Mark 1 - Vincent's Word Studies vs Calvin John

Mark 1

The Gospel According to Mark

Introduction

Mark the Evangelist is, by the best authorities, identified with John Mark, the son of Mary. The surname Mark was adopted for use among the Gentiles; Mark (Marcus) being one of the commonest Latin names (compare Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Aurelius), as John was one of the commonest Hebrew names. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, and was, from a very early period, the intimate friend and associate of Peter (Acts 12:11-17), who affectionately refers to him as "my son" at the close of his first epistle. The general opinion of the fathers, as well as that of modern authorities, is that Mark drew the great mass of his materials from the oral discourses of Peter. This opinion was perpetuated in Christian art, in representations of Peter seated on a throne with Mark kneeling before him and writing from his dictation; Mark sitting and writing, and Peter standing before him, with his hand raised, dictating; and Peter in a pulpit, preaching to the Romans, and Mark taking down his words in a book (see Mrs. Jameson, "Sacred and Legendary Art," 1:149).

This opinion finds support in the evidences of Peter's influence upon the style of this Gospel. The restlessness and impetuosity of Mark's disposition, of which we have hints in his forsaking Paul and Barnabas at Perga (Acts 13:13; Acts 15:38), in his subsequent readiness to join them on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:39), and, if the tradition be accepted, in his rushing into the street on the night of Christ's arrest, clad only in a linen sheet (Mark 14:51, Mark 14:52), would naturally be in sympathy with the well-known character of Peter. Peter was a man of observation and action rather than of reflection; impulsive and impetuous. "When we assume," says Dr. Morison, "that Mark drew directly from the discoursings of St. Peter, then we understand how it comes to pass that it is in his pages that we have the most particular account of that lamentable denial of his Lord of which the apostle was guilty. On no other person's memory would the minute particulars of the prediction, and of its unanticipated fulfilment, be so indelibly engraven. It is also noteworthy that, while the very severe rebuke which our Lord administered to St. Peter in the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi is faithfully and circumstantially recorded in Mark's pages, the splendid eulogium and distinguishing blessing, which had been previously pronounced, are, as it were, modestly passed by. Doubtless the great apostle would not be guilty of making frequent or egotistic references to such marks of distinction" ("Commentary on Mark").

Unlike the other gospels, Mark's narrative is not subordinated to the working out of any one idea. Matthew's memoirs turn on the relation of Christ to the law and the prophets. He throws a bridge from the old economy to the new. His is the Gospel as related to the past, the Gospel of Christianity regarded as the fulfilment of Judaism. Luke exhibits Jesus as a Saviour, and expounds the freeness and universality of the Gospel, and the sacredness of humanity. John wrote that then might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and might have life in him. While Matthew and Luke deal with his offices, John deals with his person. John carries forward the piers of Matthew's bridge toward that perfected heavenly economy of which his Apocalypse reveals glimpses. In Matthew Jesus is the Messiah; in John, the Eternal Word. In Matthew he is the fulfiller of the law; in John he foreshadows the grander and richer economy of the Spirit.

Mark, on the other hand, is a chronicler rather than a historian. His narrative is the record of an observer, dealing with the facts of Christ's life without reference to any dominant conception of his person or office. Christ's portrait is drawn "in the clearness of his present energy;" not as the fulfilment of the past, as by Matthew, nor as the foundation of the future, as by John. His object is to portray Jesus in his daily life, "in the awe-inspiring grandeur of his human personality, as a man who was also the Incarnate, the wonder-working Son of God." Hence his first words are the appropriate keynote of his Gospel: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

Such a narrative might have been expected from Peter, with his keen-sightedness, his habit of observation, and his power of graphically describing what he was so quick to perceive. There is, of course, less room for the exhibition of these traits in his epistles, though they emerge even there in certain peculiar and picturesque words, and in expressions which reflect incidents of his personal association with Christ. Those brief epistles contain over a hundred words which occur nowhere else in the New Testament. Certain narratives in the Book of Acts record incidents in which Peter was the principal or the only apostolic actor, and the account of which must have come from his own lips; and these narratives bear the marks of his keen observation, and are characterized by his picturesque power. Such are the accounts of the healing of the cripple at the temple-gate (3); of Ananias and Sapphira (5); of Peter's deliverance from prison (12); of the raising of Dorcas (9); and of the vision of the great sheet (10). In these, especially if we compare them with narratives which Luke has evidently received from other sources, we are impressed with the picturesque vividness of the story; the accurate notes of time and place and number; the pictorial expressions, the quick transitions; the frequent use of such words as straightway, immediately; the substitution of dialogue for narrative, and the general fulness of detail.

All these characteristics appear in Mark's Gospel, and are justly regarded as indicating the influence of Peter, though comparatively few of the same words are employed by both; a fact which may be, in great part, accounted for by the difference between a hortatory epistle and a narrative. The traces of Peter's quick perception and dramatic and picturesque power are everywhere visible in Mark. While Matthew fully records the discourses of our Lord, Mark pictures his deeds. Hence, while Matthew gives us fifteen of his parables, Mark reproduces only four, and that in a condensed form. "Mark does not wear the flowing robes of Matthew. His dress is 'for speed succinct.' Swift-paced, incisive, his narrative proceeds straight to the goal, like a Roman soldier on his march to battle." His Gospel is the Gospel of the present, not of the past. His references to the Old Testament, with the exception of Mark 1:2, Mark 1:3, are quotations occurring in the discourses of Christ, or cited by others. They belong, as Canon Farrar observes, "to the narrative, not to the recorder" (Mark 15:28 is an interpolation). The word νόμος, law, never occurs in Mark nor in Peter.

