MIRACLES--TRANSFIGURATION--BLESSES LITTLE CHILDREN

MIRACLES--TRANSFIGURATION--BLESSES LITTLE CHILDREN
CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED
Having appointed the twelve apostles to their high office, our Lord, attended by the whole company of his disciples and a great multitude from different parts, stood in a plain, and repeated, in substance, a considerable part of his sermon on the mount, after which he entered into Capernaum, where he restored to health the servant of a Roman centurion,[430] and then, leaving Capernaum, he entered into the city of Nain.
[430] A captain over a hundred soldiers.
JESUS RAISES CHILD FROM THE DEAD
Hitherto we have seen the great Savior of men displaying his power in healing diseases and expelling demons: we are now to behold him exercising his authority over death! At the gate of the city of Nain he met a train of mourners, attending the corpse of a young man, who was the only son of his mother, and she a widow. Jesus had compassion on the disconsolate parent: he spoke to her a word of encouragement; and, addressing the corpse as it lay on the bier, commanded the young man to arise. His word was attended with life: “he that was dead sat up and began to speak, and he delivered him to his mother.”
JOHN ASKS ABOUT JESUS
This astonishing miracle struck the multitude with awe, and a rumor concerning this great prophet “went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about.” In the meantime, the disciples of John resorting to their master in prison and giving him an account of these miracles, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus, with an inquiry whether he was indeed the expected Messiah. It does not seem probable that this step was taken in consequence of any doubt in the mind of John; but, for whatever purpose it might have been intended, our Lord returned an appropriate answer, and then bore his testimony to the character of this faithful and eminent servant of God.
THE LORD OFFERS REST
After an awful warning to the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum--where most of his mighty works had been done--and a gracious invitation to laboring and heavy-laden sinners, to come and find rest in his service, our Lord entered into the house of Simon, a Pharisee, being invited by the owner to eat with him; and here an occurrence took place, which served further to manifest the abundant grace of the Redeemer's heart.
NOTORIOUS SINNER RECEIVES FORGIVENESS
A woman who had been a notorious sinner, but who was now a real penitent, humbly approached with an alabaster-box of ointment, stooped, weeping, at the feet of Jesus, and, washing them with her tears, wiped them with the hairs of her head, and anointed them with the ointment. The condescension of Christ in suffering this freedom from a person of her character, met the disapprobation of the Pharisee; but Jesus showed him by a striking parable, the impropriety of his censure, and pronounced the sins of the penitent woman forgiven.
PREACHING TOUR
After this, accompanied by his twelve apostles, “he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.” Certain women also, “who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,” attended him, and assisted in supplying his wants. Among these was Mary Magdalene, out of whom, we are told, he had cast seven devils.
SOME SINS ARE UNFORGIVABLE
Having healed a poor creature who was blind and dumb, and possessed by a demon, Jesus was accused by the Pharisees, of casting out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils. This wicked and absurd charge he clearly confuted; and warned them that their sinful malice in thus sinning against the Holy Ghost, would never be forgiven. Some of the scribes and Pharisees then required of him a sign from heaven; but he refused to gratify their vain curiosity; and having delivered many solemn admonitions, and much divine instruction, he departed to the seaside, where he taught the people in a series of parables, which he afterward expounded more fully to his disciples.
Lake and Town of Tiberius

JESUS CALMS THE STORM
He who had power over demons, diseases, and death, could also control the winds and the seas. An instance of this occurred, when going on board a vessel with his disciples, in order to pass over the lake of Tiberias,[431] there arose a great tempest, and the ship was covered with the waves. In the midst of the storm, Jesus was asleep in the hinder part of the vessel; but the disciples, overwhelmed with fear, broke in upon his slumber, crying out, “Master, master, we perish!” He arose from his pillow, and gently reproving their want of faith, “rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm!”
