out, saying, Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. (39) And those who were in front reproved him, that he should be silent; but he cried out much more, saying, Son of David, have pity on me. (40) And Jesus stood still, and commanded that he should be brought to him. (41) And when he drew nigh, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do for thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. (42) And Jesus said to him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee. (43) And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, praising God; and all the people who saw it gave praise to God.

$243. Two separate cases of healing are here related; one by Mark and Luke, and the other by Matthew. Jesus did not remain the whole time in the town, after entering it, and claiming the hospitality of Zacchæus; but he went out several times to instruct the people; and it was on these occasions that Jesus performed the cures by the sole action of his will, and by his magnetic power. He had no need to touch the eyes of the blind men; but he did so to show his disciples how to act in similar cases.

When Jesus cured the other blind man, Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, by merely saying, "Depart, thy faith hath saved thee;" he desired to make a strong impression on the multitude by exhibiting his power to men, and showing them how much sincere and ardent faith may hope for from the protection and mercies of the Lord. O men, blind of heart and intellect, have faith, and exclaim, "Lord, let our eyes be opened ;" and you will recover your moral and spiritual sight; say with faith, "Master, make me to see," and you shall see; for the spiritual light shall enlighten the darkness around you, and cast its radiance on the straight and certain road which lies before you.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXI.-VERSES 1-17. MARK, CHAP. XI.-VERSES 1-11, 15-19. LUKE, CHAP. XIX.-VERSES 28-48.

Entry of Jesus into Ferusalem-The Temple CleansedProphecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem.

Matth. xxi. (1) And when they drew nigh to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, (2) Saying to them, Go into the village opposite us, and immediately you will find an ass bound, and a foal with her; loose them and bring them to me. (3) And if any one shall ask you anything, say, The Lord hath need of them; and immediately he will send them. (4) And all this

was done that the word through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, (5) Tell the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh to thee, mild and mounted upon an ass, and a foal, the offspring of a beast of burden. (6) And the disciples went and did as Jesus had commanded them. (7) They led the ass and the foal, and they laid their garments upon them, and he sat upon them. (8) And the great multitude spread their garments in the way, and others cut young branches from the trees, and scattered them on the road. (9) And the multitudes going before and behind cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (10) And when he came into Jerusalem, all the city was disturbed, saying, Who is this? (11) And the multitudes said, This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. (12) And Jesus came into the Temple of God, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves. (13) And saith to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a robber's cave. (14) And the blind and lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. (15) And the chief priests and scribes seeing the wonders which he performed, and the children shouting in the Temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, were angry, and said to him, (16) Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith to them, Yea; hast thou never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? (17) And he left them behind, and came out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

Mark xi. (1) And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sends two of his disciples, (2) And says to them, Go into the village opposite us, and just as you are entering it, you will find a foal bound, upon which no man has sat; loose him and bring him. (3) And if any one shall say to you, Why do you do this? you shall say, The Lord hath need of him; and immediately he will send him here. (4) And they went and found the foal tied at the door, outside in the street, and they loose him. (5) And some of those standing by said to them, What do ye, loosing the foal? (6) And they said to them as Jesus had commanded; and they let them go. (7) And they led the foal to Jesus, and laid their garments on it, and seated him on it. (8) And many spread their garments in the way, and others cut branches from the trees, and scattered them in the road. (9) And those going before and following after, cried out, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (10) Blessed is the kingdom coming in the name of the Lord, of our father David, Hosanna in the highest. (11) And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the Temple, and having looked round on all things, and evening being already come, he came out to Bethany with the twelve. (15) And they come to Jerusalem, and Jesus coming into the Temple began to cast out those who sold and bought in the Temple, and he overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves. (16) And would not permit that any one should carry any utensil through the Temple. (17) And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations? but you have made it a robber's cave. (18) And the Scribes and Pharisees heard it, and sought how they might destroy him, for they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching. (19) And when it was late, he went out of the city.

Luke xix. (28) And saying these things, he departed thence, going up to Jerusalem. (29) And it came to pass that when they drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, and to the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, (30) Go into the village opposite, and as you are entering, you will find a foal bound, upon which no man has ever sat; loose him, and bring him. (31) And if any one should ask you saying, Why do ye loose him? you shall say thus, The Lord has need of him. (32) And the messengers went and found it as he had said to them. (33) And while they were loosing the foal, his masters said to them, Why do you loose the foal? (34) And they said, The Lord has need of him. (35) And they led him to Jesus, and casting their garments on the foal, they mounted Jesus thereon. (36) And as he was going, they strewed their garments on the road. (37) And as they were drawing near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, all the multitude of the disciples began to rejoice, and to praise God with a loud voice on account of all the great works which they had seen, saying, (38) Blessed is the King who cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. (39) And certain of the Pharisees among the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. (40) And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should be silent, the stones would cry out. (41) And as they drew near, seeing the city, he lamented over it, saying, (42) If thou also hadst known, and in this thy day, the things which are for thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes. (43) For the days shall come upon thee that thy enemies shall cast a rampart round thee, and encompass and distress thee on every side; (44) And shall raze thee to the ground, and thy children in thee, and shall not leave in thee stone upon stone; because thou knewest not the time of thy punishment. (45) And coming into the Temple, he began to cast out those who bought and sold therein, (46) Saying to them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but you have made it a robber's cave. (47) And he was teaching daily in the Temple. And the chief priests and scribes, and the leading people sought to destroy him. (48) And could not find how they should do it, for all the people crowded round him to hear him.

