All the sacred Scriptures serve to show that God's redemption is meant for those who are conscious of their sin, however grievous have been their offenses. Promises prove this. Isaiah's description of a people whose head was faint and whose heart was sick is followed by the invitation, "Come now, and let us reason together," etc., and this is intensified by the gracious words of Christ, "Come unto me, all ye that labour," etc. Facts suggest the same truth, e.g. God's dealing with Adam, the call of idolatrous Abram, and the pardon of Manasseh; and all such evidences are concentrated in Christ. Descended through Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and David, he chose no spotless ancestry according to the flesh, but was from the first "numbered with the transgressors." His life-work touched the sinful - the woman who was a sinner, the adulteress of Samaria, the thief on the cross, etc. No wonder that his gospel was received by publicans and by sinners, in the house of Herod, in the court of Nero, among the idolatrous Ephesians and the profligate Corinthians. He came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Levi the publican was an example of these. Let us consider -

I. THE POSITION LEVI OCCUPIED "Levi" was the original name borne by the evangelist and apostle who was known in the Church as "Matthew," equivalent to "God's gift," he being so named because in him the Lord had a fulfillment of his own words, "All that the Father hath given me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." Levi was a tax-gatherer, a rate collector, employed by the richer publicans (of whom Zacchaeus was an example) to collect dues levied on the lake fishery or on the traffic passing through the district to Damascus; and consideration of what that involved may encourage the despondent.

1. He was low in the social scale. As a standing emblem of the authority of Roman tyranny, the tax-gatherer, especially when, like Levi, he was a renegade Jew, was intensely hated and despised; none of his fellow-countrymen would speak or eat with him. From the first Christ set himself against this prejudice and social distinction. As the "Son of man," as the King of men, he would have no narrow circle from which to draw his followers. His blessings were for the most despised and poor, as are God's air and sunshine.

2. He was an outcast from religious men. As patriots, the Jews hated him; as upholders of the ancient faith, they excommunicated him. Hence Matthew the apostle would seem to be a marvel of grace. The excommunicated man was to build up the communion of the Christian Church, the apostle was to become a pillar of Divine truth, the instrument of oppression was to proclaim true liberty, the byword was to become a burning and a shining light. God chose despised things to bring to nought those which were great and honored. The Church's judgment is not always right, therefore "judge not, that ye be not judged." Christ saw in Levi one who was seeking higher things, and he said to him, "Follow me."

3. He was subject to grievous temptations. The bad reputation of the publicans was doubtless, to a large extent, deserved. The vicious system of raising revenue adopted by Rome, and still practiced in Turkey, would tend to make men avaricious, hard, and unscrupulous. Large sums of money passed through their hands, and were loosely collected and accounted for; bribes were frequently offered and universally accepted, in order to obtain exemptions and privileges; and a publican, from the mere fact of being one, had no reputation to lose, so that if he had been more scrupulous than others he would get no credit for it. In that position Christ saw Levi and pitied him, and thence in his love he called him, teaching us that none are so low, or have circumstances so adverse, as to be beyond the reach of his pity and salvation.

II. THE SERVICE LEVI ATTEMPTED.

1. He freely gave up all to follow Jesus. It was a lucrative position, but he felt called to something nobler, for the sake of which any sacrifice should be made. Suggest certain trades and occupations which am now such a hindrance to the Divine life that for Christ's sake they ought to be abandoned by his followers. Indicate the call which sometimes comes to Christians to give up even innocent employments, for the higher work of preaching Christ.

2. He invited others to see and hear his Master. Luke (Luke 5:27) speaks of this as a "great feast" which Levi made in honor of his Lord; to which he invited his old comrades, who like himself would be popularly ranked among "the publicans and sinners." The feast was an occasion for speaking his farewell, and giving reasons for the change in his life. He wished to show that he was about to serve One greater than Caesar, and to do a nobler work. At his request Jesus became his guest. May that gracious Lord appear in our homes, at all our festive gatherings, and so show himself through us to those around us, that they too may find joy in his service! - A.R.

The story is placed immediately after a miracle, as if to hint that Matthew's conversion was a miracle. There are points of similarity between the miracle and the conversion. Matthew was spiritually palsied by his sins and his money making; hence he needed the Divine command, "Arise and walk." There may be points of likeness also between Matthew's personal story and our own. These may be profitably considered.

