He returned to Capernaum, at the northern extremity of the plain. During those few days His journeyings had been confined to a very limited space, the beautiful but small plain of Gennesaret, with its thick population and numerous villages, where He could teach many people, and perform many miracles with no loss of time in taking long journeys.

During the week Capernaum had been in a fever of excitement. It was quite practicable for many of the inhabitants to go out three or four miles to the spot where Jesus was, for the day, and return at night with the story of what He was doing. The excitement had not been lessened by the arrival of a party of Pharisees from Jerusalem itself, who were openly unfriendly to the Galilean prophet and His new doctrines. The Galileans naturally looked up to the priesthood at Jerusalem, especially to the Sanhedrim, as the great authorities upon religious points. There were, moreover, plenty of Pharisees in Capernaum, as in every Jewish town, who readily took up the opinions of these Pharisees from Judea, and joined them eagerly in forming a party against Jesus and His innovations. No doubt they discussed the miracle wrought in their own synagogue on the first Sabbath day that Jesus was there; and were the more zealous to condemn Him, because none of them had seen the sin of it before it was pointed out by their keener and more orthodox brethren from Jerusalem.

No sooner, then, was Jesus known to be in the house at

Capernaum than there collected such a crowd that there was no room to receive them; no, not so much as about the door. But some of the Pharisees had made good their entrance, and were sitting by cavilling and criticising in the midst of His disciples. At this time the friends of a paralytic man who were not able to bring him into the presence of Jesus carried him to the flat roof of a neighbouring house, and so reaching the place where He sat to teach all who could get within hearing, they took up the loose boards of the roof and let down their friend before Him. Jesus, pausing in His discourse, said first to him, 'Thy sins are forgiven thee!' words that filled the Pharisees with horror, yet with secret satisfaction. 'Who is this?' they say to one another; 'who can forgive sins but God alone?' 'You cannot see that his sins are forgiven,' answered Jesus, 'but I will give you a sign which you can see. It is easy to say, Thy sins be forgiven; but I say unto thee, O man, arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.' Even the Pharisees, the less bitter Pharisees of Galilee at least, were silenced by this, and were for once touched with fear of this Son of Man, who had power on earth to forgive sins. They glorified God, saying, 'We have seen strange things to-day.'

But the day was not ended. Jesus, as His custom was, went down to the shore, where He could teach greater numbers than in the narrow streets. As He was passing along He saw a tax-collector sitting in his

booth gathering tolls for the hated Roman conquerors. Such a person was singularly offensive to all Jews, but especially so to the Pharisees, who looked upon publicans as the most vicious and degraded of men. Mark tells us this man was the son of Alpheus, or Cleophas, the uncle of Jesus by his marriage with Mary, his mother's sister. If so, he was a reprobate son, probably disowned by all his family, to whom he was a sorrow and disgrace. The presence of Jesus and his brethren in Capernaum must have been a trial to him, bringing back to mind the days of their happy boyhood together in Nazareth, and making him feel keenly the misery and ignominy of the present. But now Jesus stands opposite his booth, looks him in the face, not angrily but tenderly, and he hears Him say, 'Levi, follow Me!" And immediately he arose, left all,

and followed Him.

The same evening Levi, or Matthew as he was afterwards called, gave a supper at his own house to Jesus and His disciples; and, no doubt with our Lord's permission, invited many publicans like himself to come and meet Him and hear His teaching. The Pharisees could not let such a circumstance pass uncriticised. For their part, their religion forbade them eating even with the common people, and here was the Prophet eating with publicans and sinners. This was a fresh offence; and Jesus answered only by saying, 'They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' No

defence was offered, and no excuse made. But there was a sad sarcasm in His reply which must have stung the consciences of some of them. Were they the righteous, whom He could not call into the kingdom of God?

CHAPTER VIII.

FOES FROM JERUSALEM.

As spectators at Matthew's feast were two of John's disciples, who had been sent by their master with a strange question, 'Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?' John had now been imprisoned for some time in a gloomy dungeon on the desolate shores of the Dead. Seȧ. His disciples, who were inclined to be somewhat jealous of the younger prophet, had brought him word of the miracles wrought by Jesus, but wrought upon the Sabbath day in direct antagonism to the Pharisees, and, as it seemed, to the law of Moses. The very first miracle at Cana of Galilee was altogether opposed to the austere habits of John, who had never tasted wine. There was something perplexing and painful to him in these reports; and he had nothing else to do in his prison than brood over them. Was it possible that he could have made any mistake-could have fallen under any delusion in proclaiming his cousin Jesus as the promised Messiah? Had he truly heard a voice from heaven? Could this