Immediately he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the region of Dalmanutha.
Parallel Translations
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Immediately he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the region of Dalmanutha.
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And a none he entred into a ship with his disciples and came into the parties of Dalmanutha.
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And anon he entred into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to Mark 8:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 15:39 Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 And straightway he entered into a ship with…
10 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
Ver. 10. {See Trapp on "Mat 15:39"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Matthew saith, he came into the coasts of Magdala;…
Matthew saith, he came into the coasts of Magdala; it is probable they were two contiguous tracts of land. We often read of the Pharisees coming to our Saviour to ask a sign. Had they not signs? What were all the miracles he wrought but signs of his Divine power and mission? But they ask for a sign from heaven, such a sign as Moses, Joshua, and Elijah gave them, by this means making a trial of his Divine power. Our Saviour, who never wrought miracles to satisfy men’s curiosity, but only to confirm their faith, refuseth to show them any such sign as they desired, and leaves these coasts.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, 1. The unreasonable practice of the wicked…
Observe here, 1. The unreasonable practice of the wicked Pharisees in asking a sign of Christ: that is, some new and extraordinary miracle to be wrought by him, to demonstrate him to be the true and promised Messias: but had not our Saviour shewed them signs enough already? What were all the miracles daily wrought before their eyes, but convincing signs of his divine power: But infidelity, mixed with obstinacy, is never satisfied.
Observe, 2. Our Saviour’s carriage towards these obstinate Pharisees, who persisted in their unbelief; He sighed deeply in his spirit, and mourned for the hardness of their hearts.
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Learn thence, That to grieve and mourn for the sins of others, to be affected with them, and deeply afflicted for them, is a gracious and Christ-like temper. It is not sufficient to make an outward shew of grieving for others sins, but we ought to lay them to heart, and to be inwardly afflicted for them. Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit.
Observe, 3. A sharp reproof given by our Saviour to them. At the same time that our Saviour did inwardly grieve for the Pharisees wickedness, he did openly reprove them for it. It is not sufficient that we mourn for the sins of others, but we must prudently reprove them, as occasion is offered, and our duty requireth.
Observe, 4. Ths sin which the Pharisees are reproved for; namely, for seeking after a sign: that is, before their eyes, to prove the divinity of his person.
Learn hence, That it is a sin for any to require new signs and miracles for the confirmation of that doctrine which has been already sufficiently confirmed by miracles; yea, an heinous sin, which deserveth a sharp reproof and censure.
Observe lastly, Our Saviour’s peremptory denial of the Pharisees presumptuous request; There shall be no sign given to this generation: this is no such sign or miracle as they desire or would have; no sign or miracle shall be wrought at their motion and suit. Although after this, Christ of his own accord, and at his own pleasure, wrought many miracles before their eyes. Such as willfully harden themselves against the light of their own consciences, are righteously delivered up to hardness of heart, and final impenitency. These hypocritical Pharisees shut their eyes against the most convictive evidence; and they are given up to their own obstinacy; our Saviour left them, and departed.
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Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Still Christ is upon motion; now he visits the…
Still Christ is upon motion; now he visits the parts of Dalmanutha, that no corner of the land of Israel might say that they had not had his presence with them. He came thither by ship (Mar 8:10); but, meeting with occasions of dispute there, and not with opportunities of doing good, he entered into the ship again (Mar 8:13), and came back. In these verses, we are told,
I. How he refused to gratify the Pharisees, who challenged him to give them a sign from heaven. They came forth on purpose to question with him; not to propose questions to him, that they might learn of him, but to cross question with him, that they might ensnare him.
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1. They demanded of him a sign from heaven, as if the signs he gave them on earth, which were more familiar to them, and were more capable of being examined and enquired into, were not sufficient. There was a sign from heaven at his baptism, in the descent of the dove, and the voice (Mat 3:16, Mat 3:17); it was public enough; and if they had attended John's baptism as they ought to have done, they might themselves have seen it. Afterward, when he was nailed to the cross, they prescribed a new sign; Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him; thus obstinate infidelity will still have something to say, though ever so unreasonable. They demanded this sign, tempting him; not in hopes that he would give it them, that they might be satisfied, but in hopes that he would not, that they might imagine themselves to have a pretence for their infidelity.
2. He denied them their demand; He sighed deeply in his spirit, Mar 8:12. He groaned (so some), being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, and the little influence that his preaching and miracles had had upon them. The infidelity of those that have long enjoyed the means of conviction, is a great grief to the Lord Jesus; it troubles him, that sinners should thus stand in their own light, and put a bar in their own door. (1.) He expostulates with them upon this demand; "Why doth this generation seek after a sign; this generation, that is so unworthy to have the gospel brought to it, and to have any sign accompanying it; this generation, that so greedily swallows the traditions of the elders, without the confirmation of any sign at all; this generation, into which, by the calculating of the times prefixed in the Old Testament, they might easily perceive that the coming of the Messiah must fall; this generation, that has had such plenty of sensible and merciful signs given them in the cure of their sick? What an absurdity is it for them to desire a sign!" (2.) He refuses to answer their demand; Verily, I say unto you, there shall no sign, no such sign, be given to this generation. When God spoke to particular persons in a particular case, out of the road of his common dispensation, they were encouraged to ask a sign, as Gideon and Ahaz; but when he speaks in general to all, as in the law and the gospel, sending each with their own evidence, it is presumption to prescribe other signs than what he has given. Shall any teach God knowledge? He denied them, and then left them, as men not fit to be talked with; if they will not be convinced, they shall not; leave them to their strong delusions.
II. How he warned his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. Observe here,
1. What the caution was (Mar 8:15); "Take heed, beware, lest ye partake of the leaven of the Pharisees, lest ye embrace the tradition of the elders, which they are so wedded to, lest ye be proud, and hypocritical, and ceremonious, like them." Matthew adds, and of the Sadducees; Mark adds, and of Herod: whence some gather, that Herod, and his courtiers were generally Sadducees, that is, deists, men of no religion. Others give this sense, The Pharisees demanded a sign from heaven; and Herod was long desirous to see some miracle wrought by Christ (Luk 23:8); such as he should prescribe, so that the leaven of both was the same; they were unsatisfied with the signs they had, and would have others of their own devising; "Take heed of this leaven" (saith Christ), "be convinced by the miracles ye have seen, and covet not to see more."
2. How they misunderstood this caution. It seems, at their putting to sea this time, they had forgotten to take bread, and had not in their ship more than one loaf, Mar 8:14. When therefore Christ bid them beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, they understood it as an intimation to them, not to apply themselves to any of the Pharisees for relief, when they came to the other side, for they had lately been offended at them for eating with unwashen hands. They reasoned among themselves, what should be the meaning of this caution, and concluded, "It is because we have no bread; he saith this, to reproach us for being so careless as to go to sea, and go among strangers, with but one loaf of bread; he doth, in effect, tell us, we must be brought to short allowance, and must eat our bread by weight." They reasoned it - dielogizonto, they disputed about it; one said, "It was owing to you;" and the other said, "It was owing to you, that we are so ill provided for this voyage." Thus distrust of God makes Christ's disciples quarrel among themselves.
