4. The sermon of woes; Christ's last appeal to the Jewish nation. Compare these eight woes with the nine beatitudes. You notice the closing up of this sermon on woes is the most pathetic utterance in the whole ministry of Christ. "Your house is left unto you desolate." Up to that time it had been "_My Father's_ house," or "_My_ house," but now it is "_your house_." It was not long until Titus came and leveled it to the ground. Abraham never loved Isaac more than Jesus loved the Jewish nation. It was hard for Abraham to give up Isaac, but harder for the Son of God to give up Jerusalem. 5. The fifth sermon was preached to His disciples. How little did they understand Him! When His heart was breaking with sorrow, they drew His attention to the buildings of the temple. The first sermon was given on the mount; the second and third at Capernaum; the fourth in the Temple; the fifth on Olivet. In Matthew's Gospel there is not a thing in hell, heaven, earth, sea, air or grave that does not testify of Christ as the Son of God. Devils cried out, fish entered the nets under His influence, wind and wave obeyed Him. Summary:--Nine beatitudes; eight woes; seven consecutive parables; ten consecutive miracles; five continuous sermons; four prophecies of His death. MARK. The four Gospels are independent of each other, no one was copied from the other. Each is the complement of the rest, and we get four views of Christ, like the four sides of a house. Matthew writes for Jews. Mark writes for Romans. Luke writes for Gentile converts. You don't find any long sermons in Mark. The Romans were quick and active, and he had to condense things in order to catch them. You'll find the words "Forthwith," "Straightway," "Immediately," occur forty-one times in this gospel. Every chapter but the first, seventh, eighth and fourteenth begins with "And," as if there was no pause in Christ's ministry. Luke tells us that Christ received little children, but Mark says He took them up in His arms. That makes it sweeter to you, doesn't it? Perhaps the high water mark is the fifth chapter. Here we find three very bad cases, devils, disease and death, beyond the reach of man, cured by Christ. The first man was possessed with devils. They could not bind him, or chain or tame him. I suppose a good many men and women had been scared by that man. People are afraid of a graveyard even in daylight, but think of a live man being in the tombs and possessed with devils! He said: "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not." But Jesus had come to do him good.