Mark's is, therefore, pre-eminently the pictorial Gospel: the Gospel of detail. "There is," says Canon Westcott, "perhaps not one narrative which he gives in common with Matthew and Luke, to which he does not contribute some special feature." Thus he adds to John the Baptist's picture of loosing the shoe-latchet another touch, in the words to stoop down (Mark 1:7). He uses a more graphic term to describe the opening of the heavens at Christ's baptism. According to Matthew and Luke the heavens were opened (ἀνεώχθησαν); Mark depicts them as rent asunder (σχιζομένους; Mark 1:10). Matthew and Luke represent Jesus as led (ἀνήχθη) into the wilderness to be tempted; Mark as driven (ἐκβα.λλει); adding, He was with the wild beasts; to which some detect a reference in Peter's comparison of the devil to a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He gives a realistic touch to the story of James and John forsaking their employment at the call of Jesus, by adding that they left their father with the hired servants (Mark 1:20). After the discourse from the boat to the multitude upon the shore, Mark alone tells us that the disciples sent away the multitude, and throws in the little details, they took him as he was; and there were with them other little ships (Mark 4:36). His account of the storm which followed is more vivid than Matthew's or Luke's. He pictures the waves beating into the boat, and the boat beginning to fill; notes the steersman's cushion at the stern on which the sleeping Lord's head reposed (Mark 4:37, Mark 4:38); and throws the awaking by the disciples and the stilling of the tempest into a dramatic form by the distressful question, Master, carest thou not that we perish? and the command to the sea as to a raging monster, Peace! Be still! (Mark 4:38, Mark 4:39).

In the narrative of the feeding of the five thousand, only Mark relates the Saviour's question, How many loaves have ye ? Go and see (Mark 6:38). An oriental crowd abounds in color, and to Mark we are indebted for the gay picture of the crowds arranged on the green grass, in companies, like flower-beds with their varied hues. He alone specifies the division of the two fishes among them all (Mark 6:39, Mark 6:41). He tells how Jesus, walking on the sea, would have passed by the disciples' boat; he expresses their cry of terror at Christ's appearance by a stronger word than Matthew, using the compound verb ἀνέκραξαν where Matthew uses the simple verb ἔχραξαν. He adds, they all saw him (Mark 6:48-50). When Jesus descends from the mount of transfiguration, it is Mark that fills out the incident of the disciples' controversy with the bystanders by relating that the scribes were questioning with them. He notes the amazement which, for whatever reason, fell upon the people at Jesus' appearance, their running to salute him, and his inquiry, What question ye with them? (Mark 9:14, Mark 9:16). Mark gives us the bystanders' encouragement of Bartimeus when summoned by Jesus, and tells how he cast off his outer garment and leaped up (Mark 10:49, Mark 10:50). He alone relates the breaking of the alabaster by the woman (Mark 14:3), and Christ's taking the little child in his arms after he had set him in the midst (Mark 9:36).

In the account of the two demoniacs of Gadara, Matthew (8) relates that they were met coming out of the tombs, and that they were exceeding fierce, so that no one could pass that way. Mark mentions only one demoniac, but adds that he had his dwelling in the tombs (κατοίκησιν εἶχεν, stronger than Luke's abode, ἔμενεν); that the attempt had been made to fetter him, but that he had broken the fetters; and that he was day and night in the tombs and in the mountains, crying and cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:3-6). In the interview with the lawyer who desired to know what kind of a commandment was great in the law, Matthew (Matthew 22:34-40) ends the dialogue with Jesus' answer to this question. Mark gives the lawyer's reply and his enlargement upon Jesus' answer, the fact that Jesus observed that he answered discreetly, and his significant words, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

It is interesting to compare the account of Herod's feast and John the Baptist's murder as given by Matthew and Mark respectively. Mark alone mentions the great banquet and the rank of the guests. He adds the little touches of Salome's entering in and delighting the guests. He throws Herod's promise and Salome's request into dialogue. Where Matthew says simply, He promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she should ask, Mark gives it, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of ray kingdom. The whole narrative is more dramatic than Matthew's. Matthew says that Salome was put forward by her mother. Mark pictures her going out, and details her conversation with Herodias, and her entering in again with haste, and demanding the horrible boon forthwith. Mark also enlarges upon Herod's regret: he was exceeding sorry; and where Matthew notes merely his compliance with the damsel's request, Mark lets us into his feeling of unwillingness to refuse her. Mark, too, emphasizes the promptness of the transaction. Salome demands the Baptist's head forthwith; Herod sends the executioner straightway. Mark alone mentions the executioner. While the dialogue is not peculiar to Mark, it is to be noted that it is characteristic of Peter's style, so far, at least, as can be inferred from the stories in the book of Acts, of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:3-9), Cornelius Acts 10:1), and Peter's deliverance from prison (Acts 12:1).

Mark is peculiarly minute and specific as to details of persons, times, numbers, and places; a feature in which, also, he resembles Peter (compare Acts 2:15; Acts 6:3; Acts 4:22; Acts 5:7, Acts 5:23; Acts 12:4). Thus, of persons, "They entered into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John" (Mark 1:29): "Simon and they that were with him followed after him" (Mark 1:36): "In the days of Abiathar the high-priest" (Mark 2:26): "The Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians" (Mark 3:6): "The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phenician by nation" (Mark 7:26). Compare, also, Mark 11:11; Mark 13:3; Mark 15:21. Of places: "A multitude from Galilee and Judaea," etc. (Mark 3:7, Mark 3:8): The demoniac proclaimed his recovery in Decapolis (Mark 5:20): Jesus departed "from the border of Tyre and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis" (Mark 7:31). Compare Mark 8:10; Mark 11:1; Mark 12:41; Mark 14:68. Of number: The paralytic was "borne of four" (Mark 2:3): The swine were about two thousand (Mark 5:13): The twelve were sent out two and two (Mark 6:7): The people sat down by hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:40): "Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice" (Mark 14:30). Of time: Jesus rose up in the morning, a great while before day (Mark 1:35): "The same day, when the even was come" (Mark 4:35). Compare Mark 11:11; Mark 14:68; Mark 15:25.

But Mark does not confine himself to mere outward details. He abounds in strokes which bring out the feeling of his characters. He uses six different words expressive of fear, wonder, trouble, amazement, extreme astonishment. The compound ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι, greatly amazed, affrighted (Mark 9:15; Mark 16:5, Mark 16:6) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Thus the look and emotion of our Lord are portrayed: "He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their heart" (Mark 3:5): "He looked round about on them which sat round about him, and said, Behold my mother," etc. (Mark 3:34): "He looked round about" to see who had touched him in the crowd (Mark 5:32): "He marvelled because of their unbelief" (Mark 6:6): He looked on the young ruler and loved him (Mark 10:21): He was moved with compassion toward the leper (Mark 1:41): He sighed deeply in his spirit (Mark 8:12).

