178
April 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
Seed Thoughts From St. Mark B y R ev . W ilfred M. H opkins CHAPTER II
« 0 ROOM TO RECEIVE—Christ always drew a crowd (friendly or hostile), as He said, “I, if 1 be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." Why does He not draw one today? He is the same, but some how men do not recognize Him in our presentation of Him. HE SPAKE TO THEM THE WORD— Note, He never missed an opportunity of declaring the Gospel, and never considered His own ease. We 3—A PARALYTIC—Paralysis, or palsy, is a type of the destructive effect of sin as regards effort; the paralytic cannot perform the proper functions or do the duties of life. So Sin hinders us from either glorifying God, which is the highest function of life, or from working for Him, which is alike our duty and our privilege. BORNE OF FOUR—They “brought him to Jesus." That is what we should do with the afflicted in mind, body, or soul; at least we can carry them in the arms of prayer. 4—HAVING UNCOVERED THE ROOF, etc.—For this they would have to ascend the staircase outside the house. [The roof is still so uncovered at times in Palestine, to let things down, to this day.] The lesson here is to be drawn from their per severance and willingness to take pains; they did not give up because of the seeming impossibility, nor should we; a holy audacity and determination should characterize our efforts for the spiritual good of men. BED—Nothing, of course, but a light couch or mat which they could easily carry. 5—SEEING THEIR FAITH—i.e., the faith of all five, as appears from what follows. The man was neither a passive nor unwilling partaker in the purpose of the approach: other peo ple’s faith may help to bring us to Jesus, but only our own faith can be the ultimate cause of salvation. SON—How had he be come a son of the Divine? By faith, for it is only by faith in Him that we become sons of God (cf. Jno. 1:12). THY SINS ARE FORGIVEN—For the same reason. The probability is that the palsy was the result of his own sin and the declaration of forgiveness was to prepare the way for faith in the cure. 6—CERTAIN OF THE SCRIBES—No doubt a deputation from the hostile Rulers at Jerusalem, sent to watch and entrap Him. Note that He never hesitated to do and say what was right and needful because of the possible consequences or the opinions' of men: this is a lesson for us. ‘‘The fear of man bringeth a snare" and we should never compromise or palter with the truth because of man’s opinion or possible action (cf. Isa. 51:12). REASONING IN THEIR HEARTS—They ask for no explanation and receive none; human reasoning is sure to err in matters concerned with the divine government, if no divine guidance is sought. 7—WHY DOTH THIS FELLOW—There is contempt and rejection in the phrase; if they had not rejected Him they might have known why; they who start by rejecting Christ will never understand Him or His work. HE BLASPHEMETH— Yes! Quite true, from their point of view; so does every mere man blaspheme who professes to forgive sins against God. WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD?—No one else, truly; and He only by means of the sacrifice of Calvary, for the forgiveness of sins is not arbitrary, but consequential. 8—KNOWING THOROUGHLY IN HIS SPIRIT—A proof of His divinity, for such knowledge is confined to the Divine (cf. 1 Chron. 28:9 and Heb. 4:12). We may guess what men are thinking, but we cannot know thoroughly. WHY REA SON YE, etc.—We must remember that the fame of Him had already gone abroad: instead of “reasoning” they should either have accepted Him already or have sought from Him air expla nation of His position^—to. harbor reasoning and doubt in the heart instead of seeking interpretation from God is sin. 9—WHICH IS EASIER—Note, not to “do,” but to “say” ; the one could be tested; the other could not. It is quite easy to say, but the proof of the veracity of the saying is very often to be found only in the doing. Neither, of course, was easier to Him.
10— THAT YE MAY KNOW—He will prove His right to say the easier by doing the harder. THE SON OF MAN HATH AUTHORITY—Not a son of a man (He was not the son of a man at all), but the [only] Son of Humanity, a title He was fond of applying to Himself as denoting His absolute relationship to us and His Headship of our race. ON EARTH— Exercising the same authority here as God does in heaven. If this was not a claim to divinity, what was it ? Those who.say that He never claimed to be Divine, must have read their Bibles (if they have read them at all) with their eyes shut, or their minds hopelessly prejudiced. 11— TO THEE I SAY—The “to thee” is emphatic in the original. The words could not be addressed to the scribes, for they had no faith. Human reasoning and questioning do not bring men into the sphere of healing, forgiveness, or blessedness. 12— IMMEDIATELY HE AROSE—This was the proof of his faith: he did not plead his inability; he did not even hesitate or stop to reason. We need never talk of our inability when He commands us to act; with the command He always gives the power. Note, there is again instantaneous healing, hardly any of Christ’s miracles were progressive; it is only our lack of faith that hinders the perfection of His work in us. HIS BED—Little more than a mat, used only by the poorest—it was so constantly the poor to whom Christ ministered. This teaches us: (1) that we must become poor in spirit ere He can help and heal u s; (2) that we are to despise no one because of his poverty. The religious leaders of His day looked down with contempt on the poor and the ignorant; we must beware of the ingrained tendency to do the same. BEFORE THEM ALL—Christ’s miracles were not usually done in secret. As the Gospel was published at least within thirty-five years of the events recorded, many of the wit nesses must have been alive, and had the records been false (as men would have us believe in these days) they would have raised a storm of contradiction in the churches, which would have been fatal to their preservation. 13— THE CROWD CAME—We think of Him as “despised and rejected of men,” but He was not so at first; He was at one time the most popular Preacher the world has ever seen. He need not have been despised at all, had He not chosen to be so for the truth’s sake, and ours. 14— LEVI—The “publican,” i.e., a tax gatherer—for the conquerors; in Jewish eyes the vilest and most contemptible of men. Yet not so in the eyes of Christ; He does not see as man seeth (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7). He despises none, nor should we. [Note that the apostles were not chosen from the noble or the learned or the clever. What a comfort for those of us who are neither.] The choice of such men is a proof of the truth of the story; a romancer would inevitably have represented Christ as choosing His servants from the great ones of the earth. SITTING AT THE CUSTOM HOUSE—Again the call to wider usefulness comes to one who is faithfully following his daily occupation (cf. Moses, Gideon, David, Elisha, etc). We should not be rush ing about, “seeking for some great thing to do,” to the neglect of the daily task. If God needs us elsewhere He will, find us at our work. FOLLOW ME—A command without explanation or condition or promise; so He is calling each one of us today. Are we ready to obey, unquestioning? Only so can we hope to be His true apostles. [“Apostle” simply means “one who is sent.”] AND ARISING, HE FOLLOWED—This was a greater renunciation than that of the other apostles, since the office was an exceedingly profitable one; yet the obedience was immediate and unhesitating. What magnetic force was it that enabled Jesus of Nazareth thus to compel men to follow Him at all cost? Will those who deny His divinity explain the mystery? 15— AS HE RECLINED IN THE HOUSE—i.e., Levi’s house, who made Him a great feast (cf. Luke 5:29). Note he would be a rich man and well able to do so. Note, also, that Christ was not an ascetic; we repeatedly find Him at such func tions, thus at once setting the seal of His approval upon, and hallowing by His presence, the social joys and engagements of life. PUBLICANS AND SINNERS—Tax gatherers and (prob ably) immoral people, at any rate openly depraved persons.
should be as eager in seizing openings for its proclamation and as self-forgetful in the work as He.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker