"Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) The New Testament, with a Sketch of the Subsequent History of the Jews.

Barnabas, finding that there was plenty of work to be done at Antioch, "departed to Tarsus, for to seek Saul," that he might come and help him. "And when he had found him, he br...

When St. Paul said in Greek to the Chief captain, "May I speak unto thee?" he said, in answer, "Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days mades...

After Timothy and Silas had joined St. Paul, he spake still more plainly and decidedly to the Jews at Corinth, wishing to make them follow the example of their brethren at Thess...

St. James, and the elders of the Church at Jerusalem, glorified God, upon hearing of the conversion of so many Gentiles by the teaching of St. Paul, and then they "said unto him...

The deacon Philip, having left Jerusalem in consequence of the persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen, "went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And...

Timothy had paid attention to the teaching of his mother, praying for grace to perceive and know what things he ought to do; and striving earnestly to fulfil the same: and now,...

St. John was nearly 100 years old when he wrote his Gospel: he had spent a long life in preaching and exhorting, and we are told that, when his great age prevented his continuin...

It would seem that the magistrates of Philippi, upon thinking calmly over the matter, felt that they had acted hastily and unjustly, in commanding two men to be scourged and put...

Having preached the Word at Salamis, Barnabas and Saul, with Mark, journeyed on, proclaiming their good tidings in every village. "And when they had gone through the isle," they...

When Peter had returned into the hall where Jesus still was, another man "confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was him: for he is a Galilean." The Jews, who...

"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came." As soon as they met again, "the other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lor...

We have said that St. Paul sent Timotheus and Erastus to Corinth: Timotheus, or Timothy, has already been spoken of: of Erastus we know nothing, but his name is mentioned in two...

During the time that St. Paul was journeying about in Macedonia, he suffered much both from the unbelieving Jews and the infidels; for he says himself, in one of his Epistles (2...

"And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and," alluding to the affair of Cornelius, "said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made...

During the fifteenth century there were no Jews in England or France. Of course, there may have been a few scattered here and there; but there was no body of Jews in either coun...

Every considerable synagogue among the Jews, had an academy or school belonging to it, where young persons were instructed by the Rabbis: and it would seem that Stephen visited...

The Monks took such an active part in the persecution of the Jews, that it may be well to give some account of the "Religious Orders," as they are called; all of which hated the...

Syria, of which Damascus was the capital, had become a Roman province about sixty-three years before the birth of Christ. Whilst Saul was in Arabia, Aretas, the king of that cou...

When the multitude of Jews from all parts of the earth, heard twelve poor ignorant men of Galilee, able to speak easily in many different languages, which they had most probably...

We read in the Book of Acts, "And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to...

Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great, was governor of Galilee: Philip, another of them, was governor or tetrarch of Itruria. The word "tetrarch" means the governor...

Although the Priests and the Sadducees did for the time put a stop to Peter's discourse, they could not undo the effect which it produced; for we read, "Howbeit many of them whi...

After reminding the elders of Ephesus of what he had done for them and their countrymen, St. Paul exhorted them to take heed unto themselves, and to all the flock over which the...

We are not told that Peter made any remark upon what Jesus told him, "signifying by what death he should glorify God:" we only read, "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the discip...

St. Paul's solemn prayer for all who had listened to his words closed the examination. "And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they th...

Much did the Lord say upon the subject of covetousness; an evil passion which, if indulged, must draw the heart more and more from heavenly things to things of the earth; saying...

In Spain during the thirteenth century, the Jews suffered as much as they did in England and in France. At this time there were two Christian kingdoms in Spain: namely, the king...

After the Four Gospels, there is in the New Testament a book called "The Acts of the Apostles," which gives us an account of the principal acts, or doings, of some of the Apostl...

Tertullus "informed the governor against Paul,"--that is, he came to Cæsarea for the express purpose of informing the governor of the many and serious accusations, which the Jew...

We have said that the Philosophers of Athens were desirous to hear more of St. Paul's doctrines. "And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what thi...

We have said that St. Paul began his Third Apostolic Journey by going again through Galatia and Phrygia: then, having passed through the "upper coasts" of Asia Minor, he came ag...

The Apostles continued to teach the people, "and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the...

"But after two years, Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." Felix might now at least have let the Apostle go, f...

"At the last came two false witnesses." They did not mean to speak the truth; all that they wished was to please the Priests, who, far from desiring them to speak truly, only wa...

"And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Fe...

