Iesus Releases The Rabbits And Pigeons
1. IT came to pass one day as Iesus had finished his discourse, in a place near Tiberias where there are seven wells, a certain young man brought live rabbits and pigeons, that he might have to eat with his disciples.
2. And Iesus looked on the young man with love and said to him,
Thou hast a good heart and God shall give thee light, but knowest thou not that God in the beginning gave to man the fruits (of the earth) for food, and did not make him lower than the ox, or the horse, or the sheep, that he should kill and eat the flesh and blood of his fellow creatures.[1]
3. Ye believe that Moses indeed commanded such creatures to be slain and offered in sacrifice and eaten, and so do ye in the Temple, but behold a greater than Moses is herein and he cometh to put away the bloody sacrifices (of the law) and the feasts on them, and to restore to you the pure oblation and unbloody sacrifice as in the beginning, even the grains and fruits (of the earth).
4. Of that which ye offer undo God in purity shall ye eat, but of that kind which ye offer not in purity shall ye not eat, for the hour cometh when your sacrifices and feasts of blood shall cease, and ye shall worship God with a holy worship and a pure Oblation.
5. Let these creatures therefore go free, that they may rejoice in God and bring no guilt to man.
And the young man set them free, and Iesus break their cages and their bonds.
6. But lo, they feared lest they should again be taken captive, and they went not away from him, but he spake unto them and dismissed them, and they obeyed his word, and departed in gladness.
7. AT that time as they sat by the well (which was in the midst of the six) Iesus stood up and cried out,
If any are thirsty, let them come unto me and drink, for I will give to them of the waters of life.
8. They who believe in me, out of their hearts shall flow rivers of water, and that which is given unto them shall they speak with power, and their doctrine shall be [as] living water.
9. This he spake of the Spirit (which they that believed on him should receive) for the fullness (of the Spirit) was not yet given because that Iesus was not yet glorified.
10. Whosoever drinketh (of the water) that I shall give shall never thirst, but the water (which cometh from God) shall be in them a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.
11. AND at that time John sent two of his disciples, saying,
Art thou he that should come, or look we for another?
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many blind, he gave sight.
12. Then Iesus answering said unto them,
Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
13. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John,
What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind, or a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are georgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
14. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet Yea, I say unto you, and the greatest of prophets.
15. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face (which shall prepare thy way before thee). For I say unto you, Among those that are born (of women) there is not a greater prophet than John (the Baptist).
16. And all the people that heard him, and the taxgatherers, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
LECTION 28. 1-5. -It is easy to see how this would have horrified the mind of Iesus had he lived in these semi- heathen times.
LECTION 28. 16. -To exalt unduly the Christian Sacrament of Baptism, certain words have been interpolated in the A.V. The context shows that such was not the intended meaning, for immediately after, they "justified God by being baptized with Iohn's Baptism."
Read: Genesis 1:26-30