3. The reproof Christ gave them for their uneasiness in this matter, as it argued a disbelief of his power to supply them, notwithstanding the abundant experience they had had of it. The reproof is given with some warmth, for he knew their hearts, and knew they needed to be thus soundly chidden; "Perceive ye not yet, neither understand, that which you have had so many demonstrations of? Have ye your hearts yet hardened, so as that nothing will make any impression upon them, or bring them to compliance with your Master's designs? Having eyes, see ye not that which is plain before your eyes? Having ears, hear ye not that which you have been so often told? How strangely stupid and senseless are ye! Do ye not remember that which was done but the other day, when I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, and soon after, the seven loaves among the four thousand? Do ye not remember how many baskets full ye took up of the fragments?" Yes, they did remember, and could tell that they took up twelve baskets full one time, and seven another; "Why then," said he, "how is it that ye do not understand? As if he that multiplied five loaves, and seven, could not multiply one." They seemed to suspect that the one was not matter enough to work upon, if he should have a mind to entertain his hearers a third time: and if that was their thought, it was indeed a very senseless one, as if it were not all alike to the Lord, to save by many or few, and as easy to make one loaf to feed five thousand as five. It was therefore proper to remind them, not only of the sufficiency, but of the overplus, of the former meals; and justly were they chidden for not understanding what Christ therein designed, and what they from thence might have learned. Note, (1.) The experiences we have had of God's goodness to us in the way of duty, greatly aggravate our distrust of him, which is therefore very provoking to the Lord Jesus. (2.) Our not understanding of the true intent and meaning of God's favours to us, is equivalent to our not remembering of them. (3.) We are therefore overwhelmed with present cares and distrusts, because we do not understand, and remember, what we have known and seen of the power and goodness of our Lord Jesus. It would be a great support to us, to consider the days of old, and we are wanting both to God and ourselves if we do not. (4.) When we thus forgot the works of God, and distrust him, we should chide ourselves severely for it, as Christ doth his disciples here; "Am I thus without understanding? How is it that my heart is thus hardened?"
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And straightway he entered into a ship, with his…
And straightway he entered into a ship, with his disciples,.... As soon as ever he had, dismissed the multitude, he took shipping with his disciples; for he was at the sea of Galilee, either at a place near it, or upon the shore of it; see Mar 7:31;
and came into the parts of Dalmanutha; which Matthew calls, "the coasts of Magdala"; See Gill on Mat 15:39. The Arabic version reads it, "Magdal"; and in two of Beza's copies it is read, "Madegada"; but the Syriac version reads, "Dalmanutha"; and the Persic, "Dalmanuth"; and the Ethiopic, "Dalmathy": it was a city in the coasts of Magdala, and is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be the same with Tzalmon, or Salmon, a place often mentioned (f) in the Jewish writings.
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(f) Misn. Celaim, c. 4. sect. 9. & Yebarnot, c. 16. sect. 6. T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 82. 2.
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Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. Dalmanutha.] See Clarke on Mt 15:39.
Verse 10. Dalmanutha.] See Clarke on Mt 15:39.
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Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mar 8:10-13. He entered into a ship, and came…
Mar 8:10-13. He entered into a ship, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha — Matthew says that, having fed the multitude, he took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala: but the evangelists may easily be reconciled, by supposing that Dalmanutha was a city and territory within the district of Magdala. The Pharisees came forth and began to question with him — The Pharisees, having heard of the second miraculous dinner, and fearing that the whole common people would acknowledge him for the Messiah, resolved to confute his pretensions fully and publicly. For this purpose, they came forth with the Sadducees, (see Mat 16:1,) who, though the opposites and rivals of the Pharisees in all other matters, joined them in their design of oppressing Jesus, and, along with them, demanded of him a sign from heaven, tempting, that is, trying him. See note on Mat 16:1. Some think the Jews, “understanding the prophecy, Dan 7:13, literally, expected the Messiah would make his first public appearance in the clouds of heaven, and take unto himself glory and a temporal kingdom:” and that, therefore, “when the Pharisees desired Jesus to show them a sign from heaven, they certainly meant that he should demonstrate himself to be the Messiah, by coming in a visible and miraculous manner from heaven with great pomp, and by wresting the kingdom out of the hands of the Romans.” These hypocrites craftily feigned an inclination to believe, if he could but give them sufficient evidence of his divine mission. However, their true design was, that by his failing to give the proof which they required, he should expose himself to general blame. And he sighed deeply in his spirit — Feeling the bitterest grief on account of the incorrigibleness of their disposition. And said, Why doth this generation seek after a sign — When so many signs, so many incontrovertible proofs of my mission from God have been already given, and continue to be given daily? Verily there shall no sign be given — None such as they seek; to this generation — See note on Mat 16:3-4. The original expression here, ει δοθησεται σημειον, if a sign shall be given, is an elliptical form of an oath, as is evident from Heb 3:11. In ordinary cases, it may be supplied out of the ancient forms of swearing, thus: God do so to me, and more also, if a sign shall be given. But, in the mouth of God, such an oath must be supplied thus: Let me not be true, if they shall enter into my rest; if a sign shall be given, &c. Or, as in Eze 14:16, ζω εγω, ει υιοι, θυγατερες σωθησονται, I live not, if sons or daughters be delivered.
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Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Dalmanutha - In Mat 15:39 it is said that…
Dalmanutha - In Mat 15:39 it is said that he came into the coasts of “Magdala.” See the note on the place.
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Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Dalmanutha. St. Matthew (xv. 39.) has, to the borders…
Dalmanutha. St. Matthew (xv. 39.) has, to the borders of Magedan; in Greek, Magdala, or Magedan. These were two towns beyond the sea of Galilee, situated near each other; it is of little consequence which of these names the Evangelists mention; perhaps our Saviour visited both. (Tirinus) --- The major part of commentators, if we can believe the Bible of Vence, take Magedan, or Magdala, to be the the town of that name situated to the east of the lake of Tiberias, in the vicinity of Gerasa, and Dalmanutha to be the name of that part of the country in which these two towns were situated. (Bible de Vence) --- Polus in his Synopsis Criticorum, (vol. iv. p. 410.) gives three explanations for the discrepance of the names in Sts. Matthew and Mark: 1. Idem locus erat binominis, the same place might have two names. 2. Propiqua erant loca, the places were near. 3. Alterum erat regio, alterum vicus, the one was the name of the territory, the other of the town or village; and concludes with asserting from Jewish authorities, that it was the same territory in which the two villages Magedan and Dalmanutha were situated; so that it miht be known by either name, as we find the territory of Gadara and of Gergesæ is one and the same. (Polus)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain s Mar_8:10 to Mar_9:29
EIGHTH SECTION
THE DECISIVE CONFLICT OF JESUS WITH THE PHARISEES IN GALILEE, AND HIS RETURN TO THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE SEA. PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEW CHURCH
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s Mar_8:10 to Mar_9:29
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1. Return to the Galilean Shore. Conflict; Return; the Leaven of the Pharisees and the Leaven of Herod. Mar_8:10-21
(Parallel: Mat_16:1-12)
10 And straightway lie entered into a [the] ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13And he left them, and entering into the 14ship again,6 departed to the other side. Now [And] the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16And they reasoned among themselves, saying,7 It is because we have no bread. 17And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye because ye have no bread? perceive ye not, neither understand? have ye your heart yet8 hardened? 18Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember, 19When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21And he said unto them, How9 is it that ye do not understand?
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
See on Matthew.—What follows is here closely and certainly connected with the preceding; and in this Matthew and Mark concur, as also in the essentials of the whole. Mark passes over the rebuke of Christ in relation to the Pharisees’ knowledge of the weather, and also the sign of Jonas. On the other hand, he mentions the Lord’s deep sighing. He notices the circumstance that the disciples had with them in the ship one loaf. Instead of the leaven of the Sadducees, he has the leaven of Herod; and he gives most keenly the Lord’s rebuke of the unbelief of the disciples.
Mar_8:10. Dalmanutha was a small place, not otherwise known; it lay probably in the district of Magdala, where, according to Matthew, Jesus landed. Robinson (3:514) leaves it undecided whether or not the present village of Delhemija is its modern representative. The specifications of locality by the two Evangelists, respectively, are not to be referred to any hypothesis of earlier and later accounts: Matthew’s narrative has a more general cast, and Mark’s a more special, in these respects. The landing was manifestly in a desert and unfrequented place; and the reason of this was, that the Galilean party of Pharisees were on the alert to seize Jesus, in order to bring Him under a judicical process; for this purpose having many spies abroad. The first illustration of this is found in Mar_2:6; the second, Mar_3:22; the third (in connection with Mar_6:29-31), Mar_7:1. That allegation touching neglect of purifyings, which the Pharisees, in connection with the scribes from Jerusalem, made against Him, is carried out here into its last issues.
