SECTION III.

THE FIRST ACTIONS BY WHICH CHRIST, ON HIS APPEARING, STRAIGHTWAY REVEALS HIS DIVINE POWER.

(Mark. i. 16-45.)

The divine power with which Christ the Son of God appeared, was first manifested in the calling of His first disciples.

As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, 'Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.' And straightway they forsook their nets and followed Him. And when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the ship mending their nets. And straightway He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him. The heavenly power of Christ's call is specially apparent, in that these four men immediately follow Him, although the call appeared to come to them at the most inconvenient moment: when the first two had just cast their net into the sea, and so seemed quite engrossed with eager expectation of a draught of fishes; and the other two were mending their nets, and so, probably, had shortly before taken large draughts, and hoped anew for a large take.

But the power of Christ proved itself not only in the case of the elect, but also of the people, even the poorest of them — those of them who were bound by the misery of sin; yea, even of devils.

They went together into the city of Capernaum; and on the first Sabbath-day which followed, Jesus entered into the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught as one that had authority (the whole living authority of the word), and not as the scribes (in dead formulas). And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, 'Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy One of God.' And Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Hold thy peace, and come out of him.' And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice — it was the freeing crisis of the prisoner — he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, 'What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.' And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

Thus the people at once recognized in His doctrine the authority of life, a divine operation and divine deed; and in His working of miracles the new doctrine, the approach of a mysterious new kingdom of spiritual life.¹ With full clearness and confidence He meets the demons, who seek to gain Him by their words of homage, and to dissuade Him by their words of defiance, and yet cannot help betraying that they recognize in Him their conqueror. Their rage, and the last paroxysms they cause the demoniac, cannot disconcert Him, Thus He straightway shows Himself as the sure Redeemer of those who are bound by the power of darkness, and the people feel His appearing like an electric shock: His fame spreads like wildfire through the whole land.

And as He brings His blessing to the synagogue, so does He also to the house; and as He sets free the demoniac, so He heals the sick. And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and anon they tell Him of her. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. Here the wonder-worker was glorified not only by the suitable and prompt form in which He rendered help, but also by the decision with which she who received it could immediately serve and wait upon her helper and His companions.

And now the place before His house soon seemed changed into a great lazar-house. At even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils: and all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him. So little importance did He attach to their disclosures: yea, so distinctly did he refuse their testimonies from the other world to His authority, because He did not need them, and because they might readily mislead.

The whole distress of a populous and crowded town, which as a rule shows itself with less restraint in the night-time, appears before His door like a host of spectres. And even after the labour of the day, in the hours when fatigue generally ensues, He w^as still able to give help to a whole town; nor did He rest until far on next day. In the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. But Simon, and they that were with him, followed after Him. And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, 'All men seek for Thee.' But He would not consent to the desire of the inhabitants of Capernaum that He should now return thither. His earnest desire to give help was not confined by their wails. So He replied, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth.' And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

But the chief miracle of healing on this first journey through Galilee was the cure of a leper. It shows how confident the Lord felt as Helper in contact with human distress. There came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, 'If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.' And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, 'I will; be thou clean.' And as soon as He had spoken, the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. According to the Levitical law, Jesus would now have been considered an unclean person, because He had touched the leper; but according to the law of christological reality, that leper himself became clean. Jesus felt the reaction of the Levitical hypothesis as possibly it was expressed in the consternation of that sick man himself, who well knew that before this no one could venture to touch him unpunished. Jesus therefore firmly set Himself, groaning in spirit,² against this reaction — immediately sent him away, and charged him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them — that they have acknowledged thy cure (see above, p. 28). But he did not observe Christ's directions, but immediately began, as soon as he had departed, to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter. So thereby Christ could (legally) no more openly enter (immediately) into a town; hence He kept Himself — primarily in order to avoid, the Levitical quarantine — without, in desert places (see above, ii. 133). But the people felt that no infection was to be feared from Him: they came to Him even in the desert from every quarter.

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