TOUR THROUGH GALILEE.
The Horns of Hattin.――The Sermon on the Mount.――Jesus goes to
Capernaum.――The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.――Healing the Leper,
the Paralytic.――Associates with Publicans and Sinners.――The
Feast of the Passover.――The Cripple at the Pool.――The Equality
of the Son with the Father.――Healing the Withered Hand.――Anger
of the Pharisees.――The Twelve Apostles chosen.――Inquiry of John
the Baptist.――Jesus dines with a Pharisee.――The Anointment.
――Journey through Galilee.――Stilling the Tempest.――The Demoniacs
and the Swine.――The Daughter of Jairus.――Restores Sight to the
Blind.――Address to his Disciples.
ABOUT seven miles south of Capernaum there was a double-peaked eminence,
fifty or sixty feet high, which commanded a charming view of the Valley
of Gennesaret. These peaks were called the Horns of Hattin, from the
village of Hattin, situated at the base of the hill. As Jesus, upon his
return from his first circuit through Galilee, approached Capernaum,
when the throng which accompanied him, or flocked out of the city to
meet him, had become immense, he probably ascended this hill, from
which he could easily address them. For ages it has been called, on
that supposition, the “Hill of the Beatitudes.”
It must have presented a charming scene. The smooth and grassy hill
rose from a landscape luxuriant with verdure, draped with vineyards,
and rich in the autumnal hues of harvest. The waters of the lake
sparkled in the sunlight, and the distant horizon was fringed with
towering mountains. Jesus sat upon the summit of the hill: his avowed
disciples gathered affectionately around: the multitude, presenting a
sea of upturned faces, thronged the grassy slopes.
It was then and there that Jesus delivered that Sermon on the Mount,
which, by universal admission, is the most memorable discourse ever
uttered by human lips. Probably in a voice which penetrated the
remotest ear, he enunciated those sublime truths, which, for eighteen
centuries, have echoed through human hearts, and which will continue
thus to echo, with ever-increasing power, until the flames of the last
conflagration shall envelop our globe.
He first announced the conditions of entrance into the new kingdom
of God. Its gates were to be open to the lowly in heart; to those
weeping over their own unworthiness, and hungering and thirsting for
righteousness. Those qualities which were most despised by Jewish pride
and pharisaic self-righteousness were the ones upon which God looked
with love and a blessing.
He then declared the law of the kingdom of God, showing that, instead
of abrogating the old covenant, it did but re-establish its principles,
and supplement its imperfections, by carrying moral obligations beyond
all external observances, into the inner regions of the heart.
With amazement this motley assemblage must have listened to
announcements so contrary to the whole spirit of the age; as,――
“Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Whosoever shall smite
thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Blessed are ye
when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you, for my sake. Be ye therefore perfect even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect, that ye may be the children of
your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to shine upon
the evil and the good, and sendeth his rain upon the just and upon the
unjust.”
The parade of alms-giving, ostentatious devotion, and the display of
fastings and prayers, are severely denounced. And, in this connection,
Jesus gave that sublime formula of prayer which has compelled the
admiration even of his foes, and which for beauty and comprehensiveness
can find no parallel in the literature of the world:――
“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us, this day, our
daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
In this wonderful discourse each statement is but an annunciation of
truth, bearing with it its own evidence. There is no labored argument,
no attempt to prove his doctrine. The assumption seemed to be, that no
honest mind could refuse its assent to these truths. With such divine
majesty he gave utterance to these sublime principles, that it is
recorded, “The people were astonished at his doctrine; for he taught
them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
From the mount, Jesus directed his steps towards Capernaum, followed
by a great multitude still eager to hear the word of God. When he
reached the shore of the lake, the crowd became so dense as to impede
his steps. There were two boats by the shore, their owners being at
a little distance washing their nets. One of these belonged to Simon
Peter. To avoid the pressure, Jesus entered the boat, and requested
Peter to push out a little from the land. From the boat, surveying the
vast throng upon the shore, he again addressed them; but we have no
record of the words he spoke. It is uncertain whether Peter accompanied
Jesus on this his first tour through Galilee. At the close of the
discourse, Jesus requested Peter to launch out a little farther into
the deep, and let down his net. Peter slightly remonstrated, saying,
“Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless,
at thy word, I will let down the net.” He did so, and a miraculous
draught of fishes was enclosed, so that the net broke, and it was
necessary to call for assistance from another boat. Two boats were so
filled with the fishes, that they began to sink. Simon Peter was so
impressed by this miracle, that he fell upon his knees at the feet of
Jesus, exclaiming, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
“If Peter,” writes R. Mimpriss, “had returned to his worldly occupation
through the fear of being in want, as following One who had not where
to lay his head, he must have felt confounded at this reproof of his
own unfaithfulness in being so plentifully supplied by his Lord when
unable to provide any thing for himself in his own way. Peter seems
to have been powerfully impressed, not only with the miracle, but also
with his own unworthiness as a disciple.”