I. HIS CALL SEEMED ACCIDENTAL AND UNLIKELY.

1. Jesus had often been at Capernaum, which He had selected to be "His own city;" and yet Matthew remained unsaved. Was it likely he would now be called? Had not his day of grace closed?

2. Jesus was about other business; for we read, "As He passed by." Would He now be likely to call Matthew?

3. Jesus left many other persons uncalled; was it not highly probable that the tax gatherer would be passed by? Yet Jesus called to Himself, "Levi, the son of Alphaeus," while many another man had no such special call.

II. HIS CALL WAS ALTOGETHER UNTHOUGHT OF AND UNSOUGHT.

1. He was in a degrading business. None but the lowest of the Jews would care to gather taxes for the Roman conqueror. His discipleship would bring no honour to Christ.

2. He was in an ensnaring business. Money is bird lime to the soul.

3. He would not have dared to follow Jesus even if he had wished to do so. He felt himself to be too unworthy.

4. He would have been repulsed by the other disciples, had he proposed to come without the Lord's open invitation.

5. He made no sign in the direction of Jesus. No prayer was offered by him, nor wish expressed towards better things.

III. HIS CALL WAS GIVEN BY THE LORD, WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE OF HIM. "He saw Levi," and called him.

1. He saw all the evil that had been in him and was yet there.

2. He saw his adaptation for holy service, as a recorder and penman.

3. He saw all that He meant to make of him.

4. He saw in him His chosen, His redeemed, His convert, His disciple, His apostle, His biographer. The Lord calls as He pleases, but He sees what He is doing. Sovereignty is not blind; but acts with boundless wisdom.

IV. HIS CALL WAS GRACIOUSLY CONDESCENDING.

1. The Lord called "Levi, the son of Alphaeus," or, as he himself says, "a man named Matthew," — that was his best.

2. He was a publican — that may not have been his worst.

3. He allowed such a sinner to be His personal attendant; yea, called him to that honour, saying, "Follow Me.

4. He allowed him to do this immediately, without putting him into quarantine.

V. HIS CALL WAS SUBLIMELY SIMPLE.

1. Few were the words — Follow Me." It is very tersely recorded — "He saw...said...and he arose and followed Him."

2. Clear was the direction.

3. Personal was the address.

4. Royal was the command.

VI. HIS CALL WAS IMMEDIATELY EFFECTUAL.

1. Matthew followed at once.

2. He followed spiritually as well as literally.

3. He followed wholly.

4. He followed growingly.

5. He followed ever after, never deserted his Leader.

VII. HIS CALL WAS A DOOR OF HOPE FOR OTHERS.

1. His salvation encouraged other publicans to come to Jesus.

2. His open house gave opportunity to his friends to hear Jesus.

3. His personal ministry brought others to the Saviour.

4. His written Gospel has convinced many, and will always do so.Application: Are you up to your neck in business? Are you "sitting at the receipt of custom"? Yet may a call come to you at once. It does come. Hear it attentively; rise earnestly; respond immediately.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Such as sit at the receipt of custom are hard to be converted; but Jesus manifests His power by doing it with one word alone. Grace disengages Matthew from the love of money, to make him an apostle; the love of money will separate Judas from Christ, to make him an apostate: thus our Lord makes Himself amends beforehand. St. Matthew's example had no influence on Judas, though perhaps it was Christ's design to lay it before his eyes. Let us profit by the one as well as the other; and let us, with feat and trembling, adore the different judgments of God in relation to souls.

(Quesnel.)

When the Saviour calls, follow Him gladly. Never regret a duty, or lament a responsibility, or grieve over a sacrifice required. If we were as wise as Matthew, we should celebrate with festive joy every call to duty.

(R. Glover.)

We read in classic story, how the lyre of Orpheus enchanted with its music, not only the wild beasts, but the very trees and rocks upon Olympus, so that they moved from their places to follow him; so Christ, our heavenly Orpheus, with the music of His gracious speech, draws after Him those less susceptible to benign influences than beasts, and trees, and stones, even poor, hardened, senseless, sinful souls. Let Him but strike His golden harp, and whisper in thy heart, "Come, follow Me," and thou, like another Matthew, shalt be won.

