Mark · Chapter 7

V. 1. Coming from Jerusalem-Probably on purpose to find occasion against him. Matthew 15:1.

Verse 1. Came from Jerusalem.] Probably for the express purpose of disputing with Christ, that they might entangle him in his talk. Malice and envy are never idle-they incessantly hunt the person they intend to make their prey.

Verses 1, 2. Then came the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem — They probably came on purpose to find occasion against him. For some of them followed him from place to place, looking on every thing he did, even on his most innocent, yea, and most benevolent and holy actions, with an evil and censuring eye. Accordingly, here they ventured to attack him for allowing his disciples to eat with unwashed hands, thereby transgressing, they said, the tradition of the elders, which they thought to be a very heinous offence. When they saw his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashen, hands — The Greek word here rendered defiled, literally signifies common. It was quite in the Jewish idiom to oppose common and holy; the most usual signification of the latter word, in the Old Testament, being, separated from common and devoted to sacred use. As we learn from antiquity that this evangelist wrote his gospel in a pagan country, and for the use of Gentile converts, it was proper to add the explanation, that is, unwashen, to the epithet common, or defiled, which might have otherwise been misunderstood. They found fault — The law of Moses, it must be observed, required external cleanness as a part of religion; not, however, for its own sake, but to signify with what carefulness God’s servants should purify their minds from moral pollutions. Accordingly, these duties were prescribed by Moses in such moderation as was fitted to promote the end of them. But in process of time they came to be multiplied prodigiously: for the ancient doctors, to secure the observation of those precepts which were really of divine institution, added many commandments of their own as fences unto the former. And the people, to show their zeal, obeyed them. For example: Because the law, Leviticus 15:11, saith, Whomsoever he toucheth, that hath the issue, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, &c., the people were ordered to wash their hands immediately on their return from places of public concourse, and before they sat down to meat, lest, by touching some unclean person in the crowd, they might have defiled themselves. The Pharisees, therefore, being very zealous in these trifles, would not eat at any time unless they washed their hands with the greatest care. From this source came that endless variety of purifications not prescribed in the law, but ordained by the elders. These ordinances, though they were of human invention, came at length to be looked upon as essential in religion; they were exalted to such a pitch, that, in comparison of them, the law of God was suffered to lie neglected and forgotten, as is here signified.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

1 The Pharisees find fault at the disciples for eating with unwashen hands. 8 They break the commandment of God by the traditions of men. 14 Meat defileth not the man. 24 He healeth the Syrophenician woman’s daughter of an unclean spirit, 31 and one that was deaf, and stammered in his speech. CHAPTER 7. Verse 1. Certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. — See notes on Matthew 15:1, &c.

Verse 2. They found fault.] This is wanting in ABEHLV, nineteen others, and several versions: Mill and Bengel approve the omission, and Griesbach rejects the word. If the 3d and 4th verses be read in a parenthesis, the 2d and 5th verses will appear to be properly connected, without the above clause.

Verses 1, 2. Then came the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem — They probably came on purpose to find occasion against him. For some of them followed him from place to place, looking on every thing he did, even on his most innocent, yea, and most benevolent and holy actions, with an evil and censuring eye. Accordingly, here they ventured to attack him for allowing his disciples to eat with unwashed hands, thereby transgressing, they said, the tradition of the elders, which they thought to be a very heinous offence. When they saw his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashen, hands — The Greek word here rendered defiled, literally signifies common. It was quite in the Jewish idiom to oppose common and holy; the most usual signification of the latter word, in the Old Testament, being, separated from common and devoted to sacred use. As we learn from antiquity that this evangelist wrote his gospel in a pagan country, and for the use of Gentile converts, it was proper to add the explanation, that is, unwashen, to the epithet common, or defiled, which might have otherwise been misunderstood. They found fault — The law of Moses, it must be observed, required external cleanness as a part of religion; not, however, for its own sake, but to signify with what carefulness God’s servants should purify their minds from moral pollutions. Accordingly, these duties were prescribed by Moses in such moderation as was fitted to promote the end of them. But in process of time they came to be multiplied prodigiously: for the ancient doctors, to secure the observation of those precepts which were really of divine institution, added many commandments of their own as fences unto the former. And the people, to show their zeal, obeyed them. For example: Because the law, Leviticus 15:11, saith, Whomsoever he toucheth, that hath the issue, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, &c., the people were ordered to wash their hands immediately on their return from places of public concourse, and before they sat down to meat, lest, by touching some unclean person in the crowd, they might have defiled themselves. The Pharisees, therefore, being very zealous in these trifles, would not eat at any time unless they washed their hands with the greatest care. From this source came that endless variety of purifications not prescribed in the law, but ordained by the elders. These ordinances, though they were of human invention, came at length to be looked upon as essential in religion; they were exalted to such a pitch, that, in comparison of them, the law of God was suffered to lie neglected and forgotten, as is here signified.

2. Unwashen hands — This was not the matter of cleanliness, but of superstitious purity. The Jews of Palestine at the present day wash, indeed, after the meal, because they have handled meat with their fingers, but they wash not, either for cleanliness or superstition, before the meal. According to the Eastern custom, they sometimes think it polite, as Dr. Thomson remarks, to present to the mouth of their guests a piece of food in fingers too dirty to be agreeable to a European taste.

Verse 2. Defiled hands. — Koinov, common; that is, when opposed to holy; ritually polluted or defiled.

Verse 3. Except they wash their hands] pugmh, the hand to the wrist-Unless they wash the hand up to the wrist, eat not. Several translations are given of this word; that above is from Dr. Lightfoot, who quotes a tradition from the rabbins, stating that the hands were to be thus washed. This sort of washing was, and still continues to be, an act of religion in the eastern countries. It is particularly commanded in the Koran, Surat v. ver. 7, “O believers, when ye wish to pray, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows-and your feet up to the ankles.” Which custom it is likely Mohammed borrowed from the Jews. The Jewish doctrine is this: “If a man neglect the washing, he shall be eradicated from this world.” But instead of pugmh, the fist or hand, the Codex Bezæ has puknh, frequently: and several of the Itala have words of the same signification. Bathing is an indispensable prerequisite to the first meal of the day among the Hindoos; and washing the hands and the feet is equally so before the evening meal. WARD’S Customs.

Verses 3-5. For the Pharisees, &c., except they wash their hands oft — Greek, ean mh pugmh niywntai tav ceirav, except they wash their hands with their fist: or, as some render it, to the wrist. Theophylact translates it, unless they wash up to their elbows; affirming that pugmh denotes the whole of the arm, from the bending to the ends of the fingers. But this sense of the word is altogether unusual. For pugmh, properly, is the hand, with the fingers contracted into the palm, and made round. “Theophylact’s translation, however,” says Macknight, “exhibits the evangelist’s meaning. For the Jews, when they washed, held up their hands, and, contracting their fingers, received the water that was poured on them by their servants, (who had it for a part of their office, 2 Kings 3:11,) till it ran down their arms, which they washed up to their elbows. To wash with the fist, therefore, is to wash with great care.” A MS. termed Codex Bezæ, instead of pugmh, the fist, or wrist, has puknh, frequently. And when they come from the market, except they wash — Greek, baptiswntai, bathe themselves, as the word probably ought here to be rendered, (see Leviticus 15:11,) they eat not — Having the highest opinion of the importance of these institutions. Indeed, some of their rabbis carried this to such a ridiculous height, that one of them determined the neglect of washing to be a greater sin than whoredom; and another declared, it would be much better to die than to omit it. See many instances of this kind in Hammond and Whitby on the place. The Pharisees, therefore, viewing these washings in this important light, did not doubt but our Lord, by authorizing his disciples to neglect them, would expose himself to universal censure, as one who despised the most sacred services of religion; services to which a sanction was given by the approbation and practice of the whole nation. Accordingly, they asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders? — Hast thou taught them to despise these institutions? But while they pretended nothing but a sorrowful concern for the contempt which the disciples cast on institutions so sacred, their real intention was to make Jesus himself to be detested by the people as a deceiver. But the charge of impiety which they thus brought against him and his disciples, he easily retorted upon them with ten-fold strength. For he shows clearly, that notwithstanding their pretended regard for the duties of godliness, they were themselves guilty of the grossest violations of the divine law. And as they thus transgressed, not through ignorance, but knowingly, they were the worst of sinners, mere hypocrites, who deserved to be abhorred by all good men; and the rather, as God had long ago testified his displeasure against them, in the prophecy which Isaiah had uttered concerning them. He answered, Well hath Esaias prophesied, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:7-9.