Jesus compassionates the weakness of his impulsive disciple, and
replies, “Fear not: henceforth thou shalt catch men.” James and
John were with Peter, and witnessed this transaction. They all were
convinced that it was folly to doubt that Jesus had divine power to
make suitable provision for all who were in his service. This faith
brought forth immediate fruit in corresponding works. “They forsook
all, and followed him.”
Approaching the city, Jesus encountered a leper. The scene which
ensued cannot be more forcibly described than in the graphic language
of Mr. Lyman Abbott:――
“In its worst forms, leprosy is alike awful in its character, and
hideous in its appearance. For years it lurks concealed in the interior
organs. Gradually it develops itself: spots of red appear upon the skin,
chiefly the face; the hair of the brows and lids and beard begins to
fall off; the eyes become fierce and staring; the voice grows hoarse
and husky, and is finally quite lost; the joints grow stiff, refuse to
fulfil their office, and drop off one by one; the eyes are eaten from
their sockets. The patient, strangely insensible to his awful condition,
suffers an apathy of mind that is scarcely less dreadful than the
condition of his body.
“Universally regarded as suffering a disease as virulent in its
contagion as in its immediate effects, the leper was shunned as one
whose fetid breath bore pestilential poison in it. Universally regarded
as bearing in his body the special marks of divine displeasure for
intolerable sin, his sufferings awoke no sympathy, but only horror.
From the moment of the first clearly-defined symptoms, the wretched man
was deliberately given over to death: he was an outcast from society.
No home could receive him. Wife and children might not minister to him.
Wherever he went, he heralded his loathsome presence by the cry,
‘Unclean, unclean!’
“Men drew one side to let him pass. Mothers snatched their children
from before his path. To touch him――the horror-stricken Jew would
sooner suffer the kiss of an envenomed serpent. No one ever thought to
proffer succor to a leper; no physician ever offered him hope of health;
no amulets could exorcise this dread visitation. A special token of
the wrath of God, only God could cure it: only repentance of sin and
the propitiation of divine wrath could afford a remedy. No hand ever
bathed the leper’s burning brow, or brought the cooling draught for
his parched lips. None ever spoke a word of sympathy to his oppressed
heart. Society had built no hospitals for the sick, no lazarettos even
for its own protection; and the leper, driven from the towns, dwelt in
dismantled dwellings, or in caves and clefts of the rock, solitary, or
in the wretched companionship of victims as wretched as himself.
“One of these unhappy sufferers had heard of the fame of Jesus. He
believed, with the hope sometimes born of desperation, in the divine
power of this new prophet; and nought but divine power could give
him relief. He disregarded alike the law which excluded him from the
city and the horror he must face to enter it, and broke through all
restraints to implore the word of healing from this inheritor of the
power of Elijah. The crowd heard his cry, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ and
opened in superstitious dread to give him passage through. He cast
himself at the feet of Jesus with the outcry of despairing imploration,
‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.’ The people had looked
on him only with horror. Jesus was moved with compassion. They had
drawn back that they might not receive the contagion of his garments.
Jesus put forth his hand to touch him. They had echoed his cry,
‘Unclean!’ Jesus said, ‘I will: be thou clean.’ And, in the instant of
that speaking, the leper felt the burning fever depart, and a new fresh
blood, healed at its fount, course through his veins.”[9]
Jesus directed the man to go directly to the priest, in accordance with
the provisions of the Mosaic law, and to obtain from him the official
testimony that he was cured, and relief from the ban which was laid
upon him as a leper. This he was to do immediately, before the priest
could learn that it was Jesus who had healed him; otherwise the priest
might refuse through prejudice to testify to the reality of the cure.
A miracle so wonderful increased the excitement which had already
attained almost the highest pitch. Such crowds flocked after Jesus,
that he found it necessary to withdraw from the city, and seek a
retreat in “desert places.” Still the multitude flocked to him from
every quarter. Luke, speaking of this his retirement, says, “He
withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” It is worthy of
special observation how much time Jesus spent in prayer.
