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she arose, and ministered unto the prophet, saying, Himself took them. our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

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16 ¶ When the even was come, they brought unto him many 1 that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick : 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias 2

1 Mark i. 32-34. 2 Isa. liii. 4. 1 Pet. ii. 24,

18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I3 will

3 Luke ix. 57, 58.

clared to be honourable in all. Heb. them away, or to remove them. This was

xiii. 4.

16. When the even was come, &c.The fame of the miracles of Jesus would probably draw together a crowd, and those who had friends that were afflicted would bring them. All that were brought to him he healed. This was proof of two things: first, his great benevolence; and secondly, his divine mission. He might have established the latter by miracles that would do no good. None of his miracles were performed, however, merely to make a display of power, unless the cursing of the barren fig-tree be an exception. Comp. Mark xi. 11-14. This was on the evening of the sabbath. Mark i. 21-32. The Jews kept the sabbath from evening to evening. Lev. xxiii. 32. On the sabbath they would not even bring their sick to be healed. Luke xiii. 14. But as soon as it was closed, on the evening of the same day, they came in multitudes to be cured. Possessed with devils. See Note, Matt. iv. 24. With his word. By his command; by a word.

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17. That it might be fulfilled, &c. This passage is found in Isa. liii. 4. Our English translation of that important passage is, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. The Greek in Matthew is an exact translation of the Hebrew, and the same translation should have been made in both places. Isaiah, liii., fully states the doctrine of atonement, or that the Messiah was to suffer for sin. In the verse quoted here, however, the prophet states the very truth, which Matthew declares. The word translated griefs, in Isaiah, and infirmities, in Matthew, means properly, in the Hebrew and Greek, diseases of the body. In neither does it refer to the disease of the mind, or to sin. To bear those griefs, is clearly to bear

done by his miraculous power in healing the sick. The word rendered sorrows, in Isaiah, and sicknesses, in Matthew, means pains, griefs, or anguish of mind. To carry, then, is to sympathize with the sufferers; to make provision for alleviating those sorrows; and to take them away. This he did by his precepts, his example; and the cause of all sorrows-sin-he removed by his atonement. The passages in Isaiah and Matthew, therefore, mean precisely the same thing. See Magee on Atonement, and my Notes on Isa. ch. liii. 18. Unto the other side. Jesus was now in Capernaum, a city at the northwest corner of the sea of Tiberias, or sea of Galilee. See Note, Matt. iv. 18. The country to which he purposed to go, was the region, on the east of the sea of Tiberias.

19, 20. A certain Scribe came, &c. It is not improbable that this man, who had seen the miracles of Jesus, had formed an expectation that by following him he would obtain some considerable worldly advantage. Christ, in reply, proclaimed his own poverty, and dashed the hopes of the avaricious Scribe. The very foxes and birds, says he, have places of repose and shelter, but the Son of man has no home, and no pillow. He is a stranger in his own world; a wanderer and an outcast from the abodes of men. Comp. John i. 10, 11. ¶ Son of man. evidently Jesus himself. more frequently given to the Saviour than this; and yet there much difficuly in explaining it. The word son is used in a great variety of significations. See Note, Matt.i.1. The name, Son of man, is given to Jesus only three times in the New Testament, Acts vii. 56; Rev. i. 1 3; xiv. 14, except by himself. When he speaks

This means No title is

follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the 1birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 1 Psa. lxxxiv. 3; civ. 17. 2 Psa. lxix. 29. Isa. liii. 2. 3.

of himself, this is the most common appellation by which he is known. The phrase, Son of God, given to Christ, denotes a peculiar connexion with God. John x. 36. The name, Son of man, probably denotes a corresponding peculiar connexion with man. Perhaps he used it to signify the interest he felt in man; his peculiar love and friendship for him; and his willingness to devote himself to the best interests of the race. It is sometimes, however, used as synonymous with Messiah. Matt. xvi. 28. John i. 51; xii. 34. Acts vii. 56.

21. And another of his disciples, &c. The word disciple properly signifies learner; and was given to his followers, because they received him as their teacher. Note, Matt. v. 1. It does not of necessity mean that a disciple was a pious man, but only one of the multitude, who, for various causes, might attend on his instructions. See John vi. 66; ix. 28.