Verse 3. The pharisees, and all the jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not. Their traditionary laws, which enjoined all possible corporeal purity, were built on the notion that a person might unconsciously have touched something unclean. They washed their hands as far as the wrist, literally the fist. It is some credit to revelation that those were laws of tradition, imposed as maxims of the wise. Yet we cannot deny, that they obtained in various forms through the whole of Shem’s race; and corporeal purity was associated with purity of heart. Those rites became so extensive, and were enforced with so much rigour, that St. Paul denominates the whole ritual law, “a yoke which neither they nor their fathers could bear.” — During the dark ages of the church, christians were nearly as much burdened with papal injunctions as the jews with the cabala of their rabbins.

3. Wash their hands oft — Mark writes for Gentiles, and therefore explains Jewish customs at some length. The word here rendered oft has received very various interpretations. It properly signifies with the fists or clenched hand, and it describes the ceremonial mode of washing one hand with the other.

Verse 3. Except they wash their hands oft. — Ean mh pugmh niywntai tav ceirav, has been translated, up to the elbow, up to the wrist, with the fist, and, as by our translators, following the Vulgate, oft; or, as the Syriac, diligently. Wetstein takes the sense to be, “with as much water, at least, as they can hold in the hollow of the hand, the fingers being gathered up,” for pugmh signifies the fist. None of these senses are very satisfactory, and the ancient interpreters appear to have been as perplexed with the expression as the modern. The allusion appears to be to some peculiar mode of washing the hands, among the Jews, which is now unknown; save that they have still curious rules for washing up to the elbow, or to the wrist, or to the joints of the fingers.

V. 4. Washing of cups and pots and brazen vessels and couches-The Greek word (baptisms) means indifferently either washing or sprinkling. The cups, pots, and vessels were washed; the couches sprinkled.

Verse 4. And when they come] This clause is added by our translators, to fill up the sense; but it was probably a part of the original: for ean elqwsi is the reading of the Codex Bezæ, Vulgate, Armenian, and most of the Itala. The clause in my old MS. Bible is read thus: And thei turninge agein fro chepinge. The words seem essentially necessary to a proper understanding of the text; and, if not admitted on the above authority, they must be supplied in italics, as in our common translation. Except they wash] Or dip; for baptiswntai may mean either. But instead of the word in the text, the famous Codex Vaticanus; (B,) eight others, and Euthymius, have pantiswntai, sprinkle. However, the Jews sometimes washed their hands previously to their eating: at other times, they simply dipped or plunged them into the water.

Of cups] pothriwn; any kind of earthen vessels.

Pots] Of measures-xestwn, from the singular xesthv, a measure for liquids, formed from the Latin sextarius, equal to a pint and a half English. See this proved by Wetstein on this place. My old MS. renders it cruetis. Of brazen vessels] calkiwn. These, if polluted, were only to be washed, or passed through the fire; whereas the earthen vessels were to be broken. And of tables.] Beds, couches-kai klinwn. This is wanting in BL, two others, and the Coptic. It is likely it means no more than the forms, or seats, on which they sat to eat. A bed or a couch was defiled, if any unclean person sat or leaned on it-a man with an issue-a leper-a woman with child, &c. As the word baptismouv, baptisms, is applied to all these, and as it is contended that this word, and the verb whence it is derived, signify dipping or immersion alone, its use in the above cases refutes that opinion and shows that it was used, not only to express dipping or immersion, but also sprinkling and washing. The cups and pots were washed; the beds and forms perhaps sprinkled; and the hands dipped up to the wrist.

Verses 3-5. For the Pharisees, &c., except they wash their hands oft — Greek, ean mh pugmh niywntai tav ceirav, except they wash their hands with their fist: or, as some render it, to the wrist. Theophylact translates it, unless they wash up to their elbows; affirming that pugmh denotes the whole of the arm, from the bending to the ends of the fingers. But this sense of the word is altogether unusual. For pugmh, properly, is the hand, with the fingers contracted into the palm, and made round. “Theophylact’s translation, however,” says Macknight, “exhibits the evangelist’s meaning. For the Jews, when they washed, held up their hands, and, contracting their fingers, received the water that was poured on them by their servants, (who had it for a part of their office, 2 Kings 3:11,) till it ran down their arms, which they washed up to their elbows. To wash with the fist, therefore, is to wash with great care.” A MS. termed Codex Bezæ, instead of pugmh, the fist, or wrist, has puknh, frequently. And when they come from the market, except they wash — Greek, baptiswntai, bathe themselves, as the word probably ought here to be rendered, (see Leviticus 15:11,) they eat not — Having the highest opinion of the importance of these institutions. Indeed, some of their rabbis carried this to such a ridiculous height, that one of them determined the neglect of washing to be a greater sin than whoredom; and another declared, it would be much better to die than to omit it. See many instances of this kind in Hammond and Whitby on the place. The Pharisees, therefore, viewing these washings in this important light, did not doubt but our Lord, by authorizing his disciples to neglect them, would expose himself to universal censure, as one who despised the most sacred services of religion; services to which a sanction was given by the approbation and practice of the whole nation. Accordingly, they asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders? — Hast thou taught them to despise these institutions? But while they pretended nothing but a sorrowful concern for the contempt which the disciples cast on institutions so sacred, their real intention was to make Jesus himself to be detested by the people as a deceiver. But the charge of impiety which they thus brought against him and his disciples, he easily retorted upon them with ten-fold strength. For he shows clearly, that notwithstanding their pretended regard for the duties of godliness, they were themselves guilty of the grossest violations of the divine law. And as they thus transgressed, not through ignorance, but knowingly, they were the worst of sinners, mere hypocrites, who deserved to be abhorred by all good men; and the rather, as God had long ago testified his displeasure against them, in the prophecy which Isaiah had uttered concerning them. He answered, Well hath Esaias prophesied, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:7-9.

4. Except they wash — That is, except they baptize. A different word from the previous word rendered wash. So also in this verse the baptism of cups and pots, brazen vessels and tables. Tables — The Greek word thus translated should be rendered couches; meaning the couches upon which they used to recline at meals. We cannot suppose these couches were wholly immersed in or under water, a process which would be very likely, if often performed, to be destructive to them. We cannot but believe that these, like the “divers washings” mentioned by Saint Paul in Hebrews 9:10, were sprinklings or affusion.

Verse 4. Except they wash. — Thinking that they might contract impurity from accidental contact with impure persons in the throng of a market, they ate not except they baptized, meaning, probably, bathed themselves; but this will not prove that to baptize always signifies to immerse, inasmuch as the bathing or washing of the whole body might be performed by affusion, and no doubt often was; and we read also, in what follows, of the Pharisees holding the washing, baptism, of cups and pots, and brazen vessels, and of tables, klinwn, the couches on which they reclined at meals, and which scarcely appear proper subjects for immersion: although it must be acknowledged that in the rules of the more modern Jews, in these matters, the couches are directed to be taken in pieces and dipped. Cups, pots, and other vessels, might be polluted by a person, unclean by the law, having touched them, and the couches by such persons having reclined upon them. Persons legally unclean were not permitted to come into society until they were purified, as those who had touched a dead body, &c.; but these washings appear to have proceeded from over scrupulosity, lest any such defilement had accidentally taken place, unknown to the master of the house.

V. 5. The tradition of the elders-The rule delivered down from your forefathers.

Verse 5. Why walk not thy disciples] See Clarke on Matthew 15:2-9.

Verses 3-5. For the Pharisees, &c., except they wash their hands oft — Greek, ean mh pugmh niywntai tav ceirav, except they wash their hands with their fist: or, as some render it, to the wrist. Theophylact translates it, unless they wash up to their elbows; affirming that pugmh denotes the whole of the arm, from the bending to the ends of the fingers. But this sense of the word is altogether unusual. For pugmh, properly, is the hand, with the fingers contracted into the palm, and made round. “Theophylact’s translation, however,” says Macknight, “exhibits the evangelist’s meaning. For the Jews, when they washed, held up their hands, and, contracting their fingers, received the water that was poured on them by their servants, (who had it for a part of their office, 2 Kings 3:11,) till it ran down their arms, which they washed up to their elbows. To wash with the fist, therefore, is to wash with great care.” A MS. termed Codex Bezæ, instead of pugmh, the fist, or wrist, has puknh, frequently. And when they come from the market, except they wash — Greek, baptiswntai, bathe themselves, as the word probably ought here to be rendered, (see Leviticus 15:11,) they eat not — Having the highest opinion of the importance of these institutions. Indeed, some of their rabbis carried this to such a ridiculous height, that one of them determined the neglect of washing to be a greater sin than whoredom; and another declared, it would be much better to die than to omit it. See many instances of this kind in Hammond and Whitby on the place. The Pharisees, therefore, viewing these washings in this important light, did not doubt but our Lord, by authorizing his disciples to neglect them, would expose himself to universal censure, as one who despised the most sacred services of religion; services to which a sanction was given by the approbation and practice of the whole nation. Accordingly, they asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders? — Hast thou taught them to despise these institutions? But while they pretended nothing but a sorrowful concern for the contempt which the disciples cast on institutions so sacred, their real intention was to make Jesus himself to be detested by the people as a deceiver. But the charge of impiety which they thus brought against him and his disciples, he easily retorted upon them with ten-fold strength. For he shows clearly, that notwithstanding their pretended regard for the duties of godliness, they were themselves guilty of the grossest violations of the divine law. And as they thus transgressed, not through ignorance, but knowingly, they were the worst of sinners, mere hypocrites, who deserved to be abhorred by all good men; and the rather, as God had long ago testified his displeasure against them, in the prophecy which Isaiah had uttered concerning them. He answered, Well hath Esaias prophesied, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:7-9.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

V. 6. Isaiah 29:13.

Verse 6. Honoureth me] me tima-but the Codex Bezæ, and three copies of the Itala, have me agapa, loveth me:-the Æthiopic has both readings.

