Imatges de pàgina
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The following are the miracles recorded to have been performed by our Saviour, though St. John tells us, that had every one been written, the world

itself could not contain the books, that should be written:

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The first public miracle that Jesus performed was in Cana of Galilee, so called to distinguish it from Cana in the allotment of the tribe of Ephraim. The mere record of this miracle affords ample evidence of its reality. It appears that Jesus and his disciples were bidden to a marriage, at which feast there was a deficiency of wine, probably in consequence of the numerous followers that celebrated the marriage and attended our Saviour. The larger the number, however, the greater was the evidence of the truth of the record. Christ with his disciples having been invited to this wedding, it has very rightly been conjectured to have been the first Christian wedding on record;-they were, perhaps, not invited as mere guests, for Christ seems to have been expected to bless the union. The words of St. John are condensed; but we may imagine this fact to be implied. The mother of Jesus may have witnessed in private the Divine power of her Son, and considered it probably a good opportunity for Him to make a manifestation of it. Or she might indeed never have seen Him work a miracle before this time; for Jesus appears to have led a private life to the period of baptism, which had just taken place; nevertheless, it is clear, that she anticipated some extraordinary occurrence, which she could not have anticipated, had she doubted his Divine character. And how after the annunciation of Gabriel,

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how thus knowing the ancient prophecies to be condensed in Him, as it were rays of Divine truth converging in the Sun of Righteousness, could she have doubted it? For immediately as the want of wine became known, Mary turned to Jesus, instead of, as we might suppose, to the governour of the feast, and "saith unto him, They have no wine, Jesus saith unto her, Woman', what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come Our Lord's gentle rebuke conveyed an assurance, that his hour for attesting his Divinity was not yet come. This emphatically declares, that He possessed more authority and power, and deserved greater reverence than the Virgin Mary; a Scriptural protest, indeed, against the worship ascribed to her by the Papists. The expectation in Mary's mind was, however, the same, and her hope that He would manifest his glory unaltered. For she "saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it."

Now "there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins a-piece." Various have been the conjectures, as to the quantity that

1 Our Saviour meant not to convey, in the term woman any harshness; on the contrary, the epithet was used to ladies of the highest rank and distinction.

2 John ii. 3-4.

these vessels contained, but it is a point of no importance; the importance rests upon their being full of water. The record declares, that the servants, by command of our Lord, "filled them up to the brim" (we avw); it was therefore impossible for any wine to have been mixed with the water: in fact, the governour and the servants were disinterested in what was going on, and would have instantly recognised the deception. Again, they themselves had no wine to mix with the water, for it is stated that " they wanted wine” (υστερήσαντος τοῦ οἴνου) And it is contrary to all probability, that Jesus could have had any wine to mix with the water; even if he had, He could not have accomplished his purpose, for the water-pots were full up to the brim. The ruler of the feast also pronounced the wine to be good, which he would not have done, had there been any adulteration. We are therefore left to conclude, that this was a real and proper miracle, leaving in the minds of those who witnessed its performance the conviction, that Jesus was really and truly the Son of God. This miracle has been beautifully described by Dryden in the following verse:

"The conscious water saw its God and blushed."

A very absurd question, viz. whether Christ changed the whole or a part of the water into wine, has been agitated by some critics, who are wise

above what is written. On this we will only observe, that the water probably became wine, as it was poured from the hydriæ, adding that according to Jewish phraseology, ἐφανέρωσε τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ at v. 11 evidently implies, that He thus gave evidence of his Supreme Divinity.

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The fame of Jesus naturally spread far and wide, for He had performed miracles between those He wrought in Cana; and when our Lord entered again into Cana, a certain nobleman came from Capernaum to beseech Jesus to "come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death." Jesus, in order to try his faith, said, "Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe." The nobleman's faith was implicit; Sir," said he, "come down ere my child die." Jesus saith unto him, "Go thy way; thy son liveth"-an answer which evidently put again to the test the faith of this nobleman, but it endured the trial, for "the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." We know not whether the life of the son depended upon the faith of the father, but we are satisfied that in answer to the faith of the nobleman, the miracle was performed, that he received a full assurance that his prayer was answered, and that the life of his son was preserved. The word of Jesus was sufficient. He therefore commenced his return;

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