Our Lord's last recorded discourse in the synagog at Capernaum marked the beginning of another epoch in the development of His life's work. It was the season of an approaching Passover festival. At the next succeeding Passover, one year later, as shall be shown, Jesus would be betrayed to His death. He was entering upon the last year of His ministry in the flesh. But the significance of the event is other and greater than that of a chronological datum-plane. The circumstance marked the first stage of a turn in the tide of popular regard toward Jesus, which theretofore had been increasing, and which now began to ebb.

True, He had been repeatedly criticized and openly assailed by complaining Jews on many earlier occasions; but these crafty and even venomous critics were mostly of the ruling classes. We are without information as to Jesus having attended this Passover feast; and it is reasonable to infer that in view of the increasing hostility on the part of the rulers, He refrained from going to Jerusalem on the occasion. Conjecture as to whether any of the Twelve went up to the festival is profitless; we are not told. The last year of His earthly ministration was inaugurated by a sifting of the people who professed to believe His word, and this process of test, trial, and separation, was to continue to the end

After the Passover, Jesus was visited by a delegation of Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem, and who made protest against the disregard of traditional requirements by His followers. The detectives and spies, who had been sent from Jerusalem into Galilee to watch Jesus, became more active than ever in their critical espionage. They dogged His footsteps, noted every act, and every instance of omission of traditional or customary observance, and were constantly on the alert to make Him out an offender.

Mark tells us that the disciples were charged with having eaten with "defiled", or, as the marginal reading gives it, with "common" hands. "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders," he says.

It should be borne in mind that the offense charged against the disciples was that of ceremonial uncleanness, not physical uncleanliness or disregard of sanitary propriety. They were said to have eaten with common or defiled hands, not specifically with dirty fingers. In all the externals of their man-made religionism, the Jews were insistent on scrupulous exactitude. Every possibility of ceremonial defilement was to be carefully guarded against, and the effects thereof had to be counteracted by prescribed washings.

To the Pharisaic mind this must have been a very sharp rebuke. rabbinism held that rigorous compliance with the traditions of the elders was more important than observance of the law itself. Jesus in His counter question put their cherished traditions as in direct conflict with the commandment of God. Adding to their discomfiture, He cited the prophecy of Isaiah, and applied to them whom He designated hypocrites. The prophet's words: "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men"

Moses had voiced the direct commandment of God in saying: "Honour thy father and thy mother" But this law, though given of God direct to Israel, had been superseded. Any ungrateful and wicked son could find ready means, which their traditions had made lawful, of escaping all filial obligations, even though his parents were destitute. If a needy father or mother craved help of a son, he had but to say—What you ask of me is Corban—or in other words, an intended gift to God. He was held to be legally exempt from all requirements to contribute of that substance to the support of his parents. Other obligations could be similarly evaded.

To declare a piece of property real or personal as "corban" was generally understood as an averment that the property was dedicated to the temple. Property was often declared to be "Corban" for other purposes than dedication to ecclesiastical use. The result of such established though utterly unlawful and pernicious traditions was, as Jesus emphatically stated to the Pharisees and scribes, to make the word of God of none effect, and, He added, "Many such like things do ye"

The Pharisees were offended, for they had said that to eat with hands that had not been ritualistically cleansed was to defile the food touched. The apostles were not sure that they understood the Master's lesson; though couched in plain, non-figurative language, it was to some of them very like a parable, and Peter asked an exposition.

The Lord explained that the food one eats is but temporarily part of his body. Having served its purpose of nourishing the tissues and supplying energy to the organism, it is eliminated. The food that enters the body through the mouth is of small and transient importance compared with the utterances that issue from the mouth, for these, if evil, are truly defiling. Some of the disciples asked Jesus whether He knew that the Pharisees had taken offense at His saying. His answer was a further denunciation of Pharisaism: "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up"

There could be no compromize between His doctrine of the kingdom and the corrupt Judaism of the time. The rulers were plotting against His life. If their emissaries chose to take offense at His words, let them be offended and stand the consequences. He had no conciliatory measures to offer those whose inability to understand His meaning was the result of wilful obstinacy, or darkness of mind produced by persistence in sin.

In one of the little towns near the border, the party took lodgings; but the attempt to secure privacy was futile, for the Master's presence "could not be hid" A woman, hearing of His presence within her own land, came asking a boon. Mark tells us she was a Greek, or more literally a Gentile who spoke Greek, and by nationality a Syro-Phenician. Matthew says she was "a woman of Canaan"; these statements are in harmony, since the Phenicians were of Canaanite descent.

The woman cried aloud to Jesus, saying: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil" Her words expressed at once faith in the Lord's power, and a fulness of mother-love, for she implored as though she were the afflicted sufferer. The fact that she addressed Jesus as Son of David demonstrates her belief that He was the Messiah of Israel. At first Jesus refrained from answering her. Undeterred, she pleaded the more, until the disciples said: "Send her away; for she crieth after us" Their intervention was probably an intercession in her behalf; she could be quieted by the granting of her request

The woman fell at the Lord's feet and worshiped Him, pleading pitifully, "Lord, help me." To her Jesus said, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs" The original term here translated "dogs" connoted, as the narrative shows, not the vagrant and despized curs elsewhere spoken of in the Bible. But literally the "little dogs" or domestic pets, such as were allowed in the house and under the table.

Instantly she adopted the analogy, and applied it in combined argument and supplication. The woman's commendable persistency was based on the faith that overcomes apparent obstacles and endures even under discouragement. Her case reminds one of the lesson taught by the Lord on another occasion through the story of the importunate widow. Many have queried as to why Jesus delayed the blessing. Mark emphasizes the special recognition of her final plea, and adds: "And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed"

We may not be able to fathom His purposes; but we see that, by the course He adopted, the woman's faith was demonstrated and the disciples were instructed. Jesus impressed upon her that she was not of the chosen people, to whom He had been sent. His words prefigured the giving of the gospel to all, both Jew and Gentile. The resurrected Christ was to be made known to every nation.

Among the many who were healed was one of whom special mention is made. He was deaf and defective in speech. The people asked the Lord to lay His hands upon the man. But Jesus led him away from the multitude, put His fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched his tongue. Then looking upward in prayer, and sighing the while, He uttered a word of command in Aramaic, "Ephphatha, that is, Be opened" And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. The manner of effecting this cure was different again from the usual mode of our Lord's healing ministrations.

The people were forbidden to tell abroad what they had witnessed. The more they were charged the more they published the news. Their conclusion as to Jesus and His works was: "He hath done all things well" Jesus had compassion upon the people, and was loath to send them away fasting, lest they would faint by the way.

When He spoke to the disciples on the matter they intimated the impossibility of feeding so great a number, for the entire stock of food at hand comprized but seven loaves and a few little fishes. But the Master commanded; and the people seated themselves on the ground. Four thousand men, beside women and children, were abundantly fed; and of the broken but uneaten food there remained enough to fill seven baskets. With no semblance of the turbulent enthusiasm that had followed the feeding of the five thousand, this multitude dispersed quietly and returned to their homes, grateful and doubly blessed.

Jesus and the apostles landed near Magdala and Dalmanutha. These towns are understood to have been so close together as to virtually make the latter a suburb of the other. Here the party was met by the ever-vigilant Pharisees, who on this occasion were accompanied by their usually unfriendly rivals, the Sadducees. That the two parties had temporarily laid aside their mutual differences, and had combined their forces in the common cause of opposition to Christ, is a demonstration of the determined purpose of the ecclesiastical authorities to find occasion against Him, and, if possible, destroy Him. Their immediate object was to further alienate the common people, and to counteract the influence of His former teachings with

They set anew the old-time snare of demanding from Him a supernatural sign of His Messiahship, though thrice already had they or others of their kind so attempted to entrap Him, and thrice had they been foiled. Before them, Satan in person had similarly tried and failed. To their present impertinent and impious demand He gave a brief and definite refusal coupled with an exposure of their hypocrisy. This was His reply: "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It'll be foul weather today": for the Sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but

Jesus said to His companions: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" The disciples had forgotten to take a supply of food; they had with them but a single loaf. They construed His words respecting leaven as a reference to bread, and possibly as a reproof for their neglect. Jesus chided them as of little faith for thinking then of material bread. He refreshed their recollection of the miracles by which the multitudes had been fed, so that their lack of loaves would not further trouble them.