Mar_8:11. And the Pharisees came forth.—Meyer: “Out of their dwellings in that country.” People generally come out of their dwellings; but these men came forth as spies out of a hiding-place; and their coming was proof that the most extreme care as to the circumstances of the landing of Jesus, in a quiet place and in the dead of night, could no longer protect the Lord from their eyes (see on Matthew and Leben Jesu, 2:875). On the western side of the sea there might be, here and there, rich mansions, belonging to Herodian courtiers, which were well adapted to be loopholes of observance for the political and hierarchical party. According to Mat_16:1-2, the Sadducees were leagued with them. The act, therefore, was not merely an act of the Pharisaic school, but the act of the priests and politicians. Mark merges the Sadducees in the Pharisees; for they hypocritically played the Pharisee, inasmuch as they demanded a sign from heaven, although they believed in no such thing.—And began.—They had made their arrangements for a decisive contest, which began with the demand of the sign from heaven. For this sign, see on Matthew, p. 287.
Sighed deeply in His spirit.—Comp. Mar_7:34. He sighed so deeply, not merely in general sorrow for the hardened unbelief of these men, but also in the feeling that the decisive crisis of severance from the predominant party had come. For the demand of a sign from heaven was a demand that He should, as the Messiah of their expectation, accredit Himself by a great miracle; thus it was fundamentally similar to the temptation in the wilderness, which He had repelled and overcome. But His deep sigh also signifies here the holding in of His judicial power, the silent resolution to enter upon the path of tribulation. Hence the refusal of the sign is immediate, and in the form of an affirmation most strongly uttered. It is to be observed that, the article being wanting, the nature of the sign from heaven is left free to Him: He was to perform a sign from heaven, which should be acknowledged as the sign from heaven.
Mar_8:15. And the leaven of Herod.—See on Matthew; and for the combination of Pharisees and Herodians, compare the notes on Mar_3:6. The one passage depends on the other; and it is observable how Mark both times gives marked prominence to this hypocritical and malignant combination of extreme parties. Meyer concludes from Mat_14:2 that Herod was no Sadducee. But that passage must not be pressed too far. Herod certainly coincided with the anti-scriptural, anti-Messianic, Hellenizing universalism of the Sadducees, although he did not adhere to their party in its dogmatic views and coloring. Thus we have here only two aspects of the same idea. The Jewish dependence upon traditions and human ordinances, and the Jewish free-thinking, form in their respective principles the two kinds of leaven which the disciples were to guard against. Compare on Matthew.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. See on the parallel in Matthew.—The debasing effects of party spirit. The Sadducees must here submit to the Pharisees, and be merged in them.
2. As it regards the desired sign from heaven, it is to be observed further: 1. As they asked for a sign from heaven, they demanded the decisively attesting sign expected from heaven. 2. The consequence of this authentication would have been, that Christ must have come forward as a Messiah in their sense. Hence it is said that they tempted Him. The demand of a sign from heaven was like the temptation in the wilderness. The Lord had hitherto, since that time, escaped any such demand. If He now refused it, His death was certain. 3. The demand was so far not absolutely hostile, as they were still disposed to accept Christ, if He would adapt Himself to their views, and become a party instrument for their purposes. (See on Matthew.) 4. The sign from heaven which Christ denied to the Pharisees, stood in close relation with the sign of Jonas. The denial of the one was the announcement of the other. 5. What He denied to the Pharisees, He provided soon afterwards for the three chosen disciples on the Mount: the heavenly sign of His transfiguration.
3. The sighs of Jesus.—The Lord’s sigh (Mar_7:34) was the sigh of self-devoting mercy to the world; His deep sigh (Mar_8:12) was the restraint and holding back of His judicial power over the world, under the holy resolution to suffer for it. The sigh of the Lion of Judah over the hardening of His enemies: the prophecy of His path of suffering, but also the prophecy of the world’s judgment. The groaning of His spirit was, 1. a sighing from the depths of His being, 2. in the all-embracing glance of His consciousness over the path of His own suffering, and the path of the world’s wretchedness.
4. The return of Jesus.—Not without a plan, but as the result of His last experience, Jesus now returns back to the eastern bank. It is clear to His consciousness that He must now go up to confront His death. He therefore needed solitude, that He might regulate the process of His departure. And to this there was necessary, 1. the confirmation of the disciples in faith for the establishment of the new Church, and 2. the provision that His death should take place at the right time and in the right way.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See on Matthew.—The Pharisees perfect spies on all our Lord’s ways.—The Lord cannot escape the Pharisees, and therefore the Pharisees cannot escape the Lord.—The demand of a sign from heaven: the tempting crisis that our Lord foresaw in the wilderness.—The confusion of the disciples, occasioned by this decisive conflict (and shown in the forgetting of bread, and anxiety about it), as opposed to the divine repose of the Lord: a prelude of their confusion on the eve of the Passion.—The great decisive No of the Lord.—The Lord’s deep sigh in its great significance: 1. A. silent and yet decisive sign of His conflict and of His victory; 2. an unuttered word, which contains a world of divine words; 3. a fulfilment of the primitive prophecy concerning the breach between the external and the spiritual Israel; 4. a prophecy which stretches forward to the cross and the final judgment.—The infinite meaning of this sigh of Christ: 1. As a breathing forth of the divine patience over the visible world (Omnipotence restraining itself in love and wisdom, when dealing with the enmity of the free will of the world); 2. a collective expression of all the sufferings and of all the patience of Christ; 3. a declaration of all the incarnate sorrow and endurance of the Lord in His Church.—The significance of sighs: 1. In the creature (Rom_8:22); 2. in humanity, and in the kingdom of God (Rom_8:23; 2Co_5:2; Rev_6:10).—The return of Christ to the other bank: a sign of His return back to the other world.—How little the disciples understood that crisis.—The last loaf in the ship, the last loaf in the house (the last meal, the last piece of money, the last sheet-anchor).—In this matter, Mark , 1. the disciples’ spirit: they misinterpret the most sublime and the most spiritual things through their own over-anxiety; 2. the Lord’s spirit: He makes provision for the testing of His disciples, especially now.—The displeasure of Christ at the lack of spiritual development among His own disciples.—True remembering, in its full import: 1. Christian wakefulness; 2. Christian life; 3. Christian progress.—The influence of the Holy Spirit, and life in the Spirit: bringing to remembrance (Joh_14:26; Joh_16:13).—The retreat of Jesus in order to arrange His death.
Starke:—Many desire new wonders; and when they have thought they have seen them, have not yet turned to God.—It is not becoming to prescribe to God the means by which we are to arrive at divine knowledge and blessedness.—Hedinger:—Ingratitude drives Christ away.—Quesnel:—It is a fearful judgment when the truth altogether forsakes men, and they are left to themselves.—Forgetfulness gives an opportunity for new instruction; and therefore even their failings should be turned to account by believers.—Cramer:—Faithful teachers should, after the example of the Great Shepherd, diligently warn their sheep against false doctrine and false teachers (against every evil leaven to the right or left).—Out of one error many others gradually arise, so that the whole system of religion may become perverted.—Quesnel:—Concerning the tendency to Sadduceism among courtiers.—The weaker our faith is, the more anxious and troubled we are about bodily need, and the more likely to make spiritual possessions of less account.—Osiander:—Ministers must be always ready to exhort their hearers with severity, and to rouse them out of the sleep of security.