After devoting several days in this retreat to solitude and devotion,
Jesus, in whose character the serious, thoughtful, pensive temperament
so wonderfully predominated, returned to Capernaum. The tidings spread
rapidly throughout the city. An immense concourse soon thronged the
street on which the house was situated which he had entered. Jesus
addressed the vast concourse,――the door-sill, perhaps, his pulpit,
the overarching skies his temple, and his audience a motley assemblage
crowding the pavements. Proud Pharisees and self-conceited doctors of
the law had come, drawn from the surrounding cities to the spot by the
fame of Jesus.
While Jesus was speaking, some men brought a paralytic patient on a
couch to be healed. But the concourse was so dense, that they could not
force their way through to his feet. The roof of the house was flat,
surrounded by a battlement, to prevent any one from falling off. By a
back way they entered the house, ascended to the roof, broke away a
portion of the battlement, and with cords lowered the man on his couch
down before Jesus. Palsy is often the result of an intemperate life,
of sinful habits: it is not improbable that it was so in this case. In
healing the leper, Jesus had merely said, in the exercise of his own
divine power, “I will: be thou clean.” Now, in the exercise of that
same divine power, he assumed the prerogative of forgiving sin.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son,
thy sins be forgiven thee.”
The Pharisees and the doctors of the law, offended at this assumption,
said one to another, “Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can
forgive sins but God only?
“Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your
hearts? For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee? or
to say, Arise and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy),
Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. Immediately he arose,
took up the bed, and went forth before them all.”
The amazed people exclaimed, “We have seen strange things to-day!”
Leaving the thronged city, Jesus, who seems ever to have cherished a
great fondness for the country, went out to some favorite spot upon the
shore of the lake; but the excited multitude followed him. As they were
leaving the city, Jesus saw a man named Matthew, also called Levi, the
son of Alpheus, sitting at the door of a custom-house, where he was
collecting the taxes which were levied by the Roman government. The
tax-gatherer was exceedingly unpopular with the Jews. No intimation
is given us respecting the character of Matthew, or whether he had
previously manifested any interest in Jesus. But, for some reason,
Jesus deemed him worthy of being called as one of his apostles. The
fact is announced in the brief words, “And he saith unto him, Follow
me; and he left all, rose up, and followed him.”
Matthew took Jesus to his house, and invited some of his old friends,
several of whom were tax-gatherers, and others not of religious repute,
to meet him at a feast. It would seem that there was a pretty large
party; for it is recorded,――
“Many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his
disciples; for there were many.”
The scribes and Pharisees were very indignant that Jesus should
associate with persons of such character. Jesus, hearing of their
fault-finding, replied,――
“They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
He then, by the forcible illustrations of the “new cloth on an old
garment” and “new wine in old bottles,” showed that the rigorous
observances of the old dispensation were not adapted to the freedom
and privileges of the new.
The time for the feast of the Passover had come; and Jesus, with his
disciples, took a second journey to Jerusalem. There was a pool at
Jerusalem called Bethesda, which, in the popular estimation, had at
a certain season of the year great medicinal virtues. At such times,
large numbers, suffering from every variety of disease, were brought
to the pool. Jesus saw a man there who had been utterly helpless, from
paralysis probably, for thirty-eight years. He was poor and friendless.
Sympathetically Jesus addressed him, inquiring, “Do you wish to be made
whole?” The despairing cripple replied, “Sir, I have no one, when the
water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but, while I am coming,
another steppeth down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up
thy bed, and walk.” Immediately the man was made whole.
It was the sabbath. The sanctimonious Pharisees, watching for some
accusation of Jesus, when they saw the rejoicing man in perfect health,
carrying the light mattress upon which he had reclined, in an absurd
spirit of cavilling accused him of violating the holy day by carrying
a burden. He replied, that the one who had cured him had directed
him to do so. Upon their inquiring who it was who had given him such
directions, he could only reply that he did not know. It appears that
Jesus, immediately after performing the miracle, had withdrawn.
Soon after this, Jesus met the man in the temple. It is probable that
his disorder had been brought on by intemperance and vice; for Jesus,
addressing him, said, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest
a worse thing come unto thee.” The news of this miracle rapidly spread.
The Pharisees denounced Jesus severely, assuming that he was breaking
the sabbath. Jesus had performed this miracle in his own name, as by
his own power. His remarkable reply to their accusation was, “My Father
worketh hitherto, and I work.” This astounding assertion implied his
equality with God the Father. “As my Father,” he says, “carries on the
works of providence on the sabbath, so I, his Son, have an equal right
to prosecute my labors.” The Jews were so indignant at this assumption,
that they formed a plot to slay him, “because he not only had broken
the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself
equal with God.”
