I. THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS SERVANTS WAS DELIBERATELY ENTERED UPON AND VOLUNTARY IN ITS NATURE.

1. It was formally commenced in retirement. We may suppose a season of devotion. The absence of public excitement or external interference was evidently desired.

2. The utmost freedom existed on both sides. He called "whom he himself would: and they went unto him? There was no coercion. The highest principles and emotions were addressed. On the one hand, the teaching and the work of the Master were not dominated by the influence now associated with him; nor, on the other, was their service other than the fret of enthusiasm, intelligent conviction, and willing sympathy.

II. REPUTATION WAS RECEIVED FROM CHRIST BY HIS SERVANTS, NOT CONFERRED BY THEM. The names are all of men in humble life, with no previous distinction of shy kind. They were names common enough in Palestine. But their connection with Christ has immortalized them. How many have come to the Saviour in similar circumstances, and have received the reflected renown of his name! He makes the best out of the poor materials of human nature, and bestows what human nature in its greatest circumstances and moods could never of itself have produced. Men are honored in being made the servants of Christ.

III. THE APOSTLES WERE TO BE REPRESENTATIVE IN OFFICE AND CHARACTER FOR ALL TIME. As his first disciples, and because of the marked variety and force of their individual natures as influenced by the gospel and developed in Christ's service; their names have wrought themselves into the very texture of the gospel, and we have received it with the impress of their varied natures and habits of thought. "He sent them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out devils" - a fundamental work. Therefore are they called "the foundation of the apostles and prophets," of whom Jesus is the Corner-stone. In serving Christ they laid the world and the ages under inestimable obligation. - M.

A certain number had been admitted at the beginning to terms of intimacy and friendship with Jesus. Then they had left their secular calling for a time to attend upon Him. And now the final step must be taken, and a selection made of such as would give themselves wholly to the work, and go no more back to the world. The twelve apostles are divided by the evangelists into three groups.

I. NOTICE THE MANIFOLD VARIETY REPRESENTED AMONG THEM.

1. In character. Where in the whole world could we find dispositions more diverse than in Peter and John — the one ardent and impulsive, the very embodiment of energy and vehemence; the other quiet and contemplative, fitted for nothing so well as the life of a recluse?

2. In calling. What callings could be more incongruous than those which Simon and Matthew had respectively chosen? The fiery patriot could brook no allegiance to an earthly ruler, but would do and dare anything to resist the Roman claim to impose taxation upon the people of God. But his fellow apostle had degraded himself, of his own free-will, to exact from his own flesh and blood the obnoxious tribute. Yet such was the comprehensive work which lay before the ministry of the Church, that a sphere was found in it for the "tax gatherer" no less than the "tax hater;" for the Jew who had sold his birthright as well as for their reconcilable nationalist. Jew and Greek, bond and free, rich and poor, men of every type and people, were destined to be embraced in the Catholic Church; and Jesus Christ foreshadowed the future when He welded together the most discordant elements in that first society of the Twelve Apostles.

II. Another thought of scarcely less importance arises out of THE SOCIAL POSITION FROM WHICH HE MADE HIS CHOICE. The Jewish Rabbis estimated the weight of their influence by the rank or wealth or learning of the pupils who sat at their feet. The first Teacher of Christianity aimed, on the contrary, at attracting the poorest of men. It may be urged that He had no alternative; that men in the position of Joseph and Nicodemus wine so reluctant to accept the call that, had He waited for their adherence, the apostolic roll would never have been filled up in His lifetime. But His choice of the poor and despised, the ignorant and unlearned, was based upon a principle which governed the whole of His life on earth; which selected for His birthplace the manger of a wayside khan, for His home a humble cottage, and for His early occupation the trade of an artizan, among a people intellectually of the lowest type in Palestine. It was in perfect consistency with all that had gone before that He should associate with Himself for the work of the ministry men of the humblest rank, who probably knew little more than their letters, and, judged by a human standard, were worthless for that unto which they were called...For the first three centuries the progress of Christianity was a gradual triumph of the lowly over the great, till, by the irresistible might of its weakness, it shook the world and compelled "the master of legions" to cast his crown at the foot of the Cross. Then was the wisdom of His choice demonstrated.

