Let us observe, in the last place, how much sorrow ?/??- belief occasions to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told that when " the Pharisees began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him, He sighed deeply in His spirit/5 There was a deep meaning in that sigh ! It came from a heart which mourned over the ruin that these wicked men were bringing on their own souls. Enemies as they were, Jesus could not behold them hardening themselves in unbelief without sorrow.
The feeling which our Lord Jesus Christ here ex- pressed, will always be the feeling of all true Christians. Grief over the sins of others is one leading evidence of true grace. The man who is really converted, will always regard the unconverted with pity and concern. This was the mind of David : " I beheld the transgres- sors, and was grieved ." (Psalm cxix. 158.) This was the mind of the godly in the days of Ezekiel : " They sighed and cried for the abominations done in the land/' (Ezek. ix. 4.) This was the mind of Lot : " He vexed his righteous soul with the unlawful deeds" of those around him. (2 Peter ii. 8.) This was the mind of Paul : " I have great heaviness and continual sorrow for my brethren." (Kom. ix. 2.) In all these cases we see something of the mind of Christ. As the great Head feels, so feel the members. They all grieve when they see sin.
Let us leave the passage with solemn self-inquiry. Do we know anything of likeness to Christ, and fellow-feeling with Him ? Do we feel hurt, and pained, and sorrow- ful, when we see men continuing in sin and unbelief ?