Similarly Mark depicts the tender compassion of the Lord. A beautiful hint of his delicate and loving appreciation of an ordinary need closes the story of the healing of the ruler's daughter. In their joy and wonder at her miraculous restoration, the friends would naturally forget the immediate practical demand for food, of which the Lord promptly reminds them by his command that something should be given her to eat (Mark 5:43). Luke notes the same circumstance. In like manner his appreciation of his disciples' weariness appears in the words, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile" (Mark 6:31). He is moved with compassion toward the multitude because they are as sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34): he is touched with the need and fatigue of the many who had come from far (Mark 8:3): he shows his interest in the condition of the epileptic lad by inquiring into the history of his case (Mark 9:21): he is much displeased at the disciples' rebuke of those who are bringing the young children to him (Mark 10:14).

In like manner Mark describes the mental and emotional states of those who were brought into contact with Christ. Those who witnessed the miracle of the loaves understood not, and their heart was hardened (Mark 6:52): the disciples were perplexed, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean (Mark 9:10): they were amazed at his words about a rich man entering into the kingdom of heaven (Mark 10:24): a sudden and mysterious awe fell upon them in their journey to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32): Pilate marvelled at Jesus being already dead, and sent for the centurion in order to ask whether he had been any while dead (Mark 15:44). Compare Mark 1:29, Mark 1:27; Mark 5:20, Mark 5:42; Mark 6:20; Mark 7:37; Mark 11:18. He depicts the interest excited by the words and works of Christ; describing the crowds which flocked to him, and their spreading abroad the fame of his power (Mark 1:28, Mark 1:45; Mark 2:13; Mark 3:20, Mark 3:21; Mark 4:1; Mark 5:20, Mark 5:21, Mark 5:24; Mark 6:31; Mark 7:36).

We find in Mark certain peculiarly forcible expressions in our Lord's language, such as, "To them that are without" (Mark 4:11); "Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men" (Mark 7:8); "This adulterous and sinful generation" (Mark 8:38); "Be set at nought" (Mark 9:12); "Quickly to speak evil of me" (Mark 9:39); "Shall receive brethren and sisters and mothers," etc., "with persecutions" (Mark 10:30).

His narrative runs. His style abounds in quick transitions. The word εὐθέως, straightway, occurs in his Gospel something like forty times. He imparts vividness to his narration by the use of the present tense instead of the historic (Mark 1:40, Mark 1:44; Mark 2:3, sq.; Mark 11:1, Mark 11:2, Mark 11:7; Mark 14:43, Mark 14:66). He often defines his meaning by coupling similar words or phrases. Beelzebub is called by two names (Mark 3:22), and by a third (Mark 3:30): The sick are brought at even, when the sun did set (Mark 1:32): The blasphemer hath no more forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin (Mark 3:29): He spake with many parables, and without a parable he spake not (Mark 4:33, Mark 4:34). Compare Mark 3:5, Mark 3:27; Mark 5:26; Mark 6:25; Mark 7:21. He employs over seventy words which are found nowhere else in the New Testament. We find him preserving the identical Aramaic words uttered by the Lord. In his Gospel alone occur Boanerges (Mark 3:17); Talitha cumi (Mark 5:41); Korban (Mark 7:11); Ephphatha (Mark 7:34): and Abba (Mark 14:36). Writing for Romans we find him transferring certain Latin words into Greek, such as legio, legion (Mark 5:9); centurio, κεντυρίων, centurion, which elsewhere is ἑκατόνταρχος - χης (Mark 15:39); quadrans, farthing (Mark 12:42); flagellare, to scourge (Mark 15:15); speculator, executioner (Mark 2:27); census, tribute (Mark 12:14); sextarius, pot (Mark 7:4); praetorium (Mark 15:16). Three of these, centurio, speculator, and sextarius are found in his Gospel only. He always adds a note of explanation to Jewish words and usages.

His style is abrupt, concise, and forcible; his diction less pure than that of Luke and John. Besides irregularities of construction which cannot be explained to the English reader, he employs many words which are expressly forbidden by the grammarians, and some of which are even condemned as slang. Such are ἐσχάτως ἔχει, is at the point of death (Mark 5:23); κράββατος, bed (Mark 2:4, Mark 2:9, Mark 2:11, Mark 2:12); μονόφθαλμος, with one eye (Mark 9:47); κολλυβισταί, money-changers (Mark 11:15); κοράσιον, maid (Mark 5:41); ὁ ρκίζω, I adjure (Mark 5:7); ῥάπισμα, a blow of the hand (Mark 14:65); ῥαφίδος, needle (Mark 10:25).

I have described the characteristics of Mark at some length, because they lie peculiarly in the line of the special purpose of this book, which deals with individual words and phrases, and with peculiarities of diction, rather than with the exegesis of passages. Of this Gospel it is especially true that its peculiar flavor and quality cannot be caught without careful verbal study. It is a gallery of word-pictures. Reading it, even in the familiar versions, we may discover that it is, as Canon Westcott remarks, "essentially a transcript from life;" but nothing short of an insight into the original and individual words will reveal to us that the transcript itself is alive.

