JESUS BRINGS THE DEAD TO LIFE.--FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND.
JE-SUS went back to Ca-per-na-um. And as he stood by the sea-shore, one
of the chief men of the church came to him, whose name was Ja-i-rus.
He was in deep grief, for he had but one child, a girl twelve years of
age, and she lay sick at his home and there was no help for her. And he
said to Je-sus, My child lies at the point of death. I pray thee come
and lay thy hands on her that she may live.
And Je-sus went with him, and so did the twelve, and all the crowd that
had come up to hear Je-sus preach. And in the throng was a wo-man who
had been sick for twelve years. She had spent all she had to try to be
made well; but all the drugs she took did her no good, and no one could
seem to help her case. So she went on from bad to worse.
When she heard of Je-sus she came up with the crowd at his back, and put
out her hand and touched the hem of his robe. For, she said, if I may
touch but his clothes I shall be made well. And as soon as she had done
this she felt that she was cured.
All this was known to Je-sus, and yet he faced the crowd and said, Who
touched me?
Pe-ter said that some one in the throng had been pushed up close to him
and thought it strange that Je-sus did not know it.
Je-sus said, Someone touched me, and he looked round to see who had done
it.
When the wo-man saw that Je-sus knew all, and that she could not hide
from him, she shook with fear, and fell down at his feet, and told him
why she had touched him, and how that touch had made her well.
Je-sus said to her, Be of good cheer. Thy faith in me hath made thee
well.
While he yet spoke to her, there came one from the house of Ja-i-rus,
who said to him, Thy child is dead.
When Je-sus heard it he said, Fear not. Trust in me and she shall be
made well. And when he came to the house, he found a great crowd there,
who wept and mourned the loss of the young child.
Je-sus said to them, Why do you weep? She sleeps; she is not dead.
He meant that she would soon rise from the dead, as one who wakes out of
his sleep.
But they saw that she was dead, and as they had no faith in his words
they laughed him to scorn.
Then he put them all out of the room save three of the twelve--Pe-ter,
James, and John--and the fa-ther and mo-ther of the young girl. Then he
took the child by the hand and said, I say to thee a-rise. And she rose
from her bed, and had strength to walk, and Je-sus bade them bring her
some food that she might eat.
[Illustration: CUR-ED BY TOUCH-ING HIS GAR-MENT.]
And her fa-ther and mo-ther knew not what to think of these strange
things. Je-sus bade them tell no one of what he had done, and there was
no need for them to speak. For there was their child, well and strong,
once more the light and joy of their house, and their hearts must have
been full of thanks and praise to God!
[Illustration: THE DAU-GHTER OF JA-I-RUS.]
When Je-sus went from the house of Ja-i-rus two blind men came near him
and cried out, Thou Son of Da-vid have mer-cy on us. They said this
be-cause they knew that he was of King Da-vid's race.
Je-sus said to them, Do you think that I can make you well? They said to
him, Yes, Lord.
Then he touched their eyes, and at once their sight came back to them.
And he said to them, Tell no man what I have done to you. But when they
left him they went from place to place and told all whom they met how
Je-sus had brought back their sight.
And they brought to him a dumb man who could not speak be-cause of the
fiend that was in him. And as soon as Je-sus cast out the fiend the man
spoke. And all those who saw it were in a maze, and said, Such things as
these have not been done be-fore in the land of Is-ra-el.
[Illustration: THE TWO BLIND MEN.]
But the Phar-i-sees felt such hate for Je-sus that they said that he
could cast out fiends be-cause he had the help of Sa-tan, the prince of
all fiends.
Je-sus said to the twelve, Come, let us go to some lone place and rest a
while. For the crowds were so great that they had no time to eat. And
they went in a boat quiet-ly to cross the Sea of Gal-i-lee, where they
might rest and take the food they were so much in need of. But as soon
as the folks heard of it they set out on foot and went round by the
shore till they came to the place where Je-sus was.
And when Je-sus went out and saw them, his heart was moved, and he
taught them, and made the sick ones well.
When night came on, the twelve said to Je-sus, Send these off that they
may go to the towns and buy food for them-selves, for they have nought
to eat.
Je-sus said, They need not go. Give you them some-thing to eat.
They said, Shall we go out and buy bread and give it to them?
Je-sus said, How much have you? Go and see.
When they knew they said, We have five loaves and two small fish-es.
Je-sus bade the twelve have the crowd seat them-selves in rows on the
green grass. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish-es, and gave
thanks to God for them. And he broke the loaves, and the fish-es, and
the twelve gave them piece by piece to the crowd, till all had had their
fill.
When the feast was at an end there was e-nough bread and fish left to
fill twelve bas-kets.
Then Je-sus bade the twelve dis-ci-ples get in-to the boat and go back
to Ca-per-na-um.
And when the crowd had left him he went up on a high hill to pray. And
when night came on he was there with none but God near him.
The twelve were in the boat, out in the midst of the sea.
Their oars were of no use, for the wind blew hard the wrong way, and
drove them back from their course, and made the waves toss the boat here
and there.
Je-sus could see it all from his high place on the hill, and in the
night he went down to the shore and walked out on the sea.
When the twelve saw him they were in a great fright, for they thought it
was a ghost, and they cried out in their fear.
Je-sus said, Be of good cheer. It is I.
[Illustration: FEED-ING THE MUL-TI-TUDE.]
Pe-ter spoke from the boat, and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come
to thee on the sea. Je-sus said to him, Come, and Pe-ter came out of the
boat and walked on the waves to go to Je-sus. But when he heard the
noise of the wind, and saw the waves dash all round him, he was in
great fear; and as he felt him-self sink he cried out, Lord, save me.
[Illustration: PE-TER WALK-ING ON THE WA-TER.]
Je-sus put forth his hand and caught him, and said to him, O thou of
lit-tle faith, why didst thou doubt me?
When Je-sus and Pe-ter came in-to the boat the wind was still, and the
twelve were soon on the shore they had set out to reach. Then they fell
at his feet, and said, It is true that thou art the Son of God.
[Illustration: CHRIST WALK-ING ON THE SEA.]
As soon as it was known where Je-sus was, crowds came from all the towns
that were near, and brought their sick in their beds that he might
make them well. And when he went through the large and small towns
they laid the sick in the streets, and begged that they might touch but
the hem of his robe. And at a touch they were all made well.