now told them that the prophecy concerning the coming of Elias as the forerunner of the Messiah had been fulfilled in the history of John the Baptist. (Mat. xvii. 10-13; Mark ix. 11-13.) Having descended from the mountain, our Lord effected the cure of a youthful demoniac, which the disciples whom He had left behind had in vain endeavoured to perform -a failure which He expressly ascribed to their want of faith. (Mat. xvii. 14-21; Mark ix. 14-29; Luke ix. 37-42.)

Returned to Capernaum, our Lord found occasion to rebuke His disciples, who had been contending_among themselves for precedence; and, taking a little child, He placed him in the midst of them, giving them to understand that the disciple of the most humble and child-like spirit is to be regarded as greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat. xviii. 1-6; Mark ix. 33-37; Luke ix. 46-48.)

It was about this time that our Lord instructed St. Peter to pay the tribute-money (i. e. the Temple tribute of half a shekel, represented in value by the Greek didrachm), on His account as well as for himself; and, having directed him to cast a hook into the sea, and to take the fish that should first come up, He told him that he would find a piece of money (a stater) in the mouth of the fish, which 3s. 3d.) would pay the tribute for both parties (1s. 71⁄2d. each). (Mat. xvii. 24–27.)

=

ELEMENTARY AND GENERAL QUESTIONS.

991. Describe the miracle wrought by our Lord at the pool of Bethesda, during His second public visit to Jerusalem.

992. Name, and particularise, the twelve disciples whom our Lord selected as Apostles.

993. What is the meaning of the word Apostle?

994. State the substance of the Sermon on the Mount, from Matt. v.-vii.

995. What miracles did our Saviour perform immediately after the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount ?

996. Describe the raising of the widow's son at Nain.

997. What did our Saviour say, when told that His mother and brethren desired to speak with Him?

998. State particulars concerning the miraculous cures wrought on-the paralytic--the man with a withered hand-the infirm woman.

999. Relate and interpret the parable of the Great Supper.

1000. State our Saviour's vindication of His disciples for plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath, and for neglect of traditional ablutions before meals. 1001. Relate particulars concerning the temporary mission of the Apostles in Galilee, and their return.

1002. Describe our Saviour's miracle of feeding the five thousand, near Bethsaida (Julias).

1003. When did our Lord come to His disciples, walking on the water? Relate the circumstances connected with that event.

1004. Describe St. Peter's two professions of faith in Christ, first at Capernaum, and afterwards near Cæsarea Philippi.

1005. Relate and interpret the parable of the Unjust Steward.

1006. To what region did our Saviour repair after He had passed through the

northern part of Palestine ?

1007. Relate the interview of our Saviour with the woman of Canaan (SyroPhoenician), and the miraculous cure of her daughter.

1008. Describe the miraculous feeding of the four thousand.

1009. Give an account of our Saviour's Transfiguration.

1010. What miracle did our Lord perform after His descent from the Mount of

Transfiguration?

1011. How did our Saviour reprove the contention among His disciples for pre

cedence?

1012. Relate the circumstances connected with our Lord's payment of tribute

money.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1013. Describe the situation of the pool of Bethesda.

1014. What is the meaning of the word Bethesda ?

1015. How do you account for the number of the Apostles-twelve?

1016. Where did our Lord probably deliver the discourse commonly called the Sermon on the Mount?

1017. Where was Nain? Describe the locality.

1018. Describe the several localities of the two Bethsaidas.

1019. What is the meaning of the word Bethsaida?

1020. Relate the substance of our Saviour's discourse at Capernaum, occasioned

by the miraculous feeding of the five thousand.

1021. Where was Cæsarea Philippi? By whom was it so called, and why? What was its original name?

1022. How did our Lord fulfil His promise to St. Peter, Upon this rock I will build My church? '

1023. How is it that a Syro-Phoenician woman was also called a woman of Canaan ?

1024. Where did our Saviour's Transfiguration probably take place?

1025. State the nature and amount of the tribute-money paid by our Lord for Himself and St. Peter.

CHAPTER XLVI.

CONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.-THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.-RETURN TO GALILEE.-JOURNEY THROUGH SAMARIA.-FEAST OF DEDICATION.-RETIREMENT TO EPHRAIM.

HAVING remained some time in Galilee, our Lord went up to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles; where He chose to appear suddenly about the middle of the feast. On this occasion He held several public discourses in the Templevindicating the Divine authority of His teaching, declaring His power to give the Holy Spirit as a fountain of true life in the soul of man (comp. p. 133), proclaiming Himself the Light of the World, and exposing the false reliance of the Jews on their

national descent from Abraham without being partakers of the patriarch's faith. Your father Abraham,' said He, 'rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham_was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the Temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.' (John vii. and viii.)