Braune:—When, after a joyful event, or the attainment of a great success, one is suddenly opposed by an obstinate contradiction, the result is often great disquietude or blank despondency. The Lord, whose case this was on the present occasion, knew very well what He would do, and did it without any restraint. Let all men learn this. They need the lesson in their family circles, and in their civil and political relations, whether more or less exalted.—Scarcely had Jesus ended with His enemies, when He must begin again with His friends.—Before His spirit rose the whole wickedness of His enemies’ spirit, so perverse in itself, pervading with evil the whole of the people, and invading even His disciples. It had already seized and possessed the mind of Judas, 1Co_5:7-8.
Schleiermacher:—The Redeemer often uses the idea of leaven, as something of which only a little is needed in order to make the whole like itself.—In truth, He was the leaven, in the form of a servant indeed, destined to penetrate the whole mass of mankind and all human life by the divine power dwelling in Him;—If ye use only a little of the leaven of the Pharisees, ye will very soon be pervaded throughout with its influence.—The leaven of Herod: the family of Herod was a foreign one; they held to the law, and affected much devotion to ceremonial ordinances, in order to attach the people more firmly to themselves. The disciples must not use Christianity as something that might exert a good influence upon their external condition.—We must be pure disciples of the Master, and desire nothing but the pure kingdom of God.—Gossner (on Mar_8:19):—This is a test. They had the whole history in their head and memory, but they did not understand how to apply it.
Footnotes:
[6]Mar_8:13—The πάλιν precedes ἐμβάς, according to B., C., D., L., Δ. Εἰς τὸ πλοῖν (Recepta), or ει̇ς πλοῖον (Lachmann, after A., E., F.), wanting in B., C., L., D., and omitted by Tischendorf [and Meyer].
[7]Mar_8:16.—The λέγοντες wanting in B., D., and Itala; and B., Itala read ἕχουσιν for ἕχομεν. So Lachmann and Tischendorf.
[8]Mar_8:17.—̓́Ετι in B., C., D., L., Δ., [Lechmann, Tischendorf, Meyer.]
[9]Mar_8:21.—Lachmann: πῶς οὔπω, according to A., D., M. Tischendorf merely οὔπω, according to C., L., D. So Meyer.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. Dalmanutha — The situation of this place is…
10. Dalmanutha — The situation of this place is not at the present day known, but commentators have located it on the west side of the lake, near the town of Magdala, mentioned in Mat_15:39; and Dr. Thomson found a Dalhamia on the Jordan, a little town south of the lake, which he is inclined to believe to be this Dalmanutha. See map at page 62. There would then be no contradiction between Matthew and Mark. Our Saviour may have gone by ship to Dalhamia, as Mark would then say, and thence to Magdala. In that case Matthew simply mentions the place to which our Lord went before he left the ship, and the conversation with the Jews in regard to the sign.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10–21. The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod
10–21. The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod
10. the parts of Dalmanutha] or as St Matthew says, into the coasts of Magdala (Mar_15:39), or according to some MSS. Magadan. Nothing is known of Dalmanutha. It must clearly have been near to Magdala, which may have been the Greek name of one of the many Migdols (i. e. watch-towers) to be found in the Holy Land, possibly the Migdal-el of Jos_19:38, and its place may now be occupied by a miserable collection of hovels known as el-Mejdel on the western side of the Lake, and at the S. E. corner of the Plain of Gennesaret. “Just before reaching Mejdel, we crossed a little open valley, the Ain-el-Barideh, with a few rich cornfields and gardens straggling among the ruins of a village, and some large and more ancient foundations by several, copious fountains, and probably identical with the Dalmanutha of the New Testament.” Tristram’s Land of Israel, p. 425. If the reading Magadan in Mat_15:39 stands, we may conjecture either (a) that it and Dalmanutha were different names for the same place, or (b) that they denoted contiguous spots, either of which might give its name to the same region.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) He entered into a ship.—Better, the ship, or…
(10) He entered into a ship.—Better, the ship, or boat.
Dalmanutha.—St. Mark’s use of the word, instead of the Magdala or “Magada” of St. Matthew, may be noted as an instance of his independence. It is mentioned by no other writer. On its probable site, see Note on Mat_15:39.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He entered into a ship (eiv to ploion) literally,…
He entered into a ship (eiv to ploion) literally, into the boat; probably the same boat which he had ordered to be in attendance upon him (Mat_3:9) and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. (Mat_15:39) has "the coasts of Magdala;" more properly, "the borders of Magaden." This place was in all probability about the middle of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, where now stand the ruins of the village of El-Mejdel.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him.
Mar_8:10-23
Seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him.
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Seeking sign
I. The unreasonableness of this request.
1. In other matters they were not scrupulous of evidence-tradition.
2. They had the signs of the times-consisting in a combination of events giving fulfilment to their own Scriptures,
3. They had His miracles-unquestioned.
4. They had, even signs from heaven-At His baptism.
5. It was not evidence that was wanting.
6. Neither is it so yet.
II. The denial of their request.
1. Not because such a request would, in other circumstances, have been sinful. Gideon. Hezekiah.
2. But because it was unnecessary, it would not have convinced them, it was asked out of malice.
3. Our request must be for necessary things, from right motives.
III. According to the other evangelists, Christ pointed them to the sign of the prophet Jonas.
1. There are several points of resemblance between Christ and Jonas.
2. The point referred to by Christ was, no doubt, His resurrection. (Expository Discourses.)
The refusals of Christ
We often speak of what He gave: we might also speak of what He withheld. The words of the Old Testament are applicable to Jesus Christ: No good thing will He withhold, etc. The refusals of Jesus were governed by three considerations.
1. Religious curiosity is not to be mistaken for religious necessity.
2. Religious confidence is not to be won by irreligious ostentations.
3. Religious appeals are not to be addressed to the eye, but to the heart. In applying these points show what Christ gave in comparison with what He refused. He gave bread, sight, hearing, speech, health; He gave His life, yet He refused a sign! Understand that, in some cases, not to give a sign is in reality to give the most solemn and dreadful of all signs. (Dr. J. Parker.)
Tempting God
It is a wicked and sinful practice for any to tempt the Lord, i.e., to make unlawful and needless proof of His Divine attributes, such as Power, Providence, Justice, Mercy, etc. This sin is committed-
1. By limiting and restraining Gods actions to ordinary means and secondary causes: tying Him to these, as if without them He could not or would not perform those things which He has promised to the godly or threatened against the wicked.
2. By neglecting the ordinary means appointed by God for the good and preservation of our souls and bodies, and relying upon Gods extraordinary power and providence to provide for us. Apply this to such cases as-abandonment of earthly calling; needlessly exposing oneself to danger; rejecting the means of grace.
3. By living and going on in any sin contrary to the Word of God, thereby making proof of Gods patience, whether He will punish or wink at disobedience. (G. Petter.)
Modern doubt
I. First of all, we discover the same sycophancy of spirit among sceptics now as was noticeable among the ancient Jews. The significant question those people asked concerning Christ was, Have any of the rulers believed on Him?
1. One of the maxims of the Talmud was this: My son, give more heed to the words of the rabbis than to the words of the law. Thus they pressed human authority above inspiration, and exalted traditions above the revelation from God.
2. Our times are not much better. Little men appear to imagine their proportions are vaster when they stand in the awe-inspiring shadow of big men. Hence we find all the motley company of sceptics aping masterly leaders, and trying to make the majesty of their intellects show most impressively.
3. Rabbis (in this sense) ought not to count for much with Christian people: One is our Master, even Christ. What Gods children are examining is truth, and not men. It must be remembered that there never was a system of even confessed error, no matter how miserable or how vile, that did not for the time being have some able advocates. We do not need to go back to Marcions day, nor to Basilides day, to illustrate this. Gibbon was gifted, and Brigham Young was a man of power-and Satan himself was one of the brightest of Gods angels.
4. Meantime, the cry lifted as to the supreme ability of not a few of these leaders of modern scepticism might as well be toned down to moderation.
II. Next to this sycophancy of spirit, we discover that modern doubt has for its characteristic the same disposition to criticise Gods Word which prevailed in Herods time. Our Saviours charge was, making the Word of God of none effect.