Well might he sit down here; for he had a great weight upon him, the burden of his covetousness, and the desires of gold, bred in him by the often traffic he had with it. Gold is heaviest of all metals; but it is made more heavy by covetousness. For it more oppresses the heart of him that loves it, than the back of him that bears it. And where was he sitting? At the receipt of custom. "If it be more blessed to give than to receive," certainly to be a receiver of extorted oppression from the grudging people must be no happy nor blessed thing. This customhouse was such. The receiving of custom breeds a custom of receiving; and that, a desire still to receive more; which desire worldly men will ever seek to satisfy, though with the oppression of their poor brethren. This made this place and office hateful to the people. "Publicans and sinners" went ever together in their mouths...Christ found him, as he was Levi, the publican; but looked on him, as he was Matthew, the apostle...He called him to an office much more gainful...where he should still be a receiver, and a gainer too; but not, as here, ten or fifteen per centum; but where one should "bring forth thirty, one sixty, one an hundred-fold."

(Wm. Austin.)

Not in the house of prayer, not in the preaching of the Word; but when all these things have been absent, and all surrounding circumstances have seemed most adverse to the work of grace, that grace has put forth its power. The tavern, the theatre, the gaming house, the race course, and other similar haunts of worldliness and sin, have sometimes been the scene of God's converting grace. As an old writer says, "Our calling is uncertain in respect of place, for God calls some from their ships, and some from their shops; some from under the hedges, and others from the market; so that, if a man can but make out unto his own soul that he is certainly called, the time when and the place where matter little."

I. THAT CHRIST CALLS MEN TO FOLLOW HIM.

1. That the call of Christ is antecedent to any human endeavour after Him.

2. That it is often effectively addressed to the most unlikely men.

3. That it is addressed to men when they are occupied with the secular duties of life.

4. That it takes men from the lower duties and sends them to the higher.

II. THAT CHRIST'S CALL TO MEN MUST BE IMMEDIATELY OBEYED — "And he arose and followed Him."

1. That obedience must be immediate.

(1)Not to be hindered by intellectual perplexities.

(2)Not to be hindered by commercial or domestic anxieties.

2. That obedience must be self-sacrificing.

3. That it must be willing.

4. That it must be continuous.Learn:

1. To heed the calls of Christ to the soul.

2. To subordinate the secular to the moral.

3. That true religion consists in following Christ.

4. That it is well to speak to men for their moral good.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Alas! that the son of a devout, God-fearing Israelite should have fallen so low. Even the outcasts, the sons of Belial, hesitated long before they thus sold themselves to work iniquity. But he had gone freely and voluntarily into the service of the heathen. A father's stern commands, a mother's earnest pleadings, the entreaties of a loving sister and the expostulations of manly and pure-hearted brothers, the fair fame of the family, upon whose proud escutcheon no such blot had ever come since the days of their great ancestor, David — all these were of no avail to turn this wayward young man from the evil course he had chosen, and at length his name had been blotted from their record and; to all outward seeming, he was to them as if he had never lived. The neighbours and friends left out his name when they spoke of the children of Kolas (as in Mark 6:3), and at morning and evening prayer no audible petition went up to heaven for the erring and sinful one. But, hardened as he was, and great as was the distress he had given to his family, Levi was not beyond the free grace of the Redeemer of men. Jesus was his cousin, according to the flesh, and though He knew how the hearts of that dear family at Nazareth were breaking with anguish over him as utterly lost, yet He, the Divine Redeemer, did not despair of his recovery from the depth of his degradation and sin. Having loved him with an everlasting love, He would draw him out of the depths by the power of His loving kindness. And so it came to pass that when Jesus had left Nazareth and the home of His youth for busy, bustling Capernaum, because there He could accomplish a more comprehensive and effective work in establishing the kingdom of God on the earth, His eye more than once rested on poor Levi, and He saw that, in spite of his bravado, his sins were making him wretched. And when on that bright summer morning He went from Peter's house to His work of teaching and healing at the shore of the lake, as He passed the stall or booth where Levi was receiving the tolls and taxes, He said only, "Follow me;" and the tax gatherer, a few moments ago so hardened and brusque, instantly abandoned his books and accounts, his money and receipts, and, rising from his seat, followed Jesus. Nor did he ever return to the base employment he had left. The change of heart and purpose, though apparently instantaneous, was thorough and permanent. One evidence of its thoroughness was manifested in his desire to bring others who had fallen into the same degradation as himself under the gracious influence of Christ's teachings. "And Levi made Him" (i.e., Christ), says the evangelist Luke, "a great feast in his own house; and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them." To these sinful souls our blessed Lord spoke words of forgiveness and pardon, and they became, as St. Mark tells, His followers thenceforward. As for Matthew, he undoubtedly grew in grace, and was restored to the loving favour of his family; for it was, at the farthest, but a very few months later that Jesus chose him as one of the twelve, and with him two, and possibly three of his brothers, the devout and exemplary James the Just being one, and gave him his new name "Matthew," "The gift of God." Matthew's remembrance of his early history and sins seems to have kept him humble, and have prevented him from participating in those unseemly wrangles as to who should be the greatest, in which some of the others indulged; but he was a keen observer, and from the day when he abandoned his publican's stall to his death he must have felt more profoundly than any of the others the certainty that Jesus was the Son of God as well as the Son of Mary. Some practical lessons:

