Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 5:43
And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
43. something should be given her to eat ] At once to strengthen the life thus wonderfully restored, and to prove that she was no spirit, but had really returned to the realities of a mortal existence.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 5:21; Mar 5:23; Mar 5:35; Mar 5:43
Jairus by name.
–
A proper prayer
Better prayers, perhaps, had been offered. He would have shown more faith if he had prayed like the centurion (Luk 7:7). But, though he does not show such strong faith, yet it is a good prayer. For it is
(1) humble: he falls at Christs feet;
(2) believing: he feels Christ is omnipotent to heal;
(3) bold: he offers it in face of all the people, many of whom would be shocked that a ruler of the synagogue should acknowledge Jesus;
(4) loving, springing from a pure affection. Distress is a great schoolmaster. It teaches men many things; among the rest the greatest of all attainments-the power to pray. (R. Glover.)
A revived flower
And that bright flower bloomed in the vase of that happy home, more beautiful because the look of Jesus had given it new tints and the breath of Jesus had given it new fragrance. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
Jairus daughter
Jairus was a good man. His light was small, but real. It was feeble, but from heaven.
I. He had much to try his faith. One seems to see all the father in the tenderness of his words. Hope was over,-his daughter was dead. Thus is it with the believer. Instead of the relief he hoped for, all seems as death. Thus does the Lord try the faith He gives. Thus by causing us to wait for the blessing does He endear it.
II. The effect of this trial of faith. He did not distrust the power or willingness of the compassionate Saviour. His faith takes no denial, he still continues with Jesus. Faith hopes against hope. True faith partakes of his nature who exercises it, therefore in all, it is weak at times. But it partakes also of His nature who gives it, and therefore evinces its strength in the very midst of that weakness.
III. But wherever found, it is graciously rewarded. The scorners are without; but believing Jairus and the believing mother (Mar 5:40) are admitted. They see the mighty power of God put forth on behalf of their daughter. What an encouragement here to some anxious parent to put the case of their dear child in the hands of that same Jesus. How often has domestic affliction been the means of bringing the soul to the feet of Jesus. Mark the extreme tenderness of Jesus, Fear not, only believe. Be not afraid convicted sinner. My blood is sufficient, My grace and love are sufficient. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
The Humane Society
I. The particular form of the Redeemers work.
1. Restoration from a special form of death.
2. Here was the recognition of the value of life-She shall live. It is not mere life on which Christianity has shed a richer value. It is by ennobling the purpose to which life is to be dedicated that it has made life more precious.
3. We consider the Saviours direction respecting the means of effecting a complete recovery. He commanded that something should be given her to eat. His reverential submission to the laws of nature.
