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Heinrich Hofmann
THE SON OF MAN
Engraved from the Famous Painting of " Christ and the Rich Young Ruler "
The Story-Life of
The Son of Man
Nearly a Thousand Stories from Sa-
cred and Secular Sources in a Con-
tinuous and Complete Chronicle
of the Earth Life of the Saviour
JUL iR 1924
By WAYNE WHIPPLE
Author of The Story-Life of Washington, The Story-Life
of Lincoln, The Story of the American Flag, etc.
WITH FULL-PAGE ENGRAVINGS FROM HISTORIC
PAINTINGS AND SACRED ORIGINALS, SOME
REPRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME
New York Chicago Toronto
Fleming H. Revel! Company
London and Edinburgh
Copyright, 19 1 3, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 125 North Wabash Ave.
Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: too Princes Street
ro HIM
Strong Son of God, immortal Love,
Whom we, that have not seen Thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove.
Forgive me where I fail in truth
And in Thy wisdom make me wise.
— In Memoriarn, Alfied Tennyson, Poetical Works, page 247.
Introductory
And there are also many things that Jesus did, which, if they should
be written one by one, not even the ivorld itself, I suppose, tvould con-
tain the written books. Amen. — John xxi. 25 {rendered literally).
THIS simple supposition, which closes the Fourth Gospel,
gives an idea of the vastness of the work confronting
one who attempts to piece together from the almost
infinite sources the heart-breaking story of the Saviour's life as
a Man among men. During the eighteen centuries which have
elapsed, since the latter days of John the Beloved, the work of
filling the world with books about his Lord has been going on.
Reasons for Another Life of Christ
This fact — that there is room in the world for more books
about Him — would seem to be the chief excuse for another Life
of Christ. Yet a better reason is to be found in the Story-Life
idea — of selecting the best that has ever been written or spoken
about the Son of Man, and arranging it, story after story, bit by
bit, as a mosaic is made, into a vivid and attractive picture.
This lends itself admirably to choosing the very best of every-
thing that can be found to compose the completest arrangement
of the most beautiful story ever told, as given by hundreds of
authors, in many lands and languages, from Holy Writ and
secular history, on all sorts of authority from the plain Gospel
of Matthew to the palpitating descriptions of Marie Corelli;
stories have been taken also from Eeuan and from the profane
legends which serve to illustrate how inadequate is the human
mind, unaided by inspiration, to describe
" the sinless years that breathed
Beneath the Syrian blue."
7
8 INTRODUCTORY
There is no other theme ou which authority counts for so much.
The reader may well divine the fascination and inspiration to be
found in the choicest thoughts of the greatest writers and thinkers
the world has ever seen. Such an array of sources, named else-
where, does not militate against this Story-Life, but combines to
make it all the richer and more fascinating to the heart of the
average reader. With rare generosity, authors and publishers
have united in allowing excerpts to be taken from their own
copyrighted volumes to enhance the interest and the value of The
Story-Life of the Son of 3Ian, making it "a book of a thousand
stories and the story of a thousand books."
In this continued story use is made of all the translations and
versions, from the Latin Vulgate of Jerome, the old Saxon of
King Alfred, and the wholesome and homely German of Luther,
to the excellent Twentieth Century New Testament, a direct transla-
tion into modern English by about twenty scholars representing
the principal branches of the Christian Church. In some in-
stances literal renderings are made direct from the original Greek
into the popular vernacular. None of these renditions is offered
as better than others ; they are added only to give varying shades
and hues of meaning, and to aid in the better comx)rehension of
the sacred text.
The best "harmony of the Gospels" has been followed, in a
general way, without stopping the story to discuss the question
whether one or two blind men were made to see at Jericho, or
whether Jesus performed a certain miracle on His way into or out
of the place mentioned. There are plenty of arguments for and
against this or that theory, but long discussions settle nothing,
and serve only to distract the mind from the real story. The
inspired writers were content to tell the simple story of what the
Master did, without specifying lohen or ivhere. There was a
higher Wisdom in this, and it is a safe rule for the writer to
follow to-day.
While advantage of the riijest scholarship has been taken, and
many stories have been translated from divers tongues, it has
been the chief care to present the life of Jesus in language which
the reader, young or old, will be able to understand. The sole
object is to show Him as He "walked and worked and talked,"
and what He did for the men and women and little children who
INTRODUCTORY 9
saw Him face to face ; to condense the best things in the world
about Him within the compass of a single volume, and to bring
His matchless life close to the hearts of the people. It will be
found of great interest to those who would never think of reading
a Life of Christ otherwise, or who have been unfavourably im-
pressed with the moralising and preaching into which too many
books on Bible subjects have degenerated. No attemj)t is made
to draw couclusious for the reader, who should be able to make
his own inferences if he can see things as they were.
The Heart of the Eternal
The Christ came to show men what the Heart of God is like.
The Gospel stories, by their simple, earnest directness, should
make the strongest appeal to the hearts of men. The reason that
these stories do not grip the emotions of the reader is because they
have become so familiar as to be without real meaning. This is not
due to the wicked or uuregeuerate mind so much as to a lifelong
familiarity with the story given in the stilted, sometimes obsolete
forms of bygone centuries, so that the head often stands in the
way of the heart. The Gospel narrative, which so captivates the
hearts of those who read it for the first time, fails even to interest
those who have heard it all their lives, and thus have become
" case-hardened." This is the reason for giving some of the most
familiar narratives in modern forms that the reader may see them
through new eyes, and be pleased to find how much better the
dear old Bible stories are than the best of those told by writers
uninspired. For instance, that touching story told by the Master
Story-Teller Himself, so long rendered remote from human sym-
pathy under the title of "The Parable of the Prodigal Son,"
comes home to modern experience as "The Story of the Loviug
Father and His Wandering Boy." Yet it is the same story Jesus
related one day, while a fugitive in Perea, but translated into
modern English instead of the speech of three hundred years
ago.
By the use of descriptive and devotional poetry and the addi-
tion of illuminating illustrations which are modern in atmosphere
and spirit, every effort is made to retell in terms of life to-day
" that sweet story of old
"When Jesus was here among men."
10 INTRODUCTORY
Human nature was the same among the ancients, and the
struggles and problems, public and private, with which He had
to contend were much the same as those the reformer has before
him to-day — only His struggles in behalf of the people against
the exclusiveness and oppressions of the domineering rich were a
hundredfold greater than those with which the progressive must
wage his warfare iu our day and generation.
Thek Rocfc and Ours
"There is some soul of gooduess in things evil
Would men observingly distil it out,"
SO the best stories and descriptions in the works of skeptical
writers are found here. Renan, in his Life of Jesus, for instance,
has done much iu his strange, distorted way to stimulate others
in worthy research and vivid portrayal. Some of his apostrophes
to tlie Christ are as impassioned as they are inconsistent, but
these are given to represent all shades of belief and unbelief.
Of the materials furnished by skepticism nothing destructive is
used. Iu the chapters of legends of the boyhood of Jesus certain
spurious stories are inserted to show what crude and wicked
devices even well-meaning minds, unaided by inspiration, have
produced about "the silent years " of His earth-life. These quo-
tations are given iu the spirit of the Song of Moses :
"For their rock is not as our Rock
Even our enemies themselves being judges."
Scriptural versions, hymns, and the Lives of Christ by Roman
Catholic translators and authors have been used with consider-
able freedom. These show a devout spirit with long and patient
study. It should be said that the Roman Catholic translator is
allowed great liberty in rendering from the Vulgate, and some of
the best and most graphic stories in this work are chosen from
these excellent sources.
Paul, in one of his letters to the Christians at Corinth, inter-
preted the allusion of Moses as to "the spiritual Rock that fol-
lowed them," and "that Rock was Christ," The fact that the
things of the Spirit cannot be discerned except through the
INTRODUCTORY 11
medium of the Spirit is the stone wall agaiust which skeptical
criticism has been blindly battering its head for a thousand years.
**The Qaackery of Infidelity*'
Some Lives of Christ are addressed to the head. Written to
bolster up a certain tenet, they are often without appeal to the
reader's heart. The mind becomes so accustomed to the argu-
mentative aspect of the Master's life that it is very easy for both
writer and reader to lose sight of the loveliuess of it all. Com-
paratively few authors seem to have any idea of making the truth
of His career, which is far more wonderful than any fiction, as
fasciuating as the story of an ordinary life and love. The Life
of Christ is the grandest love-story ever written.
Wheu the reader becomes interested in other thiugs than the
simple life of the Christ he is easily led astray. Some of the
greatest intellects have, almost imperceptibly at first, made ship-
wreck of faith. The devout mind of George Eliot was first be-
numbed, then corrupted, while working, day after day, translating
from the German, Strauss's Life of Jesus. Great though she was,
she soon lost sight of the wide gap between the spirit of belief aud
the spirit of criticism, and fell backward into that awful abyss.
When she felt her feet slipping over the brink she wrote to a
friend that her work on ''Strauss" made her ill.
The history of the inner life of Marian Evans was fuller of sol-
emu pathos than the greatest novel of George Eliot. All through
her later life she bitterly regretted the loss of her early faith, and
admitted that she had "found no place of repentance, " though
she "sought it carefully with tears." But George Eliot's fate
proves nothing against the Life. It shows only that the greatest
minds are capable of making the greatest mistakes. One of the
greatest mistakes any man, woman or child can make is to pursue
a course of reading or discussion which may destroy the happiness
of the heart for time and eternity. It was after she realised all
she had lost, that she was out of touch with the Great Physician,
and that she found no comfort in the vials of unbelief, that George
Eliot cried out, from the desolation of her lonely soul, agaiust
"the quackery of infidelity."
It is encouraging to the true believer to know that the leading
skeptical writers of the present day have met the self-sufficient
13 INTRODUCTORY
savants of George Eliot's time on their own ground, fighting the
battle with the weapons of skepticism and have proved that the
collateral evidences are entirely in favour of the traditions of the
Church for more than a thousand years. With all their sneers at
Christian credulity, there is no one quite so credulous as the opin-
ionated skeptic who puts a belief in self before faith in God.
Should the canons of the Christian give way to the canons of
criticism? Let the Church at least take her stand beside the
poet in
" Believing where we cannot prove."
Otherwise, where is the Christian's faith?
Jestis First Taught the Golden Rule
The Christian believer has been too lenient in conceding the
claims made for other religions. Truth-seekers among ancient
beliefs make their so-called discoveries with a natural prejudice
in behalf of the subjects of their investigations. So accustomed
is the modern mind to the "Light of the World" that these en-
thusiasts forget that they are conducting their own researches in
the gloom of antiquity by the light of the Gospel. And the be-
lievers in Christ are led by the modern spirit of liberality to con-
cede more than is necessary.
For example, it is often stated, even from the pulpit, that the
Golden Rule was first taught by Gautama the Buddha, who lived
many centuries before Christ announced that rule of conduct in
the Sermon on the Mount. But this claim is disproved by one of
the greatest of modern students of Buddhist beliefs— Dr. Albert
J. Edmunds — who, with the help of a learned Japanese professor,
makes the following comparison possible. Here is the Golden
Rule as stated in Luke vi. 38, according to the Authorised
Version :
" As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise ; " compare this with the original statement of the so-
called Golden Rule of Buddha, as too-liberally translated by Max
Miiller from a long poem in the Pali :
" All men tremble at the rod, all men fear death :
Putting oneself in the place of othera, kill not nor cause to kill."
INTRODUCTORY 13
The clause, "Putting oneself in the place of others," if trans-
lated literally, would read "Having made oneself a likeness."
Where the same clause occurs again in the Pali, Dr. Miiller ren-
ders it, " Doing as one would be done by," which is far from the
meaning conveyed by the original, so that the sentiment of the
Golden Rule was injected into the Buddhist poem by a translator
schooled in the teachings of Christ.
Placing Buddhism at its best beside Christian belief, Dr. Ed-
munds has made this striking distinction :
"The Buddhist Nirvana is that of the intellect — loss of self
in the universe, the Christian Nirvana is that of the heart —
loss of self in others."
The Great-Heart of the Universe
The aim of this book is to reach the heart and life of men,
women and children in the simple, direct way approved by the
Master Himself. It makes no pretense to teaching history, theol-
ogy, or even religion. It is meant to be a Heart-to-heart Life of
Christ. The attempt has been made to show one day's work in
His daily round — for He had to live a day at a time just as His
disciples do to-day. The famous Tissot j)aintiugs are a great
commentary on the busy, weary life He led. Hundreds of can-
vases show Jesus of Nazareth passing along through immense,
expectant throngs, holding a continuous clinic in squares and
open places, in striking illustration of the phrase, "He went
about doing good."
With moments of exultation, because of the unique opportunity,
and with days and nights spent under the crushing consciousness
of the great responsibility, The Story-Life of the Son of Man has
been composed. It is a collection of good things assembled, in
spite of all limitations in time and ability, into one comparatively
small volume, from the great libraries of the world. It is the
product of the true and devoted scholarship of able advisers, and
the result of many prayers of the writer's mother and a wide cir-
cle of godly women for guidance. Its thousand stories, from
hundreds of sources often violently opposed to one another, have
been reconciled and fitted together into a harmonious composite,
even suggesting the aid of the Designer who caused the materials
14
INTRODUCTORY
composiug Solomon's Temple to fit together without the souud of
hammer.
With such helpers aud under such guidance, the writer hopes
to have his own long dream come true in the happy knowledge
that some soul, hitherto unblessed, shall have been led, through
reading this book of many authors — but only one Authority — to
say with him :
I find in His dear Brother-face the Father's love divine;
The Heart that holds the human race is throbbing close to mine;
My soul, enthroned in His embrace, receives the seal and sign
That owns me Heir of God ! "
The Greystone, Germantoivn, Pennsylvania.
Follow! ug are some of the names of authors, aside from the
ordinary Scriptural sources, quoted iu this Story-Life :
Lyraan Abbott,
Alfred the Great,
Joseph Augus,
Mary Antiu,
The Apocryphal New Testament,
Edwiu Aruold,
Irving Bacheller,
William E. Barton,
Heury Ward Beecher,
C. A. Briggs,
Eleanor Hammond Broadus,
Phillips Brooks,
Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Robert Browning,
Charles Wesley' Burns,
Horace Bushuell,
James Freeman Clarke,
Arthur Hugh Ciough,
Confucius,
Marie Corelli,
Dante,
William J. Dawson,
Franz Delitzsch,
Thomas De Quincey,
Father Didon,
Robert K. Douglas,
Zachary Eddy,
Alfred Edersheim,
Albert J. Edmuuds,
David H. Ela,
George Eliot,
F. W. Faber,
Frederic W. Farrar,
John Fleetwood,
William Byron Forbush,
Abb6 Fouard,
Gautama the Buddha,
Cunningham Geikie,
B. P. Grenfell,
George Herbert,
J. G. Holland,
Matt S. Hughes,
A. S. Hunt,
J. H. Ingraham,
Josephus,
Tbeodor Eeim,
Thomas Kelly,
Thomas a Kempis,
Florence Morse Kingsley,
The Koran,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
James Russell Lowell,
Martin Luther,
W. D. Mahau,
Mazoonidar,
John Milton,
G. Campbell Morgan,
Lydia M. von Fiukelsteiu Mountford,
Max Miiller,
Johann August Wilhelm Neauder,
Nicholas Notovitcb,
Willis P. Odell,
F. N, Peloubet,
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps,
Philo,
Pliny the Younger,
Alexander Pope,
E. D. de Pressens^,
William M. Ramsay,
Ernest Renan,
Royal Robbius,
Emil Schiirer,
John R. Seeley,
Shakespeare,
Robert E. Speer,
James Stalker,
William Wetmore Story,
Harriet Beecher Stowe,
Tacitus,
Eva March Tappan,
Jeremy Taylor,
Alfred Tennyson,
Richard H. Thomas,
William M. Thomson,
Godfrey Thring,
Lyof N. Tolstoi,
William Tyndale,
Herbert D. Ward,
Amos R. Wells,
Bouck White,
John G. Whittier,
John Wycliff*.
15
Contents
CHAPTER I
The Horror of Great Darkness 33
Stories : — The Most Important Event in Our World — The Reign of
Evil Reached Its Height — Guttered down in the Socket Like a Burnt-
out Candle— Form without Heart — No Distinction between Civil
and Moral — Priest for Religion, Philosopher for Morality — The
Sad Condition of Woman — Babes Sold to Raise Money — The Lot
of the Slave — The Poor among the Ancients — A Church Dying of
Ceremony — " I Shall See Him, but Not Now " — Writings Which
Fired the Souls of the People — ^Herod's Three Perils — He Builds a
More Splendid Temple — When Hillel and Shammai Taught in
Jerusalem — How Herod Arranged for an "Honourable" Mourning.
CHAPTER H
Looking Tov/ard the Light 44
Stories : — The Dream of a Jewish Maiden — The Fountain of the Virgin
— A Priest Comes out of the Sanctuary Speechless — A Priest of the
Old for the New — The Dearest Secret of Motherhood — Low in
Station but of High Ancestry — The Wonderful Promise to Mary —
The Most Tremendous Revelation This Planet Has Ever Known —
Motherhood the Very Centre of Womanhood — She Arose and
Went into the Hill Country — The Visit to Her Cousin Elisabeth
— Sources of Mary's Song — The Marseillaise of the Ancient
World — Those Hidden Days in Judea — The Virgin Returns to
Nazareth and the Neighbours — " His Name Is John."
CHAPTER HI
The Best News the World Ever Heard .... 55
Stories: — The Finger of the Emperor — The World to Be Enrolled —
Edict Reaches Nazareth — Why Both Joseph and Mary Went to
Bethlehem — The Long, Hard Journey — No Room for Them in
the Inn — The Innkeeper's Lament, " If I Had Known ! " — She
Brought forth Her First-born Son — The Manger Has Offended
Many — " Mary, Cover That Tender Baby Body ! " — Contrary to
17
18 CONTENTS
Common Sense and Scripture — The Virgin's Lullaby — The Noise
and Bustle Broke out Again — What the Shepherds Saw and Heard
-^The Only Melody of Heaven Ever Heard by Mortal Ears —
The Shepherds Go and Find the Babe — The More Dear to
Her Mother-heart — The Circumcision and Presentation — Free
from Physical Blemish — Not See Death Till He Had Seen the
Anointed — Simeon's Prophecy — " A Sword Shall Run through
Your Own Soul ! " — Aged Anna of Galilee — The Arrival of the
Wise Men — Great Was the Surprise — Assembling the Prelates —
Herod Secludes the Wise Men — " Lo, the Star ! " — " By Whose
Bright Course Led on " — " 'Tis a Window of Paradise ! " — Find-
ing the Child.
CHAPTER IV
Down into Egypt 70
Stories: — The Wise Men Warned — Legends of the Magi — Warning
to Joseph — The Flight to Egypt — Murdering All the Baby Boys —
" Better to Be Herod's Sow Than His Son ! "—What Joseph Must
Have Done in Egypt — The Death of Herod — " Out of Egypt "
— That He Should Be Called a Nazarene — Intended to Settle in
Bethlehem — Going Back to Nazareth After All.
CHAPTER V
Spurious Stories of His Boyhood 75
Stories: — Coarse, Childish Tales — The Christ Child in the Koran —
His Baby Clothes Cast out Devils — "This Mule Was Our Brother"
— The Miraculous Field of Grain — Why the Aspen Leaves (3uiver
— Prophecy Concerning the Two Thieves — How the Tall Palm
Bowed down to the Child — The Broken Pitcher — Legend of Jesus
and Judas as Boys Together — The Dyer's Distress — The Misfit
Throne — Healing a Boy Bitten by a Serpent — The Boys Turned
to Kids — The Dead Lad's Testimony — The Clay Sparrows — The
Withered Boy — Striking a Boy Dead — The Neighbours Indignant —
Theory That He Visited India — The Concealed Miracles.
CHAPTER VI
The Boy of Nazareth 88
Stories : — In Contrast to the Blasphemous Absurdities of the Apocryphal
Gospels — Not under Excessive Jewish Influence — The Feasts of a
Year — His Doing Nothing Wonderful Was a Kind of Wonder —
Like His Brethren in All Things —Unlawful to Live in a Place
Where There Was No School — A Jewish School in His Day —
He Must Have Been an Eager Scholar — His First Teachers —
CONTENTS 19
Through Eye Gate and Ear Gate — Through Real Boyhood to
Manly Manhood — Off for a Ten Days' Trip to Jerusalem — Their
First Camp — Through Samaria — " Our Feet Shall Stand within
Thy Gates, O Jerusalem! " — The Holy House Flashed into View
— Under the Shadow of His Father's Temple — Though a Country
Boy, the Strange Sights Did Not Fascinate Him — A Supper of
Symbols — " To Rescue Israel from the Roman Yoke " — The Boy
Tarried Behind — A Vain Search — Finding Him in the Temple —
"Why Hast Thou Thus Dealt with Us ? "—His Mother Did
Not Understand Then — Many a Boy Feels That Way — Not Yet !
CHAPTER VII
Working at His Trade 104
Stories : — Growing in Age and Wisdom — Deignedst to Be the Son
of a Carpenter — Among the World's Workers — Avoided Rather
Than Sought — Mary in Her Hut and Livia in Her Palace — The
Family Circle of Which He Was the Centre — The IVaining of the
Carpenter's Shop — " A Workman That Needeth Not to Be
Ashamed " — The Same Trade with Me — Nightmare Terror Was
upon Every Home — Revolt of Judas the Gaulonite — " They Are
Speaking of You, My Son ! " — Life and Death from Rome —
" The Eagles Gathered Together "—Pontius Pilate Appointed Proc-
urator— Their Hatred Had Grown with Their Calamities — So
Jesus Worked Away for Nearly Twenty Years — Wonderful That
He Could Wait So Long — Master of Three Languages — " If We
Repented but One Day ! " — News of a Hermit Like Elijah.
CHAPTER VIII
The Voice, the Baptism, the Temptation . . . • "5
Stories: — In the Wilderness of Judea — ^John's Heart Was Sad and
Drove Him forth from Men — The " Old Ironsides " of the New
Testament — An Appeal from Ritual to Conscience — How Best the
Mighty Work He Might Begin — Like a Timid Child — " This Is
My Son, My Beloved ! " — The Son of Elisabeth and the Son of
Mary — His Perfect Manhood Forbids Doubt — -" The Carpenter
of Nazareth! " — " Get Thee Hence, Satan! " — After the Opened
Heavens, Hell Was Opened — By Divine Compulsion — Laughter
as of Fiends among the Caverned Rocks — " He Did Eat Nothing "
— The Three Temptations — Meeting His Proposals by Fitting
Answers — Satan Invisible, as When He Tempts Us — Christ's
Temptation as Unique as Christ's Character — Was He Capable
of Sinning ? — The Instant Choice — Never Deviated a Hair's-
Breadth — The Desert Marked the Parting of the Ways for Jesus
and John.
20 CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX
The Young Rabbi Attends a Wedding . . . .128
Stories: — "Behold the Lamb!" — That Figure Once More Ap-
peared in View — " Behold What Manner of Man ! " — Description
Attributed to Lentulus the Proconsul — " Most Beautiful to Be-
hold ! " — Andrew Tells His Own Brother Simon — The First
Sunday Morning of Christ's Mission Work — Finding Philip and
Nathanael — Change of Name with Change of Heart — " Symphony
from the New World " — Going Home with the First Four Dis-
ciples— Invited to a Wedding — Marriage Customs — What Cost
Him So Dear to Deny — " Woman, What Have I to Do with
Thee ? " — In a Few Words All Was Disclosed — " Crowd Eternity
into an Hour " — Alike Only in Name— A Week of Music and
Dancing — The Central Figure of the Feast — They All Visit Caper-
naum— Young, Gracious, Fascinating — The Eternal Is Not the
Future, but the Unseen.
CHAPTER X
To Jerusalem and Back 14a
Stories : — Graft in the Temple — Cornering the Market of the Sac-
rifices— Driving out Market Men and Brokers — Burning with
Noble Indignation — Consternation in the Temple — " Show Us the
Sign and Seal of Your Authority ! " — He Left Them to Think
It Over — When the First Shadow of the Cross Fell on Him
— Many Believed — All the People Hung upon His Words — Nico-
demus's Night Visit — His Supposed Account of the Interview —
Pharisees Already Jealous of Jesus — He Took the Short Route
through Samaria — He Must Have Started in the Early Morning —
The Story of Sychar — The Sacred Mount of the Samaritans —
Waiting in Weariness at the Well — That Sublime Sermon to One
Abandoned Woman — " I Have Food to Eat " — The Good News
in Samaria — The Baptist's Testimony — At Cana Again — Reviving
the Nobleman's Son.
CHAPTER XI
Driven from the Home Town 157
Stories: — Nazareth Friends Already Jealous of Him — Going to the
Home Church — Opening the Service — " What Can He Have to
Say ? "— « To-day This Scripture Is Fulfilled ! "—His Daring
Assumption Startled Them — " Nobody but Jesus the Carpenter!"
— A Roar of Rage — Was It Possible ? — As if Smitten of God —
Leaving the Home of His Childhood — Preaching in the Neigh-
bourhood— Family Estrangement — The Galileans Welcomed Him —
He Went to Live in Capernaum — Accepting Peter's Invitation.
CONTENTS 21
CHAPTER XII
A Day's Work in Capernaum 167
Stories ; — Restoring a Maniac to His Right Mind — A Paroxysm
Seized the Crazy Man — Outside the Synagogue—" Turn Your
Eyes Away ! You Will Be Bewitched " — " He Is Coming ! He
Is Coming!" — The Benign Figure of the Great Physician — They
Tell Him of Peter's Mother-in-law — A Violent Attack of the
Local Fever — A Paralysed Man Carried by Four Friends — He
Was Lowered Carefully—" Rabbi, Rabbi ! a Sick Man Is Com-
ing down ! " — " My Child, Thy Sins Are Forgiven " — All Eyes
and Ears — The Effect Was Electric — " This Evening, down at
the Shore ! " — A Great Crowd Followed Him about — The Ex-
citement Increased — They Crawled and Crowded to His Feet —
Offended at the Popular Favour Shown to Jesus — They Knew He
Was the Christ — The Treasures They Had Almost Lost — No Re-
pose to Body or Mind — Silent Communion with the Father — " My
Father Works, and I Work."
CHAPTER XIII
Saving the Sabbath 180
Stories :^T\\Q Man at Bethesda Bath — Watching by Day and Listen-
ing through the Night — For This Reason They Began to Perse-
cute Jesus — Cited before Authorities for the First Time — " If You
Believed Moses You Would Believe Me " — " It Is You, Not I,
Who Break the Sabbath " — Picking and Eating Grain on the Sab-
bath— Fivefold Damnation on Those Who Do This — Defending
His Disciples, Not Himself— The Man with the Withered Hand
— Tradition That This Man Was a Stone Mason — Not to Wear
Even a Needle on the Sabbath — Ridiculous Regulations — Foolish
Quibble about Carrying a Handkerchief — He Found It a Law and
Left It a Privilege — "The Sabbath Was Made for Man."
CHAPTER XIV
Going about Galilee with the Twelve .... 192
Stories: — Left All, and Followed Him — "Depart from Me!" Yet
Let Me Stay — Choosing a Publican — A Tax Collector Gives up
His Position — Matthew's Farewell Reception^r- Celebrating a
Unique Event — " Those Who Are Healthy Do Not Need a
Physician" — "Tax-gatherers and— ! "— " The Lost" Are
Not Lost to Him — " Can the Sons of the Bride-Chamber Fast ? " —
Old Garments and Old Wine-Skins — New Wine Already Bursting
Their Old Bottles — Going about. Preaching and Healing— A Re-
gion of Energy and Prosperity — Men Obeyed without Under-
22 CONTENTS
standing Him — Preaching to the Crowds from a Boat Pulpit — A
Boat Followed Him along the Shore — What Was It Ye Went out
to See ? — Founding a Kingdom on Personal Love — The Happiest
Time in His Mother's Life — Admiration Melted into Adoration —
He Chose Twelve Whom He Named Apostles — The Four Lists of
the Twelve Compared — Where Each of Them Had Lived — Illiter-
ate but Not Ignorant — The Sea of Galilee.
CHAPTER XV
The Sermon, the Prayer, and the Rule .... 206
Stories: — Going to Hear the Young Rabbi Preach — " Blesseds " and
" Woes " — The Beginning of the Sermon on the Mount — The
Beatitudes a Bill of Rights — " Woe unto You of Whom * The Sys-
tem ' Speaks Well ! " — The Salt and the Light — Against Vows and
Retaliation — " Resist Not Evil ! " — The Lord's Prayer in Old
Saxon, by Alfred the Great — From Wycliffe's Bible — Tyndale's
Translation — From Luther's Bible — From the Roman Catholic
Bible— For All Races, All Ages— Ask, Seek, Knock, for God Is
Willing — The Golden Rule — Hillel's Noble Answer Misleading —
" A New Spirit, Making the Letter New " — The Golden Rule of
Confucius — Like a Man of Authority — -He Alone Had Sight.
CHAPTER XVI
A Hopeless Leper, a Captain's Slave, and a Widow's Son 217
Stories : — His First Healing of a Leper — The Worst Form — The
Friendly Roman Officer — He Told the Centurion He Would Come
— The Wonderful Faith of a Foreigner — " J Have Not Found Such
Faith Even in Israel " — Nearing the Town of Nain — " What Is
the Rabbi Doing ? " — " Young Man, I Say, Arise ! " — " Lord
God of Israel, What Kind of Man Is This ? '"— The Dead Youth
Returns Alive — Her Joy Out-Thanks All Words.
CHAPTER XVII
Pharisee and Sadducee 225
Stories: — The Slighted Guest and the Woman — Could the Rabbi
Say That ? — -What Social Outcasts Saw in Him — " Separa-
tists " and " Neighbours " — They Gave Stones for Bread — Not
Strong in Numbers nor in Courage — " In Hand-Washing Is the
Secret of the Ten Commandments " — Real Defilement — " Hypo-
crites ! Acting Religion ! " — Christ's True Attitude — " A House
Divided against Itself! " — " By Whom Do Your Disciples Cast
Them out ? " — " We Would See a Sign from Thee " — " Woes "
against Them While at Breakfast 'with Them — " Their Tombs
Are a Witness against You " — The Party of Protest — The Aristo-
CONTENTS S3
cratic Sadducees — Conspiring to Destroy Him — The Sadducec
Joined with the Hated Pharisee — Be Fair to the Pharisee — Yet I
May Live a Pharisee !
CHAPTER XVIII
Parables beside the Lake 240
Stories : — From the Prow of a Lightly Rocking Boat — A New
Form of Discourse — He Taught Them Many Things in Parables
— " The Sower Went out to Sow " — Explaining the Parable to
the Disciples — The Wheat and the Weeds — Expounding " the
Wheat and the Weeds " — " He Knoweth Not How " — " Like a
Grain of Mustard Seed " — Like Leaven — The Lamp — The Hidden
Treasure — One Pearl of Great Price — The Net Filled with Good
and Bad — 'Things New and Old — The Most Precious Literary
Heritage of the Human Race.
CHAPTER XIX
Calming a Storm, and Other Wonders .... 247
Stories: — Leaving the Crowd — The Strain Had Been Severe That
Day — A Sudden Storm on the Lake — " Peace, Be Still ! " —
The Maniac among the Tombs of Gadara — Bleeding with Self-
inflicted Wounds — " Legion " and the Herd of Hogs — " Go
Home and Tell What God Hath Done for You "—The First
Missionary to Decapolis — The Agonising Appeal of Jairus —
Stopped on the Way by an Afflicted Woman — " If I Can Just
Touch His Robe ! " — She Only Touched the Hem — Tradition
Concerning This Woman — " Thy Daughter Is Dead ! " — " It Is
Between Me and Thee, Little Maid " — Two Blind Men and a
Dumb Demon.
CHAPTER XX
" None Greater Than John the Baptist " . . . . 257
Stories: — John Reproves Herod — His Grand Humility — "Art Thou
the Coming One ? " — Dreary Days for John — Instructions to the
Twelve — A Source of Alarm as Well as of Insult — A Ghastly
Birthday Banquet — Bearing the Headless Body to the Burying —
Haunted by the Remembrance of His Victim — No Man Was Wit-
ness to Those Hours of Grief — Vague Rumours of the New Prophet.
CHAPTER XXI
Even Galilee Turns against Him 266
Stories : — Many Believ^ed He Was the Prophet — " He Is Beside Him-
self! " — It Was a Year of Sore Trial — " Who Are My Mother and
Brethren .? '' — The Group and the Throng — A Great Wrong to the
24 CONTENTS
Name of Mary of Magdala — No Opportunity Even to Eat —
" How Many Loaves Have You ? " — " Make the Men Sit
down " — Feasting Five Thousand Men, besides Women and
Children — A Crown on His Dear Head — " O Little Faith ! Why
Didst Thou Doubt ? " — The News Spread Far and Near — They
Laid Their Sick in the Marketplaces — Flocking around Him for
the Healing Touch — Teaching the Lesson of the Bread of Life — A
Higher Food Than Barley Loaves — The Miracle Had Ceased to
Be a Wonder— Struck the Fatal Blow at His Own Popularity —
Synagogues No Longer Open to Him — " Are You Also Willing to
Go Away ? " — GaHlee Rejects the Gospel — " Come unto Me,
All Ye That Labour and Are Heavy Laden."
CHAPTER XXII
A Fugitive with His Little Flock 283
Stories: — The Glass and Dye Works of Sidon and Tyre — The
Faith of a Gentile Woman — God Has Not Forgotten Us Gentiles —
He Resumed His Journey — Working Miracles in Decapolis —
'' Even the Deaf Hear, and the Dumb Speak ! " — A Deaf Man
Who Could Only Stammer — Feasting the Four Thousand — Dif-
ference between the Two Miraculous Meals — " You Cannot Dis-
cern the Signs of the Times " — The Sign Would Be Given Only
Too Soon — " Blessed Art Thou, Simon," " Peter ! " — The Very
Christ of God — The Elevation of the Son of Man — Foretelling
His Death—" Out of My Sight, Thou Tempter ! "—The Sublime
Transformation — A Gentle Touch Aroused Them — The Chosen
Three, on Mountain Height — " How Is It That Elijah Must First
Come ? "— " I Believe, Lord, Help My Unbelief! "—With Strong
and Gentle Hand — " Give to Them for Me and Thee " — " Lest
We Give Offence " — A Sermon on Humility — A Talk on Forgive-
ness— This Spirit Is the Salt of the Soul.
CHAPTER XXIII
Harvest Home Week in Jerusalem ..... 301
Stories: — Their Thanksgiving Week — The Feast of Tabernacles —
" If You Can Do Such Great Things, Prove It to the World ! " —
The Authorities on the Lookout for Him — " You're Mad ! Who's
Trying to Kill You ? "— " Thou Hast a Devil ! "—The Great
Day of the Feast — One Faint Voice in His Defence — Thousands Were
Chained with Awe at His Words — The Woman Caught in Adultery
— Not Their Business to Accuse Her — Why Did He Write upon the
Ground ? — His Words Went to Their Consciences — " The Light
of the World " — " You Look at Me with Jaundiced Eyes " —
" Whom Makest Thou Thyself? "— " We Were Never Slaves to
Any Man " — " Every Man That Committeth Sin Is the Servant of
Sin "— " Before Abraham Was Born, I AM ! "
CONTENTS 26
CHAPTER XXIV
Leaving Galilee, a Homeless Wanderer .... 315
Stories: — He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem — •* Thev Deserve to
Be Killed by a Thunder-Storm!"— " The Son of Man Hath Not
Where to Lay His Head " — Sending oat the Seventy— The
Charge of the King — " The Labourer Is Worthy of His Hire " — ■
" Blessed Are the Eyes That See What You Have Seen ! " — He
Saw Good Multiplied through Others—" Who Is My Neigh-
bour ? " — The Story of the Neighbourly Samaritan — A Pharisee's
Opinion of the Parable — In the Home at Bethany — Jesus Loved
Martha and Her Sister — The Man Born Blind Browbeaten by
Pharisees—" One Thing I Know "— " If Ye Were Blind, Ye
Should Have No Sin " — -The Terrible Consequences of Being
Cast out of the Synagogue — The Story of the Loving Shepherd —
An Interpretation of the Parable — The Last Anniversary of His
Birth — ^Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication.
CHAPTER XXV
Again a Refugee 331
Stories : — The Jordan between Him and His Persecutors — Crowds
Followed Him Even in Perea — ** The Last State Is Worse Than
the First "—The Story of the Rich Fool—" This Night Thy Soul
Shall Be Required ! " — Wealth Not a Crime but a Trust — Trust
the Father and Be Ready — Much Required from Those to Whom
Much Has Been Given — Exciting Times in Galilee — How Pilate
Put an End to an Uprising — When the Tower of Siloam Fell —
Those Eighteen Were Not Special Offenders— Straightens a
Woman Doubled Together for Eighteen Years — " Lord, Are They
Few That Are Saved ? " — A New Danger Threatened Him — " It
Would Not Do for a Prophet to Be Murdered Except at Jerusa-
lem ! " — He Saw through the Whole Design — A Sabbath Dinner
with a Leading Pharisee — No Time for Moral Snobs — Counting
the Cost — *' Lift up Your Eyes and Look on the Fields ! "
CHAPTER XXVI
The Parables in Perea, and Other Sayings . . . 345
Stories : — The One Lost Lamb — The Loving Father and His Wander-
ing Boy — Shows the Love of God to Man — The Steward of Un-
righteousness— The Beggar and the Rich Man — Dives Awoke to
the Mistake He Had Made—" We Are Only Unprofitable
Slaves ! " — The Kingdom Is in Your Midst — The Pharisee and the
Publican^One Went to Brag, the Other to Pray — " Whatever Is
Right I Will Pay You " — " No Duties without Rights, No Rights
without Duties " — The Parable of the Pounds and the Cities —
" Which of the Two Did His Father's Will ? "— " This Is the
Heir, Come, Let Us Kill Him ! " — The Marriage Feast and the
26 CONTENTS
Wedding Garment — The Story of the Ten Maidens — The Good-
for-Nothing Servant — " For the Least of These Brothers of Mine "
— For the Good or Evil Side — New-Found Sayings of Jesus— The
Fragment of a Lost Gospel — Nor Did It Lessen What He Taught,
CHAPTER XXVII
Calling Lazarus Back 363
Stories .- — A Gap of Untold Events — " Lazarus Is Dead ! " — Going
Back into the Jaw^s of Danger — Why ? Why ? Why ? — Past Power
of Speech — "If Thou Hadst Been Here ! " — Jesus Wept — Martha
and Mary Could Not Understand Each Other — No One Stirred
or Spoke — " Lazarus, Come forth ! " — Great God of Our People,
What a Sight! — Frenzied with the Thrill of It — "Where Wert
Thou, Brother ? " — Conspired to Seize Lazarus and Smother Him
— Wild Legends about Lazarus.
CHAPTER XXVIII
A Fugitive Once More 373
Stories : — " If We Let Him Go on Like This, Every One Will Believe
in Him ! " — To Prove a Miracle Is to Prove It Was Not a Miracle —
" Go, Show Yourselves to the Priests ! " — " But Where Are the
Nine?" — A Schoolof Magic Would Have Been the Issue — On Mar-
riage and Divorce — " God Made Man and Woman at the Same
Time " — Children Saw in Him One of Themselves — " Let the Lit-
tle Ones Come to Me " — " Lat the Wee Bairns Coom tae Me " — A
Certain Rich Young Man — Wished to Join His Church — " The Great
Refusal " — " How Hard for the Rich to Get into the Kingdom ! "
— Timidity and Stupidity of Wealth — Telling the Disciples Again
What Was before Them— A Joy in His Eyes — Mistaken Ambition
of Salome for Her Sons — In the Region of Jericho — Going to Lodge
with Zacchsus — " Son of David, Have Mercy on Me ! " — " Fear
Not, Arise, He Calleth Thee ! " — Would He Come up to the Feast ?
— The Supper in Bethany — The Most Touching Expression of Love
He Ever Received — One Deep Love Doth Supersede All Other.
CHAPTER XXIX
Last Days in His Father's House 390
Stories: — No More Precious Possession — " Behold, Thy King Is
Coming ! " — The Whole Multitude Began to Rejoice — The People
and the Pharisees — " Give Victory, O God, to the Son of David ! "
—The Choir Invisible—" O That Thou Hadst Known ! "—The
Scene Overpowered Even Himself — After Looking around in the
Temple — What Would Have Happened ? — Blasting a Fig-tree — His
Only Miracle of Judgment — Is Modern Religion " the Barren Fig-
tree ? " — The Children in the Temple—" By Whose Authority ? "
— " I Will Ask You One Question " — The Sadducees Try to Entrap
Him— The Pharisees and Herodians — " Render to Cssar the
CONTENTS 2Y
Things That Are Caesar's " — A Scribe Who Was Not Far from
the Kingdom — They Dared Not Ask Him Another Question —
Gifts with a Commercial Value in the Future World — The Poor
Widow's Farthing — The Others Cast Away, She Only Gave —
" Sir, We Wish to See Jesus " — The jews Reject Their Messiah —
Judaism Had Chosen Its Own Way — Warnings of the End of the
Temple, and of the World — A Last Sad Look of Quenchless Pity —
" Not One Stone Left upon Another! " — " After Two Days the
Son of Man Is to Be Delivered up ! "
CHAPTER XXX
The Basest Conspiracy of All 410
Stories: — The Terrible Night-Study of Judas — From De Quincey's
Apology — Conspiring with the Priests — " The Price of a Slave ! "
— Did Jesus Suspect the Treachery ? — Preparing for the Passover —
The Young Man with the Water-pot — Getting Ready to Eat the
Passover Together — " Where Is the Guest Chamber ? " — The
Ceremonial of Slaving the Lamb — Judas May Have Gone from the
Market to the Palace — " That Furtive Mien, That Scowling Eye "
— " Ingratitude More Strong Than Traitor's Arms " — A Sin against
the Human Heart — Yet Not Altogether Bad — To Undo What He
Had Done — " I Am Lost — Lost ! " — Can There Be Compassion
for the Betrayer of the Christ ? — " Went to His Own Place."
CHAPTER XXXI
The Last Supper — and the First 422
Stories : — " I Have Yearned to Eat This with You ! " — We Did Not
Know Then What the Master Meant " — His Only Passover Sacri-
fice— Striving for the Best Places — ^Judas Obtained the Chief Seat —
above the Master ! — A Picture of Their Arrangement at Table —
An Illustrated Lesson in Humility — " He That Is Greatest, Let
Him Be the Servant ! " — What Was the Idea of God in This ? —
" One of You Shall Betray Me ! " — Anything Seemed Possible Then
— " Is It I, Rabbi ? "—Judas Went out — " And It Was Night " —
Relieved of Some Ghastly Incubus— The Last Supper Is Made the
First — Another Wine, Another Feast — Paul's Account of the Lord's
Supper — What Did Jesus See ? — Sifting the Disciples — " Yet a Little
While" — Peter Was Sorely Distressed — " Look! Here Are Two
Swords" — How He Happened to Have the Sword — Beautiful Words
Broke the Sacred Stillness — " Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled"
m the Language of WyclifFe — " I Am Going Back to the Father "
— The Prayer of Intercession — The House of the Last Supper —
Jesus Joining in the Hymn — Excitement among the Church Au-
thorities— So They Came to Gethsemane.
CHAPTER XXXH
Agony, Betrayal, Arrest 442
Stories ; — A Place Named Gethsemane — Pre-eminently His Passion—
28 CONTENTS
Being in Agony He Prayed — No Fear for Himself Caused His
Anguish — " Not Able to Watch One Hour ? " — Returning the
Third Time — The Loftiest Courage — 'Tis Midnight in the Garden
Now — " Hail, Rabbi ! " and Kissed Him Much — " Dost Thou
Betray the Son of Man ? " — ^Judas Was Afraid — " Whom Are You
Looking for ? " — As a Good Shepherd Stands forth — Taxes Them
with Cowardice — Twice Repelled by the Glory of His Person —
" Excuse Me This Once " — A Knight among Knaves — The
Naked Young Man — The Disciples Disappear among the Trees —
The Jewish Senate Greatly Agitated.
CHAPTER XXXIII
The Great Church Trial 451
Stories: — Taken before Annas — The Late High Priest — Through
John's Influence Peter Was Admitted — In a Trap — " Art Thou
One of This Man's Disciples ? " — In Mortal Terror — ** I Have
Spoken Openly to the World " — " Answerest Thou the High Priest
So ? " — Scouring the City to Get Their Senate Together — The
False Witnesses Disagree — That Majestic Silence — "Art Thou the
Christ ? " — " Thou Hast Said ! " — Reverberating down the Ages —
Caiaphas Played His Part Well — " Blasphemy ! He Is a Man of
Death ! "— " Man, I Don't Know What You're Talking about ! "
— Stung with Unutterable Anguish — The Saviour Looked on Peter —
The Remorse of Judas — "I Have Sinned, He Is Innocent!" —
Peter Never Slept Past the Hour of His Shame — " Prophesy !
Who Struck Thee ? " — The Judges Separated for an Hour or Two
of Sleep — They Disagreed among Themselves — Scene of the Tem-
ple Trial — Before the Sanhedrin — Leading Their Own Messiah in
Chains.
CHAPTER XXXIV
Suffered under Pontius Pilate 464
Stories: — That Morning in the Prstorium — Pilate Knew Them Well
— " What Accusation Do You Bring against This Man ? "• — " If
He Were Not a Great Offender We Would Not Deliver Him up
to You " — Sent over to Herod's Palace — Herod Treated Jesus as if
He Were a Juggler — Remained Silent That the Baptist Might Be
Heard — Back to Pilate — A Crowd Had Gathered Meanwhile —
Cross-questioned in Private bv Pilate — " My Kingdom Is Not of
This World "— " What Shall I Do to Jesus Who Is Called the
Christ ? "— " Not This Man, but Barabbas ! "—A Thrill of Horror
through the Heart of Humanity — He Should Have Been Protected
from the Jews — Crowned with Thorns — ^A Mock Coronation — " I
Have Power to Crucify Thee "— " Behold the Man ! "—What a
Sight It Was !— " Shall I Crucify Your King .? "— " We Have No
King but CcBsar ! " — " The Intermediate Death " — From Indignity
to Indignity — So Solemn That the Very Hour Is Given.
CONTENTS 9f
CHAPTER XXXV
There They Crucified Him 476
Stories: — " Go, Soldier, Get Ready the Cross ! " — Hurried Straight
from the Judgment Seat — The Cross Too Horrible for a Roman
Even to Think of — The Terrible Preparations — Led out to Die —
The Revolting Task of Simon of Cyrene — " Daughters of Jerusalem,
Weep Not for Me ! " — Far Different His Tears from Theirs —
" What I Have Written I Have Written " — This Is What Would
Become of a Jewish King ! — Nothing Could Be More Unjust Than
This Title — Forced by the Sneering Inscription to Go on with the
Crowd — The Centurion Gave the Fatal Signal — " Father, Forgive
Them, for They Know Not What They Do ! " — Refusing the Drink
— Fastened to the Torture-Tree — A General Forward Movement
to See the Cross Set up — The Great Cross with Love Transfixed
upon It — The Nail That Held Him up — Taunts in the Midst of
Torture — The Multitude Roared Applause and Laughter — Why
Did He Not Reprove Them ? — The Motive of Their Derision —
Was He Tempted on the Cross ? — He Saw Faces of Those Who
Had Believed in Him — Gambling for the Seamless Garment —
Amusement and Profit to the Soldiers — The " Stations" of the Cross.
CHAPTER XXXVI
Even the Death of the Cross 491
Stories .— " Art Thou the Christ ? Save Thyself and Us ! "—The
Repenting Robber's " Remember Me ! " — Did John Bring Mary
for the Last Mournful Farewell ?— " Behold Thy Son ! Behold
Thy Mother ! "—His Words Were Few but Thoughtful— Stood
the Afflicted Mother Weeping — A Voice Pulsating with the Keen-
est Anguish—" My God ! Why Didst Thou Forsake Me ? " — Ah
God, What a Cry ! — " Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit ! "
— " It Is Finished ! " — The Seven " Words " from the Cross —
" Truly This Was a Son of God ! " — ^John Led the Mother Away
— No Woman Was Ever Unkind to Jesus — Not She ! — When Man
Is Silent, Nature Speaks — " They Shall Look on Him Whom They
Pierced " — Then the Ghastly Work Began — He Had Died of a
Broken Heart — The Hurried Burial— In a New Tomb — Rest in
Thy Glory, Noble Founder ! — Sealing and Guarding the Tomb —
Left to Sleep through the Sabbath — How He Triumphed over the
Cruelty and Shame of It All — The Greatest Crime in History.
CHAPTER XXXVH
Legends Sacred'and Profane 506
Stories: — The Letter of Abgarusto Jesus — Reply Said to Have Been
Written by the Christ — The Portrait Sent to Abgarus — The Wan-
dering Jew — Veronica and the Handkerchief Portrait — The King of
30 CONTENTS
Glory Enters through the Gates of Hell — CcPsar Commands Pilate
to Send the Great Physician to Heal Him — Pilate's Excuse — Con-
demned to the Most Ignominious Death — What They Did with
Pilate's Body — All That Josephus Relates about Jesus.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
The Brightness of His Rising 513
Stories : — As It Began to Dawn — Waiting for the First Streak of Easter
Light—" Death Is Dead ; Life Is Eternal ! "—The Great Disk Stirred
in Its Groove — Sublimely Beautiful He Stood — " Walking in His
Garden in the Cool of the Day " — Strange Things the Women Saw
— " Behold, the Stone Had Been Rolled away ! " — What John and
Peter Saw — Who Could Have Removed the Body ? — Mary Magda-
lene Lingers Near the Tomb — " Mary ! " — It Seemed to Them but
Idle Talk — The News Spread Fast — Bribing the Soldiers Who Had
Guarded the Grave — Their Only Refuge Seemed to Be in Lies —
"We Have Crucified a Man, but We Could Not Slay a God ! " —
Arguments on the Resurrection — " The Lord Is Risen Indeed I "
CHAPTER XXXIX
Appearances of the Risen Lord 525
Stories: — The "Traveler Unknown" on the Road to Emmaus —
What of the Great New Hope of the Kingdom ? — Standing in Their
Midst — Thomas the Twin Was Not There — The Convincing of
Thomas — " Thou Art My God Indeed ! " — The Reconfirming of
Peter—" They Will Lead You Where You Would Not Go "—
" Lo, I Am with You Alway ! " — " On Thee Has the Lord a Great
Work to Complete " — Carried up into Heaven — Twelve Manifesta-
tions after He Arose from the Dead — Paul's Summary of the Appear-
ances— He Has Left Us a Rich World of Thoughts — Closing Words
of the Fourth Gospel — So Ends the Gospel of the King — He Has
Left Us the August Opportunity of Everlasting Life — Heaven's
Golden Day Has Broken !
CHAPTER XL
The Son of Man and God 537
Stories : — The Fourfold Gospel — How Mark Wrote the Good News
— Did Mary the Mother Tell Her Story to Luke ? —Fable That
Each Apostle Inserted an Article in the Creed — Traditional Deaths
of the Apostles — Many Priests Joined the Disciples of Jesus — Chris-
tians Accused of Setting Fire to Rome — Faith of Our Fathers ! — The
Chain of Christian Evidence from the First Century— The Fire in
the Heart of History — The Life of Christ in History Can Not Cease
— The Christ That Is to Be— The Son of Man the Son of God.
Special Acknowledgments ........ 547
Inil«x 553
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Son of Man
Herod's Temple
The Only Melody of Heaven E\'er Heard by Mortal
Ears
Hurrying down to Egypt
The Boy of Nazareth
Starting Back to Nazareth
The Jordan Valley . .
The Unseen Tempter
Going to Cana with His First Disciples ....
The Coming of the Healer
At Sunset by the Lake Shore
Waiting for the Young Rabbi
Pharisees and Sadducees Conspiring against Jesus .
Sending out the Twelve
New Testament Map of Palestine
The Samaritan Neighbour
Alone with the Twelve
Lazarus the Beggar at the Door of Dives
"But Where Are the Nine?"
