Mark 2:1 Note here: I. The helplessness of some men. All helplessness traceable to sin. II. The social usefulness of some other men. We can all carry sufferers to Christ, even when we cannot heal them ourselves. To point a sinner to Christ is a good work; to carry a little child to the Saviour is... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:8 The text shows I. An important aspect of human power. Secrecy; having two lives. These considerations make us mysteries to one another. II. A startling instance of Divine insight. III. A splendid manifestation of Christ's fearlessness. IV. A solemn example of the confusion which will f... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:16 I. The question which was asked by the scribes and Pharisees is very instructive, for the answer to it illustrates the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in His work and person. Why was He at all at the feast of Matthew? Because He was and is the Friend of sinners. Here we have one of the most... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:18 A Word from Jesus on Fasting. Fasting, in its essence, is the restraint of self in respect of lower appetite, with special reference to abstinence from that which nourishes the body. Its advantages Jesus Christ never denied; indeed He availed Himself of them for forty days in the wilderne... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:18 I. There should be differences between Jesus Christ's disciples and the disciples of all other men. It is noticeable how soon these differences were detected by the critics of the day. The differences should be as broadly marked now as they were in the days of Jesus Christ's visible minis... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:19 The Secret of Gladness. There are three subjects for consideration arising from the words of my text: The Bridegroom; the Presence of the Bridegroom; the Joy of the Bridegroom's Presence. I. With regard to the first a few words will suffice. The first thing that strikes me is the singula... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:23 I. All positive laws must yield to man's necessities. The law as a formal common element may be broken, yet its spirit may be honoured. II. There is a relation of life to positive laws; there is a relation to moral law, which is higher and more exacting. III. Christ shows that in all ag... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:23 I. The Pharisees were a Class. They were not only Pharisees by name, but they were Pharisees by nature; that is, they were typical men; they were representative of a large fraction of the human race. One of the chief pharisaical characteristics was a love of form, of rule, of law, of custo... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:27 During His public ministry our Lord was repeatedly accused of breaking the Sabbath; and on such occasions He vindicated Himself in one or other of two ways. I. Sometimes He stood upon His rights as a Divine Being to work at any time for the welfare of men. That was the course which He ado... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 2:28 (1) It was instituted by Him. (2) It is kept on a day which was fixed by His authority. (3) It is intended to commemorate His resurrection. (4) It ought to be observed with a special regard to His will, and word, and work. G. Brooks, _Five Hundred Outlines of Sermons,_p. 257.... [ Continue Reading ]