II. The spirit of the Redeemers work.
1. It was love. He did good because it was good.
2. It was a spirit of retiring modesty. He did not wish it to be known.
3. It was a spirit of perseverance. Calm perseverance amidst ridicule. (F. W. Robertson.)
Not dead, but sleeping
Nature puts on a shroud at seasons, and seems to glide into the grave of winter. Autumnal blasts come sobbing through the trees, and leaf after leaf, shrivelling its fibres at the killing contact, comes drifting to the ground. The hedgerows where the May flowers and the dog rose mixed their scents are stripped and bare, and lift their thorny fingers up to heaven. The field where fat and wealthy-looking crops a while ago promised their golden sheaves, is now spread over with a coarse fringe of stubble, and seems a sort of hospital of vegetation. The garden shows no more its beauties, nor sheds forth its scent, but where the coloured petal and the painted cup of the gay flower were seen, there stands a blighted stem, or a drooping tuft of refuse herbs. The birds which carolled to the summer sky have fled away, and their note no longer greets the ear. The very daisies on the meadow are buried in the snow wreath, and the raw blast howls a sad requiem at the funeral of nature. But those trees, whose leafless branches seem to wrestle with the rough winds that toss them, are not dead. Anon, and they shall again be wreathed in verdure and bedecked with blossom. The softened breath of spring shall whisper to the snowdrop to dart forth its modest head, and shall broider the garden path again with flowers; the fragrance of the hawthorn bloom ere long shall gush from those naked hedge rows, and the returning lark shall wake the morning with a new and willing song. No, nature is not dead! There is a resurrection coming on. Spring with its touch of wizardry shall wake her from her slumbers, and sound again the keynote of the suspended music of the spheres. So also shall there arise out of the raging conflagration, in whose fevered heat the elements shall melt and shrivel like a scroll-even out of the very ashes which betoken its consumption-a new heaven and a new earth-an earth as ethereal and pure as heaven itself-and a heaven as substantial and as living as the earth. And consentaneously with the arising of these new worlds; the tombs shall open, and send forth the shrouded tenants, to enter on the inheritance which, in that new economy, shall be theirs. Can you believe that faded flowers shall revive at the blithe beckoning of the spring, that little leaves will quietly unfold at the mandate of the morning, and yet there shall be no spring to beckon the mortal back to life, and no morning to command the clay to clothe itself with the garments of a quickening spirit? Can you believe that the great temple shall arise with all its shrines rebuilded, and its altars purified after the final burning, but that there shall be neither voice nor trumpet to call forth the high priest from his slumber to worship at those shrines, and to lay a more enduring offering upon those waiting altars? Is the fuel to be ever laid, and none to kindle the burnt offering? Is the sanctuary to be prepared, and none to pay the service? Is the bridegroom to stand alone before the altar, and no bride to meet him at the nuptials? God forbid! The high priest is not dead-the bride has not perished-they are not dead, but sleep. Sound forth the trumpet, and say that all is ready, and then the corruptible will put on incorruption, and the mortal will put on immortality. Thus, when we lay our kindred in the earth, and follow to their final resting place the last remains of those who occupied a cherished chamber in our hearts-while nature finds it hard to dry the tear and quench the sigh-faith ever lifts the spirit from its sad despondency, by assuring us of a reunion beyond the grave-and robs the monster of one half his terrors-weakening his stroke and taking away his sting, by changing the mystic trance into which he throws his victims into a transient sleep, and speaking of a waking time of happiness and icy. Nature will look on death as an assassin who murders those we love; but Faith regards him as a nurse who hushes them to sleep, and sings a lullaby and not a requiem beside their bed. To faith it is a sleeping draught and not a poison which the visitor holds to the drinkers lips; for it hails the time when the lethargy of the sepulchre shall be cast off, and the spirit shall arise like a tired slumberer refreshed by sleep, to spend an endless morning in the energy of an endless youth. (A. Mursell.)
The death of the young encourages a spirit of dependence on God in the home life of this world
It brings the unseen Hand to bear very directly and potently on the souls deepest and most hidden springs. Let us suppose for a moment that there was a revealed ordinance of heaven that every, human being born into this world should live to three-score years and ten, and then quietly lie down to rest, and awake in eternity. Would it enrich or impoverish the life of the human world? I venture to think that it would impoverish it unspeakably. The passage of these little ones through the veil, of infants and children, of young men and maidens, of men and women in their prime, brings Gods hand very near, and keeps its pressure on the most powerful springs of our nature, our warmest affection, and our most constant and active care. It is not the uncertainty which is the strongest element of the influence, though no doubt that keeps us vigilant and anxious, and helps to maintain the full strain of our power. It is rather the constant contact with a Higher Will, which keeps us in humble, hopeful dependence, which gives and withholds, lends and recalls, by a wisdom which we cannot fathom, but which demands our trust on the basis of a transcendent manifestation of all-suffering and all-sacrificing love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