Jesus did not deny the accuracy of their inference, but re-enforced it
by declaring in still stronger terms his unity with the Father: “Verily
I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth
the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the
Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things
that himself doeth. And he will show him greater works than these, that
ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth
them [gives them life], even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For
the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son;
that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He
that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.
For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment
also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this; for the hour
is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of
life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.
I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment
is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me.”
The remainder of this remarkable discourse we must here omit for want
of space. We are not informed what impression it produced upon his
auditors. Soon after this, Jesus, accompanied by some of his disciples,
in the vicinity of Jerusalem, was passing, on the sabbath, through a
field of grain. By an express statute, any one could pluck a handful of
the standing wheat as he passed. His disciples, being hungry, plucked
the ears, rubbed out the kernels in their hands, and ate them. The
cavilling Pharisees, ever watching for some offence, again complained
that Jesus was encouraging the violation of the sabbath. Jesus improved
the opportunity to show that the laws of God were intended for the
benefit of man; that David and his followers, when hungry, ate of the
show-bread, and were blameless; that the priests in the temple did not
violate the sabbath in performing a large amount of labor required by
their services. They might reply, “You are no priest, and your work is
not for the benefit of the temple.” This objection was met by the very
remarkable statement, that Jesus was Lord of the temple:――
“But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
But, if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of
man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”
These were astounding declarations for even the most exalted prophet to
make,――that he was the Son of God; that he came forth from the Father;
that whatever the Father could do, he could do; that all men were bound
to honor him even as they honored the Father.
Returning to the city, Jesus entered the synagogue. It was the sabbath
day, and the building was doubtless thronged, as, wherever Jesus now
appeared, the multitude followed. It is manifest that the masses of the
people were in sympathy with him, though the self-righteous Pharisees
and the doctors of the law sought for an opportunity of bringing
forward such accusations as should turn the tide against him. In the
synagogue there was a man with a withered hand, who had doubtless come
hoping to find Jesus and to be cured. The Pharisees watched him, to
see if he would, as they deemed it, or pretended to deem it, violate
the sabbath by doing a work of healing upon that day. Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, called upon the man to rise up and stand forth in a
conspicuous place in the presence of the whole congregation. Then,
turning to the Pharisees, he said,――
“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?” Apparently, without
waiting for an answer, he added,――
“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.”
This unanswerable argument, of course, carried with it the convictions
of the masses of the people. The Pharisees were exasperated. Jesus,
instead of assuming an air of triumph, or even feeling it, in his
inmost soul was saddened by the malignant spirit displayed by his
adversaries. “Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith
unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand; and he stretched it out, and
his hand was restored whole as the other.”
The Pharisees were so enraged in being thus baffled, that they went out
and entered into a conspiracy with the partisans of the infamous Herod
to put him to death. Jesus, who “knew their thoughts,” quietly withdrew,
and, leaving Judæa, returned to Galilee. As he travelled invariably
on foot, it was a journey, through the whole breadth of Samaria, of
several days. It is remarkable that no record of this journey is given
us, though Jesus was unquestionably healing the sick and preaching the
gospel all the way. We are simply informed by Mark,――
“A great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judæa, and from
Jerusalem, and from Idumæa, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre
and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he
did, came unto him.”
When they reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the throng became
so great, that Jesus, to avoid the pressure of the crowd, entered “a
small ship,” or boat, and pushed out a little from the shore; “for he
had healed many, insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him,
as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell
down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God!”
From the tumult of these exciting and exhausting scenes, Jesus escaped
to the solitude of a mountain near by, where, alone, he “continued all
night in prayer to God.”[10] In the morning he called his disciples to
him, and, after these long hours of prayer, “of them he chose twelve,
whom he named apostles. And he ordained twelve, 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. Now, the names of
these twelve apostles are these: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew
his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and
Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus,
and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas
Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”[11]
Accompanied by these twelve as a select and sacred band of missionaries,
and followed by the remaining band of the disciples, Jesus descended
from the mountain into one of the plains which fringed the shores
of the Galilean lake. Immediately he was surrounded with “a great
multitude of people which came to hear him and to be healed of their
diseases, and they that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were
healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him; for there went
virtue out of him, and healed them all.”