"Jesus, Son of David, Take Pity on Me! " . . .
Telling Them of Coming Destruction ....
Bargaining with Judas
"Whither I Go Ye Know, and the Way Ye Know"
"Why, What Has ITe Done?"
"Behold the Man!"
"Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"
Portrait Supposed to Have Been Painted by Luke for
Abgarus
Portrait Believed to Have Been Imprinted ISIiracu-
lously on Veronica's Veil
Veronica Showing the Miraculous Portrait to the
Mother of Jesus
What the Women Saw
Peter and John Running to the Tomb ....
Carried Up into Heaven
Frontispiece
facing page 41
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' 376
" 386
' 406
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' 464
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' 524
' 540
The Story-Life of the
Son of Man
THE HOREOR OF GREAT DARKNESS
It was an evil time, and dread
Reigned over all, for hope was dead.
—Richard H. Thomas, M. D.
The Most Important Event in Our World
The Roman Empire had now become the largest which the
world had ever seen ; and Octavius, named Augustus, holding
the principal offices of the state, was, in effect, the absolute master
of the lives and fortunes of the Roman people. During a long
administration he almost effaced the memory of his former cruel-
ties, and seemed to consult only the good of his subjects.
His reign constituted the era of Roman taste and genius, under
the auspices of Mecsenas, his chief minister, who was the most
eminent patron of letters recorded in history.
Seventeen years before the close of his life and reign, . . .
Jesus Christ was born in Judea — an event more important than
any other that ever took place in our world.
Outlines of Ancient and diodern History, Eoj'al Bobbins, Vol. I, p. 145.
The Reign of Evil Had Reached Its Height
The reign of evil throughout the world seemed to have reached
its height. In Rome the infamousSejauus, long the favourite of
Tiberius, had at last fallen, but not till his career had filled the
world with horror. The enforcement of obsolete usury laws had
spread financial ruin over the empire. Forced sales made property
almost worthless. Bankruptcy spread far and near. The courts
were filled with men imploring a repeal of the obnoxious laws,
34 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
and meanwhile, the capitalists kept back their money. Business
was paralysed throughout the world. Many of the rich were
reduced to beggary, and the misery of the poor became more
intense. To add to the universal ruin, informers reigned supreme
at Rome, and even the forms of law were forgotten. Multitudes,
both innocent and guilty, perished in the Roman jails, — men,
women, and children, — their bodies being thrown into the Tiber.
A reign of terror prevailed. Legal murders and remorseless
confiscations were increasing ; immorality and crime held high
carnival. The most distant countries trembled before Rome, but
its rule may be judged by the guilt, cruelty, and corruption at the
centre.
The misgoverned East was deeply agitated by the uneasy pre-
sentiment of an impending change. Not only Judea, but the
neighbouring countries, were full of restless expectation.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 353.
Guttered down in the Socket Like a Bwrnt-o«t Candle
Two-thirds of the world were slaves ; three- fourths were drunk-
ards ; nine-tenths openly led impure lives. Cicero recounts ten
vices that undermined society and life.
One historian writes, " Luxury and licentiousness in the time
of Augustus Caesar in the court of Rome and among the peo-
ple prevailed to an alarming degree. Yergil was writing his
Eclogues; Horace was singing his Odes; Livy was writing his
Annals. What feasts there were ! What sports in the amphi-
theatre ! Caesar gave an exhibition of six hundred gladiators,
who fought hand to hand to the very death. . . .
"Philosophy had done its best. The very summit of earthly
culture had been reached, but over against this may be witnessed
in the frescoes and inscriptions taken from the ruins of Pompeii —
exhibitions of sin and shame not to be mentioned in these daj^s.
Greece, Rome and the whole world groaned and travailed for the
coming of a deliverer."
Historians of the day have used their blackest pigments in
painting the picture, — a picture hideous, deadening, despairing.
Gibbon's description is not too darkly colored. Altars forsaken,
homes desecrated, the priesthood false and corrupt, Stoicism
hardening men into passionless, tearless endurance. Epicurean-
THE HORROR OF GREAT DARKNESS 35
ism makiug them druuk with soul-stupefyiug pleasures. Meu
aud women sneered at the very existence of virtue. Faith, hope,
love had guttered down in the socket like a burnt-out candle.
Manuscript Sermon, Rev. Charles Wesley Burns, S. T. D.
Form without Heart
The religions of antiquity had lost their vitality, and become
effete forms, without influence on the heart. Philosophy was the
consolation of a few — the amusement or fashion of others ; but
of no weight as a moral force among men at large. On its
best side, that of Stoicism, it had much that was lofty, but
its highest teaching was resignation to fate, and it offered only
the hurtful consolation of pride in virtue, without an idea of hu-
miliation for vice. On its worst side — that of Epicureanism — it
exalted self-indulgence as the highest end. Faith in the great
truths of natural religion was well-nigh extinct.
Sixty-three years before the birth of Christ, Julius Caesar, at
that time the Chief Pontiff of Rome, and as such, the highest
functionary of the state religion, and the official authority in
religious questions, ojDenly proclaimed, in his speech in the Senate,
in reference to Cataline and his fellow-conspirators — that there
was no such thing as a future life ; no immortality of the soul.
He opposed the execution of the accused on the ground that their
crimes deserved the severest punishments, and that, therefore,
they should be kept alive to endure them, since death was in
reality an escape from suffering, not an evil. " Death," said he,
" is a rest from troubles to those in grief and misery, not a pun-
ishment ; it ends all the evils of life ; for there is neither care nor
joy beyond it."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 28.
No Distinction between Civil and Moral
There was no distinction, as with us, of thingscivil and things
moral. All moral duties were civil, and all civil were moral duties.
Priest and magistrate were one. Patriotism and piety were identi-
cal. The military organization of the Jews was Levitical. The
priest wore the sword, took part in planning campaigns, and led the
people in battle. The Levitical body was a kind of national uni-
36 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
versity. Literature, learniug, and the fine arts, in so far as they
had existence, were preserved, nourished, and diffused by the
priestly order.
Under such circumstances, genius must needs be religious. It
must develop itself in analogy with the history and institutions
of the people. The Hebrew man of genius was the prophet. The
strict priest was narrow and barren ; the prophet was a son of
liberty, a child of inspiration. All other men touched the ground.
He only had wings ; he was orator, poet, singer, civilian, states-
man. Of no close profession, he performed the functions of all,
as by turns, in the great personal freedom of his career, he needed
their elements.
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 83.
Priest for Religion, Philosopher for Morality-
There is an old saying to the effect that the Eoman went to the
priest for his religion, but to the philosopher for his morality,
and substantially this is a fair representation of the thought of
the ancient world. Eeligion is thus seen as altogether divorced
from conduct.
Philosophy is also seen as a system of ethics which is destitute
of religious sanction. The most that it aimed to do was to fur-
nish a wise plan of life, based upon considerations of utility. But
it is obvious that a man may attain a high degree of philosophic
wisdom, without attaining fine emotions, or even at the expense
of fine emotions. He may be wise without being moral, learned
without being kind, sagacious without being loving or lovable, a
scholar or a sage without possessing a single attractive quality
which would make us deplore his death.
Thus, the inconsistencies of Seneca afford one of the saddest
ironies of history, and our admiration of the philosopher is con-
stantly tempered by our scorn for the flatterer of Nero, intent
on ease and luxury even while he preaches the beauty of virtue
and the pleasures of poverty. But the career of Seneca affords a
theme for reflections far more humbling than any that sprang
from the exercise of irony. It illustrates the impotence of the
highest kind of intellectual wisdom of itself to produce perfection
of character.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 136.
THE HORROR OF GREAT DARKNESS 37
The Sad Condition of Woman
The condition of woman in antiquity was little better than that
of the slave. She was the property of her husband, if married ;
if unmarried, she was the plaything or slave of man, never his
equal. The morality of married life, which is the strength and
glory of any people, was hardly known. Pompey and Germanicus
were singular in the fidelity that marked their marriage relations,
on both sides, and were famous through the singularity. The
utter impurity of the men reacted in a similar self-degradation
of the other sex. In Rome, marriages became, as a rule, mere
temporary connections. In order to escape the punishments in-
flicted on adultery, in the time of Tiberius, married women, in-
cluding even women of illustrious families, enrolled themselves
on the official lists of public prostitutes. . . . The barbarians
of the German forests alone, of the heathen world, retained a
worthy sense of the true dignity of woman. '' No one there
laughs at vice," says Tacitus, "nor is to seduce and to be
seduced called the fashion."
Tlie Life and Words of Christ, Cuuniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 12.
Babes Sold to Raise Money
Habitually near to the starvation line lived the peasantry of
that time. The people in this particular province had already
been bled to the verge by Herod, Rome's toady and vassal.
This further spoliation, therefore, meant bread out of many a
mouth. The brigands on the Tiber, however, had thoughtfully
provided for every emergency. There was a Roman law that a
pai-ent could sell his infant into slavery if the money was needed
to pay the tax.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 24.
The Lot of the Slave
The slave, before Christ came, was a piece of property of less
worth than laud or cattle. An old Roman law enacted a penalty
of death for him who killed a ploughing ox ; but the murderer
of a slave was called to no account whatever. Crassus, after the
revolt of Spartacus, crucified 10, 000 slaves at one time. Augustus,
in violation of his word, delivered to their masters, for execution,
30,000 slaves, who had fought for Sextus Pompeius. Trajan, the
38 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
best of the Romans of his day, made 10,000 slaves fight at oue
time in the amphitheatre, for the amusement of the people, and
prolonged the massacre 123 days.
The great truth of man's universal brotherhood was the axe
laid at the root of this detestable crime — the sum of all villauies.
By first infusing kindness into the lot of the slave, then by slowly
undermining slavery itself, each century has seen some advance,
till at last the man-owner is unknown in nearly every civilized
country, and even Africa itself, the worst victim of slavery in
these latter ages, is being aided by Christian England to raise its
slaves into freemen.
JTie Life and Words of Christ, CuDningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 10.
The Poor among the Ancients
The poor, in antiquity, were in almost as bad a plight as the
slave. " How can you possibly lay yourself down so low as not
to repel a poor man from you with scorn"? " is the question of a
rhetorician of the imperial times of Rome to a rich man. No
one of the thousands of rich men living in Rome ever conceived
the notion of founding an asylum for the poor, or a hospital for
the sick. There were herds of beggars. Seneca often mentions
them, and observes that most men fling an alms to a beggar with
repugnance, and carefully avoid all contact with them. Among
the Jews, the poor were thought to be justly bearing the penalty
of some sin of their own, or of their fathers.
The Life and Words of Christ, CunniDgham Geikie, D. D., Vol, I, p. 11.
A Qiwfch Dying of Ceremony
In an age when a slave had not as many rights as a pauper dog
in our streets to-day, and when a prince or a priest treated a poor
man as he chose and no help for it, when wealth and rank were
never asked for their credentials if they trampled obscurity and
poverty into bruises and blood, he taught the equality of man,
the rights of the wronged, the value of the slighted. In a society
of sham he scorned worldliness by an epigram which has re-
mained superb and final from his day to ours.
To a church dying of ceremony, rotten with hypocrisy, . . .
there came an ideal of worship which defied every ecclesiastical
conception of his race and times.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 173.
THE HOKROR OF GREAT DARKNESS 39
**I Shall See Him, but Not Now *'
About forty years before the birth of Christ, Vergil wrote his
beautiful Eclogue of Pollio. The birthplace of Vergil was near
the town of CuiuiTe, where lived the Cumsean sibyl, aud her tradi-
tiouary history aud her writings must have deeply impressed his
mind. Possibly he ouly thought of them as a poet thinks of a
fine theme for the display of poetic imagery ; and possibly he
may have meant to make of this eclogue a complimentary
prophecy of some patron among the j^owerful of his times. But
when we remember that it was published only about forty years
before the birth of Christ, and that no other historical character
corresponding to this prediction ever appeared, it becomes, to
say the least, a remarkable coincidence. . . .
May not Vergil, like Balaam, have been carried beyond him-
self in the trance of poetic inspiration, aud seen afar the
" Star " that should arise out of Israel ? He too might have ex-
claimed :
" I shall see him, but not now,
I shall behold him, but not nigh."
Footsteps of the Master, Harriet Beecher Stowe, p. 90.
Writings Which Fired the Souls of the People
A literature, widely diffused, penetrated the nation with its
spirit and coloured its destiny. Nor were the books quoted
the only writings . . . that everywhere formed the read-
ing, and fired the soul of the contemporaries of Jesus. A suc-
cession of heralds of the Messiah perpetuated the theme. After
the Psalms of Solomon and the Book of Esdras, we have the
anticipations of the Targums, and of Philo, and the pictures
of the Book of Jubilees. In the Messiah's time we read in the
latter, " the days will begin to lengthen, and the children of men
will live longer, from generation to generation, and from day to
day, till their lives come nigh to a thousand years. And there
will be no more any old, nor any weary of life, but they will all
be like children and boys, and fulfil all their days in peace aud
joy, and there will be no accuser amongst them, or any corrupter.
For all their days will be days of blessing."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 341.
40 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Her od^s Three Perils
For [Herod] the king there were three great perils : the people,
Caesar, and his own family. The descendant of old John Hyr-
canus of Idumsea — a Jew only by compulsion — had no understand-
ing of the children of Moses. He tripped every day on the
barriers of ancient law, and often his generosity was taken for
defiance. Caesar was not so hard to please. He had vanity and
laws not wholly inflexible.
Herod's family, with its evil sister, its profligate sons, its
voluptuous daughters, its wives, of whom it is enough to say they
were nine, its intrigues and jealousies, gave him greater trouble
than either the kingdom or the emperor. He built a city near
Jerusalem, on the sea. Magnificent in marble and gold, Csesarea
stood for a monument of Herodian troubles. Therein he sought
to amuse the people, to pacify his kindred, and to flatter Caesar.
Its vast breakwater ; its great arches through which the sea came
gently in all weather ; its mosaic pavements washed daily by the
salt tide ; its palaces of white marble, its great, glowing amphi-
theatre— these were unique in their barbaric splendor, albeit, in
the view of the people, an offense to God.
Vergilius, Irving Bacheller, p. 166.
He Btiilds a More Splendid Temple
It was with the extremest mistrust that the rabbis heard in the
year b. c. 20 that Herod intended replacing the humble temple
of the Exile by one unspeakably more splendid. It is said that
Baba-ben-Boutra had seen a crack in the old structure, and coun-
seled Herod to build another in its place, as an expiation for the
murder of Mariamne and the rabbis, and to conciliate the people
for his favour to heathenism. The prophecies were played ofi" by
him, to win popular sanction to his undertaking, for Haggai had
foretold that a new temple of surpassing glory would one day be
built. But so great was the distrust that all the materials of the
new temple needed to be brought together before a stone of the
old one could be touched.
At last, on the regnal day of Herod, in the year b. c. 14, the
unfinished structure was consecrated, and the lo\Wng of 300 oxen
at the Great Altar announced to Jerusalem that the first sacrifice
in it was offered. But scarcely was the consecration over than
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THE HORROR OF GREAT DARKNESS 41
national gratitude was turned into indignation by his setting up
a great golden eagle — the emblem of heathen Rome — over the
great gate, in expectation of a visit from distinguished strangers
from the imjierial city. The nation was not duped as the king had
expected. In spite of his having begun a temple so magnificent that
even a Jewish saying owns that he who had not seen it had seen
nothing worth looking at, an abyss yawned between him and them.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 51.
When Hillel and Shammai Taught in Jerusalem
It was also under the government of Herod, that Hillel and
Shammai lived and taught in Jerusalem : the two whom tradi-
tion designates as "the fathers of old." Both gave their name to
"schools," whose direction was generally different — not unfre-
quently, it seems, for the sake of opposition. But it is not correct
to describe the former as consistently the more liberal and mild.
The teaching of both was supposed to have been declared by the
"Voice from Heaven" as "the words of the living God" ; yet
the Law was to be henceforth according to the teaching of Hillel.
But to us Hillel is so intensely interesting, not merely as the mild
and gentle, not only as the earnest student who came from Baby-
lon to learn in the academies of Jerusalem ; who would support
his family on a third of his scanty wages as a day laborer,
that he might pay for entrance into the schools ; and whose
zeal and merits were only discovered when, after a severe night,
in which, from jDOverty, he had been unable to gain admittance
into the academy, his benumbed form was taken down from the
window-sill, to which he had crept up not to lose aught of the
precious instruction. And for his sake did they gladly break on
that Sabbath the sacred rest.
Nor do we think of him, as tradition fables him — the descend-
ant of David, possessed of every great quality of body, mind, and
heart ; nor yet as the second Ezra, whose learning placed him at
the head of the Sauhedrin, who laid down the principles after-
wards applied and developed by rabbinisra, and who was the real
founder of traditionalism. Still less do we think of him, as he is
falsely represented by some : as he whose principles closely
resemble the teaching of Jesus, or, according to certain writers,
were its source.
42 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
By the side of Jesus we tbiuk of him otherwise than this. We
remember that, iu his extreme old age aud uear his eud, he may
have presided over that meeting of Sauhedriu which, iu answer
to Herod's iuquiry, pointed to Bethlehem as the birthplace of the
Messiah. We think of him also as the grandfather of that Gama-
liel, at whose feet Saul of Tarsus sat. Aud to us he is the repre-
sentative Jewish reformer, iu the spirit of those times, aud iu the
sense of restoring rather thau removing ; while we think of Jesus
as the Messiah of Israel, in the sense of bringing the kingdom of
God to all meu, aud opening it to all believers.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersbeim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 128.
How Herod Arranged for an ** Honourable '* Mourning
Having no longer the least hope of recovering, he gave order
that every soldier should be paid fifty drachmae ; and he also gave
a great deal to their commanders, aud to his friends, aud came
again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric that it brought him to
do all things like a madman ; and though he were uear his death,
he contrived the following designs : — He commanded that all the
principal meu of the entire Jewish nation, wheresoever they lived,
should be called to him. Accordingly, there were a great number
that came, because the whole nation was called, and all men heard
of this call, and death was the penalty of such as should despise the
epistles that were sent to call them. Aud now the king was iu a
wild rage against them all, the innocent as well as those that had
afforded him ground for accusations ; and when they were come,
he ordered them to be all shut up iu the hippodrome, aud sent
for his sister Salome, and her husband Alexis, aud spake thus to
them:
"I shall die in a little while, so great are my pains ; which
death ought to be cheerfully borne, and to be welcomed by all
meu, but what principally troubles me is this, that I shall die
without being lamented ; and without such mourning as men
usually expect at a king's death." . . .
He desired, therefore, that as soon as they see he hath given up
the ghost, they shall place soldiers round the hippodrome, while
they do not know that he is dead ; aud that they shall not declare
his death till this is done, but they shall give orders to have those
THE HORROR OF GREAT DARKNESS 43
that are iu custody shot with their darts : aud that this slaughter
of them all will cause that he shall uot miss to rejoice ou a double
account. That as he is dyiug, they will make him secure that his
will shall be executed iu what he charges them to do : and that
he shall have the honour of a memorable mourning at his funeral.
So he deplored his condition with tears iu his eyes, and obtested
them by the kindness due from them, as of his kindred, and by
the faith they owed to God ; and begged of them that they would
not hinder him of this honourable mourning at his funeral.
The Works of Flavius Josephns, edited by William Whiston, A, M., Vol. II.
Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVII, Chap, VI, p. 20,
TI
LOOKING TOWAED THE LIGHT
Light, seeking light, (Shakespeare).
Unbarred the gates of Light.
—Milton.
The Dream of a Jewish Maiden
When I came to lie on luy mother's breast, she saug me lullabies
on lofty themes. I heard the names of Rebecca, Rachel^ and Leah
as early as the names of father, mother, and nurse. My baby soul
was enthralled by sad and noble cadences, as my mother sang of
my ancient home in Palestine, and mourned over the desolation
of Zion. With the first rattle that was placed in my hand, a
prayer was pronounced over me, a petition that a pious man
might take me to wife, and a messiah be among my sons.
I was fed on dreams, instructed by means of prophecies, trained
to hear and see mystical things that callous senses could not per-
ceive. I was taught to call myself a princess, in memory of my
forefathers who had ruled a nation. Though I went in the dis-
guise of an outcast, I felt a halo resting on my brow. Spat upon
by brutal enemies, unjustly hated, persecuted, annihilated a hun-
dred times, I yet arose and held my head high, sure that I should
find my kingdom in the end, although I had lost my way in exile ;
for He who had brought my ancestors safe through a thousand
perils, was guiding my feet as well. God needed me and I needed
Him, for we two together had a work to do, according to an an-
cient covenant between Him and my forefathers.
Within the Pale; Chapters of an Autobiography, Mary Antin, The Atlantic
Monthly, Vol. CVIII, No. 4, October, 1911, p. 445.
At the Fowntain of the Virgin
There was a fountain ; the only one in the village. The women
went with their urns on their shoulders to get water for the family
supply ; they stood, graceful, slow of motion, lazy and lovely,
taking each her turn. It was approaching the cool of the day.
44
t
LOOKING TOWARD THE LIGHT 45
The women chattered like birds ; they raised their eyes to the
moiiutaius iudiffereutly. The sky was taking on a preparation
of color ; but the women preferred to hear what was to be said.
A girl put down her urn, and looked at the sky. She did not
talk. She moved away a little from the other women, and leaned
against a high, white rock. Her chin was lifted, her eyes up-
raised ; her mouth had a sweet expression ; her thoughts were
liigh. She had the air of one who preferred to be alone without
knowing why.
The other women rustled, gossiping, away. The girl followed
slowly, with obvious reluctance ; she walked alone. The urn
stood steadily upon her head ; her carriage was straight and
noble. She was of middle height, or possibly a little above it.
She had a fair complexion, blond hair and bright, hazel eyes.
Her eyebrows were arched and dark ; her lips ruddy, and full of
kindness when she spoke. Her face was long rather than round ;
her hands and fingers were finely shaped. ''She had no weak-
ness of manner, but was far from forwardness. She had no pride,
but was simjDle, and free from deceit. She showed respect and
honor to all. She was very gentle, in all things serious and
earnest ; she spoke little and only to the purpose." . . .
Now the maiden was a poor girl, born of working people,
reared by them, and living among them. Yet she came of the
lineage of a powerful and poi:)ular king. This country maid,
this laborer's child, was born, not to the purple, but of it. She
might be called a royal peasant. Her veins ran with the richest
blood of the nation ; her hands knew its commonest toil. A
patrician ancestry and a plebeian training make, for certain ends,
the most desirable inheritance that can befall one. She had it.
2%e Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 2,
A Priest Comes out of the Sanctwar y Speechless
In the reign of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named
Zechariah, who belonged to the division called after Abijah. His
wife, whose name was Elisabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron.
They were both righteous people, who lived blameless lives,
guiding their steps by all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord. But they had no child, Elisabeth being barren ; and
both of them were advanced in years.
46 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
One day, when Zecliariah was officiating as priest before God,
during the turn of his division, it fell to him by lot, in accord-
ance with practice among the priests, to go into the Temple of the
Lord and burn incense ; and, as it was the hour of incense, the
people were all praying outside. And an angel of the Lord
appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was startled at the sight and was awe-struck. But the
angel said to him :
" Do not be afraid, Zechariah ; your prayer has been heard, and
your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, whom you shall call by
the name John. He shall be to you a joy and a delight ; and many
shall rejoice over his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of
the Lord ; he shall not drink any wine or strong drink, and he
shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth,
and shall reconcile many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.
He shall go before Him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah,
' to reconcile fathers to their children ' and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people
prepared for Him."
"How can I be sure of this?" Zechariah asked the angel.
" For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
" I am Gabriel," the angel answered, " who stand in the pres-
ence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring
you this good news. And now you shall be silent and unable to
speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not
believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due
course."
Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering
at his remaining so long in the Temple. When he came out, he
was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen
a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and
remained dumb. And, as soon as his term of service was finished,
he returned home.
Luke i. 5-23. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 103.
A Priest of the Old for the New
To this distinct promise of a son who should become a great
reformer, and renew the power and grandeur of the prophetic
office, he could only say, " Whereby shall I know this?" His
LOOKING TOWARD THE LIGHT 47
doubts should have beguu earlier, or not at all. He should
have rejected the whole vision, or should have accepted the
promise implicitly ; for what sign could be given so as-
suringly as the very presence of the angel? But the sign which
he asked was given in a way that he could never forget ; — as if
the priest of the Old was to teach no more until the coming of the
New,
When Zacharias came forth to the people, who were already
impatient at his long delay, they perceived by his altered manner
that some great experience had befallen him. He could not
speak, and could dismiss them only by a gesture.
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 13.
The Dearest Secret of Motherhood
Thus, from whatever source the narrative may be supposed to
have been derived, its details certainly differ, in almost all par-
ticulars, from the theological notions current at the time. And
the more Zacharias meditated on this in the long solitude of his
enforced silence, the more fully must new spiritual thoughts have
come to him.
As for Elisabeth, those tender feelings of woman, which ever
shiink from the disclosure of the dearest secret of motherhood,
were intensely deepened and sanctified in the knowledge of all
that had passed. Little as she might understand the full mean-
ing of the future, it must have been to her, as if she also now
stood in the Holy Place, gazing toward the Veil which concealed
the innermost Presence. Meantime she was content with, nay,
felt the need of, absolute retirement from other fellowship than
that of God and her own heart. Like her husband, she too would
be silent and alone — till another voice called her forth. What-
ever the future might bring, sufficient for the present, that thus
the Lord had done to her, in days in which He looked down to
remove her reproach among men. The removal of that burden,
its manner, its meaning, its end, were all from God, and with
God ; and it was fitting to be quite alone and silent, till God's
voice would again wake the echoes within.
And so five months passed in absolute retirement.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxoii.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 143.
48 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Low in Station b«t of High Ancestry-
While Zach arias aud Elisabeth were rejoicing at their promised
blessing, in their quiet home in the south, there lived in the vil-
lage of Nazareth or Nazara, over a hundred miles to the north of
them, a Jew of the name of Joseph, aud a simple maiden named
Mary, who was betrothed to him as his future wife. Though
humble enough iu position — for he was by trade a carpenter-
Joseph was, iu reality, of the noblest blood of his race, for he
could claim descent from the ancient kings of his nation, aud was
the legal heir to the throne of David aud Solomon.
It need not surprise us that the representative of such an illus-
trious ancestry should be found iu a station so obscure. In the
book of Judges, we find a grandson of Moses reduced to engage
himself as family priest, in Mount Ephraim, for a yearly wage of
"ten shekels, a suit of apparel, and his victuals." . . .
The vicissitudes of the Jewish nation for century after century ;
its deportation to Babylon, and long suspension of national life ;
its succession of high-priestly rulers, after the return ; its transi-
tion to the Asmouean line, and, finally, the reign of the Idumeau
house of Herod, with all the storm aud turmoil which marked so
many changes, had left, to use a figure of Isaiah, only a root iu
the dry grouud, an humble citizen of Nazareth, as heir of its
aucieut royalty.
The Life and Wordu of Christ, Cuuniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 104,
The "Wonderful Promise to Mary
Now, six mouths later, the messenger Gabriel was sent from
God to a town of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a maiden, betrothed
to a husband named Joseph, a descendant of David ; aud Mary
was the uame of the maiden.
And the messenger on entering saluted her with, "Good
health to you ! much honour attends you ; the Lord is with you ! "
But she was thrown into confusion about his message, aud re-
flected what that address might mean.
The messenger, however, said to her, "Fear not, Mary! for
you have received a gift from God. Aud listen : you shall con-
ceive, and give birth to a Son ; and you shall give Him the name
of Jesus. He shall be greatly distinguished, and shall be called
'Sou of the Highest.' Aud the Lord God shall give to Him the
LOOKING TOWARD THE LIGHT 49
throue of His father David ; aud He shall reigu over the house
of Jacob throughout the ages : and His reigu shall never end."
"How can this be," Mary asked the messenger, "seeing that
I know not a husband ? "
In reply to her, the angel said, "The Holy Spirit shall shine
upou you, and jjower from above shall overshadow you ; and there-
fore the holy result shall be called ' Sou of God. ' Your kinswoman
Elisabeth has herself also conceived a son in her old age ; and
this is the sixth mouth with her, who was considered childless :
because no event is impossible with God."
"I am the servant of the Lord!" exclaimed Mary. "Ac-
cording to your statement, so let it be with me." And the angel
left her.
Luke i. 26-38. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 89.
The Most Tremendows Revelation This Planet Has
Ever Known
In the village, roof-gardens sometimes added flowers to the
gentle joys of home. One of these sky-gardens belonged to the
poor home of which we think, — a little, cubic dwelling looking
like a block — and tall, white flowers stood above the vines, leaning
against the evening sky.
The girl crept among them. Her eyes were on the heavens.
There was an aureole in her heart. Her prayer had passed the
phase of words. She had ceased to address God, she had come
so near Him. . . .
Then, did she see the angel ? Did he break a stalk of one of
the white flowers, as he stirred, and so hold it in his hand,
smiling to reassure her by the ease and cordiality of the
act? . . .
The angel stood quietly. He seemed to wish not to alarm the
girl. She thought him a spirit of high rank. He spoke with the
tenderness natural to strength and superiority .alone. Was he
used to stand in the presence of God ? Yet he said, "Fear not,
Mary."
How astonishing the conversation which followed ! The scene
moved on steadily to its solemn climax. Question and answer
succeeded with increasing courage on the part of the Galilean
girl, and with growing defiuiteness on that of her celestial guest.
50 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
. . . She was the agent of the most tremendous revelation
which this planet has ever known.
Chosen out of all the world, the Hebrew maiden whose qualifi-
cations for her solemn mission were the simple, womanly ones of
a pure heart and a devout life, received the angel's message as she
who could be chosen by it would be sure to do. The fiat of Deity
was in the magnificent attitude of the angel ; he stood tall, erect,
majestic. Awed, the woman fell upon her knees before the mes-
senger of God, and veiled her face from sight of him. ''Be it
unto me," she said, " according to thy word."
Now, when he perceived that Mary understood the import of
his embassy, the angel left her. . . .
The woman was left, in a world like ours, to her unique experi-
ence.
The Story of Jesits Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 6.
Motherhood the Very Centre of Womanhood
It may seem strange that Zacharias should be struck dumb for
doubting the heavenly messenger, while Mary went unrebuked.
But it is plain that there was a wide difference in the nature of
the relative experiences. To Zacharias was promised an event
external to himself, not involving his own sensibility. But to a
woman's heart there can be no other announcement possible that
shall so stir every feeling and sensibility of the soul, as the prom-
ise and prospect of her first child. Motherhood is the very centre
of womanhood. The first awaking in her soul of the reality that
she bears a double life — herself within herself — brings a sweet be-
wilderment of wonder and joy. The more sure her faith of the
fiict, the more tremulous must her soul become. Such an an-
nouncement can never mean to a father's what it does to a
mother's heart. And it is one of the exquisite shades of subtle
truth, and of beauty as well, that the angel who rebuked Zacha-
rias for doubt saw nothing in the trembling hesitancy and wonder
of Mary inconsistent with a childlike faith.
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Heury Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 19,
She Arose and Went into the Hill Country
And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country
with haste, into a city of Juda j and entered into the house of
LOOKING TOWARD THE LIGHT 51
Zacharias, aud saluted Elisabeth. Aud it came to pass that,
when Elisabeth heard the salutatiou of Mary, the babe leaped in
her womb ; aud Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost : and
she spake out with a loud voice, aud said,
" Blessed art thou amoug women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Aud whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me ? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy saluta-
tion sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed ; for there shall be a performance
of those things which were told her from the Lord."
Luke i. 39-45. Authorised Version.
The Visit to Her Cottsin Elisabeth
Had Mary a mother living ? or loving ? It is touching to know
that the first act of the wondering girl, after the angel had ex-
plained the nature of her future to her, was to seek the sympathy
of another woman, and that woman not of her own household.
There was a village, Juda by name, in the south of Palestine iu
the hill country of Judea ; it was a hard journey of about five
days from Nazareth. There Mary had a friend. She took the
journey.
An elderly woman, reticent, dignified, devout, herself the sub-
ject of a strange experience, received the girl. Mary crept into
her arms ; she found it hard to speak, even to Elisabeth. Then
she found it harder to be silent. Her sensitive nature vibrated
between exaltation and anxiety. There is a song famous and
sacred in musical history — an inimitable outburst of religious
and poetic feeling. In the home of Elisabeth Mary uttered the
Magnificat.
Tlie Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 12.
Soofces of Mary's Song
Mary's song of praise is a composite of many Psalms modeled
upon the praise-prayer of Hannah, voicing the sublime thoughts
of a devout aud expectant heart. It is not difficult to trace the
sublime utterances of the Virgin to their sources in her Bible,
over which she must have pored and pondered much. The
references from the second chapter of First Samuel are from the
exultant song of the aged mother iu Israel as she dedicated
52
THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Samuel, her son of promise, to the service of Jeliovali. Like
Mary's motlier-song, HauuaL's began with
" l\Iy heart rejoieeth in the Lord, . . .
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.".
Following are the phrases of Mary's psalm of rejoicing traced to
their original expressions in the Old Testament :
{3Iagnificat)
" My soul doth magnify the Lord, Psalm xxxv. 9,
And my soul hath rejoiced iu God
my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low es-
tate of his handmaiden ;
For, behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things :
And holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that
fear him, from generation' to genera-
tion.
He hath shewed strength with
his arm.
He hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty
from their seats ;
And exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with
good things ;
And the rich he hath sent empty
away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel
In remembrance of his mercy ;
As he spake to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed for-
ever."
the Lord :
salvation."
•'My soul rejoieeth in
it shall rejoice in his
Genesis xxx. 13, "And Leah said,
' Happy am I, for the daughters will
call me blessed.' "
Psalms Ixxi. 19, "O God, very high,
who hast done great things " ;
and cxxvi. 3, "The Lord hath done
great things for us, whereof we are
glad."
Psalm cxi. 9, "Holy and reverend is
his name."
Psalm ciii. 7, " He made known his
ways unto IMoses, his acts unto the
children of Israel."
Psalms xcviii. 1, "His holy arm hath
gotten him the victory " ;
and Ixxxix. 10, "Thou hast scattered
thine enemies with thy strong
arm."
1 Samuel ii. 3, "Talk no more so ex-
ceeding proudly. . . . For the Lord
is a God of knowledge."
Psalm cxiii. 7, "He raiseth up the poor
out of the dust.
And lifteth the needy out of the dung-
hilL"
1 Samuel ii. 5, "They that were hungry
ceased. ' '
Isaiah xli. 8, " But thou, Israel, art my
servant."
Psalms xxx. 4 and xcvii. 12, ' ' Give
thanks at the remembrance of his
holiness."
Micah vii. 20, "Thou wilt perform the
truth to Jacob,
And the mercv to Abraham."
Luke i. 46-55. Wayne Whipple, using Authorised Version throughout.
LOOKING TOWARD THE LIGHT 53
The Mafseillaise of the Ancient World
This "Maguificat" is tlie battle-by mn of democracy. It is
the greatest soug in history. Sensing a child within her,
Mary feels herself equal to the Eomau Empire ; and she an-
nounces that the days of despotism are numbered. Ctesar
on his seven-hilled throne may sacrilegiously style himself
Augustus, " the diviue one." But Mary as confidently disallows
him that title. Heaven is not on the side of privilege and op-
pression, she affirms, but rather on the side of the trodden. Eome
is great, but Galilee with God is greater. In this song three
classes of people are objects of Our Lady's invective — "the
proud," "the mighty," and "the rich." And she passes upon
them a threefold sentence: they are to be "scattered," "put
down from their seats," and "sent empty away." While the
"hungry " are to be " filled with good things," and the oppressed
classes are to be "holpeu." . . .
" The Marseillaise " of the ancient world ! And this hymn
of revolution, pulsing with hatred of oppressors and with fellow-
feeling for all the oppressed ones of earth, was composed and sung
by Mary while she was carrying Jesus underneath her heart.
Holy mother of God, from henceforth in very deed all generations
shall call thee blessed !
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 22.
Those Hidden Days in Jtjdea
For three months these sweet and noble women dwelt together,
performing, doubtless, the simple labors of the household. Their
thoughts, their converse, their employments, must be left wholly
to the imagination. And yet, it is impossible not to be curious
in regard to these hidden days of Judea, when the mother of our
Lord was already fashioning that sacred form which, in due time,
not far from her residence, perhaps within the very sight of it,
was to be lifted up upon the cross. But it is a research which
we have no means of pursuing. Her thoughts must be impossible
to us, as our thoughts of her son were impossible to her. No one
can look forward, even in the spirit of prophecy, to see after-
things in all their fullness as they shall be ; nor can one who has
known go back again to see as if he had not known.
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 25.
64 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Virgin Returns to Nazareth and the Neighbours
And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto
her house. — Luke i. 56.
The two women confided in each other. Mary thought of the
hard journey back to Nazareth ; of the caravan of curious neigh-
bors or kinsfolk which she must join ; her heart sank. Oh, to stay
on and on, protected and respected, quiet and safe ! Dreading to
return to her own home, she lingered in the house of her relative.
Shielded, trusted, understood, how should she face the cruel storm
that awaited her? She clung to this brief slight anchorage.
The suffering element in the life of the sou began early in the
soul of the mother. A desolate maternity forecast the melancholy
of the child.
And now, the inexorable action of the greatest drama in the world
began to move. The claims of her father's roof summoned the
absent girl. Her kinswoman might shelter her no longer. With
dignity, with sweetness, and in silence, Mary gathered her courage,
and came back with her secret to her home and her neighbors.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 12.
** His Name Is John **
"When Elisabeth's full time had expired, she gave birth to a
son. And her neighbours and relatives, learning that the Lord
had increased His mercy toward her, congratulated her.
Now, as customary, on the eighth day, when they came to cir-
cumcise the child, they desired to name him Zacharias, after his
father ; but his mother refused, saying, "It shall not be so ; his
name shall be John ! "
"Why," said they, "not one of your relatives is known by
that name ! "
They accordingly made signs to his father what he desired
the name to be. And having asked for a writing-tablet, he wrote
upon it the reply, "His name is John." And they were all
surprised. His mouth was then immediately opened ; and re-
gaining the use of his tongue, he began to speak, thanking God.
And fear came over all their neighbours ; and these events were
discussed in all the highlands of Judea. And all the hearers
treasured them in their heart, pondering, "Whatever can this
boy be? " for indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke i. 57-66, The lYew Testament in Blodeni English, Ferrar Fentoii, p. 90,
Ill
THE BEST NEWS THE WOELD EVER HEARD
There's a song in the air
And a star in the sky.
— Holland.
The Finger of the Emperor
Augustus was sitting on the throne of the Roman Empire, and
the touch of his finger could set the machinery of government in
motion over well-nigh the whole of the civilised world. He was
proud of his power and wealth, and it was one of his favourite oc-
cupations to compile a register of the populations and revenues of
his vast dominions. So he issued an edict, as the Evangelist Luke
says, "that all the world should be taxed," or to express ac-
curately what the words probably mean, that a census, to serve
as a basis for future taxation, should be taken of all his subjects.
One of the countries affected by this decree was Palestine, whose
king, Herod the Great, was a vassal of Augustus. It set the
whole land in motion ; for, in accordance with ancient Jewish
custom, the census was taken, not at the places where the in-
habitants were at the time residing, but at the places to which
they belonged as members of the original twelve tribes.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 11.
All the World to Be Enrolled
About that time an edict was issued by the Emperor Augustus
that a census should be taken of the whole empire. (This was
the first census taken while Qnirinius was governor of Syria.)
And every one went to his own town to be registered. Among
others Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to
Bethlehem, the town of David, in Judea — because he belonged to
the family and house of David — to be registered with Mary, his
betrothed wife, who was about to become a mother.
Luke ii. 1-5. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 107,
55
56 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Edict Reaches Nazareth
To Nazareth, as to other villages in Palestine, the Eoman fiat
came.
Long and severe were the journeys required of the country-
people who must answer to this enrollment edict. Every citizen
was obliged to register himself at the town whence his family
had sprung. This involved a national commotion. The Jews
were not only in the stir of revolt, but in the irritation of travel, —
poor of pocket, uncomfortable in body, and sore at heart. . . .
Two plain people of Nazareth started at dawn oue winter day to
take one of these annoying journeys. Joseph and Mary, husband
and wife, traveled as poor people must ; on foot, or with one
beast of burden between them.
There was a little town about six miles south of Jerusalem
between seventy and eighty miles from Nazareth. Bethlehem
was the birthplace of David the King ; and Joseph the builder,
descendant of David, must register there.
Mary, his wife, went with him. Why ? She, too, was a daugh-
ter of kings. Did she own some bit of property in Bethlehem ? —
real estate, perhaps, unmarketable, but taxable, such as only
made her "land poor" ; giving her no income but yielding some
to Eome 1 Did she, too, register ? But this was not necessary.
Women were not obliged to present themselves personally ; a
written report of their property sufficed for them. Why, then,
did Mary— who had the gravest of reasons at that time for wish-
ing rest and shelter — take that cruel journey over one of the
roughest of Palestinian pathways ?
Precisely because she had reasons for doing the thing that her
heart craved. And her heart craved that she should at that time
of all others be near her husband, who understood her. Joseph
must go to Bethlehem, and go just then. Mary would not allow
him to leave her behind alone. The circumstances were too un-
usual. Her need of him was absolute. Indeed, it might not
have been safe for her to stay at home unprotected.
There was another reason ; but how far this influenced her only
the heart of Mary ever wholly knew. Did she share this vision-
ary idea with the quiet man who loved and guarded her, as they
came down from the hill-country into the caravan route 1 Or did
she keep it shyly to herself?
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 57
Her child would have been born in Nazareth, but for this acci-
dent of the census. But teas it only an accident that the census
must come into the question just then! — that the family must
register, and in Bethlehem ! Was it one of those divine incidents
in which the great Will rides over little human wills, and brings
everything out as no one could possibly have expected, as no oue
could have planned ? For Mary was a reader of the poets of her
people; and learned iu all their Scriptures. A thousand years
ago those ancient dreamers had associated strange things with the
town of Bethlehem. Did she remember them f
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 18.
Why Both Joseph and Mary Went to Bethlehem
Now, in that country you can own property, but you can lease
it and you need not live there. But when the enrollment season
comes, and the tax is to be paid, you have to be present iu order
to testify that you are a living soul. And so Joseph and Mary had
to come. The histories tell us that Mary owned her property iu
Nazareth, and she was an independent property holder. The
Bible does not give us very much information about Mary, but it
says that she had "her own house." You remember reading
that when she returns to Nazareth from visiting in the hill
country of Judea, she returns to "her own house." A woman's
name is never mentioned in the East unless she is an inde-
pendent property owner, and sole representative of her line, male
and female.
Not only, therefore, did Mary and Joseph own property in Naza-
reth, but Mary and Joseph, being lineal descendants of the house
of David, owned property iu the immediate vicinity of Bethle-
hem ; because, as iu Great Britain, the projierty is entailed from
father to son, and can never be sold. You can dwell in Nazareth,
but at the enrollment season you have to come and have it de-
clared that you are a living soul. So Mary and Joseph had to
come because they were lineal descendants of the house of David,
and both of them must have owned property in Bethlehem as well
as in Nazareth, and they went up to Bethlehem to pay the land
tax.
Jeaus Christ in His Homeland, Mine. Lydia fil. von Finkelstein Mountford,
p. 59.
58 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Long, Hard Jowrney
Strictly speaking, there were no roads between Nazareth and
Bethlehem. Eome built roads but not at this time for her en-
slaved Hebrews. The caravan routes that traversed Palestine
were hard traveling. Rough past rudeness were the foot- ways
and the hoof- ways that led from Nazareth down through the val-
ley, over the mountainside, and rolling rock, and jagged lime-
stone, and through sliding dust ; a severe journey of five days or
more, as you might make it, according to one's means of locomo-
tion or the strength of the travelers.
The wife's store of strength was small and the journey dragged.
She was such a young creature ! — a mere girl — and delicate of
organization, as we know.
Think of it as December, too, and that means the chilly season
in Palestine, with roads across the plains in bad condition. The
rains were over ; sunshine smote the hills, and the silver leaves
of the olives glanced like little steel swords in the wet light.
Even frost was possible at that time of the year. Snow was not
unheard of.
The two travelers arrived at Bethlehem at night, footworn,
chilled and faint. The wife, perishing of fatigue, had passed the
stage of physical suffering when one takes any care or thought
for what is to happen next. Because of her weakness, they had
lagged behind the other travelers, and the town was already
brimming over with strangers like themselves. Every house was
crowded. Her anxious husband took her from threshold to
threshold in vain. The climb to the village up a steep hill had
added a last hardship. The faint light, swinging on a rope across
a doorway, signified the village inn. They toiled up ; the woman
half dead at this last effort. But the khan could not admit them.
Alarmed by the condition of his wife, Joseph persisted man-
fully in his determination to find her shelter. Mary asked no
questions, expressed no concern. Her head fell upon her breast.
The poor, homesick young creature was dumb with suffering.
Oh, the mistake of coming on this miserable journey ! She
thought of her home at Nazareth, of her bed, perhaps of her
mother's face ; or of that other, Elisabeth, who had understood
and cherished her.
Dully, at length, she heard her husband say that there was a
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 50
stable behind the inn, and that for the common humanity of the
deed, the people of the khan would let her in. He carried her to
the stable : she crept among the straw, like the animals around
her, and there — hastened probably by her cruel journey— the
anguish of motherhood overtook the exhausted wife.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 20.
No Room for Them in the Inn
The heavy languor, or even the commencing pangs of travail,
must necessarily have retarded the i^rogress of the maiden mother.
. . They arrived at the khan — probably the very one which
had been known for centuries as the House of Chimham, and if
so, covering perhaps the very ground on which, one thousand
years before, had stood the hereditary house of Boaz, of Jesse,
and of David — every space was occupied. The enrollment had
drawn so many strangers to the little town, that "there was no
room for them in the inn."
In the rude limestone grotto attached to it as a stable, among
the hay and straw spread for the food and rest of the cattle, weary
with their day's journey, far from home, in the midst of strangers,
in the chilly winter night — in circumstances devoid of all earthly
comfort or splendor that it is impossible to imagine a humbler
nativity — Christ was born.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D , F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 10.
The Innkeeper's Lament — **If I Had Known!*'
Could I kuow
That they were so important? Just the two,
No servauts, just a workman sort of man,
Leading a donkey, and his wife thereon
, Drooping and pale, — I saw them not myself,
My servants must have driven them away ;
But had I seen them, how was I to know?
Were inns to welcome stragglers, up and down
In all out towns from Beersheba to Dan,
Till He should come? And how were men to know?
There was a sign, they fnv. a heavenly light
Resplendent ; but I had no time for stars;
And there were songs of angels in the air
Out on the hills ; but how was I to hear
Amid the thousand clauiors of an inn ?
60 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Of course, if I had known them, who they were,
And who was He that should be boi'n that night, . . .
I would have turned the whole inn upside down,
His honor, Marcus Lucius, and the rest,
And sent them all to stables, had I known ! . . .
Alas ! alas ! to miss a chance like that !
This inn that might he chief among them all,
The birthplace of ilessiah, — had I known !
7'he Inn That Missed lis Chance, Amos R. Wells, The Sunday School Times,
December 2, 1911, Vol. LIII, p. 619.
She Brought forth Her First-born Son
Aud she gave birth to her first-borii sou ; and Avrappiug Him iu
baby-clothes, she laid Him iu a mauger, because there was no
room for them iu the inn.
Luke ii. 7. The Neio Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 91.
The Manger Has Offended Many
There, amid the straw which served as bedding for the beasts,
far from all assistance, ou a cold winter's night, the hour came
for her to be delivered, and she brought forth unto the world,
Jesus.
The object of assault for nineteen centuries, this humble birth,
the adoration of some, to others has seemed but a folly aud a
libel.
" Preserve me from it all ! " cried the impious Marciou, in the
very first centuries. "Away with these pitiful swaddling-bands
and this manger, unworthy of the God whom I adore."
In vain did Tertulliau reply, "Nothing is more worthy of God
than that, iu order to save man. He should trample under foot
our perishable grandeur, and so adjudge these joys unworthy of
Himself and His." Iu vain have all our doctors who have fol-
lowed Him made manifest to us the high counsel, so full of
wisdom and merciful compassion, which moved the Word In-
carnate to this self-abasement ; the God that was born of a
woman and laid in a manger has offended the haughty spirit of
man, and Marcion's cry is repeated still from century to century.
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 47.
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 61
** Mary, Cover That Tender Baby jBody ! **
So St. Luke shows us this Virgiu Mother, immediately upon
her deliverance, lavishing ui^on her Holy Infant the cares ordi-
narily left to strangers ; she envelops Him in swaddling bands
and lays Him to rest amid the straw of the manger. " She must
cloak the New Adam from the cold winter air ; reverence, too,
bade her clothe the Babe, as well as necessity.
Cover Him, Mary ; cover that tender Baby body ; shield Him
in thy maiden bosom ! Dost understand thy motherhood ■? Hast
thou not any perturbation at beholding this thine infant One ?
Hast thou no fear to bare unto Him thy maternal breasts? For
what Child is this, Who reaches up to thee His divine hands'?
Adore Him even whilst thou dost nourish Him, what time the
angels summon new hosts of invisible worshii:)ers."
The Christ the Son of God, Abbe Coustaut Fouard, Vol. I, p, 50,
Gjntrary to Common Sense and Scripture
There is a general imi^ressiou that Josej)h and Mary were very
poor. . . . Simply because, in all the pictures, we see the
Babe lying naked in the straw. Isn't that contrary to common
sense and Scripture? What mother would dream of laying a
new-born baby naked in the straw? . . . And Mary, the
descendant of King David, Mary who had found favour with God,
Mary the sweet singer of Israel, Mary to do such a thing ! It
would be impossible. The commonest and stupidest woman in
our land must weave swaddling garments for her first-born child.
And instead of doing that, Mary should have had the garments
of the royal house of David, so that it would be impossible for
her baby to be found lying naked in the straw.
Again, it is contrary to Scripture. One of the signs by which
the shepherds were to know the child was that they should find
Him wrapped in swaddling clothes. And yet all the artists
paint this Baby naked, because they say it is so pretty ; and so
for imaginary prettiness we sacrifice the historical record. For
the Scriptures say that shall be the sign, " Ye shall find Him
wrapped in swaddling clothes."
Jesus Christ in His Homeland, Mme. Lydia M, von Finklestein Mountford,
p. 29.
62 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Vifgin*s Lullaby
The Virgin stills the crying
Of Jesus, sleepless lying ;
And, singing for His pleasure,
Thus calls upon her treasure :
My darling, do not weep ;
My Jesu, sleep.
O lamb, my love inviting,
O star, my soul delighting,
O flower of my own bearing,
O jewel past comparing,
My darling, do not weep ;
My Jesu, sleep.
— From the Latin.
The Noise and Bustle Broke out Again
Next moruiug the noise and bustle broke out again in the inn
and inn yard ; the citizens of Bethlehem went about their work ;
the registration proceeded ; and in the meantime the greatest
event in the history of the world had taken place. "We never
know where a great beginning may be happening. Every arrival
of a new soul in the world is a mystery and a shut casket of
possibilities. Joseph and Mary alone knew the tremendous secret
— that on her, the peasant maiden and carpenter's bride, had
been conferred the honour of being the mother of Him who was
the Messiah of her race, the Saviour of the world, and the Son
of God.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 12.
What the Shepherds Saw and Heard
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon tliem, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them : and they were sore afraid. And the angel
said unto them : Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you ; Ye shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
A. Edelfelt
THE ONLY MELODY OF HEAVEN EVER HEARD BY MORTAL EARS
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 03
Aud suddenly tliere was with the augel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising- God, and saying,
{Gloria in Excelais)
Glory to God iu the highest,
Aud on earth peace,
Good will toward men.
Luke ii. 8-14, Authorised Version.
