10. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel. 11. 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. 12. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Here the great truth is laid open, which the Jews were so unwilling to receive, and which only a special vision led even Peter to acknowledge, that "in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." (Acts x. 35.) The reason why it should be so, that the children of the kingdom should be cast out, is plain from the history which tells us that it was so. The book of Acts is full of examples. One will suffice; (Acts xiii. 45, 46;)" When the Jews saw the multitudes" saw how many were come from the east and west, in order to listen to the words of the God of " Abraham and Isaac and Jacob"-" they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves upon 4 He marvelled. The evangelist speaks of the impression which our Lord's manner had those who stood by: he had the appearance of surprise. But "he knew what was in man,” and required no outward proof of it. unworthy of everlasting life, lo! we turn to the Gentiles." Thus many of the Gentiles became partakers of the patriarchs' faith, and shall hereafter be partakers of their resurrection; whilst the children of the kingdom closed the door of everlasting life against themselves. How grievous is it, whether through prejudice, as here, or, as too often, through worldly lusts and cares, when men "put from them the word of God," "which is able to make them wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus!" 13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self same hour. What is here said to the centurion, is applicable to all, at all times. The language of the gospel is, As thou hast believed, "according to thy faith," so be it done unto thee. According to our faith in the Divine Word, and in Him whom that word makes known to us, so will it be with us all. May He who sees every heart and knows what is the faith of every individual, may He give us that true faith on which the promise of everlasting life depends! Mark i. 29-33. LECTURE XX. ANSWERS TO THE SCRIBE AND THE DISCIPLE.- MATT. viii. 14-27. 14. And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. 15. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 16. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils; and he cast out the spirits, with his word, and healed all that were sick : 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. 1 He himself took our infirmities. Such was "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich." ន He bare our sicknesses. He bare our diseased nature, that he might heal it of that mortal disease, its sinfulness. And now, by restoring the bodies of men, he gave an earnest of the recovery of their souls. The apostle Peter, when he alludes to the same 1 Isaiah iii. 4. Truly he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 22 Cor. viii. 9. passage of Isaiah, deduces from it the inference which ought never to be absent from our minds. "He bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto right 18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he Luke ix. gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19. And a certain scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 21. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22. And Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. Two replies are here given of a very different tenor; and without doubt, were each adapted to the peculiar case which called them forth. In one case, the Scribe is admonished to "sit down first and count the cost," before he undertook to follow Jesus whithersoever he went. He, we may conclude, was of an ardent and sanguine temperament; and there was danger, lest, though he "received the word with joy," he should "have no root in himself," and "when tribulation or persecution 31 Pet. ii. 24. The spiritually dead. By this awful term those are described, who are "dead in trespasses and sins." A sentence in St. John represents at once both their state and the means of their recovery. "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.”—John v. 25. 57-62. arose because of the word, by and bye, he should be offended." Let him therefore consider first, whether he was prepared to "take up his cross, and deny himself," and so come after Jesus; whether he would forego all present reward, all hope of ease and comfort for the sake of future glory. The Disciple, on the contrary, needed excitement rather than caution. He could not be trusted among those whom he would have found at home. Therefore our Lord says to him: Let the dead bury their dead: leave those who are naturally dead, and whose state cannot now be changed, to the care of those who are spiritually dead, and will not be roused to seek a heavenly kingdom. Thou hast a peculiar and important call: "Go thou and preach the kingdom of God." 5 The lesson, then, which is to be derived from these words, is-that the soul, whether our own or of others, is a treasure so precious, that the securing its welfare is in all circumstances the "one thing needful." No one can imagine that our Lord was indifferent to filial duties. We know that from the cross itself, he provided for the com. fort of his own parent's declining years; saying to "the disciple whom he loved, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." But in the case of this person, his wisdom foresaw, that if he returned to his own family, he might be entangled in an inextricable snare. Therefore it was one of those instances where even father and mother were to be left for the sake of the kingdom of heaven :--where he 5 This is added in Luke ix. 60. |