said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our's. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.-Mark XII. 1-9.

It is added, that they knew that He had spoken the parable against them; and they left Him and went their way.

Another parable was about a marriage feast that a king made for his son. It means all the blessings of a good life and of heaven that the Lord prepares for us. But those who were bidden made excuses and would not come. Can it be that we ever do so? The man who had not on a wedding garment is like those who appear to do right, but there is no heavenly spirit in it, and when they come into the other world even the appearance of goodness is lost. They cannot live in heaven.

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend,

how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. -Matthew XXII. 1-14.

ATTEMPTS TO ENTRAP THE LORD: WIDOW'S

MITES.

THE Pharisees and Herodians came to the Lord together, on that last day in the temple, asking if they ought to give tribute to Cæsar or not. The Pharisees taught that it was wrong, the Herodians believed that it was right. It seemed that whatever answer the Lord gave, He would offend one party or the other. But he answered so wisely that neither Pharisees nor Herodians could make any reply, and His words contain a lesson for all time.

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Hero

(Copyright, 1903, by William H. Rau, Phila.)
Steps and arches by the Mosque of Omar.

dians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him а penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Cæsar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and When they had heard these words,

unto God the things that are God's.
they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

Then one of them, which was a lawyer,* asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

*One learned in the law of Moses.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew XXII. 15-22, 35-40.

The last visit of the Lord to the temple had so much that was sad in it! but it closed with a beautiful scene. The Lord sat watching the people who put offerings into the treasury, -into the chests with trumpet-shaped mouths which were placed in the court where both men and women came, to

Pulpit by the Mosque of Omar.

receive the money that

was brought to the temple. What made some of the gifts worth little, and some of them worth much in His sight?

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites,* which

make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.-Mark XII. 41-44.

LEAVING THE TEMPLE: PROPHECY OF DARK DAYS.

IT was the end of the last day of teaching in the temple, and the Lord was turning with the disciples to the quiet of the Mount of Olives. They pointed out to Him the buildings of the temple, and perhaps some of the great stones which made the outer wall. The temple had been building fortysix years, and was not yet finished. The Lord told them

*The "mite" was the very smallest copper coin.

that it would all be overthrown. Forty years later the Romans came, under their general Titus, and the city was destroyed and the temple burned, and a great many of the people were killed. You can see in Rome the arch built in memory of the victory, and on one side are sculptured the golden lamp and table from the temple, carried on the shoulders of the victors.

But the real temple is not built of stones, but of the truth and love in the minds and hearts of men. When the Lord said that the temple would be overthrown He meant also that there was little truth and goodness left among the Jews.

Then the Lord sat on the Mount of Olives over against the temple, looking down on the city which He loved so much, but which cared so little for Him, and as the shades of evening deepened around, Peter and James and John and Andrew came to Him privately and asked about the sad things that were coming. He told them that there would darkness and wars,

be

darkness in the minds of men, when almost all true knowledge about the Lord and heaven would be lost; and wars when those who called themselves Christians would quarrel about holy things.

Then would come the sign of brighter days. Men would grow more kind, and would take better care of sick people and of children, and of the poor. All this which is coming true to-day, is the budding of the fig tree. And the Lord would come in the clouds of His Holy Word. He is teaching us to understand the Bible, revealing Himself to us in its deeper meaning. He has truly come again with new power.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And

Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall

(From a carbon photograph published by A. W. Elson & Co., Boston. Copyright, 1900, by A. W. Elson & Co., Boston.)

The lamp and table from the temple carried in triumph: sculpture on the Arch of Titus, Rome.

rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender,