To The Word – Day 46

₁Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, “People of Israel, listen to all the laws that I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure that you obey them. ₂At Mount Sinai the LORD our God made a covenant, ₃not only with our fathers, but with all of us who are living today. ₄There on the mountain the LORD spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. ₅I stood between you and the LORD at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.

“The LORD said, ₆‘I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

₇“ ‘Worship no god but me.

₈“ ‘Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. ₉Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. ₁₀But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.

₁₁“ ‘Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the LORD your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.

₁₂“ ‘Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the LORD your God, have commanded you. ₁₃You have six days in which to do your work, ₁₄but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work — neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do. ₁₅Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, the LORD your God, rescued you by my great power and strength. That is why I command you to observe the Sabbath.

₁₆“ ‘Respect your father and your mother, as I, the LORD your God, command you, so that all may go well with you and so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.

₁₇“ ‘Do not commit murder.

₁₈“ ‘Do not commit adultery.

₁₉“ ‘Do not steal.

₂₀“ ‘Do not accuse anyone falsely.

₂₁“ ‘Do not desire another man's wife; do not desire his house, his land, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.’

₂₂“These are the commandments the LORD gave to all of you when you were gathered at the mountain. When he spoke with a mighty voice from the fire and from the thick clouds, he gave these commandments and no others. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

₂₃“When the whole mountain was on fire and you heard the voice from the darkness, your leaders and the chiefs of your tribes came to me ₂₄and said, ‘The LORD our God showed us his greatness and his glory when we heard him speak from the fire! Today we have seen that it is possible for a human being to continue to live, even though God has spoken to him. ₂₅But why should we risk death again? That terrible fire will destroy us. We are sure to die if we hear the LORD our God speak again. ₂₆Has any human being ever lived after hearing the living God speak from a fire? ₂₇Go back, Moses, and listen to everything that the LORD our God says. Then return and tell us what he said to you. We will listen and obey.’

₂₈“When the LORD heard this, he said to me, ‘I have heard what these people said, and they are right. ₂₉If only they would always feel like this! If only they would always honour me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants for ever. ₃₀Go and tell them to return to their tents. ₃₁But you, Moses, stay here with me, and I will give you all my laws and commands. Teach them to the people, so that they will obey them in the land that I am giving them.’

₃₂“People of Israel, be sure that you do everything that the LORD your God has commanded you. Do not disobey any of his laws. ₃₃Obey them all, so that everything will go well with you and so that you will continue to live in the land that you are going to occupy.

₁Then Jesus went back to the synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralysed hand. ₂Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong; so they watched him closely to see whether he would heal the man on the Sabbath. ₃Jesus said to the man, “Come up here to the front.” ₄Then he asked the people, “What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?”

But they did not say a thing. ₅Jesus was angry as he looked round at them, but at the same time he felt sorry for them, because they were so stubborn and wrong. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it became well again. ₆So the Pharisees left the synagogue and met at once with some members of Herod's party, and they made plans to kill Jesus.

₇Jesus and his disciples went away to Lake Galilee, and a large crowd followed him. They had come from Galilee, from Judea, ₈from Jerusalem, from the territory of Idumea, from the territory on the east side of the Jordan, and from the region round the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All these people came to Jesus because they had heard of the things he was doing. ₉The crowd was so large that Jesus told his disciples to get a boat ready for him, so that the people would not crush him. ₁₀He had healed many people, and all those who were ill kept pushing their way to him in order to touch him. ₁₁And whenever the people who had evil spirits in them saw him, they would fall down before him and scream, “You are the Son of God!”

₁₂Jesus sternly ordered the evil spirits not to tell anyone who he was.

₁₃Then Jesus went up a hill and called to himself the men he wanted. They came to him, ₁₄and he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. “I have chosen you to be with me,” he told them. “I will also send you out to preach, ₁₅and you will have authority to drive out demons.”

₁₆These are the twelve he chose: Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter); ₁₇James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means “Men of Thunder”); ₁₈Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Patriot, ₁₉and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

₂₀Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. ₂₁When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He's gone mad!”

₂₂Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”

₂₃So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ₂₄If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. ₂₅If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. ₂₆So if Satan's kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end.