The Only Melody of Heaven Ever Heard by Mortal Ears
With this ever-memorable anthem — the first and last melody of
heaven ever heard by mortal ears — the light faded from the hills,
as the angels went away into heaven, and left earth once more in
the shadow of night, knowing and thinking nothing of that which
so supremely interested distant worlds. Wondering at such a
vision, and full of simple trust, the shepherds had only one
thought — to see the babe and its mother for themselves. Climb-
ing the hill, therefore, with eager haste, they hurried to Beth-
lehem, and there found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in
a manger, as had been told them.
No details are given : no heightening of the picture of this
first act of reverence to the new-born Saviour. Nor are they
needed. The lowliness of the visitors, the pure image of the
Virgin Mother aud her Child, are better left in their own sim-
plicity. Infancy is forever dignified by the manger of Bethlehem :
womanhood is ennobled to its purest ideal in Mary : man, as
such, receives abiding honor, iu the earliest accepted homage to
her Son being that of the simple poor.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 124.
The Shepherds Go and Find the Babe
The messengers then withdrew from them to heaven ; and the
shepherds said to one another,
"Come now, let us go as far as Bethlehem, in order that we
may see this event which the Lord has announced to us."
They accordingly went with all speed, and fouud Mary and
Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger. Then when they
saw it, they made known the event told to them concerning that
Child ; and all who heard it wondered at what was said respect-
ing Him by the shepherds.
64 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Mary, however, treasured up all these events in her miud,
reflecting upon them in her heart.
The shepherds then returned, worshiping and praising God
for all that they had heard and seen, even as it had been an-
nounced to them.
Luke ii. 15-20. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fentou, p. 91.
The Mote Deat to Her Mother-heart
Foremost amongst those who, wondering, had heard what the
shepherds told, was she whom most it concerned, who laid it up
deepest in her heart, and brought to it treasured stores of memory.
It was the mother of Jesus. These many mouths, all connected
with this Child could never have been far away from her thoughts.
And now that He was hers, yet not hers— belonged, yet did not
seem to belong, to her — He would be the more dear to her mother-
heart for what made Him so near, and yet parted Him so far from
her. And upon all His history seemed to lie such wondrous light,
that she could only see the path behind, so far as she had trodden
it ; while upon that on which she was to move, was such dazzling
brightness, that she could scarce look upon the present, and dared
not gaze towards the future.
The Life and Times of Jes}is the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxou.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 191.
The Circwmcision and Presentation
And when the eight days were completed for His circumcision,
they gave Him the name of Jesus ; that being the name given by
the angel before His conception.
And after the completion of the days of their purification, as
directed under the law of Moses, they took Him to Jerusalem, in
order to present Him to the Lord ; as it is recorded in the law of
the Lord, that " Every male that is the first-born of a mother
shall be set apart as holy to the Lord " : and to offer a sacrifice in
accordance with a command in the law of the Lord, "A pair of
turtle-doves, or two young pigeons."
Luke ii. 21-24. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 91.
Free from Physical Blemish
The first-born son was to be presented before God in the Temple,
and consecrated to His service, a month after birth, but a money
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 05
payment of not more than five shekels, and, in the case of a par-
ent's poverty, of less, was accepted as a "redemption" of the
rights this involved. Rabbinical law, in the time of Mary, had
made a refinement on the original statute of Moses, no child being
required to be "presented to the Lord" who was in anyway
maimed, or defective, or had any blemish, so as to be unfit for a
priest — a rule which shows an incidental light on Mary's child,
such as might have been expected. He must have been, in all
points, without physical blemish.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 130.
Not See Death Till He had Seen the Anointed
There was then in Jerusalem a man named Simeon, honest and
devout, who was awaiting the gladdening of Israel ; and the
Holy Spirit was upon him. And he had been promised by the
Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the
Lord's Messiah. And he came into the temple full of the Spirit ;
and when the parents of the Child Jesus entered for the purpose of
observing the custom of the law concerning Him, he took Him
into his own arms, and praised God, and said :
" Now release Your servant. Master."
Luke ii. 25-29. The Neiv Testament in 3Iodern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 91,
Simeon's Prophecy
{Nunc Dimiiiis)
" Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace,
According to Thy word ;
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people ;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
And the glory of Thy people Israel."
Luke ii. 29-32, Authorii^ed Version.
**A Sword Shall Ron Throttgh Yowr Own Sool!"
Joseph and His mother, however, wondered at what was spoken
concerning Him. And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary,
His mother :
"Remember, He is appointed for the falling and rising again
of many in Israel ; and for an object to be abused j yes, and a
66 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
sword shall run through your own soul itself, until the designs of
many hearts can be laid bare."
Luke ii. 33 35. The Neio Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 91,
Aged Anna of Galilee
At that instant, we are told, an aged woman, Anna by name,
of the tribe of Asher, and therefore a Galilean, approached the
gate. She was eighty-four years of age, and had thus lived
through the long sad period of war, conquest, and oppression,
which had intensified, in every Jewish heart, the yearning for
national deliverance by the promised Messiah. She must have
remembered the fatal war between the Asmonean brothers,
Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, which had brought all the misery
of her people in its train, and she had likely seen the legions of
Pompey, when they encamped on the hills round Jerusalem.
The rise of Herod was a recollection of her middle life, and its
dreadful story of war, murder, and crime must have sunk into
her heart, as it had into the hearts of all her race.
Her long life had been spent in pious acts and services, for,
after she had been seven years a wife, her husband had died,
leaving her, doubtless, still very young, since Hebrew girls mar-
ried at twelve or fourteen years of age. She had never married
again, a fact mentioned by St. Luke, in accordance with the feel-
ing of the day, to her honor, but had been, in the words of
St. Paul, "a widow indeed," "trusting in God," and "continu-
ing in supplications and prayers night and day." She might, in
truth, be said to have lived in the Temple, and to have spent her
life in fastings and prayers ; having very likely come from Galilee
to be near the holy place, and thus able to give herself up to the
religious exercises, on the spot, where, in the eyes of a Jew, they
were most sacred.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 133.
The Arrival of the Wise Men
After the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem in Judea, in the reign
of King Herod, some astrologers from the East arrived in Jeru-
salem, asking :
"Where is the new-born King of the Jews? for we saw His
star in the east, and have come to do homage to Him."
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 67
Wheu Kiug Herod heard of this, he was much troubled, and
so, too, was all Jerusalem.
Matthew ii. 1-3. -The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modem English, p. 45.
Great Was the Surprise
Whether they set out from Babylon, from Persepolis, or from
some other city of the Parthian Empire (at that time master of
the East), the Magi must have been many long months journey-
ing ; and they had proceeded apparently without any further
guidance from the star, since we see them entering Judea quite
uncertain as to the spot where the Messiah was to be found, and
coming to Jerusalem to clear up all their doubts. The Holy
City was accustomed to seeing within her walls caravans from the
far distant Orient, with their striking costumes, and long files of
camels laden with luggage. But great was the surprise when
these strangers were heard to inquire, " Where is the King of the
Jews who has been born *? We have seen His star in the East,
and are come to adore Him."
The Christ the Son of God, Abbe Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 64.
Assembling the Prelates
So assembling the chief priests and professors, he demanded of
them where the Messiah would be born.
They replied, " In Bethlehem of Judea ; " for it is recorded by
the prophet :
"And you, Bethlehem, Judah's laud,
Are not the least among the districts of Judah ;
For out of you shall come the Leader
"Who shall shepherd My people Israel."
Mattheiv ii. 4-6. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 34.
Herod Secludes the Wise Men
He resolved to separate the Magi, not only from, the Jews, who
must naturally be all afire with emotion at this tale, but even
from his own associates, who might well have warned them
against his hypocrisy. He summoned them to him therefore in
secret, and feigning great interest in their quest, he made exact
inquiry as to the star, particularly as to the time when it had
made its appearance.
68 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN '
So soon as there was nothing more to learn, ''Go to Beth-
lehem," he said to them, "seek zealously for the child, and as
soon as you have found him make it known to me, in order that
I may go also to adore him. "
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 66.
''Lo, the Star!"
When they had heard the king, they departed ; and lo, the
star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the
star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Maithew ii. 9, 10. Authorised Version.
''By Whose Bright Cowrse Led On **
" ' A star, not seen before, in heaven appearing,
Guided the wise men thither from the east.
To honour thee with incense, myrrh, and gold ;
By whose bright course led on they found the place,
Affirming it Thy star, new-graven in heaven,
By which they knew the King of Israel born.' "
The Poetical Worka of John Milton, Vol. II. Paradise Regained, Book I, p. 17.
** Tis a Window of Paradise ! **
" Look yonder ! A light on the hills ! I saw it appear."
Amazement was in the tone. . . . "Nay, 'tis a window
of paradise ! Or maybe that time is come when the three great
stars should gather side by side. Do you not remember the talk
of the astrologers ? "
"I say 'tis a light on the hills." [The man] now spoke in a
husky, solemn whisper. " See, 'tis larger j and I would think it
near the village of Bethlehem."
After a moment of silence he added, with a laugh: "Why
stand we here and whisper, like a lot of women ? Let us move
on."
Again he seemed to hear peals of song in the sky and their
rhythm in hoof and scabbard. It put him in mind of that
strauge, mysterious chant of the old singer.
Soon he drew rein, saying : "Halt and listen ! " They stopped,
conscious only of the great silence of the night. [He] felt for
the arm of his friend.
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HEARD 69
''What think you?" said he, his voice full of wonder. "I
doubt not the sound is in our fancy."
"See ! The star ! It grows ! " said [his companion] eagerly.
"'Tis like a mighty lantern hung in the dome of the sky."
Vergilius, Irving Bacheller, p. 266.
Finding the Child
And having come to the house, they saw the young Child with
His mother Mary ; and prostrating themselves, they paid Him
homage : and having opened their treasures, they presented Him
with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as a tribute.
Matthew ii, 11. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 35.
IV
DOWN INTO EGYPT
Her monuments shall last when Egypt's fall.
— Young.
The "Wise Men Warned
But afterwards, baviug been warned in a dream not to go back
to Herod, they returned to their own country by another road,
Matthew ii. 12. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 45.
Legends of the Magi
Pious legends . . . robe these wise men in the royal purple,
set crowns upon their brows, depict their features and their ex-
pression ; their names even are made known to us.
''The first was called Melchior," says the Venerable Bede.
" He was an old man, with white hair and long beard ; he offered
gold to the Lord, as to his King. The second, Caspar by name,
young, beardless, ruddy of hue, offered to Jesus, in his gift of
incense, the homage due to His divinity. The third, of black
complexion, with heavy beard, was called Baltasar. The myrrh
he held withiu his hand prefigured the death of the Son of Man."
Unhappily, these details have no authority at all ; for it is only
in the sixth century that St. Csesar of Aries confers upon the
Magi the title of kings, now so generally attributed to them, and
it is in the ninth that we find their names cited for the first time.
Two points only appear to be certain ; these are, that the Magi
were three in number and that Persia was their native country.
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 67.
The "Warning to Joseph
After their departure, a messenger from the Lord also appeared
to Joseph in a vision, saying :
" Arise ! take the Child and His mother, and fly to Egypt, and
remain there until I tell you ; for Herod is about to hunt out the
Child to murder Him."
Matthew ii. 13. The New Testament in 3Iodern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 35.
70
H. Hofmann, 1S34-'
HURRYIXG DOWN TO EGYPT
DOWN INTO EGYPT 71
The Flight to Egypt
Joseph awoke, aud, taking the Child aud His mother by night,
went into Egypt.
Matthew ii. 14. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 45.
Murdering All the Baby Boys
When Herod found that he had been trifled with by the
astrologers, he was very angry. He sent and put to death all the
boys in Bethlehem aud the whole of that neighbourhood, who
were two years old or under, guided by the date which he had
ascertained from the astrologers. Then were fulfilled these words
spoken in the Prophet Jeremiah, where he says :
" A voice was heard iu Ramah,
Weepiug aud much lameutation ;
Rachel, weepiug for her children,
Refused all comfort because they were not."
Matthew ii. 16-18. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English,
p. 45.
"Better to Be Herod's Sow Than His Son!**
This massacre made little stir in Judea ; and Eama alone
hearkened to the piercing shrieks of the mothers. In those days
what mattered the sacrifice of a few little children to a monarch's
caprice? Antiquity had small respect for babyhood; further-
more, the reign, now just at its close, had been nothing but a tissue
of murders, tortures, aud atrocious cruelties ; so that, according
to the address of the Jewish ambassadors to Augustus, ''the living
coveted the lot of the victims." Under such circumstances one
can conceive how easily profane historians might pass over a
deed so unimportant in their eyes.
Nevertheless, Augustus seems to have had some knowledge of
the fact, for Macrobius has preserved this characteristic speech
of his : "Upon the news that Herod had sacrificed his own son,
among the children of two years of age butchered by him in
Syria, ' It were far pleasanter,' quoth the emperor, ' to be Herod's
soio than his son ! ' "
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 72.
72 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN ^
What Joseph Mwst Have Done in Egypt
If Herod lived three years after the birth of Christ, Joseph
and Mary must have stayed iu Egypt that length of time. Nor
would it be difficult for Joseph to find support, as the different
classes of Jewish workmen in Egypt were associated iu guilds,
which maintained those out of employment, much as trades'
unions do now. The goldsmiths, the silversmiths, the nail-
makers, the coppersmiths, and the weavers, are especially men-
tioned as being banded together in such associations, which suj)-
ported any stranger of their respective crafts till he found work.
The workers in wood, in all probability, had such a union as
well ; and Joseph, moreover, though called a carpenter in the
Gospels, may have been more, for the word does not necessarily
mean a worker in wood only, but a wagon smith and other occu-
pations as well. In its Hebrew sense, it may mean, indeed, any
kind of trade which uses cutting instruments, and is used indiffer-
ently of workers in metal, wood, or stone.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 151.
The Death of Herod
And now Herod altered his testament upon the alteration of his
mind ; for he appointed Antipas, to whom he had before left the
kingdom, to be tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and granted the
kingdom to Archelaus. He also gave Gaulonitis and Trachonitis,
and Paneas to Philip, who was his son. . . . He also made
provision for all the rest of his kindred by giving them sums of
money and annual revenues, and so left them all in a wealthy
condition. . . .
A man he was of great barbarity towards all men equally, and
a slave to his passion ; but above the consideration of what was
right ; — yet he was favoured by fortune as much as any man ever
was, for, from a private man he became king : and though he
were encompassed with ten thousand dangers, he got clear of
them all, and continued his life till a very old age. But then,
as to the affairs of his family and children, in which indeed, ac-
cording to his own opinion, he was also very fortunate because
he was able to conquer his enemies ; yet, in my opinion, he was
herein very unfortunate.
But then Salome and Alexis, before the king's death was made
DOWN INTO EGYPT Y3
kuowD, dismissed those that were shut up in the Hippodrome.
. . . Now the king's death was made public, when Salome
and Alexis gathered the soldiery together in the amjihitheatre at
Jericho ; and the first thing they did was, they read Herod's
letter written to the soldiery thanking them for their fidelity and
good will to him, and exhorting them to afford his son Archelaus,
whom he had appointed for their king, like fidelity and good
will.
The Works of Flavius Josephus, edited by William Whiston, A. M., Vol. II*
Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVII, Chapter VIII, p. 22.
*'Out of Egypt''
Eemaiuing there [in Egypt] until the death of Herod, so that
the statement from the Lord, through the prophet, might be ful-
filled, which declared :
'' I have called My Son out of Egypt."
When Herod was dead, however, a messenger of the Lord ap-
peared to Joseph in a vision, while in Egypt, and said :
"Arise ! take the Child and His mother, and go into the land
of Israel ; for they are dead who sought the Child's life."
He then arose, took the Child and His mother, and came into
the land of Israel.
3Iatthew ii. 15, 19-21. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton,
p. 35.
That He Should Be Called a Nazarene
But, hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as
King of Judea, he was afraid to go back there ; and, having been
warned in a dream, he went into the part of the country called
Galilee. And there he settled in the town of Nazareth, in fulfil-
ment of these words in the Prophets — "He will be called a
Nazarene. "
3I((tthew ii. 22, 23. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English,
p. 46.
Intended to Settle in Bethlehem
Eeturning to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary seem to have in-
tended to settle in it permanently, for even after their return
from Egypt they would have gone to it again, but for their fear
n THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
of Archelaus. St. Matthew speaks of their living iu a " house "
when the Magi came, very soon after the Presentation, but the
natui'al chamber in the hillside, which was Mary's first shelter,
would be as much a part of a house as any other. It has for ages
been the custom to speak of the birthplace of Jesus as a cave, but
the word raises very different ideas in our minds from any that
could have been felt, where such cool, dry recesses are, even still,
ordinary parts of village houses of the humbler kind.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 134.
Going Back to Nazareth After All
Joseph, for a dreamer, was a practical and able mau, and fully
capable of managing the affairs of the extraordinary family of
which, in so singular a manner, he found himself the head and
protector. The slow-traveling news of the day reached the
carpenter in due, though dilatory, season. Herod, wildly calling
on the spectre of his beloved and murdered Mariamne, had gone
to his miserable tomb. The little Bethlehem babies were sleep-
ing in their graves, forgotten by all but their parents. Joseph
brought his family back to their own land, where the first infor-
mation he picked up told him that the new monarch was no im-
provement on the old one. Therefore he abandoned altogether
the idea of revisiting Judea, and turned his face by way of the
coast towards Galilee.
Neither he nor Mary had a whole heart for living in Nazareth,
where their associations were not entirely pleasant ; but with the
limited choice which is left to the freest of us in the decisions of
life, — a choice which was nairow enough for two plain working
people who knew little of the world, and had less wherewith to
conquer it, they struck root in the old familiar, self satisfied, and
suspicious village, where they had lived and loved ; where they
had been betrothed and wedded, had suffered, and wondered, and
prayed, and accepted their strange and sacred lot.
Thus Nazareth, an unpopular mountain town, became the
home of the family ; and the Child— known from that day to
this, for the space of two thousand years, by a Jewish epithet of
contumely, as the Nazarene — bears in history the great name of
Jesus Christ.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 39.
SPUEIOUS STOEIES OF HIS BOYHOOD
We have not folloioed cunningly devised fables. — 2 Peter i. 16.
Coarse, Childish Tales
In the absence of other accounts of what the Boy Jesus did, a
number of writers in the early Church employed their imagiua-
tious iu comjDOsing fables of the adventures of the Christ Child
and His companions. Some of these legends are here given to
show what poor stuff was then produced by ignorant minds, un-
aided by inspiration. Their stories are crude and foolish — all
out of character with the real life of the Sinless Sou who was
" subject unto His parents " and who grew " in wisdom, stature,
and in favour with God and man." Every precaution has been
taken to prevent the reader from mistaking any of this collection
of mere legends for true Gospel stories. Indeed, these strange
fictions should aid iu appreciating the simj^le, serene, inspired
words of ScriiJture. — W. W.
The Christ Child in the Koran
And she brought him [namely the child] unto her people,
carrying him. They said, O Mary, thou hast done a strange
thing. O sister of Aaron (he loas a i^ighieous man ; and the mean-
ing is, O thou ivho art like him in chastity), thy father was not a
man of wickedness, nor was thy mother a harlot. Then tchence
gottesl thou this child? — and she made a sign to them [pointing]
towards him [namely the child, as though she would saj^,] Speak
ye unto him. They said. How shall we speak unto him who is
in the cradle, an infant ? He [however] said. Verily I am the
servant of God : He hath given me the book of the Gospel, and
hath appointed me a prophet ; and commanded me to observe
prayer and give alms as long as I shall live, and hath made me
75
T6 THE STORY-IJFE OF THE SON OF MAN
dutiful to my mother, and hath not made me proud [nor] wicked.
And peace from God [was] on me on the day when I was born,
and [will be] on the day when I shall die, and on the day when
I shall be raised to life. — This [was] Jesus the Son of Mary.
Selections from the Kur-dii, Edward William Lane, p. 153.
How His Baby Clothes Cast out Devils
But an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in his sleep, and
said, Arise, take the child and his mother, and go into Egypt
as soon as the cock crows. So he arose, and went. And as he
was considering with himself about his journey, the morning
came uj)on him.
In the length of the journey the girths of the saddle broke.
And now he drew near to a great city, in which there was an
idol, to which the other idols and gods of Egypt brought their
offerings and vows. And there was by this idol a priest minister-
ing to it, who, as often as Satan spoke out of that idol, related the
things he said to the inhabitants of Egypt, and those countries.
This priest had a son three years old, who was possessed with a
great multitude of devils, who uttered many strange things, and
when the devils seized him, walked about naked with his clothes
torn, throwing stones at those whom he saw.
And when the Lady St. Mary had washed the swaddling-
clothes of the Lord Christ, and hanged them out to dry upon a
post, the boy possessed with the devil took down one of them,
and put it upon his head. And presently the devils began to
come out of his mouth, and fly away in the shape of crows and
serpents.
From that time the boy was healed by the power of the Lord
Christ, and he began to sing praises, and give thanks to the Lord
who had healed him. When his father saw him restored to his
former state of health, he said. My son, what has happened to
thee, and by what means wert thou cured ■?
The son answered, When the devils seized me, I went into the
inn, and there found a very handsome woman with a boy, whose
swaddling-clothes she had just before washed, and hanged out
uj)on a post.
I Infancy (professedly by Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] Neu
Testament, p. 41.
SPURIOUS STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD 77
** This M«Ie Was Out Brother "
The women came to the Lady St. Mary, introduced them-
selves to her, and sitting down before her, they wept. And said,
O our Lady St. Mary, pity your handmaids, for we have no head
of our family, no one older than us ; no father, or brother to go
in and out before us. But this mule, which you see, was our
brother, which some women by witchcraft have brought into this
condition which you see : we therefore entreat you to compas-
sionate us.
Hereupon St. Mary was grieved at their case, and taking the
Lord Jesus, put him on the back of the mule. And said to her
son, O Jesus Christ, restore (or heal) according to thy extraordi-
nary power this mule, and grant him to have again the shape of
a man and a rational creature, as he had formerly.
This was scarce said by the Lady St, Mary, but the mule im-
mediately passed into a human form, and became a young man
without any deformity. Then he and his sisters worshiped the
Lady St. Mary, and lifting the child upon their heads, they kissed
him and said, "Blessed is thy mother, O Jesus, O Saviour of the
world ! Blessed are the eyes which are so happy as to see thee."
I Infancy (professedly by Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testament, p, 46,
The Miraculous Field of Grain
Along rough paths, across stony hills the fugitives went in the
darkness, Joseph afoot, leading an ass on which Mary rode with
the child in her arms. To Joseph and the Mother it seemed as
If they could hear hoof beats behind them, and the clash of
swords against armor as soldiers galloped in pursuit. In the
darkness back of them lay the weary and dangerous road into
Egypt, away from Herod's power. Fearfully they hurried on.
And the Babe whose coming had been heralded by stars and by
angels, whose advent was welcomed by the great of the earth — a
fugitive now in the solitudes of the bare hills, unmindful both of
glory"aud of danger — slept beneath His mother's mantle as they
pushed on through the night.
When the dawn came, the weary Joseph was leading his
family across a fertile plain. In the daylight they had even less
hope of escape than in the darkness, for they would be seen by
T8 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
men working in the fields whom the soldiers, as they passed,
would not fail to question. To one of these husbandmen, who
was sowing seed, the Virgin Mother appealed.
" If a soldier question thee," she said, " about those who have
gone this way, say that thou didst see us pass thy fields when
thou wast sowing thy seed."
" Yea," he answered bluutly, " I see thee and thy husband and
thy child on the road, and I sow my seed."
The little fiimily hurried on.
The husbandman went to his house for food and returning
again to his work saw that the seed, planted but a few minutes
before, had sprouted, matured, turued golden for the harvesting.
As he felt the heavy ears of grain, amazed at the quick and
abundant yield, two soldiers rode up, drew rein, and called to
him from the highway.
" Hast thou seen fugitives pass this way, an old man, a young
woman, and a child ! "
"Yea," answered the husbandman, standing waist deej) in
waving golden grain ; "I saw such pass as I was sowing the seed
in this field."
"Then thou didst see them many suns ago," cried the soldier
impatiently. "Thou hast not seen those whom we require, thou
dullard. They fled from Bethlehem but yesternight."
A Book of the Christ Child, Eleanor Hammond Broadus, p. 35,
Why the Aspen Leaves Qui vet*
The soldiers turned back, leaving the man still gaziug over his
field of ripe grain, while beyond the plain, among the woodlands,
the fugitives again sought safety from others of Herod's soldiers.
In the woodland path, hearing the sound of pursuing horses,
Joseph led his charges aside beneath a juniper tree. As they
came within its shade the branches bent low about them, the
small twigs twined together in a close network, and the needles
filled in the spaces so closely that the three were in a twilight
gloom. Herod's guard dashed past, looking to right and left ;
but they saw only pine and juniper trees. The rapid beat of the
horses' hoofs died away in the distance, and again the Divine
Child was borne on in safety.
But had the soldiers been followiug as the fugitives passed out
SPURIOUS STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD T9
from the woodland beyoud the borders of Herod's province, they
had not failed to find them. The sandy wastes which now the
Mother and Child were traversing burst into bloom behind them,
and their path was marked with bright flowers. Winding across
the hot sands from one oasis to another, the flower -bordered path
seemed to pass through the green islands of palm trees and link
them together as slender threads of gold pass through gleaming
jewels and hold them in a fair chain.
And as the desert had been conscious of the presence of its
Creator, and had sent forth blossoms to greet Him, even though
He lay a little Child in His mother's arms, so, too, the trees ac-
knowledged Him, bowing before the God Child as He was carried
among them. All the trees in the scattered valleys did obeisance
to Him except the aspen. Haughtily erect, it would not bow
before the little Child traveling humbly past it; but the Child
looked upon the proud tree, and the aspen began to tremble, and
in its guilt it trembles still. For though all other trees of the
forest may stand motionless when the winds are silent, the aspen
leaves quiver and the tree bows its head, remembering that God
is ever present.
A Book of the Christ Child, Eleanor Haniiuoud Broadus, p. 37.
Prophecy Concerning the Two Thieves
In their journey from hence they came into a desert country,
and were told it was infested with robbers; so Joseph and
St. Mary j)repared to pass through it in the night. And as they
were going along, behold they saw two robbers asleep in the road,
and with them a great number of robbers, who were their con-
federates, also asleep. The names of these two were Titus and
Dumachus ; and Titus said to Dumachus, I beseech thee let those
persons go along quietly, that our company may not perceive
anything of them.
But Dumachus refusing, Titus again said, I will give thee forty
groats, and as a pledge take my girdle, which he gave him before
he had done speaking, that he might not open his mouth, or make
a noise.
When the Lady St. Mary saw the kindness which this robber
did show them, she said to him, The Lord God will receive thee
to His right hand, and grant thee pardon of thy sins.
80 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Then the Lord Jesus answered, and said to his mother, When
thirty years are expired, O mother, the Jews will crucify me at
Jerusalem ; aud these two thieves shall be with me at the same
time upon the cross, Titus on my right haud aud Dumachus
ou my left, aud from that time Titus shall go before me into
Paradise.
/ Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testamenty p. 46.
How the Tall Palm Bowed down to the Child
The palm trees especially befriended the travelers as they di-
rected their way . . . across the desert. In the cool shade
the Holy Family would rest ; aud ouce, as they waited until the
fierce sun should sink toward its setting, the palm tree under
which they sat moved its leafy crown with the sun and huug its
great leaves as a curtain between the weary three and the blazing-
sky. Auother time as they sat beneath a palm, Mary wished for
some of the fruit which grew at the top. But the stem of the
tree was tall and smooth, aud Joseph said regretfully : "I cannot
climb. My age and weariness prevent me. Would that instead
of the high-hanging fruit we might find a spriug of cold water near
at hand."
Then the Child Jesus, running from His mother toward the
tree, raised His arms aud cried, " Bend thy lofty crown, O palm
tree, that My mother's lougiug may be satisfied."
At His words the tree bent its tall, slender stem until the
leaves swept the saud, aud Mary plucked the fruit and the weary
travelers ate. When they had finished, Jesus spoke again to
the tree, "Raise thyself, O palm tree, and bring forth fruit again
that others passiug here may eat and be refreshed."
The tree straightened itself and again its long leaves swayed
above them ; and Jesus, stooping at the foot of the palm, scooped
a little hollow with His hand. From the hollow a spring gushed
forth, aud they drank of the cold water ; and beiug refreshed they
weut once more upon their way.
A Book of the Christ Child, Eleanor Hammoud Broadus, p. 39.
The Broken Pitcher
On a certain time the Lady St. Mary had commanded the Lord
Jesus to fetch her some water out of the well ; and when he had
SPURIOUS STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD 81
goue to feteli the water, the pitcher, when it was brought up full,
brake.
But Jesus, spreading his mantle, gathered up the water again,
and brought it in to his mother. Who being astonished at this
wonderful thing, laid up this, and all the other things she had
seen, in her memory.
1 Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testament, p. 46.
Legend of Jesos and Jodas as Boys Together
Another woman likewise lived there, whose son was possessed
by Satan. This boy, named Judas, as often as Satan seized him,
was inclined to bite all that were present ; and if he found no one
else near him, he would bite his own hands and other parts. But
the mother of this miserable boy, hearing of St. Mary and her
son Jesus, arose presently, and taking her son in her arms,
brought him to the Lady Mary.
In the meantime, James and Joses had taken away the infant,
the Lord Jesus, to play at a proper season with other children ;
and when they went forth, they sat down and the Lord Jesus with
them.
Then Judas, who was possessed, came and sat down at the right
hand of Jesus. When Satan was acting upon him as usual, he
went about to bite the Lord Jesus. And because he could not do
it, he struck Jesus on the right side, so that he cried out. And
in the same moment Satan went out of the boy, and ran away like
a mad dog.
This same boy who struck Jesus, and out of whom Satan went
in the form of a dog, was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him to
the Jews. And that same side, on which Judas struck him, the
Jews pierced with a spear.
1 Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testament, p. 52.
The Dyer's Distress
On a certain day also, when Jesus was playing with the boys,
and running about, he passed by a dyer's shop, whose name was
Salem. And there were in his shop many pieces of cloth belong-
ing to the people of that city, which they designed to dye of
82 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
several colours. Then the Lord Jesus, goiug into the dyer's shop,
took all the cloths, aud threw them iuto the furuace.
Wheu Salem came home, aud saw the cloths spoiled, he begau
to make a great uoise, aud to chide the Lord Jesus, sayiug. What
hast thou done to me, O thou sou of Mary 1 Thou hast iujured
both me aud my neighbours ; they all desire their cloths of a
proper colour ; but thou hast come, aud spoiled them all.
The Lord Jesus replied, I will chauge the colour of every cloth
to what colour thou desirest ; aud then he presently began to take
the cloths out of the furuace, aud they were all dyed of those
same colours which the dyer desired. Aud wheu the Jews saw
this surprising miracle, thej^ praised God.
/ Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
2'estament, p. 53.
The Misfit Throne
On a certain time the king of Jerusalem sent for him [Joseph],
and said, I would have thee make me a throne of the same
dimensions with that place iu which I commonly sit.
Joseph obeyed, aud forthwith begau the work, aud continued
two years iu the king's palace before he finished it. And wheu
he came to fix it iu its place, he found it wanted two spans on
each side of the appointed measure. Which wheu the king saw,
he was very angry with Joseph ; and Joseph, afraid of the king's
auger, went to bed without his supper, taking not anything to
eat.
Then the Lord Jesus asked him. What was he afraid of?
Joseph replied. Because I have lost mj'^ labour iu the work
which I have been about these two years.
Jesus said to him. Fear not, neither be cast down ; do thou lay
hold on one side of the throne, and I will the other, aud we will
bring it to its just dimensions.
And wheu Joseph had done as the Lord Jesus said, aud each
of them had with strength drawn his side, the throne obeyed,
and was brought to the proper dimensions of the place : which
miracle when they who stood by saw, they were, astonished aud
praised God.
1 Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), 2Vie ^^JOc/'j^pAa? [Spurious] Neu
Testament^ p. 53.
SPURIOUS STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD S3
Healing a Boy Bitten by a Serpent
[While the boys were xjlaying that Jesus was their kiug] there
passed a mau aud a womau who were weeping, and they carried
on a rude litter a boy who was ill aud dyiug ; but, unmindful of
their grief, the boys stopi)ed the two, aud forced them to set down
their burden and come before the king.
Jesus quickly laid down His sceptre as He saw them, aud asked,
"Why weep yef"
"Our son has been bitten by a serpent yonder among the
rocks. He dies aud we carry him home. Thou and Thy com-
panions do uot well to hinder us."
"We will help, not hinder," answered the Christ Child going
to the litter.
He uncovered the boy aud saw the injured hand and arm
swollen from the serpent's poison. The youth's face was ashen.
Gently the young Christ touched him and spoke to him, aud
straightway the boy was healed.
"Who is your king?" asked the father and mother, turning
to the boys and watching Jesus as He stood apart with their sou.
"He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, a carpenter in Na»areth,"
they answered. Then, turning toward Him, half playfully, half
seriously, they led Jesus, the sou of Joseph, to His throne aud
crowned Him again with the lily crown aud placed the palm-
brauch sceptre in His hand.
A Book of the Christ Child, Eleanor Hammond Broadus, p. 53.
The Boys Turned to Kids
On another day the Lord Jesus going out into the street, and
seeing some boys who were met to play, joined himself to their
company : but when they saw him, they hid themselves, and left
him to seek for them.
The Lord Jesus came to the gate of a certain house, and asked
some women, who were standing there, where the boys were gone ?
And when they answered that there was no one there, the Lord
Jesus said, Who are those whom ye see in the furnace ? They
answered. They were kids of three years old.
Then Jesus cried out aloud, and said, Come out hither, O ye
kids, to your shepherd ; aud presently the boys came forth like
84 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
kids, aud leaped about him ; whicli when the women saw, they
were exceediugly amazed aud trembled. Theu they immediately
worshiped the Lord Jesus, aud beseeched him, sayiug, O our
Loi-d Jesus, sou of Mary, thou art truly that good shepherd of
Israel ! Have mercy on thy handmaids, who staud before thee,
who do uot doubt but that thou, O Lord, art come to save, aud
not to destroy.
After that, when the Lord Jesus said. The children of Israel
are like the Ethiopiaus amoug the people ; the women said.
Thou, Lord, kuowest all things, nor is anything concealed from
thee ; but now we entreat thee, and beseech of thy mercy that
thou wouldst restore those boys to their former state.
Then Jesus said. Come hither, O boys, that we may go and
play ; aud immediately, iu the preseuce of the women, the kids
were changed and returned into the shape of boys.
1 Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testament, p. 54.
The Dead Lad's Testimony
On a certain day the Lord Jesus was with some boys, who were
playing on the housetop, and one of the boys fell down, and pres-
eutly died. Upon which the other boys all running away, the
Lord Jesus was left alone on the housetop. Aud the boy's rela-
tions came to him and said to the Lord Jesus, Thou didst throw
our sou down from the housetop.
But he denying it, they cried out. Our son is dead, and this is
he who killed him !
The Lord Jesus replied to them, Do not charge me with a
crime, of which you are not able to convict me, but let us go ask
the boy himself, who will bring the truth to light.
Then the Lord Jesus, going down, stood over the head of the
dead boy, and said with a loud voice, Zeinunus, Zeinunus, who
threw thee down from the housetop "?
Then the dead boy answered. Thou didst not throw me down,
but such a one did.
And when the Lord Jesus bade those who stood by to take
notice of his words, all who were present praised God on account
of that miracle.
J Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] Neiv
Testament, p. 56.
SPURIOUS STORIES OF HIS BOYHOOD 85
The Clay Sparirows
When the child Jesus was five years of age aud there had been
a shower of rain, which was now over, Jesus was playing with
other Hebrew boys by a running stream ; aud the water, running
over the banks, stood iu little lakes ; but the waters instantly be-
came clear and useful again, and he having smote them only by
his word, they readily obeyed him.
Then he took from the bank of the stream some soft clay, and
formed out of it twelve sparrows ; and there were other boys
playiug with him. But a certain Jew seeing the things which
he was doing, namely, his forming clay into the figures of spar-
rows on the Sabbath day, went presently away, and told his
father Joseph, and said : Behold, thy boy is playing by the river-
side, and has taken clay, and formed it into twelve sparrows,
and profaneth the Sabbath.
Then Joseph came to the place where he was, and when he
saw him, called to him, and said, Why doest thou that which
is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?
Then Jesus clapping together the palms of his hands, called to
the sparrows, and said to them : Go, fly away ; aud while ye live
remember me. So the sparrows flew away, making a noise.
The Jews seeing this, were astonished, and went away, and
told their chief persons what a strange miracle they had seen
wrought by Jesus.
II Infancy (attributed to Thomas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testa-
ment, p. 60.
The Withered Boy
Besides this, the son of Anna the scribe was standing there
with Joseph, and took a bough of a willow tree, and scattered
the waters which Jesus had gathered into lakes. But the boy
Jesus seeing what he had done, became angry, and said to him,
"Thou fool, what harm did the lakes do thee, that thou shouldest
scatter the water ? Behold, now thou shalt wither as a tree, aud
shalt not bring forth either leaves, or branches, or fruit."
And immediately he became withered all over.
Then Jesus went away home. But the parents of the boy who
was withered, lamenting the misfortune of his youth, took and
carried him to Joseph, accusing him, and said. Why dost thou
keep a son who is guilty of such actions ?
86 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Then Jesus at the request of all who were present did heal him,
leaving only some small member to coutiuue withered, that they
might take warning,
II Infancy (attributeti to Thomas), 3%e Aiiociyphnl [Spurious] Nero Testa-
ment, p. 61.
Striking a Boy Dead
Another time Jesus weut forth into the street, and a boy run-
niug by, rushed upon his shoulder ; at which Jesus, being augry,
said to him. Thou shalt go no farther. And he instantly fell
down dead : which when some persons saw, they said. Where
was this boy born, that everything which he says presently
Cometh to pass %
Then the parents of the dead boy going to Joseph complained,
saying, " You are not fit to live with us, in our cMy, having such
a boy as that : either teach him that he bless and not curse, or
else depart hence with him, for he kills our children."
II Infancy (attributed to Thomas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testa-
ment, p. 61.
The Neighbours Indignant
Then Joseph, calling the boy Jesus by himself, instructed him
saying. Why doest thou such things to injure the people so that
they hate us and persecute us ?
But Jesus replied, I know that what thou sayest is not of thy-
self, but for thy sake I will say nothing ; but they who have said
these things to thee shall suffer eveilasting punishment.
And immediately they who had accused him became blind.
And all they who saw it were exceedingly afraid and confounded,
and said concerning him, Whatsoever he saith, whether good or
bad, immediately cometh to pass ; and they were amazed.
But when they saw this action of Christ, Joseph arose, and
plucked him by the ear, at which the boy was angry, and said
to him. Be easy ; for if they seek for us, they shall not find us :
thou hast done very imprudently. Dost thou not know that I
am not thine ? Trouble me no more.
II Infancy (attributed to Thomas), Tlie Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testa-
ment, p. 61.
Theory That He Visited India
The parents of the infant were poor people, who belonged to a
family noted for great piety ; who forgot the greatness of their
SPURIOUS STORIES OP^ HIS BOYHOOD 87
aucestors iu celebrating the name of the Creator aud giving
thauks to Him for the trials which He had sent upou them.
To reward them for adhering to the path of truth, God blessed
the first-born of this family ; chose him for His elect, aud sent
him to sustain the fallen and comfort the afflicted.
The divine child, to whom the name Issa [Jesus] was given,
commenced in his tender years to talk of the only and indivisible
God, exhorting the strayed souls to repent and jDurify themselves
from the sins of which they had become guilty.
People came from all parts to hear him, and marveled at the
discourses which came from his infantile mouth ; and all Israel
agreed that the Spirit of the Eternal dwelt in this child.
When Issa was thirteen years old, the age at which an Israelite
is expected to marry, the modest house of his industrious parents
became a meeting-place of the rich and illustrious, who were
anxious to have as a son-in-law the young Issa who was already
celebrated for the edifying discourses he made in the name of
the All-Powerful.
Then Issa secretly absented himself from his father's house ;
left Jerusalem, and, in a train of merchants, journeyed toward
the Sindh, with the object of perfecting himself in the knowl-
edge of the Word of God and the study of the laws of the great
Buddhas.
The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, from Buddhistic Records, Nicolas Noto-
vitch, Translated by J. H. Couuelly and L. Landsberg, p. 164.
The Concealed Miracles
Kow from this time Jesus began to conceal his miracles and
secret works, aud he gave himself to the study of the law, till
he arrived to the end of his thirtieth year. . . .
This is he whom we worship with all reverence, because he
gave us our life aud being, and brought us from our mother's
womb ; who, for our sakes, took a human body, and hath re-
deemed us, so that he might so embrace us with everlasting
mercy, and shew his free, large bountiful grace and goodness
to us.
/ Infancy (attributed to Joseph Caiaphas), The Apocryphal [Spurious] Nev)
Testament, p. 59.
VI
THE BOY OF NAZAEETH
The sinless years
That breathed beneath the Syrian blue.
— Tennyson.
In G)nti:ast to the Blasphemous Absurdities of the
Apocryphal Gospels
Of the many years spent in Nazareth, during which Jesus
passed from infancy to childhood, from childhood to youth, and
from youth to manhood, the Evangelic narrative has left us but
the briefest notice. Of His childhood : that " He grew and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was
upon Him :" of His youth, besides the account of His questioning
the rabbis in the Temple, the year before He attained Jewish
majority — that " He was subject to His parents," and that "He
increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and
man."
Considering what loving care watched over Jewish child-life,
tenderly marking by not fewer than eight designations the various
stages of its development, and the deep interest naturally attach-
ing to the early life of the Messiah, that silence, in contrast to the
almost blasphemous absurdities of the Apocryphal Gospels,
teaches us once more, and most impressively, that the Gospels
furnish a history of the Saviour, not a biography of Jesus of
Nazareth.
The Life and Times of Jesus fhe Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 221.
Not under Excessive Jewish Influence
If it was desirable to bring up the child Jesus as far as possible
from the Temple influence, in Palestine and yet not under excess-
ive Jewish influence, no place could have been chosen better
than Nazareth. It was a small village, obscure, and remote from
Jerusalem. Its very name had never occurred in the Old Testa-
Heinrich Hofmann
THE BOY OF NAZARETH AT TWELVE YEARS
Engraved from the Painting of "Jesus and the Doctors "
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 89
ment records. And though, after the fall of Jerusalem, Galilee
was made the seat of Jewish schools of religion, ... at our
Lord's birth, and during his whole life, this region of Palestine
was but little affected by Jerusalem.
The population was a mixed one, made up of many different
nationalities. A debased remnant of the ten tribes, after their
captivity, had wandered back, with Jewish blood and heathen
manners. The Eoman armies and Koman rulers had brought
into the province a great many foreigners. A large Gentile
population had divided with native Jews the towns and villages.
Greeks swarmed in the larger commercial towns.
Galilee was, far more than Judea, cosmopolitan. Commerce
and manufactures had thriven by the side of agriculture. Jo-
sephus says that Galilee had more than two hundred cities and
villages, the smallest of which contained not less than fifteen thou-
sand inhabitants. This seems an extravagant statement, but it
will serve to convey an idea of the great populousness of the
province in which the youth of Jesus was spent and in which
also his public life was chiefly passed. The influences which had
changed the people had provincialized their language. A Gali-
lean was known by his speech, which seems to have been regarded
as unrefined and vulgar.
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 58.
The Feasts of a Year
There could not be a national historj^, nor even romance, to
compare with that by which a Jewish mother might hold her
child entranced. And it was his own history — that of his tribe,
clan, perhaps family ; of the past, indeed, but yet of the present,
and still more of the glorious future. Long before he could go
to school, or even synagogue, the private and united prayers and
the domestic rites, whether of the weekly Sabbath or of festive
seasons, would indelibly impress themselves upon his mind.
In midwinter there was the festive illumination in each home.
In most houses, the first night only one candle was lit, the next
two, and so on to the eighth day ; and the child would learn that
this was symbolic, and the commemoration of the Dedication of
the Temple^ its purgation, and the restoration of its services by
the lion-hearted Judas the Maccabee.
90 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Next came, in earliest spriug, the meiry time of Furim, the
Feast of Esther aud of Israel's deliverauce through her, with its
good cheer and boisterous enjoyments.
Although the Passover might call the rest of the family to
Jerusalem, the rigid exclusion of all leaven during the whole
week could not pass without its impressions.
Then, after the Feast of Weeks, came bright summer. But its
golden harvest and its rich fruits would remind of the early
dedication of the first and best to the Lord, aud of those solemn
processions in which it was carried up to Jerusalem.
As autumn seared the leaves, the Feast of the New Year spoke
of the casting up of man's accounts in the great Book of Judg-
ment, and the fixing of destiny for good or for evil. Then fol-
lowed the Fast of the Day of Atonement, with its tremendous
solemnities, the memory of which could never fade from the mind
or imagination ; and, last of all, in the week of the Feast of
Tabernacles, there were the strange leafy booths in which they
lived and joyed, keeping their harvest-thanksgiving, aud pray-
ing and longing for the better harvest of a renewed world.
The Life and Times of Jcsm the 3l£ssiah, Alfred Edersbeim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 228.
His Doing Nothing Wonderful Was a Kind of Wonder
It was during these years that His life is for us the main ex-
ample of how we ought to live. ^'Take notice here," says the
saintly Bonaventura, "that His doing nothing wonderful was in
itself a kind of wonder. For His whole life is a mystery ; and
as there was power in His actions, so was there power in His
siience, in His inactivity, and in His retirement. This sovereign
Master, who was to teach all virtues, and to point out the way of
life, began from His j^outh up, by sanctifying in His own person
the practice of the virtuous life He came to teach, but in a won-
drous, unfathomable, and, till then, unheard-of manner."
His mere presence in that home of His childhood must have
made it a happy one. The hour of strife, the hour of the sword,
the hour when many in Israel should rise or fall because of Him,
the hour when the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed,
the hour when the kingdom of heaven should suffer violence, and
the violent take it by force, was not yet come. In any family
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 91
circle the gentle iuflueuce of oue loviug soul is sufficient to breathe
around it an unspeakable calm ; it has a soothing power like the
shining of the sunlight, or the voice of doves heard at evening : —
" It droppeth, like the geotle dew from heaven
Upon the place beneath."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W, Farrar, D. D., F, R. S., Vol. I, p. 94.
Like His Brethren in All Things
Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high jyriest in
things pertaining to God, to make proxntiation for the sins of the peo-
ple. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able
to succor them that are tempted. — Hebeews ii. 17, 18. American
Revision.
Sacred history makes everything of Mary, and nothing of
Joseph. It is taken for granted that it was with his mother that
Jesus held most intimate communion. The adoration of the
Virgin by the [Roman Catholic] Church has doubtless contributed
largely to this belief. There is nothing improbable in it. But it is
pure supposition. There is not a trace of any facts to supjjort it.
Though an ordinary child to others, that Jesus was to his
parents a child of wonder can scarcely be doubted. Such mani-
festations of his nature, as broke forth at twelve years of age in
the Temple scene, must have shown themselves at other times in
various ways at home. Yet so entirely are our minds absorbed
in his later teachings, and so wholly is his life summed up to us
in the three years of his ministry, that we are not accustomed to
recall and fill out his youth as we do his riper years.
Who imagines the boy Jesus going or coming at command, —
leaving home, with his tools, for his daily work, — lifting timber,
laying the line, scribing the pattern, fitting and finishing the job,
— bargaining for work, demanding and receiving his wages, —
conversing with fellow workmen, and mingling in their innocent
amusements % Yet must not all these things have been ? "We
must carry along with us that interpreting sentence, which like a
refrain should come in with every strain :
'"In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren."
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Heury Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p, 68.
92 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Unlawful to Live in a Place Where There Was No School
The regular iustruction commenced with the fifth or sixth year
(according to strength), when every child was sent to school.
There can be no reasonable doubt that at that time such schools
existed throughout the laud. We find references to them at al-
most every period ; indeed, the existence of higher schools and
academies would not have been possible without such primary
instruction.
Two rabbis of Jerusalem, specially distinguished and beloved
on account of their educational labours, were among the last
victims of Herod's cruelty.
Later on, tradition ascribes to Joshua the son of Gamla the
introduction of schools in every town, and the compulsory educa-
tion in them of all children above the age of six. Such was the
trauscendeut merit attaching to his act, that it seemed to blot out
the guilt of the purchase for him of the high -priestly office by
his wife Martha, shortly before the commencement of the great
Jewish war.
To pass over the fabulous number of schools supposed to have
existed in Jerusalem, tradition had it that, despite of this, the
city ouly fell because of the neglect of the education of children.
It was even deemed unlawful to live in a place where there was
no school. Such a city deserved to be destroyed or excom-
municated.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A, Oxon.,
D. D,, Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 230.
A Jewish School in His Day-
Would you like to take a look into Jesus' schoolhouse *?
It is a low, square stone building near the village fountain.
Over the door is an ornamental carving of a bunch of grapes or
a pot of manna.
Entering beneath a gallery in the rear you find yourself facing
a low platform, in the centre of which is a curtained chest.
It looks like a country church in New England.
It is a church, for the schools in these days were held in the
meeting-houses, and . . . the ministers were the school-
teachers. . . .
If you looked through the door or window you would see all
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 93
the scholars seated iu a circle on the floor around their teacher,
who was seated there, too, studying their lessons at the top of
their voices ! . . .
There was but one text-book, and only one copy of that. It
was a queer-looking volume, laid, when not in use, behind the
curtains on yonder platform. Written on a leather roll from
right to left, it was wound around two metal staves and kept iu
a silk case.
It was the Old Testament. . . .
Jesus began to study it when he was a child at home. Per-
haps his mother taught him first a birthday- verse, beginning
with or containing the same letters as his name, then he learned a
few of the shorter psalms, especially those used in the feast-day
processions.
When he went to school his first lessons were in the book of
Leviticus.
Every lesson was a memory lesson. How patiently the old
teacher drilled, drilled, drilled his scholars day after day. Those
shrill voices uplifted in concert were reciting over and over, first
the olden laws, then the stories, and finally the Prophets and
the Psalms, until the children knew by heart, so that they could
never forget, thousands of verses from their nation's book.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 31.
He Must Have Been an Eager Scholar
He must have been an eager scholar, for besides Aramaic,
which was the vernacular of the Jews, and Greek, which was
widely used, especially iu Galilee, and which He Himself used in
His teaching, He also mastered Hebrew — a dead language in His
day, but the vestment of the Old Testament Scriptures, of which
He was a close and earnest student.
Up to his tenth year it was held that the Bible should be the
exclusive text-book of a Jewish boy ; from ten to fifteen the
Mishna should be the chief text-book ; and after the age of fifteen
the higher theological discussions were open to him.
Jesus' public life, when He had no opportunity whatever for
study, showed a mastery of all branches of a Jewish boy's educa-
tion, which was proof of careful training in His early days.
Studies of the 3Ian Christ Jesus, Robert E. Speer, p. 20.
d4 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
His First Teachers
Not until Jesus was ten or twelve did he begiu to be taught
the explanations of what he had learned. The ancient school-
masters believed in rote first, then reason. School days in
Galilee were not tiresome. There were no lessons in the middle
of the day or in hot weather. About one day in four was a holi-
day, and children did not go to school much after they were
twelve or fourteen years old.
Today we study many subjects in school ; drawing and paint-
ing and cooking and carpentering. In these days the homes did
this part of the school training. Every boy, no matter how
wealthy his parents, must learn a trade. It was usually taught
him bj^ his father. So Jesus learned from Joseph how to handle
the saw, the plane and the mason's trowel, while his little sisters,
Salome and Marj^, were learning from their mother how to sew
and keep house.
If the school-teacher taught Jesus to recite the Psalms, it was
probably his mother who taught him to sing them. . <, .
In all countries those who become great owe a great debt to
their mothers. This was especially so in Israel. Motherhood
was the best thing Israel had. " God could not be everywhere,"
was one of their sayings, "and so he made mothers." Jesus
owed much to his mother. She taught him many things that
the village master did not know. The rabbi knew what Abraham
and Moses and David did. But she could tell her boy what they
hoped and felt and suffered. The rabbi lived in the past, but
she . . . had visions of the future. . . .
