the light, that ye may be the children of
light."[1077]

At the close of this discourse Jesus departed from the people "and did
hide himself from them." The record of the first day of what has come to
be known as the week of our Lord's passion[1078] is thus concluded by
Mark: "And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the
eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve."[1079]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 29.

1. The Mother of James and John.--The mother of these two sons of
Zebedee (Matt. 20:20; compare 4:21) is generally understood to have been
the Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion
(Mark 15:40; compare Matt. 27:56 in which "the mother of Zebedee's
children" is mentioned, and the name "Salome" is omitted), and one of
those who arrived first at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection
(Mark 16:1). From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and
"his mother's sister" (19:25) and omits mention of Salome by name, some
expositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus;
and therefore the Savior's aunt. This relationship would make James and
John cousins to Jesus. While the scriptural record does not disprove
this alleged kinship, it certainly does not affirm the same.

2. Jericho.--This was an ancient city, lying north-easterly from
Jerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In the
course of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through a
miraculous interposition of divine power. (Josh. 6). The productiveness
of the region is indicated by the descriptive appellation "city of palm
trees" (Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chron. 28:15). The name Jericho
means "place of fragrance." Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequence
of its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below the
level of the Mediterranean; this explains Luke's statement (19:28) that
after Jesus had spoken the Parable of the Pounds when on the way from
Jericho, "he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem." In the time of
Christ, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of its
commercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to the
maintenance of a customs office there, over which Zaccheus seems to have
presided.

3. The Nobleman and the Kingdom.--The local setting of the part of the
Parable of the Pounds that relates to a certain nobleman going into a
far country to receive for himself a kingdom, had its parall