At the Saviour's feet were many suffering people—the sick brought upon couches by their friends, the blind crying for sight, the deaf and dumb holding out their hands toward him, the lepers with all their horrible sores, the wild people in whom were evil spirits. Jesus attended to the needs of all these sufferers. He laid his hands upon the sick, and they rose up well; he touched the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, and gave them their sight and hearing; he gave each leper a new, pure, perfect body; and he cast out the evil spirits by his words. Then he went on and made his usual talk to the crowds about the Kingdom of God, and how any man might come into it.
When at last his morning's work of healing and teaching was over, he turned to these two message-bearers from John the Baptist, and said to them:
"Go back and tell John in his prison what you have seen and heard. Here are men once blind who now can see; lame men who now can walk; leprous men who have been made clean; deaf men made to hear; men having in them evil spirits, who are now free from their power. You have heard too of dead men raised to life; and you have listened while the gospel has been preached to the poor. You go and tell John all these things that you have seen and heard. Then let John think about these things and judge whether I am not the One whom he promised should come."
That was a far better way to bring John the Baptist back to believing fully in Jesus as the promised King of Israel and the Saviour of the world than to send the answer back, "Go and tell John that I am the Saviour." For John's faith would be the stronger, because he would now have the proofs that Jesus was the promised Lord.
After these messengers from John the Baptist had left, Jesus began to talk to the people about John. Some may have thought that in sending this question to Jesus, John had showed weakness and a change of his mind. Jesus said to the people:
"What was it that you went out to the desert to see? Was it a reed swayed to and fro by the wind? No, this man John was no weak, wind-shaken reed. Did you go out to look at a man clothed in the robes of a prince, and eating delicate food? No, that skin-clad man in the desert was no such princely person. To see such people you go to the palaces of kings. Come, what did you go out to see? Was it a prophet, a man sent from God? Yes, I tell you, John the Baptist was indeed a prophet, and more than a prophet. He was the King's messenger, to prepare the way for the King himself. Of a truth, I tell you all that no greater man was ever born into this world than John the Baptist. And yet he that is least in the Kingdom of God is higher even than John."
Jesus meant that those who could come into the Kingdom of God, as those who heard the gospel might come, were higher than even the greatest of those who prepare the way for the Kingdom.
This Pharisee, Simon, wished to know Jesus and to talk with him, although he did not believe in him. But he felt that Jesus, being only a common carpenter who had turned Rabbi, or teacher, was below himself in rank; and he did not treat him with respect. When a great man came to the house, the servants took off his sandals and washed his feet; they dressed his hair and poured fragrant oil upon his head. None of these things had Simon done to Jesus. He merely invited him to his house, and without even giving him water to wash his feet, all dusty with walking, he pointed him to his place at the table.
In that land people did not sit down upon chairs at dinner. Around the table were placed couches or lounges, and on these the guests reclined, half lying and half sitting, their heads toward the table and their feet away from it. They could reach the table and help themselves to food or drink. Very little meat was eaten; and before being placed upon the table, it was always cut into small pieces, so that the guests needed no knives or forks. After each course of the meal, a servant passed around a bowl of water and a towel, and washed the hands of the guests.
While Jesus, and perhaps his disciples with him, were at the table during the dinner, people were coming in and going out freely. Soon a woman came in, looked around, saw Jesus, and went toward the couch whereon he was lying. In her hand was a jar of fragrant oil. She broke the jar, not waiting to take out the stopple, and poured the oil upon his feet. She wiped his feet with her long flowing hair; she wept over them, dropping her many tears upon his feet; and she kissed them over and over again.
All the people of that place knew who this woman was, and knew the life that she had lived. She had not been a good woman, but had been wicked, and was despised by all respectable people. Simon the Pharisee wondered that Jesus should allow such a woman to touch him. He thought within himself, though he did not say it aloud:
"This man cannot be a prophet, as they say he is; for if he were a prophet he would know what a vile creature this woman is, and he would not permit her hands to touch even his feet."
Jesus read the thoughts of the Pharisee, for he could look down into his mind. He said, "Simon, I have something to say to you."
"Well, Teacher," answered Simon, "say it."
Then Jesus said, "There was a lender of money, to whom two persons owed a debt. One owed him five hundred pieces of silver and the other owed him fifty. Neither of these two men could pay his debt; and so the money lender let them both go free. Tell me now, Simon, which of those two men will love this man the most?"
