21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.*

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his 24 disciples followed him. And behold, there

arose a great tempest in the sea,† insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves but he 25 was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: or we shall 26 perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was 27 a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?

28

And when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man 29 might pass by that way. And behold, they

cried out, saying, What have we to do with

*This is a figurative expression-let those who are insensible to heavenly things attend to the concerns of this world: And in certain situations, it is said to be our duty to forsake even friends for the cause of religion.

When the evangelists speak of our Lord and his disciples passing the sea, they mean a large lake of about twelve miles in length, and five in breadth, situated in the province of Galilee in the northern parts of Judea. It is also sometimes called "the sea of Galilee," "the sea of Tiberias," &c.

A striking proof of divine power.

§ That is, supposed to be possessed and tormented by demons.

thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come 30 hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of 31 many swine, feeding. So the possessed be

sought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer 32 us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine : and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perish33 ed in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing; and what was befallen to the pos34 sessed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

1

CHAP. IX.

AND he entered into a ship, and passed 2 over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed and Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be 3 of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. And behold, some of the scribes said within them4 selves, this man blasphemeth.* And Jesus,

* It would seem that he did blaspheme, unless he were more than a man. The apostles only prayed that sin might be forgiven.

knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think 5 ye evil in your hearts? For whether is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, 6 Arise and walk, only that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins? Then he saith to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine 7 house. And he arose and departed to his 8 house. But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, who had given such power unto men.

9

10

And as Jesus passed thence, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the custom-house: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with him and his disci11 ples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Mas12 ter with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard it, he said unto them, They who are whole need not a physician, but they who are 13 sick. But go ye and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice :* for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

* Mercy in preference to sacrifice. It is not the mere rite, or external sign, but the thing signified, the disposition and sentiment of the heart, which must determine our moral characters in the sight of God. Unlike other religions, Christianity is not satisfied with form and ceremony, but insists upon the moral virtues, as absolutely necessary.

14

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast of15 ten, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall 16 they fast. No man putteth a piece of new

cloth unto an old garment: for that which is put in to fill it up, taketh from the garment, 17 and the rent is made worse.* Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.*

18

While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshippedhim, saying, My daughter is even now dead : but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she 19 shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.

20

(And behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch 22 his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turn

ed him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made 23 whole from that hour.) And when Jesus came

* In these verses, Christ recommends consistency of con. duct that it was sometimes proper to rejoice, and at other times there was less reason for it, &c. &c.

into the ruler's house, and saw the servants, 24 and the people making a noise, he said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid 26 arose. And the fame of this miracle went

27

abroad into all that land.

And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying and saying, Thou son 28 of David, have mercy on us.* And when he

was come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, 29 Yea, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying, 30 According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, See that no man know 31 it. But when they were departed, they spread abroad his fame in all that country.

32

As they went out, behold, they brought to to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake; and the multitudes marvelled, saying, 34 It was never so seen in Israel. But the Phar

isces said,† He casteth out the devils through 35 the prince of the devils. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of

* See chap. i. ver. 1. The Jews expected Christ would spring from the stock of David, and they called him the Son of David-that was one of his titles.

A proof of their wilful and determined opposition to Christ for the idea implies a palpable absurdity.