[431] Tiberias, one of the principal cities of Galilee, was erected by the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who gave it this appellation in honor of the emperor Tiberias. It was this Herod who beheaded John the Baptist (Matthew 14:3-11), and who sought the life of Christ himself (Luke 13:31). He probably resided in Tiberias, which may be the reason why the Savior never visited this place. It was situated near the sea of Galilee, on a plain of singular fertility, which was greatly increased by assiduous cultivation. Josephus describes this region as a perfect paradise, blessed with a delicious temperature, and producing the fruits of every climate under heaven, not at stated periods merely, but in endless succession throughout the year The neglect of agriculture in modern times has, of course, made it less productive; but the mildness of the climate, and the richness of the soil, are still extolled by travelers. When the Romans made war upon the Jews, Tiberias surrendered without waiting for a siege: on this account the Jews remained unmolested; and after the destruction of Jerusalem, this city became eminent for its academy, over which a succession of Jewish doctors presided until the fourth century. In the early ages of Christianity, Tiberias was an episcopal see; in the seventh century it was taken by the Saracens under the caliph Omar; and though it passed into the hands of the Christians during the crusades, the Mohammedans regained the possession of it toward the close of the fourteenth century. Widely scattered ruins of walls and other buildings, as well as fragments of columns, indicate the ancient extent of Tiberias. The stone of these ruins is described by the Rev. William Jowett as being “very black so that there is nothing about them of the splendor of antiquity--nothing but an air of mourning and desolation. In this circumstance they differ so greatly from the magnificent antiquities of Egypt and Greece, as to leave the most somber impression on the fancy: they are perfectly funereal.”
The modern town of Tiberias, which is delineated in our engraving, is, by the natives, called Tabaria, or Tabbareeah; it occupies part of the site of the ancient city, and is situate at a short distance to the east from the sea of Galilee. It is surrounded with walls and towers, which at first view are very imposing: on a nearer approach, however, their insignificance is apparent. A few cannon would put them down in an instant, though to an assault from the natives they would present, probably, a very long and effectual resistance. One fourth of the space within the walls is stated by Dr. Richardson to be unoccupied by house or building; and many parts of the town are in a ruined and filthy condition. The population has been computed at one thousand five hundred or two thousand persons; eighty houses are occupied by Christians, and one hundred and fifty by Turks, but the largest portion (amounting to two hundred) is tenanted by Jews of all nations, who come here to spend the rest of their days. On the north side of the town, not far from the lake, there is a Greek church, the architecture of which exhibits much of the character of those sacred edifices which were erected by the Emperess Helena: it is said to occupy the identical spot on which stood the house of the apostle Peter, who, previously to his becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, had been a fisherman on the lake.
To the south of Tiberias lie the celebrated hot baths, the water of which contains a strong solution of chloride of soda (common salt), with a considerable intermixture of iron and sulfur; it emits a powerful sulfurous smell. A thermometer placed in different spots where the water gushes out, rose to the various heights of 131, 132, 138, and 139 degrees of Fahrenheit; in the bath, where it cools after standing some time, its temperature was 110. An humble building is erected over the bath, containing mean apartments, on one side for men, on the other for women: it is much frequented, as a cure for almost every complaint, particularly by the Jews, who have a great veneration for a Roman sepulcher excavated in a cliff near the spot, which they imagine to be the tomb of Jacob. About a mile from the town, and exactly in front of the lake, is a chain of rocks, in which are distinctly seen cavities or grottoes that have resisted the ravages of time. These are uniformly represented to travelers as the places referred to in the gospel history, which were the resort of miserable and fierce demoniacs, upon one of whom Jesus Christ wrought a miraculous and instantaneous cure (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:2-3; Luke 8:37).
The sea of Galilee, which is seen in the back ground of our engraving, derives its name from its situation on the eastern borders of the province of Galileo; it was anciently called the sea of Chinnereth, or Chinneroth (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3), from its vicinity to a town of that name. In 1Ma_11:67 it is called the water of Gennesar, and in Luke 5:1, the lake of Gennesaret, from the neighboring land of that name. Its most common appellation is the sea of Tiberias, from the contiguous town of Tiberia, which has seen described in the preceding paragraphs.