"I suppose," answered Simon, "the man who had the most forgiven."
"You are right," said Jesus. Then he turned toward the woman, and went on, still speaking to Simon. "Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you never even gave me water for my feet; but see, she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them dry with her hair. You never gave me a kiss of welcome; but this woman ever since she came in has been pressing kisses upon my feet. You never anointed my head with oil; but she has poured perfume over my feet. Therefore I tell you, Simon, that many as her sins have been, they are forgiven, for her love is great; while he to whom little is forgiven loves only a little."
Then he spoke to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."
Those at the table began to whisper to one another, "Who is this that claims the right to forgive sins?"
But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
After this he went on visiting the villages and telling the people the good news of the Kingdom of God. With him were his twelve chosen disciples. Besides these men were some women whom Jesus had cured of different diseases. One was Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out no less than seven evil spirits. Another was Joanna, the wife of a nobleman named Chuza, who was a high officer in the court of King Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. Another was named Susanna; and with these were a number of other women. Some of these were rich, and gave freely of their money to help Jesus.
One day there was brought to Jesus a man in whom was an evil spirit; and the spirit had taken away both his sight and his hearing, so that he could neither see, nor hear, nor speak. Jesus spoke to the evil spirit in the man, saying:
"Come out of this man, O wicked spirit, and never enter into him again!"
The evil spirit left the man's body, and for a moment he lay on the ground as though he were dead. But soon he rose up, entirely well and able to see, to hear and to speak. All those who saw this cure were filled with wonder, and many said, "Is not this the Son of David, whom the prophets promised should come and be our King?"
But when the Pharisees and scribes heard of this wonder, they said, "This fellow casts out the evil spirits because the chief of all the evil spirits is in him and gives him this power."
Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said:
"Any kingdom that is divided into two sides that are fighting each other will soon fall in pieces; and any family where people are quarreling will soon come to naught. If Satan, the evil one, is casting out evil spirits, then Satan's kingdom will soon fall, for it is divided against itself. But if by the power of God I cast out the bad spirits from men, then you may be sure that God is among you."
But this report that Jesus was possessed by evil spirits went abroad among the people, and some believed it. It came to the brothers of Jesus, who at that time did not fully believe in him; and it came to Mary his mother, filling her with alarm. She feared that her Son, working without any rest, and bearing such heavy loads of care, had lost his mind. Some said that the family of Jesus should take him home and not allow him to disturb the people, for they said, "He is beside himself!"
Mary and her sons came to the house where Jesus was talking to the people and curing the sick. So great was the crowd around the door that they could not get into the house, and they sent word inside that the mother of Jesus and his brothers were out in the street and wished to speak with him. They told Jesus:
"Your mother and your brothers are outside and they wish to speak with you."
But he answered the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
He turned to his disciples, stretched out his hands, and said:
"Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever will do the will of my Father in heaven, that one is my brother, and my sister and my mother!"
Jesus meant by this that dear as his mother was to him, those who were ready to follow his teachings were dearer still.
Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke to Jesus, saying:
"Teacher, show us some sign that you have come from God."
They wished him to work some miracle, some wonder in their sight. But Jesus never would do any of his great works merely to be seen. He cured the sick and cast out evil spirits out of pity for people in trouble, but not as a show of his power. He said to these people:
"It is a wicked and unfaithful time when people seek for a sign. I will give you no sign now, but after a time you shall see a sign, though you will not believe it. It will be the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days inside the great fish, so I the Son of Man will be three days under the ground, and like Jonah will come forth living.
"The people of Nineveh, to whom Jonah preached, will rise up in the day when God shall judge the world, and they shall show that they were better than the people of this time, for when Jonah preached to them, they turned from their sins and sought God. And One greater than Jonah is here, yet they will not listen to him!
"The Queen of Sheba will rise up in the day of judgment with the people of this time, and will prove them to be unfaithful. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wise words of Solomon; and one greater than Solomon is here, yet you will not listen to him."
But the stories that Jesus told were very different from those of the Eastern story-tellers. His stories were told to teach some great truth, and on that account were called "parables." A parable is a story which is true to life—that is, a story which might be true, not a fairy story—and which also has in it some teaching of the truth.
