Weread so often in the Gospels, of Jesus casting out devils and unclean spirits, that it may be as well to say something on this subject, as in these days there is nothing of the kind. We know that the Devil has ever been the greatest enemy of mankind,trying to destroy the souls and bodies of men. In the Old Testament, we read of diviners, enchanters, wizards, sorcerers, and magicians, who were all persons wicked enough to try to have communication with evil spirits; and we also read that the children of Israel were commanded to put all such to death. But it seems that when men would persist in doing the Devil's work by sinning against God, the evil spirits were allowed to have power over their bodies, as they had, by listening to his temptations, given him power over their souls. Certain it is, that in the time of our Lord, the evil spirits had some extraordinary power over the bodies of some men; entering into them as it were, and making them do things hurtful to themselves and others. Such people are spoken of as "demoniacs," or as being "possessed of devils" or "unclean spirits."
Most likely the reason why God allowed the Devil to have power over the bodies of men, was to show the people the reality of a "ghostly enemy"; and to remind them, that if they allowed the Devil to get into their hearts and make them serve him, they would be unfit ever to go into the kingdom of God. The sad state in which these poor demoniacs were, was a sort of sign of the dreadful condition in which all the descendants of Adam must for ever have continued, if the Son of God had not come down to destroy the works of the Devil, and free the souls of men from his power.
When Jesus cast the devils and unclean spirits out of thebodiesof men, it was a plain proof that His power was greater than theirs; and that he could, therefore, most certainly deliver thesoulsof men from the power of their enemy.
Evil spirits were thus allowed to show their power, in order more clearly to manifest, or show forth, the great power and glory of the Son of God, Whom even the devils were bound to obey: they were, moreover, forced to bear witness to the fact that Hewasthe Messiah, for on many occasions they cried out, "Thou art Christ, the Son of God."
When we read of these unhappy men who were possessed by devils, let us remember that the same evil spirit is watching to destroy us; and that though he has now no power over the bodies of men, he tries to get possession of our hearts, and unless we resist him steadfastly, he will succeed. To encourage us to fight against the Devil, we must remember that he has no power over our souls but what we give him, by wilfully sinning against God.Powerful as our enemy is, our Friend and Saviour is vastly more powerful; and He will bless and keep all who do resist the Devil, and strive to obey and serve God faithfully.
The next miracle mentioned, was the cure of a leper. Both Jews and Gentiles looked upon leprosy as a type of sin; that is, as being to the body, what sin is to the soul: the leprosy first shows itself in a little spot, but quickly spreads, and covers the whole body with sores. Sin begins in some act of disobedience; not being resisted, one sin leads to another, till the whole heart is filled with evil passions.
The leper was considered unclean, and was not allowed to live amongst God's people, nor enter into the Courts of the Temple; typifying that sin is hateful in the sight of God, and that those who persist in it cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
The leprosy was looked upon as incurable by any human means, and therefore whenever a leper was healed, it was attributed to an especial exertion of the Divine power. In like manner, God only could take away the guilt and punishment of sin, and cleanse the heart of a sinner.
The Leper, who went to Jesus beseeching Him, knew that no human skill could heal his disease; but believing Him to be the Son of God—the Messiah, he "fell on his face worshipping Him, and saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."
Pleased with the man's faith, Jesus touched him, and said, "I will; be thou clean: and immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them." The Levitical Law declared, that the priests were to be judges in all cases of leprosy. Any one suspected of having this dreadful disease, was to be examined by the Priest: if the Priest pronounced his disease to be leprosy, he was at once considered unclean, and cut off from all communication with his fellow men. In like manner, if it pleased God to take away the disease, the leper was to go again to the Priest to be examined, and if he pronounced him to be cured, the poor man was then considered clean, and restored to the society of his fellow creatures.
When our Lord dismissed the leper, He told him to "offer those things which Moses commanded." The ceremony of cleansing, to be observed by every one who had been cured of leprosy, was as follows:—Two live and clean birds were to be taken, with cedar-wood, hyssop, and other things; one of these birds was to be killed over a brook of running water, and its blood received in an earthen vessel: the living bird, with the other things mentioned, was to be dipped in the blood of the dead bird, and the leper was afterwards to be sprinkled with the blood. This was to show, as all sacrifices were intended to do, that sin and uncleanliness could only be done away with, by shedding the blood of the innocent and clean: and thus pointing out to all men, that the blood of Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of God, could alone wash away the sin of man.
The living bird was then to be let loose in the open fields, to signify that the leper now cleansed from his plague, was free to go where he would amongst his fellow men. This was the ceremony which Jesus bade the leper observe, and he was not to mention his cure until all was accomplished. For this there appear to have been two reasons: in the first place, Jesus did not wish His ministry to be disturbed, by the excitement which the knowledge of such a miracle would create amongst the people, who on several occasions desired to make Him their king even on earth. In the second place, the Priests were so obstinately prejudiced against our Lord, that they would have been very unwilling to pronounce the leper to be clean, had they known how his cure had been effected: but when once they had declared him to be healed, they could not unsay their own words.
The healing of this leper, was the plainest proof that Christ could give of His being indeed the Son of God; for there was a tradition universally believed by the Jews, that when the Messiah should come, He would cure the leprosy.
The leper did not keep silence, but began to publish it abroad, and so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and "to be healed of their infirmities; insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter the city," without exciting that attention, which at present He wished to avoid: and "He withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed": but even here, "they came to him from every quarter."
"And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room toreceive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them." When we read of the multitudes who crowded to hear Jesus, it does seem sad that so few profited by what they heard: let us try not to be only "hearers of the word, but doers also."
One day, when Jesus was thus teaching, with Pharisees and doctors of the law, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem, sitting by, a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed which was borne of four, was brought to be healed.
The palsy is a sad disease, which often takes away the use of the legs and arms, and renders the poor sufferer perfectly helpless; nor can the physician restore the use of the limbs.
