and he was probably amongst the publicans who were attracted
to his ministry. How well we can imagine the comments that would be
passed on his presence, as each nudged his neighbour and whispered.
"Is not that Zaccheus?" said one. "What is he doing here?" said
another. "It is about time _he_ came to himself," muttered a third.
"I wish the Baptist could do something for him," said a fourth.

And something touched that hardened heart. A great hope and a great
resolve sprang up in it. He may have joined in the confessions of
which we have spoken, but he did more. On his arrival at Jericho he
was a new man. He gave the half of his goods to feed the poor; and if
he had wrongfully exacted aught of any man, he restored four-fold. His
servant was often seen in the lowest and poorest parts of the old city,
hunting up cases of urgent distress, and bestowing anonymous alms, and
many a poor man was delighted to find a considerable sum of money
thrust into his hands, with a scrap of paper signed by the rich
tax-gatherer, saying, "I took so much from you, years ago, to which I
had no claim; kindly find it enclosed, with fourfold as amends."
Should any ask him the reason for it all, he would answer, "Ah, I have
been down to the Jordan and heard the Baptist; I believe the Kingdom is
coming, and the King is at hand; and I want to make ready for Him, so
that, when He comes, He may be able to abide at my house."

You will never get right with God till you are right with man. It is
not enough to confess wrong-doing; you must be prepared to make amends
so far as lies in your power. Sin is not a light thing, and it must be
dealt with, root and branch.

(3) _The baptism of repentance_. "They were baptized ... confessing
their sins." The cleansing property of water has given it a religious
significance from most remote antiquity Men have conceived of sin as a
foul stain upon the heart, and have couched their petitions for its
removal in words derived from its use: "Purge me with hyssop, and I
shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." They have
longed to feel that as the body was delivered from pollution, so the
soul was freed from stain. In some cases this thought has assumed a
gross and material form; and men have attributed to the water of
certain rivers, such as the Ganges, the Nile, the Abana, the mysterious
power of cleansing away sin.

There was no trace of this, however, in John's teaching. It was no