One day Jesus went out of the city of Capernaum and stood on the beach by the Sea of Galilee. A great crowd of people gathered around him, for all the opposition of the scribes and Pharisees could not keep the common people away from Jesus. The throng was so great, crowding around Jesus, that as before he stepped into a boat and told his disciples to push it out a little from the shore. Then he sat down in the boat, fronting the great multitude that filled the sloping beach. He said to the people:
"Listen! Once a sower went out to sow his seed. And as he was scattering the seed, some of it fell on the path, where the ground had been trodden hard. The seed lay there on the path until the birds lighted upon it and picked up all the kernels, so that none of them grew.
"Some of the seed fell on places where there was a thin covering of earth over stones. There the kernels grew up quickly, just because the soil was thin. But when the hot weather came, the sun scorched the tender plants, and they all withered away, because they had no moisture and no root in deep earth.
"Some other of the seeds fell among briers and bushes, and there was no room for the grain to grow up. It lived, but it did not bring forth heads of grain, because it was crowded and choked by thorn bushes all around it.
"But there were some other of the seeds that fell into ground that was soft and rich and good. There they grew up and brought forth fruit abundantly. Some kernels gave thirty times as many as were sown, some sixty times and some a hundred times."
Jesus did not tell the people what the teaching of the parable was. He only said, "Whoever has ears, let him hear what I have spoken." He meant that they should not only listen but think and find out for themselves the meaning.
When Jesus was alone with his disciples, they said to him:
"Why do you speak to the people in parables? What do you mean to teach in this story about the man sowing seed?"
Jesus said to them:
"To you who have followed me it is given to know the deep things of the Kingdom of God, because you seek to find them out. But to many these truths are spoken in parables, for they hear the story, but do not try to find out what it means. They have eyes, but they do not see, and ears, but they do not hear. For they do not wish to understand with the heart and turn to God to have their sins forgiven. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Listen now to the meaning of the parable of the sower.
"The sower is the one who speaks the word of God, and the seed is the word which he speaks.
"The seed on the roadside, the trodden path, means those who hear, but do not take the truth into their hearts. Then the Evil Spirit comes and, like the birds, snatches away the truth, so that they forget it.
"The seeds on the rocky soil are those who hear the word and seem to take it gladly into their hearts; but they have no root in themselves; just as soon as they meet with any discouragement or trouble, or find enemies to the truth, they are turned away and their goodness does not last.
"That which is sown among the thorns and briers are those who listen to the word, but the worries of life, and the desire for money, and the pleasures of the world, crowd the word in their hearts, and the gospel does them but little good.
"But the seed sown on the good ground are those who listen to the gospel and understand it; who take the word into honest and good hearts and keep it and bring forth fruit in their lives."
"There was a man who sowed good wheat in his field; but while people were asleep, an enemy came and scattered the seed of weeds over all the ground. Then the enemy went away, leaving his seed to grow up. When the sprouts of grain began to form into heads of wheat, the men saw that everywhere in the field the weeds were among them, for weeds always grow faster than good seed.
"So the servants of the farmer came to him and said:
"'Did you not, sir, sow good seed in your field? How comes it that it is full of weeds?'
"He said to them, 'Some enemy of mine has done this.'
"'Shall we go,' said the servants, 'and pull up the weeds that are growing with the wheat?'
"'No,' answered the farmer, 'for while you are pulling the weeds, you will root up the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, "When you have cut down all the crop, then take out the weeds and put them into bundles to be burned; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
Jesus gave to the people another parable about "The Growing Grain." He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should throw seed upon the ground. The sower will sleep every night, while the seed will spring up, he cannot tell how. The ground bears fruit of itself, first the little shoot, then the ear of grain, and then the full head of grain. But when the heads of grain are ripe, he puts in his sickle and reaps, because the harvest is come."
His next parable was "The Mustard Seed." "The kingdom of heaven," said Jesus, "is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. This is the smallest of all seeds; but it grows up to become a bush so large that it is like a tree, putting out great branches, and the birds light upon them and rest under their shadow."
Jesus gave one more parable, "The Leaven, or Yeast." He said, "The kingdom of God is like the leaven or yeast that a woman uses when she makes bread. She mixes up a very little yeast in a large mass of dough, and leaves it to rise. Presently all the dough is changed by the yeast, and made into good bread. So it is with the truth to those who take it into their hearts."