22. Let the dead bury their dead. The word dead is used in this passage in two different senses. It is apparently a paradox, but is fitted to convey his idea very distinctly to the mind. The Jews used the word dead often to express indifference towards a thing; or rather, to show that that thing has no influence over us. Thus, to be dead to the world; to be dead to the law, Rom. vii. 4; to be dead to sin, Rom. vi. 11; means that the world, law, and sin, have not influence or control over us; that we are free from them, and act as though they were not. A body in the grave is unaffected by the pomp and vanity, by the gaiety and revelry, by the ambition and splendour that may be near the tomb. So, men of the world are dead to religion. They see not its beauty; hear not its voice; are not won by its loveliness. This is the class of men to which the Saviour referred here. Let men, says he, who are uninterested in my work, and who are dead in sin, Eph. ii. 1, take care of the deal. Your duty is now to follow me.

21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, 3 suffer me first to go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

3 Ch. xix. 29. Deut. xxxiii. 9, 10, 1 Kin. xix. 20.

There may have been two reasons for this apparently harsh direction. One was, to test the character and attachment of the man. If he had proper love for Christ, he would be willing to leave his friends even in the most tender and trying circumstances. This is required. Matt. x. 37. Luke xiv. 26. A second reason might have been, that if he returned, at that time, his friends might ridicule or oppose him, or present plausible arguments in the afflictions of the family, why he should not return to Christ. The thing to which he was called was moreover of more importance than any earthly consideration; and for that time, Christ chose to require of the man a very extraordinary sacrifice, to show his sincere attachment to him. Or it may have been, that the Saviour saw the effect of visiting his home at that time might have been to drive away all his serious impressions, and that he would return to him no more. This impression might not have been deep enough, and his purpose to follow our Saviour may not have been strong enough to bear the trial to which he would be subjected. Strange as it may seem, there are few scenes better fitted to drive away serious impressions than those connected with a funeral. We should have supposed it would be otherwise. But facts show it to be so; and show, that if this was one of the reasons which influenced the Saviour, he had a thorough knowledge of human nature. The arrangements for the funeral, the preparation of mourning apparel, and the depth of sorrow in such cases, divert the mind from its sins and its personal need of a Saviour; and hence few persons are awakened or converted as the result of death in a family. The case here was a strong one. It was as strong as can well be conceived. And the Saviour meant to teach by this that nothing is to be allowed to divert the mind from religion; nothing to be an excuse for not following him. Not even

23 ¶ And when he was entered | him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, into a ship, his disciples followed save us: we perish. him.

24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves but he was asleep.

25 And his disciples came to

Mark iv. 37-41. Luke viii. 23-25.

the death of a father, and the sorrows of an afflicted family, are to be suffered to lead a man to defer religion, or to put off the purpose to be a Christian. That is a fixed duty, a duty not to be deferred or neglected, whether in sickness or health; at home or abroad; whether surrounded by living and happy kindred, or whether a father, a mother, a child, or a sister lies in our house dead.

It is the regular duty of children to obey their parents, and to show them kindness in affliction, and to evince proper care and respect for them when dead. Nor did our Saviour show himself insensible to these duties. He taught here, however, as he always taught, that a regard to friends, and ease, and comfort, should be subordinate to the gospel; and that we should always be ready to sacrifice these when duty to God requires it.

23. Into a ship. This was on the sea of Tiberias. The ship in which they sailed was probably a small open boat, with sails, such as were commonly used for fishing on the lake. ¶ His disciples. Not merely the apostles, but probably many others. There were many other ships in company with him. Mark iv. 36. This circumstance would render the miracle much more striking and impressive.

24. A great tempest. A violent storm; or a wind so strong as to endanger their lives. This lake was subject to sudden squalls. The ship was covered with the waves. The billows dashed against the ship, Mark iv. 37, so that it was fast filling and in danger of sinking. He was asleep. On the hinder part of the vessel, on a pillow. Mark iv. 38. It was in the night, and Jesus had retired to rest. He was probably weary, and slept calmly and serenely. He apprehended no danger, and showed to his

26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked 3 the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

27 But the men marvelled, say

22 Chron. xiv. 11; xx. 6-13. 8 Job xxxviii. 11. Psa. lxxxix. 9; cvii. 29.

disciples how calmly one can sleep with a pure conscience, and who feels safe in the hands of God.