I. FAMILY PRIDE IS NOT A SUFFICIENT PRESERVATIVE AGAINST DEEDS OF SHAME.

II. HAS DISHONOUR BEEN BROUGHT UPON YOUR FAMILY NAME BY A PRODIGAL? Do not despair of him. You have a great burden of shame and grief to bear; but do not cease to love the prodigal, to pray for him, to hope for him. He, like St. Matthew, may yet hear and obey the voice of Christ.

1. If you did your best to train him in the way in which he should go, be very sure that the healthful influences by which you surrounded him are still with him, fighting mightily against the degrading influence by which he is now encompassed, and they may yet prevail. Not in vain did you do your duty in regard to him.

2. Ah, but it may be that you cannot recall the days of his boyhood without personal shame. You permitted many things to prevent you from training him duly in godliness and true manliness; the example you set before him was not really ennobling. Well, humble yourself before God, and hope in God for your son as well as for yourself. He may yet yield to the persistent drawings of the Divine love.

III. NO MAN SHOULD PERMIT HIS BUSINESS OR HIS SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS TO HINDER HIM FROM FOLLOWING CHRIST.

IV. ONE OF THE VERY BEST EVIDENCES OF A MAN'S CONVERSION IS A REAL MANIFESTATION OF CARE FOR THE SPIRITUAL WELFARE OF THESE OF HIS OWN CLASS.

(Anon.)

I. The PERSON called, A publican, etc.

II. The MANNER in which he is called.

1. Externally — by the Word.

2. Internally — by Christ's power and Spirit.

3. These two must ever be combined.

III. THE MANNER IN WHICH LEVI TREATED THE CALL.

1. He did not disregard it, as many.

2. He did not promise a compliance like others.

3. He instantly obeyed, and is thus an example to all who are called.

IV. THE CALL ITSELF. Christ goes before —

1. To prepare Himself for sympathy.

2. To remove doubts as to the way.

3. To free from oppressive responsibility.

4. To show how we are to walk in the way.

5. To remove obstructions.

6. To be a companion. Are you following Christ?

(Expository Discourses.)