The death of the young imparts a consecrating influence to the home life
It brings heaven all round us when we know that at any moment the veil may be lifted, and a dear life may vanish from our sight, not, blessed be Christ, into the shades, but into the brightness which is beyond. And when the life has vanished it leaves a holy and consecrating memory in the home. Something is in the home on earth which also belongs to the home on high. Never does the home life and all its relations seem so beautiful, so profound, so sacred, as when Death has laid his touch on a little one, and gathered it as a starry flower for the fields of light on high. It makes the life of the home more anxious, more burdened by care and pain, but more blessed. The nearness at any moment of resistless Death makes us find a dearer meaning in the word, the whole family in heaven and on earth-a thought which saturates the whole New Testament, and is not dependent on one text for its revelation. We know then how precious is its meaning, and earth gains by its loss as well as heaven. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
The death of the young lends a tender, home life interest to the life of the unseen world
The home, remember, is where the children are. There are those of us who never found the deeper meaning of the Fathers love and the everlasting home till a dear child had gone on before. The death of the little ones, while it ought to make the earthly life heaven-like on the one hand, is meant to make heaven home-like on the other. The Lord dethroned and discrowned Death by bearing the human form, living, through His realm of terror. The living Lord abolished death by living on through death, and flashing the splendours of heaven through the shades. The children, as they follow Christ through the gloom, make Death seem beautiful as an angel. Thenceforth we, too, have, not our citizenship only, but our home life in the two worlds. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Jesus stronger than death
And just remember, that when Jesus allows death to knock at your door, and to come in, it is not because death is stronger than He. It is because He has a good reason for permitting it. He is so completely the Master of death that He makes it His messenger to do His bidding; and when death comes to our dwelling and takes away one we love, let us bear in mind that death is not Jesus enemy but His messenger. He is like an angel; he takes away our friend in his bosom. He has no power at all over us without Jesus. (Anon.)
The healing of Jairus daughter
I. The ease brought before Jesus. A bodily disease as usual. No spiritual cases, though more important.
II. The persons who brought it. A ruler, etc. He had heard Christs teaching. He had seen His miracles. No mention made, etc., till distress.
III. The character in which he came-a parent.
IV. The manner in which he came. Reverently. Earnestly. Believingly.
V. At the request of Jairus, Christ arose and accompanied him. Christ encouraged such applications-He does so still (Expository Discourses.)
I. Christs restorative power transcends the ordinary expectations of mankind.
II. Christs restorative power is exerted on certain conditions.
1. Earnest entreaty.
2. A reverential spirit.
III. Christs restorative power accomplishes its object with the greatest ease.
IV. Christs restorative power confounds the scoffing sceptic with its result. Scoffing infidelity is destined to be confounded. There were scoffers in the days of Noah and they were confounded when the deluge came. There were scoffers in the days of Lot, and they were confounded when the showers of fire fell. There are scoffers now, and when they shall see Him coming in His glory with all His holy angels, these atheists, deists, and materialists, will be utterly confounded. (David Thomas, D. D.)
Death a sleep
Homer fittingly calls sleep the brother of death; they are so much alike. On the lips of Jesus, however, the word sleep acquires a richer and mightier import than it ever possessed before. Amply has His use of the term been justified in the last hour of tens of thousands of his devout followers. They laid themselves down to die, not as those who dread the night because of the remembrance of hours when, like Job, they were scared with dreams and terrified through visions, but like tired labourers, to whom night is indeed a season of peaceful refreshment. And how imperceptibly they sank into their last slumber! Their transition was so mild and gradual, that it was impossible for those who stood round their dying pillow to say exactly when it took place. There was no struggle, no convulsion. The angel of death spread his wide, white wings meekly over them, and then, with a smile upon their pallid countenance, serene and lovely as heaven itself, they closed their eyes on all terrestrial objects, and fell asleep in Jesus. And that sleep is as profound throughout as it was tranquil at the beginning. The happy fireside and the busy exchange-the halls of science and the houses of legislation-the oft-frequented walk and the holy temple-are nothing to them now. Suns rise and set, stars travel and glisten; but they see them not; tempests howl, thunders roll and crash; but they hear them not. Nothing can disturb those slumbers, till the day dawn and the shadows flee away. Then will the voice of the archangel sweep over Gods acre, and awake them all. Oh, wondrous awaking! what momentous consequences hang on thee! (Edwin Davies.)
Death a sleep
I. Sleep is rest, or gives rest to the body: so death.
1. Rest from labour and travail.
2. Rest from trouble and opposition.
3. Rest from passion and grief.
4. Rest from sin, temptation, Satan, and the law.
II. Sleep is not perpetual; we sleep and wake again; so, though the body lie in the grave, yet death is but a sleep; we shall wake again.
