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instance He healed instantly and com pletely. Why He departed from His usual custom in this case is not recorded, and guessing at it is unprofitable. The man saw perfectly before- Jesus left him, for Jesus never left a jot) half done. See Phil. 1 : 6 . III. Peter’s Confession of Faith, vv. 27-38. From Bethsaida Jesus went northeast to the neighborhood of Caesarea-Philippi, nearly under the shadow o f snow-capped, 9000 feet high, Mount Hermon, twenty-five miles away. As they walked, they talked. This was a favorite habit o f our Lord’s. Recall some other “by the way” conversa tions. Compare with this, that recorded in Luke 24:13-21. Notice that a general ques tion regarding the opinion o f men in gen eral preceded the personal question addressed to His disciples. It does not sat isfy our Lord to have us tell Him who other people think, or say, He is. He wants us to confess what we personally believe Him to be. No man can be Saved on the ground o f his godly father’s of mother’s belief. He must believe for himself. Peter confessed that he believed that Jesus was the Christ, i. e., the Anointed One—the Mes siah, and also that he was “the Son o f the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This is still the content of the faith that saves. See John 8:21, >24; 20:30, 31. They had been with Him now for more than two years, and had learnt that lesson, even if they did not thoroughly understand all the details of it. See how Peter knew it, Matt. 16:17. It is still a matter o f personal rev elation, a perpetual miracle. God’s chal lenge is still, “What think ye of Christ?” How do you answer Him? Compare what Jesus “ began to teach them” with what had been foretold by Isaiah 800 years before: “ Suffer,” cf. Isa. 53:5, 6 ; “ Be rejected,” cf. Isa. 53:1-3; “ Be killed,” Isa. 53:7-9; “ Rise again,” Isa. 53:10-12. Note the force o f the “must” . Why must He? But Peter could not under stand (then) that “must” any more than the modern man can understand it now,
with Him but one day; the 4000 were with Him three days. The 5000 wanted to make Him king; the 4000 went away quietly. Our Lord Himself referred to them as being two separate occurrences. See verses 19, 20. A lady remarked to a business friend of mine yesterday that if religious folks would take care o f people’s bodies their souls would take care o f themselves. Jesus fed the multitude on two occasions, but only on two. The first crowd misunder stood Him and wanted to make king a man who could provide them with food apart from their working for it. The second crowd were satisfied with one good square meal and were not particularly interested in Him. If the lady above quoted and other social reformers are right, then why did not Jesus keep it up? Soul hunger is more important than hunger o f the body, and the man or woman who will ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous ness” shall have “all these things added” unto them. A means to an end is one thing; to substitute the means for the end is an entirely different matter. II. Jesus Healing a Blind Man, vv. 22-26. Crossing he sea Jesus returned to Dal- manutha, in the neighborhood o f Caper naum, where the Pharisees challenged Him to show them a sign, which He refused to do. If miracles would convert men, why did Jesus refuse to work one when chal lenged? If the men of Capernaum were not converted by all the miracles Jesus wrought before their eyes, would the men o f Los Angeles be converted by miracles today? Conversion is itself the greatest miracle. Again He crossed the sea, going to Beth- saida on the northeast shore, and healed a blind man whom they brought to Him. This healing had two peculiar features: Jesus first spat upon the sightless eyes and laid His hands upon them, but the man reported that he saw men as trees, walk ing. Jesus “put His hands again upon his eyes” and the man “saw every man clearly.” This is the only record o f Jesus healing any person gradually. In every other
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