This capacious lake is from twelve to fifteen miles in length, and from six to nine in breadth; along the shore its depth varies, and in some parts it maybe sixty feet. The water is perfectly fresh, and is used by the inhabitants of Tiberias to drink, and for every culinary purpose. The waters of the northern part of this lake abound with delicious fish. It is remarkable that here is not a single boat of any description on the sea of Tiberias at present, although it is evident from the gospel history that it was much navigated in the time of Jesus Christ. The fish are caught partly by the fishermen going into the water up to their waists, and throwing in a hand-net, and partly with casting-nets from the beach; the consequence is that a very small quantity only is taken, in comparison of what might be obtained if boats were employed. This accounts for the circumstance of fish being so dear at Tiberias, as to be sold at the same price per pound as meat. Viewed from a height, the water looks, amid the surrounding mountains, like an immense reservoir; and from the northern part being covered with volcanic remains, it has been conjectured that this lake was at one period the crater of a volcano. It has been compared by travelers to Loch Lomond in Scotland; and, like the lake of Windermere in Westmoreland, it is often greatly agitated by winds. A strong current marks the passage of the Jordan through this lake; and when this is opposed by contrary winds, which blow here with the force of a hurricane from the southeast, sweeping into the lake from the mountains, a boisterous sea is instantly raised, which the small vessels of the country (such as were anciently in use) were ill qualified to resist. Such a tempest is described in Matthew 8:24-26, which was miraculously calmed by Jesus Christ with a word. The broad and extended surface of this lake, “covering the bottom of a profound valley, surrounded by lofty and precipitous eminences, when added to the impression under which every Christian pilgrim approaches, gives to it a character of unparalleled dignity.”
JESUS SENDS DEMONS TO SWINE
Arriving in the country of the Gadarenes (or Gergesenes), on the other side of the lake, he was met by two men, coming out from among the tombs, who, though possessed with devils; and raging with madness, cried out, acknowledging Jesus to be the Son of God. From these unhappy creatures he expelled the infernal spirits, suffering them, at their own request, to take possession of a herd of swine, which were feeding near the seaside; whereupon the whole herd ran violently down into the sea, and perished.
GADARENES ASK JESUS TO LEAVE
The loss of the swine, and probably the fear of some other calamity, induced the wicked Gadarenes earnestly to request that Jesus would leave their country; and thus they lost the benefits and blessings of his ministry; for he accordingly departed from the coast of Gadara, and returned to the city of Capernaum.
JAIRUS' DAUGHTER RAISED FROM DEAD
While in the house of Matthew, who had made an entertainment for his master, he received an application from the ruler of the synagogue, by the name of Jairus, who fell at his feet; begging that he would come and heal his little daughter, then lying at the point of death. Before he arrived at the ruler's house, the spirit of the damsel had fled; but Jesus, taking her by the hand, awoke her from the sleep of death, and restored her to the astonished and rejoicing parents.
JESUS SENDS DISCIPLES OUT BY TWOS
After several other miracles of mercy and goodness, and a considerable time spent in proclaiming the good news of salvation, in different parts of the country, where he observed the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd, Jesus determined that the gospel should be more diffusively published. Accordingly, having called together his twelve apostles, and addressed them with a discourse filled with suitable instruction, advice; and encouragement, he sent them forth, by two and two, to preach the kingdom of God among “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and to work miracles through his power.
Thus commissioned, the apostles went forward into the work; nor did their master remain inactive: “He departed thence, to teach and to preach” in the different cities of the Jews.
JOHN IS MARTYRED
In the meantime John the Baptist had ended his mortal race, having fallen a sacrifice to the pride of Herod, and the cruelty of his unlawful wife Herodias. At Herod's birth-night feast, the daughter of this Herodias so pleased the king, by her expertness in dancing, that he promised, with an oath, to give her whatsoever she might ask. The occasion was seized by the wicked Herodias, who instructed her daughter to ask the head of John the Baptist. This was accordingly done; and the bloody gift was presented to the damsel in a charger.