6. Esaias prophesied — Matthew (Matthew 15:6-8) gives these words in a different and more appropriate order. The quotation from the prophet naturally follows as a confirmation of the description which our Lord himself gives to the Pharisees to their face. It may be added that Mark shows himself not the mere copyist of Matthew, from the fact that he does not here, as sometimes, simply add some heightening expressions; but he adds words spoken by Jesus, and with all the divine style of the Great Teacher, which are given by no other evangelist.

Ver. 7. Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. See on Matthew 15:9. The pharisees came to Christ with unclean hands, violating the first duty of the second table by exempting for corban, a paltry gift, a young man from supporting his aged parents. Men who reprove others should themselves be pure. The rigorous observance of traditions was an affliction. How could a man in the field wash before meat when he had no water. The evangelist adds a word more than Matthew, that meat, like sin, does not enter the heart: ver. 15. — Bruce found a people in Abyssinia called the Remmont, once the Falasha, who have a great abhorrence of fish, because they boast of a descent from the prophet Jonah. They carry wood and water to Gondar, a people of whom the Abyssinians speak with contempt. Having as christians been once baptized, and having once received the holy sacrament, they seem to pay no further attention to religion. On coming from market or any public place, they wash themselves from head to foot, lest they should have touched any one of a different sect to their own, esteeming all unclean. — Travels, vol. 4. p.

275. This enterprising Caledonian had evidently received this account of those poor christians in Abyssinia from their mahommedan enemies.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verse 8. Washing of pots and cups, &c.] This whole clause is wanting in BL, five others, and the Coptic: one MS. omits this and the whole of the ninth verse. The eighth verse is not found in the parallel place of Matthew 15:7-9.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verse 9. Full well] kalws,-a strong irony. How noble is your conduct! From conscientious attachment to your own traditions ye have annihilated the commandments of God!

That ye may keep] But sthshte, that ye may establish, is the reading of D, three others, Syriac, all the Itala, with Cyprian, Jerome, and Zeno. Griesbach thinks it should be received instead of the other. God’s law was nothing to these men, in comparison of their own: hear a case in point. “Rabba said, How foolish are most men! They observe the precepts of the Divine law, and neglect the statutes of the rabbins!” Maccoth, fol. 22.

Verses 9-13. And he said, Full well — Kalwv, fairly, wholly; ye reject, &c. — Or, reading the word separately, Finely done! How praiseworthy is your conduct! A strong irony. Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition — The words, your own, are emphatical, distinguishing the commandments of men, the corrupt traditions of the Pharisees, from the commandments of God. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother — “Lest the charge, which our Lord brought against the Pharisees, should be thought without foundation, because it contained an imputation of such gross profaneness, he supported it by an instance of an atrocious kind. God, saith he, has commanded children to honour their parents, that is, among other things, to maintain them when reduced to poverty, as the word honour signifies, 1 Timothy 5:17, promising life to such as do so, and threatening death against those that do otherwise. Nevertheless, ye Pharisees, presumptuously making light of the divine commandment, affirm that it is a more sacred duty to enrich the temple than to nourish one’s parents, though they be in the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to the great Parent is better bestowed than that which is given for the support of our parents on earth; as if the interest of God were different from that of his creatures. Nay, ye impiously teach that a man may lawfully suffer his parents to starve, if he can say to them, It is corban, (a gifts) &c., by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me — That is, that which should have succoured you, is given to the temple. Thus ye hypocrites have, by your frivolous traditions, made void the commandment of God, though of immutable and eternal obligation; and disguised with the cloak of piety the most horrid and unnatural action that a man can easily be guilty of.” — See Macknight, and the note on Matthew 15:4-6.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

V. 10. Exodus 20:12; 21:17.

Verse 10. For Moses said, &c.] See all these verses, from this to the 23d, explained Matthew 15:3-20.

Verses 9-13. And he said, Full well — Kalwv, fairly, wholly; ye reject, &c. — Or, reading the word separately, Finely done! How praiseworthy is your conduct! A strong irony. Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition — The words, your own, are emphatical, distinguishing the commandments of men, the corrupt traditions of the Pharisees, from the commandments of God. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother — “Lest the charge, which our Lord brought against the Pharisees, should be thought without foundation, because it contained an imputation of such gross profaneness, he supported it by an instance of an atrocious kind. God, saith he, has commanded children to honour their parents, that is, among other things, to maintain them when reduced to poverty, as the word honour signifies, 1 Timothy 5:17, promising life to such as do so, and threatening death against those that do otherwise. Nevertheless, ye Pharisees, presumptuously making light of the divine commandment, affirm that it is a more sacred duty to enrich the temple than to nourish one’s parents, though they be in the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to the great Parent is better bestowed than that which is given for the support of our parents on earth; as if the interest of God were different from that of his creatures. Nay, ye impiously teach that a man may lawfully suffer his parents to starve, if he can say to them, It is corban, (a gifts) &c., by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me — That is, that which should have succoured you, is given to the temple. Thus ye hypocrites have, by your frivolous traditions, made void the commandment of God, though of immutable and eternal obligation; and disguised with the cloak of piety the most horrid and unnatural action that a man can easily be guilty of.” — See Macknight, and the note on Matthew 15:4-6.

Ver. 10. Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death. “Moth jumath,” as in Beza, without any hope of commutation of punishment. This quotation is a full stroke at the commutation of corban, which excused a man from maintaining his aged parents.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 9-13. And he said, Full well — Kalwv, fairly, wholly; ye reject, &c. — Or, reading the word separately, Finely done! How praiseworthy is your conduct! A strong irony. Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition — The words, your own, are emphatical, distinguishing the commandments of men, the corrupt traditions of the Pharisees, from the commandments of God. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother — “Lest the charge, which our Lord brought against the Pharisees, should be thought without foundation, because it contained an imputation of such gross profaneness, he supported it by an instance of an atrocious kind. God, saith he, has commanded children to honour their parents, that is, among other things, to maintain them when reduced to poverty, as the word honour signifies, 1 Timothy 5:17, promising life to such as do so, and threatening death against those that do otherwise. Nevertheless, ye Pharisees, presumptuously making light of the divine commandment, affirm that it is a more sacred duty to enrich the temple than to nourish one’s parents, though they be in the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to the great Parent is better bestowed than that which is given for the support of our parents on earth; as if the interest of God were different from that of his creatures. Nay, ye impiously teach that a man may lawfully suffer his parents to starve, if he can say to them, It is corban, (a gifts) &c., by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me — That is, that which should have succoured you, is given to the temple. Thus ye hypocrites have, by your frivolous traditions, made void the commandment of God, though of immutable and eternal obligation; and disguised with the cloak of piety the most horrid and unnatural action that a man can easily be guilty of.” — See Macknight, and the note on Matthew 15:4-6.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 9-13. And he said, Full well — Kalwv, fairly, wholly; ye reject, &c. — Or, reading the word separately, Finely done! How praiseworthy is your conduct! A strong irony. Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition — The words, your own, are emphatical, distinguishing the commandments of men, the corrupt traditions of the Pharisees, from the commandments of God. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother — “Lest the charge, which our Lord brought against the Pharisees, should be thought without foundation, because it contained an imputation of such gross profaneness, he supported it by an instance of an atrocious kind. God, saith he, has commanded children to honour their parents, that is, among other things, to maintain them when reduced to poverty, as the word honour signifies, 1 Timothy 5:17, promising life to such as do so, and threatening death against those that do otherwise. Nevertheless, ye Pharisees, presumptuously making light of the divine commandment, affirm that it is a more sacred duty to enrich the temple than to nourish one’s parents, though they be in the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to the great Parent is better bestowed than that which is given for the support of our parents on earth; as if the interest of God were different from that of his creatures. Nay, ye impiously teach that a man may lawfully suffer his parents to starve, if he can say to them, It is corban, (a gifts) &c., by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me — That is, that which should have succoured you, is given to the temple. Thus ye hypocrites have, by your frivolous traditions, made void the commandment of God, though of immutable and eternal obligation; and disguised with the cloak of piety the most horrid and unnatural action that a man can easily be guilty of.” — See Macknight, and the note on Matthew 15:4-6.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verse 13. Your tradition] D, later Syriac in the margin, Saxon, and all the Itala but one, add th mwra, by your FOOLISH tradition. [Anglo-Saxon], your foolish law:-Anglo-Saxon.

