Renewed prediction of death. I. UNWELCOME OUTLOOKS SHOULD BE FIRMLY FACED . 'Tis not well to hide the head in the sand, like the ostrich, and try to fancy danger absent because not seen. For, if faced, the worst prospect loses at once half, and presently all, its terrors. II. THE WILL OF GOD IS TO BE RECOGNIZED , EVEN IN THE WICKEDNESS OF MEN . It is by conflict that his will is wrought out. Outbursts of crime represent only one side of great... read more
Parallel passages: Matthew 17:22 , Matthew 17:23 ; Luke 9:43-45 . Prediction of his passion. I. SECRECY . "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." Every man has a work to do, and a time allowed him to do it in. Every man, moreover, is immortal till that work is done, and God's will with him accomplished. In like manner there was a time allotted for our Lord's mission on earth. There was a time fixed for his ministry of mercy to man. When the... read more
But they understood not the saying, and were afraid ( ἐφοβοῦντο ) to ask him ; St. Matthew ( Matthew 17:23 ) says, "They were exceeding sorry." They saw that something very dreadful was about to happen. Their Master's words and looks showed them this. But it was a mystery to them. All his words staggered them, but especially those which spoke of his rising again. They did not understand whether it was an entrance into a higher state or a restoration to a common life. They did not... read more
Parallel passage: Matthew 17:24-27 . The tribute money. I. ANOTHER OMISSION . In the first line of the thirty-third verse we approach the subject of the tribute money; but in St. Mark's narrative we only approach it, and that in the state-merit, "he came to Capernaum;" but in the parallel section of St. Matthew we read of the demand for the tribute money, of Peter being commissioned to procure it from "the fish that first cometh up," of the exemption Jesus might have claimed but... read more
They have now reached Capernaum. And when he was in the house —the house, that is, which he frequented when staying in Capernaum— he asked them, What were ye reasoning in the way? The words "among yourselves," of the Authorized Version, are not found in the best authorities. St. Matthew ( Matthew 18:1 ) does not record this question of our Lord, which brings to light the fact that they had been disputing by the way which of them should be the greatest. The Greek is ( τίς μείζων ) ... read more
True greatness. Our Lord's ministry was not only to the people generally, but to his own disciples and friends; and even to these he had occasion sometimes to address language, not only of instruction, but of rebuke and expostulation. On the occasion here referred to, a serious fault was displayed among the chosen circle, which called for the Lord's interference and reprimand. At the same time the great Teacher pointed out to the erring a more excellent way. Ambition was the fault, and its... read more
Who shall be greatest? The selection of Peter, James, and John for exceptional association with Christ; the primacy of Peter suggested by the words of their Master on a certain occasion; and the spirit of the sons of Zebedee, shown in the request made by their mother, a little later, on their behalf ( Mark 10:35-41 ), were circumstances that soon attracted the attention of the others, and gave rise to discussion as to relative superiority. In dealing with this unseemly dispute, our... read more
Honour. By slow steps Jesus had brought the chosen band of the disciples onward in that course of instruction which prepared them to ascend "the holy mount" and behold "his glory ," "glory as of the only begotten from the Father." He had also begun to show unto them that "he must suffer many things," and "be killed," making them "exceeding sorry." And he had spoken to them of the time "when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead;" but "what the rising again from the dead... read more
The symbolic child. I. THE EXAMPLE OF CHILDREN . They are humble and trustful in the presence of superior wisdom. Man not always so, but ought always to be so. II. THE SECRET OF POWER LIES IN SERVICE . Command others by being useful to them. Rise in a community by working your way through all the grades of service, from the lowest to the highest. III. TO STOOP IN LOVE IS TO RISE IN HONOUR . Jesus puts his arms around the little ones and... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 9:30-32
The gospel a source of sorrow and perplexity. Something very grand and pathetic in those rehearsals of the drama of redemption. The great heart of Christ yearning for sympathy, and yet shrinking from the kind that was evoked; wondering, meanwhile, at the "hardness of heart" of his disciples, who "understood not the saying." How inexplicable this failure to affect their moral nature! So far as words are concerned, it was the same gospel as that which woke the nations at Pentecost; yet it... read more