JESUS FEEDS A MULTITUDE
On the return of the twelve apostles, and their report to Christ, he took them with him to a desert place, there to spend some little time in retirement. Thither, however, the people quickly followed him; and in this wilderness, the situation of the multitude drew forth a new instance of the Redeemer's power and goodness. They were without food, and likely to suffer for the want of it. But a lad present having five barley loaves and two small fishes, these were so increased, under the wonderworking hands of Christ, that five thousand men, besides a number of women and children, were amply supplied, and twelve baskets were filled with the fragments which remained.
This miracle, so pleasing to the multitude, produced a determination, on their part, to make Christ a temporal king; but, far from acceding to these views, he dismissed the crowd, and sending his disciples on before him, in a vessel, he retired to a mountain, and spent the evening in prayer.
CHRIST WALKS ON WATER
While Jesus was thus engaged in secret devotion, the disciples were tossed on the water by a tempestuous wind. But about the fourth watch of the night (or three o'clock in the morning), they saw him approaching the vessel, walking on the waves. Struck with the sight of what appeared to them to be a spirit, “they cried out for fear.” But Jesus quickly removed their apprehensions; and Peter, in the forwardness of his heart, obtained leave to meet him on the water. Soon, however, his fear overpowered his faith, and, beginning to sink, he was dependant on the hand of his master for deliverance from death.
CHRIST IS THE BREAD OF HEAVEN
Landing on the coast of Gennesaret, Jesus was, in a little time, surrounded by numbers bringing the sick in beds, to be healed. In the meantime, many of the people who had been miraculously fed by Christ, followed him to the city of Capernaum. But Jesus taking occasion to reprove their selfish motives, directed their attention to that food which would nourish the soul; declaring himself to be the bread of God which came down from heaven, to give life to the world. The heavenly discourse which he delivered, gave offence to some of his carnal followers, while it exhibited the only means of restoring lost sinners to spiritual life and eternal felicity.
TO SIDON THEN GALILEE
After reproving the Pharisees for their hypocritical attention to mere external ceremonies, while they overlooked inward purity and a righteous conduct, we find our Lord departing into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. Here, at the humble entreaty of a Syrophenician woman, in behalf of her daughter, who was grievously distressed by a demon, he delivered the afflicted creature from her calamity; and then, leaving these coasts, came near to the sea of Galilee, where, for a while, he rested himself on a mountain.
CHRIST FEEDS THE CROWDS AGAIN
To this place the multitudes quickly resorted, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the maimed, and many others, and laying them at the feet of Jesus to be healed. Here, too, his power and compassion were again manifested, in a miraculous supply of food; the fainting multitude, to the number of four thousand, beside women and children, being fed from seven loaves and a few small fishes; and seven baskets-full of the fragments being afterward gathered up.
CHRIST BEGINS TO WARN DISCIPLES OF HIS COMING SUFFERING
From the place above mentioned, Jesus passed over to Dalmanutha, is the coasts of Magdala, where he was beset by the Pharisees and Sadducees, who demanded of him a sign from heaven, but met as they deserved, with a refusal and reproof. Going thence to the city of Bethsaida, he restored a blind man to sight; after which, we find him visiting the towns of Caesarea Philippi. In this journey our Lord entered into a private conversation with his disciples, on the subject of his own person and character; and from that time began to give them some intimation concerning his approaching sufferings, and his resurrection from the dead.
TRANSFIGURATION
The disciples had heretofore seen their Lord, great indeed in power, but lowly in appearance. It remained for some of them to witness a splendor in his person, infinitely transcending the pomp of the greatest earthly king. Taking with him three of his chosen followers, Peter, James, and John, and ascending a high mountain, for the purpose of private devotion, it came to pass, while engaged in prayer, that he was suddenly, and in a glorious manner, transfigured in their presence. His face shone as the sun, and his raiment became white and dazzling. At the same time also, appeared two glorified saints, Moses and Elijah, who entered into a conversation with Jesus, concerning his approaching death, which was to be accomplished at Jerusalem.
