Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 1:45
But he went out, and began to publish [it] much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
45. began to publish it much ] even as others in similar circumstances found it impossible to keep silence; comp. (1) the blind man, Mat 9:30-31; (2) the man with an impediment of speech, Mar 7:36.
could no more openly enter into the city ] In these words we have perhaps one of the reasons why the Lord enjoined silence on the leper. A certain degree of secrecy and reserve was plainly necessary in respect to the Lord’s miracles, or it would have been impossible for Him to have moved from place to place.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 1:45
And they came to Him from every quarter.
Gathering to the centre
I. Of the open or professional coming to Christ. The gospel when it is preached draws many to itself who are not saved by it. Many come to Christ from the lowest motives; to receive benefits; some out of transient enthusiasm. Out of the best haul a fisherman ever makes, there is something to throw away.
II. Of the first real spiritual coming to Christ by faith. Let us try to help those who are coming to Christ. All who come to Christ from every quarter never one was disappointed with Him yet.
III. The daily coming of saved souls to Jesus. They come from every quarter as to mental pursuits; from all points of theological thought; from every quarter of spiritual experience.
IV. That great gathering which is approaching nearer every moment. Saints come to Jesus in glory from every quarter. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Coming to Christ by various roads
Seeking rest and health last week, I seated myself for a little while near a very rustic church which stands embowered in a wood, and as I sat there I moralized upon the various paths which led up to the church porch. Each trackway through the grass came from a different quarter, but they all led to one point. As I stood there this reflection crossed me: even thus men come to Christ from all quarters of the compass, but if indeed saved, they all come to Him. There is a path yonder which rises from a little valley. The little church stands on the hillside, there is a brook at the bottom, and worshippers who come from the public road must cross the rustic bridge and then ascend the hill. Such comers rise at every step they take. Full many burdened ones come to Christ from the deep places of self-abasement; they know their sinfulness and feel it; their self-consciousness has almost driven them to despair; they are down very low, and every step they take to Christ is a step upwards. They have a little hope as they look to Him, and then a little more, till it comes to a humble trust; then from a feeble, trembling trust it rises to a simple faith, and so they advance till when they stand near to Jesus they even reach to the full assurance of faith. Thus from soul distress and self-despair they come to the Lord Jesus, and He receives them graciously. Through the churchyard there was another path, and it ran uphill from where I stood, and therefore everyone who came that way descended to the church door. These may represent the people who think much of themselves; they have been brought up in morality and lived in respectability in the town of Legality; they have never turned aside to the greaser vices, but are among the models of behaviour. Every step these good people take towards Christ is downward; they think less of themselves and still less; regret leads to repentance, repentance to bitter grief, and grief leads to self abhorrence, till they come down to the level where Jesus meets with sinners, by owning that they are nothing, and that Christ is all. The two paths which I have mentioned were supplemented by a third, which led through a thick and tangled wood: a narrow way wound between the oak trees and the dense underwood, and I noticed that it led over a boggy place, through which stepping stones had been carefully placed for the traveller, that he might not sink in the mire. Many a seeker has found his way to Jesus by a similar path. Dark with ignorance, and briary with evil questionings, the path winds and twists about, and leads through the Slough of Despond, wherein a man had need pick his steps very carefully, or he may sink in despair. Those whom grace leads arrive at rest in Christ, but it is through the wood and through the slough. Once more, I remarked another path, which came in from the farmers fields, through lands where the plough and the sickle are busy, each in its season; so that those who come from that quarter to worship come across the place of toil, and may fitly represent those who are full of earnestness and effort, but have as much need of Jesus as any. They do not know yet the way of salvation, but they follow after righteousness by the law, and strive to enter in at the strait gate in their own strength. But if they ever come to Christ they will have to leave those fields and the plough and sickle of their own strength, and submit to receive Jesus as their all. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 45. Began to publish it much] Began to publish , many things; probably all that he had heard about our Lord’s miraculous works.
And to blaze abroad the matter] That is, his own healing; thinking he could never speak too much, nor too well, of him who had thus mercifully and miraculously cleansed him.
Jesus could no more openly enter into the city] A city of Galilee, probably Chorazin or Bethsaida, in which he did not appear, for fear of exciting the jealousy of the secular government, or the envy and malice of the Jewish rulers.
And they came to him from every quarter.] So generally had the poor man, who was cleansed of his leprosy, spread abroad his fame. And can we suppose that, of all these people who came to him from all parts, and to whom he preached the glad tidings of the kingdom, by the power and authority of God, few or none were saved? This is a common opinion; but every person who seriously considers it must see that it is unfounded. Without doubt, Christ had thousands that were brought to God by his ministry; though, in general, only those are mentioned who were constant attendants on his person. It would be strange, if, while God manifested in the flesh was preacher, there should be few brought to the knowledge of themselves, and of the truth! In this respect he does not permit his faithful ministers to labour in vain. The Son of man sowed the seed of the kingdom; and it afterwards produced a plentiful harvest. Multitudes of Jews were converted by the preaching of the Gospel; and the first Christian Church was founded at Jerusalem.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But he went out,…. Either out of the synagogue; for in Mr 1:39, it is said, that Christ preached in their synagogues, c. and in Mr 1:40, “there came a leper to him” and Luke very, plainly suggests, that he was in the city, Lu 5:12, and he might be in the synagogue: and this was allowed a leper, according to the Jewish canons, provided some rules were observed; which were these x:
“if a leper enters into a synagogue, they make for him a partition ten hands high, and four cubits broad; he enters in first, and goes out last:”
or, it may be, he went out of the house where he was, into the city, and parts adjacent; for it seems as if the cure was done privately: and yet a leper was not allowed to enter into a house y;
“if he did, all the vessels which were there, i.e. all the goods in the house were defiled, even to the very beams. R. Simeon says, as far as four cubits. R. Judah says, if he stayed so long as the lighting of a lamp.”
