Behold, I tell you, Lift your eyes and view the fields; they are already white for the harvest!* The reaper receives wages, and collects fruit for the continuance of life, that both the sower and reaper may rejoice together. For in this, the proverb is verified: One sows and another reaps. I send you to reap that on which you have bestowed no labour: others have laboured, and ye take possession of their labours.

Now, many Samaritans of that city, believed in him, through the testimony of the woman: He told all things whatever I had done; therefore, when these Samaritans came to him, they besought him to abide with them, and he remained there two days. And many more believed through his own discourse; and said to the woman: No longer does our belief depend on your report; for we ourselves have heard and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.

Sychar, about the middle of January; for aceording to his opinion, the time of the Passover fell, that year, on the 28th of March.

The fixing of this epoch, is of great importance in the Chronology of the Gospel History: for supposing Christ to have been baptized about the commencement of the Jewish civil year, at the autumnal equinox, the time of his trial being forty days, would increase the date to November; his first journey to Galilee and return, would protract the season towards the beginning of December; and the imprisonment of John, occurring almost immediately after, Christ resolved to leave Judea and return again into Galilee.

* The Samaritans, on receiving the information of the woman concerning Jesus, came forth in multitudes, to see and hear the wonder ful prophet. Hence, Jesus takes occasion to remark, that usually, four months intervened between the sowing of the seed and the reaping of the harvest; but here, a supernatural event had occurred: that day he had sown the seed of the divine word, and lo! a present harvest is produced, by the eager attention and immediate conver sion of these candid Samaritans. O! how easy is reconciliation to God, when the mind perceives its own wants, and apprehends the divine mercy!

† Our Lord says, the reaper receives wages and gathers fruit for continuance of life; or, as it is in the common version, “life eternal," that both reaper and sower may rejoice together: hence, we ration ally conclude, that the fruits for everlasting life, belong both to the preacher and his convert. Whether, therefore, a man's future fe

SECTION TWELFTH.

CURE OF THE OFFICER'S SON.

*

Now, after these two days, Jesus departed thence and returned, iu the power of the Spirit, into Galilee. Then he came again into Cana, where he had made water, wine: and a certain king's officer,† whose son was sick at Capernaum, hearing that Jesus was come from Judea into Galilee, went to him and entreated him to go down and heal his son, who was about to die. Then Jesus said to him: Can you not believe, unless you see signs and wonders? The Officer said to him: Sir, come down, before my child die. Jesus answered: Go, thy son lives. The man believed the word of Jesus and went: but as he was going down, his servants met him and said: Thy son lives. Then he enquired of them, the hour when he began to recover, and they answered: Yesterday, at the seventh hour the fever left him. Then the father knew, that, in the very same hour, Jesus told him: Thy son lives; and he and all his family believed. This second miracle, wrought Jesus on coming again out of Judea into Galilee.

depend on the proper use of the present, or not, we may assure ourselves, that men will be gainers in time and eternity, by their faithful exertions in the work of regeneration.

* Newcome supposes that the direct road from Samaria to Cana, was through Nazareth; but, in order to avoid that city for the present, Jesus took another route. The distance from Shechem to Cana, was 40 miles; from Cana to Nazareth, 10; from Nazareth to Capernaum, 23; and from Capernaumi to Jerusalem, 65.

†The word nobleman, is not well chosen by the English transla tors, seeing it usually denotes rank, arising from birthright or patrimony. The Syriac describes him as a vice-roy; the Greek implies, a king's officer; and Vulgate, has regulus, a little king. He had, probably, been one of the household of Herod the Great, and was, at that time, an officer of the court of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilec. Opinion fixes on Manaan, Acts xiii. 1, or Chuza, Luke viii. 3.

Agreeably, to the opinion of Campbell, Pearce, and Clarke, I have followed the general order of construction, by connecting ra and έλθων. The Evangelist says, that this was the second miracle

SECTION THIRTEENTIL

JESUS OPENS HIS COMMISSION AT NAzareth.

And he came to Nazareth, 'where he had been brought up, and entered, according to his custom* on the Sabbath, into the Synagogue, and stood up to read. And the roll of Isaiah the Prophet was delivered to him; and having unrolled‡ the volume, he

Jesus wrought. The first, he performed when he returned to Galilee after his baptism, and this second miracle he did, on coming again into Cana of Galilee: hence, John iv. 44, 45, must be out of proper place, and those Harmonists and Commentators, who suppose that Jesus had attended a passover at Jerusalem; according to John i 13-18, and wrought miracles on that occasion, as is implied by John ii. 23, and iv. 45, before he returned through Samaria into Galilee, as recorded, John iv. 1-43, must be greatly mistaken: for these passages are entirely misplaced; and the supposition is completely refuted, by the unequivocal language of the text under consideration, which pronounces the cure of the officer's son, the second miracle Jesus performed.