In the presence of this vast assemblage, and in a voice which
probably every one could hear, Jesus again gave full utterance to
the moral principles upon which his kingdom was to be reared. In this
extraordinary address, the same principles are enunciated which he
proclaimed in his Sermon on the Mount, which Matthew has recorded. Luke
has probably given us but an epitome of this second address. It was as
follows:――
“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are
ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger
now; for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now; for ye shall
laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and reproach you, and shall cast out
your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day,
and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
“But woe unto you that are rich! for you have received your consolation.
Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that
laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all men shall
speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them
which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek
offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to
take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him
that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that
men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them
which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that
love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank
have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of
whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to
sinners, to receive as much again.
“But love ye your enemies, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your
reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for
he is kind unto the unthankful and the evil. Be ye therefore merciful
as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:
condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be
forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, shall men give into your bosom. For with the
same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
“Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?
The disciple is not above his master; but every one that is perfect
shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the
mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam
that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! cast out first the beam out
of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote
that is in thy brother’s eye.
“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his
own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush
gather they grapes. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart,
bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man, out of the evil
treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
“And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will
show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock. And, when the flood
arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake
it; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not,
is like a man, that, without a foundation, built a house upon the earth;
against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell;
and the ruin of that house was great.”
At the close of this address, Jesus entered into Capernaum. There was
residing in the city a centurion, or captain of a band of a hundred
Roman soldiers. He had a servant who was sick, “grievously tormented,
and ready to die” of a palsy. It is probable that this centurion,
though a pagan by birth, had become a worshipper of the God of the
Jews, and was highly esteemed by the Jewish people. Immediately upon
the return of Jesus to Capernaum, the centurion repaired to the elders
of the Jews, and besought them that they would intercede with Jesus
in his behalf that he would heal his servant. They went in a body, the
centurion accompanying them.
“And, when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying,
That he was worthy for whom he should do this; for he loveth our nation,
and he hath built us a synagogue.”
Jesus, addressing the centurion, said unto him, “I will come and heal
him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest
come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be
healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I
say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh;
and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”
When Jesus saw that this Roman soldier, this Gentile, had such implicit
confidence in him as to believe that diseases were as obedient to the
command of Jesus as his own men were to his authority, he turned to his
disciples, and said unto them, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found
so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping, and
gnashing of teeth.”
Then, addressing the centurion, he said, “Go thy way; and as thou
hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” The centurion and his friends,
returning to the house, found the servant restored to perfect health.
The next day, Jesus, accompanied by his disciples and a large
concourse of the people, went to Nain, a small city among the mountains
of Galilee, about twelve miles south-west of Capernaum. “Now, when he
came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people
of the city was with her. And, when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier;
and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto
thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak; and he
delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear [awe and amazement]
on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen
up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”[12]
John the Baptist was now a prisoner in the castle of Machærus. He had
testified to the Messiahship of Jesus. The months were gliding away,
and yet Jesus was not accomplishing any thing of that which the Jews
had expected of their Messiah. He had filled Palestine with his fame as
a great prophet, performing the most astounding miracles, and preaching
with wisdom and power, which excited the admiration of his friends,
and baffled his foes. But there were no indications whatever of any
movement in the direction of driving out the Romans, and restoring the
Jews to independence in a re-established kingdom which should be the
wonder of the world. As John, from the glooms of his prison, watched
the footsteps of Jesus, he was probably disappointed and bewildered. He
began, perhaps, to doubt whether Jesus were the Messiah. He therefore
sent two of his disciples to ask of Jesus distinctly the question, “Art
thou he that should come? or look we for another?”
Instead of replying to this question, Jesus performed, in the presence
of the two disciples, a large number of very extraordinary miracles.
“He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits;
and unto many that were blind he gave sight.”
Then, addressing the messengers from John, he said, “Go your way, and
tell John what things ye have seen and heard,――how that the blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me.”
Then, apparently apprehensive that his disciples might form an
unfavorable opinion respecting John, as though he were fickle-minded,
having once declared him to be the Messiah, and then in doubt sending
to inquire if he were the Messiah, he assured them that John was not
“♦a reed shaken by the wind;” that he was not a luxurious man “clothed
in soft raiment,” who could be conquered by imprisonment; but that he
was one of the most heroic and inflexible of prophets: “among them that
are born of women there hath not risen a greater.”