No wonder the greatest painters have tried to portray her lov-
ing, thoughtful face. No wonder that the whole world honors
Mary, who lived only that she might give the world its king.
The Boys' Life of C%rist, Williani Byron Forbnsh, p. 33.
Through Eye Gate and Ear Gate
Besides book learning, Jesus as a boy was receiving through
eye gate and ear gate a knowledge of world afliiirs. For He
witnessed the insurrection under Judas of Galilee. Stung to
madness by the . advance of absolutism, the Galilean masses
rise in a burst of fury. Ill-timed. Eome, infinite in oppression.
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 05
issues a quiet commaud to Varus. He [sets in motiou] two legious
ou Galilee's tiuy spot of earth. The rebellion is crushed by sheer
weight of soldiery.
From the heights above Nazareth, Jesus as a boy looks dowu
nightly upou the fire of buruiug villages. Two thousand malcon-
tents are crucified. By day the boy sees along every road these
victims lifted ou crosses about two feet above ground, for it is
Rome's command that the victims be left near enough the ground
for the wild beasts at night to leap up and tear their vitals.
Some of these victims were doubtless known to the boy Jesus
personally ; for Galilee was a small district, and its people
closely knit.
The lad undoubtedly received some last messages concerning
the Roman from delirious dying lii)s as he passed these crosses
beside every path and highway — a fact well to remember when
we are reading some of his fiercely bitter utterances, later, against
those who invade and oppress the people.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 33.
Through Real Boyhood to Manly Manhood
He had those nameless graces which belong to all ingenuous
boys ; and though he must have seemed precocious, at least to
his own household, there is no evidence that he was thought re-
markable by his fellow citizens. On the other hand, none were
less prepared to see him take a prominent part in public affairs
than the very people who had known him from infancy. . . .
If he went through the ordinary evolutions of youth it is certain
that the universal experiences of that period must have befallen
him.
Nothing could be more unnatural than to suppose that he was
a child without a childhood, . . . who, though a Jew, in
Nazareth, probably following a carpenter's trade, was yet but a
celestial image, a white and slender figure floatiug in a half-
spiritual transfiguration through the days of a glorified child-
hood. He was "the Son of Man," — a real boy, as afterward he
was a most manly man. He knew every step of growth ; he
underwent the babe's exi)erience of knowing nothing, the child's
of knowing a little, the universal necessity of development !
I'he Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 56.
96 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Off for a Ten Days* Trip to Jerusalem
On the uight of the holiday, . . . the village went to bed
early, for the next day was to be a notable one.
Before the sun was up everybody had gathered at the fountain.
The fathers and mothers and older children were going to leave
for a ten days' tour. They were going to the cai^ital for the great
annual feast, to celebrate the nation's birthday.
Donkeys were beiug loaded by the men with baggage, the
mothers were saying good-bye to their little children, who were
leftin their grandparents' charge, and the children . . . were
under the donkeys' feet and in everybody's way, having a glad
time in prospect of the holiday. For a town with nobody in it
but grandparents and children must be a very jolly one.
Soon the cavalcade started, the old rabbi and the chief men
with the village banner riding ahead, surrounded by a crowd of
boys, among whom was Jesus. The rest followed, all except the
women, on foot.
Jesus parted with reluctance from his younger playmates and
his little brothers and sisters. Even when the pilgrims could be
faintly heard by the villagers left behind, singing their marching
song from the hilltop, he was seen waving his hand to them in
farewell. But then his eyes turned eagerly to the pathway be-
fore him.
For this was Jesus' first journey from home.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byrou Forbush, p. 36.
Their First Camp
Their camping spot was close to a fountain and near a cluster
of gardens. Jesus helped his father fasten their beast and gath-
\ ered sticks for a fire, so that his mother might cook their pot-
tage. After supper they two made a couch and shelter of branches
for the mother, while they themselves prepared to sleep on the
ground under the stars.
But sleep was not to be thought of at once. In the distance
they could hear the marching songs of other pilgrims who were
approaching. Near by, a great camp-fire was a centre of attrac-
tion.
Jesus and the other boys were soon standing in its blaze. Al-
ready a group of men had gathered, some to exchange greetings
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 97
and uews with new-found friends, some to tell stories, some to
argne excitedly and endlessly about religion. Above, the young
paschal moon was shining, making the wooded slopes of the en-
circling hills as distinct against the sky as in day. Much did
the boys hear that evening, and these three full days, of the
strange languages and ideas of other lands and still more of the
glory of their own.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 38.
Through Samaria
The next day their way was through the highlands. The region
belonged to the fanatic Samaritans, who thrust their tongues out
at them in hatred as they passed. Had it not been the feast time
they would have taken a long roundabout course to avoid the un-
pleasantness and danger of passing through this region. But
perhaps the slight risk added a delightful element of excitement
to the younger pilgrims.
Thoy passed in sight of the well where Joseph was left by his
envious brothers, and told each other again the splendid tale of
the trials and triumphs of that princely youth, and soon they
came to the city of Samaria, which was the new political capital,
as Jerusalem was the ancient religious capital of the nation.
It must have seemed to the boys almost a fairy town. The
white houses in their green foliage climbed up the hill to the
king's marble palace at the top, and from its walls and gardens
one could look northward to a curve of noble forest-crowned hills,
westward to the blue sea, and southward down the greenest
valley in all the land. They hurried down this valley for, though
it was a beautiful, it was not a friendly city. On every side were
orange and lemon groves, fragrant as spice, and the nightingales
were already beginning to sing in the branches.
The Boys'' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 39.
** Our Feet Shall Stand Within Thy Gates, O Jerusalem! **
Refreshed by sleep, breaking up their simple camp, the mingled
throng at early morning start forth again. A voice is heard
chanting a psalm. It is caught up by others. The whole region
resounds. And these are the words :
98 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
" I was glad wbeu they said unto me,
Let us go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall staud
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem !
Jerusalem is builded
As a city that is compact together :
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,
Unto the testimony of Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of the Lord,
For there are set thrones of judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem :
They shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls.
And prosperity within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes
I will now say. Peace be within thee.
Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek thy good."
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 71.
The Holy House Flashed into View
Though loug awaited, the first sight of the city was unexpecte'd.
They climbed a hillock aud lo ! it was all spread before them.
The great stoue castles of the Roma us were ou the right, the old
gray wall was arouud it, aud the hills were its guardiaus, but
there at the left before them was the Temple Hill with its suowy
terraces of marble aud its roofs of gleamiug gold ! A burst of
soug arose as the Holy House flashed iuto view. Theu the whole
compauy knelt iu thauksgiviug.
Dowu through the fig aud olive trees they hastened, past the
villas of the wealthy, meeting now a baud of iron-armored
Romau legionaries, now a group of silken-gowned doctors of Ihe
law, until they entered the city gate.
There was no question of paying for entertainment. All Jeru-
salem was keeping open house. But the city was already crowded
with hundreds of thousands of f»eople. If there was a curtain
hanging over any entrance it meant, " Still there is room." But
if there was no room left, belated travelers encamped cheerfully
in the orchards outside the gates.
Too eager to rest, too grateful to sleep, the pilgrims from Naza-
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 99
retb, taking a hasty meal and greetiDg many of their distant kins-
men, hurried to join the great throng in the Temple courts, and
there they were found even until midnight waiting in the moon-
light their turn to present their free-will gifts.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbusb, p. 42.
Under the Shadow of His Father's Temple
Between Hiunom and Kidrou, where the two valleys met at
the southeast of the city. His eyes, looking down from the Temple
Mount, would rest on the contrasted sweetness of the softly flow-
ing waters of Siloam, which bubbled up noiselessly at the foot of
the hill, and after filling a double pool, glided on to the south,
till they lost themselves in the king's gardens.
City and people : the past and the present, must have filled the
whole being of the Child with awe and wonder, for He now stood,
for the first time, under the shadow of His Father's Temple, and
the murmur of countless languages that filled the air was, in
very truth, homage to that Father from all the world.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 201.
Though a Gjuntry Boy, the Strange Sights Did Not
Fascinate Him
For the first time the boy from Nazareth of Galilee, with its
freedom and sweet air and sky, and the liberal, loving life of Mary's
home, was brought into contact with the formalized religious life
of His nation : the Holy City of David, kept scrupulously free
from all ceremonial uucleauness ; and the mighty, inviolate
Temple, thronged now with the tens and hundreds of thousands
of pilgrims who, from many lands and many thousands of cities,
had come to worship at Jerusalem,
It must have been a wonderful sight to Jesus, and have quick-
ened all the pulses within Him. Yet, though He was a country
boy, the strange sights had no fascination for Him — not even the
historic places made famous by the stories with which His mother
had made His heart swell with the pride of His famous nation in
the twilight of the Sabbath evenings in Nazareth. His boyish
meditations had already carried Him beyond the outward show,
and He spent His days at the Temple listening to the doctors.
Studies of the Man Christ Jesus, Robert E. Speer, p. 21.
100 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
A Supper of Symbok
When the great day of the feast came, Joseph, the father of the
family, carried up the choice yearling lamb which he had
brought for the sacrifice. When the priest had slain it, Mary
roasted it upori a cross of pomegranate wood.
Away from the crowd, in an upper room, Joseph and his wife
and their boy ate the sacred meal. Every part of it was a story
told in picture and action. There lay the lamb upon the board,
to remind them that redemption is always at the cost of life.
Here were the bitter herbs, type of the bitterness of slavery, and
a paste of fruits, emblem of the mortar used by their fathers when
they were forced to make bricks in Egypt. They ate standing
and in haste, as if just fleeing from bondage. Solemn thanks-
givings were offered and the old songs were sung.
The Boys^ Life of Christ, William Byron Foibush, p. 45.
**To Rescue Israel from the Roman Yoke"
" Ere yet my age
Had measured twice six j^ears, at our great feast
I went into the temple, there to hear
The teachers of our law, and to propose
What might improve my knowledge or their own ;
And was admired by all : yet this not all
To which my spirit aspired : victorious deeds
Flamed in my heart, heroic acts, one while
To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke ;
Then to subdue aud quell, o'er all the earth,
Brute violence and proud tyrannic power.
Till truth were freed, and equity restored."
The Poetical Works of John Milton, Vol. II. Paradise Begained, Book I, p. 16.
The Boy Tarried Behind
And his 'parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of
the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up
after the custom of the feast ; and when they had fulfilled the
days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in
Jerusalem ; and his parents knew it not ; but supposing him to
be in the company, they went a day's journey ; and they sought
for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance ; and when they
found him not they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him.
Luke 11. 41-45. Revised Version.
Courtesy of Tissot Picture Society Copyright by J. J. Tissot, lSgs-6
STARTING BACK. TO NAZARETH
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 101
A Vain Search
Tradition points out Beeroth as the spot where, at nightfall,
Joseph and Mary were first aware of the absence of Jesus.
One is at a loss to understand, upon first thoughts, how they
were so slow to take alarm ; but it must be remembered that
Jerusalem, during the Passover season, was thronged with two
or three million pilgrims, and in consequence caravans were
formed amidst the greatest confusion. It was only when the
long files of travelers with camels and mules had left the city
gates far behind them, that it became possible to collect together
one's own party, and to keep some order. Kindred and friends
were then united, the women and the old people mounted upon
beasts of burden, the men on foot, leading the way, while, as they
journeyed along, they chanted their sacred hymns.
The parents of Jesus, not seeing Him, would think that He
had joined some other band, and thus they would pursue their
way, expecting Him to rejoin them when the caravan came to a
halt at eventide.
But their search for Him then among the crowd was a vain
one : Jesus was not to be found ; and their anxiety was very
great, for Judea was then in an uproar of sedition. The exile of
Archelaus, recently deposed by Augustus, had resulted in the
reduction of his kingdom into a Eoman province and the imposi-
tion of additional taxes.
At this new badge of servitude the people revolted, and the
excitement raised by the insurrections of Sadoc and Judas the
Gaulouite was still agitating them. In such troublous times,
amid the wild crews which were scouring over the country, what
perils might not menace a lost child !
The Christ the Son of God, Abbe Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 82.
Finding Him in the Temple
And it came to pass, after three days they. found him in the
temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them
and asking them questions : and all that heard him were amazed
at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw
him, they were astonished ; and his mother said unto him. Son,
why hast thou thus dealt with us 1 behold, thy father and I sought
thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye
102 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
souglit me 1 Knew ye not that I must be in my Father's house ?
And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
Luke ii. 46-50. American Revision.
** Why Hast Thou Thus Dealt with Us?**
"Why hast Thou dealt thus with us ? " It is a puzzled ques-
tion. The Boy, who had been an obedient child in her house-
hold, whom she had cared for in her own way and found always
docile to her guidance, had suddenly passed beyond her and done
a thing which she could not understand. It seemed as if she had
lost Him. Her tone is full of love, but there is something almost
like jealousy about it. He has taken Himself into His own keep-
ing, and this one act seems to foretell the time when He will take
His whole life into His own hands, and leave her outside alto-
gether. The time has passed when she could hold Him as a babe
upon her bosom as she carried Him dowu into Egypt. . . .
No wonder that it is a clear, critical moment in her life. No
wonder that her question still rings with the pain she \}\\t into it.
No wonder that when she went home, although He was still
"subject unto her," her life with her Son was all changed, and
she " kept all these sayiugs in her heart."
The Mother'' s Wonder, Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 20.
His Mother Did Not Understand Then
You will understand me when I say that Jesus had a right to
have forgotten all about his mother just then. True, she was
anxious, but he was not a child now. His father needed him
in Nazareth, but the All-Father in heaven needed his whole life.
And he had this great life question which needed all the help
he could get to solve, and he had begun to solve it, as all boys
do when they begin to be men, alone.
So he looked, like one awaking, wonderingly into her face
and answered, " How is it that you are searching for me ? "
Up to this time his mother had been in the habit of saying
gently to him, "You must," and he had obeyed her. Now and
henceforth he felt a Voice within which said "J must." That
Voice, God's Voice, must hereafter be obeyed. So he answered,
" Did you not know that I must be about my Father's work ?"
She did not understand what he meant although she thought
of those words many times later.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 50.
THE BOY OF NAZARETH 103
Many a Boy Feels That Way
Mauy a boy feels that way. He has decided upon some noble
calling. " Let me begin it at once " is his cry. But he forgets
his need of knowledge and wisdom and exjierience, and that just
at i^resent the most important thing he has to do is to get ready.
So, back up again that steep pathway from Esdraelon to for-
saken Nazareth he went, to obey, to love, to serve, and the wise
men of Jerusalem entirely forgot him.
His school-days were soon over. No doubt the village teacher
remained his frieud, but it was not long before he had taught
him all he knew. Probably he borrowed the great roll of the
holy writings in the village church and read them over and over,
for when he became a man he knew them by heart. . . .
At once he went to work. His father was a builder. The
house was now full of little ones, and the oldest boy was as busy
as his father in providing for their wants. Had you lived in
Nazareth then you would have seen him standing among the
shavings in the house door, holding firmly the timber for his
father to saw, helping carry the finished work through the street
or tramping off beside Joseph with his kit of tools to do work in
some neighboring village.
The Boys' Life of Christ, "William Byron Forbush, p. 51.
Not Yet !
Not yet ! This ministry of youth was not wholesome. Pre-
mature prodigies have never done God's work on earth. It
would have pleased the appetite for wonder, had his childhood
continued to emit such flashes as came forth in the Temple. But
such is not the order of nature, and the Son of God had consented
to be " made under the law." It is plain, from his reply to his
mother, that he was conscious of the nature that was in him, and
that strong impulses urged him to disclose his power. It is
therefore very significant, and not the least of the signs of di-
vinity, that he rules his spirit, and dwelt at -home in unmur-
muring expectation. ' ' He went down with them, and came to
Nazareth, and was subject unto them."
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecber, Vol. I, p. 74.
VII
WOEKING AT HIS TEADE
The Man most man, with tenderest human hands,
Works best for men, as God in Nazareth,
— 3Irs. Browning.
Growing in Age and Wisdom
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth ; and he
was subject unto them : and his mother kept all these sayings in
her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age, and in grace
with God and men.
Luke ii, 51, 52. Revised Version, using Marginals.
Thou Didst Deign to Be the Son of a Carpenter
I praise and magnify Thee with boundless love, for Thy lowly
and hidden life among men and Thy fellow villagers, Never
manifesting any sign which might have led to a recognition of
Thy Godhead, Thou deignedst to be called and to be considered
the son of a carpenter.
Meditatiom on the Life of Christ, Thomas a Kempis, p. 38.
Among the World's Workers
So he went back to Nazareth. He became a carpenter. He
took his place among the world's workers.
His occupation as a carpenter brought him intimately into the
lives of the people. The trades were not then specialized as they
have become to-day. The carpenter did practically all of the
constructive work, both within and without the house. He was
called upon to make everything, from the rocker of the cradle
to the bier of burial, . . .
He was the tool maker, and fashioned the rude instruments
with which the farmer worked his field. Justin Martyr speaks
of Jesus as having made " ploughs and yokes." The carpenter
was also the cabinet-maker of the day, and built the crude house-
hold furniture.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 35.
104
WORKING AT HIS TRADE 105
Avoided Rather Than Sought
He must have beeu a mystery to His household. He had been
so even with His mother from the time of the Temple visit, aud
He must have become more aud more so as He weut on His own
way, joining no party, silent, thoughtful, self-contained, given to
solitude, aud with a light iu His great eyes that seemed as if they
saw into the very souls of those on whom they were turned. His
brothers and sisters could not understand Him, even after He
had become a public teacher.
Aloue iu that beautiful world of Galilee, with its skies filled
with light — its green plains and valleys, wooded hills, and shin-
ing sea ; amidst a brave, bright, fiery, noble j)eople, and yet so
different from them — a faithful son, a patient worker at His
daily toil, a friend of children and of the poor and needy, gentle,
loving, pure, and yet so wholly apart by His very perfection —
we may almost think He must have been avoided rather than
sought.
The Life of Christ, CuuuiDgliam Geikie, D, D., Vol, I, p. 332.
Mary in Her Hwt and Livia in Her Palace
Woman was more influential in the life of the ancient world
than the history of those times, written by men, has accredited
her. And Mary . . . played a part in the drama of this
world's affairs which refuses to be ignored. Perhaps she kept
before herself the image of that other woman — her contemporary
— Livia, mistress of the imperial palace on the Tiber. Here also
was a wife and mother of force, and of considerable influence in
public afi"airs. But with this the resemblance ceases. . . .
Thus confronted each other these two, Mary and Livia, each of
them strong-minded, and each bringing forth fruit after her kind.
Livia, mistress of the Palatine, a world at her feet, founds a
lineage of decadence. Mary, in a mud-plastered hut hid in the
Lebanon rauge, fouuds a dynasty of free spirits more enduring
than the dynasty of the Csesars.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bonck White, p. 60.
The Family Circle of Which He Was the Centre
Joseph, according to old tradition, died when Jesus was eight-
een years old, aud it seems certain, from the fact that he is not
106 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
meutioued in the Gospels during Christ's public life, that he
died at least before that begau. From the time of his death, we
are told, doubtless correctly, Jesus sui)ported His mother by the
work of His bauds, at least, iu commou with others of the house-
hold. It is added that He had grown up with four brothers,
James, JosejDh, Simon, and Jude, and at least two sisters, whose
names are said to have been Esther aud Tamar ; but Jude aud
Simou, and both the sisters, we are told, married before Joseph's
death, aud settled in the town of Nazareth. Some think that
Salome, the mother of James aud John, aud wife of Zebedee, was
Mary's elder sister ; others identify her with the Mary who
married Clopas-Alphteus, a townsman, but he, like Joseph, seems
to have died before Jesus begau His ministry. This couple seem
to have had two sons, James and Joses, but it is not told us
whether they had any daughters. The two households formed
the family circle of which Jesus was the wondrous centre.
2'he Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol, I, p. 330.
The Training of the Carpenter's Shop
Jesus learned the trade of a carpenter from his father. There
is a beautiful tradition that Joseph, his reputed father, died
"while Jesus was a youth, aud so he worked not merely to earn
his own living, but to keep the little home together in Nazareth,
and Mary aud the youuger members of the family depended on
his toil.
"The man Jesus rose at daybreak, and picking up his tools,
made yokes aud tables for something to eat."
*' Jesus never did a piece of shoddy work, or God could not
have said of his Son, ' I am well pleased.' "
"In that carpenter's shop he fought many battles."
"Alone he did his work, aud faced all the subtle forms of
temptation that beset mankind."
The carpenter's shop in the home was "the seed plot of the
manly virtues." In that school maybe learned nearly all the
virtues, when the smallest acts are done with the highest motives.
The spiritual motive transfigures the lowliest toil.
" Plucked by his hand, the meanest weed that grows
Towers to the lily, reddens to the rose. ' '
Peloubet's Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1900, p. 28.
WORKING AT HIS TRADE 107
** A Workman That Needeth Not to Be Ashamed"
"Take my yoke upon you," hints a tool maker who shaped
his ox yokes with painstaking care so as to tit smoothly onto the
neck, and who took honest pride in the tact. A number of his
disciples were intimately known to him before he entered upon
his public career. The fact that they responded willingly when
he summoned them to enlist under him for the Cause, is eloquent
of the respect he must have inspired in them back in his car-
penter days.
Furthermore, we find in him a fiue scorn of unworkmanlike
qualities in men of other trades. To plough a straight furrow
requires in a ploughman that he fix his eye on some objective
point, and steer toward it. To be glancing carelessly around
betrays itself in crooked and uneven furrows when the work is
done.
Jesus declares that he had no use for such a man, one who,
"having put his hand to the plough, looks back." The accumu-
lation of evidence is unmistakable : The Carpenter of Nazareth
was "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
The Call of 'The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 38,
The Same Trade with Me
(By an English Carpenter)
" Isn't this Joseph's Son?" Aye, it is He.
** Joseph, the carpenter " — same trade with me !
I thought as I'd find it, I knew it was here,
But my sight's getting queer.
I don't know right where as His shed might ha' stood,
But often, as I've been a-planing my wood,
I've took off my hat just with thinking that He
Did the same work with me.
He warn't that set up that He couldn't stoop down
And work in the country for folks in the town.
And I'll warrant He felt a bit pride like I've done
At a good job begun.
So I comes right away by myself with the Book,
And I turns the old pages and has a good look
For the text as I've found as tells me that He
Worked the same trade with me,
— Anonymous.
108 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Nightmare Terror Was upon Every Home
There are those who would admire Jesus more if he had left
world jDolitics aloue. But world politics would not leave him
aloue. He, his kindred, his fellow countrymen, were exposed
hourly to the press-gang, with its summons into the unspeakable
conditions in the slave stable of some Eoman lord. Daily the
collar was riveted about his own neck. To have asked him to
coucern himself only with "religion" and to let world politics
alone, would be like asking a person to forget a pack of wolves
leaping at him with a three months' hunger gnawing their
vitals. . . .
Rome's arm reached easily into Syria and was ever drawing
off the flower of its populatiou into her slave kennels. Duriug
his boyhood Jesus had seen the entire poj)ulation of Sepphoris,
a town near Nazareth, sold by the Romans into slavery. Only
fifty years before, Rome had captured thirty thousand Jews and
made them into slaves. . . . For with the Romans, war was
business— entered upon from business motives and conducted on
strictly business principles. Her wars were freebooting raids.
And no province in the empire realized this more poignantly
than Syria and Galilee. . . .
The nightmare terror was upon every home, as the Roman
slave-catchers drew near : " There shall be two men in one bed ;
the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women
shall be grinding together ; the one shall be taken, and the other
left. Two men shall be in the field ; the one shall be taken, and
the other left."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 46.
Revolt of Jodas the Gawlonite
Yet was there one Judas, a Gaulonite, of the city whose name
was Gamala, who taking with him Saddouk, a Pharisee, became
zealous to draw them into a revolt, who both said that this taxa-
tion was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted
the nation to assert their liberty ; as if they could procure them
happiness and security for what they possessed, and an ensured
enjoyment of a still greater good, which was that of the honour
and glory they would thereby acquire for magnanimity.
They also said that God would not otherwise be assisting to
WORKING AT HIS TRADE 109
tliera, than upon their joining with one another in such counsels
as might be successful, and for their own advantage ; and this
especially, if they would set about great exploits, and not grow
weary in executing the same ; so men received what they said
with pleasure, and this bold attempt proceeded to a great height.
All sorts of misfortunes also sprang from these men, and the
nation was infected with this doctrine to an incredible degree;
one violent war came upon us after another, and we lost our
friends which used to alleviate our pains ; there were also very
great robberies and murders of our principal men.
Such were the consequences of this, that the customs of our
fathers were altered, and such a change was made, as added a
mighty weight toward bringing all to destruction, which these
men occasioned by their thus conspiring together ; for Judas and
Sadducus [Saddouk], who excited a fourth philosophic sect among
us, and had a great many followers therein, filled our civil
governmeut with tumults at present, and laid the foundations
of our future miseries by this system of philosophy, which we
were before unacquainted withal ; . . . and thus the rather,
because the infection which spread thence among the younger
sort, who were zealous for it, brought the people to destruction.
The Works of Flavins Josephus, edited by William Whlston, A. M. Antiq-
uities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chap. I, p. 39.
** They Are Speaking of Yo«, My Son ! "
There had been occasional uprisings of the people against Rome,
but most of them were waiting for some one to spring from amongst
themselves who would become their king and deliverer. They
had read even in their school-book, our Old Testament, that a
''Messiah " or "Christ " (the words mean Consecrated One) was
to come, and "he," they thought, "would make their kingdom
as glorious again as his own ancestor, David, had made it. "
How eagerly must the young carpenter have listened to their
talk ! Was not his mother often by his side to whisper ; " They
are speaking of you, my son ! "
But he did not say much in answer.
Did his neighbors think it strange that the young man, who
claimed to belong to the family of David, should seem to care so
little for his country? Did they ever say: "Why is Jesus
always reading the sacred books in his shop and in his home?
110 THE STORY-LIFE OP THE SON OF MAN
He uever offers to read them aloud iu the meeting-house service
aud he uever takes part iu the debates, that follow the readiug,
about ' the Kingdom to come ? ' "
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 56.
Life and Death from Rome
Caesar's spearmen rode
Terrible with eagles, bringing news
Of life and death from Rome. Or strode austere.
Contemptuously, flaunting phylacteries,
The Pharisee aud Scril)e. Or, noise of slaves
Sweating beneath the litter's gilded poles,
Told where there passed some languid palace dame.
The Light of the World, Sir Edwin Arnold, K. C. I. E., C. S. I., p. 56.
** The Eagles Gathered Together **
He should have escaped the vortex of world politics ? Jesus
could not escape that vortex. This carpenter family in Nazareth
was one of Eome's assets, aud could no more have dodged the
enrolment lists of the empire than a horse could disappear from
the account books of a carefully conducted lauded estate and the
fact not be noted. If the empire allowed the members of that
family to remain as freemen, it was only that it might tax their
free labor, aud with the sword of possible slavery constantly
over their heads.
A paid spydom watched that Nazareth family — as it watched
every other working-class family iu the empire. — aud if by extra-
ordinary saving they had put aside a sum against sickness or old
age, it would have been taken from them, if necessary, at the
point of the sword.
Jesus used this as an argument against engrossment by his
fellow countrymen in piling up wealth : "Wheresoever the car-
cass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." (The eagle
was Eome's military insiguium, and borne at the head of her
cohorts.) There was no incentive to thrift, but encouragement
rather to au improvident, hand-to-mouth existence.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 48.
Pontios Pilate Appointed Procwrator
It was, doubtless, with no little alarm that the news came in
the year 26, when the influence of Sejauus was at its height, that
WORKING AT HIS TRADE 111
Valerius Gratus had at length been recalled, and Poutius Pilate
appointed in his stead. The client was worthy of the patron.
Venal, covetous, cruel, even delighting in blood, without prin-
ciple or remorse, and yet wanting decision at critical moments,
his name soou became specially infamous in Judea. He bore
himself in the most offensive way toward the people of Jeru-
salem. The garrison of Antouia had hitherto always left the
ornaments of their military standards at the headquarters in
CiTisarea, since the Jews would not suffer the Holy City to be
profaned by the presence of the eagles and the busts of the em-
perors, of which they mainly consisted. But Pilate, apparently
ou the first change of the garrison, ordered the new regiments to
enter the city by uiglit with the offensive emblems on their
standards, and Jerusalem awoke to see the idolatrous symbols
planted within sight of the Temple.
Universal excitement spread through the city, and the rabbis
and people took mutual counsel how the outrage could be re-
moved. The country soon began to pour in its multitudes. The
violent party counseled force, but the more sensible prevailed as
yet, and a multitude of the citizens hurried off to Pilate at
Ciesarea, to entreat him to take away the cause of such bitter
offence. But Pilate would not listen, and treated the request as
an affront to the empeior.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 279,
Their Hatred Had Grown with Their Calamities
With the Jews, the old hatred of all races but their own had
grown with the calamities of the nation. It seemed to them a
duty to hate the heathen and the Samaritan, but their cjaiicism
extended, besides, to all respecting whom the jealousy for the
honour of the Law had raised suspicion. They hated the publi-
cans ; the rabbi hated the priest, the Pharisee the Sadducee,
and both loathed and hated the common people, who did not
know the ten thousand injunctions of the scho'ols.
They had forgotten what the Old Testament taught of the love
of God toward men, and of the love due by man to his fellow.
They remembered that they had been commanded to show no
favour to the sunken nations of Canaan, but they forgot that they
had not been told to hate them. The Law had said, ''Thou
112 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; " but their neighbour, they
assumed, meant only a Jew or a proselyte, and they had added
that they should " hate their enemies."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 72,
So Jesus "Worked Away for Nearly Twenty Years
So Jesus worked away for nearly twenty years, and it looked
as if he would work on so as loug as he lived.
Did he get impatient now ? When he was twenty years old,
when he was twenty-five, did he become restless for other cities
and foreign lands ? Those years between twenty and thirty, those
fiery, tireless years— we think them the most precious in life.
This future king spent them in a dingy shop in that little hamlet
in Nowhere. Once a year there was a precious week at the
festival in Jerusalem.
Then the fog of gray, dull duty shut down about him again
and he was lost from sight.
Always busy, never in a hurry — that was Jesus' way. He did
not begin his work until he was ready. He never hurried, no
matter who summoned him. But when his work was over, he
was able to say of it, "I have finished the work Thou gavest me
to do."
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 57.
Wonderful That He Could "Wait So Long
Christ, our blessed Saviour, forebore to preach and teach until
the thirtieth year of his age, neither would he openly be heard ;
no, though he beheld and heard so many impieties, abominable
idolatries, heresies, blasphemings of God, etc. It was a wonder-
ful thing he could abstain, and with patience endure them, until
the time came that he was to appear in his oifice of preaching.
The Table Talk of Martin Luther, Translated and Edited by William
Hazlitt, Esq., p. 106.
Master of Three Languages
It is easy to understand with what fervent enthusiasm He
would devote Himself to the Old Testament ; and His sayings,
which are full of quotations from it, afford abundant proof of
how constantly it formed the food of His mind and the comfort
of His soul.
His youthful study of it was the secret of the marvelous facility
WORKING AT HIS TRADE 113
with which He made use of it afterwards in order to enrich His
preachiug aud enforce His doctrine, to repel the assaults of op-
ponents and overcome the temptations of the Evil One. His
quotations also show that He read it in the original Hebrew, and
not in the Greek translation, which was then in general use.
The Hebrew was a dead language eveu in Palestine, just as Latin
now is in Italy ; but He would naturally long to read it in the
very words in which it was written.
Those who have not enjoyed a liberal education, but amidst
many difficulties have mastered Greek in order to read the New
Testament in the original, will perha^js best understand how, in a
country village, He made Himself master of the ancient tongue,
and with what delight He was wont, in the rolls of the synagogue,
or in such manuscripts as He may have Himself possessed, to pore
over the sacred page.
The language in which He thought and spoke familiarly was
Aramaic, a branch of the same stem to which Hebrew be-
longs. . . . Thus He was probably master of three languages
— one of them the grand religious language of the world, in whose
literature He was deeply versed ; another, the most perfect means
of expressing secular thought which has ever existed, although
there is no evidence that He had any acquaintance with the
masterpieces of Greek literature ; and the third, the language of
the common people, to whom His preaching was to be specially
addressed.
7'he Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 21.
**If We Repented but One Day!**
The nation was daily expecting the appearance of "the wise
aud perfect prophet " who should bring back the lost Urim aud
Thummim, "restore the tribes of Israel, turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, reprove the times, and appease the wrath
of God, before it broke out in fury."
Since Ezra's days the feeling had grown even deeper, that
repentance alone could save Israel. "If we repented but one
day," said the rabbis, "the Messiah would appear." He was to
lead all men back to God by repentance. "As long as Israel
does not repent, it cannot expect the Saviour," said Rabbi Juda.
But this repentance would not happen till Elijah had come, in
114 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
fulfilment of the prediction of Malachi, and he was not to do so
till three days before the appearance of the Messiah, when his
voice would proclaim from one end of the earth to the other —
" Salvation cometh into the world."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 372.
News of a Hermit Like Elijah
One day a man stopped at Jesus' door who had just come up
from the capital. He brought great news. The whole family of
Jesus gathered to hear it, and their neighbors joined them.
" The prophet has come ! " was his message.
Some believed that their deliverer was going to be another father
of his country like Moses. Others thought he would be a fear-
less orator like Elijah.
"Who is he"?"
" He wears a hair cloak and a leather girdle ; he came from the
desert and his food is rock honey and "
" It is our Elijah !" the people said excitedly. . . .
" Are there many with him? "
" Multitudes. All the people are hurrying to him."
There was at once great excitement at Nazareth. Many be-
lieved that this was the call to a revolution. Some were sure
that, in answer to their hopes, the Messiah was getting ready to
ride as a conqueror from the Jordan up the road that leads over
the Mount of Olives, and thence appear suddenly in the city and
the temple. . . .
And that very evening a considerable number of young men, a
few of them armed, went southward by the valley road down the
Jordan. . . .
The Jordan plunges from the mountains down into the steepest
hollow in the earth's surface. It rushes from its green shrubbery
into the awful Dead Sea, where bare and frowning mountain peaks
rise from its broad valley like tomb walls for a giant's sepulchre.
Here, where the first Elijah had left the earth the second Elijah
appeared.
A day or two later Jesus quietly laid away his tools, took off
his workman's apron, said good-bye to his mother and his
brothers, and went alone to the Jordan valley.
The Boys^ Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 58.
VIII
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION
The voice said, Cry,
What shall I cry ?
— Isaiah xl, 6. Authorised Version.
Preaching in the Wilderness of Jodea
Now iu the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Csesar,
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysauias tetrarch of Abilene, in
the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias iu the wilderness. Aud he
came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the
baptism of repentance unto remission of sins ; as it is written iu
the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ye ready the way of the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
Aud every mountain and hill shall be brought low ;
And the crooked shall become straight,
And the rough ways smooth ;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized
of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come ? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
aud begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to
our father : for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham. And even now the axe also
lieth at the root of the trees : every tree therefore that bringeth
not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And
the multitudes asked him, saying. What then must we do ? And
he answered and said unto them. He that has two coats, let him
impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath food, let him do
115
116 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
likewise. Aud there came also publicans to b© baptized, and
they said to him, Teacher, what must we do ? Aud he said to
them, Extort no more than that which is appointed you. And
soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do ? Aud
he said uuto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse
any one wrongfully ; and be content with your wages.
Luke iii. 1-14. American Revision.
John's Heart Was Sad and Drove Him forth from Men
John's dress was in keeping with the austerity of his life. A
burnouse of rough, rudely woven cloth of coarse camels' hair,
such as the Bedouin still wear, bound round his body by the
common leathern girdle still in use among the very poor, was
apparently his only clothing. His head-dress, if he had any,
was the triangular head-cloth, kept in its place by a cord, as is
still the custom among the Arabs, aud his feet were shod with
eoarae sandals.
In Hebron he had had around him all that could make life
pleasant — a saintly home, loving pareuts, social consideration,
modest comforts, and an easy outlook for the future. But the
burden of his life had weighed heavily on him, and his heart was
sad, aud drove him forth from men. The enemies of his people
were strong, and the haud of them that hated them lay sore upon
them. The cry of the faithful in the land rose to God, that He
would remember His holy covenant and deliver them. They
sighed to be free from the presence of the heathen, that, once
more under God as their only king, with their country to them-
selves, they might serve Him without feai', in the homage of the
Temple, and the rites of the Law.
Israel had long sat in darkness, with no break of light from
heaven. The promises seemed to tarry. The godly sighed to
have their feet guided into the ways of peace, but no Messiah
had appeared to lead them.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 355.
The ** Old Ironsides ** of the New Testament
As to the Baptist, his name calls up a picture of vehemency —
a fiery reformer, a staunch protester, the Old Ironsides of the
New Testament. He belouged so decidedly to the [common
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION 117
people] that his very clothes and food were remarked — raiment
of coarse camel's wool, with a crudely tanned skin about his loins
for a girdle, and his food dried locusts ground into a powder and
mixed with honey which he gathered from the rocks and trees.
Some of the privileged class came to hear him — Pharisees who
stood for a criminal quietism, Sadducees who stood openly for
acquiescence with the Eoman invader, and both lined up against
the toiling masses. John to their faces called them a " genera-
tion of vipers." It seems that John's extremity of utterance and
his even, for that day, crude garb and pauper diet, caused criti-
cism.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 58.
An Appeal from Ritual to Conscience
This growing excitement in all the region around the Jordan
sent its fiery wave to Jerusalem. The Temple, with its keen
priestly watchers, heard that voice in the wilderness, repeating
day by day, with awful emphasis, "Prepare, prepare ! the Lord
is at hand ! " With all the airs of arrogant authority came down
from the Sanhedriu priestly questioners. It is an early instance
of the examination of a young man for license to preach.
"Who art thou?"
" I am not the Christ."
" What then, art thou Elias " [Elijah] ?
" I am not."
'• Art thou that prophet ? "
"No."
" Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent
us ? What sayest thou of thyself ? ' '
"I am the VOICE of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias"
[Isaiah].
" Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor
Elias, neither that prophet?"
"I baptize with water. But there standeth one among you
whom ye know not. He it is, that, coming after me, is pre-
ferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to un-
loose. "
There can be no doubt of the effect of John's replies upon the
118 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
council at Jerusalem. It was simply a deuial of their authority.
It was au appeal from Ritual to Couscieuce. He came home to
men with direct aud personal appeal, and refused the old forms
and sacred channels of instruction ; aud when asked by the
proper authorities for his credentials, he gave his name, A Voice
in the Wilderness, as if he owed no obligation to Jerusalem, but
ouly to nature aud to God.
The Life of Je^m the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol, I, p. 102.
How Best the Mighty Work He Might Begin
Meanwhile the Son of God, who yet some days
Lodged in Bethabara, where John baptized,
Musing, and much revolving in his breast,
How best the mighty work he might begin
Of Saviour to mankind.
The Poetical Works of John Milton, Vol. II. Paradise Regained, Book I, p. 15.
Like a Timid Child
When He first came to the banks of the Jordan, the great fore-
runner, according to his own emphatic and twice repeated testi-
mouy, "knew Him not." Aud yet, though Jesus was not yet
revealed as the Messiah to His great herald-prophet, there was
something iu His look, something in the sinless beauty of His
ways, something in the solemn majesty of His aspect, which at
once overawed and captivated the soul of John. To others he
was the stern prophet ; kings he could confront with rebuke ;
Pharisees he could unmask with indignation ; but before this
Presence all his lofty bearing falls.
As when some unknown dread checks the flight of an eagle,
and makes him settle with hushed scream and drooping ijlumage
on the ground, so before " the royalty of inward happiness," be-
fore the purity of sinless life, the wild prophet of the desert be-
comes like a submissive and timid child.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 115.
** This Is My Son, My Beloved ! **
Theu comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be
baptized of him.
But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be
baptized of thee, and comest tliou to me?
THP: voice, the baptism, the temptation 119
But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it now : for thus it
becomes us to fulfil all righteousness.
Then he suffered him.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from
the water : and lo, the heavens were opened, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming uijou him ; and
lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying. This is my Sou, my be-
loved, in whom I am well pleased.
3Iaithew iii, 13-17. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
The Son of Elisabeth and the Son of Mary
They went down together, the son of Elisabeth and the son of
Mary, John and Jesus, into the old river Jordan, that neither
hastened nor slackened its current at their coming ; for the
Messianic sign was not to be from the waters beneath, but from
the heavens above.
Hitherto the Jordan had been sacred to the patriotic Jew from
its intimate connection with many of the most remarkable events
in the historj^ of the commonwealth and of the kingdom. An-
other Jesus [Joshua] had once conveyed the people from their
wanderings across this river dry shod. The Jordan had separated
David and his pursuers when the king fled from his usurping sou.
Elijah smote it to let him and Elisha go over, and ere long Elisha
returned alone. The Jordan was a long silvery thread, on which
were strung national memories through many hundred years.
But all these histories were outshone by the new occurrence. lu
all Christendom to-day the Jordan means Christ's baptism.
Profoundly significant as was this event, the first outward step
by which Jesus entered upon his ministry, it was followed by an-
other still more striking and far more important. Jesus ascended
from the Jordan looking up and praying. As he gazed, the sky
was cleft open, and a beam of light flashed forth, and, alighting
upon him, seemed in bodily shape like a dove. Instantly a voice
spake from out of heaven, "This is my beloved Sou, in whom I
am well pleased."
The Life of Jesus the Christ, Henry Ward Beecher, Vol. I, p. 105.
His Perfect Manhood Forbids Doubt
John resisted no longer, and leading Jesus into the stream, the
rite was performed. Can we question that such an act was a
120 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
crisis in the life of our Lord ? His perfect manhood, like that
of other men, in all things, except sin, forbids our doubting it.
Holy and pure before sinking under the waters, He must yet
have risen from them with the light of a higher glory in His
countenance.
His past life was closed ; a new era had opened. Hitherto the
humble villager, veiled from the world. He was henceforth the
Messiah, openly working amongst men. It was the true moment
of His entrance on a new life. Past years had been buried in
the waters of Jordan. He entered them as Jesus, the Son of
Man ; He rose from them, the Christ of God.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cnnningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 392.
"The Carpenter of Nazareth ! **
All the people were hushed in silence as the young man turned
to come out of the water. Were they now to behold their
Messiah %
The Galileans were dumb with amazement.
It was the carpenter of Nazareth !
Certain at last that he could become the Deliverer toward whom
the centuries were pointing, Jesus had come among his people to
give his whole life to his Father's work.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 64.
'*Get Thee Hence, Satan!*'
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan,
was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness during forty days,
being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those
days : and when they were completed, he hungered.
And the devil said to him. If thou art the Son of God, com-
mand this stone that it become a loaf. And Jesus answered him,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. And he led
him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth
in a moment of time.
And the devil said to him, To thee will I give all this author-
ity, and the glory of them : for it hath been delivered to me ; and
to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship
before me, it shall all be thine.
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION 121
Aud Jesus auswerod aud said to him, It is writteD, Thou sbalt
worship the Lord thy God, aud him only shalt thou serve.
Aud he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the wiug of the
temple, aud said to him, If thou art the Sou of God, cast thyself
down from hence : for it is written,
He shall give his augels charge couceruiog thee, to guard thee :
Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.
And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, Thou shalt not try
the Lord thy God.
Luke iv, 1-12. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Then said Jesus to him, Get thee hence, Satan : for it is written.
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve. Then the devil leaves him ; and behold, augels came aud
miuistered to him.
Matthew iv. 10, 11. Revised Version, etc.
After the Opened Heavens, Hell "Was Opened
The opeuiug word of this paragraph links it to that im-
mediately precediug. "Then," after the opened heavens, hell
was opened. The King must not only be in perfect harmony
with the order and beauty and intention of the heavens. He
must face all the disorder and ugliness and intention of the abyss.
Goodness at its highest He knows, and is. Evil at its lowest He
must face, aud overcome. And so in the wilderness He is seen
standing as humauity's representative between the two, respond-
ing to the one aud refusing the other.
The Analyzed Bible, Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., Tlie Gospel Ac-
cording to Matthew, p. 45.
By Divine Compulsion
Intrusting Himself to . divine compulsion the Lord went up
into the desert. By this name all the traditions understand a
certain hill to the west of Jericho, which now bears the name of
the Fortieth (Quarantine), in memory of the fasting of Jesus,
rising above the Fountain of Eliseus [Elisha], its sides all honey-
combed with caves. Loug ago, whole communities of hermits
dwelt there, anxious to lead their solitary life in imitation of
their Eedeemer, in the very spot where He consecrated, by His
example, the way of abstinence and prayer.
122 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
But no monastic discipline ever equaled in austerity the
penance done by Jesus ; for it was in the midst of winter that He
buried Himself in that retreat — at a time when the wilderness is
more desolate than ever,— the very skies are pitiless, and the
trees are bare of fruit, and stripped of their leafy screens. Here
He abode in an entire solitude, "alone with the wild beasts,"
surrounded by lions and leopards, which lurk in the thickets of
the Jordan, amid the jackals whose mournful howling is still
heard aloug the mountains. And they harmed Him not ; for the
creatures are but armed against a sinful race, and the holiness
of Jesus held absolute sway over their savage natures.
The Christ the Son of God, Abbe Constant Fouard. Vol. I, p. 120.
Laughter as of Fiends among the Caverned Rocks
The vision which allures the eye in Nazareth is of the tall
Workman, making ox-yokes in contented labor, the Son on whose
arm the widowed mother leans, on whose knees the little children
climb. The most familiar path of Nature He has trod is the
stony track leading to the wide plateau above the little town,
from which He has seen at sunset Carmel flushed with rose, and
the Jordan valley deep in purple shadow, and far away to north-
ward the azure of the sea. And now, all at once. He is confronted
with a new Nature, which seems no more benevolent and joyous,
but evil and malignant. These scarred and frowning rocks, this
bloomless waste, this gloomy illimitable plain, compose a fitting
theatre for diabolic energies.
Night falls upon the scene, and the darkness overwhelms the
spirit. The cry of the wind or of the wild beast thrills the
nerves. The silence is itself a horror. The stars alone shine
fiimiliar ; elsewhere there is neither sight nor sound that is not
fearful and detestable. Hunger gives a new sharpness to all
mental and physical sensations. Stirrings of the air, scarce
noticeable by the normal sense, fall upon the spirit like a blow.
There are buffeting hands that leap from the mantle of the dark-
ness, and the laughter as of fiends among the caverned rocks.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 50.
**He Did Eat Nothing''
And He was in the wilderness forty days. The number occurs
again and again in Scrii)ture, and always in connection with the
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION 123
facts of temptation or retribution. It is clearly a sacred and
representative number, and independently of other associations,
it was for forty days that Moses had stayed on Sinai, and Elijah
in the wilderness.
In moments of intense excitement and overwhelmiug thought
the ordinary needs of the body seem to be modified, or even for
a time superseded ; and unless we are to understand St. Luke's
words, "he did eat nothing," as being absolutely literal, we
might suppose that Jesus found all that was necessary for His
bare sustenance in such scant fruits as the desert might afford ;
but however that may be — and it is a question of little impor-
tance— at the end of the time He hungered.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 121.
The Three Temptations
Both St. Matthew and St. Luke give a detailed account of the
Temptation ; St. Mark contents himself with a single sentence,
and St. Johu passes over it altogether. Obviously what Jesus
endured in those forty days and nights must have been related by
His own lips, for there was no spectator of His struggles. Be-
neath the highly pictorial account afforded us by the Evangelists
there is a firmly outlined ethical basis. The first temptation is a
temptation of the tiesh, but entirely free from the grossuess which
in mediaeval history disfigures such temptations. It is the natural
and relatively innocent temi3tation to break the vow of abstinence
by creating bread to satisfy the fleshly hunger. Christ's reply is
remarkable as an assertion of the right of the spirit to control the
body : "Man liveth not by bread alone but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God" — a familiar quotation, from
the writings of Moses.
The second temptation, taking the order of St. Matthew, which
here differs from that observed by St. Luke, is a temptation to
the selfish use of miraculous power or the abuse of faith. God
has promised that the angels shall have charge -over the man who
trusteth in Him ; why not put the promise to the test by the
suicidal folly of leaping from a pinnacle of the Temple ? There
is something at once childish and cynical in this suggestion, un-
less indeed it be meant to imply that derangement of reason
which struggles with the gloomy horror of suicide. The reply
124 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
of Christ again breathes the spirit of a temperate wisdom : "Thou
Shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
The third temptation is more intelligible ; it is to snatch at
power by the sacrifice of conscience. The kingdoms of the world
may be gained by obeisance to the Spirit of Evil. This is the
familiar temptation of a Faustus, immortalized in the great drama
of Marlowe and in the greater poem of Goethe. But it is a seduc-
tion that has no potency for the pious idealist. "Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve," is
the reply of Christ. The story concludes with the striking saying
that after the third temptation the devil left Him, and angels
came and ministered unto Him.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 52.
Meeting His Proposals by Fitting Answers
I praise and highly exalt Thee for ever, for Thy mighty con-
flict with the devil ; for the many vexations of tlie wicked
tempter ; for the scorn of all his evil suggestious ; for meeting
his proposals by fittiug answers taken from the Word of God ;
and for the glorious victory over the three great vices, achieved
by Thee ; to the perpetual confusion of Satan, and the strength-
ening of our infirmity.
Meditations on the Life of Christ, Thomas a Kempis, p, 42.
Satan Invisible, as When He Tempts Us
It is not necessary to suppose an outward and bodily pres-
ence of the arch-enemy. He is never spoken of as visible, except
when Jesus saw him fall, as lightning, from heaven. He is in-
visible when he tempts us, which we know he does, for he de-
ceives the whole world, and there is no need to suppose that he
was present otherwise with our Lord, than by raising suggestions
in His sinless mind. To act upon the thoughts may have been
the mode of Satan's attack, with Christ as with ourselves.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuiugbam Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 420.
Christ's Temptation as Unique as Christ's Character
The story of Christ's temptation is as unique as Christ's char-
acter. It is such a temptation as was never experienced by any
one else, yet just such a temptation as Christ, and Christ in those
Cornicelius
THE UNSEEN TEMPTER
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION 125
peculiar circumstauces, might be expected to experience. And
further, this appropriateness of all the circumstances hardly
seems to bo perceived by the Evangelists themselves who narrate
them. Their narrative is not like a poem, though it aflbrds the
materials for a poem ; it is rather a dry chronicle.
Ecee Homo : A Survey of the Life and Woik of Jesvs Christ, John R,
Seeley, p. 17.
Was He Capable of Sinning ?
The question as to whether Christ was or was not capahle of sin
— to express it in the language of that scholastic and theological
region in which it originated, the question as to the [ability or
inability to sin] of His human nature — is one which would never
occur to a simple and reverent mind. We believe and know that
our blessed Lord was sinless — the Lamb of God, without blemish,
and without spot. What can be the possible edification or ad-
vantage in the discussion as to whether this sinlessness sprang
from [the power not to sin or without power to sin] % Some, in
a zeal at once intemperate and ignorant, have claimed for Him
not only an actual sinlessness, but a nature to which sin was
divinely and miraculously impossible. What then ? If His
great conflict were a mere deceptive [medley of shadows] how
can the narrative of it profit us? If we have to fight the battle
clad in that armor of human free-will which has been hacked and
riven about the bosom of our fathers by so many a cruel blow,
what comfort is it to us if our great Captain fought not only
victoriously, but without real danger ; not only uninjured, but
without even a possibility of wound? Where is the warrior's
courage, if he knows that for him there is but the semblance of a
battle against the [unreal likeness] of a foe ? Are we not thus,
under an appearance of devotion, robbed of One who, ' ' though
He were a son, yet learned obedience by the things which He
suffered ? "
The Life of Christ, Frederic W, Farrar, D. D., F. R, S., Vol. I, p. 123.
