Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. MarkMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. Mark
Maclaren, Alexander
Bible. Mark -- Commentaries
The last of my little miniatures is that of a man who keeps in close
touch with Jesus Christ, and so, like Him, can say, 'Lo! I come; I
delight to do Thy will, O Lord. Thy law is within my heart.' He yields
to the strong motives and principles that flow from the Cross of Jesus
Christ, and, drawn by the 'mercies of God,' gives himself a 'living
sacrifice' to be used as God will. Aims as lofty as the Throne which
Christ His Brother fills; sacrifice as entire as that on which his
trembling hope relies; realisation of the unseen future as vivid and
clear as His who could say that He was '_in_ Heaven' whilst He walked
the earth; subjugation of self as complete as that of the Lord's, who
pleased not Himself, and came not to do His own will--these are some
of the characteristics which mark the true disciple of Jesus Christ.
And I want to know whether the conduct of the man who believes in the
love that God hath to him, as manifested in the Cross, and surrenders
his whole self thereto, despising the world and living for God, for
Christ, for man, for eternity--whether his conduct is insanity or
sanity? 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'
THE MISTAKES OF CHRIST'S FOES AND FRIENDS
'And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath
Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. 23.
And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can
Satan cast out Satan? 24. And if a kingdom be divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house be divided against
itself, that house cannot stand. 26. And if Satan rise up against
himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man
can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he
will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28.
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of
men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29. But he
that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness,
but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30. Because they said, He hath
an unclean spirit. 31. There came then His brethren and His mother,
and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 32. And the
multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother
and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. 33. And He answered them,
saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? 34. And He looked round
about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My
brethren! 35. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My
brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 22-35.
We have in this passage three parts,--the outrageous official
explanation of Christ and His works, the Lord's own solution of His
miracles, and His relatives' well-meant attempt to secure Him, with
His answer to it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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