Those who had brought this poor man on a kind of litter, sought means to bring him into the house, and lay him before Jesus: and when they found that they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they went upon the house-top, and uncovered the roof where he was; and when they had broken it up, they let the poor man down through the tiling with his couch, into the midst of the multitude, before Jesus. The Jewish houses, as we must remember, were only one story high; and in the flat roof was an opening, leading directly to the room below.
This opening was closed by a flat door; but it seems that when they had uncovered the opening, by removing the trapdoor, the aperture was not large enough for the litter to pass through it; and therefore they broke up some of the roof, so as to enlarge the opening, and when they had done this, they fastened ropes to the four corners of the sick man's bed, and so let him down at Jesus's feet. The trouble they had taken to bring to Him a man, who, as they well knew, could not be cured by any human creature, showed that those who brought him, believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, able to heal all manner of diseases. And they received the blessing sought in faith.
WhenJesus saw the faith of those who had brought the man sick of the palsy, He said, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." These words offended the Scribes (or Doctors)and the Pharisees who were sitting there; and they said within themselves, or thought, "This man blasphemeth," that is, He takes to himself a power which no human being can possess, for "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" Here they were right: noman couldforgive sin, nor with a word take away the diseases consequent upon sin.
The Scribes and Pharisees do not appear to have even spoken their thoughts to each other, but Jesus, by the Spirit of God which was in Him, perceived that they so reasoned within themselves; "and knowing their thoughts, He answering, said unto them, Why reason ye these things, and think evil in your hearts?" that is, why do ye think evil of Me, and condemn Me as guilty of blasphemy, because I have spoken such words? Then Jesus asked them, "Whether 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?" Thus Jesus reminded the Scribes and Pharisees, that to heal a man sick of the palsy was as impossible for a man, as to forgive sin; and that therefore He who could do such things, must be indeed the Son of God: and he instantly gave this proof of his being the Messiah, saying, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins"—no morewordswere necessary, the sentence was ended by an action; for turning to the sick of the palsy, he saith, "I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up the bed whereon he lay," that is, the mattress, rolled it up, "and went forth before them all, and departed to his own house, glorifying God." Had the Pharisees and Scribes been really anxious to know the truth, praying to God to show it to them, this miracle must indeed have convinced them that Jesus was the Messiah; but their hearts were hardened against believing in a Messiah, who did not come as a king in earthly power and glory.
But whilst the Scribes and Pharisees would not believe the evidence of their own eyes, the poorer people were less obstinate. When they saw the poor sick man walk away completely cured, the multitude were all amazed at such a wonderful proof of the power of God. "And they said, We have seen strange things to-day: we never saw it on this fashion: and they glorified God, which had given such power unto men." Perhaps some of these people became real and true followers of Christ: but many of them, notwithstanding all they had seen, did not like to give uptheir sins, so as to become holy, as Christ's disciples must be. We think it strange that men could see such miracles, and not believe and follow Jesus: but do we do everything that He bids us? and yet weknow Himto be the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. Let us take care that we do not love our sins, so as to make us unwilling to be true followers of Jesus Christ.
After these things, we read that as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw "a man, a publican named Levi," also called Matthew, "sitting at the receipt of custom." A publican was a tax-gatherer; one who was appointed by the Romans to collect the taxes which they required the inhabitants of Judæa to pay. The Jews disliked paying taxes very much, because it was a mark of their being under the dominion of Gentile rulers: and therefore they hated all publicans or tax-gatherers. In general, too, the bad characters and ill conduct of these men did not tend to make men like them: the Romans were in the habit of farming out the taxes; that is, they appointed some person who was willing to give them a certain sum of money, and take his chance of what taxes he could collect. If the taxes he collected did not amount to as much as the sum he had paid to the Romans, of course he was the loser: if, on the contrary, the taxes came to more than what he had to give to the Romans, he was the gainer: thus the publicans, having paid a large sum of money for the privilege of collecting the taxes, were anxious to collect as much as possible, in order to have more for themselves: and so they often oppressed the people, by making them pay more than was right; and of course the people could not like those whom they found so troublesome and unjust, and therefore they hated the whole class of tax-gatherers.
Levi, or Matthew, of whom we are speaking, was a Jew, who had taken the office of tax-gatherer under the Romans: his particular business seems to have been to receive the money, which every person who carried goods across the Sea of Galilee was obliged to pay as a tax to their Roman masters. Matthew was sitting in his appointed place for the receipt, or receiving, of "custom," that is, of the tax which it was the custom to pay on landing, when our Lord passed by and saw him.
The Pharisees and Scribes looked upon all publicans, whether they were Jews or not, as heathens, unfit to be even spoken to: they would not even try to make them better, as they chose to think that God had quite cast them off. Jesus taught a verydifferent lesson, and showed that God is ready to receive all who will repent of their sins and follow Him. Jesus, who sees what thoughts and feelings are in the heart of every one, made choice of Matthew as a fit man to be one of His constant attendants, and therefore, when he saw him sitting at the receipt of custom, "He said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him." At once, without doubt or hesitation, Matthew left all and followed Jesus: now, Jesus calls all of us when we are baptized; but how few of us try to follow Him really and truly? We might perhaps think that it was wrong of Matthew thus to leave his business and go away, because then the people who crossed the sea would not pay the tax required by the Romans: but as he had paid money to the Romans for the situation, they would not be cheated out of the tax: he himself would be the only sufferer. If this had not been the case, hewouldhave been wrong to go away before some other person was appointed in his place: for the Bible teaches us, that we must do our duty to man fairly and faithfully, in whatever state of life we are. By doing our earthly business honestly and well, we serve God: if our business takes up too much of our thoughts, and makes us forget God and neglect His worship, then we must give up our business; for we should always thinkfirstof pleasing God.
