A. D. 30. down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: 16 and let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. k Luke 23. 29. 17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 1 Dan. 9. 26. & 12. 1. Joel 2. 2. 18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. 19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. 20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days. m Luke 17.23. 21 m And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, He is there; believe him not: n 22 for false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 2 Pet. 3. 17. 23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. o Dan. 7. 10. Zeph. 1. 15. P Dan. 7. 13, 14. Matt. 16. 27. ch. 14. 62. 24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26 P And then shall they see the Son of man comActs 1. 11. ing in the clouds with great power and glory. 2 Thess. 1. 7, 27 And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from 1 Thess. 4.16. 10. Rev. 1. 7. 18. "In the winter." St. Mark omits "neither on the sabbath day," since the reasons against the latter would require explanation to his Gentile readers, and would seem to them of less weight. 24. "But in those days, after that tribulation." "Those days" plainly do not mean the days just before spoken of, for those were the days of tribulation, and our Lord now speaks of days "after that tribu"lation." May we not understand "those days" as meaning 'those 'great days which are coming,' just as "that day" is used of the great day of judgment (St. Matt. vii. 22. 2 Tim. i. 12, 18. iv. 8.)? Then, if we understand the "tribulation" to extend over the whole time of the rejection and dispersion of the Jews (See on St. Matt. xxiv. 29.), we shall cease to feel the difficulty as to the seeming nearness of the days spoken of as "those days." the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost A.D.30. part of heaven. 28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 so ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My 9 Isai. 40. 8. words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and not when the time is. pray: for ye know Matt. 25. 13. Luke 12. 40. Rom. 13. 11. 1 Thess. 5. 6. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a fars Matt. 25. 14. journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore for ye know not when 27. "From the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost "part of heaven." In St. Matthew the words are, "from one end of "heaven to the other." The meaning is the same. The "heaven" here is used in the lower sense of the mere sky, and the expression the "end of the heaven" simply means the horizon, or the point where the earth and sky seem to meet. 32. "Neither the Son." These striking words are not given by St. Matthew, though the same truth is implied in the words, "My "Father only." Observe in these words is contained the direct answer to the question of the Apostles at the beginning of the chapter (4.). We find a like question and a like answer recorded in the conversation immediately before our Lord's Ascension (Acts i. 6, 7.). 34. "As a man taking a far journey." This and the next verses seem to be the first portion of the short parable, of which the conclusion is given by St. Matthew (xxiv. 45-51.). The concluding three verses of St. Mark (35-37.) are again the practical application of the whole. Thus, if we would read the whole passage in completeness, we should read first St. Mark 34, then St. Matthew 45-51, and lastly St. Mark 35-37. "The porter." That is, the gate-keeper. There are differences of office and position in the Church of Christ. By the servants, to whom "authority" was given, our Lord probably means His ministers, the stewards of His mysteries. By every man," to whom was set his appointed work, He would mean all other members of the Church. A.D. 30. the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. a John 11. 55. & 13. 1. 37. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. CHAPTER XIV. 1 A conspiracy against Christ. 3 Precious ointment is poured on His head by a woman. 10 Judas selleth his Master for money. 12 Christ Himself foretelleth how He shall be betrayed of one of His disciples: 22 after the passover prepared, and eaten, instituteth His supper: 26 declareth aforehand the flight of all His disciples, and Peter's denial. 43 Judas betrayeth Him with a kiss. 46 He is apprehended in the garden, 53 falsely accused, and impiously condemned of the Jews' council: 65 shamefully abused by them: 66 and thrice denied of Peter. A and of bread: FTER a two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, and put Him to death. 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. b See Luke 7. 3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman quid nard. having an alabaster box of ointment of 2 spikenard 2 Or, pure nard, or, li 35. "At even," &c. The four watches,' into which the Jews divided the night, are here mentioned. They consisted of three hours each, the first beginning at six o'clock in the evening (See on St. Matt. xiv. 25.). 36. "Sleeping." In the description of the evil servant in St. Matthew quarrelling and drunkenness are the sins laid against him. Here, in applying the lesson, our Lord warns His hearers against the milder sin of sloth, for this is enough to condemn. 37. "Unto all." Lest any should think that the watching is only the porter's business, only the duty of Apostles and such as are called to special offices in the Church. CHAPTER XIV. 1, 2. The Jews plot Christ's death. St. Matt. xxvi. 1-5. St. Luke xxii. 1, 2. 1. "By craft." St. Luke gives the reason for the chief priests and Scribes finding it necessary to act with “ craft," and "subtilty" (St. Matthew.). It was because they "feared the people." 3-9. The anointing by Mary of Bethany. St. Matt. xxvi. 6-13. St. John xii. 1-8. 3. "Box of ointment." It was about a pound weight, as we learn from St. John, and was thus not only very costly in quality, but also 1. The feast of the passover," &c. See name for the feast of the Passover, as on St. Matth. xxvi. 17. The feast of we see by the parallel passage in St. unleavened bread" was only another Luke. 66 very precious; and she brake the box, and poured A. D. 30. it on His head. 4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred 2 pence, and have been given to the 2 See Matt. poor. And they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on Me. 18. 28. 7 For ye have the poor with you always, and © Deut. 15. 11. whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always. 8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the burying. 9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. 10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray Him unto them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him. in quantity. The "box" may have been a vase, the neck of which might be broken when used, the precious ointment being sealed up in it, so that it could not be got at without thus breaking the vessel. 5. "More than three hundred pence." The Jewish penny being reckoned at sevenpence halfpenny this sum would represent £9. 78. 6d., but, since money went much farther then than it does now, the penny being a day's wages (See on St. Matt. xx. 2.), the value of the ointment was really much greater than this. 6. "A good work." The goodness of any act lies in its motive, not in its usefulness, as some think. This woman's act had for its motive a fervent love, and that love made it a "good work" in Christ's sight. 10, 11. The bargain of Judas with the Chief-priests. St. Matt. xxvi. 14-16. St. Luke xxii. 3—6. 10. "To betray Him." It may seem strange that any treachery of this sort was necessary, when our Lord showed Himself so openly in the temple and elsewhere. But His enemies dared not attack Him in public. What they sought for was some opportunity of taking Him "in the absence of the multitude" (St. Luke.). 11. "Promised." From all three accounts we see that this was only an agreement. We do not hear when the money was actually A. D. 30. 12 2 Or, 2 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, His disciples said unto sacrificed. Him, Where wilt Thou that we go and prepare that Thou mayest eat the passover? 13 And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. 14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples? 15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. 16 And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 17 And in the evening He cometh with the twelve. 18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me shall betray Me. paid, but it is probable that it was immediately after Judas had fulfilled his part of the bargain by placing Jesus in the hands of His enemies. 12-16. The disciples sent to prepare the Passover. 13. "Two of His disciples." as we learn from St. Luke. These were St. Peter and St. John, "A man bearing a pitcher." This sign, miraculously made known to the two Apostles, is recorded also by St. Luke. The idea that our Lord had made any agreement beforehand with the master of the house, and that the meeting with the man bearing the pitcher of water was in accordance with such agreement, is most improbable. The direction was given, and the sign appointed, by the same miraculous foreknowledge which gave the direction as to the finding of the ass before the riding into Jerusalem on Palm-Sunday (xi. 2.). 17-21. Announcement of the Betrayal. St. Matt. xxvi. 20-25. St. Luke xxii. 21-23. St. John xiii. 21-30. |