FOUR HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED GOSPELS



of it. He knew just what people were saying
about it, how incredulous and unsympathetic
was their attitude, and He had a great desire to
vindicate His reputation and to do good in
His home community, but He had not succeeded.
   And we of His own household had seen Him
fail and secretly had gloated over it. We were
pleased that He had not shown Himself superior
to the rest of us. So petty and mean was our
spirit, so unworthy our j ealousy, we were not
sorry to see Him fail. It made us seem greater
in our own eyes that He had not shown Him-
self as great as He was reputed to be.
  I know that this is an unpleasant thing for
people who come after me to read; let none sup-
pose that it is easy to write. It shows us in
our least lovable aspect; it reveals our most un-
gracious qualities. But it is true, and we sat
in the synagogue and heard Him read that pas-
sage from the book of the prophet, and waited
for Him to speak, and we were hostile and
jealous, and we did not wish Him to succeed.
  He began to preach, and immediately we were
interested. His words were spoken in a tone
and manner that carried conviction. But the
interest wandered from His message to the
hope that He would work a miracle. People
were saying,
  "Let us see whether the physician will heal
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