The next event we hear of in our Saviour's life is, that with His usual obedience to the Law, He went up to Jerusalem to keep a "feast of the Jews": most probably the feast of Tabernacles; a feast celebrated in the Autumn, as a thanksgiving for the harvest or in-gathering of corn, grapes for wine, and all other fruits of the earth: this feast was also intended to remind them of the journeyings of their forefathers in the wilderness, where they lived in booths or tents for forty years; and therefore they were to keep it, by dwelling for seven days in booths, made of the branches of trees.
It seems that by the Sheep Gate, on the eastern side of Jerusalem, there was a pool of water, in which at a certain time of the year God showed His almighty power, by the miraculous cure of any sick person, who, after the troubling or stirring up of the water, first stepped into the pool. By this pool was a building, having five porches, through which the unclean went down to wash in the pool. This building was properly called Bethesda, a Hebrew word, meaning the House of Mercy; and the pool was from it called the pool of Bethesda. Jesus visited this place,where, in the porches, "lay a great multitude of impotent folk," that is, people who were unable to help themselves on account of blindness, or of diseases which took away the use of their legs and arms. These poor creatures were waiting for the moving of the waters; each hoping that he might be the one to get first into the pool, and be cured. Amongst these was a certain man, who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years. Jesus chose this man as the object of a miracle, and saith unto him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The poor man, thinking only of the pool, told the Lord that he had no chance of being healed, for he had no friends to help him; and that long before he could drag himself to the water, some other person was sure to step in and secure the blessing. Jesus then "saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk."
Whether this poor man had heard of Jesus before, we do not know; but he at once showed his faith, bytryingto do, what he knew hecould notdo, unless he received some miraculous help from God. How delighted he must have been, when he found that a perfect cure was the reward of his faith and obedience!
It was on a Sabbath day that this miracle was worked; and the Jews, probably the Scribes and Pharisees, found fault with the man, saying, "It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed on the Sabbath day." This was so far true, that in the Law it was written, "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day"; and the Pharisees, and others who were fond of adding to the outward observances of the Law, and of keeping traditions, reckoned a man guilty of breaking the Law, if he even carried anything in his hand on the Sabbath day. When the Jews blamed this man, he answered very properly, that he could not be wrong in obeying the commands of one who had showed that he had power from God, by healing him of his disease. The Jews allowed that a prophet had power to excuse men from the strict observance of the Sabbath; and, as Jesus had proved Himself to be more than a prophet, they could say no more on that subject; but wishing to have something to find fault with, they asked the man, "What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?" This question the man could not answer, for he "wist not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed Himself away" after working the miracle at the pool of Bethesda.
Theman whom Jesus had healed at the pool of Bethesda, seems to have made the first use of his restored power by going into the House of God, to thank and praise Him for having been made whole. Jesus, finding him in the temple, bade him remember the cure which had been worked upon him, and show his gratitude by forsaking all his sins and leading a holy life, so that he might not bring upon himself far more terrible sufferings than any which he could feel upon earth. The man now understood who had cured him, and went "and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole": evidently believing that Jesus was the Messiah, and that His command was quite sufficient to justify a man for doing that which was not strictly lawful on the Sabbath day. The Jews, however, would not allow this: therefore did they "persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day."
Jesus, then, in a conversation of which St. John gives us an account, tried to convince the Jews that He was indeed the Messiah, and as such,hadauthority even to heal on the Sabbath. On this occasion He gave the Jews advice that all of us should listen to and follow; for He said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." The Jews believed that the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which were all that at that time were written, were indeed the Word of God, and that they showed them how to obtain eternal life: Jesus therefore bids them read and study them honestly and carefully, and that they would then see that He must be the Messiah, of whom those Scriptures testify or speak. We know that the New Testament as well as the Old, is the Word of God; and that it shows us the way to eternal life. Let us then obey our Lord's command, and search the Scriptures, that we may learn His will in order to do it.
Jesus also told the Jews, that Moses, whom they pretended to obey exactly, wrote of Him; and that if they really believed Moses, and wished to obey the Law, they would acknowledge Him to be indeed the Messiah, of whom Moses and all the prophets had written. All that Jesus said, does not seem to havehad any effect; for on the next Sabbath, something of the same kind happened. The disciples who were following Jesus through the corn-fields, being hungry, began to pluck the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands, to take off the husk, and eating them as they went. It might seem to us that the disciples had no right to take ears of corn which did not belong to them, but this was, under the circumstances, allowed by the Law of Moses, or the Levitical Law: a hungry man, who was passing through standing corn, might pluck the ears with his hand to satisfy his wants, though he was forbidden "to move a sickle unto his neighbour's standing corn."
The Pharisees, who were constantly watching for an opportunity to find fault, now asked Jesus, why He allowed his disciples to do what was not lawful for them to do on the Sabbath day.
For very many years the Jews had neglected to observe the Sabbath in a proper manner, and this neglect of a positive command, had been one cause of the destruction of their kingdom, and of all the misery they afterwards suffered. Now their descendants had gone into another sin, and instead of making the Sabbath a day of rest from worldly cares,—a day to be devoted to the service of God, and to thinking of all His mercies,—they made so many rules as to what might or might not be done, that the most common and necessary actions, such as healing the sick, or saving the life of an animal, came to be looked upon as unlawful, and therefore sinful. Jesus reminded the Jews who thus blamed His disciples, that David was not considered to have broken the Law of Moses, because once, when pressed by hunger, he and his followers had eaten the shewbread, which it "was not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone." He also told them, that no one accused the Priests of breaking the Law, because on the Sabbath day they, in performing the temple services, did things in themselves forbidden on that holy day. Jesus ended by declaring, that "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath": that is, that the Sabbath was meant for the benefit of mankind, as well as for the glory of God, and not to be an oppressive burden; and that the Son of man was Lord also of the Sabbath, and had therefore power to dispense with its rigorous observance; and that if they had understood the meaning of God's words, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice," they would not have been so ready to blame His disciples, as if they had beenguilty of a crime, merely because, to relieve the pangs of hunger, they had plucked a few ears of corn on the Sabbath day.