It seems to have been the night-season when this wonderful event took place. The three disciples, fatigued with the labors of the day, had sunk down to sleep, but awakened with the splendor of the light, they beheld the glorious scene; while, as it passed off, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him!”
FISHING FOR TAX MONEY
On coming down from the mountain, the next day after the transfiguration, we find Jesus healing a youth, who from his childhood had been afflicted with lunacy and a dumb spirit; and some time afterward, at Capernaum, directing Peter to go to the sea, and take from the mouth of the first fish which should come to his hook, a piece of money, for the purpose of paying tribute to the tax-gatherers.
VAIN AMBITION OF THE DISCIPLES
In the way to Capernaum, the disciples, not yet fully acquainted with the spiritual nature of their Master's kingdom, had held some dispute among themselves, who should be the greatest. Jesus, therefore, knowing what had passed, took occasion to warn them against a vain ambition; inculcating on their minds a spirit of genuine humility, as the proper temper to be possessed by his servants, and pointing out the necessity of renouncing all objects which might be inconsistent with the service of God, though dear to the feelings, as the hand, the foot, or the eye, to the body.
THE SEVENTY SENT IN PAIRS
After discourse of this sort, and much more, in which our Lord instructed his disciples in the proper manner of dealing with each other, as members of his church, and pressed on them a ready disposition toward the forgiveness of injuries; we find him appointing, in addition to the twelve apostles, seventy disciples, whom “he sent two and two before his face, into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”
Defile between Jerusalem and Jericho

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS AGAINST JESUS
In the meantime, going up to Jerusalem, to the feast of tabernacles, Jesus entered into the temple and taught. On this occasion much division and contention ensued among the people. Some, offended at his faithful dealing, “sought to take him;” “but his hour was not yet come.” Some believed in him, as the promised Messiah, and others rejected him. At length the Pharisees sent chief-priests and officers to apprehend him; but, overpowered with the force of his words, they returned without him, declaring, “Never man spake like this man.”
RULER ASKS HOW TO GET ETERNAL LIFE
After another instructive lecture, on the following day, and a disputation with the Jews, we have an account of the return of the seventy disciples to their master, with the report of their success. While engaged in discourse with these disciples, a certain lawyer (or expounder of the Jewish laws), came forward, and with much self-consequence and secret contempt of Jesus, proposed a plausible question, but with a design to involve him in a difficulty. He begged to be informed what he must do, for the attainment of eternal life. Had the question been proposed with an humble and teachable disposition, our Lord would doubtless have given a direct and explicit answer; but knowing the proud and captious temper of the scribe, he replied in a way which might tend to humble or silence him. He therefore referred him to the demands of the law, upon obedience to which the scribe placed his dependence, assuring him a complete compliance with those claims, of perfect love to God and man, would secure to him the blessing desired. “This do, and thou shalt live;” as if he had said “Perform, punctually and perpetually, without interruption or imperfection, all the injunctions of the holy and spiritual law of God, and eternal life shall be thine; but, remember; that the least deviation or defect will ruin thee for ever.”[432]
[432] In this manner, St. Paul speaks (Galatians 3:10), “For as many as are of the works of the law,” that is, who seek justification by it, “are under the curse;” for it is written, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”
RULER ASKS ABOUT NEIGHBORS
The scribe, willing to stand on his own defence, and to evade conviction, proposed another question--“Who is my neighbor?” It should seem that he, like all others who seek salvation by their own doings, was desirous of narrowing the demands of the law as much as possible, and reducing the number of those to whom the duties of love were owing. Our Lord wisely took this occasion of confuting the prevalent notion that neighbors were only such persons as lived near each other, or were connected by the ties of blood or religion. He therefore showed, by a parable, that we ought to extend our kindness to all our fellow-creatures in distress, of whatever nation or profession, even to those who have been separated from us by party quarrels and distinctions.