And began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter; contrary to the charge Christ gave him; though this might be done by him, not out of disobedience to Christ, but out of a transport of joy for the mercy received; and perhaps with a good intention to spread the fame and glory of his Saviour:
insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city; of Capernaum, or whatever city it was, where this cure was wrought, without a crowd of people about him, and danger from them, at least from his enemies, who envied his applause and glory.
But was without in desert places; devoid of inhabitants, where he spent his time in prayer:
and they came to him from every quarter; whenever the people could learn where he was: so agreeable was his doctrine to some; and so useful his miraculous work of healing to others.
x Misn. Negaim, c. 13. sect. 12. y lb. sect. 11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Began to publish it much ( ). Lu 5:15 puts it, “so much the more” (). One of the best ways to spread a thing is to tell people not to tell. It was certainly so in this case. Soon Jesus had to avoid cities and betake himself to desert places to avoid the crowds and even then people kept coming to Jesus (, imperfect tense). Some preachers are not so disturbed by the onrush of crowds.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The city
Properly, as Rev., a city; any city.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But he went out, and began to publish it much,”(ho de ekselthon erksato kerussein polla) “But going out, wherever he went, he began to herald or proclaim many things,” about his healing. Tho he disobeyed Jesus in this matter, it demonstrates how hard it is for the truly healed one to keep it to himself, because of real gratitude.
2) “And to blaze abroad the matter,” (kai diaphemizein ton logon) “And to broadcast the word,” like a blaze across the prairie, the matter of his healing and what miracles Jesus was performing. Miracles were secondary, not priority evidence, that Jesus was the Savior, and were not intended to stir people against Him, to hinder His preaching.
3) “Insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city,”(hoste meketi auton dunasthia phaneros eis polin eiselthein) “So that He (Jesus)was no longer able to enter openly into (a) city,” to let the people even get a glimpse of Him, lest the occasion should incite the Jewish officials and synagogue rulers against Him.
4) “But was without in the desert places:” (all’ ekso ep eremois topois en) ”But He was outside(the city) in desert or sparsely inhabited areas,” to avoid envy of the rulers of the synagogues, so that His “voice was not heard in the streets,” Mat 12:19-21.
5) “And they came to Him from every quarter.” (kai erchonto pros auton pantothen) “And they (still) came to Him from all directions,” and places into the desert areas, glad for His presence even there, Isa 35:1; Mar 6:30-34. Out of great need, men came to Jesus, not turned back by distance, circumstance, or the fear of man! 0 that men would still do that today, to find the cure or remedy for their spiritual needs; Joh 6:37; Rev 22:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
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.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
ADVERTISING THE CHRIST
Mar 1:45
FEW subjects receive greater attention to-day than the subject of advertising. We are accustomed, however, to employ the phrase almost entirely with reference to business interests. It is only of late that men have realized that advertising the Christ and the Church were matters of vastly more importance than the successful sale of the best of earthly wares.
A careful study of the New Testament will show that in the disciples day advertising the Christ was regarded as the very mission of the Church. In fact, the last promise that Jesus made before ascending into the heavens, looked definitely to the advertising of the Christ.
Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
Not every new convert begins his Christian life with a proper sense of obligation and privilege; but, in this text, we have the model convert! His one mistake, if he made any, was an error of enthusiasm, the most desirable of all misdemeanors. The common mistake of the present-day convert is exactly the opposite; the lack of fervor is the ground of failure, and silence too often takes the place of warranted speech. Gods gift of the Spirit is to the end of testimony to Jesus.
Some most interesting things, some most helpful suggestions; yea, some most inspiring truths grow out of a careful study of this Scriptureit reveals a man who had had an interesting personal experience, who published it abroad, and thereby popularized the Christ. Let this be the outline of our study.
HE HAD A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
He had been smitten with leprosysorely afflicted.
There came a leper unto Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him; If Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean.
The Old Testament is a Book of types, and it presents leprosy as the perfect symbol of sin. To this hour the lepers of the earth are its profoundly pitied people. Some time since a writer said, At this moment in the Philippines, our missionaries are meeting the leper. They are revealing to him a love which he never expected from earths favored and healthy ones. And, by the use of the X-ray, they are giving positive relief from suffering, and at least a partial healing of the infected parts. Only recently a physician in a leper hospital has solicited musical instruments and organized a leper orchestraa bright-faced group with mandolins, guitar, and flute. The writer continues, Is not that an advance for the Kingdom over the early days of the church. Yes, and in such a work the church reveals the spirit of the Christ.