On another Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagogue and taught: and behold, there was a man whose right hand was withered; that is, his hand was so shrunk and dried up, that he could make no use of it. The Scribes and Pharisees, thinking it likely that Jesus would heal this man in spite of its being the Sabbath day, watched him; that they might find an accusation against him. "But he knew their thoughts" and purposes, and said to the man with the withered hand, "Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth" in the sight of all the people in the synagogue. "And the Scribes and Pharisees seeing this, asked him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him." One party of Jews, in their mistaken zeal for the strict observance of the Sabbath, had come to the extraordinary decision, that no one might comfort the sick or mourning on that day; though another party did permit the people to prepare medicine, and to perform any service which was required for the actual preservation of life. Instead of answering a question only put for the purpose of having something to accuse Him of, Jesus said unto them, "I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to do evil? To save life or to destroy it?" for He knew that they wished to destroy Him, whilst He only wanted to do good to a suffering human creature. Whatever might be their wishes, they could not openly declare that it was more lawful to do evil than good; therefore they made no answer, but held their peace. "And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." To such words the Jews could make no answer. Jesus, grieved to see the hardness of heart that prevented the Pharisees believing in Him, and made them angry instead of glad, to see a fellow-creature relieved; "looked round about on them with anger, and saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand": the man had faith to try, and the power to do so was given to him; "he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other." Then the Pharisees, almost beside themselves with anger, are said to have been filled with madness; and they went forth, with the Herodians, and straightway held acouncil against him; and communed one with another, what they might do to Jesus, and how they might destroy him. It is sad to think that all the proofs of our Saviour's power, only made the Pharisees and others more and more anxious to put Him to death.
When we read such accounts as these, let us be thankful for our Sabbaths, and try to keep them holy; spending our time in worshipping God, in learning our duty, and in doing good to others. Above all, let us take particular care to be holy on this holy day; and not to do the least wrong thing, on a day which is called the Lord's Day.
The time was not yet come for Jesus to give up His life, and therefore, knowing that the Pharisees sought to destroy Him, He withdrew Himself from Jerusalem, and went with his disciples into Galilee "to the sea; and a great multitude followed him" from all parts, even from beyond Jordan; and also many of the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon, having heard what great things Jesus had done, came unto him. As many as had plagues or diseases "pressed upon him for to touch him," and he healed them all. "And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God." Thus was fulfilled what had been said 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah, who declared that when the Messiah should come to set up a new Law, even the Gospel, He would use no force nor violence, but do it entirely by kindness; and by showing an example of kindness and forbearance to the weak, encouraging them to become better. The prophet's words, put into his mouth by God, were, "Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my spirit upon him; and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust."
Anexampleof goodness and holiness and kindness, has more effect than all that can besaidon the subject. By the piety and good conduct of the followers of Jesus, men were led to take the same part, and thus by the blessing of God, has the Gospel spread over the earth. All Christians should remember this, and try to show by their conduct that they are followers of Jesus. Even children can set an example to other children, either forgood or evil: but if they do it for evil, they are doing the work of the Devil.
AsJesus was to live only for a short time on earth, it was needful that He should leave behind Him others who should carry on His work, and preach the Gospel after His death. But if these men were to repeat to others the words which Jesus had spoken, and show them the wonderful things which He had done, it was necessary that they should be constantly with their Lord, so as to be able to bear witness as to all that He had said or done.
During the time that our Saviour had been teaching and healing the sick, many persons had become His followers, besides those whom He had especially called to be His disciples. From amongst the number of those who had become disciples, twelve were now to be chosen, to be in constant attendance upon their Master, that they might, after his death, bear witness to His life, and actions, and teaching.
The night before this choice was to be made Jesus "Went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Thus He set us an example of the way in which we should prepare ourselves for any important work we have to do; and that is, by asking guidance and help from our heavenly Father.
"And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples whom he would; and they came unto him: and of them he chose twelve (whom also he named Apostles) that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." He ordained twelve—Simon (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother; and "James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder; and Philip, and Bartholomew; and Matthew, and Thomas; and James the son of Alphæus, and Judas Thaddæus, the brother of James; and Simon the Canaanite, called Zelotes; and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him."
We have already seen how Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John the sons of Zebedee, Philip, and Matthew, were called inthe first instance to be the disciples of Jesus: Bartholomew, who was also ordained an Apostle, is supposed to be the same person spoken of as Nathanael, who being brought to Jesus by Philip, at once acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, and became one of His disciples. Of the other five apostles, we know nothing previous to their being now chosen: to the name of one, there is a terrible distinction, "who also betrayed him"; and in the three accounts of this event, written by different writers, he is thus pointed out as "the traitor." Of the twelve Apostles, five have left us valuable records of our Saviour's life and teaching.
You will remember that in the Bible we have Four Gospels; that is, four different accounts of our Lord's sayings and doings whilst on earth, and of the Gospel which He came to teach. The first of these was written by Matthew, about five years after the death of Jesus Christ. The Gospels "according to St. Mark and St. Luke," were written about twenty-seven years later: St. Luke was a disciple of Christ's before His crucifixion, and St. Mark was probably one also, but neither of them was an Apostle. As the Gospel of St. Matthew gives an account of the birth of Jesus Christ, St. Mark's says nothing on the subject, but begins with the public appearance of John the Baptist; whilst, on the contrary, that of St. Luke gives many particulars omitted by St. Matthew. St. John, who lived to be 100 years old, did not write his Gospel until sixty-four years after the death of Christ: he seems to have written it, in order to tell us many things not mentioned in the former Gospels, particularly the conversations and discourses of our Lord: and he repeats very little of what is recorded by the other Evangelists, as we call those who wrote the Gospels. Out of the four Evangelists, two were Apostles also, and two were not. St. Luke has also left us another very valuable record, of the acts done by the Apostles after our Saviour's death: this is the only history of all that the Apostles did and said, and it is called "The Book of the Acts of the Apostles." Before St. John wrote his Gospel, he wrote what is called "The Book of the Revelation of St. John," being an account of visions vouchsafed him, and prophecies made known to him, whilst in banishment in the isle of Patmos, on account of his religion.