Map of the Holy Land in the Time of Christ

“A certain traveler,” said our Lord, “going from Jerusalem to Jericho,[433] was set upon by thieves, who not only rifled him of his clothes and money, but so dangerously wounded him, that they left him almost expiring on the ground. By chance a priest came that way, and saw the poor wretch weltering in his blood: but the sight did not affect him, he passed along unconcerned. Next came a Levite, as void of tenderness and humanity as the priest. At last the groans of the poor wretch stirred up the curiosity of a Samaritan to see the cause, which he no sooner discovered, but, moved with compassion, he went to him, raised his head, recalled his fainting spirits, and closed his gaping wounds with healing balsams; then mounting him on his own beast he gently conveyed the man to the first inn, where at his own cost he entertained him while he stayed with him, and at his departure promised the host to be at whatever further expense should be incurred.” Our blessed Savior applying this parable to the lawyer, asked him which he thought was neighbor to the poor traveler. The lawyer replied, “Undoubtedly he that was kind, and careful of him.” Then says he to the lawyer, “Go thou and do likewise.” Hereby plainly intimating, that no distance of country or religion destroyed the true notion of neighborhood, but every person with whom we converse in peace and charity is that neighbor, whom we are to love as ourselves.
[433] Jericho was at this time a very important city; indeed would seem from Josephus to have been next in consequence to Jerusalem itself. At this place also twelve e thousand priests and Levites were stationed, with a view to the rotation of service at Jerusalem. Hence the peculiar propriety with which our Lord introduces the priest and Levite as passing this way. The road to Peres, beyond Jordan; also passed this way, whence it was one of the most frequented roads of Palestine. How fitly the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was made the scene of this interesting story, will appear when it is understood that this road has always been infested by numerous daring and desperate robbers; and its character is so notorious, even at the present day, in this respect, that travelers are rarely allowed by the governor of Jerusalem to proceed to Jericho and the Dead sea without an escort. Josephus intimates, and Jerome says, that the savage mountainous wilderness through which this road passed had acquired the name of the bloody way. The monks however have restricted this name or rather that of the “Valley of Abdonim” (blood), to a small round, grassy valley, which they have fixed upon as the place where the supposed facts of this parable took place. That the region is well suited for a scene of robbery and murder will appear by the following, from Mr. Buckingham:
“The whole of this road from Jerusalem to Jericho is held to be the most dangerous about Palestine, and, indeed, in this portion of it, the very aspect of the scenery is sufficient, on the one hand, to tempt to robbery and murder, and, on the other, to occasion a dread of it in those who pass that way. It was partly to prevent any accident happening to us at this early stage of our journey, and partly perhaps to calm our fears on that score, that a messenger had been dispatched by our guides to an encampment of their tribe near, desiring them to send an escort to meet us at this place. We were met here accordingly by a band of about twenty parsons, on foot, all armed with matchlocks, and presenting the most ferocious and robber-like appearance that could be imagined. The effect of this was heightened by the shouts which they sent forth from hill to hill, and which were re-echoed through all the valleys; while the bold projecting crags of rock, and the dark shadows in which everything was buried below, the towering height of the cliffs above and the forbidding desolation which everywhere reigned around, presented a picture that was quite in harmony throughout all its parts. It made us feel most forcibly the propriety of its being chosen as the scene of the delightful tale of compassion which we had before so often admired for its doctrine, independently of its local beauty. In these gloomy solitudes, pillage, wounds, and death, would be accompanied with double terror from the frightful aspect of everything around. Here the unfeeling act of passing by a fellow-creature in distress, as the priest and Levite are said to have done, strikes one with horror, as an act almost more than inhuman. And here, too, the compassion of the Good Samaritan is doubly virtuous, from the purity of the motive which must have led to it, in a spot where no eyes were fixed on him to draw forth the performance of any duty, and from the courage which was necessary to admit of a man's exposing himself, by such delay, to the risk of a similar fate to that from which he was endeavoring to rescue a fellow-creature.”
