and a certain centurion's* servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And having heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, entreating him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they entreated him earnestly, saying, He is worthy for whom thou wilt do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth: and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it. Now Jesus hearing these things, wondered at him, and turned him about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. Now, when he came nigh to the gates of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and a great

* A Roman officer and a heathen, but having lived among the Jews, and become acquainted with their Scriptures, he had right notions of the true God.

+"Not in Israel;" meaning not among the Jews themselves, who, from their superior information on religion, derived from their Scriptures, might be supposed to be more ready to embrace the truth.

It was a Jewish custom that all who met a corpse carried to the grave, attended it, and joined in the lamentation.

concourse from the city was with her. And the Lord seeing her, had compassion on her, and said to her, Weep not. And having come near, he touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still; and he said, Young man, I say to 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 on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, that God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the country round about. And the disciples of John told him of all these things. And John having called unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their diseases and plagues, and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Thent Jesus answering, said unto them, 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. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with

:

* In these acts of divine power, Christ gave us assurance of a more general resurrection, and declared himself to be the resurrection and the life.

"The works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me." John v. 36. It was also foretold in ancient prophecy that the Messiah should do these things.-Isaiah.

the wind? But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they which are in gorgeous apparel, and live delicately, are in kings' houses. But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the council of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I compare the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine and ye say, He hath a demon. The Son of man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners! But Wisdom is justified of all her

*Greater as to doctrine; John could only announce the coming of the Messiah, but faithful Evangelists after Christ's resurrection could "preach Christ crucified for our sins, and risen again for our justification."

+ Many of the common people, and some of the publicans, having been wrought upon by John's preaching, justified God as righteous, and acknowledged themselves sinners, but the self-righteous, proud Pharisees despised both his doctrine and baptism.

children. And * one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and standing at his feet+ behind him weeping, she began to wash his feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now the Pharisee who had invited him seeing it, spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what kind of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said unto him, 'Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say it. There was a certain creditor that had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answering said, I suppose he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since she entered, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed

* His name was Simon.

+ Christ probably reclined on a couch, with his head towards the table, and his feet stretched out behind him, for such was the custom in those days.

Christ knew what was passing in Simon's thoughts, and answered him as if he had actually spoken.

my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, Her sins which are many are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? And he said+ to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace.

WORDS, &c. TO BE EXPLAINED IN LESSON X.

Centurion,
Bier,

Raiment,
Gorgeous apparel,

Creditor,
Debtor.

QUESTIONS ON LESSON X.

WHAT are the contents of this Lesson?

What was he that sent to Jesus to heal his servant?
What did the centurion's messengers say in his favour?
What was the second message sent by the centurion?
What did Jesus say when he heard it?

What did Jesus mean by saying, "not in Israel?"
What miracle did he perform near Nain?

For whose sake did he perform it?

What effect had this miracle on the people, and what did they say?

What message did the Baptist send to Jesus?

What was our Lord's answer to the Baptist's messengers?
What testimony did he give in favour of the Baptist?
What class of people had been baptized by John?
What class had not been baptized by him?

To what did our Lord compare the perverseness of the men of his generation?

What difference was there between John's outward behaviour and Christ's?

* An extraordinary mark of respect.

Those that sat at table with Jesus, murmured at his assuming the prerogative of God by forgiving sins; but he with peculiar dignity overlooks their objections, and simply repeats his assurance of pardon to the woman.