III. The sleep of some men differs very much from that of others: So the death of saints differs from that of the wicked.
1. Some men sleep before their work is done; so some die before their salvation is secured.
2. Some fall asleep in business and great distraction, others in peace.
3. Some dread the thought of dying, because of the dangers that lie beyond. But saints have no fear.
4. Some fall asleep in dangerous places, and in the midst of their enemies-on the brink of hell, surrounded by the spirits of perdition. But saints die in the view of Jesus; in the love and covenant of Jesus.
IV. A man that sleeps is generally easily awakened: So the body in death shall be much more easily awakened at the last day than the soul can now be aroused from its sleep of sin. (B. Keach.)
Why death of the godly is called sleep
The reason why the death of the godly is called a sleep in Scripture is this: because there is a fit resemblance between it and natural sleep; which resemblance consists chiefly in these things.
1. In bodily sleep men rest from the labours of mind and body. So the faithful, dying in the Lord, are said to rest from their labours (Rev 14:13).
2. After natural sleep men are accustomed to awake again; so, after death, the bodies of the saints shall be awaked, i.e., raised up again to life out of their graves at the last flay. And as it is easy to awake one out of a natural sleep, so is it much more easy with God, by His almighty power, to raise the dead at the last day.
3. As after natural sleep the body and outward senses are more fresh and lively than before; so likewise after that the bodies of the saints, being dead, have for a time slept in their graves as in beds, they shall awake and rise again at the last day in a far more excellent state than they died in, being changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonour to glory, from weakness to power, from natural to spiritual bodies (1Co 15:42).
4. As in natural sleep the body only is said properly to sleep, not the soul (the powers whereof work even in sleep in some sort, though not so perfectly as when we are waking): so in death, only the bodies of the saints do die and lie down in the graves, but their souls return to God who gave them (Ecc 12:7), and they live with God even in death and alter death.
5. As sleep is sweet to those who are wearied with labour and travail (Ecc 5:12), so also death is sweet and comfortable to the faithful, being wearied and turmoiled with sin, and with the manifold miseries of this life. (G. Petter.)
Death of children
God cultivates many flowers, seemingly only for their exquisite beauty and fragrance. For when, bathed in soft sunshine, they have burst into blossom, then the Divine hand gathers them from the earthly fields to be kept in crystal vases in the deathless mansions above. Thus little children die-some in the sweet bud, some in the fallen blossom; but never too early to make heaven fairer and sweeter with their immortal bloom. (Wadsworth.)
Goeth in where the child was: Christ in the chamber of death
I. A good child is at home in either world, not sorry to go to the other world to get joy, and not sorry to come back to this world to give it.
II. We know not where the other world is, but it is evidently within range of the Saviours voice. Our dear dead are therefore safe and all their conditions ordered by the Saviours mercy.
III. Life is indestructible by death.
IV. On a universal scale Christ will be found to be the Resurrection and the Life to all who love Him.
V. He inflicts bereavement, but sympathises with its sorrow. He relieves these mourners here, to show that He pities all mourners. (R. Glover.)
Talitha cumi
He uses what were, perhaps, the words used every morning by her mother on waking her-Little one, get up. (R. Glover.)
The raising of Jairus daughter
I. The application which Jesus received.
1. By whom it was made.
2. The favour he implied.
3. The feeling which this ruler displayed.
(1) His reverence.
(2) His importunity.
(3) His faith.
II. The ready compliance of our Lord with the request made to Him. But as He went we are called upon-
1. To witness a strange interruption.
2. To listen to what seemed very discouraging information-Thy daughter is dead.
III. The wonderful result with which this visit was attended.
1. What our Lord saw.
2. What He said.
3. What He did. (Expository Outlines.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Mar 5:43
Something should be given her to eat.
