1kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 16. 2 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishers. 1 Matt. 3:2; 4:17. 2 Matt. 4: 18. Luke 5: 4. of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel. And passing along by the 16 sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers. was not ready. The higher mathematics cannot be taught to the child that has not learned the rules of arithmetic, nor the work of a man be given to one not trained to the strength and knowledge and judgment of a man. It was not till this time that the world, by experience, by unity of government and language, by the training of the Jews in the law and knowledge of God, and at last by the preaching of John the Baptist, was ready to receive the gospel of the kingdom of God.-P. The kingdom of God. What Matthew in general calls the kingdom of heaven (see Matt. 4:17) is designated by Mark and Luke the kingdom of God. The two expressions the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God vary only in phase. The kingdom is divine, and hence heavenly. It is a thing of heaven. It originated in heaven, tends to heaven, culminates in heaven. It is a heavenly community, with a heavenly sovereign at its head. All its objects are heavenly, whether they be on earth or in heaven. Our whole earth should have been a part of heaven. But it is a runaway world, having gone off from heaven. It is not, however, finally lost to heaven. God, -the great moral Governor - has not, and will not, let it go. He desires- not in the use of physical omnipotence, but by glorious moral means to win it back. Long, long ago he took the initiative for the accomplishment of this end. He reclaimed a foothold for heavenly institutions. And now the time was come for establishing, in a somewhat developed and, as it were, completed form, the heavenly community," the Kingdom of God."— Morison. Is at hand. This kingdom was now to begin. The Messiah, its king, was come to inaugurate the new reign. That was begun which was prophesied in Dan. 2:44; 7: 14.-P. Repent ye. Not mere remorse, but conversion and reformation, or turning away from sin and unto God. The Greek word means change of mind, or heart. Schaff. They were called upon to repent now; for never had they so much reason to repent, and so much help to repent, and so many blessings if they did repent, as the coming of Christ with his kingdom now brought them.-P. This cry, " Repent," shows (a) that men were in a false position; (b) that they had power to alter it; (c) that such power was immediately associated with a great opportunity. - Joseph Parker. Believe the gospel. Faith in the gospel, that is, in the glad tidings of salvation, is thus demanded in connection with the first preaching of Jesus. Faith in a personal Redeemer, faith in him as our Saviour, our Leader, our Teacher, our King, faith that leads us to love and obey, is necessary to our salvation into the kingdom of God.-P. We have thus in this one verse a pregnant summary of our Lord's preaching, the end of the preparatory period, the manifestation of God's kingdom, and the conditions of admission and acceptCanon Cook. ance. II. The Call. Vers. 16-20. 16. As he walked. The Saviour had come down (Luke 4:31. John 4: 47, 51) from the high country of Galilee, and now made his permanent abode in the deep retreat of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum, "his own city" (Matt. 4:13. Luke 4: 31), whence he could easily communicate, as well by land as by the lake, with many important towns, and in the event of any threatened persecution retire into a more secure region. Cambridge Bible for Schools. He was probably on his way from Nazareth, from which place he had been driven away, to Capernaum. If he had already been at Capernaum he would not have waited till the sabbath before healing Peter's wife's mother (vers. 30, 31).-P. Sea of Galilee. So named from the province on its western side. It was also called the Sea of Tiberias, from a city built by Herod Antipas on the southwest shore, and named in honor of the Emperor Tiberius (John 6: 1; 21: 1). It is pearshaped, the broad end being toward the north, the greatest width being six and three-quarter miles it is twelve and a half miles long, and 165 feet deep. It is surrounded on all sides by hills, from 500 to nearly 2,000 feet high. Its waters are pure and sweet, and abound in fish. It is, according to Lieut. Lynch, 653 feet below the Mediterranean. Many populous towns once stood upon its shores, but they and their commerce are gone. Tiberias and Magdala are the only inhabited spots.