1. Those Pharisees and Sadducees had only the Old Testament, but they kept picking at it. The general principle of interpretation was very frankly avowed in those days: The Bible is like water, the traditions are like wine; but the commentaries are like wine which has been spiced.
2. The modern attack is just like this. The combat with opposers is not now that of theological philosophy, but of biblical criticism.
3. It is impossible to stop the mouths of carpers. The apostles themselves had to deal with strong and inveterate opposers. There were persistent Pharisees and indefatigable Sadducees. Paul himself even could not put down these disputants at will so completely that they should not harangue the populace. He could refute every argument, and overturn every position; but when he had silenced sense they kept up the uproar. Thus they made their sorry exhibition at Ephesus (see Act_19:32-34).
III. In the third place, modern doubt is characterized, like the ancient scepticism Jesus rebuked, by an aimless drifting into a series of continual disbeliefs. This was the ground for our Lords most terrible denunciation: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves.
1. Those old sects seem all to have known this tendency to reckless wandering in speculation, for they tried to force a system of checks at each exposed point against free thinking.
2. This generation of doubters in our time are as wandering in their purposes, and quite as devoutly blind in their career. The moment one begins to question, that moment he begins to travel. Yet is it seriously to be doubted whether he is going ever to reach that portal of Gods truth he talks of so glibly.
3. There is no settled direction which modern scepticism chooses. If there were, we might welcome the drift as perhaps being in the line of the truth, and indicating progress. But it makes one think of the eddies over the meadows after a freshet; it is unsafe to try to sail because nobody knows the channel. A thoughtful man would like to know beforehand where he is going.
4. It is best, also, to settle the value of an argument drawn from an example.
IV. This thought will find a further illustration, when we go on to consider a fourth characteristic of modem doubt: namely, the extreme malignancy of temper with which those who turn from the Christian faith afterwards attack its defenders.
1. Renegades are always the most belligerent allies on the other side.
2. It is often to advantage to read up the antecedents of some of our most prominent unbelievers. You know who the critics are? asks a shrewd character in Lord Beaconsfields story; they are the men who have failed in literature and art. Find an extremely ill-tempered disputant anywhere nowadays, who begins with innuendo and continues with abuse, and the explanation may be given almost instinctively this man did not succeed in the old life, and is angrily trying to retrieve his fortunes by attracting attention in a new.
3. For the temper of unbelief is simple selfishness.
4. Hence, there is no safety in yielding even just a little. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Belief will not suffer itself to be divided. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 10. Into the parts of Dalmanutha. Matt. 15:39 says…
10. Into the parts of Dalmanutha. Matt. 15:39 says “Magdala.” Neither place exists now, but they are supposed to have been near each other on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. Abbott suggests that they were two different names for the same place, a common circumstance.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Mar_8:10. Dalmanutha.—“Has been identified with the modern Ain-el-Bârideh, the…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mar_8:10. Dalmanutha.—“Has been identified with the modern Ain-el-Bârideh, the ‘cold fountain,’ a glen which opens upon the lake about a mile from Magdala.” Cp. Mat_15:39.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mar_8:10-12
(PARALLEL: Mat_16:1-4.)
The “sign” refused.—It was, we may be sure, no mere intellectual deficiency in His hearers which drew this sigh from the Gracious Saviour. In the request that He would give them a sign there was some secret spiritual wrongness over which Christ grieved.
I. What did they mean by asking a sign?—Had they not His wonderful works? And why did He say that no sign should be given when in fact He was giving signs innumerable and conclusive? It is quite plain that Christ’s works did not convince them. It is therefore also plain that we greatly overrate the force of miracles as an evidence of Christianity. In those times few, if any, followed Christ because of the miracles. They followed Him because of that all-prevailing power which accompanied the simple words “Follow Me,” because never man spake as He spake, because the message of Divine love carried with it its own overwhelming evidence. And then we know that vast multitudes witnessed the miracles and yet persistently refused to believe. Some other sign they wanted, something besides curing the blind and cleansing the leper and raising the dead. They asked for some imposing display in the heavens, some disclosure of the Messiah magnificently seated on a material throne, which would confound, amaze, and convince all beholders. Now that the Saviour would not give. He refused, first, because they had no right to dictate how much evidence must needs be forthcoming. Part of our trial here consists, in fact, in God’s so adjusting the evidence to our moral condition that, while there is amply enough to determine the acceptance of the honest and good heart, there is no lavishing of proof.
II. Suppose the “sign from heaven” given.—Suppose that in the sky above Jerusalem had been disclosed the form of the Son of Man as the sun in his strength, ten thousand times ten thousand of the heavenly hosts on the right hand and the left, the first effect would doubtless have been unspeakable and overwhelming awe. But remember, belief in the Christ meant trust in the Christ, the homage of heart and soul. Do you think that the most magnificent display in the heavens would secure that?
III. No outward proof alone can determine belief in truths moral and spiritual.—Every kind of truth has its proper evidence. Mathematical truth has its evidence; but to crave mathematical proof outside its own proper region is unphilosophical, and may lead us to suspect that the absorbing study of mathematics disqualifies for, rather than aids, the search after truth of other kinds. Historical truth again is reached through its own proper evidence; but it is here that we touch upon the very point before us. Christianity rests on an historical basis, and because it does so sceptics are apt to assume that its truth or falsehood is merely matter of historical evidence. Doubtless the historical evidence must be sound; but is every one qualified to judge of its soundness? And so we have to point out that Christianity has a moral and spiritual basis also. Suppose there has appeared on the page of history One whom our own hearts and the universal consent of the civilised world pronounce to be perfect goodness, unrivalled purity, Divine dignity, love unequalled. Will not good men yield their love and devotion to Him who is perfect goodness? Will not bad men shrink from Christ and from His perfect purity, and be predisposed to question the historical evidence, because they hope thereby to free themselves from His claim upon their allegiance? For such men there are no signs from heaven. They are not given, simply because they would be useless (Luk_16:31).
IV. Obedience is the condition of faith.—Obedience to what we know leads to faith in what is yet to be revealed. The good ground in the parable of the sower, the only ground that brought forth fruit, is explained to be “the honest and good heart,”—honest, and therefore receptive of everything true; good, and therefore in closest sympathy with the noble, the loving, and the pure. But this is alone of Him from whom comes every good and perfect gift.—Canon Jacob.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mar_8:11-12. Neglect not the signs given already.—When we long for miracles, neglecting those standing miracles of our faith, the gospel and the Church; when our reason is satisfied of a doctrine or a duty, and yet we remain irresolute, sighing for the impulse of some rare spiritual enlightenment or excitement, for a revival or a mission or an oration to lift us above ourselves,—we are virtually asking to be shewn what we already confess, to behold a sign, while we possess the evidence.—Dean Chadwick.
You cannot convince some men.—Did you ever try to satisfy an impracticable man, or to remove all ground of offence from one who is determined to find fault? The old Greek fable-writer was very wise. The stories of “The Wolf and the Lamb,” and of “The Old Man and his Ass,” bear a moral for all time. Jesus Christ told men that they were not to give that which was “holy to the dogs,” or to cast their “pearls before swine.” Life is too short, time and strength are too precious, to be wasted in vain endeavour.—D. J. Hamer.
Sight more needed than signs.—Persons who, after looking at what Christianity has wrought in the world, and the kind of influence it has on the souls of men, still ask for evidences of Christianity, are of the same sort as these. They forget that demonstration is only possible of the visible or the tangible, and that there cannot be any scientific demonstration of such a thing as the Godhead of Christ. What all such persons want is sight, not signs—the power of seeing and appreciating the Saviour’s moral glory, not evidences of Christianity.—R. Glover.
