Jesus; unequivocally he testified: "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world; " again and again did he "bare record that this is the Son of God." John 1, 34. Moreover, he rebuked king Herod because of Herodias, his brother's wife, saying: "it is not lawful for thee to have her," Matt. 14, 4, and in this testimony John remained steadfast, although it cost him his life. He was not a wavering man, as the Lord here says to the multitude concerning him: What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" Here the Lord plainly says, that John was not like a reed swaying to and fro in the wind, and as he was steadfast in his confession we must conclude that he was steadfast in his faith.

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But though John himself was not in doubt as to whether Jesus was the Messiah, yet the disciples of John were. When John was in prison and the fame of Jesus began to spread abroad, the disciples of John, being anxious to know if Jesus was truly the One promised, reported His deeds to their master. In order, therefore, that they might become fully convinced, John sent them to Jesus with this question; for John well knew that the Lord had more testimonies for His identity, than only the testimony of His precursor. Not for his own sake, but for their sake did John send his disciples to put this question to the Lord. This is also indicated by the form of the question; for John does not send them to ask: "Do I," but: look for another?" So John's disciples came and proposed this question to the Lord, and incontrovertibly does He prove to them that He and none other is the Messiah.

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He answered: "Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." When the disciples of John came to Jesus, they did not find Him alone, but in the midst of a great multitude of people, surrounded by sick and ailing ones. There they proposed their question to Him, but He did not simply answer: I am Christ, neither did He appeal to the testimony of John, but He first

of all appealed to His works. The Lord does not require them simply to believe His word; for then they might have answered as the Pharisees once did: "Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true;" John 8, 13; but as He answered the Jews: "Though ye believe not me, believe the works," so here. The Lord answered them in a twofold manner: first in deeds and then in words. St. Luke, after stating the question put by John's disciples, writes: "And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities, and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight," Luke 7, 21, and then St. Luke subjoins the answer of Christ. When the messengers of John had proposed their question to Christ, He first answered by deeds, performing a number of miracles before them, and then He appealed to these miracles which they had seen with their own eyes.

How do the miracles of Christ prove Him the Son of God and the promised Deliverer, since many others have also performed miracles? When a miracle is performed, when the ordinary course of nature is changed simply by a word, either God must Himself be present in His own person, or the act must be performed in the name and power of God; for no creature, not even an angel, can, without using adequate means, change the course of nature appointed by God. Now prophets and apostles did perform miracles: Moses struck the rock with his staff and water flowed from it; Elijah prayed and fire fell from heaven; Peter commanded a lame man sitting at the entrance of the temple to rise and walk, and he arose and walked; but only and alone in the name of the Lord did the prophets and apostles perform these works, and they never performed miracles by their own power. Their miracles, therefore, prove nothing more than that the power of God was with them, that they were sent by God, and that their word was the Word of God. But Jesus Christ performed miracles in a far different manner. He did them in His own name and by His own power. When once a leper said unto Him: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean; " He did not answer: In the name of the Lord be thou cleansed, but He said: "I

will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." Matt. 8, 3. The miracles of Christ, therefore, prove more than only that the power of God is with Him and that His Word is of God; they prove that He Himself is God; for He that can change the course of nature simply by a word spoken in His own name must be God, who alone has such power. Christ must be true God, because He performed miracles in His own name and by His own power. And He performed a countless number of miracles. As we read in the Gospels He performed miracles at all places wherever He went, and yet St. John writes: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book." John 20, 30.

Christ's miracles prove that He is the Son of God who is come into the world a Savior; for in them all He wrought deliverance from some evil. Requested to give proof that He is the One which was to come, He appeals to His works; and well may He; for these certainly do prove to an evidence that He is Jehovah, our Savior.

II.

After the Lord had answered the disciples of John in deeds, proving Himself the almighty God, He also answered them in words, proving that He is the One spoken of by the prophets; for He answered them in words written by the prophets long ago, thus showing that these were fulfilled in Him. The prophet Isaiah, ch. 35, had written: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing."" And the same prophet had said: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." 26, 19. By thus answering them in words of the prophets Christ meant to tell the disciples of John: Ye know, according to the prophets, the Messiah is to perform such miracles, and now with your eyes ye do see me perform these works.

Next to His works, He appeals to the doctrine which He was

"The

preaching: "The poor have the gospel preached to them." This too had been foretold by the prophets, that the Messiah would preach the Gospel, glad tidings to the poor, as the Anointed of the Lord spake by the mouth of Isaiah: Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." ch. 61. When Jesus once read these words publicly in the synagogue at Nazareth, He began His explanation with the words: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Luke 4, 21. Of the same the Lord reminded the messengers of John that in that very hour this prophecy was fulfilled in their ears; for when they came to Him, He was preaching to the multitude, and not the rich and the proud, but the poor, the humble and the lowly were gathered about Him. To these He proclaimed the glad tidings, that the kingdom of God was at hand, and the heavens were now opened. Ye know, those sighing in the bondage of sin, the publicans and sinners, flocked to Him, and to these He proclaimed deliverance from their burden, the gracious forgiveness of their sins. Here again the Lord tells the disciples of John: Ye know, according to the prophets, the Messiah is to preach the Gospel to the poor; ye see here a multitude of poor gathered around me, and ye do hear me proclaim to them the acceptable year of the Lord; "go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see," and be ye believing and not unbelieving.

Of one more prophecy of the Scriptures did the Lord remind them, saying: "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not bè offended in me." Thus we read in the 118th Psalm: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner." In the 4th chapter of Acts Peter quotes these words as having been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, saying to the high council: "Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, this is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which became the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in

any other." But most clearly did Isaiah foretell that many would be offended in the Messiah. In the 53d chapter he says: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not." And more directly in the 8th chapter: "He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." This prophecy was repeated by Simeon in the temple. Taking the child Jesus up in his arms, he said unto His mother: "Behold, this child. is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against." Jesus Christ was sent for the salvation of Israel, but it was foretold that He would be a stone of stumbling to many, His own people would despise Him, and the rulers in Israel would reject Him.

All this began to be fulfilled while John the Baptist was yet living. No sooner did Christ commence to preach and perform miracles than the builders, the priests and scribes, rejected Him, and many of the people took offense in Him, and this, too, the disciples of John saw and heard, this prophecy also was being fulfilled in Him.

In very deed the Lord gives to these men a thorough answer; He proves to them beyond a question that He is the Messiah, and at the same time He earnestly warns them not to be offended in Him, not to make light of His testimony, but to acknowledge and to receive Him for their Saviour. Thereupon the Lord dismissed them; for now they could make no other conclusion than this: He that performs the works and preaches the doctrine which the prophets foretold of the Messiah must be the Hope of Israel; Jesus of Nazareth does these works and preaches this doctrine; therefore there can be no doubt that He is the promised One.

When the disciples of John had departed, the Lord proposed one more convincing proof to the people that He is the Messiah. He began to speak of John the Baptist, and con