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he vintage and for their fruits, which were about the beginning of October. Jesus pany them, that he might not give needless

the attendance of a multitude, but went up, eret, neither preaching, nor working miracles Ie entered the temple about the middle of the ight. The leading persons enquired with a urprise and contempt, how he had attained ning and knowledge of the law to qualify him instructor, since he had not received a liberal He replied, that his doctrine was not his own, as re knowledge by study, but a message which he issioned to deliver, and that the preparation of the r receiving it consisted (not in abilities or learning, a desire to do the will of Him that sent him; so that ne that was thus inclined, would be enabled to form opinion of his pretensions. He added, as a criterion, he teacher who came forward of his own accord, would he form or other pursue his own interest; whereas he , disregards self, and seeks only God's glory, proves himto be in reality, as he asserts, God's messenger. He poses their insincerity by observing, that while they afeted so much zeal for the law of Moses, none of them

pt it; and that they were even then meditating a flagrant breach of it,-"Why seek ye to kill me?" Their motive was, because he had broken the Sabbath, by healing on that day the cripple at Bethesda, at his last visit. He requires them to judge fairly, and if they did not scruple to dispense with the Sabbath that they might perform the act of circumcising, not to condemn him for restoring on it a man to the use of his limbs.

Alarmed at his increasing popularity, for the people seemed disposed to acknowledge him as the Messiah, the Pharisees and chief-priests sent their officers to apprehend him; but unintimidated he continued to speak, obscurely intimating his approaching decease, telling them that he was yet to stay a little longer with them, and that then he should go

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perceive the strong opposition between the merciful lord and the implacable servant, and the amount of their respective debts. It silences whatever justification, or palliation of revenge, can be drawn from the nature or number of the offences committed, or the dignity of the injured party.

79. Jesus sends forth the seventy. Luke x.

As our Lord in an earlier period of his ministry had sent forth the twelve Apostles, he now commissioned seventy disciples, in imitation, probably, of the seventy elders appointed by Moses to assist him. The appointment is recorded only by Luke, but the tradition that he was himself one of them, is probably not true; since the preface to his Gospel seems to declare, that he did not write from personal knowledge. The twelve had been allowed to go where they pleased, provided they confined their ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but these went out in pairs to prepare for him in the several places he meant to visit on his way to Jerusalem. Both commissions were ushered in with the remark, that the harvest was plenteous but the labourers few; and the instructions are nearly the same, only the seventy, as the time assigned to them was short, were not to waste it by saluting any on the way.

80. Jesus attends the feast of tabernacles, and teaches in the temple. John vii.

JESUS had not visited Jerusalem for eighteen months, and his brethren, who did not as yet believe in him, taunted him with his continued absence, and his preaching and performing miracles in places of comparative obscurity. Another opportunity of visiting the capital was offered by the feast of tabernacles, so called because the Jews during the seven days it lasted dwelt in booths, made of the boughs of trees, upon the flat roofs of their houses, in imitation of the temporary tabernacles, of their ancestors in the wilderness. It was called also the feast of ingathering, because one object of it was to

return thanks for the vintage and for their fruits, which were now gathered in, about the beginning of October. Jesus would not accompany them, that he might not give needless offence by having the attendance of a multitude, but went up, as it were in secret, neither preaching, nor working miracles by the way. He entered the temple about the middle of the feast, and taught. The leading persons enquired with a mixture of surprise and contempt, how he had attained sufficient learning and knowledge of the law to qualify him for a public instructor, since he had not received a liberal education. He replied, that his doctrine was not his own, as men acquire knowledge by study, but a message which he was commissioned to deliver, and that the preparation of the mind for receiving it consisted (not in abilities or learning, but) in a desire to do the will of Him that sent him; so that every one that was thus inclined, would be enabled to form a just opinion of his pretensions. He added, as a criterion, that the teacher who came forward of his own accord, would in one form or other pursue his own interest; whereas he who disregards self, and seeks only God's glory, proves himself to be in reality, as he asserts, God's messenger. He exposes their insincerity by observing, that while they affected so much zeal for the law of Moses, none of them kept it; and that they were even then meditating a flagrant breach of it," Why seek ye to kill me?" Their motive was, because he had broken the Sabbath, by healing on that day the cripple at Bethesda, at his last visit. He requires them to judge fairly, and if they did not scruple to dispense with the Sabbath that they might perform the act of circumcising, not to condemn him for restoring on it a man to the use of his limbs.

Alarmed at his increasing popularity, for the people seemed disposed to acknowledge him as the Messiah, the Pharisees and chief-priests sent their officers to apprehend him; but unintimidated he continued to speak, obscurely intimating his approaching decease, telling them that he was yet to stay a little longer with them, and that then he should go

to him who had sent him; and they would seek him, but in vain, for where he would be they would not be able to come. On the last and the greatest day of the festival, he again came forward, and more explicitly declared himself, inviting, by an allusion to Isaiah's prophecy, every one that thirsted to come unto him and drink, describing himself as the fountain of living water, in opposition to the broken cisterns provided by men. We are informed, that this is a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit; and the passage teaches us, that it will not only be communicated to satisfy the believer's own thirst for spiritual blessings, but will be, as he told the woman of Samaria, a spring within him, whence streams will flow for the cleansing and refreshing of others. His words derive a peculiar energy from the occasion upon which they were spoken; for upon this day it was the custom to fetch water from the spring Siloam, which issued from a rock under the temple; some of which was drunk with joyful acclamations, while the rest was poured over the evening sacrifice, the people singing, from Isaiah xii. 3, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." This was said to be done in remembrance of the miracle by which the thirst of their forefathers in the desert was relieved; and it was brought as a drink offering to supplicate for rain against the approaching seed time. The Jews also allow that it is emblematical of the Holy Spirit, so that their ancestors could hardly have misunderstood Jesus. The people were divided in their opinion; some maintained that he was the prophet who was expected as the Messiah's harbinger, and some that he was the Messiah himself. Others asserted, that as the Messiah was to spring from David, and to be born at Bethlehem, it was impossible that this Galilean could be he; so ignorant were they of the lineage and birth-place of Jesus. The officers themselves were too much impressed with what he had spoken to seize him; and Nicodemus ventured to suggest, that a man ought not to be condemned without a trial: so they separated, without coming to any determination, and Jesus retired to the Mount of Olives.

81. A woman, taken in the act of adultery, is brought before Jesus, who declines to condemn her as a judge, but as a teacher admonishes her to sin no more. John viii.

His enemies, having failed in their late attempt to seize him, concerted a specious plan to ensnare him; and accordingly very early the next morning, when he was again in the temple teaching, they brought to him an adulteress, whose guilt was undeniable, since she had been taken in the fact, committed perhaps in some apartment of the temple, which on this festival was turned into a scene of revelry. They observed that Moses had commanded that such persons should be stoned, and desired to know what order he would give. Their question was a dilemma, from which there seemed to be no escape. Had he ordered them to put the law of Moses in force, they would have accused him to the governor of assuming independent authority; and if he had referred them to his tribunal, they would have represented him to the people as a partisan of Rome, a betrayer of their liberties, and a despiser of their lawgiver. With consummate wisdom he defeated their scheme, without seeming to be aware of it; for he declined, as he had done before, Luke xi. 14. acting as a judge, without losing sight of the moral teacher. "Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more." He at the same time unmasked his enemies, by shewing that they were guilty of the very sin for which they brought the woman to bę judged; for so we must understand άvaμágτntos, "he who is without this sin;" for none avowedly are without sin of any kind; nor would a general charge of sinfulness so come home to their consciences. This interpretation is confirmed by the fact, that adultery was then so common, that the practice of trying by the waters of jealousy women suspected of it had been abolished, the trial according to the rabbinical comment being only effectual, when the husband was innocent. It was customary for the witnesses to cast the first stone. By stooping to write on the ground, he gave them an opportunity to withdraw, The consequence was, that the woman was left alone; their ingenious scheme was disconcerted, and they were exposed as

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