List of Greek Words Used by Mark Only

ἀγρεύω catch Mark 12:13 ἅλς salt Mark 9:49 ἄλαλος dumb Mark 7:37; Mark 9:17, Mark 9:25 ἀλεκτροφωνία cockcrowing Mark 13:35 ἄμφοδον a place where two ways meet Mark 11:4 ἀμφιβάλλω cast Mark 1:16 ἄναλος saltless Mark 9:50 ἀναπηδάω leap up Mark 10:50 ἀναστενάζω sigh deeply Mark 8:12 ἀπἔχει it is enough Mark 14:41 ἀπόδημος abroad Mark 13:34 ἀποστεγάζω uncover Mark 2:4 ἀφρίζω foam Mark 9:18, Mark 9:20 Βοανεργές sons of thunder Mark 3:17 γαμίσκομαι to be given in marriage Mark 12:25 γναφεύς fuller Mark 9:3 δισχίλιοι two thousand Mark 5:13 δύσκολος hard Mark 10:24 εἰ if (in swearing) Mark 8:12 ἐκθαμβέω to be amazed Mark 9:15; Mark 14:33; Mark 16:5, Mark 16:6 ἐκθαυμάζω to marvel Mark 12:17 ἐκπερισσῶς exceeding vehemently Mark 14:31 ἐναγκαλίζομαι take in the-arms Mark 9:36; Mark 10:16 ἐνειλέω wrap Mark 15:46 ἔννυχον in the night Mark 1:35 ἐξάπινα suddenly Mark 9:8 ἐξουδενόω set at naught Mark 9:12 ἐπιβάλλω (neuter) beat Mark 4:37 ἐπιῤῥάπτω sew upon Mark 2:21 ἐπισυντρέχω come running together Mark 9:25 ἐσχάτως at the point of death Mark 4:23 ἤφιεν suffered (permitted) Mark 1:34; Mark 11:16 θανάσιμος deadly Mark 16:18 θαυμάζειν διὰ to wonder because of Mark 6:6 θυγάτριον little daughter Mark 5:23; Mark 7:25 τὸ ἱκανὸν ποιεῖν to content Mark 15:15 κατάβα come down Mark 15:30 καταβαρύνω weigh down Mark 14:40 καταδιώκω follow after Mark 1:36 κατακόπτω cut Mark 5:5 κατευλογέω bless Mark 10:16 κατοίκησις dwelling Mark 5:3 κεντυρίων centurion Mark 15:39, Mark 15:44, Mark 15:45 κεφαλαιόω to wound in the head Mark 12:4 κυλίομαι wallow Mark 9:20 κωμόπολις village-town Mark 1:38 μεθόρια borders Mark 7:24 μηκύνομαι grow Mark 4:27 μογιλάλος having an impediment in speech Mark 7:32 μυρίζω anoint Mark 14:8 νουνεχῶς discreetly Mark 12:34 ξέστης pot Mark 7:4 ὄμμα eye Mark 8:28 οὐά ah! ha! Mark 15:29 παιδιόθεν from a child Mark 9:21 παρόμοιος like Mark 7:8, Mark 7:13 περιτρέχω run round about Mark 6:55 πρασιά a garden-plat Mark 6:40 προαύλιον porch or forecourt Mark 14:68 προμεριμνάω take thought before-hand Mark 13:11 προσάββατον day before the Sabbath Mark 15:42 προσεγγίζω come nigh unto Mark 2:4 προσκεφάλαιον cushion Mark 4:38 προσορμίζομαι moor to the shore Mark 6:53 προσπορεύομαι come unto Mark 10:35 πυγμῇ with the fist Mark 7:3 σκώληξ worm Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 9:48 σπεκουλάτωρ executioner Mark 6:27 σμυρνίζω mingle with myrrh Mark 15:23 στασιαστής insurrectionist Mark 15:7 στίλβω to be glistering Mark 9:3 στίβας branch, or layer of leaves Mark 11:8 συμπόσιον a table-party Mark 6:39 συνλίβω to throng or crowd Mark 5:24, Mark 5:31 συλλυπέομαι to be grieved Mark 3:5 Συραφοινίκισσα a Syro-phoenician woman Mark 7:26 σύσσημον countersign, token Mark 14:44 τηλαυγῶς clearly Mark 8:25 τρίζω gnash Mark 9:18 ὑπερηφανία pride Mark 7:22 ὑπερπερισσῶς beyond measure Mark 7:37 ὑπολήνιον wine-fat or wine-press Mark 12:1 χαλκίον brazen vessel Mark 7:4

Mark 1:1

Beginning (ἀρχὴ)

without the article, showing that the expression is a kind of title. It is 'the beginning, not of his book, but of the facts of the Gospel. He shows from the prophets that the Gospel was to begin by the sending forth of a forerunner.

Mark 1:2

Mark 1:3

A voice (φωνὴ)

No article as A. V. and Rev., "the voice." It has a sort of exclamatory force. Listening, the prophet exclaims, Lo! a voice.

Mark 1:4

John did baptize (ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτίζων)

Lit., John came to pass or arose who baptized. Rev., John came who baptized.

Baptism of repentance (βάπτισμα μετανοίας)

A baptism the characteristic of which was repentance; which involved an obligation to repent. We should rather expect Mark to put this in the more dramatic form used by Matthew: Saying, Repent ye!

Mark 1:5

There went out (ἐξεπορεύετο)

The imperfect tense signifies, there kept going out.

The river

Peculiar to Mark.

Confessing

See on Matthew 3:6.

Mark 1:6

With camels' hair (τρίχας καμήλου)

Lit., hairs. Not with a camel's skin, but with a vesture woven of camels' hair. Compare 2 Kings 1, 8.

Wild honey

"The innumerable fissures and clefts of the limestone rocks, which everywhere flank the valleys, afford in their recesses secure shelter for any number of swarms of wild bees; and many of the Bedouin, particularly about the wilderness of Judaea, obtain their subsistence by bee-hunting, bringing into Jerusalem jars of that wild honey on which John the Baptist fed in the wilderness" (Tristram, "Land of Israel"). Wyc., honey of the wood.

Mark 1:7

To stoop down

A detail peculiar to Mark.

And unloose

Compare to bear; Matthew 3:11.

Mark 1:8

Mark 1:9

Mark 1:10

Straightway

A favorite word with Mark. See Introduction.

Opened (σχιζομένους)

Lit., as Rev., rent asunder: much stronger than Matthew's and Luke's ἀνεῴχθησαν, were opened.

Mark 1:11

Thou art my beloved son

The three synoptists give the saying in the same form: Thou art my son, the beloved.

Mark 1:12

Driveth him (ἐκβάλλει)

Stronger than Matthew's ἀνήχθη, was led up, and Luke's ἤγετο, was led. See on Matthew 9:38. It is the word used of our Lord's expulsion of demons, Mark 1:34, Mark 1:39.

