Herod, disturbed by all he heard of Jesus, questioned his servants who told him these things, and said, "John have I beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things?" He could get no satisfactory answer, and his guilty conscience drove him to the conclusion, "It is John whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him." "And he desired to see Jesus." Herod's desire to see Jesus, does not appear to have been gratified until just before our Lord's death; and then the king derived no profit from the interview. Herod had had plenty of opportunities for learning the truths of the Gospel from John the Baptist. He would not make use of them. Our Lord has told us, that if we do not make a good use of all the opportunities given to us, He will take from us the blessings we will not use. In our country, the young are blessed with innumerable opportunities of learning their duty to God: make a proper use of them, and do not force the Lord to take them away, and leave you in wilful ignorance and sin.
The Feast of the Passover was now drawing near: the second Passover which had occurred, since our Saviour had entered on his public work. For this Feast, our Lord went up to Jerusalem; and on His way, He fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two small fishes; and after they had all eaten as much as they wanted, pieces enough were left to fill twelve baskets; although the whole quantity of loaves and fishes, if they had at first been broken into pieces, could not probably have filled one of these baskets. In working this miracle, Jesus taught us never to waste anything; he said, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Let us remember that many things that we do not want, may be useful to others, and that nothing should be wasted. Children should be careful not to ask for more food than they are sure they can eat, for that is wasteful.
The people, who had been fed in such a wonderful manner, now said, "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world": meaning the Messiah, spoken of by all the prophets, and whose coming was expected about this time. Having come to this conclusion, the people, according to their mistaken ideas, that the Messiah was to be an earthly sovereign and conqueror, determined to make Him king over the land of Judæa. But Jesus desired only to rule the hearts of men; "When, therefore, he perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king," He sent His disciples by ship unto Bethsaida, and having dismissed the multitude, He went up into a mountain alone to pray.
A storm of wind overtook the disciples in the midst of the lake, and then it was that Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. If the faith of the disciples had been strong, they would have felt that it was as easy for Jesus to walk on the water, as to work any other miracle; but they could not believe it was Him, and "they cried out for fear." The Lord, in His mercy, spake straightway unto them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." "And Peter answered, and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said, Come." Peter at once obeyed; but his faith was not strong enough to carry him through this trial: for a little while he walked on the water to go to Jesus, but when he found himself in the midst of raging waves, with a boisterous wind howling around him, his faith failed, and he was afraid. But he had not forgotten where to look for help; and finding himself beginning to sink, he cried out earnestly, "Lord, save me." Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said, "Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?—why didst thou doubt my power and my will to save thee?" No sooner had Jesus with Peter come into the ship, than the storm ceased, and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. They were sore amazed: but "they came and worshipped Him saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
Chapter XVIII.—THE WOMAN OF TYRE.
In the land of Gennesaret again, the people flocked to Jesus to be healed of their diseases: and when Jesus returned to Capernaum, many followed Him: and the Lord spake to them and told them that they only came to Him because they had seen His miracles, and more particularly because they had partaken of the loaves and fishes; and He warned them, that they had better seek those far greater spiritual blessings, which the Son of Man could give them. Many things He said unto them, trying to persuade them to believe in Him, as the Messiah the Son of God.
What our Lord said, displeased those who were not really willing and anxious to be taught their duty, in order to do it: and in consequence, many of those who had been reckoned amongst His disciples, "went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?" Peter, in the name of the rest, immediately declared his faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, saying, "Lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." Believing this, Peter declared that whatever happened, they would hold fast to Him, and obey Him: let us make the same determination; and obey the Word of the Lord, whether it tells us what we like or not. Jesus now showed, that He knew the hearts of all men; for alluding to Judas He answered, "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" thus teaching Peter not to be too hasty in answering for other men, since even in so small a number as the twelve, there was one whose heart was not really devoted to Him.
The Pharisees with certain of the Scribes came together unto Jesus, and blamed Him for not observing all the "traditions of the elders." Then Jesus explained to the Pharisees, that all their washings and outward performances could never please God, unless they also loved and served Him, and put away all their sins.
In one of those journeys which Jesus was constantly taking, He went to that part of the country bordering on Tyre and Sidon. Here a poor woman, a Gentile, came to Him, and prayed Him to heal her daughter, who had an unclean spirit. This woman, living on the borders of the land of Judæa, had doubtless heard that the Messiah was expected; and she was certainly convinced that Jesus was that Messiah, and that He had power even to cast out devils. This poor woman now came to Jesus, and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." At first Jesus took no notice of her, and answered her not a word. The poor woman continued her supplications, but still in vain; this greatly surprised the disciples, who were used to see their heavenly Master listening to the prayers of all who were in distress: they were grieved also for this poor creature, who followed them, crying out for mercy; and therefore they begged their Lord to "send her away," that is, to grant her petition, that she might go away in peace. Jesus answered, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The benefits of Christ's teaching and miracles, were at first to be offered to the Jews, the chosen people of God; and this woman, being a Gentile, had no claim to share them. The whole nation of the Jews, scattered without any ruler or shepherd, might well be called "lost sheep"—sheep who had strayed from their Shepherd, even from God, and who must be lost unless they were brought back to Him. The Scriptures often speak of the people of God, as his sheep: and sinners are compared to sheep, who, instead of following their shepherd, have gone astray. In the Confession, which forms part of our Morning Service, we say, "We have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep." In the East, sheep were not driven by the shepherd as with us, but followed him: remembering this fact will be a help towards understanding many passages of Scripture, especially some in the Gospel written by St. John. The poor woman continued to implore mercy; and coming nearer to the Lord, "She fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me!" Jesus now answered, and said, "Let the children first be filled; for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs."