CHAP. XL. back into the boat to Jesus, and the other boat shot out into the Lake, on the way home. The two women sat on the middle seat. Mary held her mother in her arms in grateful thanks, and neither spoke, but both kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, till the shore, jutting out westwards, hid Him from their sight.

When the boat with the women was gone, Peter bound his to the post to which the other had been tied, but Jesus sat still in deep thought, without looking round, and the disciples remained motionless beside Him, for reverence forbade them to ask Him to go ashore. Meanwhile, the people of Capernaum, men, women, and children, streamed down in bands; some soldiers of the Roman-Herodian garrison, and some strange faces from Perea, Decapolis, and Syria, among them.

The open space had filled, and now Peter ventured to whisper, in a low voice which concealed his impatience, "Marānu wē Rabbinu-Our Lord and Master-the people have assembled and wait for Thee." On this Jesus rose. Peter made a bridge from the boat to the shore with a plank, hastening across to make it secure, and to open the way; for the crowd was very dense at the edge of the water. Christ now left the boat, followed by the three other disciples, and, when He had stepped ashore, said to Peter,"Schim'on Kêfâ "—for thus He addressed him when He had need of his faithful and zealous service in the things of the kingdom of God-"I shall take my stand under the palm-tree yonder." It was hard, however, to make way through the crowd, for those who had set themselves nearest the water were mostly sick people, to whom the others, from compassion, had given the front place. Indeed, Jesus had scarcely landed, before cries for help rose, in different dialects, and in every form of appeal. "Rabbi, Rabboni," "Holy One of the Most High!" "Son of David!" "Son of God!" mingled one with the other. Jesus, however, waving them back with His hand, said, "Let me pass! tonight is not to be for the healing of your bodily troubles, but that you may hear the word of life, for the good of your souls." On hearing this they pressed towards Him,

that they might at least touch Him. When, at last, with CHAP. XL. the help of His disciples, He made His way to the palm, He motioned to the people to sit down on the grass. The knoll from which the palm rose was only a slight one, but when the crowd had sat down in rows, it sufficed to raise Him sufficiently above them. The men sat on the ground, leaving any better spots for the women and children.

It is a mistake to think of Jesus standing while He taught. He stood in the synagogue at Nazareth while the Prophets were being read, but He sat down to teach. He sat as He taught in the Temple, and when He addressed the multitude whom He had miraculously fed; and when He spoke from Simon Peter's boat, he did so sitting.

Under the palm lay a large stone, on which many had sat before, to enjoy the view over the Lake, or the shade of the branches above. The Rabbis often chose such open air spots for their addresses. There was nothing extraordinary, therefore, when Jesus sat down on it, and made it His pulpit. His dress was clean and carefully chosen, but simple. On His head, held in its place by a cord, He wore a white sudar, the ends of which hung down His shoulders. Over His tunic, which reached to the hands and feet, was a blue Tallith, with the prescribed tassels at the four corners, but only as large as Moses required. It was so thrown over Him, and so held together, that the grey red-striped undergarment was little seen, and His feet, which had sandals, not shoes, were only noticed occasionally, when He moved. When He had sat down and looked over the people, they became stiller and stiller, till nothing was heard but the soft plash of the ripple on the beach.

As He sat on the stone, Simon and Andrew, the sons of Jonas, stood on His right and left hand, with James and John, the sons of Zabdai. The people stood around the slope, for as yet Rabbis were heard, standing. "Sickness came into the world," says the Talmud, "when Rabban Gamaliel died, and it became the rule to hear the Law sitting."39 "Sons Lightfoot, il of Israel, Men of Galilee," He began," the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come: repent, and believe the Gospel. Moses, your teacher, peace be to him, has said

30

212.

CHAP. XL

'A prophet will the Lord your God raise unto you from your brethren, like unto me. Him shall ye hear. But He who will not hear this prophet shall die!' Amen, I say unto you: He who believes on me has everlasting life. No man knows the Father but the Son, and no man knows the Son but the Father, and he to whom the Son reveals Him." Then, with a louder voice, He continued, "Come to 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 for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Then, drawing to a close, He added, "Take on you the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, for the kingdom of heaven is the fulfilling of the Law and the Prophets. Give up that which is worth little, that you may have what is of great price. Become wise changers who value holy money above all other, and the pearl of price above all. He that has ears to hear, let him hear."i

THE

CHAPTER XLI.

THE BURSTING OF THE STORM.

summer passed in a succession of excitements and an unbroken recurrence of exhausting toil. Wherever Jesus appeared He was surrounded by crowds, anxious to see and to hear. The sick everywhere pressed in His way, and friends brought the bed-ridden and helpless to Him, from all quarters. From early morning till night, day by day, without respite, there was a strain on mind, heart, and body, alike. Even the retirement of the house in which He might be resting, could not save Him from intruding crowds, and time or free space for meals was hardly to be had. Such tension of His whole nature must have told on Him, and must have affected His whole nervous and physical system. To be continually surrounded by misery, in every form, is itself distressing; but, in addition to this, to be kept on the strain by the higher spiritual excitement of a great religious crisis, and to be overtaxed in mere physical demands, could not fail to show results, in careworn features, feverishness of the brain, and the need of temporary quiet and rest. Yet sympathy was felt for Him only by a few. The thoughtless crowds did not realize that they were consuming in the fires of its own devotion the nature they intended to honour, and His enemies, seeing everything only through the disturbing light of their hatred, invented a theory for it all that was sinister enough.

The continued and increasing support Jesus received from the people, was a daily growing evil in the eyes of the ecclesiastical authorities. They were in danger of losing their authority, which they identified with the interests of orthodoxy, and national favour with God. They had let

CHAP. XLI.

CHAP. XLI. Him choose four or five disciples, without feeling alarmed, for a movement as yet so insignificant was almost beneath their notice. The choice of a publican as one of this handful had, indeed, apparently neutralized any possible danger, by the shock it gave to public feeling. The further choice of the Twelve was, however, more serious. It seemed like consolidation, and progress towards open schism. There were, already, parties in Judaism, but there were no sects, for all were alike fanatically loyal to the Law, the Temple, and the Scribes, and ready to unite against any one who was not as much so as themselves, in their own sense. Criticism was utterly proscribed: blind worship of things as they were was imperatively required, and, hence, Jesus, with His free examination of received opinions, provoked the bitterest hostility. As long, however, as He had no following He was little dreaded, but signs of organization and permanence, such as the choice of the Twelve, and the growing enthusiasm of the people towards Him, determined the authorities on vigorous action. Information was laid against Him at Jerusalem, where He had already been challenged, and Rabbis were sent down to investigate the whole question.

Every movement which did not rise in the Rabbinical schools was suspected by the Rabbis and their disciples, and there were circumstances in that of Jesus, which were especially formidable. The superhuman powers He displayed could not be questioned, and the Rabbis could boast of nothing as imposing. They were falling into the shade. Respect was growing for Jesus among the people, in spite of 1 Kiem, ii. 289. them.1 His claims were daily urged more frankly, and the masses were disposed to assent to them. On His return to Capernaum He had cured a man who was blind, dumb, and mad, and possessed besides with a devil; and so astounding a miracle had raised the question, far and wide, whether, in spite of their former ideas, He were not the Son of Davidathe Messiah,2 after all. Men had, indeed, expected an outSchürer, 682. ward political kingdom, with a blaze of miracle wrought on behalf of the nation at large, but they began to ask each other, "When the Christ cometh will He do more miracles than this man has done? "3 It could not be endured. The

2 Herzog, ix. 432.

3 John 7.31.