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when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

SECT. XIX. JESUS RETURNS TO NAZARETH, AND MAKES A THIRD CIRCUIT OF GALILEE.*

(MATT. ix. and xiii. MARK vi.)

And Jesus went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue : and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, and the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were

Some have supposed it very unlikely that Christ would pay a second visit to Nazareth after the reception already met with, and that incidents so similar should have again occurred. With Stier, Greswell, Robinson, and others, I think the long-suffering of Jesus beautifully illustrated by the fact that he did so, and I cannot see how this visit can be identified with the one previously recorded (Part 3, Section ix. ). It does not appear that Jesus ever afterwards visited the country where he had been brought up.

scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

SECT. XX. THE MISSION OF THE TWELVE

heaven is at hand.

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Then Jesus called his twelve disciples together, and sent them forth by two and two; and he gave them power and authority over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And Jesus commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for

my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another : for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not

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his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. And the disciples departed, and went through the towns preaching that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

SECT. XXI. DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.* (MATT. xiv. MARK VI. LUKE ix.)

30th March, 29 A.D.

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and of all that was done by him (for his name was spread abroad); and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some that John was risen from the dead, and of some that Elias had appeared, and of others that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist. He is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. And he desired to see him.

For when Herod's birthday was kept, he made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee and

* While the twelve were absent preaching, John was beheaded by Herod. As no long interval seems to have elapsed between the giving of the command and its execution, it is supposed that Herod's feast was held at Macherus, or in some summer palace near. Divine judgment shortly afterwards overtook Herod for his wicked deed. He and Herodias were driven from the kingdom; and while he died in banishment at Lyons in France, it is related that Salome, who proffered the fatal request, falling into a pond covered with ice, was beheaded by the ice again suddenly closing.

when the daughter of Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, the saying, I will that thou give me by and by, in a charger, head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel : and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb, and went and told Jesus.

SECT. XXII. THE RETURN OF THE TWELVE, AND RETIREMENT TO THE DESERT OF BETHSAIDA.

(MATT. xiv. MARK Vi. LUKE ix. JOHN vi.)

And the apostles, when they were returned, gathered themselves unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And he departed thence by ship, and went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias, and withdrew privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.*

And the people saw them departing: and a great multitude knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him, because they

* Bethsaida was a town on the north-eastern side of the lake of Gennesaret, its distance from Capernaum by sea being about two and a half miles. It was in the dominions of Philip. This is perhaps the first instance of all the gospels uniting to narrate the same history."

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