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if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

them.

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them and his disciples rebuked those that brought 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

enter therein.

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest : go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be

saved?

[disappointed.

27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God for with God all things are possible.

28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the Gospel's; 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. 32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the Chief Priests, and unto the Scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him and the third day he shall rise again.

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they say unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 But to sit on my right hand and on my

NOTES.

Ver. 11. Against her-that is, his former wife; or it may apply to the latter, since he causes her to live in adultery with him.

Ver. 12. And if a woman shall put away her husband. "It may be inferred from hence (says Dr. Lardner) that the Jewish women, as well as men (though contrary to the law), did then (i.e. in our Lord's time) practice divorces, and after that, marry to others." He produces the instances of Herodias, and three of her daughters; and adds, "We may be assured their example would be followed by others, and it is likely, were supported by many precedents. If the women took this licence, what would not the men do? Our historian, Josephus affords a double example of this practice. His first wife left him, and he married another. Her he divorced, after having had three children by her, because he was not

pleased with her manners; and then married a third, by whom also he had children." Cred. bk. ii. ch. 5, Ver. 13-16. And they brought young children, &c.-Parallel to this, see Matt. xix. 13-15; with which compare chap. xviii. 3, &c.

Ver. 17. And when he was gone forth, &c.-Cor. responding with this Section, see Matt xix. 16-30.

Ver. 30. An hundred fold- not in kind, hat in value. See 2 Cor. vii. 4.

Ver. 32-45. And they were in the way, &c.-Here Mark begins to relate our Lord's going up to Jerusalem the last time, which is related in nearly "' same terms by Matthew, chap. xix. 17-28.

Ver. 32. They were amazed-to see our Lor to meet his death with such cool intrepidi they were afraid to follow him, lest they sh involved in the same calamities.

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left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

:

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thon that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

CHAP. XI.

AND when they came nigh to Jerusalem,

unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, 2 And saith unto them,

[Jerusalem.

Go your way into the village over against you and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. 4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. 5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And they that went before, and they that fol lowed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest! 11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with

the twelve.

12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

15 And they come to Jerusalem : and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suf

NOTES.

Ver. 46-52. And they came to Jericho, &c.—It is remarkable here, (as in the case of the Gadarene demoniacs, and other instances) when Matthew mentions the cure of two blind men, chap. xx. 30. Mark and Luke mention one only; namely, Bartimeus, the son of Timeus; probably a noted beggar, and much the better known. On this miracle, see some farther remarks on Luke xviii. 35, &c.

Ver. 52. Made thee whole-Marg. "Saved thee." Camp." Cured thee."

CHAP. XI. Ver. 1-11. And when they came nigh, &c. The parallel text of Matthew occurs chap. xxi. 16. and we may offer some farther observations on Luke xix. 29, &c. The limits of Bethany reached to the mount of Olives, and joined to those of Betbphage, which reached from the mount to the walls of the city.

Ver. 8. Branches off the trees. It is probable, from different kinds of trees. John, chap. xii. 13, mentions" palm trees." The late Mr. David Levi gives an extract from the Talmud, which mentions

that at the feast of Tabernacles they carried branches of willow, and cried "Hosanna!" and the willows thus employed were called Hoshanuth. - Lingua Sacra, in Oreb. Morier, in his Travels through Persia, mentions the scattering of rose leaves, and Mr. Harmer conceives they might make a part of this ceremony.

Ver. 11. And now the eventide was come, &c.-Our Lord and his disciples went to lodge at Bethanyprobably at the house of Lazarus.

Ver. 12-14. And on the morrow (that is, "Next morning") when they were come from Bethany, &c. -Compare Matt. xxi. 18, 19.

Ver. 13. If haply-that is, If it might so happen. -For the time of figs was not yet-i. e. of gathering figs; Camp. "The fig-harvest." So we use the terms "hay-time, or hay-harvest, hopping-time," &c. This was the season to expect fruit.

Ver. 15-19. Jesus went into the temple. Matt. xxi. 12, 13.

See

Ver. 16. And would not suffer, &c.-See Nehem. xiii. 15, 16.

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fer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My

house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the Scribes and Chief Priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.

20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? an31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32 But if we shall say, of men; they feared the people for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

swer me.

[the vineyard.

CHAP. XII.

AND he began to speak unto them by

parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. 4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our's. 8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. 10 And have ye not read this Scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

11 This

13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees, and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cesar's. 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cesar the things that are Ce

NOTES.

Ver. 20-26. And in the morning, &c.-The passage parallel to this is Matt. xxi. 19-22.

Ver. 27-33. And they come again to Jerusalem, &c.-Parallel text, Matt. xxi. 23–27.

Ver. 29. One question-Marg. "One thing." Ver. 32. All men counted John, that he was a prophet.-Compare chap. vi. 20.

CHAP. XII. Ver. 1-12. And he began to speak, &c.-This parable of the vineyard will be found explained in Matt. xxi. 33-46.

Ver. 1. Built a tower.-Mr. Buckingham, in his late travels," was particularly struck with the appearance of several small and detached towers in the midst of vine lands, from which watchmen looked out to guard the produce of the lands, even in the present day." Travels, p. 216.

