This stands out in striking contrast with the halcyon hour on the mountain with which the three had been favored. Their brethren were experiencing a greater difficulty than they had ever yet known. But the discussion of the saying they had kept, formed for the three an intermediate step down into actual life, and daily events and troubles. Christ, on the other hand, appears to have received a greater fullness of Messianic consciousness and power through his transfiguration, as was his wont after similar retirements into spiritual seclusion. This incident affords a view of
Christ's manner of dealing with exceptional difficulties in spiritual service. I. ACCREDITED SERVANTS OF CHRIST WERE BEING DESPISED AND DISCOURAGED. (Vers. 14-18.)
1. Their spirit was being daunted. The people ceased to respect them, and the scribes began to turn the failure to account as an argument against their Lord. What could they say or do? Their Master was absent, and they were at their wits' end. A situation with its parallels in every age of the Church. Moral phases of individual, social, and national life which seem to defy remedy or even amelioration. Difficulties and failures in mission work, etc.
2. Their usefulness was at a standstill. The enemies of their cause had now the upper hand, and they were pressing them with objections and sneers. Perhaps they were even asking why their Master had gone away so mysteriously, and left them to cope with difficulties for which they were unequal. It was high time Jesus should come to their rescue. And lo! as the thought arose within them almost despairingly, he appeared! "The multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed." He had come just at the right moment, as if he divined the need for his presence.
II. THEIR MASTER MADE THE DIFFICULTY AN OCCASION FOR SPIRITUAL REBUKE AND INSTRUCTION.
1. To the people, or generally. He laments their want of faith, and slowness to receive the things of God. They had the highest reasons for faith - his works and himself - in their midst, and yet would not believe. He gives vent to the feeling of weariness and moral disgust which overcame him, and in the face of which he still labored and forbore. The want of faith, only immediately manifested towards the disciples, was in reality towards himself. That was the root and spring of their readiness to cavil, and their questionings and arguments.
2. To the father. His conversation with Christ is made by the latter a perfect spiritual discipline. Already the dealings of God had been experienced in his home and heart, and that which has been begun is carried to a successful issue. It is amongst the compensations of great sorrows that, if they do not themselves induce a high spirituality of mind, they, at all events, help us to feel our need of the Savior. There was a preparatory work already done, and Christ wastes no advantage thus gained. Having signified his willingness to undertake the cure, he begins to question the father, partly as an expression of sympathy, partly to show the true character of the case. In this he succeeds in eliciting an expression of the sceptical spirit of the man: "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." Here there is room for a commencement, and the Savior repeats in grieved astonishment, "If Thou canst! It was a qualification that had no business in such a request, and it showed how poor was the spiritual life or power of the man. He then declares the grand condition of all his cures, All things are possible to him that believeth;" which in this connection meant that all the blessings Christ conferred were given only in response to faith, but where that was there was no limit with regard to their bestowal. He did not mean that any request, of whatever kind it might be, would be granted if it were only accompanied by faith, but that all requests that were the outcome of a Divine faith, and consequently subject to its conditions - as, for instance, their being agreeable to God's will - would be granted, however hard they might appear to man. This remark awoke the slumbering spiritual nature of the father, whose love for his son was also at work to quicken his susceptibilities, and he cried out, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief." There is great difference of opinion as to the true meaning of these words, and no certainty would seem to be attainable; Yet that they reveal a low, self-contradictory spiritual state is evident. Still, progress is perceptible. He at least knows his shortcoming, and has asked for its removal. That was probably effected by the cure of his son, which took place, not because of satisfaction with the father's confession - a very faulty one at best - but through desire to prevent tumult, etc.; for when "he saw that a multitude came running together," he quickly completed the miracle. But even in his expedition there is no hurry. The whole scene is solemn and expressive, and must have had a strong influence on all who looked on.
3. To the disciples. A call to a more intense and elevated communion with God. Prayer (and fasting) was a means to that. Faith is thus seen to be a condition both of getting good and doing good. It is because Christians live habitually on such a worldly plane that they lack power. Oneness in heart and life with God would remove "mountains." This power should be sought by all.