The Instant Choice
Through life, as in the wilderness, His choice was instinctive
and instantaneous, between God and sin. Good and evil were, to
Him, light and darkness, and it was vain to tempt Him, even to
126 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
approach the cloudy, doubtful, dividiug liue. The desert had
served its purpose. The crisis had jjassed. Yielding Himself
iuto the hauds of God, it was exchanged for the joys of augel
miuistratiou.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 426.
Never Deviated a HairVBreadth
Although the tempter only dejiarted from Jesus for a season,
this was a decisive struggle ; he was thoroughly beaten back, and
his power broken at its heart. Milton has indicated this by
finishing his Paradise Regained at this point. Jesus emerged
from the wilderness with the plan of His life, which, no doubt,
had been formed long before, hardened in the fire of trial.
Nothing is more conspicuous in His after-life than the resolu-
tion with which He carried it out. Other men, even those who
have accomplished the greatest tasks, have sometimes had no
definite plan, but only seen by degrees in the evolution of circum-
stances the path to pursue ; their purposes have beeu modified
by events and the advice of others.
But Jesus started with His plan j)erfected, and never deviated
from it by a hair's-breadth. He resented the interference of His
mother or His chief disciple with it as steadfastly as He bore it
through the fiery opposition of open enemies. And His plan was
to establish the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, and
rely not on the weapons of political and material strength, but
only on the power of love and the force of truth.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Eev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 47.
The Desert Marked the Parting of the Ways for Jesos and John
It is significant that His intimacy with John ajjpears to have
terminated with the temptation. He did not return to John, nor
does He seek further instruction from him ; the Pupil has al-
ready surpassed His master. His friendship, His reverence, His
sense of obligation to John remained, but the desert marked the
parting of the ways. John's scheme of life had many virtues,
but it was incapable of general imitation. It was an abnormal
life, and the real redemption of men must be wrought through
the normal, not the abnormal. The conception of the prophet as
iuviucibly austere, notwithstanding the general tradition and
THE VOICE, THE BAPTISM, THE TEMPTATION 127
acceplauce, was radically wroug. Asceticism, in so far as it im-
posed a general rule of life, was both injurious and insulting to
human nature.
The true bent of Christ's nature once more asserted itself, and
the pressure of John's example ceased to be effective. To tread
the dusty pathways of the commonplace in a lofty spirit of duty ;
to seek comradeship with ordinary men and women ; to be free,
familiar, kind in social intercourse ; to accej)t life as in itself good
and capable of being better ; to live as a man with men — this was
to helj) the world after a fashion much superior to John's.
Jesus had been right after all in those simple and profoundly
human conceptions of life, on which thirty years of lowly toil at
Nazareth had set their seal. John came fasting ; it was the dis-
tinguishing mark of his austerity ; Jesus and His disciples came
eating and drinking. John preached amid the deserts of Judea ;
Jesus henceforth turns His steps to the i)leasaut shores of Galilee.
John is a recluse ; Jesus is the Friend and Brother, easily ac-
cessible, eminently sociable. The break in practice is henceforth
comi^lete and irreparable. Asceticism had been tried and found
wanting ; it has never since been revived save to the injury of re-
ligion and the degradation of society.
The Life of Christ, Wilham J. Dawsou. p. 55.
IX
THE YOUXG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING
The conscious water saw its God, aud blushed.
— CrasJuuv.
** Behold the Lamb of God ! "
On the morrow be sees Jesus coming unto him, and says, Be-
hold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world !
This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is be-
come before me : for he was first in regard to me.
And I knew him not ; but that he should be made manifest to
Israel, for this cause came I baptizing iu water.
And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit de-
scending as a dove out of heaven ; aud it abode upon him.
Aud I knew him not : but he that sent me to baptize in water,
he said to me. Upon whomever thou shalt see the Spirit descend-
ing, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizes iu the
Holy Spirit.
Aud I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son
of God.
John i, 29-34, Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
That Figure Once More Appeared in View
As we picture it to ourselves : iu the early morning of that
Sabbath John stood with the two of his disciples who most shared
his thoughts and feelings. One of them we know to have been
Andrew ; the other, unnamed oue, could have been no other than
John himself, the beloved disciple. They had heard what their
teacher had, on the previous day, said of Jesus. But then He
seemed to them but as a passing figure. To hear more of Him,
as well as in deepest sympathy, these two had gathered to their
teacher on that Sabbath morning, while the other disciples of
John were probably engaged with that, and with those, which
formed the surroundings of an ordinary Jewish Sabbath. And
now that Figure once more appeared in view. None with the
128
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 129
Baptist but these two. He is not teaching now, but learning, as
the intensity and penetration of his gaze calls from him the new
worshij)ful repetition of what, on the previous day, he had ex-
plained and enforced.
There was no leave-taking on the part of these two — perhaps
they meant not to leave John. Only an irresistible impulse, a
heavenly iustiuct, bade them follow His steps. It needed no
direction of John, no call from Jesus. But as they went in
modest silence, in the dawn of their rising faith, scarce conscious
of the loliat and the loliy^ He turned Him. It was not because He
discerned it not, but just because He knew the real goal of their
yet unconscious search, and would bring them to know what they
sought, that He put to them the question, "What seek ye?"
which elicited a reply so simple, so real, as to carry its own evi-
dence. He is still to them the Eabbi — the most honoured title
they can find — yet marking still the strictly Jewish view, as well
as their own standpoint of '■'■What seek ye?" They wish, yet
scarcely dare, to say what was their object, and only put it in a
form most modest, suggestive rather than expressive. There is
strict correspondence to their view in the words of Jesus. Their
very Hebraism of "Rabbi" is met by the equally Hebraic
"Come and see';" their unspoken, but half-conscious longing by
what the invitation implied (according to the most probable
reading " Come and ye shall see").
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 345.
** Behold What Manner of Man !"
It may be interesting to add to these older ideals that of a
writer of the present day. ' ' Our eyes were restlessly attracted
to Him," says Delitzsch, in one of his beautiful stories, "for He
was the centre of the group. He was not in soft clothing of
byssus and silk, like the courtiers of Tiberias or Jerusalem, nor
did He wear long trailing robes, like some of the Pharisees. On
His head was a white keffiyeh — a square of linen doubled so that
a corner fell down on each shoulder, and on the back ; a fillet
. . . round the head, keeping it in place. On His body He
wore a tunic, which reached to His wrists and to His feet, and
over this a blue tallith, with the prescribed tassels, of blue and
130 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
white, at the four corners, Lung clown so that the under garment,
which was grey, striped with red, was little seen. His feet shod
with sandals, not shoes, were only visible now and then, as He
walked or moved.
" He was a man of middle size, with youthful beauty, still,
in His face and form. The purity and charm of early manhood
blended in His countenance with the ripeness of mature years.
His complexion was fairer than that of those around Him, for
they had more of the bronze color of their nation. He seemed,
indeed, even pale, under the white sudar, for the ruddy glow of
health, usual at His years, was wanting. The type of His features
was hardly Jewish, but rather as if that and the Greek types
blended into a perfect beauty, which, while it awakened rever-
ence, filled the heart, still more, with love. His eyes looked on
you with light which seemed broken and softened, as if by pass-
ing through tears. He stooped a little, and seemed communing
with His own thoughts, and when He moved there was no affecta-
tion as with some of the rabbis, but a natural dignity and grace,
like one who feels himself a king though dressed in lowly robes."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 432.
Description Attributed to Lentulus the Proconsul
In the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Ciiesar, Publius Lentulus,
Eoman Procurator in Judea, addressed the following letter to the
Boman Senate :
" Conscript Fathers :
" There has appeared in these days, a man of extraordinary
virtue, named Jesus Christ, who is yet living among us, and is
accepted by the people generally as a prophet, but is by some
called the Son of God. He raises the dead, and cures all manner
of diseases. He is a man tall and comely of stature, with a very
reverend countenance, such as the beholders look upon with love
and fear. His hair is of a chestnut colour, and is plain down to
his ears ; but from thence downward is more orient of colour,
waving about his shoulders. In the middle of his head there is
a seam or parting of his hair, after the manner of the Nazarites.
His forehead is very plain and smooth ; his fece without a spot
or wrinkle, beautified with a comely red. His mouth and nose
are so formed that no tiiult can be found with them. His beard,
somewhat thick, is of the colour of his hair, not of great length,
but forked in the middle. His look is gentle and inoffensive ;
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 131
his eyes blue, clear, aud quick. lu reproviug be is severe ; in
admonishing, gentle and courteous. His speech is pleasant, but
mixed with gravity. It cannot be remembered that any have
seen him laugh, but many have observed him to weep. In the
proportions of his body he is well shaped, aud is a man of singular
beauty surpassing the rest of mankind."
The Life and Mission of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, N. C. Brooks,
Ph. D., LL. D., L. H. D., p. 3.
*' Most Beautiful to Behold ! **
'^He was most beautiful to behold ! His height reached fully
seven spans, his hair was light and somewhat waving, but his
eyebrows were black aud arched, his eyes bright and piercing,
his nose prominent, his beard yellow aud not very long. The
hair of his head was long, for never had razor come upon it,
neither the hand of man passed over it, excepting indeed the
hand of his mother whilst still a little child. His figure was
slightly bent, not quite erect. His color was as the ripened
wheat, his face, like that of his mother, was not round but oval,
not very ruddy, and expressive of gentleness and meekness,
dignity and understanding. He was the exact similitude of his
pure aud stainless mother."
It is Jesus who is described by Nicephorus Callisti, who, writ-
ing in the fourteenth century, relied, no doubt, for the par-
ticulars of this description, on the testimony of ancient writers.
Oould we ask him the names of his authorities, he would most
likely cite John the Damascene, who flourished in the eighth
century ; and, could we pursue our inquiries to this source, the
latter would probably be honest enough to coufess, " This portrait
is but a worthless aud fauciful product of the imagination." For,
though in coins, busts, and statues, we have contemporary like-
nesses of the Eoman emperors, from Augustus and Tiberius
downwards ; though ou the walls of the Egyptian temple of
Karnak, the contemporary of Rehoboam, the sou of Solomon, is
even yet to be seen ; and though the palace walls of Korsabad
aud Koyunjik still glow with contemporary representations of
king Sargon in his war chariot, and king Sennacherib on his
throne, yet, so far are we from possessing even a tradition, still
less a description, of the outward appearance of Jesus, that before
aud after the days of Constantiue, opinion in the Church was
132 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
divided, as to whether we ought to picture him to ourselves,
duriug the time that he walked amongst men, as having been un-
distinguished in appearance, or of ideal beauty ; whilst, in sup-
port of both these views, reliance must be placed, not on old
traditions, but on passages from the Old Testament.
A Critical Comparison between Jesiis and Hillel, Dr. Franz Delitzsch, Jewish
Artisan Life, p. 125.
Andrew Tells His Own Brother Simon
Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his dis-
ciples ; and as he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and said. Be-
hold the Lamb of God !
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus. And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said
to them. What do you seek ?
And they said to him, Rabbi (which is to say, being inter-
preted, Teacher), where abidest thou ?
He said to them. Come, and you shall see.
They came therefore and saw where he abode ; and they stayed
with him that day : it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He finds first his own brother
Simon, and said unto him, We have found the Messiah (which
is, being interpreted. Anointed). He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked upon him, and said. Thou art Simon the son of
John : thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation,
Rock).
John i. 35-42. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
The First Sunday Morning of Christ's Mission Work
It was Sunday morning, the first of Christ's mission work, the
first of His preaching. He was purposing to return to Galilee.
It was fitting He should do so : for the sake of His new disciples ;
for what He was to do in Galilee ; for His own sake. The first
Jerusalem visit must be prepared for by them all ; and He would
not go there till the right time — for the paschal feast. It was
probably a distance of about twenty miles from Bethabara to
Cana.
By the way, two other disciples were to be gained — not brought,
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 133
but called, where, aud iu what precise circumstances, we know
not. But the notice that Philip was a fellow-townsman of Andrew
and Peter, seems to imply some instrumentality on their part.
Similarly, we gather that, afterwards, Philip was somewhat in
advance of the rest, when he found his acquaintance Nathanael,
and engaged iu conversation with him, as another characteristic
trait of John, that he, and his brother with him, seem to have
clung close to the person of Christ, just as did Mary, afterwards
in the house of her brother. It was this intense exclusiveness of
fellowship with Jesus which traced on his mind that fullest pic-
ture of the God-Man, which his narrative reflects.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 348.
Finding Philip and Nathanael
On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he
finds Philip : aud Jesus said to him, Follow me.
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew aud
Peter.
Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him. We have found him,
of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote, Jesus of
Nazareth, the sou of Joseph.
Aud Nathanael said to him. Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth ?
Philip said to him. Come aud see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile !
Nathanael said to him, Whence knowest thou me ?
Jesus answered and said to him. Before Philip called thee,
when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou
art King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said to him. Because I said to thee, I saw
thee underneath the fig-tree, believest thou ? thou shalt see
greater things than these.
And he said to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, You shall see
the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descend-
ing upon the Son of man.
John i. 43-51. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
134 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Change of Name with Change of Heart
Nathanael's name does not occur in the list of the apostles, but
it has been assumed from the earliest times that he was Bar-
tholomew, who is always named next to Philip. It was a
Jewish custom to change the name when a public profession of
religion was made. " Four things," says R Isaac, "have power
to change a man's destiny — alms, prayer, change of heart, and
change of name." We have instances of such change of name in
Simon, who is also indifferently mentioned as Peter, and as the
son of Jonas, and in Barnabas, whose proper name was Joses.
Nathanael may have been the personal name, while Bartholomew
was simply an allusion as the sou of Talmai.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 445.
" Symphony from the New World **
If Jesus presented the spectacle of a unique perfection, yet
after all the constituent elements of that perfection were elements
found in human nature itself. When a great musician like
Dvorak writes his "Symphony from the New World," he is not
ashamed to take familiar melodies, and even negro songs as the
basis of his music, but he uses them with such breadth and
mastery that they attain a dignity altogether unexpected. Even
so Christ used the common strings of human nature, but touched
them with a master's hand. Divine as was the music which fell
upon men's ears, yet there ran through it familiar notes, the
golden threads of common melody, old and sweet as human love,
and faith, and hope themselves. Thus men saw in Christ them-
selves, as they might be.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 143.
Going Home with the First Four Disciples
To begin His public career in a way so humble and unostenta-
tious, was in strict keeping with the work and character of Christ.
It was easier for Him to train a few, and gradually raise them to
the high standard required in His immediate followers. That
His first adherents were attracted only by religious considerations,
tended to guard against any seeking to join Him who were not
Wm. HoU
GOING TO CANA WITH HIS FIRST DISCIPLES
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 136
moved to do so by a true spiritual sympathy — itself the pledge of
their fitness for disciples.
To have drawn around Him great multitudes, by a display of
supernatural powers, would have destroyed all His plans, for He
could have found no such sympathy iu crowds thus gathered.
Having, therefore, begun with the lowly band of four, He turned
His thoughts once more towards home, and set out, with them,
next day to Galilee. A fifth disciple joined Him on the home-
ward journey— Philip, a townsman of the others. Nothing is
told of the circumstances, though there can be no doubt that he
had heard of Jesus, either from the Baptist, to whom, like the
others, he seems to have gone out ; or from the four, as they
traveled with him on his own return. The simple words ''Fol-
low me," so often uttered afterwards, were enough to add him
to the little company.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 442.
Invited to a Wedding
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee ;
and the mother of Jesus was there : and Jesus also was invited,
and his disciples, to the marriage.
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him,
They have no wine.
And Jesus said to her. Woman, what have I to do with thee ?
my hour has not yet come.
His mother said to the servants. Whatever he says to you,
do it.
Now there were six waterpots of stone set there after the
Jews' manner of purifying, containing two or three firkins
apiece.
Jesus said to them. Fill the waterpots with water.
And they filled them up to the brim.
And he said to them. Draw out now, and bear to the steward
of the feast.
And they carried it.
And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water that it had
become wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants that
had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the
bridegroom, and said to him, Every man sets on first the good
136 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
wine J and when men have drunk freely, then that which is
worse ; thou hast kept the good wine until now.
This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and
manifested his glory ; and his disciples believed on him.
John ii. 1-11. Kevised, using Margiuals, etc.
Marriage Customs
The bridegroom and bride both fasted all day before the mar-
riage, and confessed their sins in prayer, as on the Day of
Atonement. "When the bride reached the house of her future
husband's father, in which the wedding was celebrated, the
bridegroom received her, still veiled, and conducted her within,
with great rejoicings. Indeed, he generally set out from his
father's house in the evenings to meet her, with flute-players or
singers before him ; his groomsmen, and others, with flaring
torches or lamps, escorting him amidst loud rejoicing, which rose
still higher as he led her back. Neighbours througed into the
streets. Flutes and drums and shrill cries filled the air, and the
procession was swelled as it passed on, by a train of maidens,
friends of the bride and bridegroom, who had been waiting for
it. The Talmud has preserved a snatch of one of the songs sung
by the bridesmaids and girls as they danced before the bride, on
the way to the bridegroom's house. In a free translation it runs
something like this :
' ' Her eyelids are not stained with blue,
Her red cheeks are her own ;
Her hair hangs waving as it grew,
Her grace were wealth, alone ! "
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 448.
What Gjst Him So Dear to Deny
In order to show Mary that He had ceased to belong to her (yet
only that He might be entirely at the will of His Heavenly Fa-
ther), Jesus refused to pay heed directly to her.
"Woman," He said to her, "what matters it to you and to
Me ? My hour has not yet come."
This answer, which sounds so harshly to our ears, has not the
same meaning in the Aramean tongue. It is in frequent use
THE YOUNG EABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 137
among sacred writers, sometimes to denote a lively objection,
sometimes only a simple dissent ; both, however, were in perfect
consonance with the forms of highest courtesy. As for the title
"Woman," that was, indeed, a term of respect. In making use
of it, Jesus rendered filial homage to her, whom He loved beyond
all other creatures, and whose prayer it must cost Him so dear to
deny.
And, furthermore, we must needs supply to this bare refusal
some words which John Evangelist either did not hear, or at least
omitted to rei)ort ; for we see in the sequel that the response of
the Saviour, far from disheartening Mary, gave her yet fuller
assurance.
On the instant she gave orders to the servants to hold them-
selves in readiness at His word : " Anything that He may say to
you, do it. "
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 144.
** Woman, What Have I to Do with Thee?*'
The words at first sound harsh, and almost repellent in their
roughness and brevity ; but that is the fault partly of our version,
partly of our associations. He does not call her "mother," be-
cause, in circumstances such as these, she was His mother no
longer ; but the address " Woman " was so respectful that it might
be, and was, addressed to the queen] iest ; and so gentle that it
might be, and was, addressed at the tenderest moments to the
most fondly loved. And "what have I to do with thee?" is a
literal version of a common Aramaic phrase which, while it sets
aside a suggestion and waives all further discussion of it, is yet
perfectly consistent with the most delicate courtesy, and the most
feeling consideration.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 165.
In a Few Words All Was Disclosed
The master of the festal board called to the bridegroom :
"Every man," said he, "serves the good wine first, and when
some one has over-drunk, then he serves up what is not so good.
But you — why, you have kept the best until this hour ! "
This bantering allusion to drinkers who dull the edge of their
taste by overmuch indulgence, — the familiar hint anent the
138 THE STORY-LIFE OP THE SON OF MAN
usual excesses at other wedding banquets, where there is not (just
as here there was) permeating the feeling of all a sense of some
divine influence present amongst them, — all this shows that the
supposition arrived at by the master of the entertainment was
that the young host had wished to surprise the comijany agreeably.
But at once, to his amazement, the latter was made aware that a
wondrous deed had been accomplished. His eyes turned to the
servers, to Mary. Then in a few words all was disclosed. Jesus
had performed His first miracle.
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 146.
** Crowd Eternity into an Howr**
There are moments when the grace of God stirs sensibly in the
human heart ; when the soul seems to rise upon the eagle-wings
of hope and prayer into the heaven of heavens ; when caught up,
as it were, into God's very presence, we see and hear things un-
speakable. At such moments we live a lifetime ; for emotions
such as these annihilate all time ; they —
" Crowd Eternity into an hour,
Or stretch an hour into Eternity."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D, D., F. K. S., Vol. I, p. 156.
Alike Only in Name
It does not follow, however, from these facts, that by his ex-
ample or his silence Christ encourages the drinking customs of
modern society, or the manufacture and sale of modern alcoholic
liquors. To argue the temperance question is not within our
province in these pages, yet two facts are to be borne in mind in
considering the meaning of Christ's example. And that example
it is our province to elucidate.
In the first place, it is to be remembered that the wines of
Palestine and those in ordinary use in America are alike only in
name. Of the former there were three kinds. First, there was
fermented wine. It contained what is the only objectionable
element in modern wines, a percentage of alcohol. It was the
least common, and the percentage of alcohol was small. Distilled
liquors were almost, if not utterly unknown. Second were the
new wines. These, like our new cider, were wholly without
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 139
alcohol, and were not intoxicating. They were easily preserved
in this condition for several mouths. Third were wines in which,
by boiling or by drugs, the process of fermentation was prevented
and alcohol excluded. These, answering somewhat in composi-
tion and character to our raspberry shrub, were mixed with water,
and constituted the most common drink of the land.
Jeaus of Nazareth, Lymau Abbott, p. 108.
A "Week of Music and Dancing
Meanwhile, the family rejoicings went on apace. The feast
was provided at the cost of the bridegroom, and continued,
usually for seven days, with the greatest mirth. The bride-
groom wore a crown, often of flowers — the crown with which, in
the Song of Solomon, it is said, "his mother crowned him in
the day of his espousals, in the day of the gladness of his heart,"
— and sat, "decked, like a priest, in his ornaments ; " the bride
sitting apart among the women, "adorned with her jewels."
Singing, music, and dancing, merry riddles, and the play of wit,
amused the house, night after night, while the feast was pro-
longed, and it was only after it had worn itself out, that life
settled down again into colourless monotony.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 449.
The Central Figure of the Feast
We may be sure that from that moment neither bride nor
bridegroom was the central figure of the feast ; all eyes were
fixed on Jesus. Throughout His ministry it was the same ; into
whatever company He entered, He became the observed of all
observers, and was accounted first and greatest.
In the early dawn the feast ended, and the guests separated.
What thoughts were theirs, as they passed in little groups up the
familiar hill-paths to their homes ! How would they stop from
time to time ; discuss and argue anew the strange happenings
of the night ; suggest probabilities and explanations that led to
nothing, all the while quivering with a joyous fear, half glad and
half reluctant to be released from the spell of a personality so
supreme, more than half convinced that this was indeed the long-
desired Messiah. They would circulate the strange story far and
wide. By nightfall the whole countryside reverberated with the
140 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
rumor. Curious pilgrims poured into Cana, eager to see One of
whom such marvelous things were told. But soon after dawn
Jesus had departed too, traveling northward to Capernaum, and
taking with Him the nucleus of His kingdom, His mother and
His disciples, who had seen His glory for the first time in Cana,
and henceforth followed Him to death — and beyond death.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 69.
They All Visit Capernaum
After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother,
and his brethren, and his disciples : and they continued there
not many days.
John ii. 12. Authorised Version.
Young, Gracious, Fascinating
The return of Jesus from Cana to Capernaum was probably a
kind of triumph. Young, gracious, fascinating, He had by a
single act endeared Himself to a multitude of humble people.
The rapid growth of His popularity is easily explainable when
we recollect the crowded condition of Galilee, and the extra-
ordinary swiftness with which rumour travels among Oriental
peoples in times of excitement. Residents in India have often
told us marvelous stories of how the telegraph itself has been
outstripped by the speed of popular rumour." Things which the
authorities have treated as profoundly secret are openly dis-
cussed in bazaars and marketplaces a thousand miles away. The
whisper of the statesman's closet vibrates through an empire. It
would seem that a kind of freemasonry, the methods of which
are never known to persons in authority, exists amoug these
subtle- witted and silent populations of the East, and by its means
news is spread as by the birds of the air.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson , p. 82.
The Eternal Is Not the Future, but the Unseen
At this earliest dawn of His public entrance upon His ministry,
our Lord's first stay in Capernaum was not many days; yet
these days would be a type of all the remaining life. He would
preach in a Jewish synagogue built by a Roman centurion, and
His works of love would become known to men of many nation-
THE YOUNG RABBI ATTENDS A WEDDING 141
alities. It would be clear to all that the new Prophet who had
arisen was wholly unlike His great forerunner. The hairy
mantle, the ascetic seclusion, the unshorn locks, would have
been impossible and out of place among the inhabitants of those
crowded and busy shores.
Christ came not to revolutionise but to ennoble and to sanctify.
He came to reveal that the Eternal was not the Future, but only
the Unseen ; that Eternity was no ocean whither men were being
swept by the river of Time, but was around them now, and that
their lives were only real in so far as they felt its reality and its
presence. He came to teach that God was no dim abstraction,
infinitely separated from them in the far-off blue, but that He
was the Father in whom they lived, and moved, and had their
being ; and that the service which He loved was not ritual and
sacrifice, . . . but mercy and justice, humility and love.
He came not to hush the natural music of men's lives, nor to
fill it with storm and agitation, but to re-tune every silver chord
in that " harp of a thousand strings," and to make it echo with
the harmonies of heaven.
> The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 180.
TO JEEUSALEM AND BACK
'Tis heaven alone that is given away,
'Tis only God may be had for the asking.
— Lowell,
Graft in the Temple
A LOWLY worshiper, poor but with devotion still aflame within
him, would come up to the capital at the festival season, and
would buy an animal for sacrifice in the public markets of the
city where, because of the healthy competition, prices were
normal. When he brought this animal to the Temple, however,
the priest officials would proceed solemnly to inspect it ; and
then, with sorrowful countenance, would announce to the trem-
bling worshiper that, however sound it might appear to the un-
practised eye, the animal was ceremonially uusouud. Thereupon
the man was compelled to buy an animal of one of the traders in
the Temple. This trader exacted a " ceremouially " advanced
price, because the Temple walls shut out competition from the
outside ; and the trader and the priest would divide the profits.
We can well believe that the price of stalls in this Temple
bazaar had been splendidly advanced by the monopoly privileges
thus conferred. Moreover the Temple tax was payable in the
Temple currency only, by reason of that old statute of Israel
which declared that no coin bearing the image of an earthly em-
peror could be recognized as legitimate. This provided work for
another class of traders, the "money-changers," whereby a further
extortion was practised upon the poor.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 159.
Cornering the Market of Sacrifices
The Sadducees, who were mainly priests, or of priestly descent,
maintained that all beasts required for sacrifice should be obtained
142
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 143
directly from the priest ; the Pharisees, in this controversy for
ouce upon the side of the people, maintained that all animals for
sacrifice or offering should be bought in the open market, at the
current market price. This controversy grew in time into a
bitter trade dispute. Each side made strenuous attempts to
" corner the market," as we should put it. An instance is pre-
served of a pair of pigeons being run up to no less figure than
fifteen shillings, and before night being brought down to four-
pence. But all eiforts to defeat the Sadducees collapsed. It was
of the first importance that any offering brought to the Temple
should be free from blemish, and the priest and his assistant
were the only persons qualified to decide on such a question.
It is obvious that such power was open to gross abuse. A
poor countryman was very likely to find that the animal he had
bought in the open market was rejected by the Temple inspector.
Rather than incur this peril and disgrace he went to the market
of the priests, and bought a certified animal at a much higher
than the market rate. Thus it came to pass that, partly for
convenience, partly as a valuable impetus to trade, cattle mar-
kets came to be held in the outer courts of the Temple itself.
These markets appear to have been the property of the high
priests. It is clear, tlieu, that a system of rapacity, not less
odious and unblushing than the Roman sale of indulgences,
which provoked the Reformation, existed in the Jewish Temple
itself, and the main effect of this system was not only the dese-
cration of the Temple, but the oppression of the poor, who were
tlie main sufferers and the victims.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 97.
Driving out Market Men and Brokers
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and
sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when
he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen ; and poured out the
changers' money, and overthrew the tables ; and said unto them
that sold doves.
Take these things hence ; make not my Father's house an
house of merchandise.
144 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Aud his disciiiles remembered that it was written, The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up.
John ii. 13-17. Authorised Version.
Burning with Noble Indignation
Filled with a righteous scorn at all this mean irreverence,
burning with irresistible and noble indignation, Jesus, on enter-
ing the Temple, made a scourge of the rushes that lay on the
floor ; and in order to cleanse the sacred court of its worst pollu-
tions, first drove out, indiscriminately, the sheej) and oxen and
the low crowd who tended them. Then going to the tables of the
money-changers. He overthrew them where they stood, upsetting
the carefully-arranged heaps of [the various kinds of coins] and
leaving the owners to grope aud hunt for their scattered money
on the polluted floor.
Even to those who sold doves He issued the mandate to depart,
less sternly indeed, because the dove was the offering for the
poor, and there was less desecration and foulness in the presence
there of those lovely emblems of innocence and purity ; nor could
He overturn the tables of the dove-sellers lest the birds should be
hurt in their cages ; but still, even to those who sold doves,
He . exclaimed, ''Take these things hence," justifying His
action to the whole terrified, injured, muttering, ignoble crowd
in no other words than the high rebuke,
'■^ Make not my Father'' s house a house of merchandise.^^
And His disciples, seeing this transport of inspiring and
glorious anger, recalled to mind what David had once written "to
the chief musician " . . for the service of that very Temple,
"The zeal of thine house shall even devour me."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. E. S., Vol. I, p. 187.
Gjnsteirnation in the Temple
The men fled before him as if they were fleeing from a storm-
wind. Not one of them dared to oppose him, and the priests were
more frightened than those who bought aud sold, for they were
really the guilty ones. They had allowed this disorder because
the merchants gave them a share of the profits. Eaising doves
and selling them was in the hands of Annas, the high priest, and
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 146
he had a large income from the business. No one knew what this
young Rabbi would say next, and both priests and merchants were
afraid that he knew their secret and would tell it.
Jesus dropped the whip of cords and stood in the court, watch-
ing the priests as they gathered in little groups and whispered
together. They did not dare to question him, but some of the
pilgrims and the people of the city who stood near were thinking,
" Only a prophet, or perhaps even the Christ, would dare to do
such a thing. "
The Christ Story, Eva March Tappan, p, 75.
** Show Us the Sign and Seal of Your Authority I **
Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest
thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things ?
Jesus answered and said unto them. Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up.
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in
building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
But he spake of the temple of his body.
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples re-
membered that he had said this unto them ; and they believed the
scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
John ii. 18-22. Authorised Version.
He Left Them to Think It Over
The teachers of religion were in session on the sunny porch
where Jesus as a boy, twenty years before, had asked them ques-
tions, when this startling news came to them. They should have
been delighted. They were simply dumbfounded. They sent a
committee at once to Jesus, who was still in the Temple.
" What sign can you show us, to prove that you have a right to
act in this way ? " they demanded sternly.
The people of the East are fond of puzzles. These wise men
liked to give puzzle-answers. Jesus remembered some of the
puzzles these same men had told him as a boy to bewilder him
when he was seeking the truth. So he gave them another, to
think upon.
146 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
•'Destroy this temple," he answered with a smile, pointing to
his own body, " and in three days I will raise it up."
'* But," stammered an old man who was looking about him at
the Temple — one of the wonders of the world — and had not noticed
the meaning of the gesture of Jesus, "But this Temple has been
fully forty-six years building (indeed it was still unfinished), and
how are you going to raise it up again in three days? "
Jesus left them to think it over.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbusb, p. 87.
When the First Shadow of the Cross Fell on Him
Thus it was in the Temple, where His first daring act of reform
was done, that the first shadow of the Cross fell upon Him : and
this scene casts a strong illumination on the drama of His death.
When the spirit of the market-place has entered the house of God
there is no measuring the nature of the disasters which maj'
ensue. They may even include utter hostility to truth, the per-
secution of the good, and in the end the murder of the just.
Events proved that Jesus was crucified, not because He declared
truth, but because He attacked privilege — a crime for which the
corrupt know no pardon.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawsou, p. 104.
Many Believed
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day,
many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he
did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he
knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man :
for he knew what was in man.
John ii. 23-25. Authorised Version.
All the People Hung upon His "Words
Jesus continued to teach each day in the Temple courts, but
the chief priests and teachers of the Law were eager to take his
life, and so also were the leading men. Yet they could not see
what to do, for the people all hung upon his words.
Luke xix. 47, 48. The Twentieth Century New Testament in 3Iodern English,
p. 149.
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 147
Nicodemus's Night Visit
There was, however, amoug the Pharisees, a man named Nico-
demus, one of the Judeau priuces. He came to Him during the
night, and said to Him :
" Eabbi, Ave know that You are a teacher come from God;
because no one could produce the proofs which You do unless
God were with him."
"Most assuredly I tell you,'' replied Jesus, " that unless any
one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
Nicodemus therefore asked :
" How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he be con-
ceived of his mother a second time and be born? "
"Most assuredly I tell you," replied Jesus, " that if a man is
not born from water and Spirit, he is unable to enter into the
Kingdom of God. That which is born from the flesh is flesh ;
and that which is born from the Spirit is spirit. Do not be sur-
prised that I told you, 'You must be born from above.' The
Spirit indeed, breathes where He pleases, and you hear His
voice ; but yet you neither see where He comes from, nor where
He goes : so it is with all born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus, answering Him, asked : " How can this be"? "
"Are you the teacher of Israel," remarked Jesus, in response
to him, "and yet unable to discern this? I tell you most cer-
tainly, that what we know, that we declare, and we witness to
what we have seen ; but you do not accept our evidence. If you
do not believe when I tell you about earthly matters, how can
you credit what I tell you relating to the heavenly ? No one has
ascended to the heaven, except the One who descended from
heaven — the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the desert, so it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up ;
so that all believing in Him may have eternal life."
For God so loved the world that He gave the only-begotten
Sou, so that every one believing in Him should not be lost, but
have eternal life. For God did not send His Son to the world
that He might condemn the world ; but that He might save the
world through Him. The believer in Him will not be con-
demned ; whoever does not trust, however, is already convicted,
because he has not confided on the only-begotten Son of God.
And the indictment is this : that the Light came into the world,
148 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
aud men loved the darkness rather than the Light, because their
practices were wicked. For every one who acts vilely, not only
hates the light, but shrinks from it, so that his doings may not
be detected. But he who does right comes to the fight, so that
his actions may be displayed because the origin of his conduct is
in God.
John iii. 1-21. TheNetv Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 3.
His Supposed Account of the Interview
(From an Imaginary Journal of Nicodemus)
I have miugled my own thoughts with this master's words ;
for as he spake, new thoughts I never had before rushed into my
mind. I seemed to behold a vision of the coming day of God,
which the prophets foretold, — the reign of peace and love on
earth ; aud my eyes were filled with tears as I answered, —
" Alas ! I am too old for such a change. How can a man as
old as I, so fixed in all my habits, ever come out of them 1 How
live in such new and strange thoughts as these ? They are too
high for me : I cannot attain to them. How can a man be born
when he is old *?"...
And he answered with a kind but serious tone, "Art thou a
master in Israel, and kuowest not these things?"
Then he asked me if I did not know how the breath of God in
the soul could change the hard heart aud stubborn will, and how
the prophet taught us to say, ' ' Create in me a clean heart, aud
renew a right spirit within me." Such changes of purpose and
intention had been produced by the preaching of the prophet of
the wilderness, the Baptizer. These were the rudiments of faith.
"How canst thou understand," said he, " all the higher wonders
of the kingdom, all its heavenly mysteries, if thou art so con-
fused by these things 1 "
Aud I saw, as he spoke, that his own soul is full of insights so
high, that there is, I suppose, no man on earth able to compre-
hend them. Aud I thought he must needs be the most lonely
man alive, since he can only talk with God of these things ; yet
who would not be willing to be so alone with God ? But, most
strange, this man does not go from the world to pray and medi-
tate, and commune with the Almighty, but spends his days in
the streets and wherever men are to be found. He seems to love
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 149
all men more, the more he loves God. He, though alone with
God, is always walking with man. Then I understood one of his
sayiugs, "No man hath gone up so high into heaven as he who
hath come down out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is
always in heaven."
Can this be THE CHRIST 1
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated ly Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 285.
Pharisees Alieady Jealows of Jesus
When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard
that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
(although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left
Judea, and departed again into Galilee.
John iv. 1-3. American Revision.
He Took: the Short Route through Samaria
And he must needs pass through Samaria. So he cometh to a
city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph : and Jacob's well was there. Jesus
therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well.
It was about the sixth hour.
John iv. 4-6. American Revision.
He Must Have Started in the Early Morning
The direct road to Galilee ran through the half-heathen country
of Samaria, and this Jesus resolved to take, though men of His
nation generally preferred the circuitous route by Perea, rather
than pass through the territory of a race they hated. It ran
north from Jerusalem, past Bethel, between the height of
Libona on the left hand, and of Shiloh on the right, entering
Samaria at the south end of the beautiful valley, which, further
north, stretches past the foot of Mounts Gerizim and Ebal. He
must have started in the early morning, to reach Sychar by noon,
and must have been near the boundary to have done so at all, in
the short morning of a winter's day. The road was proverbially
unsafe for Jewish passengers, either returning from Jerusalem or
going to it, for it passed through the border districts where the
feud of the two rival peoples raged most fiercely.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D,, Vol. I, p. 490.
150 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Story of Sychar
The capital of Samaria, Sicbem, called by the Jews derisively
Sychar, i. e., liar or druukard, is beautifully placed in a pass in
the mountains. Mount Ebal rises on the one side, Mount Gerizim
on the other. The verdure of the narrow valley which intervenes
is said to be unsurpassed in beauty by any in the Holy Land.
Historical reminiscences add to the attractiveness of a scene for
which nature has done so much. Here the Lord first appeared to
Abraham,. Here Jacob bought a piece of ground, and erected
to the Almighty his first altar. Hither he sent his sons to find
pasturage for their flocks, and here Joseph sought them, though
in vain. Here, complying with the command of Moses, Joshua,
gathering the people of Israel after the conquest of Canaan, re-
hearsed to them the law, reminded them of its blessings and its
curses, pointed to the mountains as everlasting reminders of both,
and built an altar of unhewn stone, covered with plaster and in-
scribed with the law ; then bade them farewell, and lay down to
die. And here, after their long pilgrimage in the wilderness was
ended, the Israelites brought the bones of Joseph, and buried
them in land that belonged to his father Jacob.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 127.
The Sacred Mount of the Samaritans
To the Samaritans, Gerizim was the most holy spot on earth.
It was their sacred mountain, and had been, as they believed, the
seat of Paradise, while all the streams that water the earth were
supposed to flow from it. Adam had been formed of its dust,
and had lived on it. The few Samaritans still surviving, show,
even at this day, the spot on which he built his first altar, and
that on which, afterwards, the altar of Seth, also, was raised.
They fancied that Gerizim was Ararat, fifteen cubits higher than
the next highest and next holiest mountain on earth — Mount
Ebal, and that it was the one pure and sacred spot in the world,
which, having risen above the waters of the flood, no corpse had
defiled.
Every Samaritan child of the neighbourhood could point out the
places on it where Noah came out from the ark, and where he
built his altar, and show the seven altar steps, on each of which
Noah offered a sacrifice. The altar on which Abraham bound
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 151
Isaac, and the spot where the ram was caught in the thicket,
were amongst its wonders. In the centre of the summit was the
broad stone on which Jacob rested his head when he saw the
mystic ladder, and, near it, the spot where Joshua built the first
altar in the land, after its conquest, and the twelve stones he set
ui), on the under side of which, they believed, the Law of Moses
had been written. On this sacred ground their Temple had
stood for two hundred years, till destroyed by the Jews a hundred
and twenty- nine years before Christ.
Towards Gerizim every Samaritan turned his face when he
prayed, and it was believed the Messiah would first appear on
its toj), to bring from their hiding-place in it the sacred vessels
of the Tabernacle of Moses. It was unspeakably sacred to the
nation, as the one spot on earth where man was nearest to his
Maker. The simple Samaritan woman, with whom Jesus talked,
had been trained up in the undoubting belief of all these legends,
and her very mention of Jerusalem, respectfully, as a place sacred
in the eyes of the Jew, showed a spirit ready to be taught.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 499.
Waiting in Weariness at the Well
It was the hour of noon, and weary as He was with the long
journey, possibly also with the extreme heat, our Lord sat " thus"
on the well. The expression in the original is most pathetically
picturesque. It implies that the Wayfarer was quite tired out,
and in His exhaustion flung His limbs wearily on the seat, anx-
ious, if possible, for comx)lete repose. His disciples — probably
the two pairs of brothers whom He had called among the earliest,
and with them the friends, Philip and Bartholomew — had left
him, to buy in the neighbouring city what was necessary for their
wants ; and, hungry and thirsty, He who bore all our infirmities
sat wearily awaiting them, when His solitude was broken by the
approach of a woman.
In a May noon in Palestine the heat may be indeed intense, but
it is not too intense to admit of moving about ; and this woman,
either from accident, or, possibly, because she was in no good
repute, and therefore would avoid the hour when the well would
be thronged by all the women of the city, was coming to draw
water. Her national enthusiasm and reverence for the great
152 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
ancestor of her race, or perhaps the superior coolness and fresh-
ness of the water, may have been sufficient motive to induce her
to seek this well, rather than any nearer fountain. Water in the
East is not only a necessity, but a delicious luxury, and the
natives of Palestine are [good judges] as to its quality.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 206.
That Sublime Sermon to One Abandoned Woman
A woman of Samaria came to draw water ; and Jesus said to
her — "Give me some to drink," for his disciples had gone into
the town to buy food.
" How is it," replied the Samaritan woman, "that you who are
a Jew ask for water from a Samaritan woman like me? " (For
Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
"If you knew of the gift of God," replied Jesus, "and who
it is that is saying to you ' Give me some water, ' you would have
asked him, and he would have given you living water.' "
"You have no bucket, Sir, and the well is deep," she said ;
"where did you get that 'living water?' Surely you are not
greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us the well, and used
to drink from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle ! "
" All who drink of this water," replied Jesus, "will be thirsty
again ; but whoever once drinks of the water that I will give him
shall never thirst any more ; but the water that I will give him
shall become a spring welling up within him — a source of im-
mortal life."
"Give me this water. Sir," said the woman, "so that I may
not be thirsty, nor have to come all the way here to draw water."
"Go and call your husband," said Jesus, "and then come
back."
" I have no husband," answered the woman.
"You are right in saying 'I have no husband,'" replied
Jesus, " for you have had five husbands, and the man with
whom you are now living is not your husband ; in saying that,
you have spoken the truth."
"I see, Sir, that you are a prophet ! " exclaimed the woman.
" It was on this mountain that our ancestors worshiped ; and yet
you Jews say that the proper place for worship is in Jerusalem."
" Believe me," replied Jesus, " a time is coming when it will
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 153
be neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem that you will wor-
ship the Father. You Samaritans do not know what you worship ;
we know what we worship, for salvation comes from the Jews.
But a time is coming, indeed it is already here, when the true
worshipers will worshij) the Father spiritually and truly ; for
such are the worshipers that the Father desires. God is Spirit ;
and those who worship him must worship spiritually and truly."
"I know," answered the woman, "that the Messiah, who is
called the Christ, is coming ; when once he has come, he will tell
us every thiug."
" I am He," Jesus said to her, "I who am speaking to you."
John iv. 7-26. The Tioentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 171.
" I Have Food to Eat **
At this point. His disciples returned ; and they were much
surprised to find Him talking with a woman. Yet none asked,
"What are You discussing*?" or, "What do You talk to her
about!"
The woman leaving her drawbucket, thereupon went off to the
town, and said to the men :
"Come here ! see a Man who has told all I have ever done !
Must not this be the Messiah ? "
So they left the town, and were coming towards Him. In the
meantime His disciples pressed Him, saying,
" Master, take something to eat."
But He answered them, " I have food to eat, of which you
know nothing."
The disciples then began asking each other,
" Has any one brought Him food ? "
"My food," Jesus said to them, "is to do the will of my
Sender, and to accomi3lish His work. Do you not say, * The
harvest comes with the fourth month ? ' See ! Look up, I tell
you, and survey the fields ; for they are already white for
harvesting. Now the reaper receives wages, and gathers fruit
for eternal life ; so that both the sower and the reaper may re-
joice together. For in this thought is truth : ' The sower is one,
and the reaper another. ' I have sent you to reap that which you
have not cultivated, and you enter into their cultivation."
John iv. 27-38. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 5.
154 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Good News in Samaria
Many from that town came to believe in Jesus — Samaritans
though they were — on account of the woman's statement — "He
has told me everything that I have done." And, when these
Samaritans had come to Jesus, they begged him to stay with
them, and he stayed there two days. But far more came to be-
lieve in him on account of what he said himself, and they said to
the woman :
"It is no longer because of what you say that we believe in
him, for we have heard him ourselves and know that he really is
the Saviour of the world."
John iv. 39-42. The Twentieth Century New Testament in 31odern English, p. 172.
The Baptist's Testimony at AEnon
After this, Jesus and His disciples proceeded to the district of
Judea, where He resided with them, and baptized. And John
was also baptizing in ./Enon, near Salim, because there was
plenty of water there ; and they came and were baptized : for
John had not as yet been imprisoned.
A discussion accordingly took place between some of the dis-
ciples of John and a Judean concerning purification. So they
came to John, and said to him :
" Teacher, the Man who was with you on the other side of the
Jordan, concerning whom you have yourself given evidence —
this Man is now also baptizing, and all the people flock to Him."
"A man can obtain no success," John made answer, "unless
it has been granted to him from heaven. You are yourselves
witnesses of the fact that I stated, ' I myself am not the Messiah,
but that I am sent as His forerunner.' The possessor of the
bride is the bridegroom ; but the friend of the bridegroom, who
stands listening to him, is delighted with delight at the voice of
the bridegroom. This pleasure, therefore, which is mine, is now
complete. He must increase, but I myself decrease.
" He who comes from above is above all. The one who origi-
nates from the earth is from the earth, and speaks from the earth.
He who comes from the heaven is above all : and He gives
evidence of what He has seen and heard ; yet His evidence is
accepted by none. Whosoever accepts His evidence is assured
that it is divine truth. For He whom God has sent proclaims
TO JERUSALEM AND BACK 155
the message of God, because He did not grant the Spirit with
liinitatiou. The Father loves the Son, and has given all into
His hand. Every believer in the Son possesses everlasting life ;
but whosoever disregards the Sou will not see life, but the wrath
of God rests nj^on him."
John iii. 22-36. The New Testament in Modem English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 4.
At Cana Again
After Jesus left the Samaritans, he journeyed on iuto Galilee,
for he longed to be with his old friends. He had done mauy
miracles iu Jerusalem, and although we do not know what they
were, we know they were so great that wherever he went in
Galilee he was followed by crowds. Sometimes these people
came to listen to him, but oftener to beg him to work some
wonder for them. The men of Cana were especially eager to see
him, for every one there had heard of his turning water into wine
at the wedding feast.
When he reached Cana, it was the seventh hour, that is, an
hour after noon. Iu Palestine no one goes out in the sun at noon
if he can help it, but even in the heat many people stood waiting
to hear Jesus. Suddenly one of King Antipas's officers galloped
up on horseback and dashed into the crowd, scattering the people
to right and to left. He would not be delayed for a moment.
"Sir, Sir," he cried, "come with me! My son is dying at
Capernaum. Come with me and heal him ! ' '
The Christ Story, Eva March Tappan, p. 87.
Reviving the Nobleman's Son
Now there was one of the king's officers whose son was lying
ill at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had returned
from Judea to Galilee, he went to him, and begged him to come
down and cnre his son ; for he was at the point of death.
Jesus answered : " Unless you all see signs and wonders, you
will not believe."
" Sir," said the officer, " come down before my child dies."
And Jesus answered : "Go, your son is living." The man be-
lieved what Jesus said to him, and went ; and, while he was on
his way down, his servants met him, and told him that his child
156 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
was living. So he asked them at what time the boy began to
get better.
"It was yesterday, about one o'clock," they said, ''that the
fever left him."
By this the father knew that it was at the very time when
Jesus had said to him "Your son is living" ; and he himself,
with all his household, believed in Jesus. This was the second
occasion on which Jesus gave a sign of his mission on coming
from Judea to Galilee.
John iv. 46-54. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 173.
XI
DRIVEN FROM THE HOME TOWN
He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
— John i. 11.
Nazareth Friends Already Jealous of Him
Finding that he was becomiug so i)opular iu Judea that the
friends of John were getting jealous of him, Jesus decided not to
allow himself to be the slightest hindrance to the great leader,
and he at once turned north to Galilee.
The Galileans had heard of his exploit at the Passover, and
exaggerated stories of his marvelous powers had reached them.
These patriots, unlike the people of the city, welcomed him with
open arms.
On a day before the Sabbath, in early May, he arrived at
Nazareth. ... As soon as he came into the village he went
about to see his brothers and his old friends and playmates. But
he found that, even during his short absence, they had changed
toward him. No longer did they meet him with the same frank
friendship, and, while they were evidently all longing to watch
him perform some wonder in the village square, they were plainly
jealous and suspicious of him.
_ The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 95.
Going to the Home Chwrch
He went to church the next morning, and for the first time he
accepted the invitation to ascend the platform and take the roll
of the sacred writings in his hand to read and explain.
The women were in the rear gallery behind a screen, so that the
audience that was in sight was an audience of men. Some were
old schoolmates, others, younger men, were of those who had
been down to the Jordan and had come back disgruntled. There
157.
158 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
were even boys crowded close to the platform and against the
wall. All awaited him with eager curiosity.
It had now been nearly a year since his atteudauce at the vil-
lage wedding near by. There he had first shown his generous
kindness, in far-off Jerusalem he had proclaimed himself as a
leader, and in the other Galilean towns, and even in despised
Samaria he had lingered. But in Nazareth he had never spoken
a public word nor done a deed of power. Now surely he was
going to exhibit his prophetic might and make Nazareth the
ceutre of all his work.
It was a warm springtime day. The doors were opened so that
those who could not crowd in could hear. The blossoms sent
their fragrance within, a grape-vine shaded the doorway and the
house-doves could be heard cooing in the eaves. It was a Sab-
bath of rest and peace.
The Boys^ Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 96,
Opening the Service
He began the service of the morning in the formulated manner
by repeating the Jewish liturgy. This was one of the prayers
with which he opened that Sabbath meeting in the Nazareth
synagogue ;
"Blessed be Thou, O Lord, King of the world, who formest
the lights and createst the darkness, who makest peace and
Greatest everything ; who in mercy givest light to the earth, and
to those who dwell upon it, and in Thy goodness day by day and
every day renewest the works of creation. Blessed be the Lord
our God for the glory of his handiworks and for the light-giving
lights which He has made for our praise. Selah. Blessed be the
Lord our God who has formed the lights."
The inv^ocation sounds a little cold or dull to our ears. The
young preacher of that summer morning was accustomed to do it
reverence ; it was the liturgy of his church, and of his childhood ;
yet, certain public prayers of his own uttered later in the course
of his ministry, and immortal to human needs and worship,
indicate something of the distance of his nature from the formality
to which he deferred.
He deferred, however, and he conformed to the customs of his
church, like a man of acquaintance with life, up to a certain
DRIVEN FEOM THE HOME TOWN 159
point. When he reached that point he departed promptly and
thoroughly. He followed the usual order of exercise ; another
prayer and a better one succeeding the first ; then came the
repetition of the creed, another prayer and six eulogies or bene-
dictions ; at their close a distinguished rabbi was at liberty to
add certain prayers of his own which might be fixed or free. At
last the time for his discourse arrived. The sacred roll was taken
from the ark and handed to him by the . . minister.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 128.
*' What Can He Have to Say?"
On this occasion the lesson for the day was from one of the
greatest of Jewish prophets. Jesus selected as his text from Isaiah
these impressive words :
" The spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath anointed
me to preach the good tidings to the poor ; ... to preach re-
lease to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord."
Having read the text in Hebrew, translating as he went into
the common tongue, he gave the roll back to the minister, and
according to tlie custom of his church, sat down to preach.
He looked for a moment silently over his audience. Familiar
faces answered his gaze with curiosity or with that doubt of his
ability to give them a remarkable sermon, natural to a man's
fellow-townsmen who have known him since he was a little boy
among them. "He is just like us. What can he have to say?
