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before me. and walk.

Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked; and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto sabbath day, it is not He answered them, He

him that was cured, It is the lawful for thee to carry thy bed. that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and and walk. And he that was healed wist not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, makingʻ himself equal with God.

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, 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 sheweth him all things that himself doeth and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; 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 honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.* Verily, verily, I say unto you, He

* With the miracle now recorded, and the utterance of these sentiments recording his essential unity and equality with the Father, our Lord's Judean ministry came to a close. Up to this time his preaching in Jerusalem was tolerated, but now the enmity of the Jews was aroused and openly manifested. This

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.

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man; but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you; for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name,

becomes therefore his last appeal to them to receive him as the Messiah, and as such has special significance and force. Ellicott well terms it "the turning point in the Gospel history."

him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Lev. xxiv.

9-19.

9.

SECT. II. THE DISCIPLES PLUCK EARS OF CORN ON
THE SABBATH.

(MATT. xii. MARK ii. LUKE Vi.)

ON THE WAY TO GALILEE, April, 28 A.D.

And it came to pass on the second sabbath* after the first, that Jesus went through the corn fields; and his disciples being hungered, began as they went, to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat, rubbing them in their hands. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, in the days of Abia

1 Sam.xxi.1-6 thar the high priest,† and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, Num. xxviii. but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the Law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 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 sacriHosca vi. 6. fice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. And he

* That is probably the first sabbath after the second day of the passover, or of the feast of unleavened bread, the first of the seven sabbaths reckoned between the passover and the feast of Pentecost. Christ evidently left Jerusalem very abruptly immediately after the observance of the feast. The circumstances connected with the walk through the corn-fields are supposed to prove that a passover had just been celebrated, the harvest beginning immediately after that feast was over. † Abiathar was not the high priest, but his father Ahimelech, at the period referred to. As, however, Abiathar succeeded his father, the discrepancy is easily removed.

said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. For the Son of man is Lord even of

the sabbath day.

SECT. III. A MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND HEALED

ON THE SABBATH.

(MATT. xii. MARK iii. LUKE VI.)

CAPERNAUM

And it came to pass, also, on another sabbath,* when he was departed thence, that he entered into the synagogue and taught. And, behold, there was a man there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him whether he would heal on the sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose, and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, 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? But they held their peace.

And he said unto them, 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. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees were filled with madness; and straightway they went out and communed one with another, and with the Herodians, how they might destroy Jesus.†

* One would suppose, from the statement of Matthew, that this incident occurred on the same sabbath as the preceding. Some time, however, must have intervened for the journey.

The Herodians were political Jewish adherents of Herod Antipas, and, as such, maintained in opposition to the Pharisees the propriety of yielding obedience and tribute to the Roman government, from whom Herod derived his authority. The conspiracy of the Pharisees follows the miracle of the healing of the withered hand, in the accounts of the three first Evangelists.

SECT. IV. PARTIAL CIRCUIT BY THE SEA OF TIBERIAS.

(MATT. xii. MARK iii.)

But when Jesus heard it, he withdrew himself from thence, with his disciples to the sea,* and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, 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. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 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. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Is. xlii. 1-3. Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

SECT. V. THE TWELVE APOSTLES CHOSEN.†
(MATT. X. MARK iii. LUKE vi.)

And it came to pass in those days that he went up into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Jesus withdrew from those parts where violence against him might be committed, and retired to the sea of Tiberias; great multitudes following him, not only from northern Galilee, the usual scene of his ministry, but also from Judea and Idumea on the south, from beyond Jordan on the east, and from Tyre and Sidon on the west. A short circuit was made round the borders of the lake, in which probably some five or six weeks would be occupied.

The appointment of the twelve follows, according to both Mark and Luke. Hitherto they were merely disciples, or followers of Christ from place to place, but now they are consecrated to a great work, and formed into a body distinct from the rest. They were appointed to be witnesses of Christ's miracles. to be always with him, to be witnesses of his resurrection, and ultimately to be the founders of the kingdom he came to introduce and set up on earth. Momentous issues depended upon the appointment of the twelve, and Jesus proceeds to it after prayer, and with much solemnity.

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