But the man of our text received more than a tender carethe compassion of the Son of God was shown him, and more than partial recoveryhe was made perfectly whole; for, so soon as He had spoken the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. What the earthly physician can accomplish in part, Christ can perfect. Man can do much to brighten, the lives of his afflicted fellows, but Christ can drive the last cloud from the sky, and flood the heart with light! No stringed instrument could give forth such music as found expression in the depths of this grateful heart. It is questionable whether Christ has ever listened to any oratorio rendered by the angels of Heaven, the music of which sounded more sweetly to Him than did the voice of the man healed at the Gate Beautiful, who went with the Apostles into the temple, Walking and leaping, and praising God. The music of Heaven will be made up of the spontaneous hymns of the healedthe songs of the cleansed and saved.
He had approached Christ with only a partial faith. There are a great many people staying away from Jesus because they do not perfectly believe. This leper believed in His power, but he doubted His compassion. And yet, as Campbell Morgan puts it, Hobbling on one crutch he came, saying, If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. The anxious man, the sorely concerned woman will make a start for the Saviour; and for such Christ always clears the way. A young lady student, in conference with the University minister, said, I believe in religion; but I never recognized Jesus as Divine. He answered, Are you willing to confess yourself a sinner in need of a Saviour? to which she replied in the affirmative. Would you consent to kneel and tell Jesus that you need help, and that if He can grant it you will accept it? I think I would, was her reply. Will you do it just now? After a moments reluctance, knees were bent and the appeal made, and when, after prayer, she arose to her feet, she said, Yes! He is the Son of God. I feel in my soul that He has heard and answered me.
One of the greatest women of modern times says, I was an unbeliever; I doubted the Deity of Jesus Christ, but one day I decided in my mind that I would live as if Jesus were the Son of God, and as if I were responsible to Him as my God, and see what came of such a life. I had no sooner set about such a course in sincerity and earnestness than He made to me such a revelation of Himself as to clear the mind of all doubt, and the heart of all skepticism, and I knew Him to be my Lord. That is in accord with His promiseIf any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, and no man ever came to Christ with a little faith, but he left Him with a larger.
This man received from Christ a perfect blessing. The leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed. The most of you are familiar with The Psalm of Life by Henry W. Longfellow. It was one of the poems with which your youthful mind was wisely stored. It was written in 1839 and soon became one of the most popular in the English language. The story goes that when the great poet was in London, Queen Victoria sent for him to come and see her at the palace. He went, the interview was concluded, and he was climbing into the waiting coach when a man in working clothes approached him, hat in hand, and said, Please, sir, your honor, are you Mr. Longfellow? I am said the poet. And did you write The Psalm of Life? I did, replied the gentleman, And yer honor; would you be willing to take the hand of a plain working man? Mr. Longfellow gave him a hearty handshake, and in referring to it later, said, I counted it the greatest compliment of my life that the man desired it. Ward Beecher relates a kindred experience. When the Plymouth church was being built he picked his way one day through the piles of stone and workmen, and stumbling about, came upon one he knew, and putting out his hand, said cordially, Why, John, how is the work going to-day? The man dropped his load, and seizing his hand, said, Oh, Mr. Beecher, you cant know how it seems to me to have you stop and shake hands. When I get home Ill tell the wife and children how you stopped, and I assure you I am a bigger man because of your recognition, and I will be a better one because of your cordial greeting. And yet, the pride with which Mr. Beecher related this incident at a later time, and the very delight that illumined his face while he told the same, indicated that he had gotten more joy out of that experience than did the man who had supposed himself the subject of special favor. If we could only bring men to see that when they approach Jesus for a blessing they pay to His power and His compassion the compliment His infinite heart craves above all others, we believe that the suffering multitudes would not stay so long away from Him whose heart is blessed in blessing.
HE PUBLISHED IT ABROAD
But he went out and began to publish it much and to blaze abroad the matter.
He continuously advertised the saving power of Christ. The church is in need of just such advertising agents. Business men contend that there is power in oft-repeated ads; and there seems to be in hand just now a perfect illustration of that fact. Those of us who are in middle life were born to a knowledge of St. Jacobs Oil. Our mothers would no more have attempted to keep house without it than to have reared a family without milk. It was in the medicine chest of every mansion; and on the top shelf of the cupboard in every cabin. If one had eczema he used St. Jacobs Oil; if he made a misstroke with the axe, and split his toe, they applied St. Jacobs Oil. Now none so poor as to do it reverence. Another oil has taken its place. We wonder why? I am credibly informed that the change is not necessarily an illustration of the survival of the fittest, but due to the circumstance that the successors of the old manufacturer of St. Jacobs Oil, coming into the business, concluded it was folly to waste so many thousands in advertising. They saved their money and lost their trade!
The repeated hearing or reading of a statement makes a permanent impression. Consequently great business enterprises pay out thousands and tens of thousands of dollars to say over to-day what they said yesterday. This principle obtains in the publishing of the Gospel truth. So far as the record goes, Jonah uttered but a sentence in the streets of Nineveh; but though the long hours of the Syrian day, he walked and cried again, and again, and again, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown until by repetition, he brought four hundred and eighty thousand adults to their knees in penitence.
