The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God--By the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ here is evidently meant the blessed Story which our Evangelist is about to tell of His Life, Ministry, Death, Resurrection, and Glorification, and of the begun Gathering of Believers in His Name. The abruptness with which he announces his subject, and the energetic brevity with which, passing by all preceding events, he hastens over the ministry of John and records the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus--as if impatient to come to the Public Life of the Lord of glory--have often been noticed as characteristic of this Gospel--a Gospel whose direct, practical, and singularly vivid setting imparts to it a preciousness peculiar to itself. What strikes every one is, that though the briefest of all the Gospels, this is in some of the principal scenes of our Lord's history the fullest. But what is not so obvious is, that wherever the finer and subtler feelings of humanity, or the deeper and more peculiar hues of our Lord's character were brought out, these, though they should be lightly passed over by all the other Evangelists, are sure to be found here, and in touches of such quiet delicacy and power, that though scarce observed by the cursory reader, they leave indelible impressions upon all the thoughtful and furnish a key to much that is in the other Gospels. These few opening words of the Second Gospel are enough to show, that though it was the purpose of this Evangelist to record chiefly the outward and palpable facts of our Lord's public life, he recognized in Him, in common with the Fourth Evangelist, the glory of the Only-begotten of the Father.
And they went into Capernaum--(See on Mat 4:13).
and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught--This should have been rendered, "straightway on the sabbaths He entered into the synagogue and taught," or "continued to teach." The meaning is, that as He began this practice on the very first sabbath after coming to settle at Capernaum, so He continued it regularly thereafter.
for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes--See on Mat 7:28-29.
and he cried out--as follows:
what have we to do with thee--an expression of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament (Kg1 17:18; Kg2 3:13; Ch2 35:21, &c.). It denotes entire separation of interests:--that is, "Thou and we have nothing in common; we want not Thee; what wouldst Thou with us?" For the analogous application of it by our Lord to His mother, see on Joh 2:4.
thou Jesus of Nazareth--"Jesus, Nazarene!" an epithet originally given to express contempt, but soon adopted as the current designation by those who held our Lord in honor (Luk 18:37; Mar 16:6; Act 2:22).
art thou come to destroy us?--In the case of the Gadarene demoniac the question was, "Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" (Mat 8:29). Themselves tormentors and destroyers of their victims, they discern in Jesus their own destined tormentor and destroyer, anticipating and dreading what they know and feel to be awaiting them! Conscious, too, that their power was but permitted and temporary, and perceiving in Him, perhaps, the woman's Seed that was to bruise the head and destroy the works of the devil, they regard His approach to them on this occasion as a signal to let go their grasp of this miserable victim.
I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God--This and other even more glorious testimonies to our Lord were given, as we know, with no good will, but in hope that, by the acceptance of them, He might appear to the people to be in league with evil spirits--a calumny which His enemies were ready enough to throw out against Him. But a Wiser than either was here, who invariably rejected and silenced the testimonies that came to Him from beneath, and thus was able to rebut the imputations of His enemies against Him (Mat 12:24-30). The expression, "Holy One of God," seems evidently taken from that Messianic Psalm (Psa 16:10), in which He is styled "Thine Holy One."
and cried with a loud voice--the voice of enforced submission and despair.
he came out of him--Luke (Luk 4:35) adds, "and hurt him not." Thus impotent were the malignity and rage of the impure spirit when under the restraint of "the Stronger than the strong one armed" (Luk 11:21-22).
is this?--The audience, rightly apprehending that the miracle was wrought to illustrate the teaching and display the character and glory of the Teacher, begin by asking what novel kind of teaching this could be, which was so marvellously attested.
they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John--The mention of these four--which is peculiar to Mark--is the first of those traces of Peter's hand in this Gospel, of which we shall find many more. The house being his, and the illness and cure so nearly affecting himself, it is interesting to observe this minute specification of the number and names of the witnesses; interesting also--as the first occasion on which the sacred triumvirate of Peter and James and John are selected from among the rest, to be a threefold cord of testimony to certain events in their Lord's life (see on Mar 5:37) --Andrew being present on this occasion, as the occurrence took place in his own house.
and anon--immediately.
they tell him of her--naturally hoping that His compassion and power towards one of His own disciples would not be less signally displayed than towards the demonized stranger in the synagogue.
and lifted her up--This act of condescension, most felt doubtless by Peter, is recorded only by Mark.
and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them--preparing their sabbath-meal: in token both of the perfectness and immediateness of the cure, and of her gratitude to the glorious Healer.
they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils--the demonized. From Luk 13:14 we see how unlawful they would have deemed it to bring their sick to Jesus for a cure during the sabbath hours. They waited, therefore, till these were over, and then brought them in crowds. Our Lord afterwards took repeated occasion to teach the people by example, even at the risk of His own life, how superstitious a straining of the sabbath rest this was.
and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him--Evidently they would have spoken, if permitted, proclaiming His Messiahship in such terms as in the synagogue; but once in one day, and that testimony immediately silenced, was enough. See on Mar 1:24. After this account of His miracles of healing, we have in Mat 8:17 this pregnant quotation, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying (Isa 53:4), Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."
rising up a great while before day--"while it was yet night," or long before daybreak.
he went out--all unperceived from Peter's house, where He slept.
and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed--or, "continued in prayer." He was about to begin His first preaching and healing circuit; and as on similar solemn occasions (Luk 5:16; Luk 6:12; Luk 9:18, Luk 9:28-29; Mar 6:46), He spent some time in special prayer, doubtless with a view to it. What would one not give to have been, during the stillness of those grey morning hours, within hearing--not of His "strong crying and tears," for He had scarce arrived at the stage for that--but of His calm, exalted anticipations of the work which lay immediately before Him, and the outpourings of His soul about it into the bosom of Him that sent Him! He had doubtless enjoyed some uninterrupted hours of such communings with His heavenly Father ere His friends from Capernaum arrived in search of Him. As for them, they doubtless expected, after such a day of miracles, that the next day would witness similar manifestations. When morning came, Peter, loath to break in upon the repose of his glorious Guest, would await His appearance beyond the usual hour; but at length, wondering at the stillness, and gently coming to see where the Lord lay, he finds it--like the sepulchre afterwards--empty! Speedily a party is made up to go in search of Him, Peter naturally leading the way.
they said unto him, All men seek for thee--By this time, "the multitudes" who, according to Luke (Luk 4:42), "sought after Him"--and who, on going to Peter's house, and there learning that Peter and a few more were gone in search of Him, had set out on the same errand--would have arrived, and "came unto Him and stayed Him, that He should not depart from them" (Luk 4:42); all now urging His return to their impatient townsmen.
into the next towns--rather, "unto the neighboring village-towns"; meaning those places intermediate between towns and villages, with which the western side of the Sea of Galilee was studded.
that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth--not from Capernaum, as DE WETTE miserably interprets, nor from His privacy in the desert place, as MEYER, no better; but from the Father. Compare Joh 16:28, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world," &c.--another proof, by the way, that the lofty phraseology of the Fourth Gospel was not unknown to the authors of the others, though their design and point of view are different. The language in which our Lord's reply is given by Luke (Luk 4:43) expresses the high necessity under which, in this as in every other step of His work, He acted--"I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore"--or, "to this end"--"am I sent." An act of self-denial it doubtless was, to resist such pleadings to return to Capernaum. But there were overmastering considerations on the other side.