After Jesus told these five parables, "The Sower," "The Wheat and the Weeds," "The Growing Grain," "The Mustard Seed," and "The Leaven," he sent the crowd away and went into a house with his disciples. When they were alone they said to him, "Tell us what is the meaning of the parable of 'The Wheat and the Weeds.'"
Jesus answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, whom God has sent into the earth. The field is the world. The good wheat are those who hear his word and are the children of God. The weeds are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil, Satan. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels of God. Just as the weeds are gathered from among the good grain and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all that do evil and cause harm, and shall throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and wail and gnash their teeth. But in that day, the children of God, the true wheat, shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their heavenly Father."
Then to his disciples, not to the crowd, Jesus gave three more parables. The first was "The Hid Treasure." He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a heap of money which a man found while he was working in a field. He hid it again, and told no one about it; but went home, sold all that he had and gladly bought that field, that the treasure might be his own."
The next parable was that of "The Pearl." "There was a man who went into many places to find pearls, which he bought to sell to others. In one place he found a pearl of great price, far more precious than any that he had seen before. He went and sold everything that he had, and with the money bought that pearl."
The last of these parables was "The Drag Net." "Once more," said Jesus, "the kingdom of heaven is like a large net that was cast into the sea and took in fishes of every kind, large and small, good and bad. When the net was full they drew it to the shore. There they sat down and took the fishes out, one by one. They looked them over and put the good fish, those that were fit to be eaten, into baskets, but those that were useless they threw away. So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will come and will take out the people that are wicked from among the good, and shall fling them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
After Jesus had finished telling these parables to his disciples, he said to them, "Have you understood all these?"
They said to him, "Yes, we have."
And he said to them, "Every teacher who has been made a learner in the kingdom of God is like a man who brings out of his store some things that are new and some that are old."
"Let us sail across the lake to the other side." So they made ready the boat and took Jesus on board. Some of the people were so eager to be with Jesus that they also went into other boats and sailed with him. Jesus was very tired after his day of teaching and he lay down in the rear end of the boat, resting his head upon one of the cushions. In the steady motion of the oars and the gentle rippling of the waves, Jesus soon fell asleep, while the boat moved onward over the lake. Soon the night came and the disciples rowed on in the darkness.
On the Sea of Galilee, storms often arise very suddenly. The water may be perfectly calm for a time and then in a few minutes lashed into fury by the wind. So it came to pass while Jesus was sleeping. A great wind arose, the waves rolled high and dashed into the boat; but Jesus slept on peacefully.
At least four of the twelve disciples, and we know not how many more, were fishermen. They knew how dangerous these sudden storms might be; and as they saw the boat filling with water and beginning to sink, they were frightened. Coming to Jesus, they awoke him, crying out, "Master, Master, we are lost! Help us or we shall drown!"
The storm, with all the noise of creaking sails and roaring winds and dashing waves, had not awaked Jesus, but the cries of his frightened disciples aroused him from his sleep. He looked around, saw the dashing waves and said just these words:
"Peace, be still!"
At once the wind ceased, the waves smoothed down and there was perfect calm upon the sea. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying:
"Why are you so fearful? Have you so little faith in me?"
They might have known that whether their Master was awake or asleep, they were safe if he was with them. They wondered at this new proof of Jesus' power, and said to each other:
"Who can this be that can speak to the winds and the waves and they obey his words!"
They were sailing from Capernaum in a direction southeast, and after rowing about seven miles, they came to the eastern shore of the lake, where was a village called Gerasa. This region was called "the country of the Gadarenes," from a large city, Gadara, not far away. It was a part of Decapolis, a name given to all the country on the east of the Sea of Galilee. The word Decapolis means "The Ten Cities," and because in that land were ten large Roman cities, the whole country was called "The Country of Ten Cities."
It must have been very early in the morning when Jesus and his disciples brought their boats to the shore at Gerasa. Just as they were landing, a man came running down the hill to meet them, and from his wild acts they saw that he was one of those wretched people who were under the power of evil spirits. This man wore no clothes; he would not live in any house, but stayed in the caves in the hillside, which were used as burial places. They had tried to bind him with ropes and chains, but when the evil power was on him, he would break all his bonds and even snap his chains apart. He stayed all the time among the tombs, crying, moaning and gashing himself with sharp stones.