III. HE MADE IT ALSO AN OCCASION FOR MORE SIGNAL DISPLAY OF HIS GLORY. The delay, failure of disciples, gradual extraction of all the circumstances of the case from the father, etc., all tended to increase the moral effect of the final exercise of power. His authority as the moral Governor of the universe, and Destroyer of the works of the devil, is also vindicated in addressing the demon. Not less, but far more, awful are the effects of sin upon the soul. Its expulsion is a work of Divine power and grace, and exhaustive of the nature in which it has dwelt. It is for Christ to raise up and revivify the poor wreck, the spiritual impotency that survives. So are the failures of weak disciples retrieved, and where disgrace is, humanly speaking, inevitable, the glory of God is revealed. The servants of Christ may despair of themselves, but never of him. - M.
And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about them.
Learn from this narrative —
I. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF TRUE FAITH IN GOD. It is not so much the amount of one's faith as the kind, and the fact that one really has it (Matthew 17:20).
II. THE POWERLESSNESS OF CHRISTIANS WITHOUT TRUE FAITH.
III. THE DISCREDITABLENESS OF CHRISTIAN INEFFICIENCY, LEADING TO QUESTIONINGS AND DISCUSSIONS THAT DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
IV. THE INEFFICIENCY OF CHRISTIANS THEIR OWN FAULT. In Christ they may be complete (Colossians 2:10).
V. THE DUTY OF EVER LIVING YEAR TO CHRIST, RELYING ON HIM ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE.
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Christ's reply taught the disciples that —
1. Miracles needed force to work them.
2. Soul forces are the highest class of forces, and faith force is the highest of all soul forces.
3. Faith force needs cherishing
(1)by consecration watchfully kept up, i.e., fasting;(2)by communion with God carefully maintained, i.e., prayer. Indulgence of the body enfeebles the soul; living apart from God is living apart from omnipotence.4. Earnest love is the secret of all miracles. Had they made this sorrow their own — fasted as for their own trouble, prayed as for their own mercy — their love would have "believed all things," and been triumphant in its faith.
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This miracle stands inseparably connected with the transfiguration.I. THE CHRISTIAN IS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF CHRIST. The father came to consult Christ, but in His absence appealed to His disciples, it should have been a safe appeal. So, everywhere and always, the Christian represents Christ. He holds in his hands the great trust of Christianity. Coming to him should be equivalent in the healing, saving result to coming to Christ.
II. THE FAILURE OF THE DISCIPLE IS CHARGED AS THE FAILURE OF CHRISTIANITY. We do not claim the continuance of the power of miraculous healing, but we do claim the presence of Divine power in the Church. The Christian is entrusted with it. He should be always in possession of it. Let our ideas be clear, our claims carefully scriptural, but let it concern us when Christianity is without manifested power. Men will be turned astray and led to question and despise religion.
III. CHRIST ALWAYS MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO PROTECT HIS CHURCH AND TO ASSERT HIS POWER. It may be after delay. But He comes. He cannot fail.
IV. IF ONE FAILS WITH A DISCIPLE, LET HIM GO DIRECTLY TO JESUS. The petitioner who fails with the captain, goes to the colonel. If he fails again, an earnest petitioner will not stop until he has appealed, if necessary, at headquarters, to the commander-in-chief.
V. PARENTS SHOULD KNOW THE CONDITION OF THEIR CHILDREN. Make the moral nature of your child as careful a study as his physical nature. Do not assume too readily that, because young, he is innocent, and good, and harmless.
VI. THE DIFFICULTY IN THE WAY OF HEALING IS NOT WANT OF POWER IN GOD, BUT WANT OF FAITH IN MAN. Faith all must have who would receive benefits from Christ. The blessing given is in proportion to the degree of faith. No faith, no blessing; little faith, partial blessing; great faith, great blessing.