If space allowed, we should also be glad to transcribe the account width Sir F Henniker gives of his being stripped naked by the Arabs, and left severely wounded, on this road, in the year 1820. As this traveler states, a similar circumstance happened to the monk Brocard (not indeed two hundred years ago, as he says, but), toward the end of the thirteenth century. Many other testimonies might be collected of the dangerous character of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
MARY AND MARTHA
Two sisters, Martha and Mary, who make a considerable figure in the sacred history, now present themselves to our notice. While, at a certain time, Jesus was entertained at the house of these pious women, Mary took her seat at the feet of the divine teacher, in order to receive instruction; while Martha, suffering herself to be over-anxious in making provision, complained of her sister's neglect, in not rendering her assistance. It was on this occasion that Christ gave to Martha that memorable admonition, so worthy of attention from the human family in general: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.”
A great part of the gospel records, which yet remain to be noticed, consist in a detail of the discourses delivered by Christ to his disciples, together with reproofs to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, and a number of interesting parables. A brief notice of the most remarkable of these objects, as we pass on, is all that the limits of our history will allow.
PRAYER AND HYPOCRISY
In answer to the request of his disciples, we find our Lord giving them instructions on the subject of prayer, and encouraging them to the exercise of this sacred privilege. When a certain Pharisee, with whom Jesus dined, found fault because he did not use the ceremony of the elders, by first washing, he took occasion to expose the vain pretences and hypocrisy of these people, who, while they were superstitiously nice in small matters, passed over judgment and the love of God: and warning his disciples against such principles, he exhorted them not to fear the displeasure of man, but to stand in awe of him who has power to cast into hell, as well as to kill the body.
COVETOUSNESS
Occurrences which, in a religious light, might appear unimportant, afforded occasion to this heavenly teacher, for the most important religious instruction. Thus, when one of the company desired him to interfere in the settlement of an inheritance, Jesus cautioned him, as well as the congregation in general, to “beware of covetousness;” and, in an impressive parable, represented the folly and final wretchedness of those who feel secure of happiness in the possession of earthly plenty, and are disposed to “eat, drink, and be merry,” while they are “not rich toward God.”
Our Lord was now, it seems, on another circuit through Galilee; where, in one of the synagogues, he released from her affliction, a woman who had been bowed together with her infirmity for eighteen years; after which, we are informed of his returning toward Jerusalem, teaching in the different cities and villages on the way.
WEDDING SUPPER PARABLE
Being at the table of one of the Pharisees, in the course of this journey, Jesus improved the season by the parable of the Wedding Supper; setting forth, under figures, the rich provision of the gospel, and representing the various success of his ministers in delivering the gracious invitation to sinners. On leaving the house, multitudes followed him; and the publicans and sinners drawing near to hear him, the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees murmured at his condescension to these people. Our Lord defended his conduct on this occasion, in three parables, the last of which, called the parable of the Prodigal Son, is so very interesting and important, that we must not omit a brief sketch of its contents.
PRODIGAL SON PARABLE
A certain man is represented as having two sons; the younger of whom, having received his portion, went into a distant country, where he “wasted his substance with riotous living.” Reduced by poverty and famine to a state of wretchedness, he became a keeper of swine, to a citizen of that country; but happily, in this situation, “he came to himself,” and took the resolution to try once more the kindness of a father. Accordingly, he returned, with an humble and penitent confession, to his injured parent, who received him with joy and feasting, while the elder brother, murmuring at his reception, refused to unite in the pleasure and festivity of the day.