(H. M. Luckock, D. D.)

1. The sons of Jacob were twelve. The princes of the children of Israel were twelve. The fountains of Elim were twelve. The stones in Aaron's breastplate were twelve. The loaves of shewbread were twelve. The spies sent by Moses into Canaan were twelve. The stones of the altar were twelve, The stones taken out of Jordan were twelve. The oxen which supported the brazen Laver in the temple were twelve. The stars on the crown of the woman in the Apocalypse are twelve. The foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem are twelve. The gates of the celestial city are twelve. The twelve tribes of Israel were the beginning of the Old Testament Church: the twelve apostles were the beginning of the New Testament Church, Hence both these numbers joined together describe the four and twenty elders, representing the entire Church in glory.

2. We have four lists of the apostles: in Matthew, in Mark, in Luke, and in the Acts. The order in which the names are given is not the same in all. It has been suggested that in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke they are enrolled chronologically in the order of their calling: whereas in Mark and in Acts the matter of personal influence is made the ground of that order which places Peter always first and Judas always last.

I. WHAT WERE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWELVE AS A BODY.

1. They were men of good health. Mr. Talmage says: "Christ did not want twelve invalids hanging about Him, complaining all the time how badly they felt. He leaves the delicate students at Jerusalem and Rome for their mothers and aunts to take care of, and goes down to the seashore, and out of the toughest material makes an apostleship. The ministry need more corporeal vigour than any other class. Fine minds and good intentions are important, but there must be physical force to back them. The intellectual mill wheel may be well built and the grist good, but there must be enough flood in the mill race to turn the one and to grind the other." And, yet, how many invalids in the pulpit have been stars of the first magnitude? Witness Robert Hall, McCheyne, and Robertson of Brighton, England.

2. They were men without power. They had no social or political rank.

3. They were laymen. This also is significant. Men of ecclesiastical or philosophical influence, who are committed to the support of a certain system of truth, are not free from prejudice. In the seventeenth century William Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood — a fact which no sane man disputes. And yet no physician forty years of age in that day accepted Harvey's discovery. So great is the power of prejudice! These laymen, chosen by Christ, were unshackled ecclesiastically and philosophically. It appears unfortunate that Martin Luther was an ecclesiastic. His work had been more thorough, but for certain Church shackles which even his great soul was unable to shake off. Witness the Lutheran Creed and the present condition of Germany.

4. They were simple men. Now, Mohammed, for example, was not a simple man. He was a dissembler. Jesus of Nazareth calls no man common or unclean. AEsop was a slave. Protagoras was a porter. Terence was a slave. Horace was the son of a slave. Among the poets, Gay was apprentice to a draper and Prior was a tavern boy. Pope was the son of a draper, Keats of a livery stable keeper, and Chatterton of a sexton. Ben Jonson worked for his bread as a bricklayer.

II. WHY DID THE LORD CHOOSE APOSTLES?

1. In order to crowd into a brief public ministry as much work as possible. His public ministry was so brief, that but for the cooperation of the twelve He could not have spoken all the words of wisdom or done all the acts of mercy which crowned and crowded that eventful life. In the great religious movement of the last century in England, John Wesley evinced a sagacity superior to that of either Whitefield or his brother Charles, in securing co-workers and doing in general the work of an organizer. All great teachers have done the same. Witness Socrates, Peter the Hermit, Luther, Loyola, and Savonarola, of Florence.

2. In order to provide testimony after His death. The apostles were to bear public witness of all they saw and heard whilst remaining with Him. Christianity then is historic, and is a system of doctrines resting upon facts.

3. In order to establish a body of men who should bear the public seal of the Church, viz,: Miracles.

4. To shield, by miraculous power, feeble Churches.

(W. F. Bishop.)

Bishops and clergy are called to the ministry of Jesus Christ —

1. In order to work with Him, extend, complete, and continue His priesthood ripen earth.

2. To preach His Word, and make known His truth, and the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. All ecclesiastical functions are denoted by preaching, because this is a principal duty of the clergy, and it is by means of the Word and instruction that the Church is established and perpetuated.

