12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

Old Testament which contained the prophecies of the Messiah. But the work went on very slowly. It was difficult to get any momentum. This was partly due to the fact that in Judea were the most active formal religionists, all of whom were opposed to the sort of gospel which Jesus preached. Had he come to them as a splendid

earthly king, as he was tempted in the wilderness to do, the miracle worker for personal, earthly ends, - he would have made more progress. But he preached repentance to those who considered themselves models of righteousness for all mankind. And he was poor and humble, claiming nothing of the glory of a king. Résumé of the Events of the First Year.

1. The First Disciples, John 1: 35-51.

2. The First Miracle: the Wedding at Cana, John 2: 1-12.

3. The First Reform: the Cleansing of the Temple, John 2: 13-25.

4. The First Recorded Discourse: to Nicodemus, John 3: 1-21.

5. The First Preaching Tour, John 3: 22-36.

6. The First Converts in Samaria: Jacob's Well, John 4: 1-42.

7. The First Recorded Healing: the Nobleman's Son, John 4: 43-54.

II. JESUS PREACHING THE GOSPEL, vs. 12-17. When Jesus had heard that John the Baptist was cast into prison, in March, A.D. 28, he departed into

13. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim :

14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Galilee, either, as most of the commentators say, because he saw that it was no longer safe for him to remain in Judea, or as some think, because he wished to take up and enlarge the work which John was obliged to lay down.

13. And leaving Nazareth, because, as we learn from Luke 4: 16-31, his townsmen rejected him and tried to kill him. This wrong Providence caused to work out good, for Nazareth was not the best situation for his headquarters, nor were his relatives and friends the best material for his first converts. Dwelt in Capernaum. Probably because" Capernaum, more than any other city in Palestine, with the single exception of Jerusalem, was a centre of commerce, travel, and especially of news. Sailors, soldiers, merchants, travellers, princes, men of every class and from many parts of the world, passed through this place on business or pleasure. Christ's gospel was for all the world, and here were messengers from the east, the west, and the south, who would carry tidings of what they had seen to their distant homes.". Hon. Selah Merrill.

14-16. Matthew says that this move was made that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias, Isaiah, the prophet (Isa. 9 : 1, 2). That is, either the prophet divinely saw that this was the right thing to do at this time, and therefore foretold it, and therefore Jesus did it; or Jesus had come to circumstances when the same reasons applied as to the times when the prophecy was uttered. The territory spoken of was the northernmost tribes toward the Sea of Galilee, where the great eastern roads entered the country beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the portions of Galilee adjoining the heathen nations.

There is a very close parallel between spiritual darkness and the darkness of disaster and calamity. When this prophecy was written by Isaiah this region was in the deepest darkness. The Assyrian hordes were ravaging their lands. Homes and farm lands were devastated by the most cruel and savage soldiery. Great multitudes were carried away captive and slain (see 2 Kings 15: 29-16:9).

But even in his day Isaiah saw that this outward trouble and darkness were but a symbol of the spiritual darkness of sin and ruin of souls; and that their deliverance from this darkness was also coming through his promised Messiah. And now that Messiah, Saviour, Redeemer, had come. The dawning rays were shining upon the people.

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Galilee was in several ways a better field for this work than was Judea. It was covered with roads everywhere, to every part of the known world. It was his boyhood's home, and he was familiar with the characteristics of the land and its people. With natural bodily vigor, with mental freshness, they were a moral, intelligent, industrious people. They were more worldly, but less bound to the old order and ideas and traditions of the scribes than were the people of Judea. It was a business country, full of varied activities, manufactures, fisheries, exports of oil and fruits. It was a most rich and fruitful country. In many ways it was the most hopeful field in all Palestine for gaining a foothold and reception for the new kingdom of God." 17. From that time, the time when, after the imprisonment of John the Baptist and Jesus' making his home in Capernaum, Jesus began to preach, to proclaim the news which he had come to earth to tell. He preached in every possible method by which he could reach the hearts of men. He proclaimed to great crowds; he taught small classes; he conversed with individuals. He sowed the good seed in public gatherings indoors, out of doors, by the wayside, in upper rooms, in the synagogues. He preached to rich and to poor, to publicans and sinners, to Pharisees and rulers. He taught by every form of speech, by plain truths, by arguments, by parables and

stories, by illustrations, by telling what he had seen and known with his Father, by gentlest persuasions, and when needed, by sharp warnings, and "woes.' But the theme was always

Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

This is the same message as John brought (Matt. 3: 2) only from more heavenly lips, with brighter light, with clearer vision, with fuller help.

There was then, and still is, no possible way of reaching the blessedness of the kingdom of God except by fulfilling the essential condition of repentance of sin, turning away from it, hating it, forsaking it.

"All men need to repent. We never can reach the gates of heaven unless we repent. The prodigal son had to rise and leave the far country, and walk back all the way to his father's house, before he could be restored to favor and be at home again. That is what every impenitent man must do. The first step in coming to Christ is repentance.

"Some persons imagine that if they are sorry for doing wrong, they have repented. Tears of penitence will not blot out sin. Repentance is ceasing to make blots on the record, and beginning to live a pure, clean white life." — J. R. Miller, D.D., in Devotional Hours with the Bible.

"Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit, for why will ye die? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves and live." - Ezekiel 18: 31, 32.

The New Life Unfolding.

Rev. F. B. Meyer has related the following incident which once took place at a Northfield summer conference, after he had been preaching in the morning.

"In the afternoon he [Mr. Moody] appeared with a young apple tree which he had uprooted from his garden, and commenced the following conversation with his brother, whom he had brought to the hall for the purpose, and who is a practical gardener:

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Erecting the young apple tree on the platform, and propping it up with one hand, he asked:

"Would this stock produce apples?

"No; it is a young forest sapling.'

"How, then, did you get these apples?'

"We ingrafted the slip of an apple tree.'

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How did you graft?'

"We made the incision with a knife and inserted the apple graft.'

"Well, what next?'

All the sap and strength of the sapling began to pour into the graft.' "Turning to me, Mr. Moody said before all the people :

"Is not that something like regeneration, when Christ comes into our heart and our life begins to flow through him?'

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Questioning his brother again, he said :

Supposing there come shoots under the graft, would they not divert the strength of the tree?

"Certainly; they must be cut off.'

"Supposing you cut them off once, will they come again?'

"There is always a tendency to do so; but, for the most part, if you cut a shoot off three times in the same place, it will not trouble you again there, but the old stock will probably break out in another place lower down; and, when you have thoroughly dealt with that, it will break out lower down again.'

"Turning to me, Mr. Moody said :

"Is not that like our old nature, perpetually striving to get the mastery? is nothing for it but to let the Holy Spirit deal with it.'"

There

III. THE GREAT DRAUGHT OF FISHES, Luke 5:1-11. This account in Luke belongs between verses 17 and 18 of our lesson. Jesus was preaching to the people by the side of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum. So many gathered to hear him, and pressed so closely upon him, that he was hidden from the sight, and even from the hearing, of many of the crowd. He therefore entered one of the fishing boats that were moored to the shore near by, and pushing out a little into the water, was easily heard and seen by those on the land.

18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishers.

19. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of

men.

20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

"At the north end of the Lake of Gennesaret [Sea of Galilee] there are small creeks, or inlets, where the ship could ride in safety only a few feet from the shore, and where the multitudes, seated on both sides and before the boat, could listen without distraction or fatigue. As if on purpose to furnish seats, the shores on both sides of these narrow inlets are

piled up with smooth bundles of basalt." Thomson, Land and Book.

The boat in which he sat belonged to Simon Peter. He and his brother Andrew had been fishing all night without success. Now they were cleaning and mending their nets for the next night's work. Jesus said, "Put out into the deep, and let down your net at once for a draught of fishes, instead of waiting for the night."

Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all last night, the best time for fishing as

you well know, and we caught nothing at all. Still, as you tell me to let down my net, I will do so.' And to the astonishment of all the net inclosed so many fishes that it came near to breaking, and Simon and Andrew were obliged to summon their partners, James and John, to come in another boat and help them.

IV. FISHERS OF MEN, vs. 18-22. With great wisdom Jesus selected this moment, while they were wondering at their success, to call these four disciples to leave their business and follow him. They had a year before chosen him as their Master (John 1: 35-42); they had been with him during a part of the time already (John 2:1-12); but they had probably not realized that to serve him as fully as he wished they must be prepared to leave all, and to do so at an instant's notice. Basing the call on the miracle they had just seen, Jesus saith unto them, Simon Peter and Andrew, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (v. 19). And they straightway... followed him (v. 20). They did not hesitate a moment, although their business seemed just now to have become unusually successful.

21. And... he saw . . . James . . . and John his brother . . . and he called them. These left their father as well as their business. It is probable that their share in the business partnership was larger than that of Andrew and Simon, as they had a larger boat which contained their father and servants besides the two brothers. It will help us to understand the call, and to gain lessons for our own lives, if we become better acquainted with these four men.

They all belonged in this region by the Lake; were all fishermen.

Peter was the name Jesus gave as a prophecy to Simon Bar-Jonah, or in English, Simon Johnson. But he became Peter, i.e. Rockman, so that in his later years and through all after time he is only Peter. He was originally hot-headed, impulsive,

fearless of consequences; but he had initiative, boldness, leadership. with him as leader would never perish of rust."

"The Church

Andrew, his brother, was a man of business wisdom. When Jesus fed the 5000 he was on the Committee of Ways and Means.

James seems to have been the older of these two brothers, and the captain of his boat, for in the Gospels and the Acts he is always mentioned first. John seems to have been quite young. These two were of strong character and strong feelings. Jesus called them " Boanerges," sons of thunder." But John became the very embodiment of love. James was the first martyr among the Twelve.

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All four disciples made their life choice at this time. It was the parting of the ways. They chose that way which, amid many hardships and trials, led upward to blessings inconceivable to them at the time.

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Following the Best Lead. What if James and John, with approved business sagacity, had replied to the invitation of the Master: Can't you see that it is obviously impossible for us to leave our nets? Business is business, and it must come first.' They certainly did not realize the uniqueness of the opportunity that had come to them in the voice of Jesus. They could not see ahead. But they were willing to follow the best that beckoned. They put religion above revenue, belief above business, the prophet above profits. They saw a gleam of new life and by following it they became transformed and transformers. Christians to-day are being confronted with a crisis which means as much to them as the call meant to the Galilean fishermen. New summonses to new service in many ways are being sounded by Providence. The man who lets his own material entanglements hold now is deaf to the higher call of the hour." Ellis Lessson Service.

"You cannot follow one thing without coming away from something else. If you are moving onward, some things must be left behind. What are the things which are behind' in your life?".

Frances Ridley Havergal.

Fishers of Men. 1. The call was to a higher service. They were already believers in Jesus; this was the call to work with him.

2. The call came while they were faithfully performing their daily tasks. It is to those who are faithful in the least that the greater work is given.

3. All their work, the skill they attained, their acquaintance with it, and with their surroundings, was preparing them for this higher work.

4. To be a good fisherman one needs to learn his business, to train himself in skill, and especially to learn about the habits and nature of the fish. So the teacher needs to train himself for his work, and especially to study child nature. Peter was more than two years with Jesus, learning his truths and studying his methods before he realized the promise in his first great ingathering of men at Pentecost.

5. There are many ways of fishing for men, -one can fish for large masses, with the net, preaching, teaching a Sunday School class, speaking in prayer meeting, teaching in day schools, making public addresses; and one can fish for them one by one, taking them apart and winning them to Christ. This way is better for many individuals.

6. The fisherman attracts fish, he cannot drive them. There must be good bait, an appeal to something that is wanted, to some longing or hope, or consciousness of need. No mere outside attractions will draw men into the Christian life. There must be something deeper, that will appeal to men in the time of temptation, and when all the foundations of their life seem tottering.

7. The net or the line is useless without a person behind it. Even the printed word is comparatively weak without the living presence of one filled with its spirit. 8. We should train ourselves for this work, for it requires great skill, patient toil, continual watchfulness, and all the wisdom God has promised to those who ask. But all can do the work in some way, in some place, by some method, if only they seek with their whole heart.

9. What Can the Children Do? They can invite their mates to Sunday School, to children's meetings like the Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, Baptist Union, Pastor's Classes. They can be organized in their classes for this work. They can show a Christian spirit. They can help make their Sunday School class and young people's meetings interesting. They can help others in many kindly ways.

V. JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING, vs. 23-25. These verses are a summary of which chapters 5-9 give a detailed account, showing his "varied, extensive, and far-famed work." He went about all Galilee. This was his first regular tour of the country. Teaching. Instructing, interpreting the Scriptures, guiding the