look we for another? And in the same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, 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.

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to Christ's testimony to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into John. the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, Mal. iii. 1. I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist : but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, Mal. ix. 5. which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of The Jews rethis generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto impenitence proached for children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and unbelief. and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Christ's invitation to

Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O come to him. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Come unto me, all ye that labour 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.

SECT. X. JESUS ANOINTED IN THE PHARISEE'S

HOUSE.* (LUKE Vii.)

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat

*The invitation of the Pharisee is thought by some to have had reference to the words just spoken, "The Son of man is come eating and drinking ;" and the subsequent incident to have had reference to the free and gracious invitation Christ had just given. Hence the order of the passage. There is no ground for identifying the repentant sinner here spoken of with Mary Magdalene, who, though the victim of Satanic influence, and that in a fearful and aggravated form (Luke viii. 2), need not necessarily be considered guilty of the sins of impurity. And those have fallen into an equally groundless error who identify this anointing with another towards the close of Christ's earthly life.

down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment. And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 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 answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine 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. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, 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.

The Roman coin (denarius) here and elsewhere translated " penny" is in value about 74d. of our money. 500 pence would be about 15 guineas of our money; and 50, about a guinea and a half. The incivility of the Pharisee is beautifully contrasted with the respectful attention of the woman who rendered the customary tokens of hospitality and welcome, which the other had neglected. Love, as the effect and evidence of forgiveness, occasioned the difference displayed in the conduct and reception.

His relations seek to restrain him.

SECT. XI. JESUS MAKES A SECOND CIRCUIT IN
GALILEE.*

(LUKE Viii. MARK iii.)

And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene,† out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. And they went into an house. And the multitude cometh together again so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him for they said, He is beside himself.

Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David? But when the Pharisees and scribes, who had come down from Jerusalem, heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand : and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? there

The fact of the second circuit rests on the single authority of Luke. Ellicott supposes that it only lasted a day or two; but as, the language employed seems to imply a circuit of considerable duration, perhaps four or five weeks would be much nearer the truth.

†This Mary belonged to Magdala, a town in Galilee beyond Jordan. She is so called to distinguish her from three other Marys mentioned in the gospelsthe mother of Jesus, the wife of Alpheus, and the sister of Lazarus.

fore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And 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.* Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

:

SECT. XIII. THE PHARISEES SEEK A SIGN.†

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

GALILEE.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees, tempting him, answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from

* Many harmonists consider that Luke xi. should be taken in here with Matt. xii. ; but it seems more probable, from the context in both, that similar remarks were made at different times. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost consists in the wilful malice of those who withstand the evidence of truth, who will not acknowledge the miracles of Christ to be wrought by the finger of God, but maliciously impute them to the prince of darkness. Those, therefore, become guilty of the same crime who oppose the doctrine and servants of Christ, because they have the Spirit appearing in them, acting contrary to undoubted truth and their own convictions.

†The scribes and Pharisees had come down from Jerusalem to watch Christ's proceedings, and excite enmity against him in Galilee.