I. IT WAS A FESTIVAL HELD TO CELEBRATE THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF A SOUL.

1. It was indicative of joy.

2. It was indicative of gratitude.

3. It was indicative of worship. The newly converted soul is characterized by devotion.

II. IT WAS HELD TO INTRODUCE TO CHRIST THOSE WHO WERE IN NEED OF HIS LOVING MERCY.

1. It was a time for the introduction of sinful companions to Christ.

2. It was a time of leave taking between Levi and his former friends. Not to leave the old life in a hostile spirit.

III. IT WAS A FESTIVAL TOO LOFTY IN MORAL SIGNIFICANCE TO BE RIGHTLY INTERPRETED BY THE CONVENTIONAL BIGOTS OF THE AGE.

IV. IT WAS A FESTIVAL BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATIVE OF CHRIST'S MISSION TO THE WORLD.

1. We see from this festival that Christ came to save the morally sinful.

2. We see from this festival that Christ came to heal the morally diseased.Lessons:

1. That the life of the renewed soul should be a constant festival of icy.

2. That Christians should endeavour to bring their comrades to the Saviour.

3. That humanity has a Divine Physician.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Abiathar, Alphaeus, David, Jesus, John, LeviCapernaum, GalileeAlong, Alphaeus, Alpheus, Booth, Collector's, Custom, Follow, Followed, Got, Levi, Office, Passed, Passing, Receipt, Risen, Rose, Says, Seated, Sitting, Tax, Taxes, Tax-office, Toll1. Jesus followed by multitudes,
3. heals a paralytic;
13. calls Matthew;
15. eats with tax collectors and sinners;
18. excuses his disciples for not fasting;
23. and for picking the heads of grain on the Sabbath day.

Mark 2:14

     2066   Christ, power of
     2426   gospel, responses
     7621   disciples, calling
     8115   discipleship, nature of
     8206   Christlikeness
     8209   commitment, to Christ
     8410   decision-making, examples
     8702   agnosticism

Mark 2:13-14

     8475   self-denial

Mark 2:13-17

     5576   tax collectors

Mark 2:14-15

     5503   rich, the
     8120   following Christ

Mark 2:14-17

     4438   eating
     6040   sinners

December 28 Morning
Thy sins be forgiven thee.--MARK 2:5. I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.--Who can forgive sins but God only? I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.--Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.--Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.--The blood of Jesus Christ …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 8 Evening
Why reason ye these things in your hearts?--MARK 2:8. Being not weak in faith, [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb; he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?--If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Secret of Gladness
'And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?'--Mark ii. 19. This part of our Lord's answer to the question put by John's disciples as to the reason for the omission of the practice of fasting by His followers. The answer is very simple. It is--'My disciples do not fast because they are not sad.' And the principle which underlies the answer is a very important one. It is this: that all outward forms of religion, appointed by man, ought only …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Authority to Forgive
'And again He entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that He was in the house. 2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door; and He preached the word unto them. 3. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Publicans' Friend
'And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. 14. And as He passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed Him. 15. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. 16. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Works which Hallow the Sabbath
'And it came to pass, that He went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25. And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 28. How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Friend of Sinners
(Preached in London.) MARK ii. 15, 16. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners they said onto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? We cannot wonder at the scribes and Pharisees asking this question. I think that we should most of us ask the …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