The Wilderness

The place is unknown. Tradition fixes it near Jericho, in the neighborhood of the Quarantania, the precipitous face of which is pierced with ancient cells and chapels, and a ruined church is on its topmost peak. Dr. Tristram says that every spring a few devout Abyssinian Christians are in the habit of coming and remaining here for forty days, to keep their Lent on the spot where they suppose that our Lord fasted and was tempted.

Mark 1:13

With the wild beasts

Peculiar to Mark. The region just alluded to abounds in boars, jackals, wolves, foxes, leopards, hyenas, etc.

Mark 1:14

Mark 1:15

The time (ὁ καιρὸς)

That is, the period completed by the setting up of Messiah's kingdom. Compare the fulness of the time, Galatians 4:4.

Repent

See on Matthew 3:2; and Matthew 21:29. Mark adds, and believe in the Gospel.

Mark 1:16

Casting a net (ἀμφιβάλλοντας)

See on Matthew 4:18. Mark here uses, more graphically, only the verb, without adding net. Lit., throwing about in the sea. Probably a fisher man's phrase, like a east, a haul.

Mark 1:17

To become (γενέσθαι)

An addition of Mark.

Mark 1:18

Mark 1:19

A little farther

Added by Mark.

Mending

See on Matthew 4:21.

Mark 1:20

With the hired servants

Peculiar to Mark. It may imply that Zebedee carried on his business on a larger scale than ordinary fishermen.

Mark 1:21

Mark 1:22

He taught (ἦν διδάσκων)

The finite verb with the participle denoting something continuous: was teaching.

Mark 1:23

Straightway

At the conclusion of his teaching.

With an unclean spirit (ἐν πνεύματι ἀκαθάρτῳ)

Lit., "in an unclean spirit." Ἐν (in) has the force of in the power of. Dr. Morison compares the phrases in drink, in love.

Mark 1:24

Us

Me and those like me. "The demons," says Bengel, "make common cause."

The Holy One of God

The demon names him as giving to the destruction the impress of hopeless certainty.

Mark 1:25

Hold thy peace (φιμώθητι)

Lit., be muzzled or gagged See on Matthew 22:12.

Mark 1:26

Had torn (σπαράξαν)

Rev., tearing, convulsions in margin. Luke has had thrown him down in the midst. Mark adds the crying out with a loud voice.

Mark 1:27

They questioned among themselves (συνζητεῖν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς)

Stronger than Luke, who has they spake together. Tynd., They demanded one of another among themselves.

Mark 1:28

Mark 1:29

Mark 1:30

Lay sick of a fever (κατέκειτο πυρέσσουσα)

Κατά, prostrate. Mark adds, they tell him of her. Luke, they besought him for her. Mark, he came to her. Luke, he stood over her. Mark only, he took her by the hand and raised her up.

Mark 1:31

Mark 1:32

At even, when the sun did set

An instance of Mark's habit of coupling similar words or phrases.

That were sick

See on Matthew 4:23, Matthew 4:24.

Mark 1:33

All the city was gathered together at the door

Peculiar to Mark.

Mark 1:34

Devils (δαιμόνια)

The Rev., unfortunately, and against the protest of the American committee, retains devils instead of rendering demons. See on Matthew 4:1. The New Testament uses two kindred words to denote the evil spirits which possessed men, and which were so often east out by Christ: διάμων, of which demon is a transcript, and which occurs, according to the best texts, only at Matthew 8:31; and δαιμόνιον, which is not a diminutive, but the neuter of the adjective δαιμόνιος, of, or belonging to a demon. The cognate verb is δαιμονίζομαι to be possessed with a demon, as in Mark 1:32.

The derivation of the word is uncertain. Perhaps δαίω, to distribute, since the deities allot the fates of men. Plato derives it from δαήμων, knowing or wise. In Hesiod, as in Pythagoras, Thales, and Plutarch, the word δαίμων is used of men of the golden age, acting as tutelary deities, and forming the link between gods and men. Socrates, in Plato's "Cratylus," quotes Hesiod as follows: "Socrates: You know how Hesiod uses the word? Hermogenes: Indeed I do not. Soc.: Do you not remember that he speaks of a golden race of men who came first? Her.: Yes, I know that. Soc.: He says of them,

But now that fate has closed over this race,

They are holy demons upon earth,

Beneficent, averters of ills, guardians of mortal men.'"

After some further conversation, Socrates goes on: "And therefore I have the most entire conviction that he called them demons, because they were δαήμονες (knowing or wise). Now, he and other poets say truly that, when a good man dies, he has honor and a mighty portion among the dead, and becomes a demon, which is a name given to him signifying wisdom. And I say, too, that every wise man who happens to be a good man is more than human (δαιμόνιον) both in life and death, and is rightly called a demon." Mr. Grote ("History of Greece") observes that in Hesiod demons are "invisible tenants of the earth, remnants of the once happy golden race whom the Olympic gods first made - the unseen police of the gods, for the purpose of repressing wicked behavior in the world." In later Greek the word came to be used of any departed soul.

In Homer δαίμων is used synonymously with θεός and θεά, god and goddess, and the moral quality of the divinity is determined by the context: but most commonly of the divine power or agency, like the Latin numen, the deity considered as a power rather than as a person. Homer does not use δαιμόνιον substantively, but as an adjective, always in the vocative case, and with a sorrowful or reproachful sense, indicating that the person addressed is in some astonishing or strange condition. Therefore, as a term of reproach - wretch! sirrah! madman! ("Iliad," 2:190, 200; 4:31; ix., 40). Occasionally in an admiring or respectful sense ("Odyssey," xiv., 443; xxiii., 174); Excellent stranger! noble sir! Homer also uses δαίμων of one's genius or attendant spirit, and thence of one's lot or fortune. So in the beautiful simile of the sick father ("Odyssey," 5:396), "Some malignant genius has assailed him." Compare "Odyssey," x., 64; xi., 61. Hence, later, the phrase κατὰ δαίμονα is nearly equivalent to by chance.

We have seen that, in Homer, the bad sense of δαιμόνοις is the prevailing one. In the tragedians, also, δαίμων, though used both of good and bad fortune, occurs more frequently in the latter sense, and toward this sense the word gravitates more and more. The undertone of Greek thought, which tended to regard no man happy until he had escaped from life (see on Matthew 5:3, blessed), naturally imparted a gloomy and forbidding character to those who were supposed to allot the destinies of life.

