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other families that had gone for the same purpose, Jesus remained behind. His parents did not miss him till the end of the day; for as he was amiable, and beloved by all who knew him, they supposed that he was among some of their friends and acquaintances on the road; but not hearing anything of him, they became uneasy, and went back the next day to Jerusalem, and it was not till the third day that they found him. But where was he? Not in bad company, for he never stood in the way of sinners; nor was he at play, for he was of an age to learn, and he was improving his time, and getting knowledge from the doctors of the temple. The teachers of the law were used to instruct the young there, and they were allowed to ask any questions they pleased, for the purpose of learning. Jesus had, therefore, placed himself at their feet, and was "both hearing them and asking them questions." "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers."

His parents wondered to find what he was about, and to see how much he was approved. And his mother gently chided him for having given them so much alarm for his safety; but he replied, "Wist ye not," or, know ye not, "that I was about my Father's business," or, " in my Father's house?" His mother remembered this and other sayings, and waited to see what more wonderful would happen as he should grow up to become a man.

So they returned to Nazareth, and there he lived obedient to his parents, and growing in favour "both with God and men;" his behaviour, says the pious Dr. Doddridge, "being not only remarkably religious, but so benevolent and obliging as to gain the favour and affection of all that were about him."

You will observe that most of these interesting facts about the birth and early days of Jesus Christ, are not mentioned by the Evangelists Matthew and Mark, and are therefore given by Luke.

Christ persecuted at Nazareth.

LUKE III, IV.

We shall now glance at some other matters mentioned by this Evangelist which have not been before noticed, and run through many chapters.

Luke tells us the exact time when John the Baptist made his first public appearance. It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea; and, as the dominions of Herod the Great had been divided after his death, Herod Antipas, one of his sons, was tetrarch of Galilee, or governor of that fourth of his dominions; and his brother Philip, tetrarch of another fourth part, which was the region of Ituraa and Trachonitis,—the name which was now given to the tract of land on the other side of Jordan, which had formerly belonged to the tribe of Manasseh,-and Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene, a fair city of Syria, whose territories reached even to Lebanon and Damascus, and were peopled with great numbers of Jews. At that time, also, Annas and Caiaphas were high priests,—not that there were two real high priests, for the Jews had but one at a time, but one was high priest, and the other assisted him in his office, and so was high priest, as we call it, by courtesy, having the name often given to him without the right to it.

The third chapter contains a long list of names, like the first chapter of St. Matthew. They are, however, reversed in their order, and somewhat different, but both are designed to trace up the genealogy of Jesus Christ through its proper line-that is, to show who were his forefathers after the flesh. Matthew traces it forward from Abraham down to Joseph; and Luke traces it backwards from Mary, or Joseph as the husband of Mary, and so the son, by marriage of Heli, who was Mary's father. In looking through them you will see that Joseph and Mary were both of the house and lineage of David, and therefore Christ was the son of David, as he was called, and the true Messiah who was to spring up in his line.

John the Baptist having been thrown into prison by the wicked Herod, Jesus left his territories and went into Galilee.

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There his fame had already spread, and he went from place to place, teaching in the synagogues, while every one admired him, and declared, "they never heard such preaching in all their lives." "And he came to Nazareth," where he had been brought up, and, as his custom was, "he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up for to read," for this was a constant part of the Jewish worship. "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias," or Isaiah-the former being the Greek, and the latter the Hebrew for the prophet's name-just, for instance, as Louis Philippe is the French name for the king of the French, and Lewis Philip the English name of the same king. "And when he had opened the book," or unrolled the volume-for the Hebrew Scriptures were written

on long pieces of parchment, fastened at each end on sticks, and so rolled. up-he found the place where it was written as in the forty-first chapter of Isaiah, and the first, second, and third verses. Having read the passage, "closed the book," and rolled it up, he "sat down," as the Jews used to do, to preach, while "the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him," being very curious to know what he was going to say about a text which they knew described the Messiah. And he then discoursed upon the passage, and told them that the Scripture was that day fulfilled in their hearing.

His words were so full of grace, both in the precious truths which he uttered, and in the way in which he uttered them, that all his hearers were exceedingly surprised; but yet they could not forget that he was the son of the humble Joseph, and had been brought up at Nazareth under his care, "and they said, is not this Joseph's son ?"

Jesus knew what they thought. And he said, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself." You have worked miracles abroad, now do so at home. "Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also in thy country." And he said, "Verily, I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country," which was another proverb, or common saying. By this he meant, that his miracles would be thrown away upon them; for they would still think from whom he was descended, and wonder at what he did as they now wondered at what he said-but they would not believe in him as the true Messiah. In the days of Elias, or Elijah, though there were many widows living in Israel, he performed the miracle of multiplying the cruse of oil for a widow of Sarepta, a city of the Gentiles; and in the time of Eliseus, or Elisha, the prophet, though there were many lepers in Israel, he cured none but Naaman, who also was a Syrian, and a heathen. So our blessed Saviour intimated, he would do miracles for and in the presence of heathen rather than before them, for he knew they were so hardened that they would not believe in him.

This faithful address turned their admiration into rage, and, rising up in a tumultuous manner, without any reverence to the place or day, they violently cast him out of the synagogue, and out of the city too, and brought him to the very brow of the mountain on which their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong, and dash him to pieces. But Jesus, when he had permitted their madness to go thus far, confounded their sight in such a miraculous manner, that he passed through the midst of them

unknown, and went away to the neighbouring city of Capernaum, where he abode for some time.

I have given you the latter part of this account in the words of Dr. Doddridge, because I think I cannot possibly make it more plain.

Christ's Miracle of the Draught of Fishes-Christ Raises the Widow's Son-The Penitent Woman.

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LUKE V-IX.

While our Lord was at Capernaum, we find him continually engaged in doing good, teaching in the synagogue, and instructing the people at all other opportunities. Where he went he was attended by crowds, and on one occasion they were so great that they "pressed upon him to hear the word of God, as he stood by the lake of Gennesareth." Seeing two fishing vessels near the shore he went into one of them, and, pushing off a little way from the shore, he there "sat down and taught the people out of the ship."

The fishermen who owned the vessels had been very unsuccessful in their last night's labours, for they had toiled all the night, and taken nothing. When Christ had done preaching, and feeding them with food for their souls, he now thought of their bodies also, and he desired them to launch out into the deep, and let down their nets for a draught of fishes. They had little hope of success, but, in obedience to Christ's word, they were disposed to try. The nets were let down, and they drew them up so full of fishes that one of them brake, and the fishes taken so overloaded both the vessels that they began to sink. All were astonished; and Simon Peter, who was one of the party, with his partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, fell down on his knees, and cried out, " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord;"-meaning that he was not worthy of the high honour of having Jesus on board his vessel, and of continuing in his presence. Jesus encouraged the timid man, and told him that he would employ him in a far nobler work, and that henceforth he should catch men. And so it came to pass when-if we compare the gospel to a net-he caught three thousand souls at once by his preaching, as we shall read in the Acts of the Apostles. Matthew and Mark have given no more of what happened at this time than merely that Christ sat down in the ship and taught; so Luke has supplied what they omitted.

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