Ver. 13-17. And they send-that is, the Pharines that were offended with this parable, as aip them, sent some of their disciples. Th have their parallel, Matt, xxii, 16–22,

On the resurrection]

S. MARK.

sar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. 21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed : and the third likewise. 22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. 24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. 26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

28 And one of the Scribes came, and

having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our

God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is

the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

he:

[of the dead. 32 And the Scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that be answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the Scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. 38 And be said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the Scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the mar ket places,

39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: 40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater dampa

tion.

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his dis

ciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

NOTES-Chap. XII. Con.

Ver. 18-27. Then come unto him the Sadducees, &c.-This conversation is related by Matt. chap. xxii. 23-32.

Ver. 28-40. And one of the Scribes, &c. Matt. xxii. 35.-xxiii. 14.

- See

Ver. 29. The Lord our God is one Lord.-This passage in the Greek is quoted literally from the LXX of Deut. vi. 4. The word Lord in Greek is Kurios, but in Hebrew Jehovah. The passage in both Testaments is translated as a single proposition; but the best critics in both places divide it into two (as in our Note on Deut. vi. 4), thus: "Jehovah our Elohim, Jehovah is one." So Ainsworth: or as in the LXX and this verse, "The Lord is our God; the Lord is one;"Kurios here, as generally, answering to Jehovah. So Vitringa, Camp. Doddridge, &c. Dr. Lightfoot remarks, that our Lord here quotes to the Jews one of the texts inscribed on their Phylacteries. See our Note on Matt. xxiii. 3.

Ver. 32. Well, Master, thou hast said the truthDoddr. "Truly, Master, thou hast spoken well."

For there is one God. The word "God" (Theos) is wanting in the Alexandrian and three other ancient MSS. besides many others; and in several ancient versions. It must, however, be necessarily understood, unless we supply, instead of it, Kurios, or Jehovah, as Mr. Parkhurst does.

Ver. 34. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God-or from the doctrine of the gospel. Ver. 41. Cast money into the treasury-Marg. "Brass money;" "" answering to our copper; but it is diflicult to state the exact value of these pieces, as they were of different sizes, and changed their value with time and circumstances. It is probable the Pharisees gave large pieces of brass, instead of small silver, as making a greater chink. These are sup posed to be nearly of the value of our sixpence, and much, or many of these brass pieces would make a great sound.

Ver. 42. Two mites, or "a farthing," equal to about three halfpeace of our money.

The destruction of]

CHAP. XIII.

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. (F)

CHAP. XIII.

Omit and pass to Chap. xvi. ver. 9. AND as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the tem

CHAP. XII.

[Jerusalem predicted.

ple, Peter and James and John and An4 Tell us, drew asked him privately; when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? 5 And Jesus an

swering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. 9 But take heed to yourselves:

EXPOSITION.

(F) Ver. 41-44. The widow's mite commended.-It is true that Mark introduces very few facts into his gospel that had not been mentioned by Matthew; but those few are valuable, and particularly this before us, which explains God's method of estimating charity, even when resulting from a good principle; and when it does not, be estimates it as nothing, or worse than nothing.

In remarking upon this incident, we may notice, 1. The benevolent object here proposed, which commentators are agreed was a fund for the support of the Temple worship. Such funds are commonly reckoned among our charities; but with the greatest impropriety, if by that term we understand any thing optional, which we may either do or let alone at pleasure, which seems to be the common notion of charity. The support of divine worship, and the spread of divine truth, yea, and the relief of the distressed poor, are duties as forcibly enjoined on us as sobriety, chastity, or honesty; only God has left it to our honour and gratitude to apportion the measure to our means. And, 2. Jesus Christ sits opposite to the treasury box and eyes every piece of money that is put in, whether gold or silver or copper: and though he is well pleased when he sees the "rich cast in much," he singles out the poor widow's mite for commendation, If we were to consider this fact, and we cannot deny it, without also denying the divinity of Christ, it would surely greatly enlarge our collections on such occasions: every one would be anxious to give the

utmost he could afford. 3. The measure of our benevolence should be regulated by our means. "God loveth a cheerful giver;" but "if there be first a willing mind, a man's contributions are acceptable according to that he hath; not according to that he hath not." (2 Cor. viii. 12; ix. 7.) To give away the property of others for any private ends of our own, is a defraud, and not benevolence; but to hoard up riches under pretence of bestowing a large sum by legacy, is defrauding God and ourselves too. It defrauds Him of what should have been given to his cause long before; and defrauds ourselves of that reward which his grace might have bestowed on our timely charity. But surely no man can expect a reward for giving away that which he could by no possibility retain one moment longer. It is an awful thing for a professor of religion to die rich! especially when he has not a large and needy family to provide for. 4. We may remark that this good woman gave her all-" all her living"- all she had, which shows not only her gratitude, but her faith; she not only acknowledges that she had received all she had from God, but she could trust him in future for all she wanted; and if he gives "an hundred fold," as he has promised, she was surely wise to make God her banker. Ah! had those silly speculators, who have sent their thousands and tens of thousands to the very ends of the earth, only given them to serve the cause of God, or preserve the lives of their starving countrymen - how many blessings would they have called down upon themselves!

NOTES.

CHAP. XIII. Ver. 1–23. And as he went out of the temple, &c.-For the corresponding predictions of Mathew, see chap. xxiv. 1–28.

Ver. 8. These are the beginnings of sorrows.-The

margin of our bibles remarks, that the original word for sorrows imports "the pains of a woman in travail." See Rom. viii. 22.

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