3. To be the physicians of souls, and apply themselves to heal their diseases.

4. To wage war with the devil, and destroy his kingdom. Whoever looks upon the ministerial office as a state of ease, and not of continual labour, understands but very little these words of Christ.

(Quesnel.)

A superhuman worker will have his own superhuman methods.

I. CHRIST'S METHODS. No man would have begun in such a way.

1. He wrote nothing. Plato has left us the description of his "Ideal Republic" — so men have always done; but the King of the only enduring kingdom wrote only once — in the sand, and not on parchment. Seneca penned his book on Morals for men to ponder; but the Christ who knew no sin, and whose precepts have been planted in every Christian civilization, simply spoke the precepts which in after years others should write down. The heavenly worker wrought in an unearthly way.

2. He chose unlettered men. When Carlyle speaks and Emerson ponders, the world puts its hand to its ear to catch even the lowest spoken truths; but it may be that some fisherman coasting the shore of Solway Firth, or some sower of seed on the fields of Concord, shall stand higher in God's view than even the rugged Scotchman and the honoured sage of America. The Saviour of mankind, the Revolutionist of the ages, the Son of the Highest committed Himself, His power, His teachings, to twelve plain and hitherto unhonoured men, all of them common people, and all of them unlearned.

3. The character of the twelve. Judged from a human point of view, they were certainly unpromising men — slow of heart, dull of understanding, weak in action, and one false at heart. But time has shown that Christ made no mistake. By so much as His apostles' characters were incomplete, and in so far as the Christian faith has ruled in the earth, even so His mysterious choice is vindicated beyond cavil. Upon them He stamped His own greatness.

II. THE PLAN INVOLVED IN CHRIST'S METHODS. Nothing Divine is ever done by chance.

(G. R. Leavitt.)

I. Christ thought fit to employ human agents in the promulgation of His religion.

II. Christ selected His agents by virtue of His own wisdom and authority.

III. Christ chose His trusted apostles from a lowly position of society.

IV. Christ appointed agents with various gifts, qualifications, and character.

V. Christ recognized and employed the special gift of His disciples in His own service.

VI. Christ qualified these agents by keeping them in His own society and beneath His own influence.

VII. Christ Himself commissioned and authorized these agents.

1. To preach the gospel.

2. To cast out devils.

(J. R. Thomson, M. A.)

The whole instruction of this story for our use now turns upon the word "chose;" for it reveals the fact that the sovereignty of God as well as His wisdom was in the procedure. So our several lessons need only to be stated in their order.

I. The earliest matter of notice is this: Our Lord's policy was ONE OF CONTINUOUS RECONSTRUCTION FOR OUR ENTIRE FALLEN HUMANITY, and not merely an expedient for His own convenience.

1. For a purpose, He might have chosen death, instead of which He chose life. He could have taken the best of the race up into the air higher than Ararat, and held them safely, as it were, outside of the world, while He washed the wicked earth beneath them, and then put them back. He did that once; but, with a rainbow for a sign, He said He would never do it again. He evidently planned now to redeem sinners, not to destroy them.

2. For a method, He might have chosen a permanent incarnation; instead of which He chose a book. He was now finding men just to make and perpetuate the New Testament. Ours is a "book religion," as cavillers call it. Christianity is the Bible, and the Bible is Christianity. In this form of procedure our Lord indicated that the chief of all approaches to the human conscience is through the reason, and this He intended to use for His end.

3. For the instruments, He might have chosen angels, instead of which He chose men. We see that He selected ordinary, poor, humble individuals from the lowliest callings. Hence, we admit they are subject to the same laws of estimate and criticism as other men. Not even inspiration changed their peculiar characteristics or their natural temperaments.

4. For a plan, He might have chosen unofficial representatives; instead of which He chose ordained officers, and organized a Church. Here, then, is the inalienable warrant for a fixed ministry in the Christian Church through all time.

II. The second matter of notice for us now is, that our Lord's selection of His helpers implied GREAT VARIETIES OF SERVICE IN EVANGELIZING THE WORLD, REQUIRING DIVERSITIES OF GIFTS.