Continuing his remarks, he said that the scribes and lawyers were like
capricious children invited by their playmates to join them in their
amusements, but who would play neither at weddings nor funerals. Thus
they rejected John because he was too austere, and Jesus because he was
not austere enough. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by
force.”――“I had read this passage a hundred times,” said John Randolph,
“before I perceived its real meaning,――that no lukewarm seeker can
become a true Christian.”
There were two cities, Chorazin and Bethsaida, in which Jesus had
preached his gospel and performed many miracles, and they had not
accepted his doctrine. Having enjoyed and rejected such privileges,
Jesus declared that it would be more tolerable in the day of judgment
for the heathen inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon than for them. Capernaum
also received the severest denunciation. These cities have utterly
perished: not even their ruins remain. And yet Jesus closed this
impressive discourse with the soothing words, “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 in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”[13]
Notwithstanding the severity with which Jesus denounced the Pharisees,
one of them, by the name of Simon, probably somewhat convicted of sin,
invited him to dine. Jesus promptly accepted the invitation. While
reclining upon a couch at the table, in the Oriental custom, one of the
unhappy women of the city, of notoriously bad character, overwhelmed
with remorse, came in with a box of precious ointment, and wept so
bitterly, that her tears fell upon the feet of Jesus where she knelt.
She wiped the tears off with her flowing hair, and anointed his feet
with the fragrant ointment. Jesus did not rebuke her.
The proud, self-righteous Pharisee was offended. Though he did not
venture to utter any words of reproof, he said to himself, “This man,
if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman
this is that toucheth him.” Jesus knew his thoughts, and said, in those
calm tones of authority which marked all his utterances,――
“Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other
fifty. And, when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.
Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?”
Simon replied, “I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.”
Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast rightly judged.” Then, turning to the
weeping penitent at his feet, he said, “Simon, seest thou this woman?
I entered into thy house: thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she
hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her
head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in,
hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint;
but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Her sins, which are
many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little.”
Then, turning to the woman, he said, “Thy sins are forgiven. And they
that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this
that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath
saved thee: go in peace.”
From the city of Nain, Jesus set out upon a new tour through the
cities and villages of Galilee, accompanied by his twelve apostles.
Several devoted women also accompanied them, to minister to their wants.
Mary, called Magdalene (from Magdala, the place of her residence), and
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, are specially
mentioned. It was truly a missionary tour, as Jesus “went throughout
every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the
kingdom of God.” It must have occupied several months; and yet we have
scarcely the slightest record of its events.
Upon reaching Capernaum, the throng was so great, that Jesus had no
time even to partake of food. A man, both blind and dumb, and possessed
with a devil, was brought to him; and he healed him. This led many to
inquire, “Is not this the Messiah?” It is interesting to observe how
the feelings of the people vacillated. The astounding miracles which
Jesus performed led them to believe that he must be the Messiah; and
yet he was making no movement whatever toward the establishment of
that temporal kingdom which they supposed to be the principal object
of the Messiah’s coming. The Pharisees, as a body, were growing more
and more malignant in their hostility. It was impossible for them to
deny that evil spirits were compelled to obey the bidding of Jesus.
They therefore absurdly affirmed that the devils obeyed him because he
was “Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.” It was in this connection,
when the Pharisees, wilfully withstanding the evidence of truth,
maliciously, and against the conviction of their own consciences,
accused Jesus of being the prince of devils, that he uttered the
remarkable declaration,――
“Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven
him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
The serenity with which Jesus ever alluded to the grandeur of his
own character and mission is worthy of special notice. There is no
apparent want of modesty in his speaking of himself in terms which,
from the lips of any other man, would be deemed intolerable boasting.
In the very impressive discourse uttered upon this occasion, he said,
referring to himself,――
“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and
shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas;
and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall
rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for
she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”
While he was thus speaking, he was informed that his mother, and his
brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, were standing without, and
wished to speak to him. He replied, “Who is my mother? and who are
my brethren?” Then, waving his hand towards his disciples, he added,
“Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of
my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and
mother.”
The same day on which the above transactions took place, Jesus left the
city of Capernaum, and repaired to a secluded spot upon the shores of
the lake. As usual, an immense concourse followed him. Here, addressing
listening thousands, he resumed his preaching, standing upon a boat,
while the multitude thronged the shore. It was on this occasion that
he introduced the beautiful parable of the sower. At the close, his
disciples inquired why he addressed the people in parables. His reply
was, that he did so, because that, by so speaking, honest inquirers
for the truth could easily receive it, and be benefited by it; while
cavillers, who hated the truth, and were seeking only for opportunities
to revile, had also an opportunity presented to them to develop their
own wicked natures.
