MARK 3:13-19; LUKE 6:12-19
Mark 3:13-19 | Luke 4:12-19 |
13. And he went up into a mountain, and called to him whom he would: and they came to him. 14. And he appointed twelve to be with him, and send them forth to preach, 15. And to have powers of healing diseases, and of casting out devils. 16. And to Simon he gave the name Peter. 17. And James th son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James: and he gave them the names of Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder. 18. And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James (son) of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19. And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. | 12. And it happened in those days, he went out into a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose twelve from among them, whom he also called Apostles: 14. Simon, whom he also called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15. Matthew and Thomas, James (son) of Alpheus, and Simon, who is called Zelotes, 16. And Judas (brother) of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also was the traitor. 17. And going down with them, he stood in a plain, and a multitude of his disciples, and a very great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18. Who had come to hear him, and to be healed from their diseases, and those who were tormented by unclean spirits were healed. 19. And the whole multitude sought to touch him, for virtue went out of him, and healed all. |
Mark 3:13.
Both the Evangelists say, that Christ
But here many questions arise. First, why did our Lord deliberately choose Judas, who, he perfectly knew, was unworthy of the honor, and would be his betrayer? Secondly, why did God, after being so earnestly supplicated by his Son, and as if he had given a refusal to Christ, permit a base and wicked man to find his way to the highest rank in his Church?3 Thirdly, why did he resolve that the first-fruits4 f his Church should be stained by so foul a disgrace? Fourthly, how came it, that Jesus Christ, knowingly and willingly, preferred Judas to honest and faithful ministers?
The first objection is met by the following reply. Our Lord expressly intended to prevent future offenses, that we may not feel excessive uneasiness, when unprincipled men occupy the situation of teachers in the Church, or when professors of the Gospel become apostates. He gave, at the same time, in the person of one man, an instance of fearful defection,5 that those who occupy a higher rank may not indulge in self-complacency. At the same time, with regard to the second question, we do not admit that our Lord suffered a refusal.6 This answer will serve also for the third question. At the very beginning, it was judged proper to give an early demonstration of the future state of the Church, that weak persons might not stumble on account of the fall of a reprobate; for it is not proper, that the stability of the Church should depend on men. With regard to the last objection, Christ did not prefer Judas to devout and holy disciples, but raised him to an eminence from which he was afterwards to fall, and thus intended to make him an example and instruction to men of every condition and of every age, that no one may abuse the honor which God has conferred upon him, and likewise that, when even the pillars fall, those who appear to be the weakest of believers may remain steady.
Luke 6:13.
Mark 3:16.
1 "Pour ses disciples et escoliers domestiques;"--"for his disciples and private scholars."
2 "Destournez et transportez hors du droit chemin;"--"turned and carried away out of the right road."
3 "Pourquoy Dieu estant prie et requis si ardemment par son Fils, asouffert qu'un mechant et mal-heureux traitre fust eleve au rang le plus honorable de son Eglise, comme si Jesus Christ n'eust point este exauce?"--"Why did God, when entreated and requested so earnestly by his Son, permit a wicked and unhappy traitor to be elevated to the most honorable rank in his Church, as if Jesus Christ had not been listened to?"
4 "Les premices et premier commencement de son Eglise;"--"the first-fruits and first beginning of his Church."
5 "Un revoltement et cheute horrible;"--"a dreadful rebellion and fall."
6 "Cependant nous ne dirons pas que Christ a este esconduit, veu que le pere par un conseil admirable, mettant un diable en la compagnie d'onze Anges, a toutesfois tellement modere l'issue, que la cheute de cestuy-la a plustost conferme que non pas esbranle la foyde son Eglise." -- "Yet we will not say that Christ was refused, since the Father, by a wonderful purpose, putting a devil into the company of eleven angels, has, at the same time, so guided the result, that the fall of this man, instead of shaking, has rather confirmed, the faith of his Church."
7 This alludes to the Greek word
8 "Afin qu'ils tonnassent par tout le monde en preschant;" -- "in order that they might thunder throughout the whole world in preaching."
9 Philologists have been a good deal perplexed by this word. There is even some difficulty in settling the Greek orthography: for conflicting manuscripts present us with the various forms of