Mar_8:12. The Lord’s deep sigh in its great significance—
1. A silent and yet decisive sign of His conflict and of His victory.
2. An unuttered word, containing a world of Divine words.
3. A fulfilment of the primitive prophecy concerning the breach between the external and the spiritual Israel.
4. A prophecy which stretches forward to the Cross and the Judgment.—J. P. Lange, D.D.
The infinite meaning of this sigh of Christ.—
1. As a breathing forth of the Divine patience over the visible world.
2. A collective expression of all the sufferings and all the patience of Christ.
3. A declaration of all the incarnate sorrow and endurance of the Lord in His Church.—Ibid.
An unreasonable demand.—In many cases of unbelief the individual is not so much to blame as the spirit of the age of which he is the representative. See 2Co_4:4. Such persons not only cannot recognise the signs of the kingdom of heaven, but are in a state of heart and mind to which no sign can possibly be given. We are indebted to the fine candour of the late Mr. Darwin for a striking illustration of this. In his life there is an interesting correspondence with Professor Asa Gray, the great botanist, who, wondering how Darwin could remain unconvinced by the innumerable evidences of design in nature, asked him if he could think of any possible proof which he would consider sufficient. Mr. Darwin replied: “Your question is a poser. If I saw an angel come down to teach us so, and I was convinced, from others seeing him, that I was not mad, I should believe.” If he had left it there, it might have been pertinent to ask him whether Christ is not just such an angel come down from heaven to teach us, and whether a sufficient number of persons did not see Him in the flesh, to say nothing of the multitudes who know Him in the spirit, to convince us that we are not mad in believing it. But he went on to say: “If man were made of brass and iron, and in no way connected with any other organism which had ever lived, I should perhaps be convinced.” Nothing could be more candid, or more in keeping with the transparent honesty of the man. But what an acknowledgment! Man must cease to be man, and become a metal machine, and the universe must cease to be a harmonious whole, before there can be evidence enough for so simple and elementary a principle as design in the universe; and then only a “perhaps”! Is Christ’s answer to the seekers after a sign out of date?—J. M. Gibson, D.D.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 8
Mar_8:11. Asking a sign.—Two striking instances from Rabbinic literature will shew that this demand of the Pharisees was in accordance with their notions and practice. We read that, when a certain Rabbi was asked by his disciples about the time of Messiah’s coming, he replied, “I am afraid that you will also ask me for a sign.” When they promised they would not do so, he told them that the gate of Rome would fall and be rebuilt, and fall again, when there would not be time to restore it ere the Son of David came. On this they pressed him, despite his remonstrance, for “a sign,” when this was given them—that the waters which issued from the cave of Paneias were turned into blood. Again, as regards “a sign from heaven,” it is said that Rabbi Eliezer, when his teaching was challenged, successively appealed to certain “signs.” First, a locust tree moved at his bidding one hundred, or, according to some, four hundred, cubits. Next, the channels of water were made to flow backwards; then the walls of the Academy leaned forward, and were only arrested at the bidding of another Rabbi. Lastly, Eliezer exclaimed, “If the law is as I teach, let it be proved from heaven!” when a voice fell from the sky, “What have ye to do with Rabbi Eliezer? for the Halakhah is as he teaches.”
Mar_8:12. Difficult to explain truth to unspiritual people.—If a man paints a picture on canvas, gorgeous in colour as Titian could make it, and then gathers together a multitude of spectators, it is useless for him to undertake to explain to them that the colours are exquisite, and the reasons why they are so. If, as they stand and look at it, one, in behalf of the others, should ask, “Will you be kind enough to prove to us that those are exquisite colours?” he would say, probably with expletives, “If you cannot yourselves see what they are, I cannot explain it to you.” If you play a magnificent overture to an audience, some of them say, “I would rather hear a ballad than that thing.” Others have an appreciation of it. Men only hear what they are capable of hearing. Some men’s ears enable them to appreciate only the lowest elements of music; and when the better parts are developed, these are nothing to them. If they do not like a beautiful symphony, they do not, and that is all you can say about it. It is not in them to like it. The eye cannot see anything which it is not organised to see. Tyndall shewed us that light, besides containing all those qualities which we supposed it contained, also had in it chemical qualities which no sense of ours could trace or comprehend. It was the first intimation I had that the universe is full of things which we are not organised to appreciate. Precisely this was implied by Christ when He said, substantially, to His adversaries, the educated people of His day who denied that He was Divine: “If you were spiritually enlightened, you would recognise My high claim; you would perceive in My life and disposition the qualities of Divinity; and if you do not perceive them, it is because you have not the requisite perceiving power. The proof must always lie in the person who is reasoned with; and you have not the moral faculty which is necessary to enable you to discern it.”—H. W. Beecher.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain Mat 15:39. “Having sent away the multitudes, He entered…
CHAPTER 35
SIGNS OF HIS COMING
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Mat 15:39. “Having sent away the multitudes, He entered into a ship, and came to the coasts of Magdala.” Mar 8:10 : “Immediately embarking on a ship, with His disciples, He came into the parts of Dalmanutha.” In these records, chronicling the peregrinations and defining the whereabouts of our Savior, Matthew and Mark precisely agree, both certifying His embarkation, crossing the sea, and His landing — the latter in Dalmanutha, which is the name of the country; and the former, in Magdala, which is the name of the city into which He came on landing. This is the nativity of Mary Magdalene, the latter cognomen being taken from her city, Magdala. Though evidently saved out of the slums, by the ejectment of seven demons, she became one of the brightest saints and truest disciples on whom the sun ever looked down, being last at the cross, first at the sepulcher, and first to receive the full-orbed gospel commission, “Run and preach the risen Christ.” Among the mighty works of Jesus, only a small fraction do we have on record. We have no account of Mary Magdalene’s conversion; but a mere reference to the ejectment of the seven demons, and her subsequent incessant concomitancy of our Lord to the end of His earthly ministry. I trow, she was converted during the present or some other visit of Jesus to her city, Magdala. I feel it pertinent thus to write about her, as she stood at the head of the female department of our Savior’s ministry.
Mat 16:1-4 : “The Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to Him, tempting, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He, responding, said to them, It being evening, you say, It will be fair, for the sky is red; in the morning, It will be stormy today, for the sky is red, lowering. O ye hypocrites, you truly know how to discern the face of the sky, and are you not able to discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous nation seeketh after a sign; and no sign shall be given unto it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” He had fed the multitudes this second time over in Decapolis, not very far out in the country, off the southeast coast of the Galilean Sea; after which, coming with His disciples and embarking on a ship, He crosses the sea from southeast to northwest, landing at Magdala, which is on the coast between Bethsaida and Tiberias, but nearer the former. I was in it, and as I sailed all around the sea, landing at many places, I saw all of these localities, and this as well as other routes pursued by our Lord and on record for our edification.
“Jesus now preaches to the multitudes assembled at Magdala, in the land of Dalmanutha.” Here we have, by Matthew and Mark, the subtle attack made on Him by the Pharisees and Sadducees. These, and the Essenes, were the great denominations of the Jewish Church. The Pharisees were the orthodox, with plenty of good and true doctrine, but spiritually dead; the Sadducees were rich and worldly, skeptical in doctrine, regarded as the heterodox wing of the popular Church; while the Essenes, very poor and generally living in the desert, were the holiness people of that day. As in all ages and countries there has been an exterminating war between orthodoxy and heterodoxy, so it was in that age. The Pharisees and Sadducees, however, bury the hatchet, and unite their forces against Jesus, as we see on this occasion, and may see all over this country, if you will open your eyes. Let a holiness evangelist come to a wicked town, and pour out the lightning — truth of full salvation, and the warring sects will all make peace, like Pilate and Herod, and unite their forces, to criticize, oppose, and if possible defeat the revival. Though Jesus had flooded the whole country with His stupendous miracles, always exercising His power for the relief of suffering humanity, doing good to soul or body; dissatisfied with these wonderful benefactions, which they could neither criticize nor call in question, they allege that these works are all confined to this world, and as Moses, the great leader, lawgiver, and mediator of Israel, whose disciples they boastingly claim to be, had fed them with manna from heaven, incessantly, forty years in the wilderness, therefore they demanded of Him a similar miracle, coming down from heaven. He now, responsively to their impudent and arrogant demands, called them hypocrites; not by way of insult, but because it behooved the Author of all truth to call everything by its right name; and if these preachers had enjoyed the true light of God, instead of antagonizing Jesus, they would have been His faithful and loving disciples. Hence, the reason why, with all their meteorological sagacity, which enabled them to prognosticate the weather, and still they could not discern the spiritual signs of the time, was demonstrative proof that they were not the true ministers of God as they claimed to be, as in that case, the light of the Holy Ghost on the prophecies would enable them so to decipher the signs of the times as to know that He was truly the Christ. That it was not the want of natural intelligence was abundantly evinced by their accurate discriminations of the weather. But it was simply the want of spiritual illumination, which the Holy Ghost sheds on the Word, clear and unmistakable to the spiritually-minded. Hence, the very fact that those preachers were utterly blind to the signs of the times was demonstrative proof that they were hypocrites. What were those signs of His coming? The seventy weeks of Daniel — i.e., four hundred and ninety prophetic years — were just about expired. The scepter, which was not to depart from Judah till Shiloh (Christ) came, had actually departed about the time of His birth, as, on the death of Herod, Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor, instead of transmitting to Archelaus, took it away altogether, turning Judea into a Roman province, and sending Coponius to serve as proconsul. Besides, all the prophets had just poured out torrents of Messianic predictions, which were wonderfully fulfilled on all sides; John the Baptist, the last of all, and the greatest of the prophets, not only having preached Him with all His might, but actually introduced Him publicly to all the people, assuring them of His Messiahship. If these preachers had not been bigoted and blinded hypocrites, they would most assuredly have seen in Jesus the Christ of prophecy.
Let us beware lest we plunge into the same awful dilemma. The present age is flooded with prophetic signs of the Lord’s near coming, as we are now in the last century of the demiurgic week; the six thousand years, according to some chronologies, already out; while all of them expire the period in the present century. The Gentile times, according to Daniel and John, are actually running out on us, the lunar chronology having them already expired, the Calendar due in twenty-four years, and the solar in seventy, all conspiring to illustrate the obvious fact that we are living in the time of the end of the Gentile age. Besides, the prophetical fulfillments among the Mohammedans, Romanists, heathens, and Protestants, and especially the Jews, literally girdle the globe with signs of His near coming; e.g., the rapid gathering of the Jews to Palestine, the revival of the old cities in that country, the great and rapid apostasy of the Church in the home lands, and the wonderful and unprecedented progress of missions among all heathen nations, are all literal fulfillments of the latter-day prophecies, ominous of the Lord’s near coming. And yet preachers by thousands see nothing of it, but comfort their carnal members by ridiculing the awful and momentous truths which God’s awakened people are preaching in all the earth, arousing the spiritually-minded to wash, and dress, and be ready for their coming King. We should not be surprised at the blindness of the pulpit and pew with reference to our Lord’s second coming, when we see how literally this state of things was verified in His first advent; as intellectual and educational culture has no power to open spiritual eyes, and reveal the electric light of God’s truth, so we may expect to find humanity uniform in all ages, and the same paradoxical blindness on Israel this day which, in the visitation of her Lord, disqualified her learned preachers to see Him.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Subdivision 3. (Mar 8:10-38; Mar 9:1-8.)
Subdivision 3. (Mar 8:10-38; Mar 9:1-8.)
The Revelation of the Glory of Christ here and hereafter.
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And now we come to the point at which the Lord, having in opposition to the general unbelief elicited from His disciples their faith in Him as the Christ, forbids them any more to speak of Him as that. The Son of man was to suffer and die and be raised from the dead, and come again in glory. The glory now hidden from the world and manifest to faith alone, will at last be revealed from heaven. But till then His disciples must accept the cross after the pattern of their Master. Here the shrinking of nature is at once evident; and in view of it the transfiguration of the Lord attests that they have followed no cunningly devised fables, confirming the word of prophecy by the display of that coming glory. This is Peter’s own interpretation of what took place upon the "holy mount" (2Pe 1:16-19).
1. We start here with the demand of the Pharisees of a sign from heaven, which shows only their own total and wilful blindness to His true glory. The "sign of the Son of man in heaven" will be seen at last; but too late then for His rejectors. The seeking for new proofs amid the profusion that had been given was but the seeking of justification for their unbelief; and to such no sign could be effectual: none, therefore, would be given. He leaves them and departs to the other side of the sea.
In fact their self-righteousness had no need of Him and was but a ferment of opposition in their hearts. This is what He presently calls it - "leaven," "ferment": the pride and will of man aroused in rebellion against God; and this characterized them. Elsewhere He stamps it as "hypocrisy": for their minds were made up, and their arguments were but insincere, - the dictates of will, not reason. Alas, in disciples also such leaven might be found: self-righteousness as in the Pharisees, worldliness as in the Herodians. Of this He warns them now, though at first they think but of the bread they have forgotten; and they have forgotten practically the bread that He had blessed!
2. Following this, the blind man at Bethsaida illustrates, as it would seem, the gradual breaking in of light with those who are in His hands for the cure of nature’s blindness, - hands that do not cease their work until the cure is complete. The hindrances to it have just been put before us, - self-occupation, the world, the half-sincerity and lack of earnestness in our discipleship, and such like things. No wonder if the Lord must have us alone with Himself for cure, outside of Bethsaida, the "place of nets," which the world truly is. Then comes the touch of His hands; and if the sight produced be indistinct, we must still not deny that it is truly sight. Nor will He leave till it be perfected.
3. We have had the hindrances of faith, and its gradual development amid such hindrances; we now have that in which, where real, it ever manifests itself. It may see men but as trees walking; but it sees Christ and does not confound Him with other men. Those who said He was John the Baptist or Elias did not mean Him any dishonor, but they had not eyes to distinguish the glory of the Christ of God. The Lord tells them that they are not to make Him known as such: for it was now plain that Israel had no welcome for Him; and the Cross was now to be the only expectation that His followers were to entertain. Mark here omits some pregnant words in the confession of Peter, and the announcement both as to the Church and Kingdom with which the Lord answers it. Mark’s abridgment of Matthew, if it were that, still follows the distinct purpose of his Gospel, omitting what is dispensational, and simply showing us what distinguishes true faith from all the wisdom or sentiment of man, and carries us on at once to see what man’s unbelief involves as to the path of the true believer.
4. He begins therefore now to teach them that the Son of man - speaking of Himself under that title which showed His connection with men at large and His own stooping to all implied in true humanity, - "that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priest and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."
Immediately the very one in whom faith has been foremost becomes foremost in opposition to it. "Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him"! But He turning round, and with His eyes upon them all, on His part rebukes this opposition as of Satan. Satan had before proposed to Him a way to the Kingdom without the Cross; and here amongst His own is the same voice now, exhorting Him to spare Himself. But these were not the purposes of God, but the weak human thoughts which could so easily oppose themselves to God. Not as seeking His own after such a sort could He be man’s Saviour; and the path of His disciples also must be after the pattern of His own. He calls the multitude to Him with His disciples, that the conditions of discipleship to Him may be perfectly understood. He that will come after Him must follow on the same road: he must deny himself and take up his cross also, and follow Him.
He contrasts here the two ways, of one of which every one must make choice. To seek one’s own is to lose all, - to lose even oneself,* as it is put in Luke (9: 25), and for ever. To lose one’s life for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s is eternal gain. This in the spirit of it applies to all; today, as much as at any former time: and a solemn word it is. The confession of Christ still costs: that which does not is scarcely to be called confession. "For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of the Father, with the holy angels."