St. John also wrote three of the Epistles, or Letters, which form part of the New Testament. Peter wrote two Epistles, James and Jude, or Judas Thaddæus, each one: but the greaternumber of the Epistles were written by St. Paul, who did not become a disciple or follower of Jesus until after the crucifixion.
The Jewish Rabbis preferred to take as their pupils and disciples, rich and learned men; but, as we have seen, Jesus chose poor and ignorant men, to show that learning was not necessary to enable men to understand the Gospel; for that its truths are so plain, that even the most ignorant person, who in his heart loves God, can understand the Gospel, and learn how to please God.
Multitudes of the people continued to come to Christ, to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases: he healed them all, and also tried to show them how they ought to behave, in order to obtain the blessing of God. Seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and there spake all the words which we call the "Sermon on the Mount": an account of this Sermon is given to us both by St. Matthew and St. Luke. All Christians should study it, and try to obey it: even children can understand a good deal of it, if they will try.
When Jesus "had ended his sayings," and was come down from the Mount, "he entered into Capernaum, where at this time He worked the miracle of healing the Centurion's servant." A Centurion, amongst the Romans, was the captain or commander of 100 men. This Centurion, though he was himself a Gentile, was kindly disposed towards the Jews, and had at his own expense built a synagogue for their use: he also believed in Jesus as the Son of God; and did not doubt that at His word the disease of which his servant was dying would at once be removed: therefore, not thinking himself worthy even to speak to the Lord, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews; probably the elders belonging to the synagogue he had built. Jesus immediately went with these elders; but when they got near the Centurion's house, some of his friends came at his desire, to beg that Jesus would not trouble himself to come, for if He would only speak the word, his servant would be healed. It would seem that the Centurion himself quickly followed the last messengers; and he received the reward of his faith, for his servant was healed, and at the same time Jesus told those about Him, that the Centurion had shown more faith than He had found amongst the Jews; and that many Gentiles would through their faith be received into the Kingdom of Heaven, whilst manyof the Jews would be shut out, on account of their wilful unbelief.
The next miracle we hear of, was the bringing to life of the widow's son, who was being carried out of Nain to be buried, when Jesus came to the gate of that city. "And there came a fear on all" who saw these things: "and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and that God hath visited his people." These people rightly felt, that the Doer of such things must indeed be the Messiah: and this saying was spread abroad, not only throughout all Judæa, but throughout all the region round about. "And the disciples of John" went to him in prison, where he had been, as we have heard, put by Herod; "and shewed him of all these things." "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he, calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus," telling them to say, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" John did not send to ask this question for his own satisfaction; he knew well enough that Jesus was indeed the Messiah that "should come," and that no other was to be looked for: but he wanted to strengthen the faith of his own disciples, and convince them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, and that they must follow Him.
"When the men" whom John had sent "were come unto" Jesus, "they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?"
This question our Lord did not immediately answer, in words, at least; but "in the same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind, he gave sight."
Then Jesus, answering the question put to Him by the disciples of John, said unto them, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them." The Jews all knew perfectly well, that the doing of all these wondrous miracles was to be a sign to point out the Messiah, for the prophets had declared that He should do them. Now these things were being done every day, and therefore it was quite clear, to all who were not determined not to believe, that he who did them was the promised Messiah, the Son of God. All who heard what Jesus now said must haveunderstood Him to mean that He was the promised Messiah, and that they need not look for another.
Whenthe Baptist's messengers were gone away, Jesus spake to the multitude about him; telling them that John was the messenger spoken of by the prophet Malachi—the Elias, who was to come before the Messiah. He also told them, that John the Baptist was more than a prophet, but that the humblest follower of Christ might become greater than he was. Many other things spake Jesus unto the people: those who were humble, and felt that they were sinners, gladly accepted the offer of forgiveness, on the condition of repentance; but the Pharisees and Scribes, who thought themselves righteous, neglected His gracious offers of mercy.
It seems that before Jesus left Nain, where He had raised the widow's son, a Pharisee named Simon "desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat." Whilst he sat, or rather reclined upon a couch, as was the custom at meals in those days, a woman, well known to have been a great sinner, came "and stood at his feet behind him, weeping; and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment" which she had brought.
The Pharisees considered themselves too holy even to touch any person whom they looked upon as a sinner: when, therefore, the master of the house saw that Jesus allowed this woman to touch Him, he said within himself (or thought), "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner." Meaning, that if Jesus had known how greatly this woman had sinned, He would not have allowed her to touch Him. But Jesus did know all, andmorethan the Pharisee knew; for He knew that this woman, however sinful she had been, was now truly sorry for her sins, and anxious to lead a better life; and such truly penitent sinners He was, and is, always ready to receive. Jesus therefore, knowing what Simon's thoughts were, spake to him, and told hima little parable, to show him that this poor woman, whom he so despised, had given proofs of greater love towards Himself than Simon had done; and He ended by turning to the repentant woman, and saying the comforting words, "Thy sins are forgiven." With what joy must the poor sinner have heard these words! But we are not told what her feelings or words were; we are only told, that "they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" They might easily have known that He could be none other than the Son of God, the Messiah; but they would not own as such a poor man who went about amongst publicans and sinners.
That He did show such love towards sinners, is our greatest comfort; for we are all sinners, and stand greatly in need of His mercy. Knowing how the Pharisees were offended by His words, He only repeated His assurance to the woman in other words; saying, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Her faith had brought her to Jesus; and those who come to Him in faith and penitence, He will in no wise cast out.