Our

At this time, the Sanhedrim appears to have taken its first resolution, and perhaps passed its first decree, against our Saviour; forbidding any person to recognise Jesus as the Christ, under penalty of excommunication. And the hostility of the Pharisees was increased by the miraculous cure of a man born blind, which our Lord performed, in opposition to their prejudices, on the Sabbath day. This cure was effected in the following manner. Our Lord 'spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.' On this occasion, the wickedness, and especially the hypocrisy, spiritual blindness, and arrogance, of the leading men among the Jews appeared in strong contrast with the simplicity, truthfulness, and spiritual discernment of the poor man who had received the cure. Lord now proclaimed Himself, in contradistinction to all false guides and unfaithful teachers (thieves and hirelings), as the true shepherd of the sheep and door of the sheep-fold; at the same time declaring that, in obedience to the will of the Father, He was about to lay down His life for His sheep-and intimating the calling of the heathen, in those remarkable words, 'Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold [Gr. one flock], and one shepherd.' (John ix.-x. 18.) After these things our Saviour returned again, for the last time, to Capernaum. His final sojourn in this place was short, for He determined to go up to Jerusalem at the ensuing Feast of Dedication (p. 316), which would take place in December. He had resolved to travel from Galilee through Samaria,* and it was probably now that He selected seventy of His disciples,t and sent them two and two, before Him, armed with power to heal the sick, in order to prepare the minds of men, in several places through which He was about to pass, for His own teach*[Instead, that is, of taking the longer road through Peræa.] † Some place this event before the Feast of Tabernacles.

ing. Before He dismissed them on this journey, He gave them a special charge concerning their own conduct and prospects; and uttered a severe denunciation on the towns of Galilee, which He was now about to quit, for their poor reception of of His ministry among them. When the seventy returned with a favourable report of their proceedings, He announced to them the approaching overthrow of Satan's kingdom, which, He thankfully declared, would be effected by means of feeble instruments; and at the same time He warned them against indulging personal vanity at the success of their ministrations. (Luke x. 1-24.) It is perhaps to this period of our Saviour's ministry that we may refer His parables of the Good Samaritan (Luke x. 25–37)—the building of a Tower, the King making War (Luke xiv. 28-33)—the Sacrificial Salt (Mark ix. 49, 50)* -the Treasure hid in a field, and the Pearl of great price t (Matt. xiii. 44-46).

To this period also we may probably refer the following incident, together with the important lesson which our Saviour founded on it: 'One of the company said unto Him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And He said unto him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you? And He said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do; I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall these things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up trea

* An attentive perusal of these parables in the sacred text will, for the most part, easily disclose their meaning. But the parable of the Sacrificial Salt is obscure. Perhaps the following explanation is correct. Fire is the symbol of the Divine purity and presence; our God is a consuming fire, not only to His foes, but to His people :-but in them the fire shall only burn up what is impure, and requires purifying out. (1 Cor. iii. 13; 1 Pet. i. 7; iv. 12, 17.) This very fire shall be to them as a preserving salt. The SALT of the covenant of God (Lev. ii. 13) was to be mixed with every sacrifice; and it is with fire that all men are to be salted. If this fire, which is to purify and act as a preserving salt to you, have, from the nullity and vapidity of the grace of the covenant in you no such power, it can only consume; the salt has lost its savour-the covenant is voidyou will be cast out, as it is elsewhere added-and the fire will be no longer the fire of purification but of wrath eternal.'-ALFORD on Mark ix. 49, 50.

+ But it is not improbable that these parables were delivered in Judea,

A A

sure for himself, and is not rich towards God.' (Luke xii. 13-21.)

We now find our Saviour giving many precise instructions concerning the nature of that kingdom of God which He came to establish among mankind-a kingdom which was in fact manifested by His own appearance, with His holy life and conduct, and the progress of which among men He illustrated by His parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven (Luke xiii. 18-21; comp. Matt. xiii. 31-33; Mark iv. 30-32)—which are of nearly the same import as that of the Growing and Ripening Grain. (Mark iv. 26-30.)

It was now also that our Lord foretold the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, and the solemnities of the Day of Judgment; at the same time exhorting His disciples to a thoughtful obser vation of the signs of the times, and to constant watchfulness. (Luke xii. 35-59; xiii. 1-9, 24-30; xvii. 20-37.) And to this period we may refer the parables of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke xvi. 10-31)-and of the Importunate Widow (Luke xviii. 1-8). Some place here Luke xviii. 9-14.

It was during this journey through Samaria that our Lord rebuked the spirit of James and John, who suggested the punishment of certain people of the country on account of their want of hospitality (Luke ix. 52–56);* and that, after having healed Ten Lepers, He commended the gratitude of the one (a Samaritan) who returned to give Him thanks, in contrast with the unthankfulness of the nine who made no acknowledgment. (Luke xvii. 11-19.)

Concerning this last journey of Jesus from Galilee through Samaria, it is emphatically said, 'when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem' (Luke ix. 51); an expression obviously denoting great fixedness of purpose, together with a solemn conviction of the important events which would attend its accomplishment. The Feast of Dedication found our Saviour in Jerusalem. Here the hostility of the Jews was greatly inflamed against Him on occasion of a discourse which He held while walking in the Temple, in Solomon's Porch; and although He escaped from their attempt to take Him, yet, resolving not to expose Himself prematurely to their malice, He retired for safety to Peræa, i. e. the country beyond, sc. Jordan. (John x. 22–40.)

During our Lord's brief sojourn in this locality, many persons resorted to Him for instruction, and many even believed on Him. (John x. 41, 42.) Here it was that He resolved a ques

*It has been thought that, in consequence of this inhospitable treatment, our Lord crossed the Jordan, and travelled through Perea. (Mat. xix. 1; Mark x. 1.)