The History of Christianity - John S. C. Abbott (bookstand for reading .txt) 📗

“A great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judæa, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumæa, 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.”

When they reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the throng became so great, that Jesus, to avoid the pressure of the crowd, entered “a small ship,” or boat, and pushed out a little from the shore; “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!”

From the tumult of these exciting and exhausting scenes, Jesus escaped to the solitude of a mountain near by, where, alone, he “continued all night in prayer to God.”10 In the morning he called his disciples to him, and, after these long hours of prayer, “of them he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils. Now, the names of these twelve apostles are these: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”11

Accompanied by these twelve as a select and sacred band of missionaries, and followed by the remaining band of the disciples, Jesus descended from the mountain into one of the plains which fringed the shores of the Galilean lake. Immediately he was surrounded with “a great multitude of people which came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and they that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him; for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.”

In the presence of this vast assemblage, and in a voice which probably every one could hear, Jesus again gave full utterance to the moral principles upon which his kingdom was to be reared. In this extraordinary address, the same principles are enunciated which he proclaimed in his Sermon on the Mount, which Matthew has recorded. Luke has probably given us but an epitome of this second address. It was as follows:—

“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now; for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

“But woe unto you that are rich! for you have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

“But love ye your enemies, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for he is kind unto the unthankful and the evil. Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

“Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master; but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

“And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock. And, when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man, that, without a foundation, built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”

At the close of this address, Jesus entered into Capernaum. There was residing in the city a centurion, or captain of a band of a hundred Roman soldiers. He had a servant who was sick, “grievously tormented, and ready to die” of a palsy. It is probable that this centurion, though a pagan by birth, had become a worshipper of the God of the Jews, and was highly esteemed by the Jewish people. Immediately upon the return of Jesus to Capernaum, the centurion repaired to the elders of the Jews, and besought them that they would intercede with Jesus in his behalf that he would heal his servant. They went in a body, the centurion accompanying them.

“And, when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this; for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.”

Jesus, addressing the centurion, said unto him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”

When Jesus saw that this Roman soldier, this Gentile, had such implicit confidence in him as to believe that diseases were as obedient to the command of Jesus as his own men were to his authority, he turned to his disciples, and said unto them, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.”

Then, addressing the centurion, he said, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” The centurion and his friends, returning to the house, found the servant restored to perfect health.

The next day, Jesus, accompanied by his disciples and a large concourse of the people, went to Nain, a small city among the mountains of Galilee, about twelve miles south-west of Capernaum. “Now, when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. And, when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier; and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak; and he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear [awe and amazement] on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”12

John the Baptist was now a prisoner in the castle of Machærus. He had testified to the Messiahship of Jesus. The months were gliding away, and yet Jesus was not accomplishing any thing of that which the Jews had expected of their Messiah. He had filled Palestine with his fame as a great prophet, performing the most astounding miracles, and preaching with wisdom and power, which excited the admiration of his friends, and baffled his foes. But there were no indications whatever of any movement in the direction of driving out the Romans, and restoring the Jews to independence in a re-established kingdom which should be the wonder of the world. As John, from the glooms of his prison, watched the footsteps of Jesus, he was probably disappointed and bewildered. He began, perhaps, to doubt whether Jesus were the Messiah. He therefore sent two of his disciples to ask of Jesus distinctly the question, “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?”

Instead of replying to this question, Jesus performed, in the presence of the two disciples, a large number of very extraordinary miracles. “He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.”

Then, addressing the messengers from John, he said, “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.”

Then, apparently apprehensive that his disciples might form an unfavorable opinion respecting John, as though he were fickle-minded, having once declared him to be the Messiah, and