In the parable which Jesus spake to Simon, reference is made to two customs of the Jews: one, washing the feet, or making the servants wash the feet, of every guest, to remove the dust which must settle on the feet during the shortest journey; the other, the custom of welcoming a distinguished guest with a kiss, as a sign of respectful attention and love.
Jesus continued to go throughout the country of Galilee, "preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance." These women, one of whom, at least, had been delivered from bondage to Satan, having "substance," that is, some property of their own, seem to have been constant attendants upon our Lord, and to have supplied His temporal wants. Jesus so devoted himself to the work He had undertaken, that from the constant thronging of people around Him, He had not time "so much as to eat bread."
At this time there was brought to Jesus a wretched object, a man possessed with a devil, who was also blind and dumb: "and he healed him," so that the man who had been blind and dumb both saw and spake. The multitudes marvelled, saying,"It was never so seen in Israel"—never before had such things been done in the land of Israel; and therefore the multitude rightly felt, that He who could do such wonderful things must be a very different Being from any of their teachers, or from the prophets or holy men of old.
Seeing the wonderful miracles worked by Jesus, "all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David?"—that is, is not this Man, who can cast out devils, the Messiah of David's seed, so long promised to our fathers and to us?
These people saw the truth; but the Scribes and Pharisees laboured hard to prevent their accepting Jesus as the promised Messiah: and they immediately declared, that the evil spirits were only cast out by the permission of Beelzebub, or Satan, the prince of the devils; and that therefore, so far from proving Jesus to be the Messiah, these miracles showed that He was under the power of the Devil, and that no one ought to listen to His teaching. This was dreadful blasphemy; and might have drawn upon them the immediate wrath of God: but instead of punishing them, Jesus tried to show them and all the people, how foolish it was to suppose that the Devil would fight against himself, and undo his own work. But when people are determined not to listen to those who warn them of their sins, and point out their duty, they will believe, or pretend to believe, anything however foolish, that gives them an excuse for not listening to good advice.
Jesus warned the Pharisees, that speaking of the work done by the Holy Spirit of God as being done by the Devil was a most fearful sin; and one for which there could be no forgiveness.
Jesus also told the people, that if the heart of a man was not full of faith and love, it would be as impossible for him to do anything pleasing to God, as it would be for a bad tree to bring forth good fruit; for the quality of the tree is known by its fruits; and the heart of man is known by his conduct and actions.
Certain of the Scribes and Pharisees, asked Jesus to give them a sign of His being indeed the Son of God. This was displeasing to the Lord, for His miracles were a sufficient sign of His having come from Heaven; and from the writings of their own prophets, the Jews should have understood, that the promised Messiah whilst on earth would be in a humble condition, and be finally put to death for the sins of His people. Jesustherefore told the Scribes and Pharisees, that no further sign of His being the Messiah would be given, than the sign of the prophet Jonas, or Jonah. "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The meaning of this was, that the only further sign they could expect as to His being the Messiah, would be that one, of which Jonas was a type (or sign): for that as Jonas, though buried in the whale's body, came out alive; so He would be buried in the ground for three days, and then rise up again to live for ever. Then Jesus took occasion to show the Pharisees, that they were more sinful in the eyes of God than the men of Nineveh, "becausetheyrepented at the preaching of Jonas," whilst the Scribes and Pharisees refused to listen to Him, who was far greater than Jonas.
Many other things Jesus said unto the people, teaching them also by parables. One parable spoken at this time was that of the Sower. Afterwards, when they were alone, the disciples asked Jesus the meaning of this parable, which He immediately explained: teaching them that many may hear the Gospel, and receive no benefit from it; either because they listen carelessly; or because, having listened, they have not faith to hold its doctrines fast when temptations and trials come; or because they allow the cares and pleasures of life to take up too much of their hearts, and so prevent their serving God properly. None of these will be the better for hearing the Word: but those who listen to it with a sincere and honest intention of obeying it, and pray to God for grace to do so, striving at the same time to root out all those sinful feelings and passions which, like stones and thorns, prevent their bringing forth the fruit of good works; those, and those only, will bear fruit pleasing unto the Lord.
Let us learn from this parable to listen attentively to the Word of God, and try to do whatever it bids us.
Other parables, which seem to have been delivered at this time, are those of the Tares, the Grain of Mustard Seed, and the Leaven: "and with many such parables spake he the word unto them"; "and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples," and added the parables of the Hidden Treasure, the Goodly Pearl, and the Net. "And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence."
After this, Jesus went down to the Lake of Gennesareth, "andsaid unto his disciples, Let us go over unto the otter side of the lake." "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him." And there were also with him other little "ships." "And they launched forth."
TheLake of Gennesareth, or Sea of Galilee, is a large body of water; and the River Jordan, which runs through it, causes at all times a considerable motion in the centre of the lake; when the wind blows strongly from the S.E., and meets the current of the river, the sea becomes so rough, that any small vessels are in the greatest danger, and in this way many are lost. We read, that as they sailed, Jesus fell asleep. We must remember, that for our sakes Jesus had become subject to all the pains of hunger, fatigue, cold, &c.; well might He, therefore, be tired out with his continual labours, for He never spared Himself, or consulted his own ease or comfort; but was always at work, going from one place to another, doing good to others. What a difference between Him and us! For we are unwilling to deny ourselves in the least thing for the sake of saving trouble to others; nor are we willing to give up our own wills, even for the sake of pleasing God.
Whilst Jesus and his disciples were now crossing the Lake of Gennesareth, "there came down a storm of wind on the lake," and a "great tempest in the sea," "insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves," and was filled with water, and in great danger of sinking. "And Jesus was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow." The disciples knew where to look for help; they were in jeopardy or danger, so they "came to Him and awoke him, saying, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Lord, save us: we perish!"