*Lightfoot supposes the phrase," according to his custom," implies the continual attendance of Jesus on the public worship of the Synagogue, while he lived at Nazareth as a private individual. Though there were many things defective, and perhaps some things blameable, in the service and worshippers; yet, our Master never absented himself. Let every man make the best choice; but, let none neglect attendance. The Apostle says: Forsake not the assem bling of yourselves: may his wholesome advice, and the good example of our Lord, never be despised, nor forgotten, by any that call themselves Christians,

+ Though the Levites only, were appointed to teach the people and superintend the schools of the forty-eight cities, Josh. xxi. Deut. xxxviii. 10, and Mal. ii. 7, yet sometimes men of other tribes, who studied the law, obtained a limited authority from the Sanhedrim, to teach and preach; moreover, the Jews had a law that if any man professed to have received the spirit of prophecy, he was permitted to speak, but if the Sanhedrim, who were Judges in this case, determined that he was not a prophet, he could not continue to preach, except at his peril. On this condition, Jesus obtained the privilege at Nazareth and in the Synagogues of Galilee. Lightfoot says, though the Jews did not allow the liberty of teaching, to the illiterate and mechanics, yet, they granted it to such as set up for heads or leaders of sects; that they might learn their doctrines, and not condemn them unheard.

The sacred volumes used in the Synagogues, are written on

found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed* me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to release the oppressed, and announce THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.†

skins, parchment, or vellum, and rolled on two rollers, so that whilst the person reads from right to left, he rolls off with the left hand, and rolls on with the right. Hence, Jesus unrolled the volume till he found the passage intended for his text, as Houbigant suggests, and not the lesson of the day, as M'Knight and others contend.

* The peculiar names given to Jesus and his doctrine, seem to have taken rise, from the first reason assigned for the authority of his commission. The first verb, xgue, indicates the appellation, Christ; and the second verb, εʊayyɛɛσ0α, suggests the cause of his doctrine being called the Gospel, or glad tidings. The passage read by our Lord, is found Isaiah lxi. 1, but contrary to the fancy of those, who contend that he read the lesson of the day, he connects with it Is. xlii. 7. Thus, the Master and pattern of Christian teachers, selected two portions of sacred writ for the text of his first sermon, both of which were full of meaning, and as inexhaustible in streams of salvation, as the fountain of eternal and almighty love. Blessed Jesus! may all the ministers of thy Gospel, imitate thee. O! may they never act the part of foolish triflers, by seeking to amuse their hearers with novel, speculative, or curious discourses, while Man's Ruin, God's Mercy, and Redeeming Love, can never be fully told.

Jesus was anointed with the holy spirit, and power to announce glad tidings to the spiritually poor; and to induct them into the glorious inheritance. Truly the spirit of the Lord was on him; and he must be an intruder on the Gospel ministry, who cannot adopt the language of his Master. No wonder his congregation were astonished at him, whilst he proclaimed, as the commissioned ambassador of Heaven, light for those in darkness, liberty for the captives, health for the sick, life for the dead, salvation for the wretched, and immortality for the whole offspring of Adam. Such a sermen, from such a preacher, was adapted to astonish earth and heaven, as much as the members of the Synagogue at Nazareth.

+ The acceptable year of the Lord, according to the ancient Fathers of the Christian Church, was the year of Christ's public ministry, being the year thirty-one of the Vulgar Era. This accepted year, began at the time of this public Sermon at Nazareth, which, we have shown, was about the beginning of January, A. D. 31: and terminated about the feast of Dedication, John x. 22: at which time, his ministry became so offensive to the Jews, as to

And having rolled the volume, and given it to the officer, he sat down ;* and the eyes of all that were in the Synagogue were gazing on him. Then began he to say to them: To-day, has this scripture been fulfilled in your ears. And all approving and wondering at the gracious words which proceeded from his mouth, said: Is not this Joseph's son?

From that time, Jesus began to preacht the Gospel

induce them to resolve on his destruction, and necessitate him to retire into Perea, for safety in obscurity, John x. 39, 40. Alas! that such excellent preaching, should have been of so short duration: but then, as now, the most worthy is the most despised.

Lowth and others say, the year of Jubilee, was a type and figure of our Lord's ministry. It was the great year of release from debts, obligations, and bondage, and of recovery of lands, possessions, and liberty; and was gloriously realized, in the year of Christ's public preaching, in which the poor were fed, the sick healed, the bondmen released, the tongue of the dumb made to sing, and the lame to leap for joy. But they greatly obscure and destroy the fitness of the type and antitype, who extend our Lord's ministry to the duration of three or four years; whereas, it is entirely out of the power of any, to produce higher proof of such a duration, than plausible conjecture. Only 15 months elapsed from the time of Christ s first public sermon at Nazareth, till the time of his public crucifixion, without the gates of Jerusalem.

* The Jewish teachers, in reverence of the holy scriptures, stand when they read, and sit when they preach, or deliver practical instruction: Thus, our Lord sat down and taught the people out of the Ship; so also, he sat down before he delivered his divine sermon on the mount. When, therefore, our Master stood up, it was the indication of his desire to read; and when he sat down, the eyes of the congregation were attentively fixed on him, expecting his illustration, or sermon.

+ The preaching of Jesus, was in perfect harmony with that of the Baptist, and the Apostles followed closely, the example of their Master, Matt. iii. 2, Mark i. 15, and vi. 12, Luke x. 9. Hence, the preaching of Repentance and Faith, has ever been correctly reputed the great business of the Gospel ministry.-Men are alienated from God, by wicked works. The carnal mind is enmity to him: and without a change is effected, the kingdom cannot enter into man's soul; neither can he see it, because it is spiritually discerned.-The reign of the highest heaven; or, in other words, Almighty grace, must operate a spiritual change, in the mind and affections; and ultimately, regenerate the whole structure of man, before a meetness is