The Sick of the Palsy
"And when He entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised that He was in the house." MARK 2:1 (R.V.) [And when He had come back to Capernaum several day s afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And being unable to get to Him on account of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Son of Man
"The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." MARK 2:10 (R.V.) WHEN asserting His power to forgive sins, Jesus, for the first time in our Gospel, called Himself the Son of man. It is a remarkable phrase. The profound reverence which He from the first inspired, restrained all other lips from using it, save only when the first martyr felt such a rush of sympathy from above poured into his soul, that the thought of Christ's humanity was more moving than that of His deity. So too it is then alone …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Controversy Concerning Fasting
"And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: and they come and say unto Him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples fast not?" MARK 2:18 (R.V.) THE Pharisees had just complained to the disciples that Jesus ate and drank in questionable company. Now they join with the followers of the ascetic Baptist in complaining to Jesus that His disciples eat and drink at improper seasons, when others fast. And as Jesus had then replied, that being a Physician, …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Call and Feast of Levi
"And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass, that He was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with the …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Sabbath
"And it came to pass, that He was going on the sabbath day through the cornfields; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which it is not lawful to eat …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Wesley's Living Arguments
Sunday, 20.--Seeing many of the rich at Clifton Church, my heart was much pained for them and I was earnestly desirous that some even of them might "enter into the kingdom of heaven." But full as I was, I knew not where to begin in warning them to flee from the wrath to come till my Testament opened on these words: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" [Mark 2:17]; in applying which my soul was so enlarged that methought I could have cried out (in another sense than poor vain …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Of the Words Themselves in General.
We come now to the words themselves, wherein Christ asserts that he is, 1, "the way;" 2, "the truth;" 3, "the life;" and, 4, "that no man cometh to the Father but by him." In them we learn these two things in general. First, The misery of wretched man by nature. This cannot be in a few words expressed. These words will point out those particulars thereof, which we will but mention. 1. That he is born an enemy to, and living at a distance from God, by virtue of the curse of the broken covenant of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Combination Illustrated.
To illustrate our method of combination, let us take Section 36, which is a fitting together of the following passages, namely: 9 And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.--Matt. ix. 9. 13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting at the place of toll, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Call of Matthew.
(at or Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 9; ^B Mark II. 13, 14; ^C Luke V. 27, 28. ^c 27 And after these thingsa [after the healing of the paralytic] he went forth, ^a again by the seaside [i. e., he left Capernaum, and sought the shore of the sea, which formed a convenient auditorium for him, and which was hence a favorite scene for his teaching]; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he ^a Jesus passed by from thence, he saw ^c and beheld ^a a man, ^c a publican, named …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Defends Disciples who Pluck Grain on the Sabbath.
(Probably While on the Way from Jerusalem to Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 1-8; ^B Mark II. 23-28; ^C Luke VI. 1-5. ^b 23 And ^c 1 Now it came to pass ^a 1 At that season ^b that he ^a Jesus went { ^b was going} on the { ^c a} ^b sabbath day through the grainfields; ^a and his disciples were hungry and began ^b as they went, to pluck the ears. ^a and to eat, ^c and his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. [This lesson fits in chronological order with the last, if the Bethesda …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Matthew's Feast. Discourse on Fasting.
(Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 10-17; ^B Mark II. 15-22; ^C Luke V. 29-39. ^c 29 And Levi [another name for the apostle Matthew] made him a great feast in his house: ^b 15 And it came to pass, that he was sitting { ^a as he sat} at meat in the { ^b his} ^a house, ^c and there was a great multitude of publicans [Matthew had invited his old friends] and of others ^b and ^a behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. ^b for there were many, ^c that were sitting at meat …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Heals a Paralytic at Capernaum.
^A Matt. IX. 2-8; ^B Mark II. 1-12; ^C Luke V. 17-26. ^c 17 And it came to pass on one of those days, ^b when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, ^c that he was teaching; ^b it was noised that he was in the house. [Luke uses the general expression "those days," referring to the early portion of our Lord's ministry in Galilee. Mark says, "some days," which implies the lapse of a considerable interval. The healing of the leper created such excitement that for some time, several weeks, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Two Sabbath-Controversies - the Plucking of the Ears of Corn by the Disciples, and the Healing of the Man with the Withered Hand
IN grouping together the three miracles of healing described in the last chapter, we do not wish to convey that it is certain they had taken place in precisely that order. Nor do we feel sure, that they preceded what is about to be related. In the absence of exact data, the succession of events and their location must be matter of combination. From their position in the Evangelic narratives, and the manner in which all concerned speak and act, we inferred, that they took place at that particular …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Return to Capernaum - Concerning the Forgiveness of Sins - the Healing of the Paralysed
It is a remarkable instance of the reserve of the Gospel-narratives, that of the second journey of Jesus in Galilee no other special event is recorded than the healing of the leper. And it seems also to indicate, that this one miracle had been so selected for a special purpose. But if, as we have suggested, after the Unknown Feast,' the activity of Jesus assumed a new and what, for want of a better name, may be called an anti-Judaic character, we can perceive the reason of it. The healing of leprosy …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Call of Matthew - the Saviour's Welcome to Sinners - Rabbinic Theology as Regards the Doctrine of Forgiveness in Contrast to the Gospel of Christ
In two things chiefly does the fundamental difference appear between Christianity and all other religious systems, notably Rabbinism. And in these two things, therefore, lies the main characteristic of Christ's work; or, taking a wider view, the fundamental idea of all religions. Subjectively, they concern sin and the sinner; or, to put it objectively, the forgiveness of sin and the welcome to the sinner. But Rabbinism, and every other system down to modern humanitarianism - if it rises so high in …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Kingdom of God: Its Values
The Right Social Order is the Highest Good for All The first three chapters dealt with simple human principles which are common and instinctive with all real men. Jesus simply expanded the range of their application, clarified our comprehension of them, placed them in the very center of religious duty, and so lifted them to the high level of great social and religious principles. In the next three chapters we shall take up a conception which is not universally human, but which Jesus derived from …
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

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