The fears of the Apostles were at this time stronger than their faith; they should have felt that sleeping or waking their Lord could preserve them through every danger. For this they were blamed, for "he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" but He had compassion on their weakness, for "he arose, and rebuked the winds and the raging of the water: and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the windceased, and there was a great calm." After a great storm the waves naturally continue rough for some hours, but now at a word the waters of the lake became at once smooth and still. This sudden ceasing of the storm filled the Apostles, accustomed as they were to see wonderful works done by Jesus, with astonishment and awe. We are told, that "the men marvelled, and they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this? for he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Such a miracle must have strengthened the faith of the disciples, and convinced them more and more, that he who could do such things, was indeed no mere man, but the Son of God, the Ruler of the universe, to whom all things do bow and obey. The voyage was now over; the ship reached the shore; and Jesus and His disciples came into the country of the Gadarenes, or Gergesenes, where Jesus immediately performed another miracle, on a man possessed with devils, exceeding fierce. Jesus, pitying the condition of this unhappy man, commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him. Then the devil who spake in this poor demoniac, cried out, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? I beseech thee, torment me not." Even the devils acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah; and knew well that in the end of the world, all evil spirits would be driven away into misery and darkness; but he now asks Him not to interfere with his power before that time. To such a request Jesus could not, of course, listen: and the devils, finding that they must leave the poor man whom they had so long tormented, then besought Him that He would at least suffer them to go away into a herd of swine, which were feeding nigh unto the mountains, a good way off from them. "And Jesus said unto them, Go." No sooner was the permission given, than the evil spirits entered into the swine, and the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters: and they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country; and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
Pigs were unclean animals, and it was therefore sinful of any Jew to keep them: if the owners of these swine were Jews, they were justly punished for their disobedience. Perhaps the Gadarenes were not Jews, and kept these swine to show that they did not regard or obey the Law of Moses; if so, it was well for themto see that the Lord God of the Hebrews could force men to obey His commands. When we read what happened as soon as the evil spirits took possession of the swine, we should remember the dreadful fate of all who suffer themselves to be led or guided by the Devil. There is no escape for them; the swine could not help themselves, but the Devil has no more power over us now than we choose to give him. If we resist him, he will not harm us; he will try, and we may have to fight hard, but if we do, we shall be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.
We read that the keepers of the swine fled, and told how they had been destroyed, and how the demoniac had been healed. The men of the city, grieved at the loss of their property, and probably afraid that if Jesus remained amongst them the same sort of thing might happen again, besought Him to depart out of their coasts: a request in which the whole multitude of the Gadarenes joined. They had better have besought Him to remain, and teach them what they should do. It is a dreadful thing to wish God to leave us undisturbed in our sins! The man who had been delivered from the power of the Devil, wished, on the contrary, to go away in the ship with Jesus and his disciples; but he was told rather to go home to his friends, and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him. And he did so, and declared through all the country what great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
After this, Levi, or Matthew, made a feast for Jesus in his own house; and a great company of Publicans, and of others, and of sinners, sat down together with Jesus and his disciples. The Scribes and Pharisees took occasion to find fault with this, and asked the disciples, "How is it that your Master eateth with publicans and sinners?" But Jesus told them, that it was to do good to sinners that He was come upon earth: He reminded them that it was only sick people who had need of a physician, and that those who thought themselves well, would not send for one; and that it was the same with Him, for He was come as a Physician to heal the souls of the sick, and that therefore He must go amongst those who, feeling themselves to be sinners, wished for pardon. The Pharisees thought themselves righteous, and therefore they did not feel the need of a Saviour. After these things, Jesus appears to have returned into his own city, that is, to Capernaum, where He had taken up His abode, at those times when He was not occupied in going about the country.
Here a ruler of the synagogue, named Jairus, came to entreat Jesus to go and heal his little daughter, who was dying. Jesus immediately went with him, and on the way He cured a poor woman, whose faith was strong enough to make her believe that if she did but touch the hem of His garment she should be made whole. Her hopes were not disappointed, and Jesus commended her faith. While Jesus was yet speaking with her, messengers came from the ruler's house to tell him that his daughter was even now dead. The Lord, however, bid Jairus not to be afraid, for that if he would only believe, his child should still be made whole. No doubt the miracle that Jairus had just witnessed strengthened his faith, and the result was, that his little daughter was restored to life. On quitting the house of Jairus, two blind men followed our Lord, who gave them sight; and He also enabled a dumb man to speak, by casting out the devil which possessed him. The multitudes were filled with wonder in seeing things which had never been so seen in Israel; but the Pharisees again declared, "He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils."
Jesus continued to teach, and to preach, and to heal sicknesses and diseases, in spite of the unbelief of the people; for though they all marvelled, and some doubtless became his disciples, many rejected Him, saying, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" meaning that a man in such a humble condition of life could not be the Messiah. After this, Jesus gave his Apostles a more solemn charge or commission for the work they were to do. For He called the twelve together, and gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease; and then He sent them forth two by two to preach the Gospel, and to heal the sick. The Gospel was to be first offered to the Jews, and therefore Jesus now commanded the twelve, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And as ye go say, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Jesus also bade the twelve not to make any provision of money or food for their journey, but to depend on the charity of those to whom they should preach: promising a blessing to those cities where they would be well received. Many other things did He say unto them at this time: and when He "had made an end of commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence, to teach and to preach in their cities."
And the twelve also departed, and went through the towns, preaching the Gospel, that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, healing them everywhere.
Wemust now return to the history of John the Baptist; he was about this time put to death by Herod, who, as we have already seen, had thrown the Baptist into prison to please Herodias, who was angry with him because he had reproved her and Herod for their sins. But this wicked woman was not satisfied with the imprisonment of this holy man; she wanted to destroy him, and watched for an opportunity of doing so. It is a terrible thing to determine in one's heart to do a wicked action: it is bad enough to give way to temptation, and so sin against God, but to make up one's mind to break His commandments, is far worse.