There must be some mistake about this ado people are making
over him in other places. They do not know him as well as we
do." Polite attention could not hide this inevitable mental atti-
tude from so keen a perception as his who now addressed them.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 129.
** To-day This Scripture Is Fulfilled!'*
Coming to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, Jesus, as
was his custom, went on the Sabbath into the synagogue, and
stood up. to read the Scriptures. The book given him was that
of the Prophet Isaiah ; and Jesus opened the book and found the
place where it says —
160 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
' ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
For he has cousecrated me to bring good news to the poor,
He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and restoration
of sight to the blind,
To set the oppressed at liberty,
To proclaim the accepted year of the Lord."
Then, closing the book and returning it to the attendant, he
sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon him,
and Jesus began :
"This very day this passage has been fulfilled in your
hearing."
All who were present spoke well of him, and were astonished
at the beautiful words that fell from his lips.
" Is not he Joseph's son *? " they asked.
"Doubtless," said Jesus, " you will remind me of the saying —
' Doctor, cure yourself ; ' and you will say ' Do here in your own
country all that we have heard has been done at Capernaum.' I
tell you," he continued, "that no prophet is acceptable in his
own country. There were, doubtless, many widows in Israel in
Elijah's days, when the heavens were closed for three years and
six months, and a severe famine prevailed throughout the coun-
try ; and yet it was not to one of them that Elijah was sent, but
to a widow at Zarephath in Sidonia. And there were many
lepers in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha, yet it was not
one of them who was made clean, but Naaman the Syrian."
All the people in the synagogue, as they listened to this, be-
came enraged. Starting up, they drove Jesus out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town stood,
intending to hurl him down. But he passed through the middle
of the crowd and went on his way.
Luke iv. 16-30. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 112.
His Daring Assumption Startled Them
His first words startled them disagreeably.
"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears," he boldly
said. Then, his lips being unloosed, he poured out his heart.
He maintained the astonishing intimation of his opening sen-
tence with a firmness not to be ignored for whatever it meant in
so unobtrusive a man. He gave his audience to understand that
DRIVEN FROM THE HOME TOWN 161
the most precious tradition and hope of their people was about to
be verified. The great messianic expectation in which they all
believed, was to become a fact. In a word, he himself was the
fact.
This daring assumption, firmly suggested, was received with
mixed emotion by his townsfolk. Some thought : How gracious
his mien ! How melodious his voice ! How agreeable his thought !
For the Jews were experts in the criticism of religious oratory.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 130.
** Nobody but Jesws the Car pentef ! **
Jesus was about to continue the discourse of which we have
only a fragment reported. Plainly, he had more to say. . . .
But hubbub had already set in. Displeasure grew to anger j
anger mounted into rage. The pronounced Jewish features of
the congregation were contorted with spite. Whispers rose into
audible comments : " Who is this fellow, after all, that we should
sit here and take insolence from him ? Why, nobody but Jesus
— little Jesus, the carpenter's boy — we have seen him around,
ever since he could walk. He used to play with my boy. He
came to our house on errands. He has been to school with our
children. I gave him an order once to make me a table. His
father sent him to mend our chest. He has sat all these years in
this very synagogue, and known his place and kept it. . . .
How came he out of it *? Teach it to him ! Show it to him !
" Nazareth is not good enough for him. Jerusalem was, and
Caperuaum ; and even little Cana. W^e are not grand enough
for him to show off his signs and wonders, and other eccentrici-
ties. Get rid of him, and his airs ! We are used to preachers,
not charlatans in this synagogue. Turn him out of it ! . . .
Shall this carpenter sit there and talk to us as if we were lepers
and Gentiles?"
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 132.
A Roar of Rage
Then he took up plainly their complaint because he . . .
had done his public work in places so far from his bringing up.
Boldly he answered thai they themselves had already driven him
162 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
to this step. Did he not love Nazareth ? Did he not long to do
glorious deeds in her streets ? For was not this the place where
he had studied the holy books ? Was not Joseph sleeping here
in the village burying ground ?
"But," he said, "a prophet is never wanting honors except
in his own country and among his own folk." And he reminded
them how even their own Elijah was forced to leave his own laud
to work in Tyre, and Elisha had never healed anybody but a
foreigner and he a leper.
A growl of anger had been heard while he was saying these
words, which, when he began to appeal to his audience for wit-
ness to the truth of what he was saying, grew into a roar of rage.
The disappointed Nazarenes could stand this no longer. "Did
the carpenter's son think they were less worthy than Assyrian
lepers ? Were they to be scorned and ignored by such as he, a
son of their own streets ? " The cougregatiou became a mob.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 98.
"Was It Possible ?
The young preacher tried once or twice to hush the clamor ;
but it had swollen to a stream in which, before one might know
what had happened, he was borne along like a broken bough.
Convulsed with quick Oriental passion, his townsfolk tore him
from the lectern — they were many and determined — and dragged
him along down the aisle, and out of the synagogue. The outer
air of the hot summer Sabbath morning smote scorchiug on his
grieved face. Whether from sheer surprise, helplessness, or
prudence, he tried to make no useless resistance. Immediately
he found himself near the edge of a considerable crowd of jjush-
ing, scowling, howliug men. They urged him along virulently.
In a very short time, looking straight ahead with wide aston-
ished eyes, he perceived that he was rapidly approaching the
mountainous boundary of the town. He remembered the near-
est precipice — no mean gulf. Was it probable ! Was it iwssible ?
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 134.
As if Smitten of God
When the real purpose of the rioters became manifest, the un-
popular preacher suddenly turned and withstood them ; . not by
DRIVEN FROM THE HOME TOWN 163
blow, or buffet ; he did not wrestle or strike out upon them as an
angry and imprudent man might have done. He defied them
by the finer resistance of a look. He stood back to the hills,
whose rounded heads and shoulders rose high above the shame-
ful scene, and whose bare faces, unveiled in the hot light, seemed
to turn away from the sight they saw. . . .
Before that gesture his old neighbors began to move back from
him ; not a man of them could have said why. He stood still,
defenseless among them all, there on the edge of the rock. The
chasm gaped below ; a step would carry a man over. He glanced
down, then back at the people, then began slowly to advance
upon them.
What was that startling change upon his gentle countenance ?
Only a few times in his life was it witnessed and noted : but no
man who ever saw it ever withstood it or forgot it to his last
hour. As if they had been smitten of God the Nazarenes fled be-
fore that look. The crowd wavered, broke, and melted. Jesus
continued to advance steadily upon it ; passed through it ; and
went his way, down the hot village street. No man ventured to
molest him — nay, nor to address him. He passed on silent, and
protected in the unutterable scorn which the highest may put be-
tween itself and the lowest soul.
He passed on, and out from Nazareth ; wherein from that day
he never made his home again.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 135.
Leaving the Home of His Childhood
And so He left them, never apparently to return again ; never,
if we are right in the view here taken, to preach again in their
little synagogue. Did any feelings of merely human regret weigh
down His soul while He was wending His weary steps down the
steep hill-slope towards Cana of Galilee ? Did any tear start in
His eyes unbidden as He stood, perhaps for the last time, to gaze
from thence on the rich plain of Esdraelon, and the purple heights
of Carmel, and the white sands that fringe the blue waters of the
Mediterranean ? Were there any from whom He grieved to be
severed, in the green secluded valley where His manhood had
laboured, and His childhood played ? Did He cast one longing,
lingering glance at the humble home in which for so many years
1G4 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
He had toiled as the village carpenter ? Did no companion of
His innocent boyhood, no friend of His sinless youth, accompany
Him with awe, and pity, and regret ? Such questions are not,
surely, unnatural ; not, surely, irreverent ; — but they are not
answered.
Of all merely human emotions of His heart, except so far as
they directly affect His mission upon earth, the Gospels are silent.
We know only that henceforth other friends awaited Him away
from boorish Nazareth, among the gentle and noble-hearted
fishermen of Bethsaida ; and that henceforth His home, so far as
He had a home, was in the little city of Capernaum, beside the
sunlit waters of the Galilean lake.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 228.
Preaching in the Neighboorhood
But, though He left Nazareth never to return. He remained in
the neighbourhood for a time, preaching in the villages of the
great plain of Esdraelon, far and near. The whole theatre of
His activity, however, in this circuit, as in previous ones, was
limited beyond ordinary conception. From north to south, be-
tween Chorazin, above Capernaum, and Jezreel, in the great
plain, was only a distance of ten hours, and from east to west,
from Chorazin to Cana, or Nazareth, only six or seven. His
whole life was spent in a space represented by one or two English
counties, but the seed sown on this speck of ground is yet to cover
the earth !
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D, D., Vol. II, p. 165.
Family Estrangement
It seems then, that after leaving Cana, our Lord went at once
to Capernaum, accompanied apparently by His mother and His
brethren, and made that town His home. His sisters were prob-
ably married, and did not leave their native Nazareth ; but the
dreadful insult which Jesus had received would have been alone
suflBcient to influence His family to leave the place, even if they
did not directly share in the odium and persecution which His
words had caused. Perhaps the growing alienation between
Himself and them may have been due, in part, to this circum-
stance. They must have felt, and we know that they did feel, a
DRIVEN FROM THE HOME TOWN 165
deeply-seated annoyance, if, refusing to admit the full awfulness
of His missiou, and entirely disapproving the form of its manifes-
tation, they yet felt themselves involved in hatred and ruin, as a
direct consequence of His actions.
Certain it is that, although apparently they were living at
Capernaum, their home was not His home. Home, in the strict
sense. He had none ; but the house of which He made ordinary
use appears to have been that which belonged to His chief
apostle. It is true that Simon and Andrew are said to have be-
longed to Bethsaida, but they may easily have engaged the use
of a house at Capernaum, belonging to Peter's mother-in-law ; or
since Bethsaida is little more than a suburb or part of Capernaum,
they may have actually moved for the convenience of their Master
from the one place to the other.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. 8., Vol. I, p. 233.
The Galileans "Welcomed Him
After these two days Jesus went on to Galilee ; for he himself
declared that " a prophet is not honoured in his own country."
When he entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, for they
had seen all that he did at Jerusalem during the Festival, at
which they also had been present.
John iv. 43-45. The Twentieth Century New Testament in 3Iodern English, p. 173,
He Went to Live in Capernawm
And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. — LuJce iv. SI.
Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew
into Galilee ; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in
Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and
Naphtali : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet, saying.
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
The people that sat in darkness
Saw a great light,
And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up.
166 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
From that time began Jesus to preach, aud to say, Eei^eut ye ;
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew iv. 12-17. American Revision.
Accepting Peter's Invitation
From the shores of the lake, Christ went to the house of Peter,
accepting his invitation to share his hospitality.
The little town itself, with its two or three thousand inhabitants,
was surrounded by a wall, and lay partly along the shore ; some
of the houses close to the water ; others with a garden between
it and them. The black lava, or basalt, of which all were built,
was universally whitewashed, so that the town was seen to fine
effect, from a distance, through the green of its numerous trees
and gardens. Peter's household consisted of his wife, and her
mother — doubtless a widow — whom his kindly nature had brought
to this second home, Andrew, his brother, and, now, of Jesus, his
guest. James and John, likely, still lived with their father, in
Capernaum, and the whole four still followed their calling in the
intervals of attending their new Master.
It appears to have been on a Friday that Jesus summoned
Peter and his companions. The day passed, doubtless, in further
work for the kingdom. As the sun set, the beginning of the
Sabbath was announced by three blasts of a trumpet, from the
roof of the spacious synagogue of the town, which the devout
commandant of the garrison, though not a Jew, had built for the
people. The first blast warned the peasants, in the far-stretching
vineyards and gardens, to cease their toil ; the second was the
signal for the townsfolk to close their business for the week, aud
the third, for all to kindle the holy Sabbath light, which was to
burn till the sacred day was past.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol, II, p. 1.
XTI
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM
' Oue of the clays of the Son of Man.
— Liilce xvii. 22.
Restoring a Maniac to His Right Mind
He then proceeded to Capernaum ; and entering the synagogue
ou the Sabbath, He taught. And they were astonished at his
teaching ; for his manner was like oue possessed of authority, and
not like that of the professors.
There was also in the synagogue a man in possession of a foul
spirit; and he called out, exclaiming, "Ah! what is there in
common between us and You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You
come to destroy us ? I know You, what You are, the Holy of
God."
Jesus then commanded him, exclaiming,
" Silence ! and go out of him ! "
And the foul spirit, convulsing him, and shouting with a loud
voice, left him. And they were all astonished, so that they
questioned one another, saying,
"Who is this"? What is this new teaching'? Why, He even
commands the foul spirits authoritatively, and they obey Him ! "
And the report concerning him rapidly spread throughout the
whole region of Galilee.
3Iarh i. 21-28. The New Tcdament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 67.
A Paroxysm Seized the Crazy Man
The service had gone on apparently without interrui)tion, till
Jesus began to speak. Then, however, a i^aroxysm seized the
unhappy man. Rising in the midst of the congregation, a wild
howl of demoniacal frenzy burst from him, that must have frozen
the blood of all with horror. "Ha ! " yelled the demon. " What
have we to do with Thee, Jesus, the Nazarene ? Thou comest to
destroy us ! I know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy Oue of
God ! "
167
168 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Among the crowd Jesus alone remained calm. He would not
have acknowledgment of His Messiahship from such a source.
"Hold thy peace," said He indignantly, "and come out of
him."
The spirit felt its Master, and that it must obey, but, demon to
the last, threw the man down in the midst of the congregation,
tearing him as it did so, and, then, with a wild howl, fled out of
him. Nothing could have happened better fitted to impress the
audience favourably towards Jesus. This new teaching, said they
amongst themselves, is with authority. It carries its warrant
with it.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 5.
Outside the Synagogue
In the vestibule were . . . two . . . rabbis in earnest
conversation with some of the church officers. Several, prompted
by curiosity, joined the circle, and their attention was manifestly
divided between what was going on without and what within.
" By your leave, you leaders of the congregation," said one of the
rabbis, "you will soon show whose honour is most cherished by
you — that of your teachers or that of this ignorant fellow ? "
" If he only had not settled himself down in Capernaum ! " re-
plied one of the leaders ; "we are in terrible perplexity."
"Not only that," added the other, "but there is a higher
power to whom we must give account ; it is that which makes us
timid."
"How," shrieked the second rabbi, "you are still leaning
towards both sides ! Do you not know what the law says, ' If
thy brother, the son of thy mother, . . . entice thee to serve
• other gods, thine eye shall not pity him, neither shalt thou spare
him ?' "
Upon this, one standing upon the threshold exclaimed, "He is
not an idolater ; he honours the God of Israel by his words and
works."
" No, it is not so ; he deserves not only excommunication but
something worse, for he makes himself God," cried out both the
rabbis as with one voice.
"You do not understand him," replied the man, and then
turning to those standing outside, he exclaimed, " Men of Caper-
Copyright, J. J. Tissot, iSq6-T
THE COMING OF THE HEALER
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 169
naum, these Jerusalemites have come here to bribe us to become
the murderers of this innocent man ! " The crowd around these
men grew larger when the two rabbis withdrew, . . . utter-
ing execrations upon the ignorance of the Galileans.
A Day in Capernaum, Franz Delitzsch, Translated by J, G. Morris and
W. W., p. 154.
** Torn Yowr Eyes Away ! You Will Be Bewitched **
" By the God of Israel, that is the King Messias ! " And an old
man impressed the seal upon this exclamation by saying in a
decided tone, . . . "It is he." Upon this the two Jeru-
salemites constrained as many of the company as they could to
leave, by crying out, " Turn your eyes away : woe unto you, you
will be bewitched ! ' '
A Day in Capernaum, Franz Delitzsch, Translated by J. G. Morris, p. 234.
**He Is Coming! He Is Coming !**
Just at this time the attention of all . . . was enchained
by the appearance of Jesus. A crowd of children preceded him,
and another followed him. Their behaviour amid all the manifes-
tation of curiosity was more timid than bold. They did not
venture to approach too near, and they spoke more by signs than
words.
But the crowd in front of him, having reached the public
square, raised a shout of triumph, "He is coming ! he is com-
ing ! " and rushed tumultuously ... to secure a favourable
position to gratify their curiosity. The multitude of men and
women in the place became suddenly silent, as though they were
expecting a festal procession. And as Jesus now turned the
corner of the street which led to this public square, all eyes were
fastened upon him. The crowd of children which followed him
lost themselves behind the row of spectators [which] formed a sort
of lane through which he passed. All those before whom he had
passed now mingled in one mass and became a growing retinue
every step he took. Kindness . lightened up the usually sad
expression of his countenance. He looked neither up nor down,
but straight before him ; but often, from the right or the left, a
sincere . . salutation was heard, he turned himself sidewise
and acknowledged it by a wonderfully gracious brightening of
his face. . . .
170 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
A ragged beggar knelt before him as he passed, and kissed the
hem of his garment. Some of the larger of the children who had
secured places at the gate, had lifted their little brothers and
sisters up on their shoulders, that they might have a better view
of the great Miracle-Man. Some, more bold, had climbed up the
columns and window-cornices. The nearer he apx)roached, the
more silent became the young people, but the little ones perched
upon the shoulders of their brothers could not be prevented from
shouting and making boisterous demonstrations.
A Day in Capernaum, Frauz Delitzscb, Translated by J. G. Morris and
W. W., pp. 157-160.
The Benign Figure of the Great Physician
But now into the midst of all this . came the benign figure
of the Great Physician, divine love, sympathy, tenderness and
healing flowing from his eyes and his outstretched hands, even as
the fragrance pours forth from the cup of a lily. And as he
moved among the wretched beings, and touched one here and
there, laying his hands on others with words of forgiveness and
peace, the moans and shrieks changed to cries of rejoicing and
relief. Already many were going happily away, to make room
for others who were still coming from everj"^ quarter. . . .
" He is here," said [a young man] joyfully, clasping the hand
of the blind man closer. " And many, oh, many others are here
to be healed ; and some are going away well," he continued.
And indeed the quick ear of the blind man had already caught
the exclamations of thanksgiving, amid the babel of sound, and,
breaking away from the hands that still held him, he ran with a
quick instinct to a little open space where Jesus had paused for
an instant, and throwing himself on his knees, caught him by the
garment, and cried out loudly :
"Jesus, Miister ! I beseech thee to have mercy on me ! "
And he answered : " Believest thou I am able to do this? "
"I believe," murmured the man, turning his sightless eyes up
to the face above him.
Jesus, looking at him, beheld behind the blind eyes the soul
stained with guilt, weary with suffering, and hungry for love ;
and touching his eyes, he said, " Go in peace."
And the blind man was blind no longer. He saw ; and his first
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 171
vision was of tliat face full of compassion and tenderness. Then
was his soul stirred with a mighty love for the Healer. And he
rose up and went away, as he was bidden, carrying with him a
memory destined to become a j)erpetual fountain of blessing to
himself and others, through time and eternity.
Titus, a Comrade of the Cross, Florence M. Kingsley, p. 16.
They Tell Him of Peter's Mother-in-Law
And straightway, when they were come out of the synagogue,
they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and
John. Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever ; and
straightway they tell him of her : and he came and took her by
the hand, and raised her up ; and the fever left her, and she min-
istered unto them.
Ilark i. 29-31. American Revision.
A Violent Attack of the Local Fevet
. His day's work of mercy had only begun. Arriving at his
modest home, He found the mother of Peter's wife struck down
with a violent attack of the local fever for which Capernaum had
so bad a notoriety. The quantity of marshy land in the neigh-
bourhood, especially at the entrance of the Jordan into the Lake,
has made fever of a very malignant type at times the character-
istic of the locality, so that the physicians would not allow
Josephus, when hurt by his horse sinking in the neighbouring
marsh, to sleep even a single night in Capernaum, but hurried
him on to Tarichtea.
It was not to be thought that He who had just sent joy and
healing to the heart of a stranger, would withhold His aid when
a friend required it. The anxious relatives forthwith besought
His help, but the gentlest hint would have sufficed.
It mattered not that it was fever : He was forthwith in the
chamber, bending over the sick woman, and rebuking the disease
as if it had been an evil personality, He took her by the hand,
doubtless with a look, and with words, which made her His for-
ever, and gently raising her, she found the fever gone and health
and strength returned, so that she could prepare their midday
meal for her household and their wondrous Guest.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 5.
172 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
A Paralyzed Man Cartfed by Font Friends
Then came four men bearing a man entirely lame upon a litter,
which was fastened to ropes wound round their shoulders. It
was evident that they had come a considerable distance and had
borne the whole burden of the morning heat. They came too
late to secure entrance to Jesus. To press through a closely
packed mass of people was utterly impossible. Then they went
around the house and happily found behind it a ladder leaning
against it, which was just high enough to reach to the railing
around it, and thus to enable them to mount the flat roof.
After the sick man had given his consent to be lifted up, one
of the men first ascended. Then the patient was bound fast to
the mattress with the ropes. A second one mounted the ladder
to hand to the one already up the two ends of the rope, and then
ascended himself. Then the two drew up the sick man, whilst
the other two still below supported the burden as far as their
own height reached, and gave it the proper direction. When it
had been drawn up, they also leaped upon the roof.
When they had all safely secured this position, one of them
descended the stairs which led from the roof to the back chamber,
and from this place he heard the voice of Jesus. In perfect
silence the crowd stood around him, while his richly toned voice
filled the whole apartment. Its clear ring enlisted the profound
attention of every one, for he poured ont his whole soul in its
tones, while his countenance and whole demeanour gave added
vigor to the force of his words.
The man who had descended the stairs listened and looked,
and forgot himself in the deep interest which the speaking of
Jesus awakened in him. The sick man above impatiently asked,
" What is to become of me ? "
When the three others had beckoned their companion to return,
they all agreed that it would be impossible to carry the sick man
down the narrow stairway.
"There is no other way," said they, " than to tear off the roof
and let him down through the aperture ; but that would be tak-
ing an improper liberty with another man's property, and, be-
sides, it is a neck-breaking adventure. "
"Let me down," exclaimed the sick man, " I will be satisfied
if I can only be brought to lie at his feet, living or dead, and
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 173
we will pay the owner of the house well for all the damage
we do."
A Day in Capernaum, Frauz Delitzsch, Translated by J. G. Morris and
W. W., pp. 84-87.
He Was Lowered Carefully
In another moment a dozen willing hands were at work. A
very short time sufficed to make a considerable aperture ; and
through it they quickly made preparations to lower the bed con-
taining the sick man. . . .
"Now then — take a firm hold!" . . . and grasping the
ropes . . . which were carefully knotted to the bed, the sick
man was lowered carefully and steadily through the opening.
Titus, a Comrade of the Cross, Florence M. Kingsley, p. 25.
** Rabbi, Rabbi ! a Sick Man Is G)ming down ! **
The noise occasioned by this tedious operation upon the roof
had already attracted the attention of the crowd in the room
below. But the overwhelming and fascinating power of the
speaker was so great that there was no disturbance of the meet-
ing. But when the litter appeared over the heads of the congre-
gation, they were struck with amazement which presently gave
utterance to the exclamation, " Rabbi, rabbi ! a sick man is com-
ing down."
"Behold their faith," said Jesus, as he looked upward.
" Help them support the sick man, that he fall not."
Upon this the men who were standing near Jesus by the cistern
extended their arms, took hold of the litter, and, as the ropes
were not long enough to let down to the floor, they untied them,
and with their own hands set the litter, with the poor man
stretched out upon it, before the feet of Jesus.
The excitement occasioned by this interruption was very great,
for when Jesus had heretofore healed the sick, it was done silently
and privately, and for the most part when very few besides the
sick person were present.
A Day in Capernaum, Franz Delitzsch, Translated by J. G. Morris, p. 92.
**My Child, Thy Sins Are Forgiven *'
The Master had been sitting as he talked, but had now risen
and, stooping over, he [gazed intently into the face of the sick
174 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
inau. In those pale, piucbed features aud appealing eyes, he
read his whole pathetic story. Laying his hand uj)on the sufferer
tenderly, he said :
" My child, thy sins are forgiven thee."
Instantly there arose a murmur in the room. The words, " He
blasphemeth ! " "God alone can forgive sins!" "God will
smite him ! " came from one aud another of the bearded and
turbaned rabbis who sat about. Then the Master raised himself
up, aud looking upon them with the eye of omniscience, said
slowly :
' ' What reason ye in your hearts ? Whether is easier, to say,
* Thy sius be forgiven thee ' ; or to say, ' Eise up aud walk ' ?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon
earth to forgive sins," — turning to the sick man — " I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thy house."
" And immediately he rose up before them all, and took up
that whereon he lay, aud departed to his own house, glorifying
God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and
were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things
to-day."
Titus, a Comrade of the Crosf<, Florence M, Kiugsley, p. 25.
All Eyes and Ears
The men upon the bench lowered their heads in furious amaze-
ment and looked imj)atiently upon the ground. A breathless
silence j)ervaded the whole assembly. All eyes were steadfastly
fixed upon the sick man, and the four still uj^on the roof were
all eyes and ears for all that happened below. They had looked
for some extraordinary display on the part of Jesus, but when it
suddenly took this turn they were quite stupefied as when a
sudden crash of thunder follows the lightning.
The poor paralytic certainly heard the sound of the words, but
as yet there was want of will to carry them into execution. The
process of nature called forth by the miraculous power of the
word gradually developed itself, and the look of Jesus fixed upon
the patient, followed the operation of the word from step to step.
The stiffness of his limbs began to relax, the muscles again quiv-
ered, feeling aud the j)ower of motion returned, and as he became
conscious that his insensible aud motionless limbs could obey his
Copyright, J. J. Tiss-yl, 1896-7
AT SUNSET BY THE LAKE SHORE
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 175
will, lie raised himself, to his own astonishment, still higher and
higher, gaining self-confidence all the while, until he finally
stood upright, and, extending his hands, sunk upon his knees,
and bent down toward his Deliverer. But Jesus stepped back
and pointed to the bed. He then took up the bed and held it
before him so that his view of Jesus might not be intercepted.
He walked backwards, without losing sight of his Saviour
through the crowd, which formed a lane leading to the door of
the house out of which he passed.
A Day in Capernaum, Frauz Delitzsch, Translated by J. G. Morris and
W. W., pp. 102-105.
The Effect Was Electric
For the time [the rabbis from Jerusalem] were helpless, in
the presence of so much enthusiasm for Jesus, but this only in-
creased their bitterness, on their finding that He had kept His
eyes on them, and knew their thoughts. . . .
The effect was electric. The scribes were, for the time, dis-
comfited. Amazement and fear mingled with religious awe.
"We never saw it thus," cried some, while others, with true
Eastern demonstrativeness, broke out into praise of God who
had given such power to men. Meanwhile, Jesus glided out
of the apartment, sad at heart, for the shadow of the cross had
fallen on His soul.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 26,
** This Evening, down at the Shore ! **
The people anxiously waited some time to see [what would
happen next]. The two Jerusalemites passed out before him and
remained standing outside to see whatever else might occur.
When the assembly broke up, Jesus tried to go out unobserved,
but that was not possible. The people stood back timidly and
reverentially, and thus made an open passage for him. But a
youth advanced towards him, and in a low and trembling tone
asked, " Lord, hast thou no word for us to-day V\
"Come down to the lake soon after sundown," he replied in
an equally subdued tone. No sooner had he escaped from the
view of the crowd, than the word went from mouth to mouth,
" This evening, down at the lake shore ! "
A Day in Capernaum, Franz Delitzsch, Translated by J. G, Morris, p. 167.
176 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
A Great Multitude Followed Him about
And he came down with them, and stood on a level place, and
a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the
people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre
and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their dis-
eases ; and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were
healed. And all the multitude sought to touch him j for power
came forth from him, and healed them all.
Luke vi. 17-19, American Revision.
The Excitement Increased
The strict laws of the Jewish sabbath gave a few hours of rest
to all, but the blast of the trumpet which announced its close was
the signal for a renewal of the popular excitement, nor increased
by the rumor of a second miracle.
With the setting of the sun, it was once more lawful to move
beyond the two thousand paces of a sabbath day's journey, and
to carry whatever burdens one pleased. Forthwith, began to
gather from every street, and from the thickly sown towns and
villages round, the strangest assemblage. The child led its blind
father as near the enclosure of Simon's house as the throng per-
mitted : the father came carrying the sick child ; men bore the
helpless in swinging hammocks; "all that had any sick, with
whatever disease," brought them to the great Healer. The whole
town was in motion, and crowded before the house. AVhat the
sick of even a small town implied may be imagined. Fevers,
convulsions, asthma, wasting consumption, swollen dropsy, shak-
ing palsy, the deaf, the dumb, the brain-affected, and, besides
all, "many that were possessed with devils," that last, worst
symptom of the despairing misery and dark confusion of the
times.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D, D., Vol. II, p. 6.
They Crawled and Crowded to His Feet
Precisely as if nothing had happened, and no visitors were
there, he proceeded as usual to attend to his patients. They
crawled and crowded to his feet. He gave to each case his
habitual attention, patiently individualizing, as he always did
(for this was one of the minor secrets of his success in healing).
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 177
and following one cure by another with an enthusiasm which no
form of disease and no accumulation of its drain upon his strength
seemed ever to check.
When the healer had finished his work for the day, the preacher
began his. The morning's cures were followed by one of his im-
passioned religious addresses.
The Story of Jems Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 184.
Offended at the Popular Favour Shown to Jesus
The rabbis from the capital, reverend and grey, did not know
■whether to be more bitter at the discredit thrown on their own
claims to supernatural powers, or at the popular favour shown to
Jesus. He cast out devils, indeed, but so did they, and their dis-
ciples, the exorcists.
It was enough for Him, however, to speak, and the sufferer
was cured of all ailments alike, while they used adjurations,
spells, and magic formulae which were dangerously like the
superstitions of the despised heathens. They laid stress on their
knowledge of the secret names of God and the angels.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 130.
They Knew He Was the Christ
And when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with
divers diseases brought them unto him ; and he laid his hands on
every one of them, and healed them. And demons also came out
from many, crying out, and saying. Thou art the Son of God.
And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they
knew that he was the Christ.
Luke iv. 40, 41. American Revision.
The Treasures They Had Almost Lost
It was evening. The sun was setting, and the Sabbath past.
All that day it had been told from home to home what had been
done in the synagogue ; it had been whispered what had taken
place in the house of their neighbour Simon. This one conviction
had been borne in upon them all, that ^^with authority " He spake,
with authority and power He commanded even the unclean
spirits, and they obeyed. No scene more characteristic of the
Christ than that on this autumn evening at Capernaum. One by
178 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
one the stars bad shone out over the tranquil lake and the festive
city, lighting up earth's darkness with heaven's soft brilliancy,
as if they stood there witnesses, that God had fulfilled His good
promise to Abraham.
On that evening no one in Capernaum thought of business,
pleasure, or rest. There must have been many homes of sorrow,
care, and sickness there, and in the populous neighbourhood
around. To them, to all, had the door of hope now been opened.
Truly, a new Sun had risen on them, with healing in His wings.
No disease too desperate, when even the demons owned the
authority of His mere rebuke. From all parts they bring them :
Mothers, widows, wives, fathers, children, husbands — their loved
ones, the treasures they had almost lost ; and the whole city
throngs — a hushed, solemnised, overawed multitude — expectant,
waiting at the door of Simon's dwelling. There they laid them,
along the street up to the market-place, on their beds ; or brought
them with a beseeching look and word.
What a symbol of this world's misery, need, and hope ; what a
symbol, also, of what the Christ really is as the Consoler in the
world's manifold woe ! Never, surely, was He more truly the
Christ ; nor is He in symbol more truly such to us and to all
time, than when, in the stillness of that evening, under the star-
lit sky. He went through that suffering throng, laying His hands
in the blessing of healing on every one of them, and casting out
many devils. No picture of the Christ more dear to us, than this
of the unlimited healing of whatever disease of body or soul.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 486.
No Repose to Body or Mind
The night which followed this busy and eventful Sabbath
brought no repose to His body or mind. The excitement around
agitated and disturbed Him. It was His first triumphant suc-
cess, for, in the south. He had met with little sympathy, though
He had attracted crowds. But curiosity was not progress, and
excitement was not conversion. Lowliness and concealment, not
noisy throngs, were the true conditions of His work, and of its
firmest establishment, and lasting glory. Mere popularity was,
moreover, a renewed temptation, for, as a man, He was suscep-
A DAY'S WORK IN CAPERNAUM 179
tible of the same temptations as His brethren. He might be
drawn aside to think of Himself, and to His holy soul the faint-
est approach to this was a surrender to evil. Rising from His
couch, therefore, while the deep darkness which precedes the
dawn still rested on hill and valley. He left the house so quietly
that no one heard Him, and went, once more, to the solitudes of
the hills behind the town.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugliam Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 9.
Silent Communion with the Father
After one of His days of loving and ceaseless toil, Jesus, as was
His wont, found rest and peace in prayer. ''He went out into a
mountain " — or, as it should rather be rendered, into the moun-
tain— "to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
There is something affecting beyond measure in the thought of
these lonely hours ; the absolute silence and stillness, broken by
no sounds of human life, but only by the hooting of the nightjar
or the howl of the jackal ; the stars of an eastern heaven raining
their large lustre out of the unfathomable depth ; the figure of the
Man of Sorrows kneeling upon the dewy grass, and gaining
strength for His labours from the purer air, the more open
heaven, of that intense and silent communing with His Father
and His God.
The Life of Christ, Frederio W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 249.
**My Father Works, and I Work **
Such is the picture of a day in the life of Christ which was de-
voted to the work of public teaching : '' One of the days of the
Son of Man."
If, however, we turn to an earlier chapter of St. Matthew's
Gospel — the ninth — we find from the first to the twenty-sixth
verses an account of a day in Christ's life . varied, and .
irai)ressive in the sense it gives us of the intense and yet deliber-
ate energy with which He lived. Among many things in Christ's
mode of thought strikingly at variance with Oriental ideas is
His habitual conception of life as labour and endeavour. He
speaks of work as composing the rhythm of the universe : *'My
Father works, and I work. "
The Life of CArisf, William J. Dawson, p. 150.
XIII
SAYING THE SABBATH
He who ordained the Sabbath loves the poor.
— Dr. Holmes.
The Man at Bethesda Bath
After- this there was a Jucleau festival ; and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the sheep-market, a
public bath, called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five covered
walks, in which lay a great number of sick people, blind, lame,
paralysed.
And there was a man there who had been detained by his sick-
ness for thirty-eight years. Jesus, noticing him prostrate, and
knowing that he had been ill for a long time, asked him,
" Do you desire to become well ? "
"Sir," replied the sick man to Him, "I have no one to throw
me into the bath when the water is agitated ; but while I am
coming, some one else goes down before me."
Jesus said to him, " Rise up, take up your rug, and walk."
And the man was at once restored ; and, taking up his rug, he
began to walk.
John v". 1-9. The Xeto Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 6.
Watching by Day and Listening through the Night
I saw again the spirits on a day,
Where on the earth in mournful case they lay ;
Five porches were there, and a pool and round,
Huddling in blankets, strewn upon the ground,
Tied-up and bandaged, weary, sore, and spent,
The maimed and halt, diseased and impotent.
For a great angel came, 'twas said, and stirred
The pool at certain seasons, and the word
Was, with this people of the sick, that they
Who in the waters here their limbs should lay
Before the motion on the surface ceased
180
SAVING THE SABBATH 181
Should of their torment; straightway be released.
So with shrunk bodies and with heads dowu-dropt,
Stretched on the steps, and at the pillars propt,
Watching by day and listening through the night,
They tilled the place, a miserable sight.
*****
But what the waters of that poor might be,
Of Lethe were they, or Philosophy ;
And whether he, long waiting, did attain
Deliverance from the burden of his pain
There with the rest ; or whether, yet before,
Some more diviner stranger passed the door
With his small company into that sad place,
And breathing hope into the sick man's face,
Bade him take up his bed, and rise and go.
Bethesda, Arthur Hugh Clough, Poetical Works, p. 145.
For This Reason They Began to Persecute Jesus
Now it was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had
been cured :
"This is the Sabbath ; you must not carry your mat."
"The man who cured me," he answered, "said to me 'Take
up your mat and walk about.' "
"Who was it," they asked, " that said to you 'Take up your
mat and walk about' ?"
But the man who had been restored did not know who it was ;
for Jesus had moved away, because there was a crowd there.
Afterwards Jesus found the man in the Temple courts, and said
to him :
" You are cured now ; do not sin again, for fear that something
worse may befall you. "
The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who
had cured him. And that was why the Jews began to persecute
Jesus — because he did things of this kind on the Sabbath. But
Jesus replied :
"My Father works to this very hour, and I work also."
This made the Jews all the more eager to kill him, because not
only was he doing away with the Sabbath, but he actually called
God his own Father— putting himself on an equality with God.
Joh7i V. 10-18. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English,
p. 174.
183 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Gted before Awthorities for the First Time
Jesus seems forthwith to have been for the first time cited be-
fore the authorities, ou the formal charge of Sabbath-breakiug ;
but His judges were little prepared for the toue of His defence.
Left to answer of Himself, He threw the assembly into a paroxysm
of religious fury by claiming to work at all times for the good of
men, since it was only what God, His Father, had done from the
beginniDg, notwithstanding the Sabbath law. . . .
He did not for a moment deny that they were right in the
meaning they put on His words, but stated more fully why He
used them. . . .
The authorities had never had such a prisoner before them.
They knew not what to do with Him, and, in their confusion and
utter defeat, could only let Him depart unharmed. They had
not yet summoned courage to proceed to open violence.
This was the turning point in the life of Jesus. Till now, He
had enjoyed a measure of toleration and eveu of acceptance, but,
henceforth, all was changed. Jerusalem was no longer safe for
Him, and, even in Galilee, He was dogged by determined enmity.
The shadow of the Cross darkened His whole future career.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiughaiu Geikie, D. D. , Vol. II, p. 93.
** If You Believed Moses You "Would Believe Me **
Jesus therefore answered and said to them.
Verily, verily, I say to you. The Sou can do nothing of him-
self, but what he sees the Father doing : for whatever things he
does, these the Sou also does in like manner. For the Father
loves the Son, and shows him all things that himself does : and
greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even
so the Son also gives life to whom he will. For neither does the
Father judge any man, but he has given all judgment to the Son ;
that all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father who
sent him.
Verily, verily, I say to you, He that hears my word, and be-
lieves him that sent me, has eternal life, and comes not into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Verily, verily, I say to you, The hour is coming, and now is,
SAVING THE SABBATH 183
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Sou of God ; and they
that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself, even
so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself :
And he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he i«
the Sou of man.
Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in which all that
are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
I can of myself do nothing : as I hear, I judge : and my judg-
ment is righteous ; because I seek not my own will, but the will
of him that sent me.
If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true. It is another
that bears witness of me ; and I know that the witness he wit-
nesses of me is true.
You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
But the witness I receive is not from man : yet I say these things,
that you may be saved.
He was the lamp that burns and shines : and you were willing
to rejoice for a season in his light.
But the witness which I have is greater than that of John : for
the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, the
very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has
sent me. And the Father who sent me, he has borne witness of
me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his
form.
And you have not his word abiding in you : for whom he sent,
him you believe not.
You search the scriptures because you think that in them you
have eternal life ; aud these are they that bear witness of me ;
and you will not come to me that you may have life.
I receive not glory from men. But I know you, that you have
not the love of God in yourselves.
I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not : if
another shall come in his own name you will receive him. How
can you believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory
that comes from the only God you seek not I
Think not that I will accuse you to the Father : there is one
that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
184 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote
of me.
But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my
words f
John V. 19-47. Eevised Version, with Marginals, etc.
''It Is Yo«, Not I, Who Break the Sabbath **
{From a supposed letter of Ben-Gamlah of Jerusalem.)
I give the substance of what he said, but not his words.
When the people heard him thus speak, and give the testimony
of the prophets to the reign of peace and truth, they were greatly
amazed, and said, " How knoweth this man the Scriptures, since
he has never been to the schools of the Sophers ? ' '
As they said this, he answered them, sayiDg, "What I say is
not what I have sought out or found by my own power, but what
God has said to me. I listen to his voice, and speak his words.
Many who speak to you desire the fame of mighty orators, and
put together sounding words ; but I only try to hear what my
Father says to me, and repeat it again. Ye were angry with me
because I told you that sabbath was made for man, and that
whatever doth man good, it is right to do on the sabbath. Ye
thought that this was teaching you to break the law of Moses.
But, if ye bethink yourselves, ye will see that ye also break the
sabbath by doing works of religion on that day. The priests in
the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless, because they
are obeying the law of Moses. But doth not the law also say,
' Love your neighbor as yourself! ' and I should break that law
if I refused to heal a man on the sabbath. God says, ' I will have
mercy and not sacrifice.' Ye break the sabbath by giving God
sacrifices : I break the sabbath in giving him deeds of mercy."
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 264.
Picking and Eating Grain on the Sabbath
At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day through the
graiufields ; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck
ears [heads] and to eat. But the Pharisees, when they saw it,
said to him. Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful
to do upon the sabbath. But he said unto them :
SAVING THE SABBATH 185
Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and
they that were with him ; how he entered into the house of God,
and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat,
neither for them that were with him, but ouly for the priests ?
Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath day the
priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless?
But I say to you, that one greater than the temple is here. But
if ye had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacri-
fice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son
of man is lord of the sabbath.
Matthew xii. 1-8. American Eevision.
Fivefold Damnation on Those Who Do This
Talmudic law recognised five different species of sin in this
act : To remove the husks was sifting the corn ; to rub the heads
of corn was threshing ; to clean away the side-adherences was
sifting out the fruit ; to bruise the corn was grinding ; to hold it
up in the hands was winnowing. All these acts were forbidden ;
therefore a fivefold damnation rested on him who plucked and
ate corn on the Sabbath-day !
Yet, by another quibble, it was permitted to a man to remove
a whole sheaf from the field, if he had previously laid upon it a
spoon in common use ; for it was not sinful to remove the spoon
aud the sheaf might be removed with the spoon, the sheaf being
treated as part of the spoon for the time being !
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 75.
Defending His Disciples, Not Himself
Jesus Himself had not indeed shared in the offense. If we
may press the somewhat peculiar expression of St. Mark, He
was walking along through the cornfields by the ordinary path,
bearing His hunger as best He might, while the disciples were
pushing for themselves a road through the standing corn [grain]
by plucking the ears [heads] as they went along. Now there was
no harm whatever in plucking the ears ; that was not only
sanctioned by custom, but even distinctly permitted by the
Mosaic law. But the heinous fact was that this should be done
on a Sabbath ! Instantly the Pharisees are around our Lord,
186 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
pointing to the disciples with the angry question, ''See ! why do
they" — with a contemptuous gesture toward the disciples — "do
that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day ? "
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 436.
The Man with the Withered Hand
On another Sabbath, He entered the synagogue and taught ;
and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The pro-
fessors and Pharisees accordingly watched Him, to see if He
would cure on the Sabbath ; in order to lay an information against
Him. Divining their reasonings, however. He said to the man
who had the withered hand,
" Get up, and stand out among us."
So he arose and stood. Jesus then said to them,
" I ask you plainly, Is it allowable on the Sabbath to benefit or
to injure? to save a life or to destroy it?"
Then, looking around upon tbem all. He said to the man,
•' Extend your hand ! ' '
He did so ; and his hand was restored like the other. But they
became mad with annoyance ; and discussed among themselves
what they could do to Jesus.
Luke vi. 6-11. The Neio Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 96.
Tradition That This Man "Was a Stone Mason
It was apparently on the day signalised by this bitter attack,
that our Lord again, later in the afternoon, entered the synagogue.
A man — tradition says that he was a stone-mason, maimed by an
accident, who had prayed Christ to heal him, that he might not
be forced to beg — was sitting in the synagogue.
His presence, and apparently the purpose of His presence, was
known to all ; and in the chief seats were scribes, Pharisees,
Herodiaus, whose jealous, malignant gaze was fixed on Christ to
see what He would do, that they might accuse Him.
He did not leave them long in doubt. First He bade the man
with the withered hand to get up and stand out in the midst.
And then he referred to the [judgment] of their own consciences
the question that was in their hearts, formulating it only in such
SAVING THE SABBATH 187
a way as to show them its real significance. " Is it lawful," He
asked, ^'on the Sabbath clays to do good or to do evil ? to save
life (as I am doing), or to kill (as you in your hearts are wishing
todo)r'
There could be but one answer to such a question, but they
were not there either to search for or to tell the truth. Their
sole object was to watch what He would do, and found upon it a
public charge before the Sanhedrin, or if not, at least to brand
him thenceforth with the open stigma of a Sabbath -breaker.
Therefore they met the question by a stolid and impotent
silence. But he would not allow them to escape the verdict of
their own better judgment, and therefore He justified Himself by
their own distinct practice, no less than by their inability to
answer.
"Is there one of you," He asked, " who, if but a single sheep
be fallen into a water-pit, will not get hold of it, and pull it out ?
How much then is a man better than a sheep *? ' ' The argument
was unanswerable, and their own conduct in the matter was un-
deniable ; but still their fierce silence remained unbroken.
He looked round on them with anger ; a holy indignation
burned in His heart, glowed on His countenance, animated His
gesture, rang in His voice, as slowly He swept each hard up-
turned face with the glance that upbraided them for their
malignity and meanness, for their ignorance and pride ; and then
suppressing that bitter and strong emotion as He turned to His
deed of mercy, He said to the man, " Stretch forth thy hand."
Was not the hand withered ? How could he stretch it forth ?
The word of Christ supplied the power to fulfil His command.
He stretched it out, and it was restored whole as the other.
Thus in every way were His enemies foiled — foiled in argument,
shamed into silence, thwarted even in their attempt to find some
ground for a criminal accusation. For even in healing the man,
Christ had done absolutely nothing which their worst hostility
could misconstrue into a breach of the Sabbath law.
He had not touched the man ; He had not questioned him ; He
had not bid him exercise his recovered power ; He had but spoken
a word, and not even a Pharisee could say that to speak a word
was an infraction of the Sabbath, even if the word were followed
by a miraculous blessing ! They must have felt how utterly they
188 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
were defeated, but it only kindled their rage the more. They
were filled with madness, and communed one with another what
they might do to Jesus.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 439.
Not to Wear Even a Needle on the Sabbath
The holy day began with sunset on Friday, and ended with the
sunset of Saturday, but as the disappearance of the sun was the
only mark of the time, its commencement was different on a hill-
top and in a valley. If it were cloudy, the hens going to roost
was the signal. The beginning and close of the Sabbath were
announced by trumpet blasts, in Jerusalem and in the different
towns. From the decline of the sun on Friday, to its setting,
was Sabbath-eve, and no work which would continue into the
hours of Sabbath, could be done in this interval. All food must
be prepared, all vessels washed, and all lights kindled, before
sunset. The money girdle must be taken off, and all tools laid
aside.
"On Friday, before the beginning of the Sabbath," said one
law, " no one must go out of his house with a needle or a pen,
lest he forget to lay them aside before the Sabbath opens. Every
one must also search his pockets at that time, to see that there is
nothing left in them with which it is forbidden to go out on the
Sabbath." The refinements of rabbinical casuistry were, indeed,
endless. To wear one kind of sandals was carrying a bnrden,
while to wear another kind was not.
One might carry a burden on his shoulder, but it must not be
slung between the two. It was unlawful to go out with wooden
sandals or shoes which had nails in the soles, or with a shoe and
a slipper, unless one foot were hurt.
It was unlawful for any one to carry a loaf on the public
street, but if two carried it, it was not unlawful. The Sabbath
was believed to prevail in all its strictness, from eternity,
throughout the universe. All the rabbinical precepts respecting
it had been revealed to Jacob from the originals on the tablets of
heaven. Even in hell the lost had rest from their torments on
its sacred hours, and the waters of Bethesda might be troubled
on other days but were still and unmoved on this.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 91.
SAVING THE SABBATH 189
Ridicolows Regulations
You must not walk through a stream on stilts, for you reallj
carried the stilts. A woman must not go out with any ribbons
upon her unless they were sewed to her dress. A false tooth
must not be worn. A person with the toothache might not rinse
his mouth with vinegar, but he might hold it in his mouth and
swallow it.
No one might write down two letters of the alphabet. The
sick might not send for a physician. A person with lumbago
might not rub or foment the affected part.
A tailor must not go out with his needle on Friday night, lest
he should forget it, and so break the Sabbath by carrying it
about.
A cock must not wear a piece of ribbon around his leg on the
Sabbath, for this would be to carry something !
Shammai would not intrust a letter to a pagan after Wednesday,
lest he should not have arrived at his destination on the Sabbath.
He was occupied, we are told, all the week thinking how he
should keep the Sabbath.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D.D., F. E. S., Vol. I, p. 432.
Foot-note.
Foolish Quibble about Carrying a Handkerchief
The following is a specimen of the puerilities enjoined and en-
forced by their learned rabbis : — A Jew must not carry on the
Sabbath even so much as a pocket handkerchief, except within
the walls of the city. If there are no walls it follows, according
to their perverse logic, that he must not carry it at all ! To avoid
this difficulty, here in Safed, they resort to [this] :
Poles are set up at the ends of the streets, and strings stretched
from one to the other. This string represents a wall, and a con-
scientious Jew may carry his handkerchief anywhere within these
strings.
I was once amused by a devout Israelite who was walking with
me on his Sabbath. When we came to the end of the street the
string was gone, and so by another fiction he was at liberty to go
on without reference to what was in his pocket, because he had
not passed the wall !
The Land and the Book, William McClure Thomson, Vol. II, (chapter) 19.
190 TPIE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
He Found It a Law, and Left It a Privilege
He protested agaiust the spirit which, on this memorial day of
emancipatiou, manacled the hands and the hearts of the children
of God. He repelled with especial indignation the idea that its
hours were too sacred for labors of mercy and of love. He took
from it nothing but its chains. He found it a day of rest to the
body, but of weariness to the spirit. He left it a day no less of
refreshment to the mind and of recreation to the soul. He found
this cutting from the tree of life, a dead form, leafless, blossom-
less. He infused it with new life, clothed it with verdure, and
filled its branches with the singing of birds. He found it a law ;
he left it a privilege.
As a gardener in autumn guards his more delicate plants by
enwrapping them with straw, so the Jews had endeavored to
preserve this their ancient Sabbath by wrapping it around with
dead traditions which they called "guards of the law." Jesus
tore off these wrappings. The Pharisees cried out against the
desecration. But the spring had come. And Christ preserved
the Sabbath which to their eyes he seemed to be destroying by
endowing it with a new life in itself — a life which these wrajj-
piugs were repressing, and ere long would have extinguished.
But this was not all. The Pharisaic Sabbath was the strong-
hold of Pharisaism. It was to the Jews what the cross is to the
Roman Catholic, the emblem of his religion. A day of cere-
monies, it was the very heart of ceremonialism. It was, there-
fore, the first objective point of Christ's attack. A wise general,
he struck for the key of the Pharisaic position. By open,
flagrant, repeated, and purposed violations of the Pharisaic
traditions, he inaugurated the conflict not merely between him-
self and the Pharisees, but between spiritual life and ceremonial
law.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 205.
** The Sabbath Was Made for Man **
" Look ! " exclaimed the Pharisees to Him, '' how they are do-
ing on the Sabbath what is not allowable."
" Hid you never read," replied He, " what David did when he
had need, and was hungry, he as well as those who were with
him ? How, during the time that Abiathar was High Priest, he
SAVIJ^G THE SABBATH 191
entered the house of God, and ate the shew-bread— which was
permitted to be eaten by none but the priests— giving also to
those who accompanied him ?
" The day of rest," He added, '' came for the sake of man ; not
man for the purpose of the Sabbath ; so that the Son of Man is
also Master of the Sabbath."
Mark ii. 24-28. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 69,
XIV
GOIXG ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE
What is that ye came to note —
A youug Man preaching from a boat ?
— Clough.
Left All and Followed Him
He said to Simon :
" Push off into deep water, and all throw out your nets for a
haul."