Feeding upon Christ
A great thing never made Christ forget a little thing. This is real greatness. Always as you go up to the highest, you find it more and more that the little things take a larger place. The disclosures of the microscope are quite as wonderful as the discoveries of the telescope. And if any thoughtful, religious man had to tell what had given him his highest idea of God, and made the deepest impression of His love, he would probably single out some very small event of life. It warn so wonderful, and so good, that the great God should care to notice, and superintend, and answer prayer, about such a little thing, which might have appeared so very insignificant. And, correspondingly, that is the greatest faith which is occupied about minutiae. There is many a man who believes that he is saved; but yet finds it very hard to trust God for the details of common life. God always feeds the life He gives. I see it in creation. The light and air created before vegetable life; the vegetable life before animal life; animal life before human life. To an observant eye, the whole earth is a table laid out, and amply spread for the sustenance of everything which Gods hand has made. But it is not only concerning your bodily life, that you may rest secure that God will maintain the being He has made: there is the life of your intellect; and a mans mind needs food as much as his body. And has not God secured it? Are not subjects for thought, and for the exercise of our rational faculties, in every place? Gods great lesson book around him, and beneath him, and above him, every moment, in all the beauties of earth, and sky, and air, and sea, teeming with their suggestive wonders and their great teaching facts? And now the great question is, What is it which He gives us to eat, and which is the vitality of a soul? and how is it communicated? In its strictest and truest sense, the answer to that question is only one-Christ is the food of the soul. Never think that your Bible will be feeding of itself. Neither its words, nor its histories, nor its doctrines, nor its promises. You must find the Christ that is in it, before it feeds you. And the more Christ you find in the word, the more that word will feed your soul. Secondly, all spiritual acts between the soul and God feed. Meditation-adoration-prayer-secret converse. For the Holy Ghost flows through means. And he carries Christ into the very currents of your being, till Christ mingles with your very life blood. And each time that happens, it renews, it restores, it strengthens, it expands some part of the inner life; and by continual applications you have life, and you have it more abundantly. Thirdly, that habit formed, and that communication opened to the heart, there is nothing which may not convey nutriment to a believers soul. Everything that is beautiful-everything that is loving-everything that is wise-everything that is true-in nature, in art, in science, in history, and in Providence-everything may be an element of nutrition. It may all turn to spiritual nerve, and power, and growth. And fourthly, to a very great extent, Christian intercourse and fellowship feed. And you must remark that our Lord did not say to the damsel, Eat, but to those before her, Give you to her to eat. We are bound to feed one another. Whatever knowledge, or grace, or peace, or comfort, God has given you, He says, Feed, with this, one of My lambs. But fifthly, and especially, the Holy Communion. This was ordained for this very end. It is essentially feeding. It is the feast where there is spread the richest, the sweetest, and the best! How can some of you expect your souls to live, if you neglect this great sustentation of all spiritual life? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 43. Something should be given her to eat.] For though he had employed an extraordinary power to bring her to life, he wills that she should be continued in existence by the use of ordinary means. The advice of the heathen is a good one: –
Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit.
HORAT.
“When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to: when it is not necessary, let the ordinary means be used.” – To act otherwise would be to tempt God.
While Christ teaches men the knowledge of the true God, and the way of salvation, he at the same time teaches them lessons of prudence, economy, and common sense. And it is worthy of remark, that all who are taught of him are not only saved, but their understandings are much improved. True religion, civilization, mental improvement, common sense, and orderly behaviour, go hand in hand.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
43. And he charged themstraitlystrictly.
that no man should knowitThe only reason we can assign for this is His desire not tolet the public feeling regarding Him come too precipitately to acrisis.
and commanded that somethingshould be given her to eatin token of perfect restoration.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he charged them straitly that no man should know it,…. From them, immediately, and whilst he was upon the spot; for that the thing could be long concealed, it was not reasonable to suppose: this charge he gave, to show his dislike of ostentation and popular applause, and to avoid the envy of the Scribes and Pharisees, and prevent the people from making any attempts to proclaim him king; his time not being yet come to die, he having some other work to do; and a more full manifestation of him being reserved for another time, and to be done in another way.