He then introduced the parables of the wheat and the tares, of
the grain of mustard-seed, of the leaven. Returning to the city, he
entered a house with his twelve apostles, and there privately explained
more fully to them the significance of the parables, and added three
more,――the parable of the hidden treasure, of the one pearl, of the
net.
As the evening of this busy day approached, Jesus again sought
solitude, and requested his disciples to take him in a boat across the
lake to the eastern shore. The lake here was about six miles broad.
Slowly moving over the calm waters, it was midnight ere they reached
the middle of the lake. Suddenly a terrible tempest came sweeping down
upon them from the snowy cliffs of Mount Hermon on the north. Jesus
slept serenely amidst the surging waves, though the apparent danger
was very great. His terrified companions awoke him, saying, rather
petulantly, “Lord, save us! Carest thou not that we perish?”
Jesus, as he looked around upon the darkness and the raging waves,
rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was immediately a perfect
calm. Then, turning to his disciples, he gently chided them for their
unbelief. “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”
Notwithstanding all they had witnessed before, the disciples were
greatly impressed by this signal display of power, and said one to
another, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea
obey him?”
The eastern shore of the lake was a wild, rocky, cavernous district,
which, in olden time, had been much used as catacombs for the dead.
They had scarcely landed amidst the solitude of this inhospitable
region when two demoniacs came rushing out of the tombs to meet him. Of
one it is said, he was exceeding fierce, so that “no man could bind him;
no, not with chains; because that he had been often bound with fetters
and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the
fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always,
night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting himself with stones.”
From his lair this madman rushed upon Jesus to avenge this invasion
of his domains. But suddenly he stopped, seemed bewildered, terrified,
and, falling upon his knees, gazed upon the approaching stranger with
speechless astonishment. Calmly Jesus addressed him, saying, “Come
out of the man, thou unclean spirit!” Then ensued the following very
singular colloquy:――
The demoniac, with a loud voice, cried out, “What have I to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.”
Jesus replied, “What is thy name?”
“My name is Legion,” answered the demoniac; “for we are many.” The
devils then besought Jesus that they might not be sent out of the
country, so congenial to them, of desolation, rocks, and deserted tombs.
Upon one of the cliffs which bordered the lake there was a herd of
swine, nearly two thousand in number: “So the devils besought him,
saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of
swine.”
Jesus said unto them, “Go. And the unclean spirits went out, and
entered into the swine; and the whole herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, and were choked in the sea.”
It is, perhaps, not strange that these demons should, under the
circumstances, have conducted in a manner to us utterly inexplicable.
Certainly no attempts, thus far, to show the reasonableness of their
course, have proved successful.
The keepers of the swine fled, reporting throughout the region the
disaster which had befallen them, doubtless much more impressed by the
loss of the swine than by the restoration of their brother-man from the
possession of demons. The desolate country on this side of the lake was
inhabited by a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. As the Jews were forbidden
by their own laws to keep swine, the keepers were either engaged in
illegal business, or were Gentiles.
Not far from the scene of this miracle was the small city of Gergasa.
The report soon reached its streets. An immense multitude, “the whole
city,” flocked out “to see what was done.” They found the man, whose
maniacal fury had been the terror of the whole community, sitting calm
and peaceful, “in his right mind,” conversing with Jesus. But they
mourned the loss of the swine. Still they stood in such fear of the
power of Jesus, that they did not dare to molest him, but, with one
accord, entreated him to depart out of their coasts. Jesus responded to
their wishes by re-entering the ship, and returning to the other side
of the lake. The grateful man, who had been thus miraculously delivered
from the most awful doom, begged for permission to accompany him; but
Jesus withheld his consent, saying,――
“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”[14]
Upon the return of Jesus to Capernaum, he was received very cordially
by the people; for they had missed him, and mourned even his short
absence. The busy life of Jesus, in preaching his gospel, and in
enforcing his authority by miraculous deeds of beneficence, seems to
have engrossed every moment of his time.
Immediately upon his return to Capernaum, we find him surrounded by
an immense concourse of people, drawn together by the novelty and the
charm of his teachings. While he was addressing them, Jairus, one of
the rulers of the synagogue, came, and, falling upon his knees at the
feet of Jesus, earnestly entreated him to save his little daughter, who
was lying at the point of death. “Come, I pray thee,” said he, “and lay
thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.”