This convert to Christ knew how to get the cause of his Master before the public.
He published His saving power extensively. The text reads, He blazed abroad the matter. Inasmuch as Christs life was not lived in a corner, neither is the Gospel to be confined to narrow limits. It is ours to blaze it abroad; to reach the multitude with it. An empty seat in the House of God, during the hour of service, has but one explanation some saint has sinned! Even a little loyalty to Jesus would have compelled one to bring another with him, and that seat would have been taken. Our church has now a membership of 3,000. Something more than 2,500 of them live in our city. There ought to be a Gideons Band of a picked five hundred in that twenty-five hundred. If five hundred people brought each a friend to Gods house standing room would always be at a premium in the auditorium. Is there any reason that we could give to God why that is not done?
But when the last seat is taken; and the open spaces are occupied with the standing, this work of blazing abroad the blessings to be had in Christ should be regarded as only begun. There is not a thing to hinder any prominent church from putting five or ten Gospel wagons, or automobiles into the streets for the entire summer months, and in the South the year round. If some will man them, and others will provide the cars, it would make this more extensive publication of the Gospel possible. What it would mean for the cause of Christ and for the building up of the church, if five to ten of the most conspicuous and popular corners of a city were at once taken possession of and held from 6: 30 to 7:30 p. m., through the summer months, no man can imagine!
Beyond that there are bigger opportunities still. Confessedly the newspaper is the present-day medium of power. At an expense of $15,000 to $20,000 a year a church reaches, on Sunday and week days, a few thousand people. At an expense of an additional $2,000.00 or $3,000.00, she could preach the Gospel, through the daily newspaper, to well nigh a half million of people. The great Moody Church, Chicago, once saw this opportunity and availed themselves of it, and every Saturday they took a column in the newspaper that had the largest circulation known to the Chicago press, and though it cost them $6,000 per annum, they counted it a blessed investment. America never produced a keener intellect nor a saner spirit than that of Wendell Phillips. Seldom in his life did he utter a word that was not worthy of earnest consideration; and, Phillips said, The newspaper is parent, school, college, pulpit, example, counsel all in one. Every drop of our blood is colored by it. Let me make the newspaper and I care not who makes the religion or the laws. But for the newspaper, Wendell Phillips could never have won his glorious contention for freedom. Through its pages, yea by its very criticisms, he commanded the attention of the nation, and made his bitterest opponent the very medium of his glorious triumph.
De Witt Talmage was a remarkable man and in the day of his strength attracted four thousand auditors. But that was a little work beside what he accomplished through the printed page. The newspapers of America gave him an audience of millions, and no minister of modern times ever moved such a multitude Godward. Bryan at the time of his death was reaching the world by the printed page. The column of the daily newspaper is the opportunity of the church. To decline its employment is to miss the first chance of exalting the Christ and advancing His cause. A careful study of the successful pastors and churches of modern times will show that they have appreciated the power of printers ink. Dwight L. Moody, the peerless evangelist, was a pioneer in this respect. His appearance in a city was a signal for having the town sown down with tickets of invitation and the columns of the press teem with announcements of the meetings. If I called the names of the six most successful ministers in America to-day, and paid proper tribute to the good work they are accomplishing, some small critics would, sneeringly reply, They are great advertisers! which is only another way of intimating that the man who makes promises in the newspapers should be able to deliver the goods. Need a Gospel minister fail in that? What so superb as his message; and what sorer need does the world know than its need of the very same?
Charles Spurgeon was perhaps the best advertised man in England. He knew the power of the press and employed it, and often made mention of results from the same. In concluding an address one day, he said, You will remember that one morning I mentioned the case of an infidel who had been a scorner and scoffer; but who, through reading one of my printed sermons, had been brought to God and to Gods house. Let me now tell you the sequel of that. On last Christmas Day that same infidel gathered together all his books and went into a public place in Norwich and there made a public recantation of his infidelity and a statement of his acceptance of Christ, and burned them all in the sight of the people. I have praised God for such a wonder of grace as that! That prodigal of power was turned from a malicious opposition of Christ to be a message-bearer for Him, by the printed page. If our Gospel has wrought for us what we say, it is our business to publish it much, yea even to blaze it abroad.
HE POPULARIZED THE CHRIST
He stirred up opposition to Him; He excited interest in Him; He originated a church for Him.
He stirred up opposition to Him. In consequence of his going out and publishing it much and blazing abroad the matter Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places.
Any faithful advertiser of the work of Jesus Christ will create opposition. The last compliment a Christian minister, or a Christian church, ought to crave is to have all men speak well of him or it. Christ has declared, Woe unto you when all men speak well of you. It is a sure sign that you are not striking sin. It is proof positive that you are not calling men to repentance. It is an unanswerable evidence that you are compromising with the world, the flesh, and the devil.
When Charles Spurgeon began his ministry in London, his sermons were often misquoted, his deeds were constantly misrepresented, and he himself was caricatured in most repulsive forms. Russell Conwell says, He appeared in the periodicals of the times sometimes as a monkey, on other occasions as a flytrap, once as a pig; on another occasion as the devil himself. But, adds Conwell, all these advertised him largely and proved ultimately to be of great good to the cause. Persons sought Christ at almost every service, and it would have caused great surprise if a week had passed at any time without a number of conversions. It is infinitely better to so preach the Gospel as to stir opposition than it is to leave men indifferent alike to it and to its Christ.