25. Save us. Save our lives. ¶ We perish. We are in danger of perishing. This showed great confidence in the Saviour. It shows, also, where sinners and Christians should always go, who feel that they are in danger of perishing. There is none that can save from the storms of divine wrath but the Son of God.

26. Why are ye fearful? You should have remembered that the Son of God, the Messiah, was on board. You should not have forgotten that he had power to save, and that with him you are safe. So Christians should never fear danger, disease, or death. With Jesus they are safe. No enemy can reach him; and as he is safe, so they shall be also. John xiv. 19. Rebuked the winds. Reproved them; or commanded them to be still. What a power was this! What irresistible proof that he was divine! His word awed the tempest, and allayed the storm! There is not, anywhere, a sublimer description of a display of power. Nor could there be sublimer proof that he was truly the Son of God.

Great calm. The winds were still; and the sea ceased to dash against the vessel, and to endanger their lives.

27. Men marvelled. Wondered; or were amazed. What manner of man What personage. How unlike other men. What a vast, minute display of power; and how far exalted above mortals must he be!

He spoke to the winds; rebuked their raging, and the sea was suddenly calm. The storm subsided; the ship glided smoothly; danger fled; and in amazement they stood in the presence of him who controlled the tempests that God had raised: and they felt that he must

ing,1 What manner of man is this, | to the other side into the country that even the winds and the sea obey him!

28 And when he was come * Ch. xiv. 33; xv. 31. Mark i. 27.

be God himself. None but God could calm the heaving billows, and scatter the tempest. No scene could have been more grand than this display of the power of Jesus. The darkness; the dashing waves; the howling winds; the heaving and tossing ship; the fears and cries of the seamen; all by a single word hushed into calm repose; all present an image of power and divinity irresistibly grand and awful. So the tempest rolls and thickens over the head of the awakened sinner. So he trembles over immediate and awful destruction. So while the storm of wrath howls, and hell threatens to engulph him, he comes trembling to the Saviour. He hears; he rebukes the storm; and the sinner is safe. An indescribable peace takes possession of the soul; and he glides on a tranquil sea to the haven of eternal rest. See Isa. lvii. 20, 21. Rom. v. 1. Phil. iv. 7.

28-34. The same account of the demoniacs substantially is found in Mark v. 1-20, and Luke viii. 26-39.

23. The other side. The other side of the sea of Tiberias. Country of the Gergesenes. Mark, ch. v. 1, says that he came into the country of the Gadarenes. This difference is only apparent. Gadara was a city not far from the lake Gennesareth; one of the ten cities that were called Decapolis. Note, Matt. iv. 25. Gergesa was a city about twelve miles to the south-east of Gadara, and about twenty miles to the east of the Jordan. There is no contradiction, therefore, in the evangelists. He came into the region in which the two cities were situated, and one mentioned one, and the other another. It shows that the writers had not agreed to impose on the world: for if they had, they would have mentioned the same city; and it shows they were familiar with the country. No man would have written in this manner, but those who were acquainted with the facts. Imposters do not mention places, or names, if they can avoid it. There met him two. Mark and Luke speak of only one that met him. "There met him out of the tombs

of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exeeeding fierce,

2 Mark v. 1-10. Luke viii. 26-36.

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a man.' out of the viii. 27.

Luke

Mark v. 2. There met him tombs a certain man." This difference of statement has given rise to considerable difficulty. It is to be observed, however, that neither Mark nor Luke says that there was no more than one. For particular reasons they might have been led to fix the attention on one of them that was more notorious, and furious, and difficult to be managed. Had they denied plainly that there was more than one, and had Matthew affirmed that there were two, there would have been an irreconcilable contradiction. As it is, they relate the affair as other men would. It shows that they were honest witnesses. Had they been impostors; had Matthew and Luke agreed to write books to deceive the world, they would have agreed exactly in a case so easy as this. They would have told the story with the same circumstances. Witnesses in courts of law often differ in unimportant matters; and, provided the main narrative coincides, their testimony is thought to be more valuable.

