. He had taken upon Himself the form of man in order that He might be a merciful and faithful high-priest in things pertaining to God. The words of Isaiah concerning Israel found their full and complete fulfillment in Jesus: “In all their afflictions He was afflicted.” With the touch of Jesus the leprosy departed from the man. Vs. 43, 44. Realizing the great danger from an excitable oriental populace, Jesus charged the man to be quiet, saying noth ing about his miraculous cure, but to show himself to the priest and to offer the things commanded by Moses for a testimony of his perfect restoration to health. The Law was still in force dur ing the ministry of Jesus; hence people were urged by both Jesus and His dis ciples to keep the Law (Matt. 22:1-3). V. 45. Disregarding the instructions of Jesus, the man, overjoyed by his feelings, proclaimed his blessing everywhere. This report circulated throughout the country and caused great excitement, so that Jesus could not openly enter a city, but had to retire to desert places. Even though He withdrew, people flocked to Him. One may, in a way, hinder the work of the Master by allowing his joy and enthusiasm to dethrone his reason. This man did not wilfully disobey Christ, but was bubbling over with happiness so that he could not do otherwise. It is well for Christians to pray earnestly for wisdom and power over self, in order not to hinder the work of Christ unnecessarily.
the Sea of Galilee. Having finished the early Judean ministry, Jesus passed through Samaria on His way to Galilee, visiting the city of Cana (Jno: 4:46-54) and Nazareth (Lk. 4:16- 36), after which vis its He returned to
Capernaum. "Straightway” is a characteristic word of Mark’s gospel and indicates the swift ness with which Jesus performed His work. On the Sabbath He entered into the Synagogue and taught. This Syna gogue is probably the one which was built by the Roman Centurion for the Jews (Lk. 7:5). Jesus took advantage of the occasion to preach the gospel to him. (Cf. 2 Tim. 4:2.) V. 22. Christ’s method of teaching and the deep earnestness with which he spoke was in violent contrast to the usual Rabbinical method, which was of a nega tive and uncertain character, so that the people marvelled at His teaching. Jesus, knowing who He was, i. e., that He was the Son of God, spoke with a clear, posi tive note that carried conviction. The
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