Verses 9-13. And he said, Full well — Kalwv, fairly, wholly; ye reject, &c. — Or, reading the word separately, Finely done! How praiseworthy is your conduct! A strong irony. Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition — The words, your own, are emphatical, distinguishing the commandments of men, the corrupt traditions of the Pharisees, from the commandments of God. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother — “Lest the charge, which our Lord brought against the Pharisees, should be thought without foundation, because it contained an imputation of such gross profaneness, he supported it by an instance of an atrocious kind. God, saith he, has commanded children to honour their parents, that is, among other things, to maintain them when reduced to poverty, as the word honour signifies, 1 Timothy 5:17, promising life to such as do so, and threatening death against those that do otherwise. Nevertheless, ye Pharisees, presumptuously making light of the divine commandment, affirm that it is a more sacred duty to enrich the temple than to nourish one’s parents, though they be in the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to the great Parent is better bestowed than that which is given for the support of our parents on earth; as if the interest of God were different from that of his creatures. Nay, ye impiously teach that a man may lawfully suffer his parents to starve, if he can say to them, It is corban, (a gifts) &c., by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me — That is, that which should have succoured you, is given to the temple. Thus ye hypocrites have, by your frivolous traditions, made void the commandment of God, though of immutable and eternal obligation; and disguised with the cloak of piety the most horrid and unnatural action that a man can easily be guilty of.” — See Macknight, and the note on Matthew 15:4-6.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verse 14. When he had called all the people] But instead of panta, all, palin, again, is the reading of BDL, later Syriac in the margin, Coptic, Æthiopic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala but one. Mill and Griesbach approve of this reading.

Verses 14-16. When he had called all the people unto him — See note on Matthew 15:10, 11. He said, Hearken unto me, every one of you — As if he had said, Hear how absurd the precepts are which the scribes inculcate upon you, and understand the true differences of things. These hypocrites, anxious about trifles, neglect the great duties of godliness and righteousness, which are of unchangeable obligation. They shudder with horror at hands unwashed, but are perfectly easy under the guilt of impure minds, although not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, in the sight of God, but that which cometh out of the mouth; because, in the sight of God, cleanness and uncleanness are qualities, not of the body, but of the mind, which can be polluted by nothing but sin. Our Lord did not at all mean to overthrow the distinction which the law had established between things clean and unclean, in the matter of man’s food. That distinction, like all the other emblematical institutions of Moses, was wisely appointed; being designed to teach the Israelites how carefully the familiar company and conversation of the wicked is to be avoided. He only affirmed, that in itself no kind of meat can defile the mind, which is the man, though by accident it may: as when a man eats what is pernicious to his health, or takes an improper quantity of food or liquor. And a Jew might have done it by presumptuously eating what was forbidden by the Mosaic law, which still continued in force: yet in all these instances, the pollution would arise from the wickedness of the heart, and be just proportionable to it, which is what our Lord here asserts.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

V. 15. There is nothing entering into a man from without which can defile him-Though it is very true, a man may bring guilt, which is moral defilement, upon himself by eating what hurts his health, or by excess either in meat or drink yet even here the pollution arises from the wickedness of the heart, and is just proportionable to it. And this is all that our Lord asserts.

Verses 14-16. When he had called all the people unto him — See note on Matthew 15:10, 11. He said, Hearken unto me, every one of you — As if he had said, Hear how absurd the precepts are which the scribes inculcate upon you, and understand the true differences of things. These hypocrites, anxious about trifles, neglect the great duties of godliness and righteousness, which are of unchangeable obligation. They shudder with horror at hands unwashed, but are perfectly easy under the guilt of impure minds, although not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, in the sight of God, but that which cometh out of the mouth; because, in the sight of God, cleanness and uncleanness are qualities, not of the body, but of the mind, which can be polluted by nothing but sin. Our Lord did not at all mean to overthrow the distinction which the law had established between things clean and unclean, in the matter of man’s food. That distinction, like all the other emblematical institutions of Moses, was wisely appointed; being designed to teach the Israelites how carefully the familiar company and conversation of the wicked is to be avoided. He only affirmed, that in itself no kind of meat can defile the mind, which is the man, though by accident it may: as when a man eats what is pernicious to his health, or takes an improper quantity of food or liquor. And a Jew might have done it by presumptuously eating what was forbidden by the Mosaic law, which still continued in force: yet in all these instances, the pollution would arise from the wickedness of the heart, and be just proportionable to it, which is what our Lord here asserts.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 14-16. When he had called all the people unto him — See note on Matthew 15:10, 11. He said, Hearken unto me, every one of you — As if he had said, Hear how absurd the precepts are which the scribes inculcate upon you, and understand the true differences of things. These hypocrites, anxious about trifles, neglect the great duties of godliness and righteousness, which are of unchangeable obligation. They shudder with horror at hands unwashed, but are perfectly easy under the guilt of impure minds, although not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, in the sight of God, but that which cometh out of the mouth; because, in the sight of God, cleanness and uncleanness are qualities, not of the body, but of the mind, which can be polluted by nothing but sin. Our Lord did not at all mean to overthrow the distinction which the law had established between things clean and unclean, in the matter of man’s food. That distinction, like all the other emblematical institutions of Moses, was wisely appointed; being designed to teach the Israelites how carefully the familiar company and conversation of the wicked is to be avoided. He only affirmed, that in itself no kind of meat can defile the mind, which is the man, though by accident it may: as when a man eats what is pernicious to his health, or takes an improper quantity of food or liquor. And a Jew might have done it by presumptuously eating what was forbidden by the Mosaic law, which still continued in force: yet in all these instances, the pollution would arise from the wickedness of the heart, and be just proportionable to it, which is what our Lord here asserts.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

17. Disciples asked — Through Peter.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

V. 19. Purging all meats-Probably the seat was usually placed over running water.

Verse 19. Into the draught] See Clarke on “Matthew 15:17”. Purging all meats?] For what is separated from the different aliments taken into the stomach, and thrown out of the body, is the innutritious parts of all the meats that are eaten; and thus they are purged, nothing being left behind but what is proper for the support of the body.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

Ver. 21. Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts. Here is the fountain of sin. The issues of life have their source in the heart, the seat of all depravity. The most powerful of exterior causes of excitement is, an evil eye. Achan saw in Jericho an ingot of gold, and a Babylonian garment. Here the motions of evil commence, followed by ruin in all its forms. — But what is the remedy? The answer of philosophy is here vague and weak, that of the gospel pure and perfect. Come unto me, says the Saviour, and I will give you rest. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. Behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and be changed into the same image, which you see in the gospel as clearly as you see your own face in a mirror; yea, be changed from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. There is a moral connection between the heart and the objects with which it converses; and these acts of faith, connected with the ever-burning altar of piety, will produce a new creation in the soul, and make a man as heavenly as he has been earthly, as holy as he has been sinful. Sin can be conquered only by the mighty and effectual working of the Spirit of God. Romans 8:13. Ephesians 3:7.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

V. 22. Wickedness-The word means ill natured, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections.

Foolishness-Directly contrary to sobriety of thought and discourse: all kind of wild imaginations and extravagant passions.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

22. An evil eye — An envious eye.

§ 67. — HEALING OF THE SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN’S DAUGHTER, 24-30. (See notes on Matthew 15:21-28.) § 68. — HEALING DEAFNESS AND IMPEDIMENT, 31-37.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