-G. W. Clark. Simon. A contraction of Simeon, a Hebrew name which means hearing. He had previously been named Peter, a rock (John I: 42), the name by which he was called after the disciples were constituted apostles. Andrew. A Greek word meaning manly. Whether he was older or younger than his brother Simon Peter, is not known. They had formerly lived in Bethsaida (John 1: 44); but had afterward gone to Capernaum to live (Luke 4: 31, 38). Casting a net into the 17. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18. And straightway1 they forsook their nets, followed him. and 19. 2 And when he had gone a little further thence, 1 Matt. 19: 27. Luke 5: 11. 2 Matt. 4: 21. And Jesus said unto them, 17 Come ye after me, and I will they left the nets, and followed further, he saw James the sea; or, literally, according to the correct reading, throwing about in the sea (viz., a handnet). It is one of Mark's vivid touches. The about is graphic in the original: it represents the fishermen throwing now on the one side of their boat, and now on the other. Hand-nets are exceedingly common in the East, and of various kinds. They differ from drag-nets, which are trailed along the bottom of the fishing-place. Hand-nets are let down and lifted up, and are more or less of a bag shape. And it more accords with the habits of the East to suppose that there would be but one net in operation at a time between the two fishermen. One of the two men would manage the boat, and take charge of the fishes caught, while the other was engaged in throwing the net and lifting it up. - Morison. For they were fishers. Of a humble calling, indeed; but still, in the exercise of it, the men were trained to habits which were, in many respects, well fitted to prepare them for higher duties. The successful use of the hand-net requires in the fishermen, says Dr. W. M. Thomson, “a keen eye, an active frame, and greal skill in throwing. He must, too, be patient, watchful, wide awake, and prompt to seize the exact moment to throw." - Morison. We must beware of giving way to the common notion that there is any thing disgraceful in being poor, and in working with our own hands. — Ryle. Christ does not call idle men to work in his vineyard. —Bib. Museum. 17. And Jesus said unto them. This is but a brief account of what is related in full in Luke 5: I-II, where their call is preceded by a wonderful catch of fish. It is worthy of note that this miracle, so full of meaning, was twice wrought by our Lord; both now, when he called them to their work, and at the last, when he was about to leave them (John 21:6). And in both cases he would show by it how he could and would make their work successful. (See Ezek. 47: 10.) He who could make them from fishermen to become fishers of men, could make them catch men in their new work as easily and abundantly as now he could make them catch fish. Jacobus. Come after me, as my disciples, and as my attendants and the proclaimers of my gospel. Observe how gradually the four had been called to their new work: (1) first (autumn of A. D. 26) they were disciples of the Baptist (John 1:35); (2) then they were directed by him to the Lamb of God (John 1:36), February, A. D. 29; (3) afterwards they were invited by our Lord to see where he dwelt (John 1:39); (4) then they became witnesses of his first miracle (John 2 : 2); they were his disciples, but continued to follow their occupation as fishermen; (5) now (spring, A. D. 28) they are enrolled amongst his attached followers, as his constant attendants, ministers, or evangelists, although they afterward fished sometimes, when near their homes (Luke 5: 1II. John 21: 3). Their selection among the twelve apostles occurred afterward, the following summer (chap. 3: 14. Luke 6:14-16). Thus their calling was threefold: (1) disciples, (2) constant attendants, (3) apostles. - Cambridge Bible. Fishers of men. Preachers of the gospel, winners of souls to Christ. They were to catch men in the net of Christ's kingdom. Their former secular calling was an emblem of their higher spiritual calling in object, methods, and success. This language shows that now they were not called merely as disciples, but as preachers, evangelists. G. W. Clark. 