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Like some mighty general who, having been absent from the field of battle, finds that his lieutenants have rashly engaged in action and have been defeated, the left wing is broken, the right has fled, and the centre begins to fail; he lifts his standard in the midst of his troops, and bids them rally around him; they gather; they dash upon the all-but triumphant foemen, and soon they turn the balance of victory, and make the late victors turn their ignominious backs to the flight. Brethren, here is a lesson for us. What we want for conquest is the shout of a King in the midst of us. The presence of Christ is victory to His Church: the absence of the Lord Jesus entails disgraceful defeat. O armies of the living God, count not on your numbers, rely not on your strength; reckon not upon the ability of your ministers; vaunt not in human might; nor on the other hand be discouraged because ye are feeble; if He be with you, more are they that are for you than all they that are against you. If Christ be in your midst, there are horses of fire and chariots of fire round about you.()
I. THE MAN'S AFFLICTION.1. It was not personal: not in himself, but through his child.
2. It was the consequence of affection. Our love is the source of joy; it is also the cause of pain. Our relation. ships are a blessing; they often become a curse.
3. It was very terrible. A son not only imbecile, but who could do nothing for his own support.
II. THE MAN'S ADVANTAGE. Affliction is not an unmixed evil. On the contrary, God often makes it a means of the greatest blessings. In this particular case it led to two great mercies.(1) It led to the lad himself being brought to Christ, and(2) it led to the father going as well. How often are parents led to Christ through the sufferings and death of their children.
III. THE MAN'S MISTAKE. Instead of going to the Master at once, he went to the servants. They tried to afford relief, but they tried in vain. This course is very natural to mankind.
1. Our pride induces it. Naaman was too proud to simply obey the Divine command; he wanted the prophet to come and touch him with adulation and respect.
2. Our carnality causes it. We are of the earth earthy. We do not apprehend spiritual things, and will have nothing of them.
3. Our faithlessness produces it. We don't believe in the power of an unseen God. It is a painful tendency of the human mind to make gods of men, a tendency which in ancient times developed into idolatry.
IV. His APPLICATION. Finding no other help, the man was obliged to go at last to Christ. We may see here, however —
1. His persistency. Although not relieved by the disciples, he was not deterred by their failure; and probably the disciples, when they failed, did as they ought to do — pointed him to their Master.
2. His small amount of faith. Apparently he was so disheartened that he did not know what to do. Faith differs in degree. How strong was that of the centurion — "Speak but the word, and my servant shall be healed."
3. The training of his understanding. Christ first rebuked him — "O faithless generation," etc. — and then encouraged him — "All things are possible to him that believeth."
V. HIS DEVELOPING FAITH.
1. He acknowledges his conviction. He began to realize the truth of what the Master said. The germs of belief had existed before; otherwise he would not have approached at all.
2. He confesses his imperfection — "Help my unbelief." There are degrees in everything — in growth, health, wealth.
3. He regrets his weakness — "He said, with tears."
4. He applied for succour. We may bring all our weakness to the Saviour.
VI. HIS SUCCESS. Jesus saved the son. There is help for the weakest.
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In a hundred ways he tears them, and throws them down; he stops their intelligent speech, and sends them wallowing and foaming in sin. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. Even disciples fail. No priest can offer sufficient sacrifice; no man can redeem his brother. "Bring him unto Me!" Faith is in every case of instrumental usefulness positively indispensable. There are times when Christ Himself will do no mighty works because of unbelief. "O faithless generation!" How quickly this explains the coldness and backwardness of the churches. When faith is feeble, what faith there is may well be employed in securing more faith. "Help mine unbelief." Pray to the "Lord," even if the word be not in this verse; and pray "with tears" too!()
I. THE CASE OF THIS MAN.1. This does not appear to be an ordinary case of dumbness.
2. It was not due to mental ecstasy, such as occasionally produced a temporary suspension of speech. The father of Baptist.
3. The man is described in simple and instructive language as having "a dumb spirit."
(1)There is the dumbness of a careless heart.(2)The dumbness of formalism.(3)The dumbness of shame and disappointment.(4)The dumbness of despair.II. THE INTERVENTION OF THE MAN'S FRIENDS.
III. THE POWER OF JESUS.
1. Absolute supremacy.
2. The manner of the exercise.
3. The mystery of its power.
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I. THE APPLICATION ITSELF.
1. It was made by an afflicted parent. The child mentally afflicted in mind and body — "Oft times the evil spirit." Every sinner is so far under the power of the devil.
2. It was made by a party that deeply felt the circumstances in which he himself and his suffering child were placed
3. That the person who made it stood ready to do whatever our Lord should direct. For this readiness to obey a truly humble heart prepares us, softened by grace.
4. He despaired of help from any other quarter. He was on the verge of despair previous to our Saviour's administering help. Our minds must be brought off from every other dependence.
5. The party before us had a little faith, and was pleading for more.
II. THE RECEPTION WHICH THIS APPLICATION TO OUR SAVIOUR MET WITH.
1. Jesus administers reproof to His disciples and to all around Him. Christ often has to reprove us; we deserve it.
2. Jesus directs the sufferer to be brought to Him.
3. Jesus proceeds to correct the views, and inform the mind of the suppliant. Light is given with grace.
4. Jesus gives the party before us the warrant or authority for that faith which He called him to exercise.
5. He strengthens the confidence of the party, whom He thus authorizes to draw near to Him for the blessing requested.
6. The earnestness with which we should draw near to the Great Physician for spiritual help.
7. In some cases of healing special means are to be employed — "Prayer and fasting."
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People
Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, John, PeterPlaces
Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Galilee, High MountainTopics
Arguing, Crowd, Disciples, Disputing, Immense, Large, Law, Mass, Multitude, Party, Questioning, Rejoin, Scribes, Surrounding, TeachersOutline
1. Jesus is transfigured.
11. He instructs his disciples concerning the coming of Elijah;
14. casts forth a deaf and mute spirit;
30. foretells his death and resurrection;
33. exhorts his disciples to humility;
38. bidding them not to prohibit such as are not against them,
42. nor to give offense to any of the faithful.
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 9:14 7540 Judaism
Mark 9:14-27
5658 boys
Mark 9:14-29
5168 muteness
8611 prayer, for others
Library
February 2 Evening
One star differeth from another star in glory.--I COR. 15:41. By the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all.--Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathChrist's Lament Over Our Faithlessness
'He answereth him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?'--Mark ix. 19. There is a very evident, and, I think, intentional contrast between the two scenes, of the Transfiguration, and of this healing of the maniac boy. And in nothing is the contrast more marked than in the demeanour of these enfeebled and unbelieving Apostles, as contrasted with the rapture of devotion of the other three, and with the lowly submission and faith of Moses and Elias. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Omnipotence of Faith
Jesus said unto him, If them canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.'--Mark ix. 23. The necessity and power of faith is the prominent lesson of this narrative of the healing of a demoniac boy, especially as it is told by the Evangelist Mark, The lesson is enforced by the actions of all the persons in the group, except the central figure, Christ. The disciples could not cast out the demon, and incur Christ's plaintive rebuke, which is quite as much sorrow as blame: 'O faithless …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Unbelieving Belief
'And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'--Mark ix. 24. We owe to Mark's Gospel the fullest account of the pathetic incident of the healing of the demoniac boy. He alone gives us this part of the conversation between our Lord and the afflicted child's father. The poor man had brought his child to the disciples, and found them unable to do anything with him. A torrent of appeal breaks from his lips as soon as the Lord gives …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
An Unanswered Question
'What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?'--Mark ix. 33. Was it not a strange time to squabble when they had just been told of His death? Note-- I. The variations of feeling common to the disciples and to us all: one moment 'exceeding sorrowful,' the next fighting for precedence. II. Christ's divine insight into His servants' faults. This question was put because He knew what the wrangle had been about. The disputants did not answer, but He knew without an answer, as His immediately …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Salted with Fire
Every one shall be salted with fire.'--Mark ix. 49. Our Lord has just been uttering some of the most solemn words that ever came from His gracious lips. He has been enjoining the severest self-suppression, extending even to mutilation and excision of the eye, the hand, or the foot, that might cause us to stumble. He has been giving that sharp lesson on the ground of plain common sense and enlightened self-regard. It is better, obviously, to live maimed than to die whole. The man who elects to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
'Salt in Yourselves'
'Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.'--Mark ix. 50. In the context 'salt' is employed to express the preserving, purifying, divine energy which is otherwise spoken of as 'fire.' The two emblems produce the same result. They both salt--that is, they cleanse and keep. And if in the one we recognise the quick energy of the Divine Spirit as the central idea, no less are we to see the same typified under a slightly different aspect in the other. The fire transforms into its own substance …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
'This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him'
'And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.'--Mark ix. 7. With regard to the first part of these words spoken at the Transfiguration, they open far too large and wonderful a subject for me to do more than just touch with the tip of my finger, as it were, in passing, because the utterance of the divine words, 'This is My beloved Son,' in all the depth of their meaning and loftiness, is laid as the foundation of the two …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Jesus Only!
