dearment, for the girl was twelve, and that age means womanhood in the East-is at the point of death. Jesus went with him down the darkling street, but as they were going along they were stopped by a woman who had an issue of blood. Twelve years had she suffered from it— as long a time as Jairus' daughter had lived. She had spent all her living and was nothing the better, but rather the worse. The disease was one which warranted divorce, and made her unclean. She touched the hem of the Healer's garment with a trembling finger, and virtue went out of Him. He turned round, asked who touched Him, had her brought forward to confess her story, and sent her away with the words: "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Jairus must have been impatient while this delay took place, knowing all the time that his daughter's life was passing. And when they came to the door there was the tumult of the mourners, which showed that she was gone. But said Jesus, "She is not dead, but sleepeth." He entered the room, took her by the hand, restored her to life and to her parents, and with benignant composure and tenderness commanded that something should be given her to eat. an answer. Surely this was a crowded day; but, as if it were not enough, two blind men cried, "Thou Son of David, have mercy upon us." They followed Him with their cries, but He gave no heed, until at length they cried, "Lord, have mercy upon us." The use of that word, which was not applied even to the emperor, showed great faith, and Jesus saw that they were now fit to receive He gave it: "According to your faith be it unto you," and they received their sight. Even this is not enough; for when He comes home He is met by a man possessed with a devil. The Evil One became incarnate when the Holy One did, and now they meet. The result is not doubtful. Jesus turns to the man with the calmness of conscious strength, and commands the devil to come out of him. The commandment is instantly obeyed, and the dumb man begins to speak.1 Such is a day of the life of Christ, and of the same complexion are all the rest. We find that His toil was prolonged to the point of physical 1 I have followed closely the bright and graphic narrative of Mr. S. Cox in A Day with Christ. But I have not been able to accept Mr. Cox's attempt to prove that Matthew was Christ's cousin. See Meyer on John xix. 25. exhaustion. We find that He put aside His own bodily wants for the relief of others. We find that with wonderful and uncomplaining patience He bore the requests, and appeals, and interruptions which were constantly occurring in His life. He made haste to do His work. Looking at the face of the dial, He saw the hours passing, and said, "I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work." Is it any marvel that His life was as a fire that burned fiercely? Unsparing toil, continuous passion, habitual emotion wear the life away. His was an eminently active life, but its most prominent feature was neither activity nor contemplation, but the way in which activity and contemplation were combined. While He was upon earth, engaged in rude hard work, and enduring pain, He was always surrounded by the presence of God. The ever thronging cares of His ministry never separated Him a moment from the Father. With us the deeply religious spirit is often unable to cope with the disturbing realities of life, and the practical spirit tends to become hard and poor from want of meditation and prayer. The two are joined here in absolute completeness. Never was there any life more full of tireless activity; never was there any that drank more continuously at the well-springs. None ever bore a greater part in all the activities of life than He; and yet He was the Son of Man which is in heaven, and we cannot think of Him as without the celestial background. CHAPTER XIV. The Transfiguration of Christ. "He received from God the Father honor and glory." "Few the homages and small That the guilty earth at all Was permitted to accord To her King and hidden Lord. Is the glory of the Mount, When bright beams of light did spring Rays of glory found their way Thro' the garment of decay, With which, as with a cloak, He had His divinest splendor clad." R. C. TRENCH. HERE may be said to be three summits in THE our Lord's life—the Temptation, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in the Garden. Of these we may perhaps call the Transfiguration the summit level and division. It was the one open manifestation of Godhead. Before, Jesus had been manifested as God only in words and acts; here He takes on the appearance proper to Divinity. Up to the Transfiguration the faith |