CHAPTER 140.
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Levi
Jesus and the three disciples return to Capernaum. Jesus receives the report of the seventy. With his disciples he goes through all Galilee encouraging the believers. He heals a woman. Relates the parable of the little seed and the great tree.
The time had come for the return of the three score and ten whom Jesus sent abroad to preach.
2 And Jesus, Peter, James and John began their journey back to Galilee.
3 They went up through Samaria; they passed through many villages and towns, and everywhere the people thronged the ways to see the man the seventy had told about; and Jesus taught and healed the sick.
4 And when they reached Capernaum the seventy were there; and they were filled with joy; they said,
5 The Spirit of the Lord of hosts was with us all the way, and we were filled.
6 The power of the sacred Word was manifest in us; we healed the sick; we caused the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see.
7 The very devils trembled when we spoke the Word, and they were subject unto us.
8 And Jesus said, As you were going on your way, the heavens were bright with light, the earth was bright, they seemed to meet and be at one; and I beheld, and Satan fell as lightning from the heavens.
9 Behold, for you have power to tread on serpents and on scorpions, and these are symbols of the enemies of men. You are protected in the way of right, and naught can harm.
10 And as you went I heard a master say, Well done.
11 But you may not rejoice because you have the power to heal the sick and make the devils tremble by the Word; for such rejoicing is from carnal self.
12 You may rejoice because the nations of the earth have ears to hear the Word, and eyes to see the glory of the Lord, and hearts to feel the inner breathing of the Holy Breath.
13 And you may well be glad because your names are written in the Book of Life.
14 Then Jesus looked to heaven and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast revealed thyself to babes, and taught them how to light the path and lead the wise to thee.
15 What thou hast given to me, lo, I have given to them, and through the sacred Word I have bestowed on them the understanding heart,
16 That they might know and honor thee through Christ, who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
17 And then he said aside, unto the seventy and twelve, Most blessed are your eyes because you see the things you see;
18 And blessed are your ears because they hear the things they hear;
19 And blessed are your hearts because you understand.
20 In ages that are gone the wise of earth, the prophets, seers and kings, desired to hear and see and know what you have heard and seen and known; but they had not attained and could not hear, and see and know.
21 And Jesus said again, Lo, I have gone before you many moons, and I have given to you the bread of heaven and the cup of life;
22 Have been your buckler and your stay; but now that you have learned the way, and have the strength to stand alone, behold, I lay my body down and go to him who is the All.
23 In forty days then we will turn our faces toward Jerusalem where I will find the altar of the Lord and give my life in willing sacrifice for men.
24 Let us arise and go through all the coasts of Galilee, and give a salutation of good cheer to all the sons of God by faith.
25 And they arose and went; they entered every town and village on the coast, and everywhere they said, The benedictions of the Christ abide with you forevermore.
26 Now, in a certain town they went up to the synagogue upon the Sabbath day, and Jesus taught.
27 And as he spoke, two men brought on a cot a woman bent near double with disease; she had not risen from her bed for eighteen years without a helping hand.
28 And Jesus laid his hand upon the woman, and he said, Arise, be free from your infirmity.
29 And as he spoke the Word the woman found that she was straight and strong, and she arose and walked and said, Praise God.
30 The ruler of the synagogue was filled with wrath because the healer healed upon the Sabbath day.
31 He did not censure Jesus face to face, but turning to the multitudes he said,
32 You men of Galilee, why do you break the laws of God? There are six days in every week when you may work, and then you may bring the afflicted to be healed.
33 This is the day that God has blessed, the Sabbath day in which men may not work.
34 And Jesus said, You inconsistent scribes and Pharisees! Upon the Sabbath day you take your beasts of burden from their stalls, and lead them forth to eat and drink; is this not work?
35 This daughter of your father Abraham, who has been bound for eighteen years, has come in faith to be made free.
36 Now, tell me, men, is it a crime to break her bonds and set her free upon the Sabbath day?
37 The ruler said no more; the people all rejoiced and said, Behold the Christ!
38 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, The kingdom of the Christ is like a little seed that one put in the ground;
39 It grew and after many years became a mighty tree, and many people rested in its shade, and birds built nests and reared their young among its leafy boughs.