way too in which his miracle of healing the bodily infirmity of the blind man was performed, itself indicates this intended analogy. At first, the blind man looks up, and sees men as trees walking; and it is only in a further stage of the miracle that he sees plainly. Now with miracles performed on the blind and deaf, the apostles had by this time become familiar. The secondary application too of these miracles-the hints they conveyed of what our Lord was doing for the minds and hearts of men-they must by this time have well understood. But in the present instance, the application of the miracle, to their case more especially was intimated by the terms of the reproof which he had just before given them. "Having eyes do ye not see?" They were therefore, one would think, led forcibly to attach a meaning to a feature in this miracle, which distinguished it from other similar cases of sight restored; and to suspect, that the peculiarity was intended to point at them, and at that dulness which had lately called forth such strong expressions from our Lord. Nothing perhaps more required to be impressed on their minds, than that while Jesus was commending and rewarding their faith, by clearer and clearer revelation; they were still to be on the alert about discovering the whole truth-that their faith, until they should arrive at the perfect man, was even like the slow-coming vision of this blind man restored to sight, and the objects of it like the men which he saw as trees walking. ST. PETER'S CONFESSION THAT JESUS WAS THE CHRIST. Ver. 27-38. And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever From this passage we find, that the cure of the blind man was followed up by questions from our Lord to his apostles respecting their faith in him, and a freer communication of light to them, "He spake that saying openly." The truth of the lesson conveyed by the miracle is here fully exemplified in St. Peter's behaviour, even with all the striking admonitions and reproofs yet sounding in his ears. "Whom say ye that I am?" asked Christ. Was he John the Baptist? as some supposed. Elias? as others thought. One of the prophets? according to a third surmise. No; "Thou art the Christ," exclaimed St. Peter. His eyes were opened, and he saw-but what? Only, as it were, the blind man's first imperfect vision-the objects of faith confused and indistinct. He discovered thus much, that his Master was the Christ; but when the discourse turned on other features of the scheme of redemption, no less essential in the prophetic picture-when Christ talked of the Son of man suffering-being rejected by the chief priests and elders-put to death-and rising on the third day-he could see nothing of all this. His mind, like the eyes of the blind man gradually acquiring sight, embraced a view of the Messiah, which was only partial, and in shadowy outline. He interrupted our Lord, and forbad him to proceed; and drew on himself the harsh rebuke, "Get thee behind me, Satan for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. It would seem from all this, that, although faith was made a requisite preparatory to all the blessings of the new dispensation, yet this faith has by no means always had the same object. And how could it? To him that had, to him was to be given. Faith, according to the light afforded, was requisite at baptism; but the baptized afterwards had their eyes continually opened to fresh truths; every new one, a reward of the faith exercised on the preceding object which had been presented to it. Is it not so even now? Who shall say, under his particular circumstances, what faith will be necessary for his salvation? That which enabled the leper to receive a cure of his visitation was faith, faith in our Saviour; but if he paused there, a worse thing was likely to come upon him. St. Peter's acknowledgment of our Lord that he was the Christ was faith, and faith in Christ; but what was then commended in the apostle, would have been too slender a stock for his salvation, had he, under his after circumstances, never advanced beyond it. Judas must have had faith in Christ; else he would not have followed him so constantly; but his faith did not enlarge and keep pace with his circumstances; and he, we know, perished. That view again, which was great and glorious for John the Baptist, was blindness, and like the imperfect sight of him who saw men as trees walking, in one of the least in the kingdom of heaven. Let every one therefore examine himself not only to ascertain whether he is in the faith, but whether that faith embraces as much religious knowledge as may be expected of him. |