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rinth with bringing their differences before Gentile tribunals. Our Saviour refers to their power of scourging, Matt. x. 17; which Paul five times experienced, 2 Cor. xi. 24. The eighteen prayers at present used in the synagogues, may be found in Prideaux's Connection, vol. i. p. 374. They are ascribed to Ezra, but some were evidently composed when there was neither temple nor sacrifice; and one, said to have been written by Gamaliel a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, is directed against apostates and heretics, and the kingdom of pride, meaning the Roman empire. The lessons at first were exclusively taken out of the Law, which was divided into fifty-four sections, that it might be read through within the year. When Antiochus Epiphanes forbad this upon pain of death, the Jews selected fifty-four portions out of the other books. Hence originated the custom of our two lessons; for when the persecution ceased, the Jews resumed the reading of the law without discarding what they had substituted. If we believe the assertion, that the course now in use is the same as in the days of the Maccabees, Jesus read on this occasion the day before the feast of tabernacles. The lesson was the opening of the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah; it is remarkable that the present lesson does not commence till the tenth verse. "Have," asks Dr. Adam Clarke, "the Jews altered this lesson, knowing the use our blessed Lord made of it among their ancestors?" The synagogue days were the Sabbath, Mondays, and Thursdays, and three times in the day; for they made it a rule after the example of David (Ps. liv.) and of Daniel, (vi. 10.) to pray so often, either at home or in public; thus we read of Cornelius praying in private at the ninth hour, the time of the evening sacrifice, and Peter at the sixth.

The passage as here quoted does not exactly accord with either the Hebrew or the Septuagint: it is descriptive both of the nature of the Messiah's teaching, and of the signs by which he confirmed it; and he plainly tells them that it is fulfilled in himself. They at first admired his discourse, and were astonished at his abilities, knowing that from his education as a carpenter's son, he had not the same opportunities of improving them as other teachers. But so far were his words from producing any good effect upon them, that when he proceeded to tell them that a prophet was not accepted in his own country, and that in performing miracles, not in their town, but at Capernaum, he had acted like the ancient prophets Elijah and Elisha, who had even wrought them on behalf of Gentiles, while all Israel was

passed over; they were so enraged that they hurried him to the brink of the precipice* upon which Nazareth stands, to throw him down. He eluded their fury by rendering himself invisible, and passing unseen through the crowd, went to Capernaum. Thus the countries round the lake became, as Isaiah had foretold, the scene of his public life; and Capernaum his ordinary abode, where, according to Luke, (iv. 31.) he taught regularly on the Sabbath days. Several reasons might determine his choice, as its populousness, and distance from Jerusalem, the seat of the Scribes and Pharisees; for when in the beginning of his ministry he made many disciples in Judæa, they took such offence that he found it prudent to retire into Galilee; compare John iii. 22. with John iv. 1. He had also here Peter's house for a home, and the good will, it may be presumed, of the officer of Herod's court whose son he had cured, and of other leading inhabitants; and the lake afforded him an easy passage to the neighbourhood, and would facilitate a hasty retreat, whenever the jealousy of Herod, or the impatience of the multitude to proclaim him king, should render it expedient.†

26. The curiosity and interest that Jesus excited in a populous country, exposed him to great inconvenience; he often therefore taught from a boat, which, while it kept the multitude from pressing upon him, was near enough to the shore for them to hear him. On the first of these occasions recorded, when he had finished, he desired Peter to launch out into the deep water, where he might fish, for he was in his boat. Peter, though unsuccessful the preced→ ing night, obeyed, and his obedience was rewarded by so extraordinary a draught, that the net brake, and the boat, and that of the sons of Zebedee their partners, who came to assist them, were ready to sink with the weight of the fish. This was emblematical of their future success as fishers of men, and would strengthen their faith, and prepare them to yield to his demand of giving up their trade and following him. The demand was not so extraordinary as it appears to the reader of only Matthew's or Luke's Gospel; for we learn from John, (i. 40.) that Simon and Andrew, who were with the Baptist, had already become the disciples of Jesus on hearing their former master's tes timony to him as the Lamb of God, and probably when he had ordered Philip to accompany him into Galilee, he had also required their attendance. They were, we may

This is illustrated by a view in Dr. Clarke's Travels. + Macknight's Harmony.