He excited an interest in Christ.
Jesus was without in desert places and they came to Him from every quarter.
One of the most successful Methodist ministers in America, some years since, was appointed to a charge, in South Boston, that was sadly run down. The church stood in the midst of a boarding house population back of the old State House on Beacon Hill. He made up his mind to reach the multitudes of that vicinity. One day he went down to the Rope Walk, as they call it. About two hundred and fifty young men and women were coming out of a factory, While I was there waiting, he says, with a package of invitations to the church services, a fellow came down with a load of the vilest of all vile illustrated papers to give to these same people. He was like a pack horse, and was about the most degraded looking specimen I had come across. He gave me a knowing wink as if to say, There are two of us. I confess I was nonplussed, and felt pretty cheap to be found in the company of this degraded fellow giving out his vile stuff. But almost instantly the thought came, This is only a picture of what is going on all over the world. It is a fight with the devil for souls; it is a constant competition. I am here in noble interests to get these young boys and girls for Christ, and I will remain and contest this ground with this lewd fellow! And so I went straight on, putting out my cards. And while the minister does not say it in that connection, the world knows that he reached the crowds and he created an interest in Jesus Christ; and men and women alike, by the hundreds, were induced to accept Christ as their Saviour during the days of his ministry in that city.
He created a true church of Christ.
They came to Him from every quarter.
Wherever you get needy men in a circle, Christ is in the midst of themthe former seeking blessing, and the latter conferring it, you begin a church. Jesus once said that where two or three are gathered together in My Name there will I be in the midst of them. That is a church! But may I call your special attention to definitiontwo or three gathered together in Christs Name with Christ in the midst that is a church. If it is three hundred it is a bigger church; and if it is three thousand, a bigger one still, and if they are assembled in Christs Name, with Christ in the midst, perhaps the bigger the better. But mark you, in that church no Jew would be found, for a Jew does not assemble in Christs Name; no Unitarian would be found, for he has rejected Christ; no reverent agnostic would have special place, for the Name of Christ means very little to him, and no atheist would care to be included, for when he calls Christs Name it is to repudiate, and not to praise it. The church that brings about a conservation of our spiritual forces will necessarily be a church in which Christ Himself is honored, and will show a virility which is accounted for by the presence of His Holy Spirit. Mr. Tee, a writer of some time ago, had A Cathedral Dream and a magazine quoted him to this effect, As I see the church of the future, we are not going to give up anything. We are going to insist upon having a great central cathedral in every city which shall belong to us. The church of the future is going to be a great spiritual metropolis, every man going there, every man belonging there. Men shall feel in church as in some great hushed city of each others lives. It shall be the one place where a man can go with a whole human race and face God. The church of the future is going to give room to everymans life while he has it. If it does this, we will all get together. And, if we all get together, the cathedral is inevitable. We will soon give God a body on the earth. The church in every town at last shall be to every man the greatest thing he knows. It shall be like the sky over the other things. The nations of the earth shall be seen kneeling in it, and all the institutions of the sons of menthe universities, the corporations, the very railroads, the stately lines of ships from around the seas, shall bow themselves, and the great brutal mines from the hollows of the earth, all these shall come and be seen kneeling there before the God who is the God of all, with its hundreds of voices, its hundreds of instruments of praise, its scores of preachers, its unceasing services, and kinds of services, it shall enfold all men in one prayer and song.
That is almost as eloquent as some of Mrs. Eddys sentences are grandiloquent and has in it about as much common sense as characterizes Christian Science; and, if such a thing were possible, even a more meager modicum of Scripture.
We need no new-definition of the Church, but a realization of the original meaning of the word, men assembled in the Name of Christ, and Christ in the midst; we need no new invention to effect a virility in the church, but a realization of the presence of the Holy Spirit; we need 110 new message to, or through, the church, but, rather, the recovery of the old message, and its delivery in the power of the Holy Ghost. A church made up after the Bible manner will never be content with mere assemblies; its members will come in for instruction and inspiration, but the same Spirit that assembles them, will commission them and send them forth; the sanctuary will not be a mere place of assembly, but a point of departure to the uttermost parts of the earth; its walls will not hold all our religion, but merely help it so that when we go beyond them, it will be in the interest of bringing the saving truth of the Son of God to the knowledge of men, women and children, and that without respect of person or station. The Gospel of such a church will not be preached from a plushed-carpeted pulpit merely, or heard merely by people that sit in comfortable, high-priced pews, but re-delivered by the members that make it up, in shop and office, and on street corners, as they have opportunity; by word of mouth, by published tracts, by secular press, by missions at home and abroad. The sanctuary will simply be a place to which we will come to light the fires of life, and from which we will go to carry them to the uttermost parts of the city; to the uttermost parts of the state, to the uttermost parts of the earth. Aggressive co-operation under the Spirit will accomplish such a church; and its con-quests are as sure as the power and promises of our Christ.