This wild man ran toward Jesus and fell at his feet. As soon as Jesus saw the state he was in, he spoke to the evil spirit within the man:
"Come out of this man, you vile spirit!"
The spirit answered Jesus, crying out, "Jesus, son of the Most High God, what business have you with us? In the name of God, I call upon you not to make us suffer!"
Jesus saw that this man's state was far worse than even most of those who were ruled by evil spirits. He said to the spirit, "What is your name?"
"My name is Legion," answered the evil spirit; meaning that in the man was not only one, but many of the evil spirits, a whole army of them, for the word "legion" means an army.
The demons, or evil spirits, begged Jesus not to send them far away. On the top of the hill was a herd of many hogs feeding. The Jewish people were not allowed to keep hogs nor to eat their flesh, so this drove of hogs must have belonged to foreign people, whom the Jews called Gentiles.
The evil spirits asked Jesus if when they left the man, they might go into these hogs; and Jesus allowed them. Then the demons or evil spirits went out of the man, leaving him lying upon the ground, naked but well. They went into the drove of hogs, and the hogs instantly became wild and could not be controlled. They rushed in a great mass down the steep side of the hill and into the water. There they were all drowned, about two thousand in number. The men who kept the hogs ran to the town near by, and told all the people what had happened; how the demons at the command of this stranger had left the man, had gone into the drove of hogs and had caused them to drown in the waters. The people of the city came out to see for themselves what had taken place. They saw the man in whom had been the fierce evil spirits, now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, calm and peaceful.
These Gadarene people evidently knew nothing of Jesus and the many good works that he had done. They were filled with dread of his power, and scarcely looking at the man whom Jesus had helped so wonderfully, thought only of the hogs which they had lost. They begged Jesus to go away from their land and not to come to their town. Think what blessings Jesus might have brought to them, in curing their sick, giving sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf, besides the good news of his teaching! But with no knowledge of these good gifts, they asked Jesus to leave them.
And Jesus took them at their word. Sadly he turned away, went down to the beach and stepped into the boat. The man who had been set free from the evil spirits begged most earnestly to be allowed to go with Jesus. He may have feared that the people of the city would be angry with him because the demons in him had killed their hogs; or he may have thought that the evil spirits might come back to him if he was left alone, without his mighty helper near. He knew that he would be safe if he were with his Lord, and he asked again and again that he might go away with Jesus, wherever he might go.
But Jesus would not grant his prayer. He said to the man:
"Go home to your own people, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has taken pity on you."
The man went through all the country of Decapolis and told everybody whom he met what great things Jesus had done for him. When they heard this, they all wondered, and no doubt many wished that they had welcomed Jesus instead of sending him away.
This man was named Jairus. He was the chief elder over the church in the town, which they called the synagogue. At home his little daughter twelve years old was lying very ill and likely to die at any moment. Jairus knew that if Jesus should come ashore in time, before his daughter would die, he could save her life; so with hope and fear mingled, he stood on the shore watching for Jesus to come, but fearing that he might come too late.
At last he could see the large boat rising in sight and drawing nearer, with other smaller boats around it. Before Jesus could step ashore, Jairus fell down upon his face before him and cried out:
"O Master, come to my house just as soon as you can! My little daughter is lying at the point of death; I pray you, come and lay your hands upon her so that she may live and be made well."
Jesus went with him, and all the crowd followed, pressing closely upon him; some showing pity and hope for Jairus in his trouble, but more of them wishing to see Jesus do one of his wonderful works. In the edge of the crowd was standing a poor woman, wasted by sickness and as pale as death. She had a running sore, which for twelve years had drained away her blood. She was very eager to go to Jesus, for she believed that he could cure her sore, although many doctors had tried in vain to help her. She had spent all her money upon the doctors, one after another, but no one of them had done her any good, and she was all the time growing worse. Jesus was in the middle of this great crowd, and this woman was very weak, but by making a strong effort she was able to get near enough to Jesus, not to speak to him, but to reach her hand between those who were walking nearest to him and to touch his clothes.
Suddenly a great hope arose in her heart. She said to herself, "I really believe that if I can just touch the Master's clothes I will be made well!"
She reached out with trembling hand and touched the outer robe of Jesus. In an instant she felt a strange power come into her body and she knew that the sore was cured. She was well and strong!
