Upon reaching Capernaum, the throng was so great, that Jesus had no time even to partake of food. A man, both blind and dumb, and possessed with a devil, was brought to him; and he healed him. This led many to inquire, “Is not this the Messiah?” It is interesting to observe how the feelings of the people vacillated. The astounding miracles which Jesus performed led them to believe that he must be the Messiah; and yet he was making no movement whatever toward the establishment of that temporal kingdom which they supposed to be the principal object of the Messiah’s coming. The Pharisees, as a body, were growing more and more malignant in their hostility. It was impossible for them to deny that evil spirits were compelled to obey the bidding of Jesus. They therefore absurdly affirmed that the devils obeyed him because he was “Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.” It was in this connection, when the Pharisees, wilfully withstanding the evidence of truth, maliciously, and against the conviction of their own consciences, accused Jesus of being the prince of devils, that he uttered the remarkable declaration,―― “Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” The serenity with which Jesus ever alluded to the grandeur of his own character and mission is worthy of special notice. There is no apparent want of modesty in his speaking of himself in terms which, from the lips of any other man, would be deemed intolerable boasting. In the very impressive discourse uttered upon this occasion, he said, referring to himself,―― “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” While he was thus speaking, he was informed that his mother, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, were standing without, and wished to speak to him. He replied, “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?” Then, waving his hand towards his disciples, he added, “Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.”