₂₇“No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

₂₈“I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say. ₂₉But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin.” ₃₀(Jesus said this because some people were saying, “He has an evil spirit in him.”)

₃₁Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him. ₃₂A crowd was sitting round Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.”

₃₃Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ₃₄He looked at the people sitting round him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! ₃₅Whoever does what God wants him to do is my brother, my sister, my mother.”

₁Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered round him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. ₂He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:

₃“Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow corn. ₄As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ₅Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. ₆Then, when the sun came up, it burnt the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. ₇Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't produce any corn. ₈But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and produced corn: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others 100.”

₉And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

₁₀When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. ₁₁“You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, ₁₂so that,

₁₃Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? ₁₄The sower sows God's message. ₁₅Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. ₁₆Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. ₁₇But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. ₁₈Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, ₁₉but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. ₂₀But other people are like the seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some 100.”

₂₁Jesus continued, “Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Doesn't he put it on the lampstand? ₂₂Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered. ₂₃Listen, then, if you have ears!”

₂₄He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you — but with even greater severity. ₂₅Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they have.”

₂₆Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. ₂₇He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. ₂₈The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the ear, and finally the ear full of corn. ₂₉When the corn is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.

₃₀“What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? ₃₁It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. ₃₂After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”

₃₃Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand. ₃₄He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.

₃₅On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” ₃₆So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. ₃₇Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. ₃₈Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”

₃₉Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. ₄₀Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Have you still no faith?”

₄₁But they were terribly afraid and said to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

₁Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory of Gerasa. ₂As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came out of the burial caves there. This man had an evil spirit in him ₃and lived among the tombs. Nobody could keep him chained up any more; ₄many times his feet and hands had been chained, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him. ₅Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.

₆He was some distance away when he saw Jesus; so he ran, fell on his knees before him, ₇and screamed in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? For God's sake, I beg you, don't punish me!” ₈(He said this because Jesus was saying, “Evil spirit, come out of this man!”)

₉So Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

The man answered, “My name is ‘Mob’ — there are so many of us!” ₁₀And he kept begging Jesus not to send the evil spirits out of that region.

₁₁There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. ₁₂So the spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” ₁₃He let them go, and the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the pigs. The whole herd — about 2,000 pigs in all — rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

₁₄The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and spread the news in the town and among the farms. People went out to see what had happened, ₁₅and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ₁₆Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the man with the demons, and about the pigs.

₁₇So they asked Jesus to leave their territory.

₁₈As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”

₁₉But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you.”

₂₀So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.

₂₁Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake. There at the lakeside a large crowd gathered round him. ₂₂Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, arrived, and when he saw Jesus, he threw himself down at his feet ₂₃and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is very ill. Please come and place your hands on her, so that she will get well and live!”

₂₄Then Jesus started off with him. So many people were going along with Jesus that they were crowding him from every side.

₂₅There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, ₂₆even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. ₂₇She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, ₂₈saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

₂₉She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble. ₃₀At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

₃₁His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?”

₃₂But Jesus kept looking round to see who had done it. ₃₃The woman realized what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth. ₃₄Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.”

₃₅While Jesus was saying this, some messengers came from Jairus' house and told him, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any longer?”

₃₆Jesus paid no attention to what they said, but told him, “Don't be afraid, only believe.” ₃₇Then he did not let anyone else go on with him except Peter and James and his brother John. ₃₈They arrived at Jairus' house, where Jesus saw the confusion and heard all the loud crying and wailing. ₃₉He went in and said to them, “Why all this confusion? Why are you crying? The child is not dead — she is only sleeping!”

₄₀They laughed at him, so he put them all out, took the child's father and mother and his three disciples, and went into the room where the child was lying. ₄₁He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum,” which means, “Little girl, I tell you to get up!”

₄₂She got up at once and started walking around. (She was twelve years old.) When this happened, they were completely amazed. ₄₃But Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone, and he said, “Give her something to eat.”

₁Jesus left that place and went back to his home town, followed by his disciples. ₂On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? ₃Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.

₄Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own home town and by their relatives and their family.”

₅He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ₆He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Then Jesus went to the villages round there, teaching the people. ₇He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits ₈and ordered them, “Don't take anything with you on your journey except a stick — no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. ₉Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt.” ₁₀He also said, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. ₁₁If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

₁₂So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. ₁₃They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

₁₄Now King Herod heard about all this, because Jesus' reputation had spread everywhere. Some people were saying, “John the Baptist has come back to life! That is why he has this power to perform miracles.”