Luke has given us a hint why he recorded only the cure of one of them. He says, there met him "out of the city," a man, &c.; or, as it should be rendered, a man of the city, a citizen. Yet the man did not dwell in the city; for he adds in the same verse, "neither abode he in any house but in the tombs." The truth of the case was, that he was born and educated in the city; he had probably been a man of wealth and eminence; he was well known, and the people felt a deep interest in the case. Luke was, therefore, particularly struck with his case, and as his cure fully established the power of Jesus, he recorded it. The other that Matthew mentions was probably a stranger, or a person less notorious as a maniac, and he felt less interest in the cure. Let two persons go into a lunatic asylum, and meet two insane persons, one of whom should be exceedingly fierce and ungovernable, and well known as having been a man of worth and stand

so that no man might pass by that saying, If thou east us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.3

way.

29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, 'thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

31 So the devils besought him,

1 Ch. iv. 3. Mark iii. 11. Acts xvi. 17. Isa. ii. 9.

ing; let them converse with them; and let
the more violent one attract the principal
attention, and they would very likely give
the same account that Matthew and Luke
do; and no one would doubt the state-
ment was correct. ¶ Possessed with devils. |
See Note, Matt. iv. 24. ¶ Coming out of
the tombs. Mark and Luke say that they
dwelt in the tombs. The sepulchres of
the Jews were commonly caves, beyond
the walls of the cities in which they dwelt,
or excavations made in the sides of hills, or
sometimes in solid rocks. These caves, or
excavations, were sometimes of great
extent. They descended to them by
flights of steps. These graves were not
in the midst of cities, but in groves, and
mountains, and solitudes. They afforded,
therefore, to insane persons and demoniacs
retreat and shelter. Such persons delighted
in these gloomy and melancholy recesses,
as being congenial to the wretched state
of their minds. Josephus, also, states
that these sepulchres were the haunts and
lurking places of those desperate bands of
robbers that infested Judea.
Notes on Isa. lxv. 4.

See my

29. What have we to do with thee? This might have been translated with great propriety, What hast thou to do with us? The meaning is, Why dost thou trouble or disturb us? See 2 Sam. xvi. 10. 2 Kin. ix. 18. Ezra iv. 3. Son of God. The title, Son of God, is often given to Christ. Men are sometimes called sons, or children of God, to denote their piety and adoption into his family. 1 John iii. 1. But the title given to Christ denotes his superiority to the prophets. Heb. i. 1; to Moses, the founder of the jewish economy, Heb. iii. 6; it denotes his peculiar and near relation to the Father, as evinced by his resurrection, Psa. ii. 7.

32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33 And they that kept them fled,

2 Job i. 10-12; ii. 3-6. 3 Deut. xiv. 8. Isa. lxv. 3, 4. 4 Acts xix. 15-17.

Acts xiii. 33; it denotes his peculiar relation to God from his miraculous conception, Luke i. 35; and is equivalent to a declaration, that he is divine, or equal to the Father, John x. 36. ¶ Art thou come hither to torment us, &c. By the time here mentioned, is meant the day of judgment. The bible reveals the doctrine that evil spirits are not now bound as they will be after that day; that they are permitted to tempt and afflict men, but that in the day of judgment they also will be condemned to everlasting punishment with all the wicked. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Jude 6. These spirits seemed to be apprized of that, and alarmed lest the day that they feared had come. They besought him, therefore, not to send them out of that country; not to consign them then to hell, but to put off the day of their final punishment.

Mark and Luke say that Jesus inquired the name of the principal demoniac, and that he called his name Legion, for they were many. The name legion was given to a division in the Roman army. It did not always denote the same number; but in the time of Christ it consisted of six thousand, three thousand foot and three thousand horsemen. It came, therefore, to signify a large number, without specifying the exact amount.

30. A herd of swine. The word herd, here applied to swine, is now commonly given to cattle. Formerly it signified any collection of beasts, or even of men. The number that composed this herd was two thousand. Mark v. 13.

33. They that kept them fled. These swine were doubtless owned by the inhabitants of Gadara. Whether these people were Jews or Gentiles is uncertain. The town was not properly in the territory of

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