CHAPTER XIII.

AT HOME ONCE MORE.

BUT though Jesus had rebuked Peter, He knew well the condition of mind that had made him speak so rashly. Six days after He took him with John and James into one of the high, solitary peaks of the range of Hermon, under which they had been sojourning. The ascent was a long one, and all the stillness of the mountains gathered round them as they climbed higher and higher into the purer air. They could see stretching southward their own land, which offered no sure resting-place to their Master. The white snows glistened above them, and all the solemn influences of silence, and loneliness, and separation, wrapped them round. They forgot the sorrows of the past weeks as the Lord prayed with them on the mountain-height, lifted far above all the cares and ambitions of the earth beneath. Then as Jesus prayed a glory shone about Him, which transfigured His beloved face, and made His raiment white and glistening as the snow, which dazzled them in the sunshine. And

whilst, with dazzled eyes, they gazed upon Him, two forms of Moses and Elias, the greatest of the prophets, appeared to them talking with Jesus. Their wondering ears heard them talk, not of the triumphs and conquests of Messiah's kingdom, but of the death which they shrank from thinking of. How long they listened to this heavenly discourse we do not know; but at length, sore afraid as they were, Peter spoke, not knowing what to say. 'Master,' he said, 'it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.' Never would he choose to go down to the earth and common life again, if this heavenly vision would but remain. Even then, as he finished speaking, a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice was heard to come out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son ; hear Him.' And suddenly all had vanished, and there was no man any more, save Jesus only, with themselves.

It seems as if they stayed all night in the solemn stillness of the mountain, listening to much their Master had to tell them, and asking Him such questions as came first to their minds. He told them that He should rise again the third day after the chief priests and Pharisees had slain Him; but they kept that saying with themselves, questioning what it meant, and not venturing to ask Him for His meaning. When the morning came they began their long descent to the valley below, at every lingering step drawing nearer to the stir and tumult of life, which they had desired to escape from, and which seemed

so much poorer and more paltry than it had ever done before.

As they drew near to the valley they saw a great multitude of people surrounding the rest of the disciples; but as soon as they themselves were in sight, all the crowd, beholding Jesus, were greatly amazed, and, running to Him, saluted Him. It would seem as though some gleam of the indescribable glory still lingered in His face, as the face of Moses shone when he had been speaking with the Lord in Mount Sinai. Some scribes were there who had been questioning the nine apostles, and Jesus asked them what they had wanted. One of the crowd replied that he had brought his son, who was possessed with a devil, and as the Master was away, he had asked His disciples to cast him out, and they could not. Very probably they had attempted to do so, and had failed, so arousing a great excitement among the bystanders. The poor father's hope had been crushed, and his faith weakened, if not destroyed. 'O faithless generation!' cried Jesus, 'how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto Me.' Then, speaking to the father, He said, 'If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.' He, looking into the divine face before him, cried out with tears, 'Lord, I believe help Thou my unbelief.' That was enough; his son was restored to him, and Jesus, passing on, went into the house, where He and His disciples were sojourning, worn out with the exhausting events of the last twenty-four hours.

After this Jesus returned quietly through Galilee, wishing no man to know it. Some of His disciples, on this journey, disputed among themselves as to which should be the greatest, so little prepared were they for the end which He foresaw so plainly. He taught them what that end must be, but they did not understand Him, and were afraid to ask Him. But we must remember that the nine had not heard of the solemn transfiguration on the Mount; for Jesus had straightly charged the three that they should tell no man.

As they approached Capernaum they found that at last it was safe to enter it, after their wanderings, and to be at home once more. The hottest months of the year were come, when there was almost a burning heat in the valley of the Jordan, and on the shores of the Lake of Galilee ; and very likely the wealthiest and most influential persons of the towns on the lake were gone away, or, at least, were less inclined to active exertions. Neither do any crowds seem to gather about Jesus, who indeed kept Himself aloof from any public display. He spent His time in teaching His disciples and such persons as came to Him, trying to prepare their minds for what was to come, and to fit them for their future work. A peaceful, happy few weeks for Mary, who had her Son again beside her for a little while; yet her heart would sink often as she heard His sayings, and began to see with a mother's fearful eye that no throne awaited Him in the city of David.

It seems to have been His last sojourn in Capernau

a quiet breathing time, in which He could taste once more the peace and rest of a home. Children were about Him; and besides His mother, the women who were His friends and disciples, and whose greatest gladness was to minister to Him. We may suppose that some of the apostles would resume for the time their fishing on the lake, and that James and John would dwell again under their father's roof. When they gathered together in the cool of the evening Jesus taught them the mysteries of the kingdom of God, not in parables, as He taught others. Now He put into precept and commandment that which He had set before them by His example. They were to tread in His steps, to go about doing good; to find it more blessed to give than to receive; to forgive their enemies; to be perfect even as their Father in heaven was perfect. Hard lessons! Yet the seed fell upon good ground, and, hidden there for some months, finally brought forth fruit a hundred-fold.

Before long, however, the peace of this short truce with His foes was disturbed by the approach of the autumnal Feast of Tabernacles. It was that joyous feast, after harvest and before the rains of winter, which attracted so many of the country folks up to Jerusalem, to dwell in booths for a week; when each worshipper carried to the Temple branches of citron and myrtle, willow and palm, in his hands; and each day a glad procession attended a priest to fetch water from the pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher, to be afterwards poured at the base