Once the welcome light has broken,Who shall say What the unimagined glories of the day:What the evil that shall perish in its ray?Men of thought and men of action,Clear the way!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(45) But he went out.St. Mark alone describes the man himself as the agent in spreading the report of the miracle, and gives in more vivid terms than St. Luke the consequent pressure of the multitude, and the necessity for retirement into desert places.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
45. To blaze abroad This shows the full wisdom of Jesus in forbidding him to tell any man. The rumour raised a tumult and a crowd and an excitement wholly unlike the gentle and spiritual movement it was the purpose of Jesus to create. Could no more openly enter The tumult was getting too great for the good of the people, or for the quiet of government. Our Lord and the crowd were in danger of attracting the suspicious notice of the authorities. From every quarter Even his sacred retirement was haunted with their visits.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But he went out and began to proclaim the story in detail and to spread abroad the matter (Greek: logos) in so much that he could no more openly enter into a town, but was outside in desert places. And they came to him from every quarter.’
That the first part of this sentence refers to the man and not to Jesus is evidenced by the contrast with the previous verse. The second part, of course, refers to Jesus.
‘He went out.’ This whole incident must have taken place over a period of time for we must assume that first of all he did what he was told and went to the priests for a certificate of cleansing, which would take a minimum of seven days in addition to travelling time. Indeed had he not done so no one would have listened to him, for they would have seen him as still unclean. But having obtained his certificate he then went and spread abroad what had happened to him instead of doing what Jesus had asked him to. Possibly he thought that the silence enjoined was only until he had received his certificate of cleansing. Or it may just be that he was so amazed and so grateful that he could not keep quiet.
But in doing so he did Jesus a bad turn, for the result was that huge crowds who were coming for the wrong purpose gathered to see Jesus, with the result that for a time He was squeezed out of the towns and had to remain in desert places. But even this action accomplished little, for everyone flocked to see Him wherever He was. They came to Him from all directions.
There has been no mention in this whole passage of Isa 61:1-2, but in Luk 4:18-19 Jesus early in His ministry certainly cites those verses of Himself, and they equally certainly refer to what we find here in Mark, for He is anointed with the Spirit (Mar 1:10-12), He proclaims the Good News (Mar 1:15), He releases captives (Mar 1:26), and He offers freedom to those who were bruised (Mar 1:42). Mark may well therefore have had Isa 61:1-2 in mind. Isaiah then goes on to speak of the coming of the acceptable year of the Lord which is the thought that lies behind chapter 2.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 1417
THE LEPER HEALED
Mar 1:45. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
THERE is certainly a great similarity between many of our Lords miracles: but there are in every one of them some circumstances that distinguish them from others; and these open to us a wide field for appropriate and useful observations. There are different accounts of lepers healed by the power of Jesus. The text informs us of one whose manner of applying for relief, and of discovering his gratitude towards his benefactor, were very peculiar.
To elucidate the words before us we may inquire,
I.
What the matter was which he so published and blazed abroad
A man came to our Lord to be cured of the leprosy
[The leprosy was a disorder which none but God could cure [Note: 2Ki 5:7.]. The man who was infected with it believed our Lords ability to heal him, but he knew not the marvellous extent of his compassion: hence he doubted his willingness to bestow so great a blessing. He submitted himself however to the will of this divine Physician, and with deepest humility implored his sovereign help [Note: He came kneeling to him, falling on his face, and beseeching him. Compare Mat 8:2. Luk 5:12.].]
Our Lord with infinite condescension granted his request
[He was not extreme to mark the weakness of the lepers faith; but, moved with compassion, gave him the desired relief. As a prophet of God he could touch the leper without contracting any defilement: he declared that the disease should vanish at his command, and instantly, by a touch, imparted soundness to the disordered body.]
He however accompanied the mercy with a solemn charge
II.
What was the injunction given him respecting it
Our Lord directed him to go to the priest, and present immediately the accustomed offerings to God
[The priests were appointed judges in all leprous cases. They were authorized to pronounce a man clean or unclean, according to certain marks laid down in the law of Moses [Note: Lev 13:1-46]. When a man was acknowledged to be clean he was to present his offerings to God [Note: Lev 14:2-32.]. This therefore our Lord enjoined the the leprous man to do. In doing it he would exact from the priest himself a testimony to the truth of the miracle that had been wrought, and would give abundant evidence that the person who wrought it was not an enemy to the Mosaic law; yea, he would shew that the worker of this miracle was no other than the Messiah himself.]
He charged him also not to divulge the matter to any one till he should have performed this service
[The injunction given our Lord was as solemn and strict as possible [Note: , graviter interminatus ei, ver. 43.]. Jesus might be actuated in part by desire to avoid all appearance of ostentation. It is possible also he might wish not to give umbrage to the state by increasing the number of his followers; but chiefly he was solicitous to guard against the malice of the priests. He well knew that they, from their enmity to him, might be induced to deny the cure, and thus they would both cast a reflection upon him, and deprive the man of the liberty to which he was now entitled. Hence with such solemnity and authority did he enjoin the leper to say nothing to any man.]
This charge however the leper did not sufficiently regard
III.