Verses 17-23. When he was entered into the house — And was apart from the people; his disciples asked him — Namely, Peter, in the name of the rest, (Matthew 15:15,) concerning the parable — So they term the declaration which our Lord had just uttered, because it appeared to them to be mysterious and needing explanation, which, that it should, seems very strange. And he saith, Are ye so without understanding — So dull of apprehension, so ignorant of the nature of true holiness? see note on Matthew 15:15-20, where most of the particulars contained in this paragraph are explained. From within proceed evil thoughts, &c. — The things here mentioned as coming from the heart, and defiling the man, are all either sins committed against the second table of the law, as they are reckoned up by St. Paul, Romans 13:9; or the dispositions which incline men to them. Covetousness — Gr. pleonexiai, covetousness, or irregular and inordinate desires; wickedness, Ponhriai, ill-nature, cruelty, inhumanity, and all malevolent affections; an evil eye — An envious, grudging disposition; pride — uperhfania, that pride which makes us contemn and overlook others, as unworthy of our regard, and highly to resent the least affront, or seeming injury; foolishness — afrosunh, foolish, ungovernable passion; the word stands directly opposed to swfrosunh, or sobriety of thought and discourse; and therefore particularly signifies all kinds of wild imaginations and extravagant passions. “It is remarkable, that three of the crimes here mentioned, as pollutions of the mind, namely, murder, false witness, and blasphemy, were, on this very occasion, committed by the persons who charged our Lord with impiety because he neglected such ceremonial precepts of religion as were of human invention. For, while they reigned the highest reverence for the divine law, they were making void its most essential precepts. At the very time that they condemned the disciples for so small an offence as eating with unwashed hands, contrary only to the traditions of the elders, the scribes and Pharisees were murdering Jesus by their calumnies and false witnessings, notwithstanding it was the only study of his life to do them all the good possible!” All these evil things come from within — The Lord Jesus “represents these evil things as proceeding out of the mouth, (Matthew 15:18,) not so much by way of contrast to meats, which enter by the mouth into a man, as because some of them are committed with the faculty of speech, such as false witness and blasphemy; and others of them are helped forward by its assistance, namely, adultery, deceit, &c. — Thus our Lord defended his disciples by a beautiful chain of reasoning, wherein he has shown the true nature of actions, and loaded with perpetual infamy the Jewish teachers and their brood, who in every age and country may be known by features exactly resembling their parents, the main strokes of which are, that by their frivolous superstitions they weaken, and sometimes destroy, the eternal and immutable rules of righteousness.” — Macknight.

§ 66. — DEBATE WITH THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES IN REGARD TO TRADITIONS, 1-23. (See notes on Matthew 15:1-20.)

1. Scribes, which came from Jerusalem — It does not certainly appear, as Olshausen remarks, whether the scribes from Jerusalem really belong to Jerusalem, or are scribes of the north, just returned from the passover, full of the temper caught at Jerusalem, and ready to raise a dispute.

Verses 9-23. Ye reject the commandment of God, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 15:3-20. To the enumeration of the evils which proceed out of the heart of man, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark adds covetousness, wickedness, ponhria, which is sometimes taken generally in the sense of vice, vitiositas, sometimes for a species of it, as malevolence. The plural form being here used may, however, lead to the more general sense, vice of every kind and degree. Deceit, dolov, fraud, and guile; lasciviousness; an evil eye, ofqalmov ponhrov is fqonov, envy; pride; foolishness, afrosunh, which is probably to be taken as often in the Old Testament for abandoned wickedness and impiety. Whether we regard the thirteen evils enumerated by St. Mark as proceeding from the human heart, or the seven by St. Matthew, a sufficiently awful picture is drawn of fallen human nature; and yet in neither have we a complete catalogue of the vicious affections which break forth into the various evils and crimes which disorder and pollute society. It is here also to be noted that this is not a description of the heart of some one individual, nor of a class of men in some particular place or age; but of the heart of man: and so it is the picture of all the unregenerate, and proves the absolute necessity of the renewing grace of God in the case of every man; for, in this his natural state of pollution and defilement, no man can enter into “the kingdom of God.” Our Lord’s words place the accurate and superstitious care of the Pharisees to avoid fancied defilements, in the strongest contrast with their disregard of the state of their hearts, and of the mass of corruption which was accumulated there, and from its bad fountain was sending forth such noxious streams; and the great lesson which it is intended to teach all is the utter futility of a ceremonial religion, however scrupulous, if purity of heart be neglected.

V. 24. Matthew 15:21.

Verse 24. Into the borders of Tyre end Sidon] Or, into the country between Tyre and Sidon. I have adopted this translation from KYPKE, who proves that this is the meaning of the word meqoria, in the best Greek writers.

Verses 24-26. From thence he arose, and went into the borders — Eiv ta meqoria, into the parts which bordered upon, or rather lay between, Tyre and Sidon; and entered into a house, and would have no man know it — Namely, that he was there, or, know him. Jesus, knowing that the Pharisees were highly offended at the liberty which he had taken in the preceding discourse, in plucking off from them the mask of pretended piety, wherewith they had covered their malevolent spirit and conduct, and not ignorant of the plots which they were forming against his reputation and life, he judged it proper to retire with his disciples into this remote region, with a view to conceal himself a while from them. We learn from Joshua 19:28, 29, that Tyre and Sidon were cities in the lot of Asher; which tribe having never been able wholly to drive out the natives, their posterity remained even in our Lord’s time. Hence he did not preach the doctrine of the kingdom in this country, because it was mostly inhabited by heathen, to whom he was not sent. See on Matthew 10:5. Neither did he work miracles here with that readiness which he showed everywhere else, because, by concealing himself, he proposed to shun the Pharisees. But he could not be hid — It seems he was personally known to many of the heathen in this country, who, no doubt, had often heard and seen him in Galilee. And, as for the rest, they were sufficiently acquainted with him by his fame, which had spread itself very early through all Syria, Matthew 4:24. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him — This person was a descendant of the ancient inhabitants, and probably by religion a heathen. She “is called, Matthew 15:21, a woman of Canaan; here, a Syro-Phenician, and a Greek. There is in these denominations no inconsistency. By birth, she was of Syro-Phenicia, so the country about Tyre and Sidon was denominated; by descent, of Canaan; as most of the Tyrians and Sidonians originally were; and by religion, a Greek, according to the Jewish manner of distinguishing between themselves and idolaters. Ever since the Macedonian conquest, Greek became a common name for idolater, or, at least, one uncircumcised, and was equivalent to Gentile. Of this we have many examples in Paul’s epistles, and in the Acts. Jews and Greeks, Ellhnev, are the same with Jews and Gentiles.” — Campbell. Nevertheless, though a heathen, this woman had conceived a very great, honourable, and just notion, not only of our Lord’s power and goodness, but even of his character as Messiah; the notion of which she had probably learned by conversing with the Jews. For when she heard of his arrival, she came in quest of him, and meeting him, it seems, as he passed along the street, she fell at his feet, addressing him by the title of son of David, and besought him to cast the evil spirit out of her daughter. See the story related more at large, and explained, Matthew 15:22-28.

Verse 25. A certain woman] See this account of the Syrophoenician woman explained at large, Matthew 15:21-28.

Verses 24-26. From thence he arose, and went into the borders — Eiv ta meqoria, into the parts which bordered upon, or rather lay between, Tyre and Sidon; and entered into a house, and would have no man know it — Namely, that he was there, or, know him. Jesus, knowing that the Pharisees were highly offended at the liberty which he had taken in the preceding discourse, in plucking off from them the mask of pretended piety, wherewith they had covered their malevolent spirit and conduct, and not ignorant of the plots which they were forming against his reputation and life, he judged it proper to retire with his disciples into this remote region, with a view to conceal himself a while from them. We learn from Joshua 19:28, 29, that Tyre and Sidon were cities in the lot of Asher; which tribe having never been able wholly to drive out the natives, their posterity remained even in our Lord’s time. Hence he did not preach the doctrine of the kingdom in this country, because it was mostly inhabited by heathen, to whom he was not sent. See on Matthew 10:5. Neither did he work miracles here with that readiness which he showed everywhere else, because, by concealing himself, he proposed to shun the Pharisees. But he could not be hid — It seems he was personally known to many of the heathen in this country, who, no doubt, had often heard and seen him in Galilee. And, as for the rest, they were sufficiently acquainted with him by his fame, which had spread itself very early through all Syria, Matthew 4:24. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him — This person was a descendant of the ancient inhabitants, and probably by religion a heathen. She “is called, Matthew 15:21, a woman of Canaan; here, a Syro-Phenician, and a Greek. There is in these denominations no inconsistency. By birth, she was of Syro-Phenicia, so the country about Tyre and Sidon was denominated; by descent, of Canaan; as most of the Tyrians and Sidonians originally were; and by religion, a Greek, according to the Jewish manner of distinguishing between themselves and idolaters. Ever since the Macedonian conquest, Greek became a common name for idolater, or, at least, one uncircumcised, and was equivalent to Gentile. Of this we have many examples in Paul’s epistles, and in the Acts. Jews and Greeks, Ellhnev, are the same with Jews and Gentiles.” — Campbell. Nevertheless, though a heathen, this woman had conceived a very great, honourable, and just notion, not only of our Lord’s power and goodness, but even of his character as Messiah; the notion of which she had probably learned by conversing with the Jews. For when she heard of his arrival, she came in quest of him, and meeting him, it seems, as he passed along the street, she fell at his feet, addressing him by the title of son of David, and besought him to cast the evil spirit out of her daughter. See the story related more at large, and explained, Matthew 15:22-28.

