...ded to i s were well known, hd abdy in is crowds to fock to this n witue sed in, the streets oft v4 bosqeged the hose of Feter, an i thither, butzer eamNE + continued d as: ht}h¢ Taip visking the relief which a the day Jesus rebuked the fever, and, taking the patient by the hand, lifted her up. The disease instantly left her. The mere quelling of such a disorder usually leaves the patient weakened by its virulence. The period of convalescence is sometimes the most trying.- Christ, however, not only expelled the fever, but inspired health and strength, so that she rose from her sick-bed and went about her customary household duties.* Meanwhile the rumor of the scene in the synagogue had been extending. Sunset is a sign for the commencement of the greatest social activity in Palestine. The work of the day is over. Its intolerable heat has passed. The women gather at the wells to draw their water.t The men gather about their doors, or in groups at the gate of the city, for converse. The obligation of Sabbath rest, too, closes with the setting sun. By sunset the fast-spreading rumor began to bring forth its fruit. Christ's disciples were well known in the city. The miracle of the fishes had already been bruited abroad, and had sufficed to indicate Jesus's probable whereabouts. People began in crowds to flock to this new prophet. A strange scene was then witnessed in the streets of Capernaum. A motley crowd besieged the house of Peter, and thronged the streets that led thither. Hither came the paralytic, bent together by long-continued disease; hither the unfortunate victim of epilepsy, seeking the relief which medicine never has been able to afford; hither the blind groped their way, following the sound of the crowd, or led by some sympathizing friend; hither, drawn by a strange attraction, came the lunatic in his half-consciousness of disease, hoping for a cure that he could not comprehend; hither were brought by friends some invalids borne on their mattresses; hither came parents bringing their children, with the still-lingering though hitherto oft-disappointed hope of love, or children * Luke iv., 39. See Gen. xxiv. as an illustration of the antiquity of this custom. |