What were the consequences of his disobeying that injunction
The man could not refrain from publishing the matter to all around him
[He felt in his body a consciousness of perfect health; and, as might well be expected, his soul was inflamed with gratitude to his merciful Benefactor: he never thought what reasons there might be for the prohibition. It is probable he thought the injunction proceeded only from modesty, and the more he supposed it to proceed from this principle, the more would he be anxious to spread his Benefactors fame. To offer his appointed gift he went instantly, and with great gladness; but he knew not how to check the ardour of his love and gratitude; nor can we wonder that he overlooked the command given him. We mean not however to justify his disobedience: for the word of God utterly condemns every deviation from the Divine will [Note: Deu 27:26.]: but the lepers disobedience most assuredly sprang from a good principle; nor can we doubt but that the indulgent Saviour, who well knew his motives, would readily pardon it.]
Though evil consequences ensued, yet were they overruled for good
[Our Lords fame spread with great rapidity through all the country. Hence he was much incommoded by the multitudes who flocked around him; nor could he any more openly enter into the city by reason of them. He was forced to seek for solitude and retirement in desert places: but the multitudes who came were desirous to hear his word; and occasion also was afforded by them for the working of many other miracles [Note: Luk 5:15.]. Thus great benefit accrued to the bodies certainly, and we trust also, to the souls, of many.]
Address
1.
Are there any here who feel themselves infected with the leprosy of sin?
[The corruption of our hearts is often set forth under this figure: nor is there one amongst us that is not infected with it. Indeed so fatally has it spread, that we may well apply to ourselves that lothesome description [Note: Isa 1:5-6.] and, in reference to this very disorder, exclaim with the prophet [Note: Isa 6:5.], Woe is me, I am undone! Let not any one however who feels the infection, hope to heal himself: the disorder bids defiance to every hand but Gods. Come then to Jesus, the almighty, the only, physician of souls: come to him, like the leper, with the deepest humility, and reverence; nor doubt his willingness, any more than his power, to heal you. Ask yourselves, wherefore he came from heaven? Was it not to seek and save the lost? Wherefore was the fountain of his blood opened, but for sin, and for uncleanness [Note: Zec 13:1]? Let then the declaration he has made, encourage every one amongst you [Note: Joh 6:37.]. However polluted you be, he will condescend to touch you, and by his sovereign power will remove the guilt and pollution of your sins.]
2.
Are there, on the other hand, any who hope that they have been healed of their leprosy?
[There is no injunction upon you to conceal this matter from the world: you are rather commanded to make it known to all around you. He said to the demoniac, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath bad compassion on thee [Note: Mar 5:19.] And thus also he says to you. Not that spiritual blessings should be a subject of ostentatious boasting [Note: Pro 25:27; Pro 27:2.]; but it never can be wrong to comply with that ardent exhortation of the Psalmist [Note: Psa 105:1-3.] or to perform that very duty, for the promoting of which the mercy was vouchsafed [Note: 1Pe 2:9.]. Let every one then adopt the language of the blessed virgin [Note: Luk 1:46-48.] but let there be also a conscientious regard to the commands of Jesus. Whether we see the reasons of them or not, we must punctually observe them. Thus will Christ eventually be magnified in our contact, and sinners will be most effectually encouraged to flock unto him.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS.
READER! let us, while opening this precious record of the beginning of the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, the SON of GOD, look up for grace from the Spirit of GOD, that the outward ministry of the word may be accompanied with inward instructions in our souls, to make us wise unto salvation through the faith that is in CHRIST JESUS. May the HOLY Three, which bear record in heaven, grant to us such sweet testimonies in our hearts and consciences of the truth as it is in JESUS, that we may enjoy that life eternal, to know the LORD JEHOVAH, FATHER, SON, and SPIRIT, to be the only true GOD and JESUS CHRIST whom he hath sent. Precious beginning of the Gospel, I would say; beginning, as it did, before all worlds, when hid in GOD, who created all things by JESUS CHRIST, and now made manifest by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, to the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of GOD!
Here LORD I behold thy herald, the Baptist, preparing thy way before thee! Come, LORD, and bring my soul under the baptism of thy HOLY SPIRIT. Prepare me, by His enlightnings, to stand against the temptations of the devil. Oh! for the distinguishing calls of my LORD, as to his disciples. LORD! dispossess every unclean affection from my heart; and do thou reign there, and rule there, the LORD of life and glory! So will my soul, by thy grace, be made clean, though, in myself, polluted as the leper; and JESUS will be my LORD and my GOD, and my portion forever!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
Ver. 45. Could no more openly enter ] For press of people, he was so frequented that he was forced to withdraw.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
45. ] , he lost no time in doing it.
] not, ‘ what Jesus had said to him ,’ but the account , of his healing.
tells us more than would have done. Our Lord did not wish to put a stop to the multitudes seeking Him, but only to avoid that kind of concourse which would have beset Him in the towns : the seeking to Him for teaching and healing still went or and that from all parts.
