صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled and they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full.

21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him. unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain, apart, to pray and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

:

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves for the wind was contrary.

20. Filled. Satisfied, had a sufficiency. Twelve baskets. The Jews, when on a journey, were in the habit of taking baskets with them, as there were not public houses provided with articles of food, and as food not pared under their own inspection, especially if prepared by Gentiles, might expose them to uncleanness.

pre

21. Beside; without, not including. As parallel passages, compare Mark 6: 32-44. Luke 9: 10-17. John 6:1-14. That a very deep impression was made on the multitude, by this miracle, is manifest from John 6: 14, 15.

22. Constrained; directed, urged. A ship; the boat in which they had come to the east side of the sea. Unto the other side. Mark mentions Bethsaida as the place to which he directed them. There was a Bethsaida on the west of the sea.

23. The evening. In verse 15, the evening is mentioned, before the

25 And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him, and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

people were miraculously fed. To explain this, it is only necessary to remark, that the Jews reckoned two evenings, one from three o'clock until sunset, the other from sunset till

dark.

25. Fourth watch. In the time of Christ, the Jews, in imitation of the Romans, divided the night into four watches: I. Evening, from twilight to nine o'clock. II. Midnight, from nine to twelve. III. Cock-crowing, from twelve to three. IV. Morning, from three to daybreak. See Mark 13: 35. The time here specified then was, as we should say, towards morning. The more ancient Hebrews divided the night into three watches. I. The beginning, or first watch, continuing till midnight. Lam. 2: 19. II. The middle watch, from midnight to cock-crowing. Judges 7: 19. III. The morning watch, from the end of the second to the rising of the sun. Ex. 14: 24. 1 Sam. 11: 11.

31 And immediately Jesus | that country round about, and stretched forth his hand, and brought unto him all that were caught him, and said unto him, diseased; O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all

31. 0 thou of little faith. His confidence in Jesus diminished, when he thought of the boisterousness of the weather. On various occasions, Jesus showed the importance of a persevering confidence in his power.

33. Worshipped; bowed down and did obeisance, according to the custom of the country, when persons wished to show signal respect, or were struck with awe at the greatness of any one. The Son of God; the Messiah.

34. Land of Gennesaret; the name of a region in Galilee, on the northwest shore of the lake of Tiberias, about four miles long, and three broad. The more ancient name was Cinnereth, so called from a city mentioned in Josh. 19: 35. The sea of Chinnereth is also mentioned in Num. 34: 11, which is the same as the lake of Gennesaret, or the sea of Galilee, or the sea of Tiberias. Mark relates

36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

CHAPTER XV.

HEN came to Jesus scribes

THEN came to Jesus scriere of Jerusalem, saying,

2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

[blocks in formation]

2. If we have the presence and favor of Jesus, we need not cherish fear, however appalling our outward circumstances may be. v. 27.

3. Let us beware of too highly estimating our measure of faith. vs. 28-30.

4. Notice the kindness of Jesus, in rescuing his desponding and sinking disciple. v. 31.

Jesus. v. 36. Let us trust our dis5. Notice the wonderful power of eased souls to his care.

(6:45), that the disciples were to go to Bethsaida, that is, on the west of the sea. John observes (6: 17), that they went to, or towards, Capernaum; and Matthew, that "they came into the land of Gennesaret. "" The map of the country may explain these diverse statements. From Bethsaida 2. The tradition of the elders. Beon the east, they were to go to Beth-sides the precepts in the law of Moses,

CHAPTER XV.

3 But he answered and said | mandment of God of none efunto them, Why do ye also trans- fect by your tradition. gress the commandment of God by your tradition?

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, say

8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

4 For God commanded, say-ing, ing, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6 And honor not his father of his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the com

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

11 Not that which goeth in

the Jews were taught to regard as sa- released from the obligation to honor cred, and as of binding authority, cer- his parents, on the ground that the tain traditions which had been handed temple, or, as we might say, the cause down from very remote times. The of religion, was unquestionably supeelders were the ancients, teachers of rior to any other claims. See Mark former times, whose decisions and in-7: 12. Thus they directly contravened structions formed a large part of the an express statute of Jehovah. teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. Among these was the rule, that the hands must be washed before eating, lest some uncleanness should be contracted; for the food was taken up by the fingers. See Mark 7: 3, 4.

7. Prophesy of you. Is. 29: 13. In the passage referred to, Isaiah was speaking of the nation's character in his day. Jesus declared that what the prophet Isaiah uttered as descriptive of the Jewish nation, was still applicable to them, particularly to those who were leaders, as the scribes and Pharisees. As in many other instances, so here, the quotation is not precisely in

3. Transgress, Some of these traditions led to a breaking of God's express commands; as the Saviour illustrated in the following verses. 4. God commanded. Ex. 20: 12. the words of the Old Testament wri21: 17.

5. It is a gift; that is, a consecrated offering to God, and therefore put out of my power. The thing, money, for instance, by which I might have aided thy necessities, I have devoted to the temple, as a gift to God.

6. He shall be free; that is, from the command of God, mentioned in v. 4. These words were added by the translators so as to make the sense of the

passage more plain. ||Of none effect; annulled, rendered powerless. They taught, that if a child would devote to the service of the temple what might otherwise be employed for relieving his parents' necessities, he would be 12

VOL. I.

ter; the thought is the object aimed at.

REFLECTIONS. 1. Let us take heed

to the word of God, and make that our standard of religious belief and practice. v. 3.

2. See how highly the Saviour estimated the performance of filial duty.

vs. 4-6.

3. A mere external show of piety is of little account. v. 8.

consistent in our religious profession. 4. Let us be heartily sincere and Let the heart and the lips agree. vs. 8, 9.

11. Not that, &c. That is, not what a man eats, but what a man talks of,

to the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?

13 But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

15 Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

16 And Jesus said, Are ye

or proposes to do, produces defilement. The various minute prescriptions in the Mosaic law respecting uncleanness had been abused and greatly extended by subsequent teachers; and the distinction between a mere external or civil uncleanness, and that which rests on the soul, had been wholly overlooked by many. To such an extent had this been carried, that the most polluting inward sins, if there was no ceremonial uncleanness, were regarded very lightly, if at all.

12. Offended; took offence, and were induced to think and speak in a wrong manner; were rendered indignant.

13. Every plant, &c. The effect produced on the Pharisees was not at all surprising to Jesus. It was what might have been expected. They taught false doctrines; and the teachings of Jesus, who came from God, and taught only the truth, must cross their track. And every doctrine not having God for its author, must be exposed and removed. A teacher is in this verse compared to a husbandman, and the sentiments which he inculcates, to plants.

15. Declare; explain. || This parable. This word here means the

also yet without understanding?

17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

weighty sentiment expressed in v. 11. 17. Food. Food received into the mouth affects only the body. It enters not into the heart (Mark 7: 19), and thus does not affect the character, and consequently has nothing to do with moral cleanness or uncleanness.

18. Those things which proceed out of the mouth; those things about which men talk, and which they propose to do; those things which proceed from the heart, and have a moral quality, and indicate the real characters of men. It is from what exists in the heart that defilement proceeds.

19, 20. The principle just stated Jesus then illustrated. All sorts of sin, things which really pollute a man in the sight of God, come from the heart. But to eat with washed or with unwashed hands, has no connection with the heart in the sight of God. || Evil thoughts; wicked designs, as well as thoughts. || Blasphemies; calumnious speaking. Compare, as the parallel passage, Mark 7: 1–23.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 1. The heart is the seat of sin. "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Prov. 4: 23.

21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help

me.

22 And, behold, a woman of 26 But he answered and said, Canaan came out of the same It is not meet to take the chilcoasts, and cried unto him, say-dren's bread and to cast it to ing, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

2. Peculiar scrupulosity about little uncommanded things may be consistent with a deeply-depraved heart.

dogs.

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

sion did not have that harshness, as used by the Saviour, which it would have in our times. Such terms were not unfrequent among the Jews, when speaking of Gentiles. Jesus meant merely to convey to the woman the same thought which he had expressed to the disciples; namely, that the

3. Our Lord's instructions were eminently spiritual. His religion is adapted to men every where in order to fit them for a holy heaven. Holiness he makes the sum and substance of religion. Without this, all exter-present duties of his office did not exnal scrupulosity is utterly vain.

21. Tyre and Sidon; cities of Phenicia, in the north-west part of Palestine. See on 11: 21.

22. A woman of Canaan. Canaan was formerly the name of Palestine. See Gen. 12: 5, 6. This woman was probably descended from the ancient inhabitants of the land, as were probably many inhabitants of Phenicia. Mark (7: 26) says, that this woman was a Greek, that is, a Gentile, and a Syrophenician. She was thus called, because she lived in Phenicia, and Phenicia was at that time connected with the province of Syria under the Roman government.

23. Besought him, that is, in her favor, wishing him to grant her request, and let her go.

24. House of Israel; the Jews.
25. Worshipped. See on 2: 2.
26. Cast it to dogs. This expres-

[ocr errors]

tend beyond the people of the Jews. He compared himself to the master of a family, whose cares are demanded by his own children, and who is not expected to have a special solicitude for others. The language in which he conveyed the thought, being in the form of a remark, was milder than if it had been in the form of address to the woman; and it was probably softened by some expression of his countenance, or some peculiar tone of voice. Nor did it contain an absolute denial. On the contrary, his reply was worded as even to excite encouragement and hope in the woman's mind. For the dogs in a house, though not members of the family, yet have a portion of the food which is provided for the family. On this thought the woman laid hold.

[ocr errors]

28. Great is thy faith; thy confidence in my ability and benevolence. In order to bring distinctly to view the

« السابقةمتابعة »