As the Passion approaches, the Lord once again speaks to His disciples about what is most important in His teaching. Following, as Church tradition maintains, the preaching of the apostle Peter, the evangelist Mark gives an extremely concise statement of what the Lord Jesus said about...
As the Passion approaches, the Lord once again speaks to His disciples about what is most important in His teaching. Following, as Church tradition maintains, the preaching of the apostle Peter, the evangelist Mark gives an extremely concise statement of what the Lord Jesus said about the three fundamental dimensions of a person's spiritual life.
First He speaks of faith, assuring the disciples that it is faith which raises a person above the whole created world. In faith a person becomes not merely a grain of sand in an ocean of matter, but acquires the ability to “move mountains,” that is, to participate in the work of building the world which the Almighty Himself performs.
Then the Lord speaks of prayer, because our faith and trust in God are expressed first of all in our seeking communion with Him. As Bishop Cassian Bezobrazov said, faith in the biblical sense is the striving of the believer toward perfect union with the One in Whom he believes. Prayer is the principal path to this union. In speaking of the fruit of prayer, the Synodal translation uses the future tense: “believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours.” The original uses the past tense: “believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This grammatical detail reflects an important nuance of meaning. The purpose of a believer's prayer lies not so much in receiving what is requested as in placing it under God's authority. Therefore, when we do this, the principal result of prayer has already been achieved. That is why the fundamental form of our requests to the Almighty is: “Your will be done.”
Finally, the Lord tells His disciples that faith and prayer, this vector along which the movement of the human heart is directed toward true life, have a projection in our earthly existence, and this is nothing other than forgiveness. Thus, according to the Gospel of Mark, Christ's instruction to His disciples can be expressed in three words: faith, prayer, and forgiveness.
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3:13 Let him show his wisdom as well as his faith by his works; not by words only.
3:14 If ye have bitter zeal - True Christian zeal is only the flame of love. Even in your hearts - Though it went no farther. Do not lie against the truth - As if such zeal could consist with heavenly wisdom.
3:15 This wisdom - Which is consistent with such zeal.Is earthly - Not heavenly; not from the Father of Lights.Animal - Not spiritual; not from the Spirit of God.Devilish - Not the gift of Christ, but such as Satan breathes into the soul.
3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure - From all that is earthly, natural, devilish. Then peaceable - True peace attending purity, it is quiet, inoffensive. Gentle - Soft, mild, yielding, not rigid. Easy to he entreated - To be persuaded, or convinced; not stubborn, sour, or morose. Full of good fruits - Both in the heart and in the life, two of which are immediately specified. Without partiality - Loving all, without respect of persons; embracing all good things, rejecting all evil. And without dissimulation - Frank, open.
3:18 And the principle productive of this righteousness is sown, like good seed, in the peace of a believer's mind, and brings forth a plentiful harvest of happiness, (which is the proper fruit of righteousness,) for them that make peace - That labour to promote this pure and holy peace among all men.
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4:1 From whence come wars and fightings - Quarrels and wars among you, quite opposite to this peace? Is it not from your pleasures - Your desires of earthly pleasures. Which war - Against your souls. In your members - Here is the first seat of the war.Hence proceeds the war of man with man, king with king, nation with nation.
4:2 Ye kill - In your heart, for "he that hateth his brother is a murderer." Ye fight and war - That is, furiously strive and contend. Ye ask not - And no marvel; for a man full of evil desire, of envy or hatred, cannot pray.
4:3 But if ye do ask, ye receive not, because ye ask amiss - That is, from a wrong motive.
4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses - Who have broken your faith with God, your rightful spouse. Know ye not that the friendship or love of the world - The desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life, or courting the favour of worldly men, is enmity against God? Whosoever desireth to be a friend of the world - Whosoever seeks either the happiness or favour of it, does thereby constitute himself an enemy of God; and can he expect to obtain anything of him?
4:5 Do you think that the scripture saith in vain - Without good ground. St. James seems to refer to many, not any one particular scripture. The spirit of love that dwelleth in all believers lusteth against envy - Gal 5:17; is directly opposite to all those unloving temperswhich necessarily flow from the friendship of the world.
4:6 But he giveth greater grace - To all who shun those tempers. Therefore it - The scripture. Saith, God resisteth the proud - And pride is the great root of all unkind affections. Pro 3:34