1. Observe the significant number of these men. It was large, to begin with, and exceedingly wide in its representative range.

2. Observe, likewise, the special histories of these men.

3. Observe that one of these men was a treacherous hypocrite, known from the beginning of his career.

III. The next matter of notice in this choice is that Jesus Christ fixed the wise order in arrangement THAT DISCIPLESHIP SHOULD IN ALL CASES COME BEFORE APOSTLESHIP.

1. These twelve men needed knowledge of the Divine purposes. That must be the reason why for so many months they mere kept patiently wandering alongside of our Lord, as He advanced in His public work.

2. They needed acquaintance also with human nature. They were to deal with men, women, and children.

3. These men needed the practical exercise of their teaching gifts under their Master's eye. So we learn that Jesus arranged that they "should be with Him," before He "might send them forth to preach" (Mark 3:14).

4. They needed experience in actual dealing with masses of unorganized people.

IV. Once more, it is a matter of notice in this choice of helpers, that Jesus showed HOW PREVIOUS GIFTS AND EDUCATION IN OTHER WORK CAN ALL BE UTILIZED UNDER THE GOSPEL PLAN.

1. Recall the former occupations of these men.

2. Bear in mind with what painstaking Christ impressed on them the one principle that all success in evangelical work demands immediate and entire consecration (Luke 5:11, 28).

3. Then see that instantly, and ever afterwards, their training told.

V. Finally, it is a matter of notice that in His choice of such helpers OUR LORD GIVE THE BEST OF ALL COUNSEL AND EXAMPLE FOR EVERY MAN WHO SEEKS TO BE USEFUL IN THE CHURCH OF GOD.

1. Let Christian people remember that the Divine purpose, the plan of procedure, the end to be secured, the selection of instruments — all these, so finely illustrated that memorable morning beside the Sea of Galilee, remain exactly the same, unchanged through the ages. The conditions of effective working are quite unaltered. Hence this primitive wisdom is priceless.

2. Let the churches have confidence in their own machinery, and be content with New Testament methods of evangelization. There is no necessity for fresh excitements, and there is no advantage in looking for them.

3. Let those who desire to take up Christian endeavour for a life work bear in mind that training time is by no means for any one lost time.

4. Let the whole world know that what is wanted first and last and always is a thorough consecration of what one has to the Lord Jesus Christ.

(C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Note the variety of character among the twelve chosen. Every stone in a building is not alike, yet room is found for all — each in its own place. A painting is made up of many colours. Christ will find room in His temple for all who come to Him.

(Anon.)

Look at yonder sun. God made it, and hung it up there in the sky that it might give light to our world. But the light which this sun gives comes to us in tiny little bits, smaller than the point of the finest needle that ever was made. They are so small that hundreds of them can rush right into our eyes, as they are doing all the time, and not hurt them the least. Here we see how God makes use of little things, and does a great work with them. And then look at yonder ocean. The waves of that ocean are so powerful that they can break in pieces the strongest ships that men have ever built. And yet, when God wishes to keep that mighty ocean in its place, He makes use of little grains of sand for this purpose. Here again we see how God employs little things, and does a great work with them. And we find God working in this way continually. Let us look at one or two illustrations. What a plant did: — A little plant was given to a sick girl. In trying to take care of it the family made changes in their way of living which added greatly to their comfort and happiness. First they cleaned the window, that more light might come in to the leaves of the plant. Then, when not too cold, they opened the window, that fresh air might help the plant to grow; and this did the family good as well as the plant. Next, the clean window made the rest of the room look so untidy, that they washed the floor, and cleaned the walls, and arranged the furniture more neatly. This led the father of the family to mend a broken chair or two, which kept him at home several evenings. After this he took to staying at home with his family in the evenings instead of spending his time at the tavern; and the money thus saved went to buy comforts for them all. And then, as their home grew more pleasant, the whole family loved it better than ever before, and they grew healthier and happier with their flowers. What a little thing that plant was, and yet it was God's apostle to that family! It did a great work for them in blessing them, and making them happy. And that was work that an angel would have been glad to do.

(Dr. Newton.)

