Jesus at Capernaum
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ings. But with them he assumed an air of piety and learning, seeking
to deceive them as to their real motives in refusing the Saviour.
Jesus then retired from the synagogue while the people were still
spell-bound with wonder and admiration. This miracle was then fol-
lowed by another quite as wonderful. Jesus sought the house of Peter
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for a little rest; but there was no rest for the Son of Man. He was told
that the mother of Peter’s wife was sick with a fever. His sympathetic
heart was at once called out to relieve the suffering woman. He re-
buked the disease, and it was at once removed from her. She rose
from the bed, filled with joy and gratitude, and ministered with willing
hands to the wants of the Master and his disciples.
These miracles and works of healing were spread abroad through-
out the city. Yet these acts of mercy only made the bitterness of the
Pharisees more intense. They closely watched all the movements of
Jesus, seeking for cause to accuse him. Their influence prevented
many from applying to Jesus for relief from their infirmities upon the
Sabbath day. They feared being stigmatized as transgressors of the
law. But no sooner had the sun passed out of sight in the west than a
great commotion ensued. The diseased flocked to Jesus from every
quarter. Those who had sufficient strength came by themselves, but a
much larger number were borne by their friends to the great Physician.
They were in every condition of helplessness and approaching
death. Some were burning with fevers, others were paralyzed, stricken
with dropsy, blind, deaf, and lame. And in the distance was heard the
pitiful cry of the leper, Unclean! Unclean! as he stretched his decaying
hands toward the Healer. The work of Jesus commenced when the first
afflicted one was brought before him. The supplicants were healed
by a word from his lips or a touch of his hand. With gratitude and
rejoicing they returned to gladden with their enlightened minds and
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healthy bodies the homes that they had so recently left as helpless
invalids.
Those who had carefully borne them from their couches to the
presence of Jesus returned with them, weeping tears of joy, and shout-
ing the praises of the Saviour. Little children were not overlooked,
but the puny sufferers were handed back to their happy mothers rosy
with life and health. These living evidences of the divine power of
Jesus created a great excitement in all that region. Never before had