Henry the Third became King of England on the death of John, A.D. 1216: he was quite a child when his father died; but those who governed for him, set the Jews who were in priso...

The centurion Julius had now finished his work, he had brought St. Paul from Cæsarea to Rome, as he had been ordered to do. On the way, he had seen wonderful things, which must...

About ten years after the affair of the Shepherds, the Jews in France were accused of having been bribed by the Saracen king of Granada to poison all the wells and rivers in the...

The repeated provocations which, by their rebellions, the Jews gave to the Romans, could not, of course, tend to make their conquerors deal mercifully with them: thus did they,...

The Epistle to the Colossians was also written by St. Paul whilst he was a prisoner at Rome: probably about the end of the year 62 (A.D.). Colossé was a city of Phrygia, where S...

In the parable of the Marriage Feast just spoken of, we read that when the invited guests refused to come, beggars were compelled to come in from the highways; now, though this...

The ship being unable to resist the wind blowing strongly from the north-east, must of necessity be carried into the Gulf of Syrtis Minor, on the African coast; but before reach...

"And it came to pass in Iconium, that Paul and Barnabas went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude of the Jews and also of the Greek...

The next on the list of the Apostles, are "James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother." Both of these have been already mentioned: the Scripture tells us, that St. James the...

St. Paul, feeling that he was about to be taken away from earth, wrote to take leave of Timothy, whom he had loved as his own son. This letter, which is called "The Second Epist...

We have said that after the death of Nero, A.D. 68, there were great troubles in Rome, where three different Emperors succeeded each other in the space of one year; but this sta...

After giving his message for James, "Peter departed, and went unto another place," where Herod's officers would be less likely to look for him, than in a house where the Christi...

Our blessed Lord loved His disciples to the end; and in order that they might remember all the blessings secured to them by His death on the Cross, He appointed the "outward and...

The events which have been noticed in Spain and Portugal, extended well into the sixteenth century, and thus belong to modern history; for the fifteenth is the last of the ten c...

The history of those chosen by the Lord to be His peculiar people, has now been traced for more than two thousand years, from the Call of Abraham, B.C. 1921. For the two centuri...

When Jesus saw the faith of those who had brought the man sick of the palsy, He said, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." These words offended the Scribes (or Do...

To the question, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." These words we...

"And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you which eateth with me shall betray me: behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with...

Three hours of agony beyond what we can imagine passed slowly away; and then, "at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which is, being inte...

In the hopeless condition of the ship, gradually breaking up from the violence of the waves which beat upon the hind part, whilst the fore part was held fast on the bank, all po...

The answer which Jesus gave, as to loving God with all the heart, and his neighbour as himself, did not silence the Lawyer: he, "willing to justify himself," being anxious to pr...

Whilst the Pharisees, who had asked questions in the hope of finding a fault, were gathered together, Jesus in His turn questioned them: He "asked them, What think ye of Christ?...

In order to a better understanding of all that the Gospels tell us of the Last Supper, it will be well to see how the Jews at that time kept the Passover.

Nathanael, who was brought to Jesus by Philip, was one of those devout Jews who had studied the writings of Moses and the prophets, and was in consequence anxiously expecting th...

The decree of the Emperor giving Cæsarea Philippi to Syria, was no sooner known, than the Jews in all parts of Judæa took up arms. Agrippa happened at this time to be in Jerusal...

The Apostles appear to have come to the sepulchre, without any idea that the Lord had risen from the dead. They had not understood rightly what the prophets had said of the deat...

The testimony of so many different witnesses had not yet convinced the Apostles: when they had heard that "Jesus was alive, and had been seen of Mary Magdalene, they believed no...

When Richard the First was making preparations for the Holy War, (as the Crusade was called,) his Christian subjects felt very angry that they, who looked upon themselves as the...

At this time Jesus saith, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name." By...

"And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch:" that is, in a porch or colonnade, which stood on the...

When Jesus had cautioned Peter, James and John, to watch and pray, "he went forward a little, and was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed"; in...

After He had healed Malchus, Jesus said unto Peter, "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I ca...

Having received the direct commands of God by the Holy Spirit, "Peter" at once "went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom you...

Whatever might be the cause, it is plain that the Priests and elders were preparing to keep the Passover, on the evening _after_ that on which Jesus had eaten it with His discip...

In the land of Gennesaret again, the people flocked to Jesus to be healed of their diseases: and when Jesus returned to Capernaum, many followed Him: and the Lord spake to them...