Ver. 25, 26. A certain woman — a Greek, a Hellenist. Mark adds this to Matthew 15:21. How illustrious is the character of this woman, whose case is worthily recorded by three evangelists. Severe afflictions excited her cries, and faith emboldened her pleadings. Her cries were not silenced by the silence of the Saviour. She ceased not to cry, though he had apparently disregarded the intercessions of the apostles, by saying, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Nay, the severe proverb of the jews, who called the gentiles dogs, only heightened her claims. She ascended above discouragement, and all these mountains, still keeping her eye on the charity that never faileth. — See on Matthew 15:21, 28.

Verse 25. For a certain woman, &c. — See notes on Matthew 15:22- 28.

V. 26. The woman was a Greek (that is, a Gentile, not a Jew) a Syrophenician or Canaanite. Canaan was also called Syrophenicia, as lying between Syria, properly so called, and Phenicia.

Verse 26. The woman was a Greek] Rosenmuller has well observed, that all heathens or idolaters were called ~ellhnev, Greeks, by the Jews; whether they were Parthians, Medes, Arabs, Indians, or Æthiopians. Jews and Greeks divided the whole world at this period.

Verses 24-26. From thence he arose, and went into the borders — Eiv ta meqoria, into the parts which bordered upon, or rather lay between, Tyre and Sidon; and entered into a house, and would have no man know it — Namely, that he was there, or, know him. Jesus, knowing that the Pharisees were highly offended at the liberty which he had taken in the preceding discourse, in plucking off from them the mask of pretended piety, wherewith they had covered their malevolent spirit and conduct, and not ignorant of the plots which they were forming against his reputation and life, he judged it proper to retire with his disciples into this remote region, with a view to conceal himself a while from them. We learn from Joshua 19:28, 29, that Tyre and Sidon were cities in the lot of Asher; which tribe having never been able wholly to drive out the natives, their posterity remained even in our Lord’s time. Hence he did not preach the doctrine of the kingdom in this country, because it was mostly inhabited by heathen, to whom he was not sent. See on Matthew 10:5. Neither did he work miracles here with that readiness which he showed everywhere else, because, by concealing himself, he proposed to shun the Pharisees. But he could not be hid — It seems he was personally known to many of the heathen in this country, who, no doubt, had often heard and seen him in Galilee. And, as for the rest, they were sufficiently acquainted with him by his fame, which had spread itself very early through all Syria, Matthew 4:24. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him — This person was a descendant of the ancient inhabitants, and probably by religion a heathen. She “is called, Matthew 15:21, a woman of Canaan; here, a Syro-Phenician, and a Greek. There is in these denominations no inconsistency. By birth, she was of Syro-Phenicia, so the country about Tyre and Sidon was denominated; by descent, of Canaan; as most of the Tyrians and Sidonians originally were; and by religion, a Greek, according to the Jewish manner of distinguishing between themselves and idolaters. Ever since the Macedonian conquest, Greek became a common name for idolater, or, at least, one uncircumcised, and was equivalent to Gentile. Of this we have many examples in Paul’s epistles, and in the Acts. Jews and Greeks, Ellhnev, are the same with Jews and Gentiles.” — Campbell. Nevertheless, though a heathen, this woman had conceived a very great, honourable, and just notion, not only of our Lord’s power and goodness, but even of his character as Messiah; the notion of which she had probably learned by conversing with the Jews. For when she heard of his arrival, she came in quest of him, and meeting him, it seems, as he passed along the street, she fell at his feet, addressing him by the title of son of David, and besought him to cast the evil spirit out of her daughter. See the story related more at large, and explained, Matthew 15:22-28.

Ver. 25, 26. A certain woman — a Greek, a Hellenist. Mark adds this to Matthew 15:21. How illustrious is the character of this woman, whose case is worthily recorded by three evangelists. Severe afflictions excited her cries, and faith emboldened her pleadings. Her cries were not silenced by the silence of the Saviour. She ceased not to cry, though he had apparently disregarded the intercessions of the apostles, by saying, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Nay, the severe proverb of the jews, who called the gentiles dogs, only heightened her claims. She ascended above discouragement, and all these mountains, still keeping her eye on the charity that never faileth. — See on Matthew 15:21, 28.

Verse 30. Laid upon the bed.] The demon having tormented her, so that her bodily strength was exhausted, and she was now laid upon the couch to take a little rest. The Æthiopic has a remarkable reading here, which gives a very different, and, I think, a better sense. And she found her daughter CLOTHED, SITTING upon the couch, and the demon gone out.

V. 31. Matthew 15:29.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

Ver. 31. Decapolis, beyond Jordan, contained Pella, Macherus, and eight other towns.

Verse 32. They bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech] Though from the letter of the text, it does not appear that this man was absolutely deprived of speech; for mogilalov literally signifies, one that cannot speak plainly-a stammerer; yet it is certain also that the word means a dumb person; and it is likely that the person in question was dumb, because he was deaf; and it is generally found that he who is totally deaf is dumb also. Almost all the versions understand the word thus: and the concluding words seem to confirm this-He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the DUMB, kwfouv, to speak.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

32. One that was deaf — That had become so since his birth and learning to speak. An impediment in his speech — A defect of utterance, as some think, which had grown upon him from not hearing his own voice, as is often the case. It was more probably a tongue tie in addition to his deafness, as appears by the description of the cure in verse 35.

Verse 32. One that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech. — Mogilalov is taken by some, improperly, for dumb. — Had he been deaf from his birth, he would probably have been dumb; but that he spake before he was cured, appears from verse 35, where it is said, he spake plain, which is never used of those dumb persons who were restored to the use of speech by our Lord. The word signifies a stammerer, or tongue-tied person; and this infirmity would be exasperated by the loss of his hearing. He appears to have been an object more pitiable than a person born deaf, and therefore entirely dumb, as being more sensible of his privations.

V. 33. He put his fingers into his ears-Perhaps intending to teach us, that we are not to prescribe to him (as they who brought this man attempted to do) but to expect his blessing by whatsoever means he pleases: even though there should be no proportion or resemblance between the means used, and the benefit to be conveyed thereby.

Verse 33. And he spit, and touched his tongue] This place is exceedingly difficult. There is scarcely an action of our Lord’s life but one can see an evident reason for, except this. Various interpretations are given of it-none of them satisfies my mind. The Abbe Giradeau spiritualizes it thus:-1. He took him aside from the multitude-When Christ saves a sinner, he separates him from all his old evil companions, and from the spirit and maxims of an ungodly world. 2. He put his fingers in his ears-to show that they could be opened only by the finger, i.e. the power, of God, and that they should be shut to every word and voice, but what came from him. 3. Spitting out he touched his tongue-to show that his mental taste and relish should be entirely changed: that he should detest those things which he before esteemed, and esteem those which he before hated. 4. Looking up to heaven-to signify that all help comes from God, and to teach the new convert to keep continually looking to and depending upon him. 5. He groaned-to show the wretched state of man by sins and how tenderly concerned God is for his present and eternal welfare; and to intimate that men should seek the salvation of God in the spirit of genuine repentance, with strong crying and tears. 6. He said, Be opened-Sin is a shutting of the ears against the words of God; and a tying of the tongue, to render it incapable of giving God due praise. But when the all-powerful grace of Christ reaches the heart, the ear is unstopped, and the man hears distinctly-the tongue is unloosed, and the man speaks correctly. After all, it is possible that what is attributed here to Christ belongs to the person who was cured. I will give my sense of the place in a short paraphrase.

And Jesus took him aside from the multitude: and [the deaf man] put his fingers into his ears, intimating thereby to Christ that they were so stopped that he could not hear; and having spat out, that there might be nothing remaining in his mouth to offend the sight when Christ should look at his tongue, he touched his tongue, showing to Christ that it was so bound that he could not speak: and he looked up to heaven, as if to implore assistance from above: and he groaned, being distressed because of his present affliction, and thus implored relief: for, not being able to speak, he could only groan and look up, expressing by these signs, as well as he could, his afflicted state, and the desire he had to be relieved. Then Jesus, having compassion upon him, said, Be opened: and immediately his ears were opened, so that he could hear distinctly; and the impediment to his speaking was removed, so that he spake properly. The original will admit of this interpretation; and this, I am inclined to believe, is the true meaning of this otherwise (to me and many others) unaccountable passage.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

33. Took him aside — In performing his miracles our Lord used various modes of manifesting his putting forth his divine efficiency, representing to our external senses that secret act of power which the sense cannot see. Of course some external sign was needed to show to others that the result really proceeded from his will, and that the causation really went out from his person, to accomplish the thing. Sometimes he spoke a word directing the thing to take place. Sometimes he put forth his hand. He anointed a blind man’s eye with moistened clay, and sent him to Siloam. These variations of methods, all possessing no virtue in themselves, served to show the absoluteness of the dependence upon his simple will. From a great variety of miracles Mark seems to select this one on account of the number of significant signs used. Our Lord took him apart from the rest to signalize him out as the object of miracle; he put his fingers into his ears to mark the tympanum that was to be quickened; he spit and touched his tongue to show that its stiffened muscles must be lubricated into limberness; he looked up to heaven to indicate that the source of power was God; he spoke the word to mark that the effect was instant in time upon the command. Mark details the whole with great minuteness, and the word Ephphatha is no doubt the very Syro-Chaldaic word used by our Lord. See on Mark 5:41.

