heart and knee must bow, and every tongue confess him to be the Lord. This our Lord Jesus tells them, not only to satisfy them of the authority he had to commission them, and to bring them out in the execution of their commission, but to take off the offence of the cross. They had no reason to be ashamed of Christ crucified, when they saw him thus glorified. Observe, 2. The commission he gives to those whom he sent forth,-Go ye therefore. This commission is given-(1.) To the apostles primarily, the chief ministers of state in Christ's kingdom, the architects that laid the foundation of the Church. Now, those that had followed Christ in the regeneration were set on thrones. Luke xxii. 30. Go ye. It is not only a word of command, like that, Son, go work, but a word of encouragement,-Go, and fear not; have I not sent you? Go, and make a business of this work. They must not take state, and issue out summons to the nations to attend upon them; but they must go, and bring the gospel to their doors,-Go ye. They had doted on Christ's bodily presence, and hung upon that, and built all their joys and hopes upon that; but now Christ discharges them from farther attendance on his person, and sends them abroad about other work. (2.) It is given to their successors, the ministers of the gospel, whose business it is to transmit the gospel from age to age, to the end of the world in time, as it was theirs to transmit it from nation to nation, to the end of the world in place, and no less necessary. The Old Testament promise of a gospel ministry is made to a succession (Isa. lix. 21); and this must be so understood, otherwise how could Christ be with them always till the end of the world? Observe, 3. How far his commission is extended,-to all nations. Now, this plainly signifies it to be the will of Christ-(1.) That the covenant of peculiarity, made with the Jews, should now be cancelled and disannulled. This word broke down the middle wall of partition, which had so long excluded the Gentiles from a visible church-state; and whereas the apostles, when first sent out, were forbidden to go into the way of the Gentiles, now they were sent to all nations. (2.) That salvation by Christ should be offered to all, and none excluded that did not by their unbelief and impenitence exclude themselves. The salvation they were to preach is a common salvation; whoever will, let him come, and take the benefit of the act of indemnity; for there is no difference of Jew or Greek in Christ Jesus. (3.) That Christianity should be twisted in with national constitutions, that the kingdoms of the world should become Christ's kingdoms, and their kings the Church's nursing-fathers. They must admit disciples by the sacred rite of baptism," Go into all nations, preach the gospel to them, work miracles among them, and persuade them to come in themselves, and bring their children with them, into the Church of Christ, and then admit them and theirs into the Church by washing them with water;" either dipping them in the water, or pouring or sprinkling water upon them, which seems the more proper, because the thing is most frequently expressed so, as Isa. xliv. 3, Tit. iii. 5, 6; Ezek. xxxvi. 25; Isa, lii. 15. This baptism must be administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That is-(1.) By authority from heaven, and not of man; for Christ's ministers act by authority from the three persons in the Godhead, who all concur, as to our creation, so to our redemption. (2.) Calling upon the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Every thing is sanctified by prayer, and particularly the waters of baptism. The prayer of faith obtains the presence of God with the ordinance, which is its lustre and beauty, its life and efficacy.-By our being baptized, we solemnly profess-(1.) Our assent to the Scripture revelation concerning God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We confess our belief that there is a God-that there is but one God—that in the Godhead there is a Father that begets, a Son that is begotten, and a Holy Spirit of both. We are baptized, not into the names, but into the name, of Father, Son, and Spirit, which plainly intimates that these three are one, and their name one. The distinct mentioning of the three persons in the Trinity, both in the Christian baptism here, and in the Christian blessing (2 Cor. xiii. 14), as it is a full proof of the doctrine of the Trinity, so it has done much towards preserving it pure and entire through all the ages of the Church; for nothing is more great and awful in Christian assemblies than these two. (2.) Our consent to a covenant relation to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Baptism is a sacrament; that is, it is an oath. It is an oath of abjuration, by which we renounce the world and the flesh, as rivals with God for the throne in our hearts; and an oath of allegiance, by which we resign and give up ourselves to God, to be his, our own selves, our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to be governed by his will, and made happy in his favour.-All that are baptized, are thereby obliged-(1.) To make the command of Christ their rule. (2.) To observe all things that he has commanded, without exception-all the moral duties, and all the instituted ordinances. Our obedience to the laws of Christ is not sincere, if it be not universal; we must stand complete in his whole will. (3.) To confine themselves to the commands of Christ, and as not to diminish from them, so not to add to them. (4.) To learn their duty according to the law of Christ, from those he has appointed to be teachers in his school, for therefore we were entered into his school. Christ gives his disciples the assurance of his spiritual presence with them in the execution of this commission,-And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Not, I will be with you, but I am. As God sent Moses, so Christ sent his apostles, by this name-I am; for he is God, to whom past, present, and to come are the same. See Rev. i. 8. He was now about to leave them; his bodily presence was now to be removed from them, and this grieved them; but he assures them of his spiritual presence, which was more expedient for them than his bodily presence could be. Christ was now sending them to set up his kingdom in the world, which was a great undertaking, and seasonably promises them