In classical Greek it is noticeable that the abstract τὸ δαιμόνιον fell into the background behind δαίμων, with the development in the latter of the notion of a fate or genius connected with each individual, as the demon of Socrates; while in biblical Greek the process is the reverse, this doctrine being rejected for that of an overruling personal providence, and the strange gods, "obscure to human knowledge and alien to human life," taking the abstract term uniformly in an evil sense.

Empedocles, a Greek philosopher, of Sicily, developed Hesiod's distinction; making the demons of a mixed nature between gods and men, not only the link between the two, but having an agency and disposition of their own; not immortal, but long-lived, and subject to the passions and propensities of men. While in Hesiod the demons are all good, according to Empedocles they are both bad and good. This conception relieved the gods of the responsibility for proceedings unbecoming the divine nature. The enormities which the older myths ascribed directly to the gods - thefts, rapes, abductions - were the doings of bad demons. It also saved the credit of the old legends, obviating the necessity of pronouncing either that the gods were unworthy or the legends untrue. "Yet, though devised for the purpose of satisfying a more scrupulous religious sensibility, it was found inconvenient afterward when assailants arose against paganism generally. For while it abandoned as indefensible a large portion of what had once been genuine faith, it still retained the same word demons with an entirely altered signification. The Christian writers in their controversies found ample warrant among the earlier pagan authors for treating all the gods as demons; and not less ample warrant among the later pagans for denouncing the demons generally as evil beings" (Grote, "History of Greece").

This evil sense the words always bear in the New Testament as well as in the Septuagint. Demons are synonymous with unclean spirits (Mark 5:12, Mark 5:15; Mark 3:22, Mark 3:30; Luke 4:33). They appear in connection with Satan (Luke 10:17, Luke 10:18; Luke 11:18, Luke 11:19); they are put in opposition to the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:20, 1 Corinthians 10:21); to the faith (1 Timothy 4:1). They are connected with idolatry (Revelation 9:20; Revelation 16:13, Revelation 16:14). They are special powers of evil, influencing and disturbing the physical, mental, and moral being (Luke 13:11, Luke 13:16; Mark 5:2-5; Mark 7:25; Matthew 12:45).

Mark 1:35

A great while before day (ἔννυχα)

Lit., while it was in the night. The word is peculiar to Mark.

Mark 1:36

Followed after (κατεδίωξαν)

The word found only in Mark. Simon and his companions, as well as the people of the city, seem to have been afraid lest he should have permanently left them. Hence the compound verb indicates that they followed him eagerly; pursued him as if he were fleeing from them. Simon, true to his nature, was foremost in the pursuit: Simon, and they that were with him.

Mark 1:37

All

All the people of Capernaum, all are seeking thee. The continuous present tense. So Rev., better than A. V. The all is peculiar to Mark.

Mark 1:38

Towns (κωμοπόλεις)

Lit., village-towns, suburban towns.

Mark 1:39

Mark 1:40

Mark 1:41

Moved with compassion

Only Mark.

Mark 1:42

Mark 1:43

Strictly charged (ἐμβριμησάμενος)

Rev., sternly, in margin. The word is originally to snort, as of mettlesome horses. Hence, to fret, or chafe, or be otherwise strongly moved; and then, as a result of this feeling, to admonish or rebuke urgently. The Lord evidently spoke to him peremptorily. Compare sent him out (ἐξέβαλεν); lit., drove or cast him out. The reason for this charge and dismissal lay in the desire of Jesus not to thwart his ministry by awaking the premature violence of his enemies; who, if they should see the leper and hear his story before he had been officially pronounced clean by the priest, might deny either that he had been a leper or had been truly cleansed.

Mark 1:44

Mark 1:45

The city

Properly, as Rev., a city; any city.

Mark 1

Mar 1:1.The beginning of the Gospel. Though what we have hitherto taken out of Matthew and Luke is a part of the Gospel, yet it is not without reason that Mark makes the beginning of the Gospel to be the preaching of John the Baptist. For the Law and the Prophets then came to an end, (Joh 1:17.) “The Law and the Prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, ” (Luk 16:16 .)And with this agrees most fully the quotation which he makes from the Prophet Malachi, (Mal 3:1.) In order to inflame the minds of his people with a stronger desire of the promised salvation, the Lord had determined to leave them, for a time, without new prophecies. We know that the last of the true and lawful prophets was Malachi.

That the Jews, in the meantime, may not faint with hunger, he exhorts them to continue under the Law of Moses, until the promised redemption appear. He mentions the law only, (Joh 1:17,) because the doctrine of the Prophets was not separate from the law, but was merely an appendage and fuller exposition of it, that the form of government in the Church might depend entirely on the Law. It is no new or uncommon thing in Scripture, to include the Prophets under the name of the Law: for they were all related to it as their fountain or design. The Gospel was not an inferior appendage to the Law, but a new form of instruction, by which the former was set aside.

Malachi, distinguishing the two conditions of the Church, places the one under the Law, and commences the other with the preaching of John. He unquestionably describes the Baptist, when he says, “Behold, I send my messenger,” (Mal 3:1 :) for, as we have already said, that passage lays down an express distinction between the Law and the new order and condition of the Church. With the same view he had said a little before, (which is quoted by Mark, [Mar 9:13;] for the passages are quite similar,) “Behold, I send you Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” (Mal 4:5.) Again,

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,” (Mal 3:1.)

In both passages, the Lord promises a better condition of his Church than had existed under the Law, and this unquestionably points out the beginning of the Gospel But before the Lord came to restore the Church, a forerunner or herald was to come, and announce that he was at hand. Hence we infer, that the abrogation of the Law, and the beginning of the Gospel, strictly speaking, took place when John began to preach.