CHAP. Mar 2:1-12 . ] HEALING OF A PARALYTIC AT CAPERNAUM. Mat 9:2-8 , where see notes. Luk 5:17-26 . The three are evidently independent accounts; Mark’s, as usual, the most precise in details; e.g. “ borne of four ;” Luke’s also bearing marks of an eye-witness (see Mar 1:19 , end); Matthew’s apparently at second hand.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 1:45 . What Jesus feared seems to have happened. The man went about telling of his cure, and neglecting the means necessary to obtain social recognition as cured. : “the matter,” A. V [3] Perhaps we should translate strictly the word, i.e. , the word Jesus spoke: “I will, be thou clean”. So Holtz. after Fritzsche. So also Euthy. Zig. ( , , , , ). : the result was that Jesus could not enter openly into a city , a populous place, but was obliged to remain in retired spots. This cure and the popularity it caused may have co-operated to bring Christ’s synagogue ministry to an abrupt termination by stirring up envy. Jesus was between two fires, and His order to the leper, “Go, show thyself,” had a double reference: to the man’s good and to the conciliation of the scribes and synagogue rulers. , etc.: and (still) they kept coming from all quarters. Popularity at its height. There is nothing corresponding to Mar 1:45 in Mt.
[3] Authorised Version.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
publish = proclaim. Same word as “preach” in verses: Mar 1:4, Mar 1:7, Mar 1:14, Mar 4:38, Mar 4:39. See App-121.
could no more = was no longer able to.
the city = any city.
in. Greek. en, as in Mar 1:2. But T Tr. WH read epi. App-104.
came = kept coming.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
45.] , he lost no time in doing it.
] not, what Jesus had said to him, but the account, of his healing.
tells us more than would have done. Our Lord did not wish to put a stop to the multitudes seeking Him, but only to avoid that kind of concourse which would have beset Him in the towns: the seeking to Him for teaching and healing still went or and that from all parts.
CHAP. Mar 2:1-12.] HEALING OF A PARALYTIC AT CAPERNAUM. Mat 9:2-8, where see notes. Luk 5:17-26. The three are evidently independent accounts; Marks, as usual, the most precise in details; e.g. borne of four; Lukes also bearing marks of an eye-witness (see Mar 1:19, end); Matthews apparently at second hand.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 1:45.[16] , no longer) Christ therefore was ready to teach rather in the cities, than in the place to which the men were going out.
[16] , to publish) This public and spontaneous proclaiming of facts served to give speedy publicity to facts worthy of remembrance: see ch. Mar 5:20. Yet, in this place, it would have been better for the man to have obeyed Christs inhibition.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
and began: Psa 77:11, Mat 9:31, Luk 5:15, Tit 1:10
could: Mar 2:1, Mar 2:2, Mar 2:13
Reciprocal: Mat 9:26 – the fame hereof Mar 1:28 – General Mar 6:14 – his name Mar 6:31 – come Mar 7:36 – General Luk 4:15 – being Luk 4:37 – the fame Luk 4:42 – and the Luk 8:39 – and published Luk 16:16 – and every Joh 5:15 – and told
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
This verse indicates why the man was told not to report his case to any man. The people were so worked up over it that they interferred with the work of Jesus and caused him to go into desert places which were those not populated.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 1:45. And began to publish it much. This he did at once (began). Whether he went to the priest at all is not mentioned; but he was disobedient at all events in this matter, which is mentioned by Mark only.
Spread abroad the matter. Lit., the word, i.e., the account of what had happened, not the word of Jesus. This was wrong, a specimen and type of the injudicious zeal, all too common among those whom the Lord blesses.
Could no more. Moral inability. His purpose would have been defeated by entering where the people were excited by this report. The evil effect of the lepers disobedience.Into a city. Meaning in general into town, not the particular city where the numbers had been healed.
Was without in desert places. Not to avoid the people, for it is added: and they came to him from every quarter, and Luke, without stating that the leper himself had spread the report, tells of this effect of the miracle. Some think our Lord, after touching the leper, was unclean according to the Jewish law, and hence remained in desert places. But He would not have acted from this motive unless He acknowledged the uncleanness, and such an acknowledgment could not be affected by the lepers report, which is said to be the cause of His keeping away from the cities. Nor would the multitudes have come thus to an unclean person. The retirement was rather from motives of prudence, to avoid exciting the multitudes with their carnal expectations and prematurely increasing the hostility already awakened at Jerusalem (Joh 4:1) and beginning to show itself in Galilee. See next section. This hostility must be regarded as much greater, if we accept the view that the events recorded in John 5 had occurred before the Galilean ministry.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mar 1:45. But he went out, and began to publish it much, &c. But the man, instead of concealing the cure, was so overjoyed at the suddenness and greatness of the blessing, and of the divine mercy manifested toward him in so miraculous a deliverance, that he could not forbear publishing it everywhere; insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city Namely, of Capernaum: to prevent which inconvenience, as well as for the other reasons mentioned in the note on Mat 8:4, our Lord had enjoined him silence: but was without, in desert places Was obliged to retire into a neighbouring wilderness, to refresh his body with rest, and his spirit with meditation and prayer. And they came to him from every quarter Even into the wilderness, remote as it was from the habitations of many of them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 45
Could no more openly enter, &c. It was to prevent the evils arising from such a wide-spread and high excitement, that Jesus often charged those whose cases were most remarkable, not to speak publicly of the circumstances of their cure.–Desert places; solitary places, away from habitations.