The party left the boat near the site of the first miraculous feeding of the multitude, and made their way to Bethsaida. A blind man was brought, and Jesus was asked to touch him. He took the sightless one by the hand, led him outside the town, applied saliva to his eyes, laid hands upon him in a ministration, and asked him if he could see. The man answered that he saw dimly, but was unable to distinguish men from trees. Applying His hands to the man's eyes, Jesus told him to look up; the man did so and saw clearly. Bidding him not to tell of his deliverance from blindness to any in the place, the Lord sent him away rejoicing

This miracle presents the unique feature of Jesus healing a person by stages; the result of the first ministration was but a partial recovery. No explanation of the exceptional circumstance is given. Accompanied by the Twelve, Jesus continued His way northward to the neighborhood or "coasts" of Cæsarea Philippi, an inland city situated near the eastern and principal source of the Jordan, and near the foot of Mount Hermon. The journey afforded opportunity for special and confidential instruction to the apostles. Of them Jesus asked: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" In reply they reported the rumors and popular fancies that had come to their notice.

Some people, sharing the superstitious fears of the conscience-stricken Herod Antipas, said that Jesus was John the Baptist returned to life. It is significant that among all the conceptions of the people as to the identity of Jesus there was no intimation of belief that He was the Messiah. Fleeting manifestations of evanescent hope that He might prove to be the looked-for Prophet, like unto Moses, had not been lacking. But all such incipient conceptions had been neutralized by the hostile activity of the Pharisees and their kind.

To them it was a matter of supreme though evil determination to maintain in the minds of the people the thought of a yet future, not a present, Messiah. Peter, with all the fervor of his soul, voiced the great confession: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" This was no avowal of mere belief, no expression of a result at which he had arrived by mental process, no solution of a problem laboriously worked out, no verdict based on the weighing of evidence. He spoke in the sure knowledge that knows no question and from which doubt and reservation are as far removed as is the sky from the ground.

Peter's knowledge was of a kind apart from all that man may find out for himself. It was a divine bestowal, in comparison with which human wisdom is foolishness and the treasure of earth but dross. Through direct revelation from God Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ; and upon revelation, as a rock of secure foundation, the Church of Christ was to be built.

Though torrents should fall, floods roll, winds rage, and all beat together upon that structure, it would not, could not, fall, for it was founded upon a rock. Even the powers of hell would be impotent to prevail against it. By revelation alone could or can the Church of Jesus Christ be builded and maintained. Revelation of necessity implies revelators, through whom the will of God may be made known respecting His Church. As a gift from God comes the testimony of Jesus into the heart of man. This principle was comprized in the Master's teachings at Capernaum, that none could come to Him save such as the Father would bring. The Lord's promise, that unto Peter He would give "

Peter's presidency among the apostles was abundantly manifest and generally recognized after the close of our Lord's mortal life. It was he who spoke in behalf of the Eleven, in the council meeting at which a successor to the traitor Iscariot was chosen. He was the spokesman of his brethren on the occasion of the Pentecostal conversion. He opened the doors of the Church to the Gentiles. The confession by which the apostles avowed their acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, was evidence of their actual possession of the spirit of the Holy Apostleship, by which they were made particular witnesses of their Lord.

