JESUS CURES THE WITHERED HAND. 211

corn on that day, to rebuke their Lord Himself for at the same period exercising His power. 'And, behold, there

was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-days? that they might accuse Him. And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold of it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath-days. Then said He to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.'-MATT. xii.

WE

E have here the instance before referred to, in which the beneficent miracle of our Lord was met with the most persistent scorn by the Pharisees, and succeeded by the most awful declaration to be found perhaps in the whole Bible. Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blas

JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED.

213

phemy against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.' -MATT. xii.

T that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame

of Jesus, and 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. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted. him as a prophet. But when Herod's birth-day was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give

her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.'-MATT. xiv.

H

ERE we have an instance of the divine benevolence

as well as the almighty power of the Saviour.

Instead of seeking the royal delinquent, as He might have done, to avenge the death of the prophet by the destruction of his destroyer, He retired to a desert place, probably for the purpose of meditation and prayer. The people, however, followed Him on foot, and He had

CHRIST FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND

215

compassion on them, and He healed their sick. And when it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.'-MATT. XIV.