" We have been hard at work all night, Sir," answered Simou,
"and have not caught anything, but, at your bidding, I will
throw out the nets,"
They did so, and enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their
nets began to break. So they signaled to their partners in the
other boat to come and help them ; and they came and filled both
boats so full of fish that they were almost sinking. When Simon
Peter saw this, he threw himself down at Jesus' knees, ex-
claiming :
" Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man ! "
For he and all who were with him were lost in amazement at
the haul of fish which they had made ; and so, too, were James
and John, Zebediah's [Zebedee's] sous, who were Simon's partners.
"Do not be afraid," Jesus said to Simon ; " from to-day you
shall catch men. " And, when they had brought their boats to
shore, they left everything, and followed him.
Luke V. 4-11. The Ticentieth Century New Testament in Modem English,
p. 114.
** Depart from Me ! ** Yet Let Me Stay
A busy scene followed. The instinct of work first prevailed.
Simou and Andrew beckoned to Zebedee and his sons and serv-
ants to come in their boat and help to save the miraculous draught
and straining nets ; both boats were filled to the gunwale with
the load ; and at the first moment that the work was finished,
and Peter recognised the whole force of the miracle, he falls,
192
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 193
with his usual eager impetuosity, at his Master's feet — to thank
Him 1 to offer Him henceforth an absolute devotion ■? — No, but
(and here we have a touch of indescribable truthfulness, utterly
beyond the power of the most consummate intellect to have in-
vented) to exclaim, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O
Lord ! " A flash of supernatural illumination had revealed to
him both his own sinful unworthiness and who He was who was
with him in the boat. It was the first imjDulse of fear and amaze-
ment, before they had had time to grow into adoration and love.
St. Peter did not mean the " Depart from me ; " he only meant —
and this was known to the Searcher of hearts — " I am utterly un-
worthy to be near Thee, yet let me stay."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 243.
Choosing a Publican
Matthew's Own Account
And passing on from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew,
sitting at the custom-house ; and He said to him,
"Follow Me!"
And arising, he did follow Him.
Matthew ix, 9. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 41.
MarWs Account
He afterwards went out again by the lake ; and all the crowd
coming to Him, He taught them. And as He was passing along.
He noticed Levi, son of Alphseus, sitting at the custom-house ;
and He said to him,
" Follow Me ! "
So starting up he followed Him.
Mark ii. 13, 14. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 69.
A Tax Collector Gives up His Position
As I came near lo the white walls of Kaphar-nahum (Caper-
naum), I beheld the house of the tax-gatherer, which stood by the
gate, where all wlio brought anything into the city must pay
their taxes to the publican, or collector of taxes. There was a
crowd around the house, and much talking ; and T said, " They
are disputing his demands, and seeking to avoid paying the tax ; "
for very frequent and bitter were the quarrels concerning taxes.
194 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The great publicans at Eome bought from the Senate the right
to tax our province of Syria, and sold this right to other publi-
cans. So each grasped all he could extort from the nation. They
were like robbers, or like hungry wolves, and were hated by the
people. I had known well the man who held this place at
Kaphar-nahum (Capernaum), and loved him as a dear friend.
He was called Levi-Matthew, son of Alphaeus. He was better
than the others, and did much good with his badly gained money.
As I approached, I saw Levi talking with those who stood
around, and some of his servants were collecting and packing in
boxes his rolls of accounts ; and I said, " O Levi ! May blessings
wait on thee ! Dost thou go from this place, and hath thine
office been taken from thee ? ' '
He replied " Mine office hath not been taken ; but I have given
it up, and collect taxes no more. These friends lament, for they
think that perchance a more cruel man than I may come into my
place ; yet I hope not, for the people have need of all they have,
and with difficulty pay their tax," I said, "But why dost thou
quit thine office, O Levi ? Though they mock at thee because of
it, and spit on the ground as they pass, yet many, I know, would
willingly take it themselves, for it is full of profit."
But Matthew (which is Levi), the son of Alphoeus, answered
and said, "I have been called to-day to be a follower and a
scholar of the new prophet, my kinsman, Jesus of Nazirah
(Nazareth). I so love and honor him, that I shall leave all, and
go wherever he desires. But tell me, Thomas, whence comest
thou? It is long since I have seen thee. Come with me to my
home, and let us talk together ; and I will make thee known unto
the prophet, for he cometh to-day unto the feast which I give
those who have been my companions and friends in my business.
All the great publicans will be there, and others also. Though
many hate us, and will not speak to us, nor eat with us, many
others, as thou kuowest, refuse not to salute us."
Life and Times of Jesjis as Related by ITiomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 142.
Matthew*s Farewell Reception
Then Levi prepared a large reception at his own house ; and a
great company of tax-farmers and others were reclining together
with Him.
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 195
But the professors grumbled about them ; and the Pharisees
said to His disciples :
•'Why does He eat aud drink among these tax-farmers and
sinners ? ' '
Luke V. 29, 30. The New Testament in Blodern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 95.
Celebrating a Unique Event
It was natural, therefore, that Matthew should celebrate an
event so unique as his call, by a "great feast in his house," in
honour of Jesus ; and no less so that he should invite a large
number of his class, to rejoice with him at the new era opened to
them, or that he should extend the invitation to his friends of the
proscribed classes generally.
A number of persons in bad odour with their more correct fel-
low-citizens were, hence, brought together by him, along with
the publicans of the locality, to do Jesus honour : persons branded
by public opinion as "sinners," a name given indiscriminately to
usurers, gamblers, thieves, publicans, shepherds, and sellers of
fruit grown in the sabbath years. It might have seemed doubt-
ful whether Jesus would sit down with such a company, for even
with us it would be a bold step for any public teacher to join a
gathering of persons in bad repute. The admission of Matthew
to the discipleship must have seemed to many a great mistake.
Nothing could more certainly damage the prospects of Jesus with
the influential classes, or create a wider or deeper prejudice and
distrust.
But nothing weighed for a moment with Him against truth and
right. His soul was filled with a grand enthusiasm for humanity,
and no false or narrow exclusiveness of the day could be allowed
to stand in its way. He accepted the invitation with the readiest
cheerfulness, and spent the evening in the pleasures of friendly
social intercourse with the strange assembly.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 30.
"Those Who Are Healthy Do Not Need a Physician **
And later on he was in his house at table, and a number of tax-
gatherers and outcasts took their places at table with Jesus and
his disciples ; for many of them were following him. When the
teachers of the Law belonging to the party of the Pharisees saw
196 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
that he was eating in the company of such people, they said to
his disciples :
" He is eating in the company of tax-gatherers and outcasts ! "
Hearing this, Jesus said :
"It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but
those who are ill. I did not come to call the religious, but the
outcast."
3Iark ii. 15-17. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p, 8.
** Tax-gatherers and ! **
The hatred and contempt for those of their countrymen who,
under such circumstances, took service under the associations of
publicans farming the odious taxes, as collectors, may be im-
agined. The bitter, relentless contempt and loathing towards
them knew no bounds.
As the Greeks spoke of "tax-gatherers and sycophants," the
Jews had always ready a similarly odious association of terms,
such as ' ' tax-gatherers and sinners, " " tax-gatherers and heathen, ' '
"tax-gatherers and prostitutes," "tax-gatherers, murderers, and
highway robbers," in speaking of them. Driven from society,
the local publicans became more and more the pariahs of the
Jewish world.
The Pharisee stepped aside with pious horror, to avoid breath-
ing the air poisoned with the breath of the lost son of the House
of Israel, who had sold himself to a calling so infamous. The
testimony of a publican was not taken in a Jewish court. It was
forbidden to sit at table with him, or to eat his bread.
The gains of the class were the ideal of uncleanness, and were
especially shunned, every piece of their money serving to mark a
religious offence. To change coin for them, or to accept alms
from them, defiled a whole household, and demanded special
purifications.
The Life and Words of Christ, Canningbam Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 273.
** The Lost ** Are Not Lost to Him
The joy that attended the "good-news" preaching of The
Carpenter can with difficulty be imagined by moderns, ac-
customed to view religion as a scourge, a cult for the dying, a
system of world renunciation.
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 197
Jesus was uot afraid of the good things of this world. His
message had for its purpose the recovery of their earth heritage
on the part of the disinherited classes. That term, "the lost,"
as it appears ou his lips, repays study. It has not the idea of
moral failure which the term has come to connote to-day. It has
reference rather to social outlawry. . . . Society has disin-
herited . but God has not disinherited them.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 103.
** Can the Sons of the Bride-Chamber Fast ? **
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we
and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not %
Matthew ix. 14. American Revision.
And Jesus said unto them. Can ye make the sons of the bride-
chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them % But the days
will come ; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from
them, then will they fast in those days.
Luke V. 34, 35. American Revision.
Old Garments and Old Wine-Sfcins
And he spake also a parable unto them ; No one tears a piece
from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment ; else he
will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree
with the old.
And no one puts new wine into old wine-skins ; else the new
wine will burst the skins, and itself will be spilled, and the skins
will perish. But new wine must be put into fresh wine-skins.
And no man having drunk old wine desires new : for he says,
The old is better.
Luke V. 36-39. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
New Wine Already Bursting Their Old Bottles
The new wine was thus already bursting the old bottles, and
the result could not be doubtful. Conservatism felt itself im-
periled, for it had been weighed, and found wanting.
The priesthood had become a dividing wall between God and
Israel. The religious decay of the nation found in it its expression.
The sacrifices were mere outward forms ; the Temple, notwith-
standing the glory with which Herod's love of magnificence and
198 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
hypocritical piety had adorned it, was a symbol of exclusiveness,
intolerance, and hatred of humanity at large ; the high officialism
of the day was a dam against every reform, every breath of fresh
religious thought, and every attempt at a purer spiritual life.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 102.
Going about, Preaching and Healing
And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their syna-
gogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.
And the report of him went forth into all Syria : and they
brought to him all that were sick, holden with divers diseases
and torments, demoniacs, and epileptic, and palsied ; and he
healed them.
And there followed him great multitudes from Galilee and
Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Matthew iv. 23-25. Revised, with Marginals, ete.
A Region of Energy and Prosperity
Galilee was the most northerly of the four provinces into which
Palestine was divided. It was sixty miles long by thirty broad ;
that is to say, it was less than some of our . . counties.
. . . It consisted for the most part of an elevated plateau,
whose surface was varied by irregular mountain masses. Near
its eastern boundary it suddenly dropped down into a great gulf,
through which flowed the Jordan, and in the midst of which, at
a depth of five hundred feet below the Mediterranean, lay the
lovely, harp-shaped Sea of Galilee.
The whole province was very fertile, and its surface thickly
covered with large villages and towns. The population was
. dense. . . . But the center of activity was the basin
of the lake, a sheet of water thirteen miles long by six broad.
Above its eastern shore, round which ran a fringe of green a
quarter of a mile broad, there towered high, bare hills, cloven
with the channels of torrents. On the western side, the moun-
tains were gently sloped and their sides richly cultivated, bearing
crops of every description ; while at their feet the shore was
verdant with luxuriant groves of olives, oranges, figs, and every
product of au almost tropical climate. At the northern end of
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 109
the lake the space between the water and the mountains was
broadened by the delta of the river, and watered with many
streams from the hills, so that it was a perfect paradise of fertility
and beauty. It was called the plain of Geunesaret, aud even at
this day, when the whole basin of the lake is little better than a
torrid solitude, is still covered with magnificent corn [grain]
fields, wherever the hand of cultivation touches it ; and, where
idleness leaves it untended, is overspread with thick jungles of
thorn and oleander.
In our Lord's time, it contained the chief cities on the lake,
such as Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin. But the whole
shore was studded with towns and villages, and formed a perfect
beehive of swarming human life. . . . The waters of the
lake teemed with fish, affording employment to thousands of
fishermen. Thousands of boats for fishing, transport, and pleas-
ure moved to and fro on the surface of the lake, so that the whole
region was a focus of energy and prosperity.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 58.
Men Obeyed without Understanding Him
Galilee was at his feet. Just then he could have done anything
with Galilee. The neighboring provinces overflowed on the lake
side for his sake ; Judea sought him and studied him ; and even
Jerusalem had her delegates at his mass meetings. The clergy
and officers of his church had begun to observe him. His audi-
ences were numbered by thousands. His patients were never
numbered. Sickness, misery, sin and shame swept against his
heart as the winds swept Geunesaret, whose shape was like a
harp. Both audiences aud patients were increasing with ap-
palling force. He could get little sleep. Eest was impossible.
He had scarcely time to eat, aud his nervous vigor was so taxed
that food was taken with difficulty.
It had become necessary for him to own or to control a boat
for his frequent trips across the lake, that he might push out into
the water and so use the deck as a pulpit, putting a space between
himself and the masses which would otherwise have disabled him
from addressing them. Wherever he went, he took and left
crowds. He was trampled by humanity. He was almost crushed
by its near proximity. The pressure of its woe closed upon him
200 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
till he could have cried out for agony from his delicate percei)tion
of what that meant. The sense of its taint bruised against his
exquisite purity till he could have shrunk away forever, from
sheer moral recoil, out of repulsive contact. He never did.
He had not an atom of false sensitiveness. His delicacy had
not a morbid nerve in it. He took the world as he found it.
But he did not, he would not, he could not leave it so. Where
he was, vice hung its head. Where he trod, virtue was the only
comfortable thing. Misery crept like a child to his arms. As-
suagement was in his touch, because pity and power held the
balance of his impulses. His life was as foreign to every con-
ception of life held by the people of his times as the unknown
continents of the western hemisphere. He passed through Pales-
tine like a new law of moral science, which men obeyed without
understanding.
The Story of Jems Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 162.
Preaching to the Qowds from a Boat Polpit
Now it came to pass, while the multitude pressed upon him
and heard the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of
Gennesaret ; and he saw two boats standing by the lake : but the
fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
And he entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and
asked him to put out a little from the laud. And he sat down
and taught the multitudes out of the boat.
Luke V. 1-3. American Revision.
And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on
him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him, for he had
healed many.
Mark iii, 9, 10. American Revision.
A Boat Followed Him along the Shore
It was even found necessary that a boat should attend Him, as
He journeyed along the shore, that He might betake Himself to
it when the throng grew oppressive. Miraculous cases in great
number increased the excitement, many who crowded round Him
finding relief by touching even His clothes, and unclean spirits
falling down before Him in involuntary confession of His being
the Sou of God.
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 201
But though His pity would not refuse to heal auy who came,
He still sought to avoid the offence of too great notoriety, by
requiring secrecy. His gentle and unostentatious progress was in
such vivid contrast to the noisy and disputatious ways of the
rabbis, that St. Matthew saw in it a fulfilment of the Messianic
visions of Isaiah, for He did not strive, nor cry aloud, nor was
His voice heard in the streets, and in His tender gentleness He
would not break a bruised reed, or quench even the smoking
flax.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 103.
"What Was It Ye Went out to See ?
Across the sea, along the shore,
In numbers more and ever more,
From lonely hut and busy town,
The valley through, the mountain down,
What was it ye went out to see,
Ye silly folk of Galilee ?
The wind that in the wind doth shake?
The weed that washes in the lake ?
The reeds that waver, the weeds that float ? —
A young man preaching in a boat. . . .
A prophet ? Boys and women weak !
Declare, or cease to rave ;
Whence is it he hath learned to speak ?
Say, who his doctrine gave ?
A prophet ? Prophet wherefore he
Of all in Israel tribes? —
He teacheth with authority,
And not as do the scribes.
'* What Went Ye out for to See?'' Arthur Hugh Clough, Poetical Works, p. 76.
Founding a Kingdom on Personal Love
" The love of Christ ' ' was to be the watchword of His followers
in all ages ; the sentiment that would nerve them to endure tri-
umphantly the bitterest persecutions, and even death : that
would constrain them to life-long devotion to His cause ; in
obedience to His commands, and in imitation of His example.
The words of a future disciple, St. Paul, would be only the
utterance of all others worthy the name, in every age. "The
love of Christ constraiueth us."
202 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
With St. John, they would " love Him because He first
loved us."
He had established a kingdom, for the first and only time in
history, on jjersonal love to the founder, and it was uecessarj^ that
He should definitely reveal Himself in His spiritual relation to
it as, henceforth, its recognised Messiah-King.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p 224.
The Happiest Time in His Mother^s Life
This was the happiest time in Mary's later life. Perplexity
and trouble lay behind her. Anguish ineffable lay before her.
But for the moment she knew a little comfort. Family friction
no longer annoyed her in her relations to her Sou. In this respect
she had asserted herself. She no longer brought to him or suf-
fered to be brought to him any criticisms on his judgment or his
conduct. She was convinced that he was not to be interfered
with. She bowed to his superiority with more than usual ma-
ternal adoration.
The thought of his mystical birth, the belief in his mystical
mission, for so many years submerged in her mind, had now
come uppermost. Feeling a little as if she had wronged him by
having ever listened to what the other children tliought or said
about him ; filled with a noble sadness for any hour in which she
had ever wondered or questioned whether he were fated to grow
into a grand destiny, she plunged herself into the beautiful de-
votion which only a woman may know and show, and only for a
great son.
The presence of his mother was an inexpressible comfort to
Jesus in his homeless and wandering life. With starting tears
we thank God that he had it, and had it just when he did. For
he stood trembling on the height of his success ; filled with the
perplexing weariness, with the vague portents slowly assuming
distiucter outlines, that besieged him in the last days before the
decline of his fortunes set in.
He moved apart from his dearest friendships in the inexorable
loneliness which nothing but utter love could approach ; and the
love of a mother who does not ask to understand, only to give, was
at times the only one which his hurt and patient heart could bear.
The Story of Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p, 203.
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 203
Admiration Melted into Adoration
Idyllic days followed. It was perhaps uow that, for the first
time, He began to teach in the open air. The local synagogues could
not contain the throngs of those who sought to see and hear Him.
Sometimes He sat upon a hillside and discoursed to these eager
throngs, who forgot all sense of time while He spoke. At other
times a friendly fisherman lent Him his boat, and from it He would
address a great multitude that stood upon the shores of the lake.
In the bright spring weather, when all nature was fermenting
with new life, His own mind expanded with a similar joy of
growth. He uttered exquisite truths with the ease and felicity
of a poet who is assured of the boundless resources of his own
genius. He scattered gems of thought with a prodigal profusion.
Admiration melted into adoration. The multitude followed Him
from place to place, with the growing sense that here was One
whom it would be good to follow to the world's end.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 83.
He Qiose Twelve Whom He Named Apostles
And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the
mountain to pray ; and he continued all night in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called his disciples ; and he chose from
them twelve, whom also he named apostles: Simon, whom he also
named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and
Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas, and James
the son of Alphteus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and
Judas the sou of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Luke vi. 12-16. American Revision.
The Four Lists of the Twelve Compared
Simon,
Simon,
Simon,
Peter,
Andrew,
James,
Andrew,
John,
James,
John,
James,
James,
John,
Andrew,
John,
Andrew,
Philip,
Philip,
Philip,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Bartholomew,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Thomas,
Matthew,
Matthew,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
Thomas,
Matthew,
James of Alphaens,
James of Alphseus
James of Alphajus,
, James of Alphseus,
Lebbseus,
Thaddseus,
Simon the Zealot,
Simon the Zealot,
Simon the Canansean
, Simon the Canausean
, Judas of James,
Judas of James.
Judas Iscariot.
Judas Iscariot.
Jndaa Iscariot.
Blatt. X. 2-4,
Mark iii. 16-
-19.
Luke vi. 14-16.
Acts i. 13.
W. W.
204 THE STOJRY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Where Each of Them Had Lived
Christ laid no stress ou their former social position, or religious
party, for they included, on the one side, a publican, who was
also a Levite, and on the other, one who had belonged to the
ultra-puritan zealots, the fanatical party of Judas the Galilean.
Nor did He require them to be unmarried, for Peter, we know,
had a wife, and if we may trust the tradition of the Armenian
Church, the only apostles who were single were the sons of
Zebedee, and Thomas.
The Capernaum circle yielded Him no fewer than seven of
the twelve, — Peter, and his brother Andrew, who lived with
him ; two sons from the house of Zebedee — James and John ;
two sous of Alphseus, —James the Little, and Jude, who is
commonly distinguished as Lebbaeus, the stout-hearted, — or
Thaddseus, the brave. The publican Matthew was also from
Capernaum, and was the third from the household of Alphseus,
if the name refer to the father of James the Little and Jude ; and
Philip belonged to the village of Bethsaida in its immediate
neighbourhood, making in all, eight of the twelve, virtually from
the same favoured place. Of the remaiuiiig four, Nathauael, the
son of Talmai, the Bartholomew of our version, was from Cana,
ou the north side of the plain of El Battauf, on which Jesus had
so often looked down from the Nazareth hill top.
Thomas— ready to die, but slow to believe : manly aud full of
grave tenderness, — whose Hebrew name was sometimes turned
into the Greek equivalent Didymus, " the twin,"— was the same
person, — one tradition says, — as Judas, the brother of Jesus, as
if Mary had had a double birth, after bearing her eldest son. If
so, one of the household amongst whom our Saviour had grown up,
one son of His mother, redeemed the general coldness of the rest.
The name of Simon the Zealot, another Galilean, and that of
the only apostle from Judea,— Judas, the traitor, of the village
of Kerioth, in the south of Judah— close the list.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D,, Vol, II, p. 43.
Illiterate but Not Ignorant
Illiterate though they were, these first disciples were not al-
together ignorant men, nor chosen, as is sometimes imagined,
from among the lowest classes. They were men of what we
GOING ABOUT GALILEE WITH THE TWELVE 205
should call a religious nature. Four of them Jesus found at the
ford of Bethabara, listening with attentive ears to the words of
John the Baptist. A fifth had evidently looked with them for
the coming of the hope of Israel.
They were not without some culture. They probably had, all
of them, enjoyed the benefits of that popular education which
even in those degenerate days characterized Judaism. Philip
and Peter were both acquainted with the Greek language. The
former was perhaps a Hellenist by birth ; at least his name would
indicate this. The same may be said of Andrew.
Matthew was a ready and methodical writer. The effect of his
training as a keeper of the public moneys is to be easily seen in
his Gospel, the most systematic and orderly in its arrangement of
the four.
Peter was a man of considerable means, lived in his own house,
where he hospitably entertained Jesus, and evidently considered
that he had made no little sacrifice in leaving his business to
follow Christ.
James and John lived with their father, who was able to keep
hired servants, and to carry on his fishing operations on a some-
what extensive scale. The latter had such relations with the
high priest as gave him easy access to the palace.
On the whole, it may be inferred that Jesus chose his apostles
from that middle class which Abraham Lincoln has called " the
plain people," to which by his earthly birth Jesus himself be-
longed, and from which God's providence has generally chosen
the world's great men.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 217.
The Sea of Galilee
I have a longing in my soul
The little lake to see,
Where Jesus walked and worked and talked —
The Sea of Galilee.
A sapphire deep in setting old —
Dear gem of all the earth !
For in it shone the face of One,
Whose love gives life its worth.
Galilee, Wayne Whipple, Zion's Herald, Vol. LXXVII, June 7, 1899, p. 720.
XV
THE SERMOK, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE
Truths divine came mended from that tongue.
— Pope.
Going to Hear the Young Rabbi Preach
The people, both meu aud womeu, were gathered together along
the sides of the hill above a little valley. They sat ou the grass,
uuder the shade of the palms aud oaks, which grew side by side
iu this fortunate land. And the murmurs of waters descending
from above was in our ears.
Then I saw the Teacher come down the mountain from above,
where he had passed the night in prayer (as some of his disciples
told me), while the disciples slept on the grass. Such was the
custom of the Teacher. He had no fixed hours of i^rayer, like
the Pharisees ; but when he went forth to any work, or when he
did any important action, he prayed beforehand for power to do
it aright, calling on God, as father, to aid him in his task. Thus
the Helper was always near when he needed help. But because
he did not pray according to the prayer of formality, at fixed
seasons, men said of him that he had no religion, but was only
a man of morality. Thus men judge by appearances, aud not
righteously.
And, behold ! as I drew near, the Teacher had seated himself
on a stone to speak. And when he had lifted up his eyes toward
the people, who sat around and above him on the sides of the
hill, he opened his mouth, and spoke of the kingdom of heaven,
which we all hoped soon to see in our laud. First of all he told
us who were to belong to the kingdom, and how happy they
would be as servants of the King who was to come, even the
Messiah. I well remember the first word he spoke ; for it fell ou
my ear with a tone and power which aroused my soul to listen.
The word was, —
'' Blessed ! '">
206
THE SERMON, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE 2()7
And then he paused, and looked around with eyes full of pity,
as he saw the poor people, so wretched, so forlorn, hungry, and
half-naked (for there weie many of these who had been plun-
dered of all they had by Roman soldiers), and many sick, also ;
others, moreover, who were rich and well, with some rulers and
scribes among them. And all listened with eagerness for the
words of his lips.
Life and Times of Jesus as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 151.
**Blesseds'' and "Woes''
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain : and
when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him : and he
opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for
they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called sons of
God.
Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness'
sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you,
and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in
heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
llattheiv V. 1-12. American Revision,
But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have received your
consolation.
Woe unto you, ye that are full now ! for ye shal-1 hunger.
Woe unto you, ye that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and
weep.
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you ! for in
the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.
Luke vi. 24-26. American Revision.
208 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Beginning of the Sermon on the Mount
"Blessed are ye poor," said lie again; "for ye are nearer to
the kingdom of God than if ye were rich." And then he stopped
a moment, and spoke once more : —
" But blessed are ye whose souls are poor ; for the kingdom of
God has come unto you to make your souls rich.
" Blessed are ye that weep now, and are sad ; for your sadness
shall be turned to joy."
And he went on, and pronounced those really blessed and
fortunate who were persecuted, hated, and reviled, and whom
men should cast out, because they were the friends of the Son of
Man.
And I said to Matthew, "Who, then, is this Son of Man."
But he made no reply.
And the Teacher went on and said, "Blessed are the meek,
and the merciful, and the peacemakers, and the pure in heart,
and all who seek to be righteous." And he said that all these
were the true sons of the kingdom. And I was greatly astonished,
both at his majesty with which he spoke, and at the nature of his
teaching.
Life and Times of Jesus as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 152.
The Beatitudes a Bill of Rights
. Luke's version gives the Beatitudes in a rough but fiery
strength. And we discover that The Carpenter's reference to
the "poor in spirit" was in order that they might get over
being poor in spirit ; he insisted that they were inheritors, in
order to rouse them up to claim their inheritance. To the hungry
he promised a state of society in which they would no longer be
on short rations, nor would the sorrowful then be called upon to
endure the brutalities which were turning their day into night.
Those "Blesseds" were words of compliment and cheer to
working people, and were designed to awaken their self-respect
to a point where they would stand up against the invader. The
Carpenter believed in the dignity of labor. . . . "Blessed
therefore, are ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled ; blessed
are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh ; blessed are ye when the
framers of social caste separate you from their company because
THE SERMON, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE 209
you are a workiugmau and are followers of me, a workingman ;
for iu the kiugdoiii of self-respect that is coming, your reward
shall be great. ' '
Those ' ' Beatitudes ' ' coustitute a Bill of Rights. The Sermon
ou the Mount ranks high among the inflammatory manifestos of
the world.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 108.
**"Woe onto You of Whom * The System ♦ Speaks Well I "*
Quite otherwise than in this congratulatory strain shall we find
him speaking when he is outside of Galilee, amongst Judea's
upper-class circles. And even now — in Luke — he follows up his
"Blesseds" with another series . . . his "Woes" to the
parasite, the exploiter, the well-fed idler. " Woe unto you that
are rich ! Woe unto you that are full ! Woe unto you that laugh
in your cushioned places of ease ! Woe unto you of whom 'The
System' speaks well !"
The "world," as Jesus used the term, meant not the physical
as distinguished from the spiritual. . . . By it he meant the
banded exploiters at the top of society who spend wealth that
they have not created, and therefore spend it vaingloriously.
Earned wealth is good, but unearned wealth is a corrosive in any
man's life. And this class of privileged ones, receiving revenue
unrighteously and therefore spending it unrighteously, is what
Jesus signified by the "world." "If the world hate you, ye
know that it hated me before it hated you."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 109.
The Salt and the Light
" You are the salt of the earth ; but if the salt should lose its
strength, with what can itself be salted ? It is then good for
nothing, but to be flung out and trodden under foot by mankind.
"You are the light of the world. A town built upon a hill
cgpnot be concealed. A lamp is never lighted and placed under
a corn measure, but upon the lampstand ; and it gives light to
all those in the house. Thus let your light shine in the presence
of mankind ; so that they may see your good conduct, and praise
your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew v. 13-16. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 37.
210 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Against Vows and Retaliation
'' Agaiu, you have heard that to our aucestors it was said —
*' ' Thou shalt not break aa oath, but thou shalb keep thine
oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'
" I, liowever, say to you that you must not swear at all, either
by Heaven, since tbat is God's throne, or by the earth, since that is
liis footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the Great
King. Nor should you swear by your head, since you cannot make
a single hair either white or black. Let your words be simply
* Yes ' or * No ' ; anything beyond this comes from what is wrong.
" You have heard that it was said —
" ' An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
''I, however, say to you that you must not resist wrong ; but,
if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him
also ; and, when any one wants to go to law with you, to take
your coat, let him have your cloak as well ; and, if any one com-
pels you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to him
who asks of you ; and, from him who wants to borrow from you,
do not turn away."
Matthew v. 33-42. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Blodern English,
p. 51.
** Resist Not Evil!*'
I now understood the words of Jesns: " Ye have heard that it
hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : bvt I say
unto you. That ye resist not evilJ' Jesus' meaning is : You have
thought that you were acting in a reasonable manner in defending
yourself by violence against evil, in tearing out an eye for an eye,
by fighting against evil with criminal tribunals, guardians of the
peace, armies ; but I say unto you, " Renounce violence ; have noth-
ing to do with violence ; do harm to no one, not eveu to your enemy. ' '
I understood now that in saying " Resist not evil," Jesus not
only told us what would result from the observance of this rule,
but established a new basis for society conformable to his doctrine
and opposed to the social basis established by the law of Moses,
by Roman law, and by the different codes in force to-day. He
formulated a new law whose eifect would be to deliver humanity
from its self-inflicted woes. His declaration was : " You believe
that your laws reform criminals ; as a matter of fact, they only
make more criminals. There is only one way to suppress evil.
THE SERMON, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE 211
and that is to return good for evil, without respect of persons.
For thousands of years you have tried the other method, now try
mine, — try the reverse."
My Religion, Count Leo Tolstoi, p. 38.
The Lord's Prayer in Old Saxont by Alfred the Great
Among the noble reforms originated by Alfred the Great were
the "Dooms," or statutes he framed for his people, beginning
with the Ten Commandments. By his translations from the Bible
Alfred did much toward the fulfilment of his own belief, oft re-
peated, "that all the freeborn youth of his kingdom should em-
ploy themselves ou nothing till they could first read well the
English Scripture."
Here is the Lord's Prayer of Alfred :
Vren Fader dhic art in heofnas, sic gehalged dhiu
noma. To cymedh ric. Sic dhin uuilla sue is in
heofnas and in eardho. Vreu hlaf ofer uuirthe sel
vs to daeg. And forgef us scylda vrna, sue uue
forgefan sculdgun vrum. And no inlead vridk in
costnuug, al gefrig vrich from ifle.
The Lord's Prayer, in the Vulgate, ends with "Deliver us
from evil."
The Wonder-Story of the English Bible, Wayne Whipple, from manuscript.
From Wycliffe's Bible
Oure fadir that art in heueues halowid be thi name/thi kyug-
dom come to/ be thi wille don in erthe as in heuene/5eue to us
this day oure breed ouir other subsiaunce/ for oQxie to vsoure dettis,
as we forSeuen to oure dettouris/lede us not in to temptacioun :
but delyuer us from yuel amen/
From 3Iatthew vi, WyclifEe's Translation, in 1380, before chapters were
broken up into verses.
Tyndale's Translation
(The word " trespasses," for debts or sins, is not found in the
modern translations, yet that is the form most used in the churches.
The English Church took much of its ritual from the Tyndale
Bible before the King James translation was made, in 1611.)
And when ye praye/bable not moche/as the hetheu do ; for
they thincke that they shalbe herde/for their moche bablyngea
212 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
sake. Be ye not lyke theiu therfore. For youre father knowetb
wlierof ye haue ueade/ before ye axe of him. After thys maner
therfore praye ye.
O oure father which arte in heven/halowed be thy name. Let
thy kyngdome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled/' as well in erth/as it
ys iu heveu. Gev^e vs this daye oure dayly breede. And forgeve
vs oure treaspases/even as we forgeve oure trespacers. And leade
vs not into temptacion : but delyver vs from evell. For thyne is
the kyngedome and the power/ and the glorye for ever. Amen.
From Matthew vi, Tyndale's Translation, 1534, before chapters were sub-
divided into verses.
From Luther's Bible
Our Father in the heaven. May thy name become hallowed.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will come to pass on earth as iu heaven.
Our daily bread give us to-day. And forgive us our debts as we
our debtors forgive. And lead us not into temptation, but de-
liver us from the evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory in eteruity. Amen.
Matlhew vi, 9-13. Luther's Original Translation, rendered literally
by W. W.
From the Roman Catholic Bible
{Commonly known as the Douay Bible. Old Testament first published at Douay,
France, in 1609, the New Testament at Eheims in 1582.)
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
St. Mattheio vi. 9-13. Revised and published under the approval of the
Most Reverend John Hughes, D. D., Archbishop of New York, with the
imprint of T. W. Strong, 1872.
, For All Races, All Ages
{The Summing up of a Hindoo Leader)
. . . I will . conclude with a few words on the model
prayer of Christ. I consider it to be a marvelous utterance.
Many consider it deficient in passion. To me, it has the calm
hush . of the whole world's future. Not a sentence of that
prayer has been exhausted in two thousand years. How many
THE SERMON, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE 213
thousand years will search its heights and depths ! The more
I gain in faith and lose in self, the more grows ujDon me the
tranquil majesty of the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father which art
in heaven " unites all mankind in the two-fold bond of filial and
fraternal love. "Hallowed be thy name" concentrates all the
essence of worship, holy hymn, and pious utterance. "Thy
kingdom come " involves the prayer and effort of all religious
dispensations. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven "
includes every aspiration after personal and social morality, and
represents the practical application of the foregoing prayer.
The entire teaching of faith, resignation, and asceticism, with
which the Sermon on the Mount is full, finds expression in the
simple, childlike petition of "Give us this day our daily bread."
The model prayer condenses its universal magnitude into a
pathetic, personal character, when the Father is asked to "for-
give us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us." And this culminates in the supplication, " Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. "
These seven prayers fit into each other like component parts of
a finished piece of mechanism. They suit all races, all ages, all
stages of personal and national progress. From the grandest to
the humblest aspirations of humanity, they embody all, they
represent everything. Each one of them can be separated into
ten thousand prayers, each prayer equally real, equally sweet.
Yes, the Lord's Prayer was the essence of Christ's prayerful uess.
It was his inner, intense life, poured out into audible supplica-
tion. His utterances, his thoughts, his attitudes, his life, and
his death, moulded into a model for all men to fall into, con-
stitute the Lord's Prayer.
The Oriental Christ, P, C. Mozoomdar, p. 83.
Ask, Seek, Knock, for God Is Willing
Ask, and it shall be given you ,• seek, and ye shall find ;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you : for every one that
asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, who,
if his son shall ask for a loaf will he give him a stone ; or if he
shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
214 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to
them that ask him 1
Matthew vii. 7-11. American Revision.
The Golden Rule
As Found in Matthew.
All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do
unto you, even so do ye also unto them : for this is the law and
the prophets.
Matthew vii. 12. Revised Version.
As Given by Luke.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise.
Luke vi. 31. Revised Version.
Hillers Noble Answer Misleading
"All things, therefore, whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do ye also to them, for this is the law and the proph-
ets." The Law had said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself," but it had meant by a neighbour a Jew or a proselyte,
and had commanded the extirpation of the Canaanites, and
sanctioned merciless war with the heathen around.
These grand words were, therefore, a rule for the nation
towards its own members, but no great law for mankind. But
Jesus ignores this narrowness, and proclaims all men brethren,
as common children of one Father in Heaven. This golden rule
had been proclaimed more or less fully before. It is found in
Socrates and Menander, and even in the Chinese classics. Philo
quotes, as an old Jewish saying, "Do not to others what you
would be unwilling to suffer ;" and the book of Tobit enjoins,
" Do that to no man which thou hatest."
In the generation before Jesus it had been repeated by Hillel
to a heathen, who mockingly asked him if he could teach him the
whole Law while he stood on one foot. "What you would not
like done to yourself, do not to thy neighbour," replied the rabbi
— "this is the whole Law : all the rest is a commentary on it —
go learn this." But, as Hillel gave it, this noble answer was only
misleading.
The Life and Words of Chnst, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 81.
THE SERMON, THE PRAYER AND THE RULE 215
** A New Spirit, Making the Letter New **
Also in that great saying which is now called "the command-
ment made of gold," "Do to others all things ye would they
should do unto you," there was no newness in the letter. For I
remember hearing that a Gentile once came to Shammai, and
said, "Tell me the substance of the whole law, and all things
essential therein, while I stand on one foot." And Shammai
drove him away in auger. But he came to Hillel with this re-
quest; and Hillel replied, "Yea, verily, the whole law is here :
' That which is odious to thyself, do it not to thy neighbor.' "
Therefore I said, " The letter of this teaching is not new. It is
not a new framework of thought, uttered in sayings not heard
before ; but it is the old and everlasting truth of all the religions
of men, made alive once more for all men to believe : it is a new
spirit, making the letter new." In spring all nature appears
new, though the leaves of the fig and the vine are no novelties,
but shaped exactly as they were last year.
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 162.
The Golden Role of Confwcios
As a moralist he [Confucius] must always rank high among the
teachers of mankind. Five hundred years before Christ he taught
— in the negative form, it is true, — that "most unshaken rule of
morality, and foundation of all social virtue," " All things what-
soever ye would that men should do unto you do ye even so to
them." "What you do not," he said, "want done to yourself
do not do to others." The difference between this and the Chris-
tian rule will at once be apparent ; but it is nevertheless a
notable fact that Confucius should have so nearly approached it.
Confucianism and Taouism, Robert K. Douglas, p. 143.
Like a Man of Atithority
And it came about that when Jesus had finished these ad-
dresses, the crowd were astonished at His teaching ; for He had
been teaching them like a man possessing authority, and not as
their professors.
Matthew vii. 28. The New Testament in 3Iodern English, Ferrar Fenton,
p. 40.
216 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
He Alone Had Sight
I sat alone in the shade of a terebinth tree, for the Teacher and
the multitude were gone. "In truth," I said to myself, "the
hearer was right who said that this man's teaching is not like
that of the scribes. The scribes debate concerning every ques-
tion, and give many reasons for the one side, and many for the
other. They fill their mouths with arguments, and what one says
another denies. They are ever seeking, but care little for find-
ing ; and thus a mist of doubt hangs over all matters. If Hillel
and his school say this, then Shammai and his school say some-
thing different. In truth, they declare this uncertainty to be
good ; since it leaves the minds of the learned men free, so they
examine always, yet are not they tied to any belief. But this
makes of truth something for our amusement, and not that by
which we live." For I had felt in myself the misery of an empty
soul.
But our new Teacher, Jesus, seemed not like a seeker after
truth, but as one who had found it ; for, if a man has found a
diamond, he does not give reasons to prove that he has found a
diamond, but rather opens his hand, and shows it. Jesus opened
his hand, and showed us the jewels of truth which he held therein.
He gave no reasons, he used no arguments, but simply said,
"Look, and see." Thus he differed from the scribes, and spoke
with authority.
I have heard men speak with authority of another sort. They
say, "Believe me : I know I am right. No one knows so much
as I." Such men have the authority of will, but not that of
knowledge. They believe as they choose, and so speak with a
tone of violence ; and, if opposed, they speak more loudly, and
bear down the opposers. But he who is certain of what he sajs
is not violent. If I talk with blind men, who see not the sun, I
do not become wroth against them, but seek to explain to them
what I see, saying, " Here is a house, and here a tree, and here a
lake of water."
Thus spake Jesus, and we appeared to ourselves as blind men
while he spake, and that he alone had sight.
Life and Times of Jesus as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p, 164.
XVI
A HOPELESS LEPER, A CAPTAIN'S SLAVE, AND A
WIDOW'S SON
One that was dead,
The only sou of his mother, and she was a widow.
— Luke vii. 12.
His First Healing of a Leper
When Jesus had coine down from the hill, great crowds fol-
lowed him. And he saw a leper who came up, and bowed to the
ground before him, and said :
"Master, if only you are willing, you are able to make me
clean."
Stretching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying as he
did so :
" I am willing ; become clean."
Instantly he was made clean from his leprosy ; and then Jesus
said to him :
"Be careful not to say a word to any one, but go and show
yourself to the priest, and offer the gift directed by Moses, as
evidence of your cure."
Matthew viii. 1-4. The Twentieth Century Neio Testament in Modern English,
p. 54.
• The Worst Form
As He descended the mountain, and was just entering one of
the little towns, probably a short distance in advance of the mul-
titude, who from natural respect would be likely to leave Him
undisturbed after His labours, a pitiable spectacle met His eyes.
Suddenly, with agonies of entreaty, falling first on his knees, then,
in the anguish of his heart and the intensity of his supplication,
prostrating himself upon his face, there appeared before Him,
with bare head, and rent garments, and covered lip, a leper —
"full of leprosy" — smitten with the worst and foulest form of
that loathsome and terrible disease.
217
218 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
It must, indeed, have required ou the part of the poor wretch a
stupendous faith to believe that the youug Prophet of Nazareth
was Que who could heal a disease of which the worst misery was
the belief that, when once thoroughly seated in the blood, it was
ineradicable and progressive. And yet the concentrated hope of
a life broke out in the man's impassioned piayer, " Lord, if Thou
wilt. Thou canst make me clean." Prompt as an echo came the
answer to his faith, '• I will : be thou clean."
All Christ's miracles are revelations also. Sometimes, when
the circumstances of the case required it. He delayed His answer
to a sufferer's prayer. But we are never told that there was a
moment's pause when a leper cried to Him. Leprosy was an
acknowledged type of sin, and Christ would teach us that the
heartfelt prayer of the sinner to be purged and cleansed is always
met by instantaneous acceptance. When David, the type of all
true penitents, cried with intense contrition, "I have sinned
against the Lord," Nathan could instantly convey to him God's
gracious message, "The Lord also hath put away thy sin ; thou
shalt not die."
Instantly stretching forth His hand, our Lord touched the
leper, and he was cleansed.
It was a glorious violation of the letter of the Law, which at-
tached ceremonial pollution to a leper's touch ; but it was at the
same time a glorious illustration of the spirit of the Law, which
was that mercy is better than sacrifice. The hand of Jesus was
not polluted by touching the leper's body, but the leper's whole
body was cleansed by the touch of that holy hand. It was even
thus that He touched our sinful human nature, and yet remained
without spot of sin.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 274.
The Friendly Roman Officer
After he had ended all his sayings in the ears of the people, he
entered Capernaum.
And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was
sick and at the point of death. And when he heard concerning
Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, asking him that he
would come and save his servant.
And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly.
A LEPER, A SLAVE AND A WIDOW'S SON 219
saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him ; for he
loveth our nation, and himself built us our synagogue. And
Jesus went with them.
Luke vii. 1-6. Aiuericau Revision.
He Told the Centurion He Would 0)me
Our blessed Jesus proceeded to Capernaum ; but as he entered
the city, he was met by a Roman centurion, who represented to
him, in the most pathetic manner, the deplorable condition of his
servant, who was grievously afflicted with a palsy. The com-
jiassionate Redeemer of the world listened attentively to his
complaint, and immediately told him he would come and heal
him. The centurion thought this too great a condescension to
one who was not of the seed of Jacob, and therefore told him that
he did not mean that he should give himself the trouble of going
to his house, which was an honour he had not the least reason to
expect, being confident that his word alone would be sufficient ;
disease and devils being as much subject to his commands as his
soldiers were to him.
The Illustrated Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Rev. Johu
Fleetwood, D. D., p. 87.
The Wonderful Faith of a Foreigner
There came to him a centurion, beseeching him, saying, "Lord,
my servant is lying in the house sick of the palsy, grievously
afflicted."
And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."
And the centurion answered and said, " Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof ; but only say the word,
and ray servant shall be healed. For I also am a man of author-
ity, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, 'Go,'
and he goes ; and to another, ' Come,' and he comes, and to my
servant, ' Do this,' and he does it."
And when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those that
followed, " Verily I say to you, I have not found so great faith,
no, not in Israel ! And I say to you, that many shall come from
the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven : but the sons of the
220 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness ; there shall
be the weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And Jesus said to the centurion, '' Go thy way ; as thou hast
believed, so be it done to thee."
And the servant was healed in that hour.
3Iatthew viii. 5-13. Revised Version, usiug Marginals, etc.
** I Have Not Found Sttch Faith Even in Israel
Jesus stopped full of astonishment. The humility and trust of
this Gentile touched him.
"Verily I say unto you," he cried, "I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel."
His thoughts, which always extended far beyond the immediate
present, pictured in this man the whole Gentile world, which was
to do honour to him, whom the Jews should reject.
" Many shall come," said he, "from the east and west, and shall
sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom
of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast into
outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Then replying to the friends of the centurion, "Go and say to
the centurion, that it shall be done unto him as he has believed."
Jesus Christ, The Rev. Father Didou, Vol. I, p. 344.
And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the
servant whole.
Luke vii. 10. American Revision.
Nearing the Town of Nain
Soon after this, He proceeded to a town called Nain ; and His
disciples accompanied Him, together with a large crowd.
Now as He came near to the gate of the town, they were carry-
ing out, dead, an only son of his mother, and she was a widow ;
and many of the inhabitants of the town were with her.
Luke vii. 11, 12. The Neio Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Feuton, p. 98.
*'What Is the Rabbi Doing?**
They were traveling towards a little Galilean town (its name
was Nain; "The Delightful"), — he still silent, and the whole
A LEPER, A SLAVE AND A WIDOW'S SON 221
company quieter tliau usual, — when they saw before them, as
evening came ou, the sombre movement of a funeral procession,
preceded by womeu, a custom peculiar to Galilee. Hired mourn-
ers were chanting :
" Alas, the hero !
Alas, alas, the lion ! "
The air was so still that the sound of the dirge came mourufally
to a distant ear.
By the impressive Oriental custom, courtesy required each
traveler to stop his journey and join the mourners. The dead
and the bereaved might be strangers, but grief was the awful
acquaiutauce of all humanity.
Jesus and his followers, obeying the etiquet of the occasion,
moved up to attach themselves to the cortege which was slowly
winding its way to the burial. One of the beautiful but hopeless
names given by the Hebrews to the grave was. The House of
Eternity. Many of them had but little if any hope of life beyond,
and the dreariness of their funerals had not much to relieve it.
But what was the Rabbi doing'? Etiquet did not call upon him
to give orders to the burial procession. Custom did not allow
him to stop the bearers. Yet they had stopped. Jesus himself
pushed forward to the wicker bier, and stood resolutely beside it.
The spectators were somewhat shocked when they saw the Rabbi,
who was neither a natural nor a hired mourner, so concerning
himself with this funeral.
The Story ofJesua Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 176.
** Young Man, I Say, Arise ! **
And when Jesus saw her, he took pity on her, and said to her,
"Weep not."
And he came near and touched the bier : and the bearers stood
still. And he said, " Young man, I say to thee. Arise ! "
And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.
And he gave him to his mother.
And fear seized them all : and they glorified God, saying, "A
great prophet is arisen among us ! " and, ' ' God has visited his
people ! "
222 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Aud this report went forth conceruiDg him in the whole of
Jiidea, and all the region round.
Luke vii. 13-17. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
" Lord God of Israel, What Kind of Man Is This?"
Now, swelling from all the people, accidental and awed wit-
nesses of this tremendous scene, there surged cries and murmurs,
fright aud worship battling :
"Nay, nay! Spare us! Flee! Pray! Jehovah have mercy
upon us ! Lord God of Israel, what kind of man is this ? "
For the frozen arms of the dead had clasped the Nazarene
around the neck ; and the icy lips, which an hour hence would
have been shut down forever beneath the earth, had melted into
broken words.
A woman's cry rang to the very footstool of God. When the
weak or the aged die of joy they cry like that.
But the Nazarene solemnly put the young man into his mother's
arms and turned away. . . .
Many of the people had fled in terror from this sight ; but some
remained, aud those who did fell flat upon the ground in homage.
When the throng could find their senses, Jesus was nowhere to
be seen.
The Story of Jesun Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 180.
The Dead Youth Returns Alive
As the funeral train passed the lattice, it seemed endless, so
vast a number of people accompanied the body, to do honor to
a widow in Israel. At length it passed by, and I was left
alone. . . .
Suddenly I heard a very great shout. I started, and hastened
to the lattice. It was repeated louder, and with a glad tone, that
showed me that it was a shout of joy. It seemed to come from
beyond the city walls, and from a hundred voices raised in
unison.
I knew that the house-top overlooked the walls, and . . .
I ascended rapidly to the parapet, the shouts and glad cries still
increasing as I went up, and exciting my wonder and curiosity.
Upon reaching the flat roof, and stepping upon the parapet, I
A LEPER, A SLAVE AND A WIDOW'S SON 223
saw [that] something wonderful must have occurred, but could
not divine what it could be. On looking towards the gate, from
which direction the shouts at intervals continued to approach, I
discovered on the hill. side of the cemetery many people crowded
together, and evidently surrounding some person in their midst ;
for the whole order of the procession was broken up. The bier I
could not discern, nor could I comprehend how the solemnity of
the march of the funeral train was suddenly changed to a con-
fused multitude, rending the sky with loud acclamations. The
whole body of people was pressing back towards the city. The
persons whom I had first seen running along the street, now made
themselves audible as they drew uigher,
" He is alive ! he is alive ! " shouted [one].
"He has been raised from the dead ! " cried the young man
next behind him.
"He lives, and is walking back to the city ! " called the third,
to those who, like me, had run to their house-tops to know the
meaning of the uproar we heard.
"Who — who is alive ^" I eagerly demanded as [a young man]
passed beneath the parapet. " What is this shouting ? "
He looked up to me with a face expressive of the keenest de-
light, mixed with awe, and said :
"He is come to life! He is no longer dead. You will soon
see him, for they are escorting him back to the city, and every-
body is mad with joy." . . .
" How was it? Let me know all," I cried.
" How? Who could have done such a miracle but the mighty
Prophet we saw at Jerusalem? " he answered.
" Jesus ? " I exclaimed with joy.
"Who else could it be ? Yes ; he met the bier just outside the
— but here they come ! "
He was interrupted in his narrative by the increased noise in
the streets, and the tramp of hundreds of feet. The next moment
the room was filled with a crowd of the most . excited persons,
some weeping, some laughing, as if beside themselves. In their
midst I beheld him walking, alive and well ! his mother clinging
to him, like a vine about an oak. ... I gazed upon him
with awe, as if I had seen a spirit.
TTie Prince of the House of David, Rev. J. H. Ingraham, pp. 245-248.
224 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Her Joy Out-Thanks All Words
A train of mourners slowly out of Nain
Winds to the place of burial. All save one
Mourn out of sympathy ; while she, alone,
Walks silent, knowing that her life is crushed.
And home is but a name ; for he, who lived
Her strength and staff in widowhood, is gone.
The bearers pause. She hears that One, unknown,
Touches the bier. She hears him say, " Arise,"
And knows that word restores son, light, and home,
Joy crowds out thanks. With wild and long embrace,
The son and mother meet. Then through her tears
She sees the stranger smile, and knows her joy
Out-thanks all words, and he is satisfied,
And smiling turns upon his homeless way.
Echoes and Pictures from the Life of Christ, Richard H. Thomas, M. D., p. 32.
XYII
PHAEISEE AND SADDUCEE
Accordiug to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.
— Paul before Agrippa.
The Slighted G«est and the Woman
One of tlie Pharisees invited Him to eat with him. And
having entered the Pharisee's house, He reclined at table.
