I. Ver. 35. There is something very touchingly illustrative of our Saviour's humanity in this verse. He could have prayed upon His couch; yet as He worked after the sun had set, so He departed to pray before the sun had risen. If the Master required to pray, can the servants live without communion with God? To begin the day with God is the only method of setting oneself above all its events, and triumphing over them with perfect mastery. A discourse might be founded on these words, showing the religious uses of time. (1) There would be social service, such as we have seen in the life of Christ; (2) there would be public ministry, in which crowds might enjoy our Christian teaching; (3) there would be sacred devotion, in which the soul will hold close intercourse with God.
II. Vers. 36-9. The true disciple always knows where to find the Master. The disciples knew the habits of their Lord; they knew that in some hidden places He could be found in the early hours of the day; at all events they knew that Jesus Christ would be found in the path of usefulness, or preparation for usefulness. What the disciples said in their wondering delight shall one day be literally true. All men will be in search of the Saviour of the world. In the first instance, the Saviour sought all men, and in the second all men will seek the Saviour. Instant response to the desire of the world is shown in Christ's readiness still further to preach the Gospel. His object in life was undivided, and its unity was its omnipotence. Jesus Christ preached, and He called His servants to the same work. Preaching can never fail to be one of the mightiest instruments in stirring the human mind and in moulding human society. Individual preaching may become feeble; even distinguished ministers may cool in the enthusiasm with which they undertook their great work; but preaching as instituted by Jesus Christ, exemplified in His own ministry, can never cease to be one of the most effective agencies in human education and progress.
Parker, City Temple,1871, p. 33.
References: Mark 1:35-39. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxx., No. 1769; Homiletic Quarterly,vol. v., p. 298. Mark 1:36-45. H. M. Luckock, Footprints of the Son of Man,p. 34.