The time for a general proclamation of their testimony had not arrived, however; nor did it come until after Christ had emerged from the tomb a resurrected, immortalized Personage. Proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah would have aggravated the hostility of the rulers, which had already become a grave interference if not an actual menace to the Savior's ministry. A yet deeper reason for the secrecy appears in the fact that the Jewish nation was not prepared to accept their Lord; and to ignore Him through lack of certain knowledge involved a lesser degree of culpability than would have attached to an unpalliated rejection.

The particular mission of the apostles at a time then future was to proclaim to all nations Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Christ. From the time of Peter's confession however, Jesus instructed the Twelve more plainly and with greater intimacy concerning the future developments of His mission. On earlier occasions He had referred in their hearing to the cross, and to His approaching death, burial and ascension. Now, however, he began to show, and often afterward made plain unto them, "how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and is raised again the third day"

Peter was shocked at this unqualified declaration, and, yielding to impulse, remonstrated with Jesus, or, as two of the evangelists state, "began to rebuke him" The Lord turned upon him with this sharp reproof: "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me" Peter's words constituted an appeal to the human element in Christ's nature; and the sensitive feelings of Jesus were wounded by this suggestion of unfaithfulness to His trust, coming from the man whom He had so signally honored but a few moments before. Peter saw mainly as men see, understanding but imperfectly the deeper purposes of God. Though deserved, the rebuke he received was severe.

The adjuration, "Get thee behind me, Satan," was identical with that used against the arch-tempter himself. The temptation to evade sacrifice and suffering, though such was the world's ransom, and to follow a more comfortable way. The forceful words of Jesus show the deep emotion that Peter's ill-considered attempt to counsel if not to tempt his Lord had evoked.

Here the frightful figure of the cross was again made prominent. There was left no shadow of excuse for the thought that devotion to Christ would not mean denial and privation. He who would save his life at the cost of duty, as Peter had just suggested that Christ should do, would surely lose it in a sense worse than that of physical death. But he who stood willing to lose all, even life itself, should find the life that is eternal.

The dates on which specific acts occurred in the ministry of Jesus are difficult if not impossible to fix, except in few instances. It will be remembered that Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover soon after His baptism. This is known as the first Passover during the public life of Jesus. The record of this memorable day in the Savior's life closes with His blessed promise: "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom"

If the unnamed "feast of the Jews" referred to by John (5:1) was a Passover, as many Bible students hold, it marked the close of the year following the cleansing the temple. Then the Passover near which Jesus fed the five thousand would be the third , and would mark the expiration of two years and a fraction since the baptism of Jesus. It certainly marks the beginning of the last year of the Savior's life on earth. 2. Ceremonial Ablutions. —The numerous washings required by Jewish custom in the time of Christ were admittedly incident to rabbinism and "the tradition of the elders" and not in compliance with the Mosaic law.

Under certain conditions, successive washings were prescribed, in connection with which we find mention of "first," "second" and "other" waters. Sometimes the hands had to be dipped or immersed; at other times they were to be cleansed by pouring, it being necessary that the water be allowed to run to the wrist or the elbow according to the degree of supposed defilement. Rules for the cleansing of vessels and furniture were detailed and exacting; distinct methods applied respectively to vessels of clay, wood, and metal.

It was known that the Roll of the Law and other scriptures when laid away were sometimes touched, scratched, or even gnawed by mice. The hands had to be ceremonially cleansed after touching a copy of the scriptures or even a written passage therefrom. Emancipation from these and "many such like things" must have been relief indeed. Jesus freely offered, saying: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me" (Matt. 11:28-30.)

"A man might interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, but from giving to another or receiving from him, some particular object whether of food or any other kind whatsoever," says the writer in Smith's Bible Dict. A person might thus exempt himself from any inconvenient obligation under plea of corban. Our Lord denounced practises of this sort (Matt. 15:5; Mark 7:11), as annulling the spirit of the law.

The word 'Corban' was used in New Testament times as a mere word of vowing, without implying that the thing vowed would actually be offered or given to God. A vow of this kind was held by the scribes to excuse a man from the duty of supporting his parents, and thus by their tradition they made void the word of God.