₁₅Others, however, said, “He is Elijah.”

Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

₁₆When Herod heard it, he said, “He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!” ₁₇Herod himself had ordered John's arrest, and he had him chained and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip. ₁₈John the Baptist kept telling Herod, “It isn't right for you to be married to your brother's wife!”

₁₉So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not because of Herod. ₂₀Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him.

₂₁Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod's birthday, when he gave a feast for all the chief government officials, the military commanders, and the leading citizens of Galilee. ₂₂The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, “What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want.” ₂₃With many vows he said to her, “I swear that I will give you anything you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom!”

₂₄So the girl went out and asked her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

₂₅The girl hurried back at once to the king and demanded, “I want you to give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a dish!”

₂₆This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he had made in front of all his guests. ₂₇So he sent off a guard at once with orders to bring John's head. The guard left, went to the prison, and cut John's head off; ₂₈then he brought it on a dish and gave it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. ₂₉When John's disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body, and buried it.

₃₀The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught. ₃₁There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest for a while.” ₃₂So they started out in a boat by themselves for a lonely place.

₃₃Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples. ₃₄When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. ₃₅When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. ₃₆Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat.”

₃₇“You yourselves give them something to eat,” Jesus answered.

They asked, “Do you want us to go and spend 200 silver coins on bread in order to feed them?”

₃₈So Jesus asked them, “How much bread have you got? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves and also two fish.”

₃₉Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass. ₄₀So the people sat down in rows, in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty. ₄₁Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ₄₂Everyone ate and had enough. ₄₃Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left of the bread and the fish. ₄₄The number of men who were fed was 5,000.

₄₅At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side of the lake, while he sent the crowd away. ₄₆After saying goodbye to the people he went away to a hill to pray. ₄₇When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, while Jesus was alone on land. ₄₈He saw that his disciples were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; so some time between three and six o'clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He was going to pass them by, ₄₉but they saw him walking on the water. “It's a ghost!” they thought, and screamed. ₅₀They were all terrified when they saw him.

Jesus spoke to them at once, “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!” ₅₁Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. The disciples were completely amazed, ₅₂because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the 5,000; their minds could not grasp it.

₅₃They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. ₅₄As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once. ₅₅So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him sick people lying on their mats. ₅₆And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take those who were ill to the market places and beg him to let them at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.

₁Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus. ₂They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with hands that were ritually unclean — that is, they had not washed them in the way the Pharisees said people should.

₃(For the Pharisees, as well as the rest of the Jews, follow the teaching they received from their ancestors: they do not eat unless they wash their hands in the proper way; ₄nor do they eat anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first. And they follow many other rules which they have received, such as the proper way to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds.)

₅So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?”

₆Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote:

₈“You put aside God's command and obey human teachings.”

₉And Jesus continued, “You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching. ₁₀For Moses commanded, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’ ₁₁But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, ‘This is Corban’ (which means, it belongs to God), ₁₂he is excused from helping his father or mother. ₁₃In this way the teaching you pass on to others cancels out the word of God. And there are many other things like this that you do.”

₁₄Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. ₁₅There is nothing that goes into a person from the outside which can make him ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean.”

₁₇When he left the crowd and went into the house, his disciples asked him to explain this saying. ₁₈“You are no more intelligent than the others,” Jesus said to them. “Don't you understand? Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can really make him unclean, ₁₉because it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and then goes on out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten.)

₂₀And he went on to say, “It is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. ₂₁For from the inside, from a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill, ₂₂commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly — ₂₃all these evil things come from inside a person and make him unclean.”

₂₄Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. ₂₅A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. ₂₆The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ₂₇But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”

₂₈“Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”

₂₉So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”

₃₀She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.

₃₁Jesus then left the neighbourhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns. ₃₂Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him. ₃₃So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue. ₃₄Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”

₃₅At once the man was able to hear, his speech impediment was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble. ₃₆Then Jesus ordered the people not to speak of it to anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they spoke. ₃₇And all who heard were completely amazed. “How well he does everything!” they exclaimed. “He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”