Verses 33-37. Took him aside from the multitude &c. — In this case our Lord entirely departed from his usual method of performing a cure. He takes him aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tied tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, sighs, as oppressed with these spectacles of human suffering, and says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Dr. Graves observes, “There are two instances beside this in which our Saviour, in performing a miracle, made use of a deliberate external application to the part which he intended to cure; and in all these the reason for employing it seems to have been one and the same, even to convey to the individuals on whom the miracles were performed a clear assurance that Jesus was the person at whose command and by whose agency the cure was wrought and to enable them to state to others the grounds of this assurance fully and circumstantially.” But we may add to this, what is perhaps a more satisfactory reason, that he thereby taught us that his Divine power operates not only immediately but often through instruments: which instrumentality ought, however, so far from turning our thoughts away from him to the creature, to impress us with a deeper sense of his power, who so often makes dull and insensible creatures the means of producing such powerful effects upon our health, happiness, and interests. The very means resorted to here were of a kind which particularly illustrated the Divine power of Christ; and therefore, though the people saw that he put his fingers into his ears, and applied spittle to his tongue, they had no lower a sense of the character of the miracle on that account, but were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. The power was not in the means employed, but in the mighty word EPHPHATHA, Be opened; for then straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And though it is true that sometimes God accomplishes his purposes by means and instruments which appear to have a natural fitness and adaptation to produce the end; yet let it be remembered that all such fitness, where even it is real, is appointed by him, and depends for its efficiency entirely upon him; and that natural powers are heightened or weakened in their efficacy under his blessing or frown, as food to nourish us or medicine to heal us, or the contrary; and that it is still God that worketh all and in all. He therefore ought to be our supreme trust; and for the good done upon earth he alone has a right to the praise.

V. 34. Ephphatha-This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal: such an address was needless; for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising the dead, John 5:21,26.

Verse 34. Ephphatha] Ethphathach, [Syriac] Syriac. It is likely that it was in this language that our Lord spoke to this poor man: and because he had pronounced the word Ephphathach with peculiar and authoritative emphasis, the evangelist thought proper to retain the original word; though the last letter in it could not be expressed by any letter in the Greek alphabet.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

Ver. 34. Ephphatha, that is, be opened. St. Mark gives untranslated the Chaldaic imperative, which our Saviour used; for opening the drum of the ear, and loosing the ligament of the tongue, as well as giving sight to one born blind, were miracles in kind and character equivalent to the creation of the world. Therefore the people said,

34. Looking up to heaven — He thereby declares that it is by no earthly or demoniac power that he performs this work, but by his oneness with the Father in heaven. Sighed — Either a deep aspiration to God, or a sigh for the woes which it is his mission to compassionate. Ephphatha — Here, as in the case of the words “Talitha cumi,” which pierced the dead ear of the maiden, Mark preserves the very word in the very language uttered. These words, which were impregnated with a power to pierce the unhearing, he thinks, are memorable words. The tradition of the Church had preserved them to him, and he deems them worthy to be preserved in the true written tradition of the Church of all ages. Memorable words they are, reminding us of those dread tones which shall pierce the ears of a slumbering race and wake it to a final resurrection.

Verses 33-37. Took him aside from the multitude &c. — In this case our Lord entirely departed from his usual method of performing a cure. He takes him aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tied tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, sighs, as oppressed with these spectacles of human suffering, and says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Dr. Graves observes, “There are two instances beside this in which our Saviour, in performing a miracle, made use of a deliberate external application to the part which he intended to cure; and in all these the reason for employing it seems to have been one and the same, even to convey to the individuals on whom the miracles were performed a clear assurance that Jesus was the person at whose command and by whose agency the cure was wrought and to enable them to state to others the grounds of this assurance fully and circumstantially.” But we may add to this, what is perhaps a more satisfactory reason, that he thereby taught us that his Divine power operates not only immediately but often through instruments: which instrumentality ought, however, so far from turning our thoughts away from him to the creature, to impress us with a deeper sense of his power, who so often makes dull and insensible creatures the means of producing such powerful effects upon our health, happiness, and interests. The very means resorted to here were of a kind which particularly illustrated the Divine power of Christ; and therefore, though the people saw that he put his fingers into his ears, and applied spittle to his tongue, they had no lower a sense of the character of the miracle on that account, but were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. The power was not in the means employed, but in the mighty word EPHPHATHA, Be opened; for then straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And though it is true that sometimes God accomplishes his purposes by means and instruments which appear to have a natural fitness and adaptation to produce the end; yet let it be remembered that all such fitness, where even it is real, is appointed by him, and depends for its efficiency entirely upon him; and that natural powers are heightened or weakened in their efficacy under his blessing or frown, as food to nourish us or medicine to heal us, or the contrary; and that it is still God that worketh all and in all. He therefore ought to be our supreme trust; and for the good done upon earth he alone has a right to the praise.

Verse 35. He spake plain.] orqwv, distinctly, without stammering. One MS. has, And he spoke, praising God. There is no doubt of this: but the evangelist, I think, did not write these words.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

35. The string of his tongue was loosed — This cannot be well understood in a metaphorical sense, and therefore clearly shows that it was a case of a fettering membrane upon the tongue.

Verses 33-37. Took him aside from the multitude &c. — In this case our Lord entirely departed from his usual method of performing a cure. He takes him aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tied tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, sighs, as oppressed with these spectacles of human suffering, and says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Dr. Graves observes, “There are two instances beside this in which our Saviour, in performing a miracle, made use of a deliberate external application to the part which he intended to cure; and in all these the reason for employing it seems to have been one and the same, even to convey to the individuals on whom the miracles were performed a clear assurance that Jesus was the person at whose command and by whose agency the cure was wrought and to enable them to state to others the grounds of this assurance fully and circumstantially.” But we may add to this, what is perhaps a more satisfactory reason, that he thereby taught us that his Divine power operates not only immediately but often through instruments: which instrumentality ought, however, so far from turning our thoughts away from him to the creature, to impress us with a deeper sense of his power, who so often makes dull and insensible creatures the means of producing such powerful effects upon our health, happiness, and interests. The very means resorted to here were of a kind which particularly illustrated the Divine power of Christ; and therefore, though the people saw that he put his fingers into his ears, and applied spittle to his tongue, they had no lower a sense of the character of the miracle on that account, but were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. The power was not in the means employed, but in the mighty word EPHPHATHA, Be opened; for then straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And though it is true that sometimes God accomplishes his purposes by means and instruments which appear to have a natural fitness and adaptation to produce the end; yet let it be remembered that all such fitness, where even it is real, is appointed by him, and depends for its efficiency entirely upon him; and that natural powers are heightened or weakened in their efficacy under his blessing or frown, as food to nourish us or medicine to heal us, or the contrary; and that it is still God that worketh all and in all. He therefore ought to be our supreme trust; and for the good done upon earth he alone has a right to the praise.

V. 36. Them-The blind man and those that brought him.

Verse 36. Tell no man] See Clarke on “Matthew 8:4”. This miracle is not mentioned by any other of the evangelists. Another proof that Mark did not abridge Matthew. For a practical review of the different important subjects of this chapter, see Matthew 15:1-39, and particularly the observations at the end. See Clarke on “Matthew 15:39”.

