Mark 3:1-35
1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand,Stand forth.a
4 And he saith unto them,Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardnessb of their hearts, he saith unto the man,Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went intoc an house.
20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 And when his friendsd heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables,How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying,Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Mark 3:13. He calleth to him whom he would. He knew them as he knew Nathaniel; he knew their piety, he knew their worth. They followed him at first as hearers, having no thoughts of the glory that would follow. Therefore, like the ancient scripture characters, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, and the later prophets, they had no hand in their call and elevation. The Lord drew his workmen from the treasures of his providence. “He counted me faithful,” says Paul, “putting me into the ministry.”
Mark 3:17. Boanerges, which is, sons of thunder, because of their vocal powers. Beza derives this word from the Hebrew bene reghesch, and would write it Benerges. Now, though he brings many proofs of letters suppressed, or words changed, yet he has adduced no substantial argument that the orthography is wrong. Dr. Lightfoot here mentions, from the Talmud, a Samuel who sat in the synagogue and heard the voice of Rigsha, which he diffidently renders “thunder.” The Bath Kol, “daughter of thunder,” was the voice heard from the mercyseat. So on Sinai the voice was terrible, with thunder and earthquake. Yet it is obvious, says the doctor, in what respect erges is applicable to thunder. The greater body of critics however derive this word, Ben-erges, from Ben-rehem, the sons of commotion; for rehem is the same as the Greek word Σειω seio, to move, or Σεισμος seismos, earthquake. The shaking or commotion implied in this term may also be expressed by the Greek Βροντη bronté, thunder. Hence Boanerges was an honourable surname, highly expressive of the power and unction of the ministry of these two brothers: and happy is the man who is favoured with so great a talent. Peter's ministry was powerful to the circumcision, as Paul's was to the gentiles.
Mark 3:21. He is beside himself. Christ's friends said this when they heard that he had no leisure to eat. The Greek exese often occurs in the LXX, and in the new testament. 2 Corinthians 5:13. See also the Septuagint in Genesis 45:26, and Joshua 2:11, where it implies, to faint. Its general import is to express something out of the common way. Heinsius, distinguished by originality of criticism, illustrates the passage from 2 Kings 9:11: wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?
Mark 3:30. Because they said, he hath an unclean spirit. His divine and gracious works to heal the sick, and console the wounded mind, were the most signal acts of grace which heaven could confer on man. And for the learned doctors to say, that they were the works of the devil, was malice and vileness surpassing any thing on earth, and indicated the scribes to be reprobate beyond the hope of recovery. By consequence, all persons afflicted with nervous gloom, should avoid charging themselves with the commission of this blasphemy, for they never did, nor were they ever in a situation to commit it. Robert Russel therefore, in his seven sermons, totally mistakes the case, by supposing that both Paul and Peter would have committed this sin, if Peter had denied his Master with Paul's malice; or, if Paul had wasted the church with Peter's light. Their crimes would indeed have been double, but we have no authority to drive men to despair. After all, the assertion of our Saviour is not more absolute than the ministry of Jonah. There were, no doubt, pardons concealed for the contrite. They were in danger of eternal damnation, but not as yet delivered to the tormentor.
Mark 3:35. The same is my brother. Conversion introduces us into the great family of heaven and earth. The aged are parents, the young converts are children, and the body of the church are all brethren. The bonds are sacred, intimate, and eternal, provided we hold last the beginning of our confidence stedfast to the end. If related before conversion, we are then doubly akin, being of one family, and of one spirit. See my translation of Saurin's sermon on this subject: vol. 7.
REFLECTIONS.
Our Lord went about doing good; and he confounded his enemies in the synagogue of Capernaum by asking whether it was lawful to do good? Hence we should imitate our Master, as time and opportunity may suggest. This question was introductory to the restoring of the man with the withered hand, a case highly instructive to us, whose beauty and rectitude are faded and withered away; and we want the Saviour to restore them by his grace. See Matthew 12:13.