At that moment Jesus stopped in his walk, while Jairus was trying to hurry him onward. He stood still, looked all around, and said, "Who touched my clothes?"
His disciples were beside him, and Peter answered:
"Why, Master, the crowd is all around, pressing close upon you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?' while people are touching you all the time."
But Jesus said, "I am sure that somebody touched me, because I felt that power had gone out from me."
As he stood still and looked all around to see who had done this, the woman came forward out of the crowd and fell down at his feet, trembling with fear, afraid that she had offended him. She told of what she had suffered, how she had touched his clothing and had been made well. Jesus said to her:
"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be free from your sickness."
But while Jesus was delaying for these few moments, Jairus was standing by his side in growing alarm, for to him and his dying child every minute was precious. Just then some one from his own house came up to him through the crowd and said:
"Your daughter is dead; what is the use of asking the Teacher to come any further? Not even he can help her now."
These people had not heard how Jesus some weeks before had raised to life the widow's son at Nain, for that village was at least twenty-five miles from Capernaum.
But Jesus spoke encouragingly to the sorrowing father. "Have no fear; only believe, and she shall yet be well."
They went to the house of Jairus, and the crowd would have followed him inside, but Jesus forbade them. He allowed none to go with him into the house, except the father and three of his disciples, Peter, James and John.
The house was full of people, weeping and wailing, playing on flutes and making a great noise, as the manner was then and is even now in that land. Men and women are paid to come to the house where one is lying dead, and to scream and cry aloud, so that all in the town may know of the death and of the sorrow of the family.
Jesus said to the people in the house, "Why do you make such a noise? The little girl is not dead, but only sleeping."
Jesus meant by these words that we need not be filled with sorrow when our friends die; for death is only a sleep until the time when God shall awaken them. But this they did not understand; and they would not be comforted, for they knew that the child was dead.
Jesus ordered all these hired mourners to leave the house. He went into the room where the dead child was lying on the bed, taking with him only her father and mother, with his three chosen disciples. Standing beside the dead body, he took its little hand into his own and said:
"Little girl, I say to you, rise up!"
And instantly the girl stood up, looked around and began to walk. How happy were that father and mother as they clasped in their arms their little girl, no longer dead, but living and well. All were filled with wonder. They would have told everybody about this mighty work, but Jesus said to them:
"Give the child something to eat, but do not talk about her being brought back to life. Tell no one of it."
"Have mercy on us, O Son of David!"
You know that Jesus came from the family of which David had been the head long before. All the people looked for him, as sprung from David, to take David's throne, and like David, become king over all the land. The people who believed that Jesus was to be king often called him "Son of David."
These two blind men followed Jesus, crying to him, until he went into the house where he was staying, which may have been the house where Simon Peter lived. The blind men came into the house after Jesus. He said to them:
"Do you believe that I can do this which you desire?"
They answered him, "Yes, Lord, we believe that you can."
Then Jesus placed his hands upon their eyes, first on one man and then on the other. As he touched their eyes, he said to them, "As you believe, let it be done to you."
At once their eyes were opened and they could see. Jesus spoke to them very strongly, and gave them special orders, saying, "See that nobody knows of this."
He did not wish always to have crowds around seeking for miracles of healing, for he felt that he had a greater work to do in preaching to the souls of men than in curing their bodies. But these men went away and told all whom they met what a wonderful thing Jesus had done for them. It was not strange that they should speak of it, even though he had forbidden them, for all who had known them before as blind men saw the great change in their looks, now that they could see, and asked them how it had come to pass; so that it was not easy to avoid telling people about it. But wherever it was told, people who had any disease, or were blind, or deaf and dumb, or lame, were filled with desire to find Jesus and be made well.
Soon after these two men left Jesus, cured of their blindness, another man was brought to Jesus. This was a dumb man, in whom lived an evil spirit. Jesus always cast out the evil spirits, without waiting to be asked, whenever he found them ruling over men. He spoke to this evil spirit, and it left the man. Then all at once the man began to speak, for it was the evil spirit in him that had made him dumb. All the people wondered, and said to one another:
"Such power as this has never before been seen in the land of Israel!"
But the scribes and Pharisees, who were enemies of Jesus, said again, as they had said before:
"This man casts out the evil spirits, because Satan, the prince of the evil spirits, helps him."