And commanded that something should be given her to eat; which would be an evidence not only that she was really alive, but that she was restored to perfect health: she was both raised from the dead, and entirely freed from the distemper she laboured under before her death; death had cured her of that, as it does of all distempers: she did not rise with it, but was free from it; and was now like one that had been asleep for a while, and was hungry upon it; as children of such an age generally are upon rising from sleep.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That no one should know this ( ). Second aorist active subjunctive, . But would they keep still about it? There was the girl besides. Both Mark and Luke note that Jesus ordered that food be given to the child
given her to eat , ( ), a natural care of the Great Physician. Two infinitives here (first aorist passive and second aorist active). “She could walk and eat; not only alive, but well” (Bruce).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) ”And He charged them straitly,” (kai diesteilato autois polla) “And He specifically charged them,” as in Mar 3:12.
2) “That no man should know it (hina medeis gnoi touto) “That no one should know this,” what had occurred. That the girl had recovered could not be concealed, but that she was brought back from death could be. Our Lord never sought to advertise His raising the dead.
3) “And commanded that something,” (kai eipen) “And He also ordered that something,” She could not only live, breathe, and walk around, but also now eat again and needed food.
4) ”Should be given her to eat.”(dothenai aute phagem) “Should be given to her to eat,” to sustain her in her hunger and renew her physical strength, lest she faint, Mar 8:3; Mat 15:32. This feeding was to demonstrate that the raising of the girl from the dead. was not lust an appearing as a phenomena, but a raising to the normalcy of life’s functions again.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
43. And he charged them Though Christ did not admit all indiscriminately to behold this resurrection, yet the miracle might not have remained long concealed. And it would indeed have been improper to suppress that power of God, by which the whole world ought to be prepared for life. Why then does he enjoin silence on the young woman’s parents? Perhaps it was not so much about the fact itself, as about the manner of it, that he wished them to be silent, and that only for a time; for we see that there were other instances in which he sought out a proper occasion. Those who think that they were forbidden to speak for the purpose of whetting their desire, resort to a solution which is unnatural. I do acknowledge that Christ did not perform this miracle without the intention of making it known, but perhaps at a more fitting time, or after the dismission of a crowd among whom there was no prudence or moderation. He therefore intended to allow some delay, that they might in quietness and composure revolve the work of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(43) That something should be given her to eat.This, again, is common to St. Mark and St. Luke, but is not given by St. Matthew. It suggests the thought that the fuller report must have come from one who had been present in the chamber where the miracle was wrought.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
43. Given her to eat So that when natural or spiritual life is restored, (Mr. Wesley well remarks,) even by immediate miracle, all proper means are to be used to preserve it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he commanded that something should be given her to eat.’
Almost an anticlimax. Ever thoughtful and compassionate Jesus suggested that she might be hungry and needed food. She had been ill for some time. This was a practical detail which stuck in the mind of an eyewitness. It adds nothing to the story except to illustrate Jesus’ thoughtfulness. But perhaps to the writer there was also the thought that when men were raised from spiritual death they needed to be fed continually on the bread of life (Joh 6:35).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
REFLECTIONS.
Oh! to what a desperate state is our whole nature reduced by the fall! Where Satan reigns, unrestrained by grace; see my soul, see in this man, (and while beholding look up and wonder at thy mercies) to what a length the human frame is capable of going in madness, while governed by devils! And what makes the subject yet more truly awful is, the consideration, that Satan’s empire over our nature is a lawful empire for as Scripture truly saith, of whom a man is overcome of the same is he brought into bondage.
But oh! the mercy of that promise: Thus saith the LORD: ye have sold yourselves for nought, and ye shall be redeemed without money. Hear, my soul, hear what is said. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawful captive delivered ? But thus saith the LORD: even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And see, as in this instance, one of CHRIST’s little ones though long held captive by Satan, yet gloriously delivered by the LORD Jesus CHRIST. And where is he now, who when recovered by grace on earth, sat at the feet of Jesus; but sitting with Jesus on his throne and kingdom of glory, in heaven? Oh! my soul, go tell all thy friends of this wonder-working SAVIOR!