After John the Baptist had been in prison for some months, Herod's birthday came round; and to celebrate this event, the king made a great feast to the officers of his household, and the chief men in Galilee. On this occasion, Salome, the daughter of Herodias, came in and danced before Herod and his guests, in order to amuse them. This was a very old custom among the kings of the East at that time, though to us it seems a very strange and bad custom. Herod and those who sat with him, were very much pleased with the damsel's dancing; and Herod, very rashly and foolishly, made a solemn promise, that he would, as a reward, give her anything she liked to ask for. "And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?" Herodias had probably expected something of this kind; at any rate, she had an answer ready, and said, "The head of John the Baptist". It does not seem that Salome was astonished at this advice, or that she was at all unwilling to follow it: for she returned straightway with haste unto the king, and said, "I will that thou give me by and by in a charger, the head of John the Baptist". A charger was a large dish or tray: in some countries, even to this day, when the king orders a great man to be beheaded, the head is brought to him afterwards, to show that his commands have been obeyed. Such a request as Salomenow made, startled even Herod himself: we read that "the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat at meat with him, he would not reject her." He therefore sent an executioner, who cut off John the Baptist's head in the prison, and brought it to Salome, who gave it to her mother. This history teaches us many things: first, although it is the duty of children to obey their Parents, they must obey God before them: thus, if Parents are unhappily so wicked as to tell their children to do anything that God has forbidden, they must please God rather than their Parents. Children should, be very thankful when they have Parents who will never wish them to break the Lord's commandments. Another thing we learn is, to be careful how we make promises. A solemn promise once made ought to be kept, however inconvenient it may be to keep it; and therefore we should never promise positively to do anything, unless we are quite sure that we can do it. But though it is displeasing to God that an oath should be broken, it is still more displeasing to Him that it should be kept, when it can only be done by committing some positive act of sin. Herod made a rash oath, and to keep it, he was guilty of the murder of a good and holy man.
Although Herod was angry with John, he had a high opinion of his holiness and goodness, and would not willingly have put him to death: but amongst men it was considered shameful to break an oath; and Herod, caring more for the praise of men than the praise of God, sacrificed John the Baptist at the request of a bad woman.
When the disciples of John heard of their master's death, they came to the prison, and took up his body and laid it in a tomb, and went and told Jesus.
After this, Herod heard of the fame of Jesus, and of all the wonderful things that He had done, and he was greatly troubled, and knew not what to think. Some people said, "That John was risen from the dead;" others, "That Elias, who was expected to come before the Messiah, had appeared;" and others, "That one of the old prophets was risen again." Amongst these different opinions, Herod was greatly perplexed: like most of the Jews of high rank, Herod belonged to the sect of the Sadducees, who denied that the body would rise again, or the soul live for ever. He would not, therefore, willingly allow the possibility of John the Baptist having returned to life; but his fears got the better of his opinions. His conscience told him that he had donewickedly in putting to death a true servant of God, and therefore, when he heard that there was One going about the country working miracles, he feared that John had returned to life, armed with power to punish all who had ill-treated him.
Herod, disturbed by all he heard of Jesus, questioned his servants who told him these things, and said, "John have I beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things?" He could get no satisfactory answer, and his guilty conscience drove him to the conclusion, "It is John whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him." "And he desired to see Jesus." Herod's desire to see Jesus, does not appear to have been gratified until just before our Lord's death; and then the king derived no profit from the interview. Herod had had plenty of opportunities for learning the truths of the Gospel from John the Baptist. He would not make use of them. Our Lord has told us, that if we do not make a good use of all the opportunities given to us, He will take from us the blessings we will not use. In our country, the young are blessed with innumerable opportunities of learning their duty to God: make a proper use of them, and do not force the Lord to take them away, and leave you in wilful ignorance and sin.
The Feast of the Passover was now drawing near: the second Passover which had occurred, since our Saviour had entered on his public work. For this Feast, our Lord went up to Jerusalem; and on His way, He fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two small fishes; and after they had all eaten as much as they wanted, pieces enough were left to fill twelve baskets; although the whole quantity of loaves and fishes, if they had at first been broken into pieces, could not probably have filled one of these baskets. In working this miracle, Jesus taught us never to waste anything; he said, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Let us remember that many things that we do not want, may be useful to others, and that nothing should be wasted. Children should be careful not to ask for more food than they are sure they can eat, for that is wasteful.
The people, who had been fed in such a wonderful manner, now said, "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world": meaning the Messiah, spoken of by all the prophets, and whose coming was expected about this time. Having come to this conclusion, the people, according to their mistaken ideas,that the Messiah was to be an earthly sovereign and conqueror, determined to make Him king over the land of Judæa. But Jesus desired only to rule the hearts of men; "When, therefore, he perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king," He sent His disciples by ship unto Bethsaida, and having dismissed the multitude, He went up into a mountain alone to pray.
A storm of wind overtook the disciples in the midst of the lake, and then it was that Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. If the faith of the disciples had been strong, they would have felt that it was as easy for Jesus to walk on the water, as to work any other miracle; but they could not believe it was Him, and "they cried out for fear." The Lord, in His mercy, spake straightway unto them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." "And Peter answered, and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said, Come." Peter at once obeyed; but his faith was not strong enough to carry him through this trial: for a little while he walked on the water to go to Jesus, but when he found himself in the midst of raging waves, with a boisterous wind howling around him, his faith failed, and he was afraid. But he had not forgotten where to look for help; and finding himself beginning to sink, he cried out earnestly, "Lord, save me." Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said, "Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?—why didst thou doubt my power and my will to save thee?" No sooner had Jesus with Peter come into the ship, than the storm ceased, and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. They were sore amazed: but "they came and worshipped Him saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."