4. The "Dogs" that Eat of the Crumbs. —The woman's fervid rejoinder, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table," (Matt. 15:27), is thus commented upon and paraphrased by Trench ( Notes on the Miracles , p. 271): "The rendering of her answer in our translation is not, however, altogether satisfactory. For, indeed, she accepts the Lord's declaration, not immediately to make exception against the conclusion which He draws from it, but to show how in that very declaration is involved the granting of her petition"

We also belong to His household, though we occupy but the lowest place therein,'" Jesus says in Matt. 15:26. Edersheim, referring to the original text, says: "The term means 'little dogs,' or 'house dogs'" Decapolis. —The name means "the ten cities," and was applied to a region of indefinite boundaries lying mostly on the east of Jordan and southerly from the sea of Galilee.

Scythopolis, which Josephus (Wars of the Jews, ii, 9:7) refers to as the largest of the ten cities, was on the west side of the river. There is lack of agreement among historians as to the cities comprized under the name. Biblical mention (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31) implies a general region rather than a definite area. The term "coast" as it appears in the Bible (authorized, or King James version) is used to connote boundary, limit, or border, and not distinctively a seashore. It is applied therefore to inland areas, and frequently occurs as indicating a vicinity or neighborhood.

Cæsarea Philippi is believed to be identical with the ancient Baal Gad (Josh. 11:17) and Baal Hermon (Judg. 3:3) It was known as a place of idolatrous worship, and while under Greek sovereignty was called Paneas in recognition of the mythological deity Pan. See Josephus, Ant. xviii, 2:1; this designation persists in the present Arabic name of the place, Banias.

An erroneous doctrine gained currency that Peter was the "rock" upon which the Church of Christ was founded. The Bishop of Rome laid claim to supreme authority as the alleged lineal successor to Peter. A church founded or dependent upon Peter or any other man would be Peter's or the other man's church.

The Church of Jesus Christ must authoritatively bear His name, and be guided by revelation, direct and continuous. Revelation from God to His servants invested with the Holy Priesthood through authorized ordination as was Peter, is the impregnable "rock" upon which the Church is built. (See Articles of Faith , xvi,—"Revelation.") 8. Christ's Rebuke to Peter. In addressing Peter as "Satan," Jesus was obviously using a forceful figure of speech, and not a literal designation. In his remonstrance or "rebuke" addressed to Jesus, Peter was really counseling what Satan had before attempted to induce Christ to do, or tempting, as Satan himself had tempted.

The essential meaning attached to both Hebrew and Greek originals for our word "Satan" is that of an adversary, or "one who places himself in another's way and thus opposes him" (Zenos.) The man whom Jesus had addressed as Peter was now likened to a stone in the path, over which the unwary might stumble. The event referred to, that of the Son of Man coming in the glory of His Father attended by the angels, is yet future.

At least a partial fulfilment of the prediction is presented in the prolongation of the life of John the apostle, who was there present. Peter's solemn and soulful confession of Jesus as the Christ is worded differently by each of the three synoptists. To many the most expressive version is that of Luke: "The Christ of God."

Peter's testimony in the land of Cæsarea Philippi evidences a very exalted attainment. At that stage of the Savior's ministry, the public proclamation of His divine status would have been as the casting of pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6) The Lord instructed the apostles that at that time "they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ"

Matt. 15:10-20; compare Mark 7:14-23. Matt. 11:6; Luke 7:23; pages 255 and 274   herein. See marginal reading in Oxford and Bagster Bibles.

Compare Matt. 7:24, 25. John 6:46; compare verses 37, 39, 40. See Isa. 22:22; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; compare Doc. and Cov. 6:28; 7:7. 27:5, 6, 9; 28:7, 42:69; 84:26; etc. Acts 1:15-26; 2:14-40; chap. 10, compare with 15-7. Matt. 16:22, 23; Mark 8:32, 33. Luke 4:8.