Behold also the power, and sovereignty, of thy LORD, over unclean spirits, and unclean beasts. See what efficacy flows from JESUS to the touch of faith in his divine person; yea, behold, how even the dead, JESUS raiseth. Never then call in question his power over all the uncleaness of thy nature, nor his grace to answer the desire of that faith, which he himself hath created. Thy deathness, and dying frames, Jesus can take away, and his command to arise must always be attended with power. He saith to thee, my soul, as to the ruler of the synagogue; be not afraid, only believe. LORD I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
Ver. 43. That no man should know it ] Lest he should be too soon known and acknowledged by the people. But when he knew that he was shortly to die, he openly restored to life Lazarus, and the widow’s son. Everything is beautiful in its season.
Mar 5:43 . : that the girl had recovered could not be hid, but that she had been brought back from death might be. Jesus wished this, not desiring that expectations of such acts should be awakened. : she could walk and eat ; not only alive, but well: “graviter aegroti vix solent cibum sumere,” Grotius. here takes the infinitive after it, not, as often, with subjunctive.
straitly = much.
no. Greek. me. App-105.
know = get to know. See App-132.
Mar 5:43. , He prohibited strictly) [The crowd, no doubt, who were not unacquainted with the fact of the girls death, might have both known the miracle, and published it for the glory of GOD.-V. g.-, to eat) She was by this time alive and well, and not needing any medicine.-V. g.]
he charged: Mar 1:43, Mar 3:12, Mar 7:36, Mat 8:4, Mat 9:30, Mat 12:16-18, Mat 17:9, Luk 5:14, Luk 8:56, Joh 5:41
and commanded: This was to shew that she had not only returned to life, but was also restored to perfect health; and to intimate, that though raised to life by extraordinary power, she must be continued in existence, as before, by the use of ordinary means. The advice of a heathen, on another subject, is quite applicable: Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus inciderit “When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to; when not necessary, let the ordinary means be used.” To act otherwise would be to tempt God.
Given: Luk 24:30, Luk 24:42, Luk 24:43, Act 10:41
Reciprocal: Mar 8:26 – Neither Mar 9:9 – he charged Luk 8:55 – and he Joh 11:44 – Loose
FEEDING UPON CHRIST
And commanded that something should be given her to eat.
Mar 5:43
This is one of those fine touches of tender consideration, of which Marks history is characteristic, and which so illustrate the beauty of the thoughtfulness of Christ. A great thing never made Christ forget a little thing. Remember always that God is the God of your little things; and that you never honour Him more than when you commit them, and rest about them.
I. God feeds the life He gives.But the passage reads us a deeper lesson, that God always feeds the life He gives: wherever He bestows life, He is careful to add that which that life really needs for its development and perfection. We see this
(a) In creation. The whole earth is a table laid out, and amply spread for the sustenance of everything which Gods hand has made.
(b) In the life of manbody, intellect, and soul.
II. Spiritual food.And now the great question is, What is it which He gives us to eat, and which is the vitality of a soul? and how is it communicated? The answer to that question is only oneChrist is the food of the soul (see John 6). He will do wondrously with your soul when once He has quickened you. He will give you Himself to eat. The food must assimilate to the life which it is to cherish. The life is Jesus, and the food must be Jesus. How can this be?
(a) The written Word is the channel of the Living, that is, the Life-giving Word of the soul. You must find the Christ that is in the Bible before it feeds you. Only Christ feeds. And the more Christ you find in the Word, the more that Word will feed your soul.
(b) All spiritual acts between the soul and God feed.
(c) Christian intercourse and fellowship feed.
(d) Lastly, and especially, the Holy Communion was ordained for this very end. It is essentially feeding. It is the feast, where there is spread the richest, the sweetest, and the best! How can some of you expect your souls to live if you neglect this great sustentation of all spiritual life? Could your body live without its meals? The baptism of the Holy Ghost imparts life. The Communion of the body and blood of Christ feed and sustain that life.
Thus, Christ has, by many ways, not only given command but fulfilled it for His Churchthat something should be given her to eat.