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conclude, with him at the wedding at Cana, but they seem to have been only in occasional attendance, and to have pursued their occupations till he chose twelve to be with him constantly. We are apt too to consider them as poorer than they really were; but Simon and Andrew were in partnership with Zebedee and his sons James and John, and had hired servants under them. Peter, who was married, had a house, and his speech, "Lord we have left all and followed thee," indicates that he must have had some property, at least the boat by which he gained a livelihood.

27, 28. We have next an account of Jesus teaching in the synagogue, not as an expounder of the law, but with the authority of a legislator, of which we have afterwards an example in the sermon on the mount; "You have heard that it was said to them of old time, thou shalt not kill, but I say unto you," &c. He here on the Sabbath delivered a man from the dominion of an unclean spirit, and immediately after miraculously cured Peter's motherin-law, who was confined to her bed with a fever. She arose and waited upon them, which shews that her recovery was so complete, that the disease had not even left, as is usual, any lassitude behind it. At evening, when the Sabbath was ended, all the sick, and persons possessed with demons, were brought to him, whom he cured; and such was the sensation that this excited, that he found it expedient to leave the town before day-break for a desert, and afterwards to move about through Galilee, not making any long stay in one place. As wherever he went he taught in their synagogues and cured every disorder, his fame spread far and wide, not only in the Holy Land, but in the whole of Syria, and multitudes followed him, not merely from Judæa and Galilee, but even from Decapolis and from beyond the river.

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29. The next miracle is that of a leper cured at his own request, whom Jesus touched, not regarding the ceremo nial uncleanness that would ensue. The leprosy is an infectious disease of the skin, of slow and imperceptible progress. During our intercourse with Palestine through the crusades, it was not uncommon in our own country, if we may judge from the hospitals which were founded for it, though it now scarcely ever occurs. In hot climates it is attended with formidable symptoms, such as mortification, and at a certain stage is regarded as incurable: "Am I God," said the king of Israel, "to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man (Naaman) of his leprosy?" 2 Kings v. 7. It excluded the suf

ferer from all intercourse with society, and was an emblem of the pollution of sin. Lepers were obliged to live apart, at a distance from habitations; not even kings were exempted from this law, (2 Kings xv. 5.) and the sister of Moses himself, when leprous, was put out of the camp, Numb. xii. 14. They were obliged to make themselves known by their dress, and when any one approached to warn him of their uncleanness. To cleanse a leper with a word or a touch is an astonishing miracle, for an immediate change must be effected in the whole mass of the blood. The priests are instructed in Leviticus how to ascertain a leper's recovery; our Saviour therefore charges this person to shew himself to a priest, that he might offer the appointed sacrifice, which would authenticate his cure, and thereby restore him to society. He at the same time forbad his making the miracle known, that he might not needlessly exasperate his enemies, and so urge them on to premature designs against him. But when he wrought miracles on heathens, or persons dwelling among them, as in the case of the demoniacs of Gadara, he bids them declare what God hath done for them. Attention to such circumstances will in many instances remove apparent contradictions.

30. The cure of the paralytic man who was let down on his couch into the court of the house in which Jesus was, because the crowd prevented their approaching him in any other manner, is remarkable for his mode of addressing the sufferer, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." The Pharisees cavilled at this language as a blasphemous invasion of the prerogative of God. He does not deny their position, "Who can forgive sin but God alone?" but he shews that he had Divine power; thus tacitly allowing the justice of the remark. Omnipotence was alike required to forgive this sinner, or to cure him of his palsy; and since by the latter he shewed that he possessed that attribute, this visible demonstration of it ought to have convinced them that he could as easily remit sin, though that could not be exhibited to their senses.

31. After this Levi, or Matthew, who was sitting at his office by the lake side to receive the duties imposed upon goods, was invited by Jesus to follow him; we know not whether or not he had previously attended to his teaching, but he immediately renounced his profession, and became his disciple. The publicans or tax-gatherers farined the taxes of a particular district, which they underlet to inferior agents. Zacchaeus was one of these, and we may conclude

Matthew also, from the entertainment which he afterwards provided for our Lord. The office was in its nature unpopular, and the publicans were tempted to enrich themselves (Luke xix. 8.) by exacting more than was due, especially in provinces remote from the seat of government. It was peculiarly odious to the Jews, who out of a mistaken principle scrupled to pay taxes, considering that as an acknowledgment of the right of the Romans to govern them; and they considered it as infamous in their own countrymen, who were, moreover, brought by it into familiar intercourse with sinners, as they called the Gentiles.

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