18. Straightway. They went at once. Most souls are lost through indecision. National Teacher. Forsook their nets. Not only for once, but as their permanent employment, and their means of subsistence. At the same time the words seem to suggest that the fishermen left their nets lying where they were, without waiting to deposit or secure them. This unhesitating response to the divine call, without regard to minor consequences, is presented elsewhere as a severe but equitable test of true devotion to the Master (Luke 9: 57–62). — Alexander. The forsaking consists not in the more or less that is forsaken, but in the spirit in which it is left. These apostles might have left little when they left their possessions, but they left much when they left their desires. - Trench. It is interesting to note the brotherliness of the brothers. They had worked together in their secular calling, and they were not divided in their attachment to Jesus. - Morison. Followed him. We follow Christ when we imitate his example, obey his words, walk in his footsteps toward heaven and God. - P. 19. Gone a little further. A little time has intervened, which Jesus has occupied in conversing with Simon and Andrew, of which the brief words of their call are an epitome. The "partners of Simon " have landed their load of fish, and are quietly mending their nets he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20. And straightway he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. 21. 1 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22. 2 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 1 Matt. 4:13. Luke 4:31. 2 Matt. 7:28. - son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. And 20 straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebe dee in the boat with the hired bath day he entered into the when Jesus approaches them. Rev. A. B. Rich. James. Probably the elder of the two brothers. James is the Greek form of the Hebrew Jacob. He is usually called the Greater or Elder (to distinguish him from James the Less, the kinsman of Jesus and author of the book of James). He was beheaded by order of King Herod Agrippa (Acts 12 : 2), A. D. 44, and was the first martyr among the apostles. His apostolic labors seem not to have extended beyond Jerusalem and Judea. - Schaff's Bible Dictionary. Zebedee. (Jehovah's gift.) Husband of Salome, the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (John 19: 25), who ministered to the Lord (Matt. 27: 56), though he himself is not mentioned among the disciples. The mention of hired servants (v. 20), of the two vessels employed (Luke 5 : 7), and the subsequent allusion to St. John's acquaintance with a person in so high a position as the high priest (John 18: 15), seem to indicate that Zebedee, if not a wealthy man, was at any rate of some position at Capernaum. - Cambridge Bible. John. The grace of God. The disciple whom Jesus loved. The writer of the Fourth Gospel, the Epistle General of John, and the Book of Revelation. Among the first called by Jesus to be his disciples, he followed him faithfully through a long life. - Hurlbut. He made Ephesus the centre of his apostolic labors, and had given general supervision over the churches of Asia Minor, beginning A. D. 64. In A. D. 95 he was banished to Patmos, and died about the close of the century, aged nearly a hundred years. - Schaff. Mending their nets. Broken by the great draught of fishes (Luke 5: 6). 20. They left their father. The call of God is above all earthly demands (Matt. 10: 37). But we are to note that they did not leave their father unprovided for; and to show this may have been the reason why hired servants are mentioned. God's call does not bid us to let our parents suffer, but forbids it (Mark 7 : 10–13). — P. III. Teaching with Authority. - Vers. 21, 22. 21. Capernaum. (Town of Nahum.) Situated on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee; but its exact site is now uncertain. It was quite a large city (Strong's Cyclopædia), containing, according to Stout's Chronological Chart, 30,000 inhabitants at the time of Christ. Sabbath day. Our Saturday, their sabbath. Jesus was accustomed to spend the sabbath religiously. Synagogue. (Congregation, the same as our word church.) The Jewish place of worship, much like our Christian churches, but modelled after the type of the tabernacle. Whedon. Taught. It was the custom in the synagogue to invite members of the congregation or visitors of note to make remarks. It is obvious that in the synagogues of Palestine was the safetyvalve, the open sphere, the golden opportunity for any fresh teaching to arise. — A. P. Stanley. 22. Doctrine. Teaching: what he taught, and the manner of teaching. For he taught them as one that had authority. This cannot refer to a dogmatical, authoritative manner, as to which the scribes surpassed all others; but he taught them, not as an expounder, but with the original authority belonging to the author of the law expounded. Alexander. He taught with the authority of one who knows all the facts and all their bearings. Being God he knew all about heaven and hell and the way there, all about God and the truths he had revealed to the Jews, and all his plans and purposes for his kingdom in the future. It was this perfect knowledge that gave him the authority with which he spoke, and which gives superiority to the Bible over all philosophical systems and attempts at religious systems.