$244. The general lesson here is that of the humility of Jesus. His entry was made triumphant by the enthusiasm awakened by his virtues, but it was not accompanied by any pomp or luxury. It was as simple and modest as the morality which he preached, and taught by his own example.

Do not trouble yourselves about the discrepancies between the narratives relating to the manner in which Jesus was mounted; for they do not affect any important facts. The ass was chosen, because it was the poor man's steed; and a young animal which had never been mounted was chosen to show that the most intractable could easily be brought beneath the Master's yoke.

Jesus drove the traders from the Temple. O Jesus, what

hast thou to do in places where everything is trafficked in; where gold dazzles the eyes, buys prayer and pardon, redeems crime, and makes a vile merchandise of the blessings of the Lord!

Jesus said, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a robber's cave." These words signify, "Despise those who sell pardon and mercies, and impose upon credulity and ignorance; for they steal when they sell to others what they do not even possess themselves."

All the disciples who were preceding or following Jesus in the crowd, cried "Hosanna!" O let your voices rise towards the Lord, and they will stifle the repinings of earth! Hosanna to him who brings peace to the weak and lowly, and humbles the pride of the proud and arrogant!

(Matth. xxi. 1-7; Mark xi. 1-7; Luke xix. 28–35.)— We have often told you that the Gospel narratives complete each other. The she-ass was with the foal, which followed its mother. Jesus mounted the foal, but although he needed the foal only, he told his disciples to bring them both; for the traditions and prophecies were to be connected with the events of the Messianic era. Mark and Luke spoke only of

the ass which served for the steed of the King who made his entry into Jerusalem. As regards the foreknowledge of Jesus of what would pass between his disciples and the owners, you must remember his origin and superior mission; and that everything was prepared beforehand by incarnations for his requirements. His prevision was due to the same cause as his knowledge of the hearts of men; he was always a spirit, under the human appearance which he had assumed for the purposes of his mission. Prevision can only take place with you under the medianimic influence of your guides, so long as you suffer material incarnation as it exists at present among your humanity; and this will be the case until matter becomes so subtle that the spirit can free itself from its bonds. The owners of the asses allowed them to be taken away. They were influenced by their guides, and yielded to their unconscious inspiration, without knowing

exactly why. Jesus knew beforehand that everything would happen thus. He knew the spirits who were incarnated to aid in the fulfilment of his mission; their degree of advancement, and their obedience to the inspirations of their guides.

(Matth. xxi. 4, 5 *Isaiah lxii. 1, 2, 11; Zachariah ix. 9.)-The words of the Evangelist and the Prophets were only to be explained in spirit and in truth by the New Revelation. Under the veil of the letter, they contain an allusion to the spiritual position of Jesus. Your King has come among you, for God has appointed him the ruler of your planet, and the director of its progress, and of that of your humanity.

(Matth. xxi. 8, 9; Mark xi. 8, 9; Luke xix. 36-38.)— The crowd around Jesus chose words of praise and allegiance which were awakened in their minds by the influence of the spirits of the Lord.

(Luke xix. 39, 40.)-This manifestation must have taken place; and if men had exerted their free-will to oppose it, the spirits who surrounded the Master would have caused voices to be heard singing the praises of him who was the Son of David, in the eyes of men.

(Luke xix. 41-44.)-The words of Jesus concerning the fate which awaited Jerusalem were prophetic, for they were in accordance with events to come. Jesus alluded to these events to impress the minds of men when the events themselves should be fulfilled. These words were also allegorical, in a spiritual point of view, relative to the children of Jerusalem, and as indicating, under a veil, the fate reserved for spirits who rebel against the voice of the Saviour. You know that the guilty man who has failed in his experiences must expiate his offences; and the faults of one incarnation often react upon many succeeding ones. This is why Jerusalem would have to weep over her obduracy; for the rebellious spirits who were her sons would be forced to expiate their crimes and wilful blindness.

Compare also John xi. 14, 15.