THE LORD OF LIFE.
Jesus came down to Capernaum again and found the same crowds of needy
people, who were like sheep having no shepherd. The rich as well as
the poor had their wants and their troubles.
A good Roman officer, called a Centurion, because he was captain over a
hundred men, had a servant who was so faithful to him that he was very
fond of him. The servant was very sick, and when the Centurion heard
that Jesus was again in Capernaum he went to the chief men of the city
and asked them to get Jesus to come and cure his servant. He feared to
ask the favor himself, for he thought Jesus was a Jew who would not
like to have dealings with the Romans. So the Jews spoke to Jesus
about it saying that the Centurion was the good man who had built a
beautiful synagogue for them. Jesus did not need to be urged to be
kind to a Roman for He loved all the people of the earth alike.
While He was on His way some friends of the Centurion came to meet Him
with a message.
"Lord, trouble not Thyself," he said, "for I am not worthy that Thou
shouldst enter under my roof; Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy
to come unto Thee; but say in a word and my servant shall be healed."
Jesus told the people who followed Him that He had not found such faith
as this among their own people. And when the men returned to the
Centurion's house they found the servant cured of his sickness.
But some of the Jews were offended because Jesus had said that a pagan
Roman could have more faith than a Jew, and that they would enter the
Kingdom of Heaven while the Jews would be left out.
The next day Jesus and His disciples went to a little city called Nain,
set up among the hills, more than twenty miles away. When they were
near the city gate they met a funeral procession coming out. They were
going to the burying ground on a hillside not far away. There were
hired mourners, as is the custom in that country, who made many doleful
noises, and behind them came a weeping woman--the mother of the young
man who had died.
His body was borne by friends and followed by many more, for all felt
sorry for the poor woman who had lost her only son.
As the procession passed Jesus said two little words to the
woman--"Weep not," and then He put forth His hand and touched the bier.
The men who bore it set it down before Jesus who looked down into the
face of the dead, saying,
"Young man, I say unto thee, arise!"
In a moment the young man opened his eyes, sat up, and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him back from the grave to his happy mother.
While Jesus was near Nain some of the disciples of John the Baptist
came to see Him. John was in prison still, down in the low, hot
country by the Dead Sea. He had heard strange stories about Jesus from
the disciples who came to see him, and because they were not settled in
their mind about Him, John sent them to find Him and to say,
"Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?"
Jesus told them to go and tell John what they saw.
"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 to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be
offended in me."
Then Jesus taught the people who stood by, and the lesson ended with
these words which he speaks to the whole world,
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
This is the loving invitation of Jesus to every one of us to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven, and it is the King Himself who invites us.