Verses 31-36. He came unto the sea of Galilee, &c. — See note on Matthew 15:29-31. They bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment, &c. — Greek, Mogilalon: “He was not absolutely dumb, but stammered to such a degree, that few understood his speech, verse 35. However, the circumstance of his being able to speak in any manner, shows that his deafness was not natural, but accidental. He had heard formerly, and had learned to speak, but was now deprived of hearing, perhaps, through some fault of his own, which might be the reason that Jesus sighed for grief when he cured him. And they beseech him to put his hand upon him — His friends interceded for him, because he was not able to speak for himself, so as that any one could understand him. His desire of a cure, however, may have prompted him to do his utmost in speaking, whereby all present were made sensible of the greatness of the infirmity under which he laboured. Our Lord’s exuberant goodness easily prompted him to give this person the relief which his friends begged for him. Yet he would not do it publicly, lest the admiration of the spectators should have been raised so high as to produce bad effects; for the whole country was now following him, in expectation that he would soon set up his kingdom. Or, as Gadara, where his miracle upon the demoniacs had been so ill received, was part of this region, (see on Luke 8:26,) he might shun performing the miracle publicly, because it would have no effect upon so stupid a people. Whatever was the reason, he took the man with his relations aside from the crowd; and, because the deaf are supposed to have their ears shut, and the dumb their tongues so tied, or fastened to the under part of their mouth, as not to be able to move it, (see verse 35,) he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then touched or moistened his tongue with his spittle, to make him understand that he intended to open his ears, and loose his tongue.” — Macknight. This, perhaps, was the only reason for these symbolical actions, or our Lord might have other reasons for doing them, of which we are ignorant. “If any should ask,” says Dr. Doddridge, “why our Lord used these actions, when a word alone would have been sufficient; and such means (if they may be called means) could in themselves do nothing at all to answer the end, I frankly confess I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to know. Yet I am ready to imagine it might be intended to intimate, in a very lively manner, that we are not to pretend to enter into the reasons of all his actions; and that where we are sure that any observance whatever is appointed by him, we are humbly to submit to it, though we cannot see why it was preferred to others, which our imagination might suggest. Had Christ’s patients, like Naaman, (2 Kings 5:11, 12,) been too nice in their exceptions on these occasions, I fear they would have lost their cure; and the indulgence of a curious or a petulant mind would have been but a poor equivalent for such a loss.” And looking up to heaven — That the deaf man whom he could not instruct by words might consider from whence all benefits proceed; he sighed — Probably the circumstances above mentioned, or some others, to us unknown, made this dumb person a peculiar object of pity. Or by this example of bodily deafness and dumbness, our Lord might be led to reflect on the spiritual deafness and dumbness of men. But whatever was the cause, Christ’s sighing on this occasion evidently displayed the tender love he bore to our kind. For certainly it could be nothing less which moved him to condole our miseries, whether general or particular, in so affectionate a manner. And saith unto him, Ephphatha — This was a word of SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, not an address to God for power to heal. Such an address was needless, for Christ had a perpetual fund of power residing in himself, to work all miracles whenever he pleased, even to the raising of the dead, John 5:21, 26. And straightway his ears were opened — The word had an immediate effect, and all obstructions to his hearing distinctly, and speaking articulately and plainly, were instantly removed. And, as those bodily impediments vanished before the word of Christ’s power, the impediments of the mind to spiritual acts and duties are removed by the Spirit of Christ. He opens the internal ear, the heart, as he did Lydia’s, to understand and receive the word of God; and opens the mouth in prayer and praise. And he charged them that they should tell no man — When Jesus formerly cured the demoniac in this country, he ordered him to return to his own house, and show, namely, to his relations and friends, how great things God had done for him. But, at this miracle, the deaf and dumb man’s relations seem to have been present. Wherefore, as they had no need to be informed of the miracle, he required it to be concealed, probably for the reasons assigned in the note on Mark 5:43. Neither the man, however, nor his friends, obeyed Jesus in this; but the more he charged them — To conceal it; so much the more they published it — So greatly were they struck with the miracle, and so charmed with the modesty and humility which Christ manifested, especially the man, who, having the use of his speech given him, was very forward to exercise it in praise of so great a benefactor.

36. Tell no man — The palace of Herod at Cesarea Philippi was not distant, and mercy and miracle must in this guilty world work in secret.

Verses 33-37. Took him aside from the multitude &c. — In this case our Lord entirely departed from his usual method of performing a cure. He takes him aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tied tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, sighs, as oppressed with these spectacles of human suffering, and says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Dr. Graves observes, “There are two instances beside this in which our Saviour, in performing a miracle, made use of a deliberate external application to the part which he intended to cure; and in all these the reason for employing it seems to have been one and the same, even to convey to the individuals on whom the miracles were performed a clear assurance that Jesus was the person at whose command and by whose agency the cure was wrought and to enable them to state to others the grounds of this assurance fully and circumstantially.” But we may add to this, what is perhaps a more satisfactory reason, that he thereby taught us that his Divine power operates not only immediately but often through instruments: which instrumentality ought, however, so far from turning our thoughts away from him to the creature, to impress us with a deeper sense of his power, who so often makes dull and insensible creatures the means of producing such powerful effects upon our health, happiness, and interests. The very means resorted to here were of a kind which particularly illustrated the Divine power of Christ; and therefore, though the people saw that he put his fingers into his ears, and applied spittle to his tongue, they had no lower a sense of the character of the miracle on that account, but were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. The power was not in the means employed, but in the mighty word EPHPHATHA, Be opened; for then straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And though it is true that sometimes God accomplishes his purposes by means and instruments which appear to have a natural fitness and adaptation to produce the end; yet let it be remembered that all such fitness, where even it is real, is appointed by him, and depends for its efficiency entirely upon him; and that natural powers are heightened or weakened in their efficacy under his blessing or frown, as food to nourish us or medicine to heal us, or the contrary; and that it is still God that worketh all and in all. He therefore ought to be our supreme trust; and for the good done upon earth he alone has a right to the praise.

Verse 37. He hath done all things well] This has been, and ever will be, true of every part of our Lord’s conduct. In creation, providence, and redemption he hath done all things well. The wisest philosophers are agreed that, considering creation as a whole, it would be impossible to improve it. Every thing has been made in number, weight, and measure; there really is nothing deficient, nothing redundant; and the good of the creature seems evidently more consulted than the glory of the Creator. The creature’s good is every where apparent; but to find out how the Creator is glorified by these works requires the eye of the philosopher. And as he has done all things well in creation, so has he in providence: here also every thing is in number, weight, measure, and time. As creation shows his majesty, so providence shows his bounty. He preserves every thing he has made; all depend upon him; and by him are all things supported. But how glorious does he appear in the work of redemption! How magnificent, ample, and adequate the provision made for the salvation of a lost world! Here, as in providence, is enough for all, a sufficiency for each, and an abundance for eternity. He loves every man, and hates nothing that he has made; nor can the God of all grace be less beneficent than the Creator and Preserver of the universe. ST. MARK

Verse 37. And were beyond measure astonished — Both at what was done, and at the amiable spirit of him who did it. And said, He hath done all things well — Performed the most extraordinary cures in the most humble and graceful manner. He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak — And that, not only in this, but in many other instances. Whereas there were many that hated and persecuted him, as an evil doer; these are ready to witness for him, not only that he has done no evil, but that he has done a great deal of good, and has done it well, modestly, humbly, devoutly, and all perfectly gratis, without money and without price; circumstances which greatly added to the lustre of his good works. “Happy would it be if all his followers, and especially his ministers, would learn of him, who was thus meek and lowly; neither acting as in their own strength, when they attempt a spiritual cure, nor proclaiming their own praise when they have effected it. Then would they likewise do all things well; and there would be that beauty in the manner, which no wise man would entirely neglect, even in those actions which are in themselves most excellent and great.” — Doddridge.

Ver. 37. He hath done all things well; yea, doubly well, for he had just made the pharisees deaf, and the scribes dumb; and now he made this man to hear and speak.

37. He hath done all things well — There is not, as some commentators seem to think, any intended allusion here to the sanction passed by the Creator upon his own works as being very good. Genesis 1:31. But the present words are none the less a significant echo. For the works of the new creation, like those of the old, are indeed very good, and all things done well. Both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak — As is shown in the case of the single person now saved.

Verses 33-37. Took him aside from the multitude &c. — In this case our Lord entirely departed from his usual method of performing a cure. He takes him aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tied tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, sighs, as oppressed with these spectacles of human suffering, and says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Dr. Graves observes, “There are two instances beside this in which our Saviour, in performing a miracle, made use of a deliberate external application to the part which he intended to cure; and in all these the reason for employing it seems to have been one and the same, even to convey to the individuals on whom the miracles were performed a clear assurance that Jesus was the person at whose command and by whose agency the cure was wrought and to enable them to state to others the grounds of this assurance fully and circumstantially.” But we may add to this, what is perhaps a more satisfactory reason, that he thereby taught us that his Divine power operates not only immediately but often through instruments: which instrumentality ought, however, so far from turning our thoughts away from him to the creature, to impress us with a deeper sense of his power, who so often makes dull and insensible creatures the means of producing such powerful effects upon our health, happiness, and interests. The very means resorted to here were of a kind which particularly illustrated the Divine power of Christ; and therefore, though the people saw that he put his fingers into his ears, and applied spittle to his tongue, they had no lower a sense of the character of the miracle on that account, but were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. The power was not in the means employed, but in the mighty word EPHPHATHA, Be opened; for then straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And though it is true that sometimes God accomplishes his purposes by means and instruments which appear to have a natural fitness and adaptation to produce the end; yet let it be remembered that all such fitness, where even it is real, is appointed by him, and depends for its efficiency entirely upon him; and that natural powers are heightened or weakened in their efficacy under his blessing or frown, as food to nourish us or medicine to heal us, or the contrary; and that it is still God that worketh all and in all. He therefore ought to be our supreme trust; and for the good done upon earth he alone has a right to the praise.