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22— BEELELZEBOUL—i.e., the Lord of dung; the same person as Beelzebub, the Lord of flies; names for the Devil. Holy Scripture everywhere treats Satan as a personality and not merely as an influence. BY THE PRINCE OF THE DEVILS—This was blasphemy in its most deadly as well as its most foolish form; it put men beyond the reach of spiritual influences en tirely. 23— CALLED THEM UNTO HIM—He does not leave even the worst of men without trying to convince them of their errors; He is “not willing that any should perish.” HOW CAN SATAN, etc.? Perfect unity between the Evil One and his subordinate spirits is here asserted, so that he who is tempted by an evil spirit is tempted by the Devil himself. [Note that there is the same unity between the Holy Spirit and all His living agents; as the Devil works through the demons, so the Spirit works through those who are truly His messengers.] 24— IF THE KINGDOM, etc.—Satan had usurped dominion over men, but that dominion would fail if he cast himself out; the suggestion was not only wicked, it was foolish. There is no limit either of wickedness or folly to which men will not some times go in order to escape the sanctions of the Truth. 25— IF A HOUSE—The house is the dwelling place of the Evil One, in this case the man who was possessed. The kingdom is general and external; the house is personal and internal. 27— NO MAN IS ABLE—If Satan was being cast out of his houses, someone stronger than he must have bound him. This was done in the wilderness when Christ defeated him. We do not always fully appreciate the importance of that conflict and its results. 28— ALL SINS AND BLASPHEMIES—There is therefore no sinner who is outside the bounds of Divine Mercy, except the one referred to in the next verse. 29— HE THAT SHALL BLASPHEME, etc.—This is sin against the Holy Ghost—not a sin, but a state of sin—a wilful rejection or denial of the power of the Holy Ghost and an ascription of His works to the powers, of evil. HATH NEVER FORGIVENESS—He does not say " cannot” be forgiven, but will not be, because such an one will not seek forgiveness or be lieve in its possibility. GUILTY OF AN ETERNAL SIN—(the best reading). The sin is wilful and eternal, therefore forgiveness is impossible. This is the “sin unto death” (cf. 1 Jno. 5:16). Any person who fears that he has committed this sin proves by the very fear that he has not done so—else he would have no com punction about the matter at all. 31— THERE COME HIS BRETHREN—A distinct state ment that He had brothers. STANDING WITHOUT—Because of the density of the crowd; an undesigned touch that shows the truth of the narrative. CALLING HIM—For the purpose, as we know, of laying hold on Him and stopping His work (cf. verse 21). 32— THY . . . BRETHREN—A large number of MSS. add “and thy sisters.” The whole family had come. They were prob ably afraid both for their own reputation as related .to “the Madman” and also for His safety, as they knew the opposition of the Rulers and their hatred of Him. 33— WHO IS MY MOTHER . . . ?—There were at least three rejections of her human relationship and authority (here, at Cana, and at Calvary). Very extraordinary if the Roman Catholic v ew of her position and influence is to be believed. Surely He, foreseeing that worship would be offered her and power ascribed to her, deliberately strove to show that neither of them were admissible! [Note that there is no mention of Joseph here—Mary was probably a widow at this time.] 34— —The physical relationship was a passing phase; the abiding relationship is spiritual, not physical, and embraces all His true disciples.
not be; but we are all to be Apostles (cf. Jno. 20:21, spoken not only to the Eleven, but to the whole body of the disciples, including the women). Consider, therefore, the conditions of apostleship: (a) THAT THEY SHOULD BE WITH HIM— If our work for Him is to succeed, this is the first necessity; not only to believe on Him, but to be with Him, in heartfelt com munion; (b) THAT HE MIGHT SEND THEM—We are not to go of our own motion; we are to wait for His direction, (c) THAT THEY SHOULD PREACH—This is the first and chief end of apostleship—to preach, i.e., to tell out, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Alas that so many men depreciate preaching today and put priestcraft in its place; the declaration of the Gospel is God’s chosen means for the salvation of men. 15— (d) TO HAVE POWER TO HEAL THE SICK AND TO CAST OUT DEMONS—The word also means “authority.”- This is to be the outcome of apostleship,—it is to have practical results. But those results are to be achieved by a delegated authority and power. 16— HE ADDED TO SIMON THE NAME OF PETER— Simon means “a hearer” ; Peter means “a stone.” [Not “a rock.” Peter, is masculine; the word for “a rock” is feminine. In Matt. 16:18, q.v., Christ uses the feminine word for the “rock” on which He will build His Church (in contradistinction to the masculine Peter), that rock, of course, being the confession of His divinity.] The “hearer” is turned into a “living stone” (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5). This is ever the result of being a true “hearer” and following Christ. 17— SONS OF THUNDER-—Men of fiery zeal, advocates of vengeance. Note the power of the Gospel; one of them, at any rate, was transformed into an Apostle of Love. 18— BARTHOLOMEW—Probably the same as Nathaniel. THOMAS—The Twin. (*) THADDAEUS—The Lebbseus of St. Matthew, the Judas (not Iscariot) of St. John. SIMON THE CANANAEAN —Not a Canaanite, but a member of the sect called Zealots, a fierce war party who conspired against the Romans. 19— ISCARIOT—i.e., “Ish Kerioth,” a man of Kerioth in Judaea, probably the only one from Southern Palestine. WHO ALSO BETRAYED HIM—He was a descendant and a name sake of that Judah who betrayed Joseph (one of the types of Christ) into the hands of the Gentiles (cf. Gen. 37:26, 27). Hence the type was literally fulfilled. Are these things com patible with a mere late and vague tradition, or a narrative invented in the days of Josiah, or later? Not a word as to the past history of these men, no description of them, hardly any history of their future: how utterly different from the merely human notices of great men: another undesigned proof of the truth of the story; no romancer would have so treated his principal characters. Apparently none of them were men of any position or mark in the world; they certainly wfere not intellectually brilliant. Such, however, was God’s usual choice (cf. 1 Cor. 1 :27, 28) ; such is often His choice even today— we ought not to make an idol of position or of intellect. 20— WERE NOT ABLE TO EAT BREAD—i.e., they got no time to themselves. Why did they not send the crowds away? Because He never thought of Himself before others. How often we fail to imitate His example, which was left us “that we might follow in His steps.” 21— WHEN HIS RELATIONS HEARD OF IT—i.e., His mother and brethren. [There is no Scriptural authority for the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary.] HE IS MAD—These people were not mere worldlings, they were religious Jews, but the merely religious mind often deems the zealous and spirit ually minded Christian a fanatic and a madman. (*) Called “Didymus,” which also means “a Twin” (cf. Jno. 11:16).
35—BEHOLD, MY MOTHER AND MY BRETHREN!
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