-P. And not as the scribes. The scribes were the learned men of the Jewish nation, the men who had to do with letters. Almost all the writing that was required in the nation would be done by them; most of the reading too. The transcribing of the scriptures would devolve on them. Hence the interpretation of the Law and the Prophets, in the synagogues, would devolve chiefly on them, and the people •calour buggests, "th devel diaron. mcinnate in inteus minds bebas. himself, ox, 1 acknowledges Hily one dits, in order to suspicion to this was enne leeret undust anony of Mik. 3:11 a 3:22 23. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24. Saying, Let us alone; 2 what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. FIRST QUARTER. way there was in their syna- ing, What have we to do 24 reth? art thou come to destroy would to a large degree be dependent on their instructions. They would vary greatly, like other men, in ability, character, and qualifications. They would be skilful in splitting hairs to infinity, and they would be proud of their ability to lead their hearers through the endless mazes of the imaginations of preceding rabbis,-imaginations that ended in nothing, or in something that was actually worse than nothing. But they would have no power, or almost none, to move the conscience toward true goodness, or to stir the love of the heart toward God and toward men. They might speak, indeed, with positiveness enough, but it would not be with moral power. They might assert with dictatorial self-sufficiency; but it would not be with "demonstration of the spirit," demonstration flashing in conviction even upon reluctant and hard-winking souls. Morison. IV. The Power of Christ over the Powers of Darkness and Sin. Vers. 23-36. 23. And there was in their synagogue. As part of the audience on that day. The piteous outcry of the demoniac disturbs the assembly. - Godwin. How could such a man be found in a synagogue? Perhaps his malady had not broken out before as it did at this moment. Luke says literally a man who had a spirit (an afflatus) of an unclean devil.Godet. A man with an unclean spirit. Or, more literally, a man "in" an unclean spirit, that is, a man under the influence of an unclean spirit; just as we say, a man “in” drink, or, more pleasantly, a man “in” love. For the time being the man is absorbed, as it were, in love or in drink. So the demoniac was absorbed, as it were, into the demon, and was completely under its power, or, as we may say, within its power. There is manifestly a spiritual side of things, the counterpart of that material side that is open to our apperception through our senses. It is entirely arbitrary, and a mere wilful imagination, to suppose that in this spiritual side of things there is no other spiritual element except what is human. The universe is large. Worlds are linked to worlds. Evil and good are strangely commingled. God is everywhere, and he is a spirit. There is therefore some other spiritism than what is human; and, as regards the sphere of creation, we may be sure that it is not a mere spiritual wilderness or waste or vacuum round about man. There are hosts of spirits at once hierarchically ascending and contrariwise descending. Influences from both directions press in upon men.-. - Morison. An unclean spirit. These spirits are called unclean because they are impure, unholy, and produce such effects in those whom they possess. Demoniac possession is "the caricature of inspiration." We know who inspires by the effects produced.-P. See Les. XI. of this quarter. He cried out. The unclean spirit. He had such control of the man that he spoke through him, using his organs of speech. The personality of the demon is distinctly recognized. Neither a disease nor a myth could thus cry out. - G. W. Clark. 24. Let us alone. Rather, hah, an interjection of surprise and displeasure. It is omitted in some of the best ancient manuscripts. G. W. Clark. It is the cry like that of the criminal, who, when suddenly apprehended by the police, cries out, "Loose me!"Godet. What have we to do with thee? Or rather, What hast thou to do with us? Very literally, What to us and to thee? It is a peculiar idiomatic expression, meaning What is there in common to us and to thee? As here applied it is deprecatory, and means, Why dost thou interfere with us? The Saviour had not, so far as appears, been formally interfering by any specific action; but his very presence on the scene was felt to be interference. There emanated from him, round about, an influence that went in upon men blissfully, counter-working all evil influences. The unclean spirit felt the power, and resented it as an interference, —an interference, not with itself in particular, but with the entire circle of kindred spirits. "What hast thou to do with us?"