Illustration
The Catechism teaches us what is required of them that come to the Lords Supper. The fact of Gods great gift does not depend upon ourselves. There the gift is, whatever we are or think or do. But its value for us does depend upon our worthiness. Indeed, the Bible and our Prayer Book repeat most solemn warnings against those who receive it unworthily. They eat and drink, as St. Paul says, not as we have it translated, damnation, but judgment to themselves. Being worthy does not mean being perfectly sinless or free from temptation. But it does mean that we may not approach the Holy Communion after committing any deliberate disobedience of Gods law for which we have not sought Gods forgiveness. It means also a sincere desire to be what God wills us to be, and to do what God wishes us to do; and therefore also honest ceaseless struggle and effort to be this and to do this. If we have not, and know that we have not, this desire, and are not making, and know that we are not making, this effort, then the Sacrament, which makes the union between Christ and His people most complete, only marks and increases our separation from Him, and this is what judgment really means. Every gift of the Sacrament turns into its oppositethe food which should strengthen the life of the soul only increases its deadness to spiritual things.
3
The Lord permitted Mark to record this case in his Gospel, hence there was nothing wrong in the case being known. But it was the practice of Jesus to be humble and not glory over his miraculous deeds, so he gave instructions frequently that people should not spread the report of what they had received.
And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
[He commanded that something should be given her to eat.] Not as she was alive only, and now in good health, but as she was in a most perfect state of health, and hungry: “The son of Rabban Gamaliel was sick. He sent, therefore, two scholars of the wise men to R. Chaninah Ben Dusa into his city. He saith to them, ‘Wait for me, until I go up into the upper chamber.’ He went up into the upper chamber, and came down again, and said, ‘I am sure that the son of Rabban Gamaliel is freed from his disease.’ The same hour he asked for food.”
Mar 5:43. Charged them much. A tumult might be excited, the carnal expectations about the Messiah might be roused. Comp. Mar 1:43; Mat 8:30, etc.
That something be given her to eat. The miraculous power now ceased: she needed food; her strength would be recovered by natural means. At the same time it was an evidence that she was actually restored.Matthew, who was probably outside with the other disciples, tells of the spreading of the report of this miracle, while Mark, probably informed about it by Peter who was inside the house, gives the particulars of what occurred there.
Mar 5:43. He charged them that no man should know it That he might avoid every appearance of vain-glory, might prevent too great a concourse of people, and might not further enrage the scribes and Pharisees against him; the time for his death, and for the full manifestation of his glory, not being yet come. He commanded that something should be given her to eat So that when either natural or spiritual life is restored, even by immediate miracle, all proper means are to be used in order to preserve it.
Jesus gave the observers two commands. First, He told them not to tell anyone about the miracle who did not need to know about it. [Note: Cranfield, p. 191.] Obviously many people outside the house would have discovered what had happened, but Jesus wanted to avoid all unnecessary publicity, at least immediately, so He could continue His ministry with maximum freedom of movement (cf. Mar 1:43-45).
His second command revealed His continuing compassion for the girl in her need. It also clarified that He had restored her to physical life that needed sustaining. He had not resurrected her to a new form of life with an immortal body (cf. 1Co 15:35-57).
This double miracle taught the disciples that Jesus not only had the power to control nature (Mar 4:35-41) and demonic spirits (Mar 5:1-20) but also death. These were important revelations to those who had exercised some faith in Him. They learned that Jesus was more than a man and even more than the greatest of the prophets. Undoubtedly God used these revelations to enable the disciples to see that Jesus was the divine Messiah (Mar 8:29).
"Faith involved more than simply believing Jesus could perform miracles. No one questioned that in Nazareth. They questioned how he could do what he was doing because of who they ’know’ him to be. By implication, therefore, healing faith for Mark in these two stories means more than faith in a miracle worker. Both Jairus and the woman displayed faith that God was somehow at work in Jesus. Therefore, the evangelist uses these stories to underscore the role of faith and its corollary, the person of Jesus as seen in his ministry that highlights the role of faith in these stories." [Note: Guelich, p. 305.]
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)