his presence with them-(1.) To carry them on through the difficulties they were likely to meet with. (2.) To prosper this great undertaking," Lo, I am with you always, to make your ministry effectual for the discipling of the nations, for the pulling, down of the strongholds of Satan." It was an unlikely thing that they should unhinge national constitutions in religion-that they should establish a doctrine so directly contrary to the genius of the age, and persuade people to become the disciples of a crucified Jesus; but, lo, I am with you, and therefore you shall gain your point. This spiritual presence of Christ with his people continues always, even unto the end of the world. They shall have his constant presence always. There is no day, no hour of the day, in which our Lord Jesus is not present with his Churches and with his ministers; if there were, that day, that hour, they were undone. Since his resurrection he had appeared to them now and then, once a-week it may be, and scarcely that. But he assures them that they shall have his spiritual presence continued to them without intermission. Wherever we are the word of Christ is nigh us, even in our mouth, and the Spirit of Christ nigh us, even in our hearts. The God of Israel, the Saviour, is sometimes a God that hideth himself (Isa. xlv. 15,) but never a God that absenteth himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance. Two solemn farewells we find our Lord Jesus giving to his Church, and his parting word at both of them is very encouraging. One was here, when he closed up his personal converse with them, and then his parting word was, "Lo. I am with you always; I leave you, and yet still I am with you." The other was, when he closed up the canon of Scripture by the pen of his beloved disciple, and then his parting word was, " Surely, I come quickly. I leave you for awhile, but I will be with you again shortly." Rev. xxii. 20. By this, it appears that he did not part in anger, but in love; and that it is his will we should keep up both our communion with him and our expectation of him. THAT the Gospel was written by Mark which is commonly ascribed to him, and that it was the second in the order of time, are points confirmed by the unanimous voice of antiquity. But as to the person here named Mark, authors are not equally agreed. Some have thought that it was he of whom mention is several times made in the Acts, and some of Paul's Epistles, who is called John, whose surname was Mark, and whose mother's name was Mary, Acts xii. 12; of whom we are likewise told, that he was sister's son to Barnabas, Col. iv. 10. From the little we are able to collect out of the apostolical writings, it appears rather improbable, that this is he. Of John, surnamed Mark, one of the first things we learn is, that he attended Paul and Barnabas in their apostolical journeys, when these two travelled together, Acts xii. 25, xiii. 5. And when afterwards there arose a dispute between them concerning him, insomuch that they separated, Mark accompanied his uncle Barnabas, and Silas attended Paul. When Paul was reconciled to Mark, which was probably soon after (for though among good men there may arise differences, as these differences are not embittered by any malignity of disposition, a reconciliation is easily effected), we find Paul again employing Mark's assistance, recommending him, and giving him a very honourable testimony, Col. iv. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 11; Phil. 24. But we hear not a syllable of his attending Peter, as his minister, or assisting him in any capacity. This is so different from the accounts which the most ancient writers give of the Evangelist Mark, that, though they cannot be said to contradict each other, they can hardly be understood as spoken of the same individual. The evangelist is not said to have derived any part of his information from our Lord himself, or even from any of his apostles, except the Apostle Peter (for no other is ever named), whose disciple he is always represented as having been, and who doubtless, speaks of him when he says, 1 Pet. v. 13, "Marcus my son saluteth you;" a denomination commonly given, in those times, by the minister, to every one, who, by his means, had been converted to the Christian faith. But as to the nephew of Barnabas, we have seen how differently he is represented in the Acts, as well as in Paul's Epistles. And if we recur to tradition (for historical evidence cannot be pretended), it represents him as having been a disciple of our Lord, and one of the Seventy, whom Jesus in his lifetime sen out to preach the gospel. Besides, no ancient author, in speaking of this Evangelist, ever calls him John, but always Mark. In brief, the accounts given of Paul's attendant, and those of Peter interpreter, concur in nothing but the name, Mark, or Marcus; too slight a circumstance to conclud the sameness of the person from, especially when we consider how common the name was at Rome and how customary it was for the Jews, in that age, to assume some Roman name when they went thither. MARK. CHAPTER I. 1 The office of John the Baptist. 9 Jesus is baptized, 12 tempted, 14 he preacheth: 16 calleth Peter, Andrew, James, and John: 23 healeth one that had a devil, 29 Peter's motherin-law, 32 many diseased persons, 41 and cleanseth the leper. THE e THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was 'clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7 And preached, saying, "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. k Matt. xi. 10; Luke vii. 27. c Isa. xl. 3; Matt. iii. 3; Luke iii. 4; a Matt. xiv. 33; Luke i. 35; John i. 34. b Mal. iii. 1; The Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God, ver. 1. 1. It is gospel; it is God's word, and is faithful and true; see Rev. xix. 5; xxi. 9; xxii. 6. It is a good word, and well worthy of all acceptation; it brings us glad tidings. 2. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the anointed Saviour, the Messiah promised and expected. The foregoing gospel began with the generation of Jesus Christ -that was but preliminary, this comes immediately to the business-the gospel of Christ. It is called his, not only because he is the Author of it, and it comes from him, but because he is the subject of it, and it treats wholly concerning him. This Jesus is the Son of God. The truth is the foundation on which the gospel is built, and which it is written to demonstrate; for if Jesus be not the Son of God, our faith is vain. Quotations are here (ver. 2, 3) borrowed from two prophecies-that of Isaiah, and that of Malachi (there were above three hundred years between them), both of whom spoke to the same purport concerning the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in the ministry of John. 1. Malachi, in whom we have the Old Testament farewell, spoke very plainly (Chap. iii. 1), concerning John the Baptist, who was to give the New Testament welcome. Behold I send my messenger before thy face, ver. 2. Christ himself had taken notice of this, and applied it to John (Matt. xi. 10), who was God's messenger, sent to prepare Christ's way. 2. Isaiah, the most evangelical of all the prophets, begins the evangelical part of his prophecy with this, which points to the beginning of the gospel of Christ (Isa. xl. 3); The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ver. 3. Matthew had taken notice of this, and applied it to John, Chap. iii. 3. But from these two put together here, we may observe-(1.) That Christ in his gospel, comes among us, bringing with him a treasure of grace, and a sceptre of government. (2.) Such is the corruption of the world, that there is something to do to make room for him, and to remove that which gives not only obstruction, but opposition to his progress. (3.) When God sent his Son into the world, he took care, and when he sends him into the heart, he takes care, effectual care, to prepare his way before him; for the designs of his grace shall not be frustrated; nor may any expect the comforts of that grace, but such as, by conviction of sin and humiliation for it, are prepared for those comforts, and disposed to receive them. (4.) It is in a wilderness, for such this world is, that Christ's way is prepared, and theirs that follow him, like that which Israel passed through to Canaan. The messengers of conviction and terror, that come to prepare Christ's way, are God's messengers, whom he sends, and will own, and must be received as such. (5.) They that are sent to prepare the way of the Lord, in such a vast howling wilderness as this, have need to cry aloud, and not spare, and to lift up their voice like a trumpet. The gospel began in John Baptist; for, the law and the prophets were, until John, the only divine revelation, but then the kingdom of God began to be preached, Luke xvi. 16. His baptism was the dawning of the gospel day; for, in John's way of living, there was the beginning of a gospel spirit; for it bespoke great self-denial, mortification of the flesh, a holy contempt of the world, and non-conformity to it, which may truly be called the beginning of the gospel of Christ in any soul, ver. 6. He was clothed with camel's hair, not with soft raiment; was girt, not with a golden, but with a leathern girdle; and, in contempt of dainties and delicate things, his meat was locusts and wild honey. Matt. iii. 4. In John's preaching and baptizing there was the beginning of the gospel doctrines and ordinances, and the first fruits of them.-He preached the remission of sins, which is the great gospel privilege; showed people their need of it, that they were undone without it, and that it might be obtained. He preached repentance, in order to it; he told people that there must be a renovation of their hearts, and a reformation of their lives, that they must forsake their sins and turn to God, and upon those terms, and no other, their sins should be forgiven. Repentance for the remission of sins, was what the apostles were commissioned to preach to all nations, Luke xxiv. 47.-IIe preached Christ, and directed his hearers to expect him speedily to appear, and to expect great things from him. The preaching of Christ is pure gospel, and that was John Baptist's preaching, vers. 7, 8. Like a true gospel minister, he preached the great pre-eminence Christ is advanced to; so high, so great, is Christ, that John, though one of the greatest that was born of women, thinks himself unworthy to be employed in the meanest office about him, even to stoop down and untie his shoes. Thus industrious is he to give honour to him, and to bring others to do so too. He showed the great power Christ is invested with. He comes after me in time, but he is mightier than I, mightier than the mighty ones of the earth, for he is able to baptize with the Holy Ghost; he can give the Spirit of God, and by him govern the spirits of men.-He preached the great promise Christ makes in his gospel to those who have repented, and have had their sins forgiven them; They shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, shall be purified by his graces, and refreshed by his comforts.-All those who received his doctrine, and submitted to his institution, he baptized with water, as the manner of the Jews was to admit proselytes, in token of their cleansing themselves by repentance and reformation (which were the duties required), and of God's cleansing them both by remission and by sanctification, which were the blessings promised. Now this was afterward to be advanced into a gospel ordinance, which John's using it was a preface to. In the success of John's preaching, and the disciples he admitted by baptism, there was the beginning of a gospel church. He baptized in the wilderness, and declined going into the cities; but there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, inhabitants both of city and country, families of them, and were all baptized of him. They entered themselves his disciples, and bound themselves to his discipline; in token of which, they confessed their sins; he admitted them his disciples, in token of which, he baptized them. Here were the stamina of the gospel church, the dew of its youth from the womb of the morning, Psal. cx. 3. Many of these afterward became followers of Christ, and preachers of his gospel, and this grain of mustard-seed became a tree. 9 'And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 "And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. 2 Matt. iii. 13; Luke iii. 21. m Matt. iii. 16; John i. 32. 13 Or, cloven, or rent. n Psal. ii. 7; Matt. iii. 17; Chap. ix. 7. o Matt iv. 1; Luke iv. 1. p Matt. iv. 11. We have here a brief account of Christ's baptism and temptation, which were largely related Matt. iii. and iv. |