Mark 2

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:15-22

Matthew's house. I. THE SOCIALITY OF JESUS . He was found at ordinary dinner-parties and entertainments throughout his course, and to the last. He was a contrast in this to the ascetic Baptist. He was found in " questionable " company. But the company of Pharisees would have been as " questionable. " With a clear conscience a man may go into the miscellany of people called " society. " A free and open manner is certain to bring remark and censure upon him. But better to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:16

According to the most approved readings, this verse should run thus: And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners. The words "publicans and sinners" are thus inverted in their order in the two clauses, as though they were convertible terms. Of course, the scribes and Pharisees had not sat down at this feast, but some of them had probably found their way into the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:17

Jesus heard their murmurings, and his answer was, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick . As the physician is not infected by the disease of the patient, but rather overcomes it and drives it from him, so it is no disgrace but rather an honor to the physician to associate himself with the sick, and so much the more, the greater the sickness. So that it is as though Christ said, "I who am sent from heaven by the Father, that I might be the Physician of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:18

The first sentence of this verse should be rendered thus: And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting ( ἧσαν νηστεύοντες ) . In all the synoptic Gospels we find this incident following closely upon what goes before. It is not improbable that the Pharisees and the disciples of John were fasting at the very time when Matthew gave his feast. This was not one of the fasts prescribed by the Law; had it been so, it would have been observed by our Lord. There were, however,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:18-20

On fasting. Weak brethren too often do the work of evil men. The disciples of John, who were not hostile to our Lord, were made on this occasion the tools of the Pharisees, whose great object was to damage our Lord's reputation amongst the people, and to weaken the allegiance of his followers. The Baptist had never forbidden his disciples to observe the customary fasts, and his own ascetic life had taught them such lessons of self-denial that they readily observed them, especially at a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:18-22

Christianity and asceticism. Strange as it seems, it is unquestionable that the very humanity of Jesus, his truly broad and human sympathies, were an offense to the religious leaders of his time. The Pharisees fasted oft; John came neither eating nor drinking; Jesus, who came that he might live among men and who associated with them in all their innocent occupations and enjoyments, excited the displeasure and malice of those who were too superficial and ceremonial to understand his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:19

The Bridegroom here is Christ, because he espoused the human nature, and, through it, the Church to himself in his holy incarnation. This holy union he began by his grace on earth, and he will consummate it gloriously with his elect in heaven, when "the marriage of the Lamb shall have come, and his wife shall have made herself ready." Hence John the Baptist calls himself the friend of the Bridegroom, that is, of Christ. The sons ( υἱοὶ ) of the bridechamber are the special friends of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:20

This is the first occasion on which our Lord alludes to his removal from them. The bridegroom shall be taken away from them . The Greek word ( ἀπαρθῇ ) conveys the idea of a painful severance. And then will they fast in that day ( ἐν ἐκείνῇ τῇ ἡμέρα ). This is the true reading. After our Lord's death, his disciples frequently fasted as of necessity, and went through much privation and trial. And so it must be for the most part with all who will live godly in Christ Jesus,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:21

No man seweth a piece of new cloth —the Greek is ( ῥακους ἀγνάφου ) undressed cloth, cloth newly woven, and before it has been dressed by the fuller— on an old garment . The latter part of this verse is better rendered, as in the Revised Version, thus: Else that which should fill it up taketh from it, the new from the old; and a worse rent is made. The meaning of the words is this: An old garment, if it be torn, should be mended by a patch of old material; for if a patch of new... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 2:22

"Bottles" in this verse is better rendered literally wine-skins ( ἀσκούς ). And no man putteth new wine ( οἶνον νέον ) into old wine-skins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine perisheth, and the skins; but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins ( ἀσκοὺς καινοὺς ) . The sense is this: New wine, in the process of fermentation, will burst old bottles made of wine-skins not strong enough to resist the strength of the fermenting fluid; so that there is a twofold... read more

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