Two at least, if not three, of our Lord's own family were amongst the chosen twelve: James, His cousin, of whom it is said he was so like Jesus as sometimes to be mistaken for Him; and Judas, not Iscariot, who, like the other kinsmen of Christ, asked Him, even on the last night that He lived, 'Why wilt thou manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world?' Levi, if he was the son of Alpheus, was a third cousin, and each one wrote for us a portion of the New Testament. How much might these three have told us of His early life in Nazareth if no restraint had been laid upon them!

Then there was Peter, always the leader among the apostles, impatient and daring, so eager that he must always meet his Lord, and not wait for Him to come to him; walking upon the sea, or casting himself into it to reach more quickly the shore where Jesus stood, exclaiming rapturously at one time, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,' and at another, with oaths and curses, repeating, 'I know not the man.' Of the rest we know little, save one dark name, read amidst the blackest shadows of the past. Why did Jesus call Judas Iscariot? Why did He make him a familiar friend in whom He trusted? They went up together into the house of God, and took sweet counsel together. He gave and received from Jesus the kiss of friendship. To him was entrusted the wealth of the little band, and every trifling want of his Master's he had to supply, an office that brought him into the closest intimacy with

Him. Why was he chosen for this service? Was he the eldest amid this company of young men? a wise, shrewd man, cautious and prudent, where others might have been rash or forgetful? We do not know; but whilst Peter, James, and John followed their Lord into the chamber of Jairus' little daughter and up to the Mount of Transfiguration, Judas had the bag, and bore what was put therein.

CHAPTER IX.

AT NAIN.

It was broad daylight now, no time for secret assassination, and, surrounded by His twelve devoted friends, Jesus could return to Capernaum, where His mother would probably be waiting in a state of anxious restlessness. As soon as it was known that He was entering the town, some of the rulers of the synagogue came to meet Him, beseeching Him to work a miracle in favour of a Roman centurion, whose servant was likely to die. The most bigoted amongst them could not deny that Jesus of Nazareth did many mighty works; and they could not decline to offer this petition to Him when the centurion, who had built them a synagogue, commissioned them with it. The servant was healed without Jesus going to the house, the centurion sending to say that he was not worthy that the Lord should enter under his roof. Even Jesus marvelled at the man's faith, and though He had just chosen twelve of His most trustworthy disciples, He cried, 'I have not found so great a faith; no, not in Israel.'

The next day, Jesus, followed by many disciples, both men and women, went out to visit the towns and villages lying westward of the hills which enclose the plain of Gennesaret. As He passed along His company grew in numbers, for everywhere had men heard of Him, and those who had sick friends brought them out to the roadside that they might be healed. This day His journey was a long one, and He could not tarry by the way, except to work some such loving miracle. He was to rest in the little village of Nain that night; a place He knew quite well, for it was only five miles from Nazareth, and probably He had some friends there. Much people had gathered around Him when He trod the steep path up to Nain; but before they reached the gate another multitude appeared coming out as if to meet them, yet there was no shout of welcome; instead there were cries and wailings for one whom they were carrying forth to the tombs outside the village.

Possibly Jesus knew both the young man who was dead and his mother. He hastened to her side, and said, 'Weep not.' Then He touched the bier, and those who were carrying it stood still. What was the prophet about to do? He could heal any kind of sickness, but this was death, not sickness. It was a corpse bound up, and swathed with grave-clothes; the eyes for ever blinded to the light, and the ears too deaf to be unloosed. An awful silence must have fallen upon the crowd; and they

heard a calm, quiet voice saying, 'Young man, I say unto

H

thee, Arise!' He spoke simply, in a few words only; but the quiet voice pierced through all the sealed deafness of death, and the dead sat up, and began to speak. Then Jesus, perhaps with His own hands freeing him from the grave-clothes, gave him back to his mother. A thrill of fear ran through all the crowd, and as they thronged into Nain some said, 'A great prophet is risen up among us,' and others, 'God has visited His people.'

It has been thought that here, at Nain, dwelt Simon the Pharisee, who now invited Jesus to his house to eat meat with him. He was not one of our Lord's enemies from Jerusalem, but merely a member of the sect, which was numerous throughout all Judea and Galilee. He probably regarded Jesus as a working-man from the neighbouring village of Nazareth, though now considered a prophet by the people: and he did not offer to Him the courteous attentions he would have shown to a more honoured guest. After His long and dusty walk Jesus sat down to Simon's table without the usual refreshment of having His feet washed, and His head anointed with oil.

But this slight, passed over by Jesus, was more than atoned for by a woman, who, coming in to see the supper with other townspeople, stood behind Him at His feet, and began to wash them with her tears, and to wipe them with her long hair, kissing them again and again. Caring little who was watching her in her passion of repentance and love, she brought an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured the costly contents upon the feet she