Mark 1:36-39 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.… From these words I commend to your notice — I. THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN YOUR OWN LABOURS, AND THE PERSONAL MINISTRY OF YOUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, AS PERFORMED IN THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS. 1. In the scene of your labours. The title of missionary denotes one sent forth, and especially belongs to one whose errand is to propagate religion. Christ was sent from God — "The great Apostle of our profession" (Hebrews 3:1). To bring the glad message to our earth from the far heavens, He emptied Himself of glory, etc. It was to an alien race that he ministered. His personal ministry was far more limited and national in its character than was His message. Whatever His intent, in narrowing the field of His toils as a preacher, the fact is evident that to the land of Canaan, or the bounds of His native country, His ministerial labours were confined, and Jesus Christ, while upon earth, was a Home Missionary. Now a work which occupied the greatest of preachers can never be unimportant, etc. 2. In the commission under which He acted, the message He bore, the manner in which He published it, and the mode in which His labours were sustained. II. THE CONSEQUENT DUTY OF THE CHURCH TO CONTINUE AND ABOUND IN THE LIKE GOOD WORK. Whether we look to the advantages which our nation presents for such labour, or to its peculiar necessities; to our duty as Christians, or our interests as men loving their country; to the general obligations of the Church, or our own personal and special privileges and responsibilities — on every hand are teeming incitements to energy and liberality, to perseverance and courageous devotedness. (W. R. Williamson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. |
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