Jesus accompanied him to his house: his disciples and the crowd
followed. While on his way through the streets, a woman, afflicted
by a distressing disease, which, according to the law, was pronounced
unclean, and was deemed incurable, stealthily pressed her way through
the crowd, and, striving to avoid observation, touched the hem of his
garment; for she said within herself, “If I may but touch his garment,
I shall be whole.”
The result cannot be more impressively told than in the words of the
evangelist: “And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up;
and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus,
immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned
him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his
disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and
sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that
had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what
was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the
truth. And, when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort:
thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that
hour.”
While this scene was transpiring, a messenger came from the house of
Jairus to inform him that his daughter was dead, and that, consequently,
all hope was at an end. But Jesus spoke words of encouragement to the
grief-stricken father, saying, “Be not afraid: only believe.” They
repaired to the house. The members of the bereaved family were giving
utterance to their grief by loud weeping and wailing. Jesus gently
reproved them, intimating that he would awake her from the sleep of
death, by saying, “The maid is not dead, but sleepeth.” This assertion
only excited the derision of the unbelieving group who had gathered
around the corpse.
He ordered all to leave the death-chamber. Then, entering with the
father and mother of the child, he took the lifeless hand in his own,
and said, “Damsel, arise!” Immediately the glowing blood of health
rushed through her veins; and the daughter of twelve years rose from
her couch, to be encircled in the arms of her amazed and grateful
parents.
Thus wonder after wonder greeted the ears of the astonished citizens of
Capernaum. Returning from the house of Jairus to the dwelling, probably
the house of Peter, which he made his temporary home while in Capernaum,
he was followed by two blind men, who incessantly exclaimed, “Thou son
of David, have mercy on us!” For some unexplained reason, Jesus paid no
apparent heed to their cry. But, when he entered the house, the blind
were permitted by the multitude to crowd their way in also. Jesus then,
turning to them, said, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” They
replied, “Yea, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, and said, “According
to your faith be it unto you.” We know not why Jesus should have
enjoined it upon these blind men, as he did upon the parents of the
maiden restored to life, not to proclaim the miracle abroad. It seems
impossible that such astounding events, occurring in a crowded city, in
broad day, could be concealed, or that any advantage could be derived
from their concealment.
Jesus returned to Nazareth; but his reception by his fellow-townsmen
was not cordial. Though he performed some miracles, and taught in their
synagogue with such wisdom and authority as astonished them, still they
rather sneeringly remarked,――
“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and
his brethren, James and Joses and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are
they not all with us? Whence, then, hath this man all these things?”
Jesus seems to have been discouraged by this unbelieving spirit on
their part; for he soon left them, after healing a few of their sick,
saying in a proverbial phrase, “A prophet is not without honor save in
his own country and in his own house.”
Leaving Nazareth, he again set out upon a tour through the cities and
villages of Galilee, “teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease
among the people.”[15] The material and the spiritual wants of the
people deeply oppressed his spirit. “He was moved with compassion on
them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad as sheep having
no shepherd.” In view of this moral desolation, he called his twelve
chosen apostles around him, and said to them,――
“The harvest truly is plenteous; but the laborers are few. Pray ye,
therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers
into his harvest.”
He then, having endowed them with miraculous powers that they might
cast out devils and cure diseases, sent them forth two and two “to
preach the kingdom of God.” In preparation for the privations and toils
before them, he addressed them in the following memorable words:――
“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, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is
at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils. Freely have ye received; freely give. Provide neither gold nor
silver nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither
two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of
his meat.
“And, into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it
is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And, when ye enter into
a house, salute it. And, if the house be worthy, let your peace come
upon it; but, if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And
whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart
out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I
say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the
day of judgment than for that city.
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye,
therefore, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men:
for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you
in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings
for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But, when
they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it
shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not
ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
“And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father
the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and
cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my
name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But, when
they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say
unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son
of man be come.[16]
“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant
as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,
how much more shall they call them of his household! Fear them not,
therefore; for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and
hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak
ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the
house-tops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore: ye are of more value than
many sparrows. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him
will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven; but whosoever
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in heaven.
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes shall be they of his own
household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy
of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy
of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is
not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that
loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
“He that receiveth you receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth
Him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet
shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man
in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones[17] a
cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto
you, He shall in no wise lose his reward.”
Thus commissioned to an enterprise of toil, poverty, deprivation, and
suffering, these apostles of Jesus went forth to preach the gospel of
Christ throughout the land. Jesus also “departed thence to teach and to
preach in their cities.”