{*The ambiguity of psuche, "soul" or "life," makes a difficulty in translating, not really in understanding, what is here said. Man being a living soul, his soul is often but a synonym for "himself," and so here. There is a present loss of oneself which is only gain, the laying down one’s life for Christ’s sake; while final loss is irretrievable ruin.}
5. The last words lead on to the transfiguration scene in which that coming of the Son of man is foreshown. We have already considered it in the notes on Matthew, with whose account Mark’s is almost identical, except that it is shorter. These repetitions have, doubtless, even as such, their significance; and they differ as being connected with different lines of truth. But we need much more and deeper study to understand such things as these.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXX. A. Third…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXX. A. Third Withdrawal].
LXX. THIRD WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY. Subdivision A. PHARISAIC LEAVEN. A BLIND MAN HEALED. (Magadan and Bethsaida. Probably Summer, A. D. 29.) aMATT. XV. 39-XVI. 12; bMARK VIII. 10-26.
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b10 And straightway he entered into the boat with his disciples, aand came into the borders of Magadan. binto the parts of Dalmanutha. [It appears from the context that he crossed the lake to the west shore. Commentators, therefore, pretty generally think that Magadan is another form of the name Magdala, and that Dalmanutha was either another name for Magdala, or else a village near it.] a1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees bcame forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign aand trying him [testing the strength of his miraculous power] asked him to show them a sign from heaven. [They rejected his miracles as signs of his Messiahship, the Pharisees holding that such signs could be wrought by Beelzebub. They therefore asked a sign from heaven such as only God could give, and such as he had accorded to Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and Elijah, or such as Joel foretold ( Joe_2:31). It is generally thought that the [406] Herodians were Sadducees of Galilee. If so, we note the beginning of their hostility recorded at Mark iii. 6, 1Co_1:22.] 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and bverily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. [i. e., none such as was demanded] bbut the sign of Jonah. [For comment on similar language, see pages 305-306. The resurrection or Jonah sign was a sign from heaven in the sense in which they used the words; that is, it was wrought directly by God, and not through man.] 13 And he left them, bAnd again entering into the boat departed to the other side. [I. e., from Magdala back again to the east shore, or rather, toward Bethsaida Julias, on the northeast shore.] a5 And the disciples came to the other side and forgot to take bread. band they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf. [This loaf was probably left over from the previous supply.] a6 Then Jesus said unto them, b15 And he charged them, saying, aTake heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. band the leaven of Herod. [Leaven, which answered to our modern yeast, was a symbol of a secret, penetrating, pervasive influence, usually of a corrupting nature. The [407] influence of the Pharisees was that of formalism, hypocritical ostentation, and traditionalism; that of the Sadducees was sneering rationalistic unbelief, free thought and cunning worldliness, manifesting itself among the Herodians in political corruption. 16 And they reasoned one with another, aamong themselves, saying, We took bhave no bread. They thought that Jesus reproved them for their carelessness in forgetting to take bread, since that carelessness might lead them to be without bread on their journey. So his rebuke below indicates.] a8 And Jesus perceiving it said, bsaith, unto them, aO ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9 Do ye not yet perceive, bneither understand? aneither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets [cophini, probably traveling baskets] ye took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets [spurides, probably grain baskets or hampers] ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not perceive that I spake not to you concerning bread? bhave ye your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19 When I brake the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets [cophini] full of broken pieces took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 And when the seven among the four thousand, how many basketfuls [spurides] of broken pieces took ye up? And they say unto him, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, Do ye not yet understand? aBut beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. [Jesus had resorted to metaphor because the word leaven better expressed his idea than did the word teaching. The formulated dogmas of the Pharisees were not so bad, but the subtle influence of their spirit and example corrupted [408] without warning, like a concealed grave. There are those to-day who are too skillful to be openly convicted of heterodox statements, but whose teaching, nevertheless, in its very essence and spirit, tends to infidelity.] b22 And they cometh unto Bethsaida. [Not the suburb of Capernaum, but Bethsaida Julias, a town on the east side of the Jordan, near where it flows into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was proceeding northward toward Cæsarea Philippi.] And they bring to him a blind man, and beseech him to touch him. 23 And he took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village [Jesus increased the sympathy between himself and the man by separating him from the crowd. Our greatest blessing can only come to us after we have been alone with God]; and when he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, Seest thou aught? 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold i them as trees, walking. 25 Then again he laid his hands again upon his eyes; and he looked steadfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. [The man's eyes were probably sore, and Jesus made use of saliva to soften and soothe them. But it was our Lord's custom to give variety to the manifestation of his power, sometimes using one apparent auxiliary means, and sometimes another; and also healing instantly or progressively, as he chose, that the people might see that the healing was altogether a matter of his will. The man had evidently not been born blind, else he would not have been able to recognize men or trees by sight, for those not used to employ sight can not by it tell a circle from a square.] 26 And he sent him away to his home, saying, Do not even enter into the village. [The man, of course, lived in the village, and to send him home was to send him thither, but he was to go directly home and not spread the news through the town, for if he did the population would be at once drawn to Jesus, thus breaking up the privacy which he sought to maintain.] [409]
[FFG 406-409]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Leaven of the Pharisees.
The Leaven of the Pharisees.
Request for a sign from heaven:
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v. 10. And straightway He entered into a ship with His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
v. 11. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
v. 12. And He sighed deeply in His spirit and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
v. 13. And He left them, and, entering into the ship, again departed to the other side.
After the miracle of the feeding Jesus lost no time in further teaching and healing at this place. Without delay He entered the boat with His disciples and crossed the Sea of Galilee into the region of Dalmanutha, in the district of Magdala, Mat 15:39. This was a fertile district adjoining that of Gennesaret, and for that reason settled very thickly. Jesus always returned to Galilee for short trips, but the day of mercy for the Galileans had practically come to a close. His ancient enemies had not returned to Jerusalem, to all appearances. For no sooner had He begun the work of His ministry than they came out, probably from Capernaum. They here deliberately began a dispute, they tried to force the issue, they tempted Him. Their object was to get Him to do or say something that could be readily construed as being at variance with the Law of Moses. They hoped to gain their purpose in this case by having Him show a sign from heaven, a sign establishing His claim as the Messiah sent by God. They were not sincere in their urgent demand; they had no intention of believing on Him. If He had fulfilled their request, they would simply have denounced Him before the people as a false Messiah, in spite of all. The wickedness and hypocrisy of the question affected the Lord very deeply. He fetched a deep sigh in His spirit. He realized that the crisis had come, that henceforth there would be enmity to death against Him on the part of these members of the leading party in the Jewish Church. Then He said the solemn words, in the form of an oath: What sign does this generation seek? Verily I say unto you, if a sign will be given to this generation! This is an Aramaic form of speaking, leaving the sentence unfinished, the alternative unspoken. It is the strongest form of refusal. In their sense Jesus here and always refused them a sign. If the many miracles that had been performed in the presence of multitudes numbering thousands had made no impression on them, neither would some manifestation out of the sky penetrate their callous hearts. One sign He indeed is reserving for them and for the whole world, Mat 12:38-40, a sign so wonderful that they would never understand, much less accept and believe it—His resurrection from the dead. Having given the Pharisees this answer, He left them, and again crossed to the other side of the sea. The obstinacy and hardness of heart which these enemies exhibited hurt Him deeply, and so He wanted to be alone for a while and gain strength for further labors and combats.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:10-13 As in the earlier feeding miracle (6:30-44), the…
8:10-13 As in the earlier feeding miracle (6:30-44), the feeding of the 4,000 is followed by Jesus’ crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat (cp. 6:45) and the Pharisees’ initiating a dispute demanding that Jesus perform some miraculous sign (cp. 7:1-23). • The location of Dalmanutha is unknown. Matthew 15:39 has Magadan instead of Dalmanutha.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.