-Morison. Art thou come to destroy us? Note the us, Camest thou to destroy "us"? Is it the intent of thy mission to put down all demonic power? Note the word destroy. It has no reference to the annihilation of being. -Morison. I know thee. Not as an acquaintance, but by fame and report. - Alexander. Earth has not recognized her King, has not yet seen him through his disguise; but heaven and hell alike bear witness unto him. Trench. The Holy One of God. Such is Christ, both morally and officially. This term expresses the character in which this being recognized his deadly enemy. Godet. Christ is the exact opposite of the unclean spirits, being holy, and producing holiness in others. 25. And Jesus 1rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26. And when the unclean spirit 2 had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, teaching! with authority he spirits, and they obey him. saying, What is this? a new commandeth even the unclean And the report of him went 28 out straightway everywhere 28. And immediately his fame spread abroad through-into all the region of Galilee out all the region round about Galilee. round about. 25. And Jesus rebuked. The original word is very peculiar, and strictly means rated. Our Saviour chid the evil spirit. He never on any occasion gave any quarter to any thing demonic. Hold thy peace. The word translated Hold thy peace is exceedingly graphic, Be muzzled. It is a word for a beast.—Morison. He silences the devils, even when they spake the truth, lest he should seem to approve of witnesses who were liars by nature. - Novarinus. It was to bring the truth itself into suspicion and discredit, when it was borne witness to by the spirit of lies.- Trench. Come out of him. Two distinct personalities are here recognized. The demon is treated as a person as much as the man. The one was just as much a disease or a principle as the other, no more, and no less. — Bible Union Notes. 26. Had torn him. Convulsed him, but not in such a manner as to do him injury, for Luke says (4:35), "he came out of him, and hurt him not." Luke also says, "the devil had thrown him in the midst." Such paroxysms in connection with casting out demons showed their malignant and degraded nature (9: 26), and only made the miracle the more impressive. - Bible Union Notes. So it is ever apt to be when devils are cast out of men. Satan will not easily leave his prey. So was it when the Israelites were being delivered from slavery in Egypt: their bondage for a time was made worse. So evil habits show unusual power when we try to cast them off. So often matters seem worse than ever just before a revival of religion.-P. Cried with a loud voice. It might seem as though the evil spirit was not altogether and at once obedient to the word of Christ, that it was not altogether a word of power, since he bade him to hold his peace, and yet in the next verse it is said that "he cried with a loud voice," as he was leaving the man (cf. Acts 8:7). But in truth he was obedient to this command of silence: he did not speak any more, and that was the thing which our Lord meant to forbid. This cry was nothing but an inarticulate cry of rage and pain. - Trench. 27. Amazed. questioned. Each turned to his neighbor, in astonishment, to ask his opinion, Saying, What is this? New teaching with authority! And he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they obey him! Such is, apparently, the correct reading and rendering of the abrupt remarks which the astonished people made to one another. Morison. Doctrine is, as elsewhere, the teaching taken as a whole, including manner as well as sub- Ellicott. With authority. The authority with which he taught found its guaranty in the authority backed by power with which he forced the devils themselves to render obedience. Christ's cures differed from the pretences of the exorcists, just as his teaching did from that of the scribes. — Godet. stance. 28. His fame. Literally, the report of him. Spread abroad. Flew, as it were, on the wings of the wind, into all the surrounding district of Galilee.—Morison. LIBRARY REFERENCES. On Galilee, see Sinai and Palestine, 375-377. On fishing, see Land and Book, 2 : 79-81. On synagogues, Bible Educator, 2: 119. On vers. 23-28, see Trench, Dean Howson, and George MacDonald on Miracles, Godet on Luke, Morison on Mark, J. W. Alexander's Discourses on Faith, "The Nature of Faith," ver. 15. For illustrations of repentance, see Foster's Cyclopædia of Illustrations, 1 : 4962-4982. ILLUSTRATIVE. I. The gospel good news. A tragedy of the old Greek poet Eschylus relates that when the Greek king Agamemnon sailed for Troy with the other Greeks, he arranged to |