This parable, which seems evidently to represent, in the person of the younger brother, the publicans and sinners, and in that of the elder, the scribes and Pharisees, contains also important instruction for us. In the younger brother we may see the sad fruits of sin and dissipation, both in temporal and spiritual point of view, as well as the happy result of a return to God; while the disposition and conduct of the elder, still serve to mark the character of the self-righteous, wherever they are found.
UNJUST STEWARD PARABLE
The parable of the unjust steward, which follows that of the prodigal, is intended to admonish us, so to use the possessions of this world (called “the mammon of unrighteousness”) as to secure the friendship of the distressed, especially among the friends of Christ; in other words; to use these worldly things to the glory of God and the good of men. And in the next parable which comes under our notice, two characters are represented, to their different states, both in this world and in that beyond the grave.
RICH MAN AND LAZARUS PARABLE
This is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar: the former living in splendor and plenty, but forgetful of God and religion; the latter lying, an afflicted outcast, at the rich man's gate, but blessed with the favor of Heaven. Such was the state of things in this world; but greatly was it reversed in the other! The beggar dying, “was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom,” while, in hell, the rich man lifting up his eyes in torment, saw the blessedness of the once-afflicted Lazarus.
BLIND MAN SEES
After just mentioning the healing of the ten men who were diseased with leprosy; the parable of the importunate widow, which was designed to encourage us to perseverance in prayer; and that of the Pharisee and publican, showing the contrast between proud self-righteousness and humble penitence--we hasten on to the feast of the dedication, at Jerusalem, where we find our Lord restoring to sight a man who had been blind from his birth.
This miracle, though attested in the clearest manner, had no effect toward reproving the prejudice and enmity of the Pharisees. It was wrought on the sabbath day, and this, in their esteem, afforded some pretext for opposition. They accused Jesus of profaning the sabbath, and cast the man (who had now become his disciple) out of the synagogue. This opposition became still more violent, when Christ, in a discourse held with the Jews, in the porch of the temple, declared, “I and my Father are one.” They even took up stones to stone him; “but he escaped out of their hands, and went again beyond Jordan,” where many resorted to him, and believed on him.
CHILDREN BROUGHT
We must not omit to mention here, among other instances of his goodness, the gracious regard shown to helpless infancy, by the Redeemer; who, when some persons present brought young children to him, that they might share in his favor, “took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” Then departing thence, he went on to some other place which he had designed to visit.
RICH YOUNG RULER
In the way, he was accosted by a young ruler, who, in an earnest manner, desired to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. The result of the conversation showed, that this amiable youth, with all his morality, was incapable of renouncing the world for Christ, and Jesus improved the serious occasion, by delivering a general caution against setting the heart on the perishing riches of this world; assuring his disciples, that those who had forsaken all for him, should, in some sense, be great gainers, even in this life; and that in the world to come, they should have life everlasting.
LAZARUS RAISED
The next event to which we shall here pay attention, is the resurrection of Lazarus. This man was the brother of Martha and Mary, who have been already introduced to our notice. Of this little family (who resided in the town of Bethany), it is testified, that they were all beloved of Jesus. Yet Lazarus, though loved of hisLord, was sick, and eventually died of his illness. In the meantime a message from the two sisters had reached the Savior, mentioning the sickness of his friend; but continuing some time where he was, he did not reach the house of mourning till four days after the death and burial of Lazarus.
Jerusalem, with its Walls--A northwest View This circumstance, however, offered no difficulty to him who was “the Resurrection and the Life.” Accompanied by a train of mourners, and the sisters of the deceased, with whom he wept on this occasion, he came to the sepulcher; and the stone which covered the mouth being removed, Jesus, after addressing his heavenly Father, “cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth!” His word was attended with life-giving power: the grave resigned its prisoner; “and he that was dead came forth,” bound with grave-clothes, and his head wrapped with a napkin. “Loose him,” said Christ, and let him go.”
From that day forth, the Jews, convinced of his miraculous power, but still cherishing their enmity against him, “took counsel together to put him to death.” On this account “Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews,” till the time appointed for his suffering; but went, with his disciples, into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim.