not caused by the sins of either, but that God sometimes suffered such things to happen for the greater manifestation of his unlimited power. He then applied some moistened clay to the poor man's eyes, and desired him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed his commands, and his sight was restored.

When intelligence of this signal miracle was brought to the Sanhedrim, or great council of the Jews, a › controversy arose, some insisting that Jesus was a sinner, because that he had violated the Sabbath; others more rationally averring that a sinner could not work such miracles. They summoned the parents of the lad before them, from whom they received convincing evidence of the fact; they then sent for the lad himself, and endeavoured to persuade him that Jesus was not a true prophet. The person whose sight had been so miraculously restored was not con, vinced by their clamour; they therefore took the extreme step of expelling him from the synagogue. Jesus soon after met him in the Temple, and received him into the number of his disciples. At the same time, our Lord took advantage of the circumstance to explain the difference between true and false teachers, in the following parables.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entered not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the

sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this commandment have I received of my Father."

These remarks produced different effects on the audience; some asserted that Jesus was a dæmoniac, and blamed the others for listening to him; some replied that a dæmoniac had never uttered such excellent truths, nor opened the eyes of a man that had been born blind. The rage of the Pharisees, however, continued to be so great that our Lord deemed it prudent to remove beyond the Jordan, to the place where John the Baptist usually exercised his ministry. During his travels on this occasion he related several of his most remarkable parables to his disciples, but to notice them here would lead to too great an inter

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ruption in the narrative, and we shall therefore reserve them for a separate chapter.

CHAPTER X.

FOURTH AND LAST YEAR OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY.

WHILE Jesus was travelling beyond Jordan, the time for celebrating the Jewish feast of the passover drew nigh; our Lord, knowing that this was the time when his earthly career would be brought to a close, resolved to prepare the apostles for the impending calamity. He summoned the twelve apart from the rest of the disciples and said unto them, "Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on. And they shall scourge him and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again."

The Apostles, however, were still incredulous, and the effect produced by a miracle on the road to

Jericho was calculated to increase their unbelief. As they drew nigh the city, they met a poor blind man, who sat by the way-side begging. The afflicted sufferer, hearing the tramp and clamour of a multitude on a road which was rarely frequented, enquired the - cause. He was told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Hope and faith arose in his bosom; he cried aloud, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." Some of those who passed reproved him for his clamour, but he persevered the more, until at length his cries reached the ears of the mild and merciful Saviour. He commanded the man to be brought before him, and, when he drew near, asked him "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?" And he said, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight.' And Jesus said unto him, 'Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.' And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God."

As they entered Jericho, our Lord's attention was directed to the signal faith of a person on whom most of his followers were disposed to look with disdain. Zacchæus, one of the publicans or collectors of taxes, notwithstanding his great wealth, and the corrupting influence of his employment, was anxious.