The Evangelist John presents to us Christ clothed in flesh, “the Word made flesh,” (Joh 1:14;) so that his birth and the whole history of his appearance are included in the Gospel. But here Mark inquires, when the Gospel began to be published, and, therefore, properly begins with John, who was its first minister. And with this view the Heavenly Father chose that the life of his Son should be buried, as it were, in silence, until the time of the full revelation arrived. For it did not happen without the undoubted Providence of God, that the Evangelists leave out the whole period which Christ spent in private, and pass at once from his earliest infancy to his thirtieth year, when he was openly exhibited to the world, invested with his public character as a Redeemer; Luke excepted, who slightly touches one indication of his future calling, which occurred about his twelfth year, (Luk 2:42 .)

It had a very close connection with this object, that we should be informed, first, that Christ is a true man, (Joh 1:14,) and next, that he is “the Son of Abraham and of David, ”(Mat 1:1 ;)as to both of which, the Lord has been pleased to give us an attestation. The other matters which we have examined, relating to “the shepherds, ” (Luk 2:8 ,)the “Magi,” (Mat 2:1 ,)and “Simeon,” (Luk 2:25 ,)were intended to prove his Divinity. What Luke relates about John and his father Zacharias, (Luk 1:5 ,)was a sort of preparation for the Gospel.

There is no impropriety in the change of the person which is here made, in quoting the words of Malachi. According to the prophet, God says, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way Before Me. Mark introduces God as addressing the Son, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way Before Thee. But we see that Mark had no other intention, than to express more clearly the prophet’s meaning. Mark designates Christ the Son of God The other Evangelists testify that he was born of the seed of Abraham and David, and therefore was the Son of man, (Mat 8:20 .)But Mark shows us, that no redemption is to be expected but from the Son of God



Mar 1:14.Preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Matthew appears to differ a little from the other two: for, after mentioning that Jesus left his own city Nazareth, and departed to Capernaum, he says: from that time Jesus began to preach. Luke and Mark, again, relate, that he taught publicly in his own country. But the solution is easy; for the words which Matthew employs, ἀπὸ τότε, from that time, ought to be viewed as referring, not to what immediately precedes, but to the whole course of the narrative. Christ, therefore, entered into the exercise of his office, when he arrived at Galilee. The summary of doctrine which is given by Matthew is not at all different from what, we have lately seen, was taught by John: for it consists of two parts, — repentance, and the announcement of grace and salvation. He exhorts the Jews to conversion, because the kingdom of God is at hand: that is, because God undertakes to govern his people, which is true and perfect happiness. The language of Mark is a little different, The kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel But the meaning is the same: for, having first spoken of the restoration of the kingdom of God among the Jews, he exhorts them to repentance and faith.

But it may be asked, since repentance depends on the Gospel, why does Mark separate it from the doctrine of the Gospel? Two reasons may be assigned. God sometimes invites us to repentance, when nothing more is meant, than that we ought to change our life for the better. He afterwards shows, that conversion and “newness of life” (Rom 6:4) are the gift of God. This is intended to inform us, that not only is our duty enjoined on us, but the grace and power of obedience are, at the same time, offered. If we understand in this way the preaching of John about repentance, the meaning will be:” The Lord commands you to turn to himself; but as you cannot accomplish this by your own endeavors, he promises the Spirit of regeneration, and therefore you must receive this grace by faith.” At the same time, the faith, which he enjoins men to give to the Gospel, ought not, by any means, to be confined to the gift of renewal, but relates chiefly to the forgiveness of sins. For John connects repentance with faith, because God reconciles us to himself in such a manner, that we serve him as a Father in holiness and righteousness.

Besides, there is no absurdity in saying, that to believe the Gospel is the same thing as to embrace a free righteousness: for that special relation, between faith and the forgiveness of sins, is often mentioned in Scripture; as, for example, when it teaches, that we are justified by faith, (Rom 5:1.) In which soever of these two ways you choose to explain this passage, it still remains a settled principle, that God offers to us a free salvation, in order that we may turn to him, and live to righteousness. Accordingly, when he promises to us mercy, he calls us to deny the flesh. We must observe the designation which Paul gives to the Gospel, the kingdom of God: for hence we learn, that by the preaching of the Gospel the kingdom of God is set up and established among men, and that in no other way does God reign among men. Hence it is also evident, how wretched the condition of men is without the Gospel.



This demoniac was probably one of that multitude, which was mentioned, a little before, by Mat 4:24. Yet the narrative of Mark and Luke is not superfluous: for they relate some circumstances, which not only present the miracle in a more striking light, but also contain useful instruction. The devil dexterously acknowledges, that Christ is the Holy One of God, in order to insinuate into the minds of men a suspicion, that there was some secret understanding between him and Christ. By such a trick he has since endeavored to make the Gospel suspected, and, in the present day, he is continually making similar attempts. That is the reason why Christ rebukes him. It is, no doubt, possible, that this confession was violently extorted from him: but there is no inconsistency between the two suppositions, that he is forced to yield to the power of Christ, and therefore cries out that he is the Holy One of God, — and yet that he cunningly attempts to shroud in his own darkness the glory of Christ. At the same time, we must observe that, while he flatters Christ in this manner, he indirectly withdraws himself from his power, and in this way contradicts himself. For why was Christ sanctified by the Father, but that he might deliver men from the tyranny of the devil, and overturn his kingdom? But as Satan cannot endure that power, which he feels to be destructive to himself, he would desire that Christ should satisfy himself with an empty title, without exercising it on the present occasion. (344)

Mar 1:22; Luk 4:32.And they were astonished at his doctrine The meaning of the Evangelists is, that the power of the Spirit shone in the preaching (345) of Christ with such brightness, as to extort admiration even from irreligious and cold hearers. Luke says, that his discourse was accompanied with power, that is, full of majesty. Mark expresses it more fully, by adding a contrast, that it was unlike the manner of teaching of the Scribes As they were false expounders of Scripture, their doctrine was literal and dead, breathed nothing of the power of the Spirit, and was utterly destitute of majesty. The same kind of coldness may be now observed in the speculative theology of Popery. Those masters do indeed thunder out whatever they think proper in a sufficiently magisterial style; but as their manner of discoursing about divine things is so profane, that their controversies exhibit no traces of religion, what they bring forward is all affectation and mere drivelling: for the declaration of the Apostle Paul holds true, that the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power, (1Co 4:20.) In short, the Evangelists mean that, while the manner of teaching, which then prevailed, was so greatly degenerated and so extremely corrupted, that it did not impress the minds of men with any reverence for God, the preaching of Christ was eminently distinguished by the divine power of the Spirit, which procured for him the respect of his hearers. This is the power, or rather the majesty and authority, at which the people were astonished.



(344) “Mais pource que Satan ne pent endurer ceste vertue et puissance, aquelle il sait estre le destruire et ruiner, il voudroit bien que Christ se contenant d'un beau titre en l'air, se reposast, et se deportast de luy rien faire.” — “But because Satan cannot endure that power and might, which he knows to be to destroy and ruin him, he would rather wish that Christ, satisfying himself with a fine title in the air, should take repose, and refrain from doing any thing to him.

(345) “En la facon d’enseigner de Jesus Christ;” — “in Jesus Christ's manner of teaching.”



Mar 1:26When the unclean spirit had torn him Luke uses a milder phrase, when the devil had thrown him down: but they agree perfectly as to the meaning; for the design of both was to show, that the devil went out of the man in a violent manner. He threw down the unhappy man, as if he had intended to tear him: but Luke says that the attempt was unsuccessful; for he hurt him nothing Not that the attack was, in no degree whatever, attended by injury, or at least by some feeling of pain; but that the man was afterwards delivered from the devil, and restored to perfect health.



Mar 1:27What new doctrine is this? They call it new doctrine, not by way of reproach, but as an acknowledgment, that there was something in it unusual and extraordinary. It is not for the sake of blame, or to lessen its credit, that they speak of it as new. This is rather a part of their admiration, that they pronounce it to be not common or ordinary. Their only fault lies in this, that they remain in their state of hesitation, (346) whereas the children of God ought to make increasing progress.

(346) “En leur doute et estonnement.” — “In their doubt and astonishment.”



Mar 1:29.They came, with James and John, into the house of Simon and Andrew. There is reason to conjecture, that Matthew does not relate this history in its proper order: for Mark expressly states, that there were only four disciples who attended Christ. Besides, when he left the synagogue, he went straight to Peter’s house; which also shows clearly, that Matthew did not observe, with exactness, the order of time. The Evangelists appear to have taken particular notice of this miracle; not that, in itself, it was more remarkable, or more worthy of being recorded, than other miracles, — but because, by means of it, Christ gave to his disciples a private and familiar illustration of his grace. Another reason was, that the healing of one woman gave occasion to many miracles, so that they came to him in great numbers, from every direction, to implore his assistance. A single word, in Luke’s narrative, presents to us more strikingly the power which Christ displayed; for he says, that Simon’s mother-in-law was held by a GREAT fever. It was a clearer and more affecting proof of divine power, that, in a moment, and by a single touch, he removed a strong and violent disease. He might have done it by the slightest expression of his will; but he touched her hand, (Mat 8:15 ,)either to mark his affection, or because he was aware that this sign was, at that time, advantageous: for we know, that he freely used outward signs, when the time required them.



Mar 1:34.He did not permit the devils to speak. There might be two reasons why he did not permit them: a general reason, because the time of the full revelation was not yet come; and a special reason, which we hinted at a little ago, that he refused to have, as heralds and witnesses of his divinity, those whose praise could have no other effect than to soil and injure his character. This latter reason is undoubtedly true: for he must have known, that the prince of death, and his agents, are in a state of irreconcileable enmity with the Author of eternal salvation and life.



Mark1:38.For on this account I came out. Luk 4:43.For on this account am I sent. These words deserve our attention: for they contain a declaration of his earnest desire to fulfill his office. But it will perhaps be asked, is it better that the ministers of the Gospel should run here and there, to give only a slight and partial taste of it in each place, or that they should remain, and instruct perfectly the hearers whom they have once obtained? I reply. The design of Christ, which is here mentioned, was agreeable to the injunction and call of the Father, and was founded on the best reasons. For it was necessary that Christ should travel, within a short period, throughout Judea, to awaken the minds of men, on all sides, as if by the sound of a trumpet, to hear the Gospel. But on this subject we must treat more fully under another passage.



Mat 8:4; Mar 1:44.For a testimony to them Some consider testimony to mean here a law or statute, as it is said in the Book of Psalms, God laid down this “ for a testimony to Israel,” (Psa 122:4.) But this appears to me to be a poor exposition: for I have no doubt that the pronoun to them refers to the priests. (496) Christ said this, in my opinion, with a view to the present occurrence: for this miracle was afterwards to be a sufficiently clear proof for convicting them of ingratitude. There is nothing inconsistent with this in the command which Christ gave to the leper to maintain silence: for he did not intend that the remembrance of the miracle which he had wrought should remain always buried. When the leper, at the command of Christ, came into the presence of the priest, this was a testimony to them, which would render them inexcusable, if they refused to receive Christ as the minister of God; and would, at the same time, take away occasion for slander, since Christ did not neglect a single point of the law. In a word, if they were not past cure, they might be led to Christ; while, on the other hand, so solemn a testimony of God was sufficiently powerful to condemn them, if they were unbelievers.



(496) According to the view which Calvin rejects, the words, which Moses commanded for a testimony to them, mean, “which Moses delivered to them, that is, to the people of Israel, as a divine ordinance.” The view which he adopts may be more clearly brought out by a different arrangement of the words. Present, for a testimony to them, that is, “to the priests,” the offering which Moses commanded. —Ed



Mar 1:45.So that Jesus could no longer enter openly into cities Hence we learn the reason why Christ did not wish the miracle to be so soon made known. It was that he might have more abundant opportunity and freedom for teaching. Not that his enemies rose against him, and attempted to shut his mouth, but because the common people were so eager to demand miracles, that no room was left for doctrine. He wished that they would all be more attentive to the word than to signs. Luke accordingly says, that he sought retirement in the deserts He avoided a crowd of men, because he saw, that he would not satisfy the wishes of the people, without overwhelming his doctrine by a superfluity of miracles. (497)

(497) “Que quant et quant il ne fist tant de miracles, que cela les empescheroit de bien penser a la doctrine;” — “without doing so many miracles as to prevent them from thinking properly about his doctrine.”