'They saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.'--Mark ix. 8. The Transfiguration was the solemn inauguration of Jesus for His sufferings and death. Moses, the founder, and Elijah, the restorer, of the Jewish polity, the great Lawgiver and the great Prophet, were present. The former had died and been mysteriously buried, the latter had been translated without 'seeing death.' So both are visitors from the unseen world, appearing to own that Jesus is the Lord of that dim land, and that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Transfiguration
'And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them. 3. And His raimemt became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Receiving and Forbidding
'And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat down, and called the Twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, 37. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
July the Ninth Scholars in Christ's School
"He taught His disciples." --MARK ix. 30-37. And my Lord will teach me. He will lead me into "the deep things" of God. There is only one school for this sort of learning, and an old saint called it the Academy of Love, and it meets in Gethsemane and Calvary, and the Lord Himself is the teacher, and there is room in the school for thee and me. But the disciples were not in the mood for learning. They were not ambitious for heavenly knowledge, but for carnal prizes, not for wisdom, but for place. …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year
The Lenten Fast.
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer."--ST. MARK ix. 29. You remember the narrative from which I have taken this verse. Jesus, as we read, had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when He was come to the multitude, a certain man besought him saying, "Have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed, and I brought him to Thy disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus rebuked the devil, and the child was cured from that hour. Thereupon His disciples …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby
The Child in the Midst.
"And He took a child and set Him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me."--ST. MARK ix. 36, 37. It is one of the characteristics of our time, one of its most hopeful and most encouraging signs, that men are awaking to higher and purer conceptions of the Christian life and what it is that constitutes such a life. We …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby
Of Hell
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:48. 1. Every truth which is revealed in the oracles of God is undoubtedly of great importance. Yet it may be allowed that some of those which are revealed therein are of greater importance than others, as being more immediately conducive to the grand end of all, the eternal salvation of men. And we may judge of their importance even from this circumstance, -- that they are not mentioned once only in the sacred writings, but are repeated …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
A Caution against Bigotry
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name: and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not." Mark 9:38, 39. 1. In the preceding verses we read, that after the Twelve had been disputing "which of them should be the greatest," Jesus took a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of these little children in My name, receiveth …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
Faith's Dawn and Its Clouds
In the text there are three things very clearly. Here is true faith; here is grievous unbelief; here is a battle between the two. I. Very clearly in the text there is TRUE FAITH. "Lord, I believe," says the anxious father. When our Lord tells him that, if he can believe, all things are possible to him, he makes no demur, asks for no pause, wishes to hear no more evidence, but cries at once, "Lord, I believe." Now, observe we have called this faith true faith, and we will prove it to have been so. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872
The Child in the Midst.
And he came to Capernaum: and, being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons
Absolute Surrender
"And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that …
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender
Thoughts Upon Striving to Enter at the Strait Gate.
AS certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another World, either in a World of Happiness, or else in a World of Misery, or if you will, either in Heaven or in Hell. For these are the two only places which all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end of it, must live in for evermore, some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places, …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life
The Three Tabernacles
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. MARK ix. 5. Caught up in glory and in rapture, the Apostle seems to have forgotten the world from which he had ascended, and to which he still belonged, and to have craved permanent shelter and extatic communion within the mystic splendors that brightened the Mount of Transfiguration. But it was true, not only as to the confusion of his …
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns
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