In China, both heathen and Christian agree in marking off certain cases, which occur not infrequently, as distinctly cases of "spiritual possession." The Chinese have names for insanity, and for the various forms of nervous and mental disease, and they distinguish sharply between all these and another very different condition in which the patient is said to be "possessed of devils." Miss Cumming tells us "the symptoms are so precisely those which were thus described in Biblical times, that foreigners, after vainly seeking for some medical term to express the condition of the victim, are fain to accept the Chinese solution. They find a being apparently mad, foaming at the mouth, tearing off every shred of raiment, and wildly appealing to God to let her (or him) alone." These poor afflicted ones are brought to the Taoist and Buddhist priests, who perform tedious and expensive exorcisms, which are continued indeed until the paroxysm abates, and are renewed after the same fashion when it returns. Miss Cumming says, "In a considerable number of cases such as these, the native Christians have been appealed to by their heathen neighbours to see whether they could do anything to help them; and these, remembering how of old those who had faith in the Master were enabled to 'cast out the spirits by His word,' have sought to follow in their wake, and, taking up their position beside 'him that was grievously tormented with a devil,' have thus wrestled in prayer with passionate earnestness, pleading that the true God would reveal His power in the presence of the heathen, and concluding with the apostolic words, 'In the name of Jesus Christ! command thee to come out.' Again and again their prayer has been granted, the wild tempest has been allayed, and the sufferer lulled to a condition of deep peace, whence, after a while, he has arisen to go forth 'clothed and in his right mind' to tell his heathen brethren of the marvellous way in which he has beta cured, and, in short, to become from that hour a faithful worker in the Master's cause."

(See "Wanderings in China," by C. F. Gordon Cumming.)

Alphaeus, Andrew, Bartholomew, Beelzebub, Boanerges, Herodians, James, Jesus, John, Judas, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, Thaddaeus, Thomas, Zabdi, ZebedeeCapernaum, Galilee, Idumea, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Sea of Galilee, Sidon, TyreCalleth, Calls, Chose, Desired, Goes, Hill, Mountain, Pleasure, Summoned, Wanted, Willed1. Jesus heals the withered hand,
10. and many other infirmities;
11. rebukes the unclean spirit;
13. chooses his twelve apostles;
22. convinces the blasphemy of casting out demons by Beelzebub;
31. and shows who are his brother, sister, and mother.

Mark 3:13-19

     6622   choice
     7026   church, leadership
     7266   tribes of Israel
     7707   apostles, designation

And Judas Iscariot
AND JUDAS ISCARIOT TEXT: "And Judas Iscariot."--Mark 3:19. There is something about the name of this miserable man which commands our attention at once. There is a sort of fascination about his wickedness, and when we read his story it is difficult to give it up until we have come to its awful end. It is rather significant, it would seem to me, that his name should come last in the list of the Apostles, and the text, "And Judas Iscariot," would suggest to me not only that his name was last, but …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

'He is Beside Himself'
'And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself'--Mark iii. 21. There had been great excitement in the little town of Capernaum in consequence of Christ's teachings and miracles. It had been intensified by His infractions of the Rabbinical Sabbath law, and by His appointment of the twelve Apostles. The sacerdotal party in Capernaum apparently communicated with Jerusalem, with the result of bringing a deputation from the Sanhedrim to look into …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Relations
'Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 35. There was a conspiracy to seize Jesus because He is 'mad,' and Mary was in the plot! I. The example for us. (1) Of how all natural and human ties and affections are to be subordinated to doing God's will. Obedience to Him is the first and main thing to which everything else bows, and which determines everything. If others compete or interfere, reject them. Out of that common obedience new ties …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Anger and Grief of Jesus
He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.'--Mark iii. 5. Our Lord goes into the synagogue at Capernaum, where He had already wrought more than one miracle, and there He finds an object for His healing power, in a poor man with a withered hand; and also a little knot of His enemies. The scribes and Pharisees expect Christ to heal the man. So much had they learned of His tenderness and of His power. But their belief that He could work a miracle did not …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Mistakes of Christ's Foes and Friends
'And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. 23. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24. And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man can enter into a strong man's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Kindred
'There came then His brethren and His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 32. And the multitude sat about Him; and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. 33. And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? 34. And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! 35. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 31-35. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ambassadors for Christ
'And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodlans against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaa 8. And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaa beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9. And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Necessity of Divine Influences. [*Continued]
Luke xi. 13.--"If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." In expounding the doctrine of these words, in the preceding discourse, the argument for the necessity of Divine influences had reference to the more general aspects of man's character and condition. We were concerned with the origin of seriousness in view of a future life, and the production of a sense of moral corruption and …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

Mutual Help.
(Female Friendly Society.) S. MARK iii. 35. "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother." There are just two points which I want to put before you to-day. First, what you as Christian women ought to be. Secondly, how you can help each other to be so. On the first point I would ask you to remember the glory and dignity of womanhood. You get this dignity from Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman, and who said, "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The Eccentricity of Religion
"They said, He is beside Himself,"--MARK iii. 21. THE most pathetic life in the history of the world is the life of the Lord Jesus. Those who study it find out, every day, a fresh sorrow. Before He came it was already foretold that He would be acquainted with grief, but no imagination has ever conceived the darkness of the reality. It began with one of the bitterest kinds of sorrow--the sorrow of an enforced silence. For thirty years He saw, but dared not act. The wrongs He came to redress were there. …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

The Hardening Operation of Love.
"Being grieved for the hardness of their heart."--Mark iii. 5. Love may also be reversed. Failing to cherish, to uplift, and to enrich, it consumes and destroys. This is a mystery which man can not fathom. It belongs to the unsearchable depths of the divine Being, of which we do not wish to know more than has been revealed. But this does not alter the fact. No creature can exclude itself from the divine control. No man can say that he has nothing to do with God; that he or any other creature exists …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Life and Character of John
"Volat avis sine meta, Quo nec votes nec propheta Evolavit altius: Tam implenda quam impleta, Numquam vidit tot secreta Purus homo purius. (Adam of St. Victor.) The Mission of John. Peter, the Jewish apostle of authority, and Paul, the Gentile apostle of freedom, had done their work on earth before the destruction of Jerusalem--had done it for their age and for all ages to come; had done it, and by the influence of their writings are doing it still, in a manner that can never be superseded. Both …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Whether the Sin against the Holy Ghost is the Same as the Sin Committed through Certain Malice?
Objection 1: It would seem that the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Because the sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of blasphemy, according to Mat. 12:32. But not every sin committed through certain malice is a sin of blasphemy: since many other kinds of sin may be committed through certain malice. Therefore the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Objection 2: Further, the sin committed through …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Great Schism
If a house be divided against itself.--Mark iii, 25. From such a revival as that of the Great Awakening, parties must of necessity arise. Upon undisciplined fanaticism, the Established church must frown. But when it undertook to discipline large numbers of church members or whole churches, recognizedly within its embracing fold and within their lawful privileges, a great schism resulted, and the schismatics were sufficiently tenacious of their rights to come out victorious in their long contest for …
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Abrogation of the Saybrook Platform
That house cannot stand.--Mark iii, 25. The times change and we change with them.--Proverb. The omission of all persecuting acts from the revision of the laws in 1750 was evidence that the worst features of the great schism were passing, that public opinion as a whole had grown averse to any great severity toward the Separatists as dissenters. But the continuance in the revised statutes of the Saybrook Platform as the legalized constitution of the "Presbyterian, Congregational or Consociated Church," …
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Apostle Judas
"And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:19 (R.V.) THE evidential value of what has been written about the apostles will, to some minds, seem to be overborne by the difficulties which start up at the name of Judas. And yet the fact that Jesus chose him -- that awful fact which has offended many -- is in harmony with all that we see around us, with the prodigious powers bestowed upon Napoleon and Voltaire, bestowed in full knowledge of the dark results, yet given because the issues of …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Withered Hand
"And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had his hand withered. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And He saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, He …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Characteristics of the Twelve
"And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out devils: and Simon He surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them He surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeaus, and Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:14-19 (R.V.) THE pictures …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Christ and Beelzebub
"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the devils casteth He out the devils. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if an house be …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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