The man whom Jesus had healed at the pool of Bethesda, seems to have made the first use of his restored power by going into the House of God, to thank and praise Him for having...

After the terrible event which has just been related, the Jews who still remained in the land, ceased for a time to oppose the Romans. It was the submission of despair; for they...

"And Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses, and the women also which came with him from Galilee, followed after" Joseph and Nicodemus, "and beheld the sepulchre, and how...

The Lake of Gennesareth, or Sea of Galilee, is a large body of water; and the River Jordan, which runs through it, causes at all times a considerable motion in the centre of the...

In reading the account of our blessed Lord's condemnation, it may seem strange to us that Pilate was ready to receive Him so early as five o'clock in the morning; though we can...

The most curious event connected with the Jews in the seventeenth century is the history of the impostor, Zabathai Tzevi, who was born in Syria, of poor Jewish parents; and bein...

On the death of the Emperor Theodosius, A.D. 395, all that remained of the once Roman Empire was finally divided between his two young sons: Arcadius becoming Emperor of the Eas...

The number of Christ's disciples increased, but it was necessary that He should have a certain number of faithful men constantly with Him, to be witnesses of all that He said an...

We read so often in the Gospels, of Jesus casting out devils and unclean spirits, that it may be as well to say something on this subject, as in these days there is nothing of t...

"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him." This was a very unnecessary piece of cruelty practised by the Romans; whose custom it was to scourge, or whip with cords, e...

When the Baptist's messengers were gone away, Jesus spake to the multitude about him; telling them that John was the messenger spoken of by the prophet Malachi--the Elias, who w...

St. Luke tells us, that "the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves." "Enmity" means just the contrary to friend...

Early in the fourth century, as has been said, a great change took place in religious matters. Constantine, surnamed the Great, who began to reign as sole Emperor of Rome A.D. 3...

"And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi:" that is, into the country and towns round about Cæsarea Philippi, a town some miles to the north of...

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and light...

Then Jesus sent forth two of His disciples, with directions where to find a colt, the foal of an ass, upon which He purposed to ride into Jerusalem. The disciples did as they we...

The Chief Priests were by no means satisfied with the superscription written by Pilate, for they persisted in believing that Jesus had no _right_ to be called King or Messiah. "...

As Jesus was to live only for a short time on earth, it was needful that He should leave behind Him others who should carry on His work, and preach the Gospel after His death. B...

Our history has now brought us to the twelfth century; that is, to the space of 100 years, from A.D. 1100 to A.D. 1200. The twelfth century began as the eleventh had ended; for...

The Jews settled in Spain had become rich by trading, and were very flourishing, until Heraclius, who had been at war with that country, made peace, on condition that all the Je...

At Jericho "there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the Publicans, and he was rich." He had already heard much of Jesus, and now "he sought to see Jesus, who h...

When the disciples were alone with their Master, after the miracle of casting the devil out of the child, they naturally asked, Why, as He had given them authority to cast out e...

How gladly should we all learn something of our Saviour's early life; of His childhood; of the pursuits of His youth and manhood! But these things are hidden from us, and whatev...

"In the last day, that great day of the feast," when there was a holy convocation, or assembling of the people, Jesus stood up, and invited all men to believe in Him, and receiv...

We have now seen that the Sceptre had departed from Judah. The whole country was subject to the Romans, who had appointed Herod to govern it for them; and the time was now come...

We must now return to the history of John the Baptist; he was about this time put to death by Herod, who, as we have already seen, had thrown the Baptist into prison to please H...

The speech made in the Sanhedrim by Caiaphas, meant a great deal more than he did, when he _used_ the _words_. Caiaphas meant, that if there were any chance of offending the Rom...

The Jews in Spain brought trouble upon themselves by listening to one of their own countrymen, who declared himself to be the expected Messiah, and persuaded the multitude to fo...

Of late years many privileges have been granted to the Jews in England, and many societies have also been formed, for the purpose of trying to prove to them from their own Scrip...

Mary and her husband Joseph lived at Nazareth, a town in Galilee not far from the lake of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee; and the prophets had declared that the Messiah should be b...

The expectation of a coming Messiah was not confined to the Jews: through the long captivity of the Jews, the writings of the prophets had become known throughout many lands, an...

Herod anxiously expected the return of the wise men, with full information as to where he might find the infant King of the Jews: but, as day after day passed and they came not,...