And there, a woman of the town, a sinner, knowing that He
was lying at table in the house of the Pharisee, brought an
alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind at His feet,
weeping, she began to bedew His feet with tears, and was wiping
them with the hair of her head, and, ardently kissing His feet,
she was anointing them with the ointment.
But the Pharisee who had invited Him, having seen this, spoke
within himself saying, "This person, if He were a prophet,
would have known who and what the woman is that is touching
Him, for she is a sinner ! "
And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something
to say to thee."
And he says, "Teacher, say it."
"A certain creditor had two debtors: the one owed him five
hundred shillings, and the other, fifty. When they had nothing
with which to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them, say,
will love him morel "
And Simon answering said, " I take it that he to whom he for-
gave the more."
And He said to him, "Eightly thou hast judged."
And turning to the woman, He said to Simon :
" Dost thou see this woman ? I entered thy house, thou gavest
no water for ray feet ; but she with tears wet my feet, and wiped
them with the hair of her head.
" A kiss thou gavest not to me, but she, from the time I came
in, has not ceased affectionately kissing my feet.
225
226 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
" With oil my head thou didst uot auoiut ; but she with oint-
ment anointed my feet,
"Because of this I say to thee, Her many sins have been for-
given, for she loves much, but he to whom little is forgiven loves
but little."
And He said to her, " Thy sins have been forgiven."
And those reclining at table with Him began to say within
themselves, " Who is this that even forgives sins ? "
But He said to the woman, "Thy faith has saved thee ; go in
peace."
Luke vii. 36-50. A literal rendering from the Greek.
Cowld the Rabbi Say That ?
The woman was still weeping. She could uot altogether follow
the conversation which now took jslace at the table, partly be-
cause she was crying so, partly because it was so foreign to her
habit of mind that it was uot easy for her to understand it. But
she soon perceived that it concerned herself, and began to con-
centrate her attention upon it. Was the Eabbi saying a kind
thing of her — her f Incredible !
"Thou, Simon, didst not kiss me, nor anoint, nor give me any
water for my feet. But sJie has washed my feet with her tears,
. . . wiped them with her hair, . . . anointed them,
. . . she has not yet ceased to kiss my feet."
The words were said in a low tone, but the humiliated woman
heard them with broken distinctness. For very joy and awe she
stopped weeping ; suddenly, like a comforted child. Impossible !
Did she hear correctly ? Was she deaf, or dazed ?
"She has loved much. . . . Much is forgiven her."
Did the Eabbi, could the Eabbi say that ?
She raised her tear-strained face, pushed her hair back from it,
and courageously lifted her head.
O wonderful ! He had turned to her at last.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p 196.
What Social Outcasts Saw in Him
The social outcasts, "the lost," saw in this Carpenter one of
themselves. On one occasion a member of the Pharisee party,
Simon, probably out of curiosity to see this man who was making
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 227
such a sLir, invited Jesus to diuuor. But in his welcome he with-
held from his guest the customary courtesies — ablution of the feet
and anointing of the head.
Simon probably supposed that this Workiugman, being a mem-
ber of the lower class, had not been accustomed to treatment as
an equal by those in the upper circles, and that he would not
notice the matter. Jesus and all twelve of his disciples were
wage-earners who had received only a common school education.
During the meal a woman of the street enters with her hair
down. Among the Jews, for a woman to wear her hair loose
signified that she was a harlot. She notices the affront to which
Jesus has been subjected. She knows too that he is a member of
the lower class, along with herself.
Remembering the indignities to which she has been for so long
subjected by reason of caste, her heart spills in a burst of fellow
feeling. She attempts herself to perform the courtesy that has
been denied him. With her hot tears she washes the dust of
travel from his feet, and wipes them with the hair of her head.
The Pharisee catches hold of the incident as an argument against
a man who would set himself up as a leader — taunts him with
associating with these immoral ones. Jesus makes no attempt to
dodge. Without a wince of embarrassment he ranges himself
on the side of the woman and against the caste pride of the
Pharisee.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 124.
"Separatists" and '^Neighbottrs**
The Pharisees must have their name from a separation, which
the bulk of the nation did not undergo with them ; in other words,
from a separation made by them, in consequence of their stricter
views of the notion of uncleanness, not only from the uucleanness
of the heathen, but also from that which, according to their view,
a great portion of the people were affected. It was in this sense
that they were called the separated or the separating, and they
might have been called so from either praise or blame.
They might so have called themselves, because they kept as fiir
as possible from all uncleanness, and therefore also from contact
with unclean persons. Or they might have been so named in a
reproachful sense by their adversaries, as ''the separatists," who
228 THE STOKY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
for the sake of their own special cleanness separated themselves
from the bulk of the nation. The latter was certainly the original
meaning of the name. For it is not probable that they gave it to
themselves. ...
. . . The Pharisees'on their part accepted the party name
when once naturalized. And they might well do so, for from their
standpoint the "separation" from which they obtained the name
was one thoroughly praiseworthy and well-i)leasing to God.
If the name shows that the Pharisees aj^peared as "separatists"
in the eyes of their adversaries, another name shows us their own
view of their character and community. They called themselves
merely . . "neighbours," this term being, in the language
of the Mishna and of the ancient rabbinical literature in general,
exactly identical with that of Perushim [Pharisees].
A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Emil Schiirer, D. D.,
M. A., Vol. II, Second Division. Pharisees and Sadducees, pp. 20-22.
They Gave Stones for Bread
To the Pharisaic party belonged most of the scribes. They
were so called because they were both the interpreters and copy-
ists of the Scriptures and the lawyers of the people ; for, the
Jewish legal code being incorporated in the Holy Scriptures,
jurisprudence became a branch of theology. They were the chief
interpreters in the synagogues, although any male worshiper was
permitted to speak if he chose. They professed unbounded
reverence for the Scriptures, counting every word and letter in
^them. They had a splendid opportunity of diffusing the religious
principles of the Old Testament among the people, exhibiting the
glorious examples of its heroes and sowing abroad the words of
tlie prophets ; for the synagogue was one of the most potent
engines of instruction ever devised by any people. But they
entirely missed their opportunity.
They became a dry ecclesiastical and scholastic class, using
their position for selfish aggrandizement, and scorning those to
whom they gave stones for bread as a vulgar and unlettered herd.
Whatever was most spiritual, living, human, and grand in the
Scriptures they passed by.
Generation after generation the commentaries of their famous
men multiplied, and the pupils studied the commentaries instead
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 229
of the text. Moreover, it was a rule with them that the correct
iDterpretatiou of a passage was as authoritative as the text itself ;
aud, the iuterpretatious of the famous masters being as a matter of
course believed to be correct, the mass of opinions which were
held to be as precious as the Bible itself grew to enormous pro-
portions. These were '* the traditions of the elders."
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 33.
Not Strong in Numbers nor in Courage
But this party was neither strong in numbers nor in courage.
They possessed some appreciation of the truth, but dared not
suffer for it. They were inclined to welcome Jesus as a new and
rare teacher, but dared not avow themselves his disciples. . . .
Their feeble conservatism was overborne by the intolerant zeal
of the sect whose principles they were far from justifying, but
with whom, for ecclesiastical and political reasons, they were in-
separably identified.
The Roman Church had its Erasmus and its F^nelon ; the
Pharisaic party its Mcodemus aud its Joseph of Arimathea ; but
neither can be accepted as tyj)es of the party to which they sever-
ally belonged.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 190.
**In Hand- Washing Is the Secret of the Ten Commandments**
The legal washing of the hands before eating was especially
sacred to the rabbinist ; not to do so was a crime as great as to eat
the flesh of swine. " He who neglects hand- washing," says the
book Sohar, "deserves to be punished here and hereafter." "He
is to be destroyed out of the world, for in hand- washing is con-
tained the secret of the ten commandments." "He is guilty of
death. " " Three sins bring poverty after them, " says the Mishna,
" and to slight hand- washing is one." " He who eats bread with-
out hand- washing, " says Rabbi Jose, "is as if he went in to a
harlot."
The later Schulchan Aruch, enumerates twenty-six rules for
this rite in the morning alone. " It is better to go four miles to
water than to incur guilt by neglecting hand-washing," says the
Talmud. "He who does not wash his hands after eating, " it says,
"is as bad as a murderer." The devil Schibta sits on unwashed
230 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
hands and on the bread. It was a special mark of the Pharisees
that "they ate their daily bread with due purification," and to
neglect doing so was to be despised as unclean.
The Life and Words of Christ, Ciiuuiugliam Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 191.
Real Defilement
And the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come
from Jerusalem, gathered around hiin, had seen that some of his
disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashed hands.
(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they
wash their hands with the clenched fist, following the tradition of
the elders ; and when they come from the market they do not eat
unless they bathe themselves ; and there are many other things
which they have learned to regard, washing of cups, and vessels
and brazen utensils and couches.)
Then the Pharisees and the scribes question him, "Why do
not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders,
but eat bread with defiled hands 1 "
And he answered them, "Isaiah prophesied well concerning
you hypocrites, as it has been written,
" ' These people honour me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from me.
But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrines the injunctions of men.'
"For, leaving the commandment of God, you keep the tradi-
tion of men, washings of vessels and cups, and many other such
things you do.
And he said to them, " Well do you set aside the commandment
of God, that you may observe your tradition. For Moses said,
' Honour thy father and thy raotlier ' ; and ' He that speaks evil of
father or mother, let him die the death ' : but you say, 'If a man
say to father or mother, "Corban ! " (that is a gift), whatever
thou mightest be profited from me ' you no longer require him
to do anything for his father or, his mother ; making void the
word of God by your tradition, which you have delivered ; and
many similar things you do."
And having called to all the crowd, he said to them, " Hear me
pharisp:e and sadducee 231
all of you and understand ! There is nothing from outside the
man, that going into him can pollute him ; but the things which
come out from him are the ones that defile the man."
And when he went into a house from the crowd, his disciples
asked him concerning the parable.
And he says to them, ''Are you thus without understanding
also? Do you not perceive that everything which enters into
the man from without is unable to defile him ; because it enters
not into the heart of him, but into the belly, and goes out into the
draught, purifying all the food? "
And he said, "Whatever goes forth out of the man, that de-
files the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetous de-
sires, wickednesses, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, blas-
phemy, haughtiness, foolishness : all these evils proceed from
within, and defile the man."
3Iark vii. 1-23. A literal rendering from the Greek.
** Hypocrites ! — Acting Religion ! **
Eepresentatives of this smooth hypocrisy had now gathered
round Jesus, and proceeded to inquire into His alleged unlawful
acts. "How comes it," asked they, "that a Teacher who claims
a higher sanctity than others can quietly permit His disciples to
neglect a custom imposed by our wise forefathers, and so care-
fully observed by every pious Israelite f How is it that they do
not wash their hands before eating?''
" They neglect only a ceremony introduced by men," retorted
Jesus ; "but how comes it that you, who know the Law, trangress
commands which are not of man, but from God Himself? How
comes it that, for the sake of traditions invented by the rabbis,
you set aside the most explicit commands of God ? He has, for
example, said that we must honour our father and mother, and
support and care for them in old age. He has declared it worthy
of death for any one to deny his parents due reverence, or to treat
them harshly or with neglect.
"But you have invented a doctrine which absolves children,
in many cases, from this commandment. 'If any one,' says your
'tradition,' ' is asked by his parents for a gift, or help, for their
benefit, he has only to say that he has vowed that very part of
232 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
his means to the Temple, and they cannot press him further to
contribute to their support.' How cunningly have you thus
circumvented God's law ! How easy is it for any one to break
it, and affect a zeal for religion in doing so !
'■'■ Ye hypocrites ! — acting religion " — now for the first time thus
denouncing them and their party — "well has Isaiah painted you
when he introduces God as saying, ' This nation has its worship
in words, and its religion is of the lips, while its heart is far from
me. Their service of me is worthless, for it is not my law, but
only human invention.'
" These words describe you to the letter. You put aside what
God has commanded, and has enforced by promises and threats,
and yet keep, superstitiously, 'traditions' which only custom,
and homage to human teachers, have introduced. Of this kind
are your hand- washings, and many similar usages."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol, II, p. 197.
Christ's True Attitude
Let us now realise the attitude of Christ in regard to these
ordinances about purification, and seek to understand the reason
of His bearing. That, in replying to the charge of the scribes
against His disciples, He neither vindicated their conduct, nor
apologised for their breach of the rabbinic ordinances, implied at
least an attitude of indifference towards traditionalism. This is
the more noticeable, since, as we know, the ordinances of the
scribes were declared more precious, and of more binding im-
portance than those of Holy Scripture itself.
But, even so, the question might arise, why Christ should have
provoked such hostility by placing Himself in marked antagonism
to what, after all, was indifferent in itself. The answer to this
inquiry will require a disclosure of that aspect of rabbinism
which, from its painfulness, has hitherto been avoided. Yet it is
necessary not only in itself, but as showing the infinite distance
between Christ and the teaching of the synagogue.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D.D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 15.
** A House Divided against Itself ! **
And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said. He
hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils.
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 233
And he called them unto him and said unto them in parables,
How can Satan cast out Satan ?
And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom can-
not stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house
cannot stand.
And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot
stand, but hath an end.
No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his
goods, except he will first bind the strong man ; and then he will
spoil his house.
3Iark iii. 22-27. Authorised Version.
**By Whom Do Yoxxt Disciples Cast Them ottt ?**
"If I," said He, " cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub,
by whom do your disciples cast them out? You do not attribute
their works to the prince of devils, why do you do so with mine?
But if I do these thiugs by the power of God, I prove myself to
be sent from Him, and to be His Messiah, and where the Messiah
is, there also is His kingdom. Do you still hesitate to draw this
conclusion ?
"Ask yourselves, then, how I can invade the kingdom of
Satan, and take from him his servants, instruments, and victims,
the sick, and the possessed, without having first overcome him-
self? The strong man's palace can only be spoiled when he,
himself, is first bound.
"It is no light matter to put yourselves in the position you
take towards me. He who is not with me, is, as may be seen in
your case, my enemy. No neutrality between the Messiah and
the devil is possible. If you do not help, with me, to gather in
the harvest, you scatter it, and hinder its being gathered ! "
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 134.
**We Would See a Sign from Thee"
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, say-
ing, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
And he answered and said unto them. An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given
to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas [Jonah] : For as Jonas
234 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
was three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall
the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this genera-
tion, and shall condemn it : because they repented at the preach-
ing 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 utter-
most parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; and, be-
hold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Matthew xii. 38-42. Authorised Version.
** Woes ** against Them "While at Breakfast with Them
Now while he was speaking a Pharisee asked him to breakfast
with him : and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when
the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first bathed
himself before breakfast.
And the Lord said to him, " Now you Pharisees cleanse the
outside of the cup and of the platter ; but your inward part is
full of extortion and wickedness.
"You foolish ones, did not he that made the outside make the
inside also? However, give for alms those things which are
within ; and behold, all things are clean to you.
"But woe to you Pharisees ! for you tithe mint and rue and
every herb, and jiass over justice and the love of God ! But
these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
" Woe to you Pharisees ! for you love the chief seats in the
synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places.
" Woe to you ! For you are as the tombs which ajipear not,
and the men that walk over them know it not."
And one of the lawyers answering said to him, " Teacher, in
saying this thou reproachest us also,"
And he said, " Woe to you lawyers, also ! for you load men
with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves touch not
the burdens with one of your fingers.
"Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and
your fathers killed them. So you are witnesses and consent to
the works of your fathers : for they killed them, and you build
their tombs.
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 235
"Therefore also said the wisdom of God, 'I will send to them
prophets and apostles ; and some of them they shall kill and
persecute ; ' that the blood of all the jjrophets which was shed
from the foundation of the world, may be required of this
generation ; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah,
who perished between the altar and the house : yea, I say to you,
it shall be required of this generation.
" Woe to you lawyers : for you took away the key of knowl-
edge : you entered not in yourselves, and those that were enter-
ing in you hindered."
And when he was come out from thence, the scribes and the
Pharisees began to set themselves vehemently against him, and
to provoke him to speak of more things ; laying wait for him, to
catch something out of his mouth.
Luhe xi. 37-54. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
** Theit Tombs Are a Witness against You **
A rabbi among the guests here interrupted Him. "Teacher,"
said he, "you are condemning not only the common lay Phari-
sees, but us, the rabbis."
The interruption only directed Jesus against the "lawyers"
specially. "Woe to you, lawyers, also!" said He, "for ye
burden men with burdens grievous to be borne, while ye, your-
selves, touch not these burdens with one of your fingers to help
the shoulders to bear them. Ye sit in your chambers and schools,
and create legal rules, endless, harassing, intolerable for the
peo]Dle, but not affecting yourselves,— shut out as you are from
busy life.
" Woe to you ! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, but
your fathers, in whose acts you glory, killed them. Shame for
their having done so might make you wish those sacred tombs
forgotten ; but you have no shame, and rebuild these tombs to
win favour with the people, while in your hearts you are read}^ to
repeat to the prophets of to-day the deeds of your fathers towards
those of old ! Your pretended reverence for these martyrs, shown
in restoring their sepulchres, while you are ready to repeat the
wickedness of their murderers, makes these tombs a witness
against you."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 141.
236 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Party of Protest
There was a party of protest. The Saddueees impugned the
authority attached to the traditions of the fathers, demanding a
return to the Bible and nothing but the Bible, and cried out for
morality in place of ritual. But their protest was prompted
merely by the spirit of denial, and not by a warm opposite prin-
ciple of religion. They were skeptical, cold-hearted, worldly
men. Though they praised morality, it was a morality un-
warmed and uuilluminated by any contact with that upper
region of divine forces from which the inspiration of the highest
morality must always come. They refused to burden their con-
sciences with the painful punctilios of the Pharisees ; but it was
because they wished to live the life of comfort and self-indulgence.
They ridiculed the Pharisaic exclusiveness, but had let go what
was most peculiar in the character, the faith and the hopes of the
nation. They mingled freely with the Gentiles, affected Greek
culture, enjoyed foreign amusements, and thought it useless to
fight for the freedom of their country. An extreme section of
them were the Herodians, who had given in to the usurpation of
Herod, and with courtly flattery attached themselves to the favour
of his sons.
The Saddueees belonged chiefly to the upper and wealthy
classes. The Pharisees and scribes formed what we should call
the middle class, although also deriviug many members from the
higher ranks of life. The lower classes and the country people
were separated by a great gulf from their wealthy neighbours, but
attached themselves by admiration to the Pliarisees, as the un-
educated always do to the party of warmth. Down below all
these was a large class of those who had lost all connection with
religion and well-ordered social life — the publicans, harlots, and
sinners, for whose soul no man cared.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A,, p. 34.
The Aristocratic Saddueees
The nature of the Saddueees is not as evident as that of the
Pharisees. The scanty statements furnished by documents can
only with difficulty be brought uuder a single point of sight.
And the reason of this seems to lie in the natiu^e of the case.
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 237
Tlie Saddncees are no siraj)le and constant plienonienon like the
Pharisees, but so to speak a compound one, which must be appre-
hended from diifcrent points.
The most salient characteristic is that they are aristocrats.
Josephus repeatedly designates them as such. "They only gain
the well-to-do, they have not the people on their side." "This
doctrine has reached few individuals, but these are of the first
consideration." When Josephus here says, that this doctrine
has reached but few, this is quite consistent with his manner of
always depicting Pharisaism and Sadduceeism as j)hilosophical
tendencies. Taking off this varnish, his actual statement is, that
the Saddncees were the aristocrats, the wealthy, the persons of
rank. And that is to say, that they chiefly belonged to the priest-
hood. Far from the commencement of the Greek, nay from the
Persian period, it was the priests who governed the Jewish State,
as it was also the priesthood in general that constituted the no-
bility of the Jewish peoi)le.
A History of the Jewish People m the Time of Jesus Christ, Emil Schurer,
D. D., M. A., Vol. II, Secoud Division, Pharisees and Saddncees, p. 29.
Conspiring to Destroy Him
But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how
they might destroy him.
And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from there : and many
followed him ; and he healed them all, and charged them that
they should not make him known : that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
" Behold, my servaut whom I have chosen ;
My beloved in whom ray soul is viell pleased :
I v?ill put my Spirit upon him,
And he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles,
V He shall not strive, nor cry aloud ;
Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets,
A bruised reed shall he not break,
And smoking flax shall he not quench,
Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles hope."
Matthew xii. 14-21. Kevised, using Marginals, etc.
238 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SOX OF MAX
The Sadducce Joined v/ith the Hated Pharisee
. . AjDart from all other consideiatious, the fact that the
Sadducees supported zealously every goverument iu turn, was
enough to set people against them. Instead of this, the Pharisees
shared and fostered the patriotic and religious abhorrence of the
Eoman supremacy, and were sworn enemies of the hated Herodian
family. The result was that, iu the words of Josephus, "the
Pharisees had such an influence with the people, that nothing
could be done about divine worship, prayers, or sacrifices, except
according to their wishes and rules, for the community believed
they sought only the loftiest and worthiest aims alike in word and
deed. The Sadducees were few in number ; and though they be-
longed to the highest ranks, had so little influence, that when
elected to office, they were forced to comply with the ritual of the
Pharisees from fear of the people."
There were, doubtless, many priests who were not Sadducees —
men serving God humbly ; devoted to their sacred duties, and
living iu full thought and life with the Pharisees. In the disputes
with Jesus, we may be sure that many such Pharisaic priests —
the great company, perhaps, who, within a short time after His
death, became " obedient to the faith " — took no part iu the fierce
malignity of their brethren. But, now, for the first time, the
Sadducees — haughty clerical aristocrats of the Temple— joined
with the hated vulgar Pharisees of the synagogue to accomplish
the destruction of the new Teacher. It was the most ominous
sign of the beginning of the end that had yet appeared.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 214.
Be Fait to the Pharisee
It is unjust to describe the Pharisees iu terms of entire con-
tempt, because some of the best as well as the worst of men, were
Pharisees. Xicodemus was a Pharisee ; so also was Saul of
Tarsus ; and it has even been claimed that some of the members
of Christ's own family were Pharisees.
The Pharisee, if he could have separated himself from the be-
littling influence of a narrow view of life, would have deserved
the gratitude of the world, for he believed with intensity in the
moral government of God. But he interpreted that government
PHARISEE AND SADDUCEE 239
entirely in his own favour. He regarded the mass of his owu
nation much as a proud Brahmin regards persons of a lower
caste. The implicit speech ever on his tongue was, ' ' Stand thou
aside, I am holier than thou ! " He was above all things a zealot.
He stood for the least jot and tittle of the law. He wasted his
life in acquiring a kind of learning which really rendered him
absurd.
JTie Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p, 184.
Yet I May Live a Pharisee !
Not only does the Pharisee
In forms delight that men may see, —
So careful of the outward show,
So heedless of what lies below !
I none of these may do or be, —
Yet I may live a Pharisee !
Echoes and Pictures from the Life of Christ, Richard H. Thomas, M. D., p. 103.
xvni
PARABLES BESIDE THE LAKE
I will open in parables my month
I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.
— Psalm Ixxviii. 2.
(Literally rendered from the Greek of Matthew xiii. 35.)
Preaching from the Prow of a Lightly Rocking Boat
The meal in the house of the Pharisee was a momentous event
in the life of Jesus. The fierceness of His enemies had broken out.
into open rage, so that, as He left, He was followed by the in-
furiated rabbis, gesticulating, as they pressed round Him, and
provoking Him to commit Himself by words of which they might
lay hold. A vast crowd had meanwhile gathered, partly on His
side, partly turned against Him by the arts of His accusers.
The excitement had reached its highest.
With such a multitude before Him, it was certain that He
would not let the oj)portunity pass of proclaiming afresh the new
kingdom of God. It had been called a kingdom of the devil,
and it was meet that He should turn aside the calumny. His
past mode of teaching did not, however, seem suited for the new
circumstaaces. It had left but small permanent results ; and a
new and still simpler style of instruction, specially adapted to
their dulness and untrained minds and hearts, would at least
arrest their attention more surely, and force them to a measure of
reflection. Pressing through the vast throng, to the shore of the
lake. He entered a fishing-boat, and, sitting down at its prow,
the highest part of it, began, from this convenient pulpit, as it
lightly rocked on the waters, the first of those wondrous parables,
in which He henceforth so frequently embodied His teachings.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 144,
A New Form of Discourse
In a moment of happy inspiration Jesus invented an entirely
new form of discourse, possible only to a mind essentially poetic.
240
PARABLES BESIDE THE LAKE 241
He begau to teach the people iu parables, aud the method
was so successful that it is said that heuceforth He taught
them iu uo other way. He told them stories, so apt, so skil-
fully coutrived, so suggestive, that ouce heard they were never
forgotten.
Those who have seen the Oriental story-teller in some Eastern
market-place will have remarked upon the extraordinary spell
which he appears to exercise. He begius at dawn, he ends at
eve, aud there is not a moment of the long day when there is not
a multitude gathered at his feet. Time and occupation are
equally forgotten in the fascination of his narrative ; the whole
scene is a living comment on the saying of Moses, that "we
spend our days as a tale that is told. " Ripples of laughter run
through the audience, glances of admiration are exchanged, and
at times the power of tragedy hushes the crowd into breathless
silence.
So Jesus spoke to these rapt throngs beside the Lake of Galilee.
His mind expressed itself most freely and more perfectly in these
imaginative forms. He was capable of translating the humblest
incident of common life into a poem, often into a tragedy. He
used at will every weapon of the story-teller — irony, sarcasm,
humour, pathos, an extraordinary grace of narrative, and an un-
equaled power of dramatic invention. After the sterile platitudes,
aud the still more sterile disputes aud casuistries of the synagogue
how great the change ! The people were as children discovering
for the first time the wonder of life. They thrilled, they wept,
they wondered, moved this way and that at the will of the
Speaker. They were ready even to follow Him by thousands
into a wilderness, and to forego food for the sake of a delight so
novel and so exquisite.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 86.
He Taught Them Many Things in Parables
And he began to teach again by the lake. And a great crowd
was gathered together around him, so that when he had stepped
into a boat, he sat on the lake ; and all the crowd was close be-
side the lake on the land. And he taught them many things in
parables, and said to them in his teaching :
Mark iv. 1, 2, A literal rendering from the Greek.
242 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
** The Sower "Went out to Sow **
" Listen : See ! the sower went out to sow.
" Aud it happened, as he sowed, one fell by the way, and the
birds of heaven came and ate it.
"Aud another fell upon the rocky place, where it had not
much earth ; and immediately it sprang up, because of not hav-
ing depth of earth ; aud the sun having risen, it was scorched ;
aud because of not having root, it withered away.
"And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up,
and smothered it, aud it yielded no fruit.
"Aud another fell iuto the good soil, aud yielded fruit, grow-
ing up and increasing, and bore, one thirty, and one sixty, and
one a hundred fold."
Mark iv. 3-8. A literal rendering from the Greek.
Explaining the Parable to the Disciples
Aud the disciples came and said to him, "Why dost thou
speak to them in parables'? "
Aud he answering said to them, " Because it has been given to
you to know the mysteries of the kiugdom of heaven, but it has
not been given to them. For whoever has, to him shall be given,
and he shall be in abundance : but whoever has not, even that he
has shall be taken away from him.
"Therefore I speak to them in parables; because seeing they
see not, and hearing they hear not, nor do they understand. And
in them is the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled, which says,
" ' In hearing yon shall hear, and in no way understand ;
And seeing you shall see, and in no way perceive ;
For the heart of this people has become gross,
Aud they have heard dully with the ears,
And their eyes have been closed,
For fear they should happen to see with the eyes,
And with the ears they should hear,
And with the heart they should understand,
And should be converted,
And I should heal them,'
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears,
because they hear. For I tell you truly that many prophets and
righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see ; and
to hear what you hear, and did not hear.
PARABLES BESIDE THE LAKE 243
"Hear therefore the parable of the sower. When one hears
the word of the kingdom, and does not understand, the wicked
one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This
is he who was sown by the way.
" And he who was sown upon the rocky places, this is he who
hears tlie word, and immediately receives it with joy ; but has
no root in himself, continues for a while ; but when tribulation
or persecution has arisen on account of the word, he immediately
stumbles.
' ' And he who was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the
word ; and the care of this life, and the deceit of riches, smother
the word, and he grows unfruitful.
"But he who was sown in the good soil is he who hears the
word and understands ; who truly brings forth fruit, and pro-
duces, one a hundred, another sixty, another thirty."
Mattheiv xiii. 10-23. Rendered literally from the Greek.
The Wheat and the Weeds
Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field :
but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among
the wheat, and went away.
But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also.
And the servants of the householder came and said unto him,
Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in the field I whence then hath
it tares %
And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gatlier them up % But he saith, Nay ; lest haply ye gather up
the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow to-
gether until the harvest : and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles
to burn them : but gather the wheat into my barn.
Mattheio xiii. 24-30. Revised Version.
Expounding " the Wheat and the Weeds **
His disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the par-
able of the tares of the field.
244 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Aud he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the
Sou of uiau ; aud the field is the world ; aud the good seed, these
are the sous of the kiugdom ; and the tares are the sous of the evil
oue ; aud the euemy that sowed them is the devil : aud the harvest
is the end of the world ; aud the reapers are angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered up aud burned with fire ;
so shall it be in the end of the world. The Sou of man shall
send forth his angels, aud they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that cause stumbling, aud them that do iniquity, and
shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be the weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kiugdom
of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear.
Matthew xiii. 36-43. Eevised Version.
**He Knoweth Not How"
And he said. So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast
seed upon the earth ; and should sleep and rise night and day,
and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.
The earth beareth fruit of herself ; first the blade, then the ear,
then the full corn in the ear.
But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the
sickle, because the harvest ie come.
3Iark iv. 26-29. Revised Version.
** Like a Grain of Mustard Seed "
And he said. How shall we liken the kingdom of God ? or in
wliat parable shall we set it forth ? It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than
all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet when it is sown, groweth
up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out
great branches ; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under
the shadow thereof.
Mark iv. 30-32. Revised Version.
Like Leaven
Another parable spake he mito them : The kingdom of heaven
is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three meas-
ures of meal, till it was all leavened.
Matthew xiii. 33. Revised Version.
PARABLES BESIDE THE LAKE 245
The Lamp
And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under
the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand ?
For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested ;
neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.
If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear ; with what
measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you ; and more shall
be given unto you.
For he that hath, to him shall be given : and he that hath not,
from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.
3Tark iv. 21-25. American Revision.
Take heed therefore how ye hear : for whosoever hath, to him
shall be given ; aud whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken
away even that which he thinketh he hath.
Luke viii. 18. American Revision.
The Hidden Treasure
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the
field ; which a man found, and hid ; and in his joy he goeth and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Matthew xiii. 44. Revised Version.
One Pearl of Great Price
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a
merchant seeking goodly pearls : and having found one pearl of
great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew xiii. 45, 46. Revised Version.
The Net Filled with Good and Bad
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast
into the sea, and gathered of every kind : which, when it was
filled, they drew up on the beach ; and they sat down, and
gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away.
So shall it be in the end of the world : the angels shall come
forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall
cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be the weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Matthew xiii. 47-50. Revised Version.
246 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Things New and Old
Have ye uuderstood all these things 1
They say uuto him, Yea.
Aud he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been
made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that
is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things
new and old.
Matthew xiii. 51, 52. Revised Version.
The Most Precious Literary Heritage of the Human Race
Jesus was also recognised as a prophet, and accordingly, His
preaching created wide-spread excitement. "He spake in their
synagogues, being glorified of all." His words were heard with
wonder and amazement. Sometimes the multitude on the beach
of the lake so pressed upon Him to hear, that He had to enter
into a ship and address them from the deck, as they spread them-
selves out in a semicircle on the ascending shore.
His enemies themselves bore witness that "never man spake
like this man ; " aud meagre as are the remains of His preaching
which we possess, they are amply sufficient to make us echo the
sentiment and understand the impression which He produced.
All His words together which luive been preserved to us would
not occupy more space in print than half-a-dozen ordinary ser-
mons ; yet it is not too much to say, that they are the most
precious literary heritage of the human race. His words, like
His miracles, were expressions of Himself, and every one of them
has in it something of the grandeur of His character.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 67.
XIX
CALMING A STOEM, AND OTHER WONDEES
We touch Him in life's throng and press,
And we are whole again.
— Whitiier.
Leaving the Crowd, After the Parables
And it came to pass, wlieu Jesus had fiuislied these parables,
he departed thence.
Matthew xiii. 53. Revised Version.
Now wheu Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave com-
maudment to depart uuto the other side.
Matthew viii. 18. Eevised Version.
The Strain Had Been Severe That Day
The people had over- wearied him that day, aud pressed upon
hiui till he could bear no more. With one of the peremptory
decisions which he knew so well when to make, he determined to
escape from this human torrent, from which, at its full, an angel's
vitality might have fled ; the current was so insistent, so thought-
less, so tainted. Longing for that which only the wave and the
shore can give to the heart that loves them, he turned to his dear
lake.
It was towards evening. Beautiful Gennesaret . . . was
at her loveliest. The sun was sinking. The moon was rising.
The wind was light aud steady upon the little sea. Clouds hung
upon the opposite hills, but they looked innocent enough.
Jesus took to his boat with his friends and- gave the order to
cross the lake. He sat for a few moments thoughtfully watching
tlie disappointed throng which he had left ashore, as it slowly
dispersed in the growing shadow. . . .
He was very tired, so tired that he did not try to talk, but
went aft aud lay down, thinking to rest if he could. His most
247
248 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
thoughtful disciple had put a pillow there for him upon the
stern seat. His friends, respecting his mood as they always
meant to do, even if they did not always succeed (for the Master
had strange hours, hard for fishermen to understand), left him
undisturbed.
The management of the boat soon occupied their attention, for
there was more wind than one would have thought. Jesus fell
asleep ; he was so completely worn out that nature insisted, and
he slept long and deeply.
TJie Story of Jems Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 210.
A Sodden Storm on the Lake
And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them,
Let us go over unto the other side. And leaving the multitude,
they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other
boats were with him.
And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat
into the boat, insomuch that the boat was filling.
And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion : and
they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that
we perish ?
And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great
calm.
And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful ? Have ye not yet
faith ?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another. Who
then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him ?
3Iark iv. 35-41. American Revision.
"Peace, Be Still!'*
Fierce raged the tempest o'er the deep,
Watch did Thine anxions servants keep,
But Thou wast wrapt in guileless sleep,
Calm and still,
" Save, Lord, we perish," was their cry,
" Oh, save us in our agony ! "
Thy word above the storm rose high,
"Peace, be still ! "
CALMING A S^i :>RM, AND OTHER WONDERS 249
The wild .vinds hushed, the angry deep
Sauk, like a little child, to sleep ;
The suUeu billows ceased to leap.
At Thy will.
Fierce Raged the Tempest o''er the Deep, Rev. Godfrey Thring. Christ in Song,
Philip Schaff, D. D,, Vol. II, p. 346.
The Maniac among the Tombs of Gadara
Arriving at the other side of the lake, they landed in the
district of the Gadareues. And disembarking from the boat, a
man possessed by a foul spirit, who had been dwelling among the
tombs, at once ran to him from the tombs. And no one could
restrain him, not even by binding; for they had often bound him
with chains and shackles, and he had torn asunder the chains
and smashed the shackles : and no man had the strength to tame
him.
Continually, night and day, he was among the tombs and
mountains, shrieking, and bruising himself with stones. But
seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt to Him ; and
calling with a loud voice, he said,
" What is there between me and You, Jesus, Sou of the Highest
God! I put You on oath before that God that You will not
torment me."
Mark v. 1-7. The New Testament in Modern English, Ferrar Fenton, p. 71.
Bleeding with Self-Inflicted Wounds
Insanity is a dark sea on whose shore we have not even yet
ventured far ; and science is a frail boat which may or may not
hold the points of the compass. Whether demoniac possession
was the delusion of a blatant superstition, or should ever become
material of an exact science, Jesus, if he knew, did not think it
necessary to explain. He delivered no homily on evil spirits.
. . . He simply went to work and healed the case.
It was a bad case ; one of the worst of the incurable, against
which the rude medical art of the times was hopelessly helpless,
and about which the humanity of the times did not feel any re-
sponsibility. Few pitied and most forgot the . . wretches
who had been driven from home and from all human society.
250 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
It needed Jesus to inveDt tenderness to the insane. It swept
through his heart that night in the surging movement of pity
and power.
We have here one of those sombre pictures in which a great
moral emotion has taken the brash and painted in the onlj'^ high
lights. The gloom of the land of caves filled a dismal background.
A large herd of two thousand swine, disturbed by the cries of the
maniacs and disinclined to sleep, were stirring uneasily on their
pasture at the top of the steep grade which ended in the water.
The fishermen, uncomfortable and puzzled, were gathered closely
about their Eabbi, — to protect or to be protected, they hardly
knew which. The maniacs were gibbering and shrieking ; he,
the worst case, bleeding with self-inflicted wounds where he had
cut himself with sharp stones. In the centre of the group, tall
and quiet, Jesus stood thoughtfully.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 216.
** Legion ** and the Herd of Hogs
And he asked him : " What is your name ? "
" My name," he said, " is Legion, for there are many of us ; "
and he begged Jesus again and again not to send them away out
of that country. There was a large drove of pigs close by, feed-
ing on the hill-side. And the spirits begged Jesus :
"Send us into the pigs, that we may take possession of
them."
Jesus gave them leave. They came out, and entered into the
pigs ; and the drove — about two thousand in number — rushed
down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
On this the men who tended them ran away, and carried the
news to the town, and to the country round ; and the people
went to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they
found the possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right
mind— the very man who had the ''Legion" in him — and they
were awe-struck.
Then those who had seen it related to them all that had
happened to the possessed man, as well as about the pigs ;
upon which they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbour-
hood.
Mark v. 9-17. The Twentieth Century New Testament in Modern English, p. 13.
CALMING A STORM, AND OTHEK WONDERS 251
"Go Home and Tell What God Hath Done for You*'
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the possessed man begged
him to let him stay with him. But Jesus refused.
"Go back to your home, to your own people," he said, "and
tell them of all that the Lord has done for you, and how he took
pity on you."
So the man went, and began to proclaim in the district of the
Ten Towns all that Jesus had done for him ; and every one was
amazed.
3Iark v. 18-20. The Twentieth Century New Testamentin Modern English, p. 13.
The First Missionary to Decapolis
And yet He did not leave them in anger. One deed of mercy
had been done there ; one sinner had been saved ; from one soul
the unclean spirits had been cast out. And just as the united
multitude of the Gadarenes had entreated for His absence, so the
poor saved demoniac entreated henceforth to be with Him.
But Jesus would fain leave one more, one last opportunity for
those who had rejected Him. On others for whose sake miracles
had been performed He had enjoined silence ; on this man — since
He was now leaving the i:)lace — He enjoined publicity.
"Go home," He said, " to thy friends, and tell them how great
things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on
thee."
And so the demoniac of Gergesa became the first great mission-
ary to the region of Decapolis, bearing in his own person the con-
firmation of his words ; and Jesus, as His little vessel left the
inhospitable shore, might still hope that the day might not be
far distant — might come, at any rate, before over that ill-fated
district burst the storm of sword and fire — when
"E'en the witless Gadarene,
Preferring Christ to swine, would feel
That life is sweetest when 'tis clean."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D,, F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 342.
The Agonising Appeal of Jairas
And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat nnto the
other side, a great multitude was gathered unto him ; and he was
by the sea.
252 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And there cometh oue of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by
name ; and seeing him, he falleth at his feet, and beseecheth him
much, sayiug,
My little daughter is at the point of death : I pray thee, that
thou come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be made
whole, and live.
And he went with him ; and a great multitude followed him,
and they thronged him.
3Iark v. 21-24. American Ee vision.
Stopped on the Way by an Afflicted Woman
And a woman who had an issue of blood twelve years, and had
suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that
she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, having
heard the things concerning Jesus, came in the crowd behind,
and touched his garment. For she said. If I touch but his gar-
ments, I shall be made whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up ; and
she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague.
And straightway Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power
proceeding from him had gone forth, turned him about in the
crowd and said. Who touched my garments ?
And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude
thronging thee, and sayest thou. Who touched me ?
And he looked round about to see her that had done this
thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what
had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told
him all the truth.
And he said unto her. Daughter, thy faith hath made thee
whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Mark v. 25-34. American Revision.
** If I Can Just Touch His Robe ! **
Now, amid this motley mass of humanity, there was a sick
woman who had been subject to a loss of blood for some twelve
years. Such a malady was a dreadful humiliation for any
daughter of Israel ; because it was looked upon as a scourge
that was only laid on women of wicked character, and hence
CALMING A STORM, AND OTHER WONDERS 253
those afflicted with it were avoided aud despised. The poor
sufferer had paid out all her means in fees to the physicians, but
still in vain. She had undergone, without any benefit, all that
peculiar treatment which the Talmud gives us some curious de-
tails, yet the disease grew greater every day.
She had now given up all other hope save in Jesus ; but she
was still held back by her timidity and shame, both because she
had nothing at all to offer Him, and because her sickness was
thought to be such a terrible disgrace ; at last she resolved to get
the gifts of grace by stealth, like a thief.
"If I can just touch His robe," she said to herself, " I shall
be healed."
Urged on by this intense aud lively faith, she glided through
the multitude, pushed her way right up to the Master, and
furtively seized the tassel hanging from His mantle in her thin
and wasted fingers.
Scarcely had she touched it, when the issue of blood was
stopped ; her trust had been rewarded. With beating heart and
half choked with fear, she fell back amid the crowd.
But though no one had noticed her act, Jesus knew it of Him-
self. Feeling at once that power had gone out from Him, He
halted and turned toward the people.
" Who has touched my garment?" He said.
As each one began to plead innocence, Peter and those round
Him replied, —
"Master, the people crowd about and harass you, and can you
ask, * Who has touched me ?'"
"I have felt that power has gone out from me," Jesus an-
swered; " some one has touched me. "
And as His eyes fell upon the throng He fixed one of those
grave and piercing glances, which fathom the depths of the heart,
upon her whom He had healed. The woman, seeing herself dis-
covered, began trembling, then tottered to Him and fell at His
feet, declaring before all the people for what cause she had
touched Him, and how on the instant she had been cured. The
Lord had merely looked for this simple acknowledgment.
"My child, be of good courage," He said to her; "go in
peace, your faith has saved you."
The Christ the Son of God, Abb6 Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 318.
254 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
She Only Touched the Hem
She only touched the hem of His garment
As to His side she stole,
Amid the crowd that gathered around Him
And straightway she was whole.
He turned with, " Daughter be of good comfort,
Thy faith hath made thee whole."
And peace that passeth all understanding
With gladness filled her soul.
The Hem of His Garment, Geo. F. Root, Gospel Hymns, J^os. 1 to 6 Complete,
p. 636.
Tradition Concerning This Woman
The " Gospel of Nicodemus" gives Veronica as the name of the
sick woman, and tradition says that after her cure she returned
to Caesarea Philippi, her native laud, where she set up a
monument of bronze, which represented her as she lay prostrate
at the feet of the Saviour. There is a graceful legend to the effect
that a flowering shrub grew up close by the statue, and that it
was immediately endowed with the power of healing all sick-
uesses, from the moment that its stem once touched the hem of the
statue's mantle. Daring four centuries the Church venerated this
touching memefnto of the loving- kindness of Jesus.
The Christ the Son of God, Abbe Constant Fouard, Vol. I, p. 320. (Foot-note. )
** Thy Daughter Is Dead ! **
While he yet spake, they come from the ruler of the syna-
gogue's house, saying,
Thy daughter is dead : why troublest thou the Teacher any
further ?
But Jesus, not heeding the word spoken, saith unto the ruler of
the synagogue.
Fear not, only believe.
And he suffered no mnn to follow with him, save Peter, and
James, and John the brother of James. And they come to the
house of the ruler of the synagogue ; and he beholdeth a tumult,
and many weeping and wailing greatly.
CALMING A STORM, AND OTHER WONDERS 255
And when he was entered iu, he saith unto them,
Why make ye a tumult, and weep ? the child is not dead, but
sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn. But he, having put them all
forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother and them
that were with him, and goeth iu where the child was. And
taking the child by the hand, he saith unto her,
Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto
thee, Arise.
3Iark v. 35-41. American Revision.
** It Is Between Me and Thee, Little Maid **
Jesus silently regarded the little maid.
She lay uncouscious, and was quite rigid. The rare trances
known to medical science show less evidence of death than the
child did. She lay on her pallet, cold, with the pathetic, won-
dering look which death casts upon childhood, as if she said :
" Why, this is what happens to old people ! "
Jesus looked at her with a strange expression. His eyes
seemed to say :
" It is between me and thee, little maid. We understand."
He was known to be very fond of children, and they of him ;
he was sometimes seen with them climbing over his lap and
laughing, as they put their arms about his neck with the unerring
identification of those whom they can trust, which only children
and dogs possess. Mothers brought their babes to him for his
blessing, and it is recorded how lovingly he gave it.
Now he looked at the little girl with the tenderness that is
only to be expected of those in whom the love of children is pro-
found and genuine.
She seemed to quiver beneath his look, but her color and her
attitude did not change. Then he took her by the hand.
Her little, wasted fingers lay for a few moments in his nervous
and vital grasp ; then he felt them tremble. - . . . Who sees
the instant when the lily blossoms ! Wlio could have detected
the moment of time in which the child began to stir ? Was it his
hand that moved, or hers that directed his slowly upward till it
reached her pillow, and so came upon a level with her face?
It did not seem sudden or startling, but only the most natural
256 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
thing ill the world, wheu the little girl laid her cheek upon his
palm. . . .
"Give lier something to eat," said the healer, quite in his
ordinary tones.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 224.
Two Blind Men and a Dumb Demon
And as Jesus passed by from thence, two blind men followed
him, crying out, and saying, Have mercy on us, thou son of
David.
Aud when he was come into the house the blind men came to
him : aud Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do
thisi
They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Then touched he their eyes, saying. According to your faith be
it done unto you.
And their eyes were opened. Aud Jesus strictly charged them,
saying, See that no man know it.
But they weut forth, and spread abroad his fame in all that
land.
And as they went forth, behold, there was brought to him a
dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast
out, the dumb man spake : aud the multitudes marveled, saying,
It was never so seen in Israel.
Matthew ix. 27-34. Revised Version.
XX
"NONE GEEATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST"
Heaven has no rage . . .
Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.
— Congreve.
The Baptist Reproves Herod
For Herod himself had sent forth aud laid hold upon John,
and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother
Philip's wife ; for he had married her. For John said unto
Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. And
Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him ; and
she could not ; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a
righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard
him, he was much perplexed ; and he heard him gladly.
3fark vi. 17-20. American Revision.
The Grand Httmility of the Baptist
The popularity of Jesus had roused the jealousy of the dis-
ciples of the Baptist, and had even led to angry feeling. A
dispute with a Jew — likely a disciple of Jesus — respecting bap-
tism, brought matters to a crisis. He had, apparently, claimed
for that of Jesus a higher power of cleansing from the guilt of
sin than that of their Master. Irritated and annoyed, John's
followers returned and told him how He " who had been with
him beyond Jordan, to whom he had borne witness, was baptiz-
ing, and that all men were now coming to Him." The news
only seemed to bring the grand humility of the Baptist more
prominently than ever into view, and showed him to be above
any selfish or petty thought ; a man to whom the will of God was
the abiding law.
" He must increase," said he, '^bat I must decrease, for He is
the Christ, the Bridegroom. I rejoice greatly to hear His voice.
He is from above, and, therefore, above all : I am only of the
earth, aud speak as such. He has received the testimony of
267
258 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
heaveu : He has the power of life aud death : He is the beloved
sou, into whose haud the Father has committed all things."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugbam Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 394.
** Art Thott the Coming One ? **
And John calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them
unto Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come! or look we
for another ?
When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist
hath sent us unto thee saying. Art thou he that should come ? or
look we for another ?
Aud in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities aud
plagues, and of evil spirits ; and unto many that were blind he
gave sight.
Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell
John what things ye have seen aud heard ; how that the blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. Aud blessed is
he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to
speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into
the wilderness for to see ? A reed shaken with the wind ?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously aj)pareled, and
live delicately, are in the kings' courts.
But what went ye out for to see ? A prophet ? Yea, I say
unto you, and much more than prophet.
This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger
before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there
is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist : but he that is
least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
Bat the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God
against themselves, being not baptized of him^
And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of
this generation ? aud to what are they like !
They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and
« NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST " 259
calliDg ouo to anothei', tind sayiug, We have piped unto you,
aud ye have not danced ; we have mourned to you and you have
not wept.
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking
wine ; and ye say, He hath a devil.
The Sou of man is come eating and drinking ; and ye say,
Behold a gluttonous man, and a wiuebibber, a friend of publi-
cans and sinners !
But wisdom is j ustified of all her children.
Luke vii. 19-35. Authorised Version.
Dreary Days for John
In these dreary days even John's faith was partially eclipsed.
The news that came to him of Christ's joyous progresses in
Galilee filled him with alarm and doubt. Had he been mistaken
after all in recognising Jesus as the long-desired Messiah *? The
most acute paiu that John ever knew was tasted in the pang of
such a question. He sent a dei)utation to Jesus, asking ' ' Art
Thou He that should come, or look we for another 1 " The
answer he received should have assured him that the convivial
feasts in Galilee which had so offended his disciples were by no
means the chief feature of the new ministry which had filled
Galilee with an intoxicating joy.
"Go," said Jesus, "and show John again those things which
ye do hear and see : the blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed aud the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Aud
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me."
The message no doubt reached John but there is no record of
how it was received. One would like to think that John died
with a recovered faith in Him whom he had called the Lamb of
God, but there is nothing to suggest it. When darkness settles
on a great mind it is usually impenetrable. . From the lonely
height of Herod's fortress John believed himself to be looking
on the battlefield of a lost cause. Perhaps in the sadness of
these gloomy sunsets he came to sigh for death, and his last
thought was the thought of Elijah: "It is enough: now, O
Lord, take away my life ; for I am not better than my fathers. "
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 176.
260 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Instructions to the Twelve
Aud Jesus went about all the cities aud the villages, teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion
for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not
having a shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers
into his harvest.
And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and gave them
authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, aud to heal all
mauner of disease and all manner of sickness. . . .
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and charged them, saying,
Go not into any way of Gentiles, and enter not into any city of
the Samaritans : but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out de-
mons : freely ye received, freely give.
Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses : no
wallet for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff:
for the laborer is worthy of his food.
And into whatsoever city or village ye shall enter, search out
who in it is worthy ; and there abide till ye go forth.
Aud as ye enter into the house, salute it. Aud if the house be
worthy, let your peace come upon it : but if it be not worthy, let
your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you,
nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city,
shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you. It shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day
of judgment, than for that city.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be
ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But be-
ware of men : for they will deliver you up to councils, and in
their synagogues they will scourge you ; yea and before governors
and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to
them aud to the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye
« NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST " 261
shall speak : for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall
speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father
that speaketh in you. And brother shall deliver up brother to
death, and the father his child : and children shall rise up against
parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be
hated of all men for my name's sake : but he that eudureth to
the end, the same shall be saved.
But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next :
for verily I say unto you. Ye shall not have gone through the
cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his
lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and
the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the
house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household !
Fear them not therefore : for there is nothing covered that shall
not be revealed ; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell
you in the darkness, speak ye in the light ; and what ye hear in
the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops.
And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul : but rather fear him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? and not one of them
shall fall on the ground without your Father : but the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore : ye are of
more value than many sparrows.
'■"■'' Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will
I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father
who is in heaven.
Think not that I came to send peace on the earth : I came not
to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance
against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law : and a man's foes shall
be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that doth
not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He
that findeth his life shall lose it : and he that loseth his life for
my sake shall find it.
262 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF :NrAN
He tliat receiveth you receiveth me, and lie that receivttL nie
receiveth him that seut me. He tliat receiveth a prophet in the
name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward : and he (hat
receiveth a righteous mau iu the name of a righteous man shall
receive a righteous man's reward.
Aud whosoever shall give to driuk iiuto oue of these little ones
a cup of cold water only, iu the name of a disciple, verily I say
unto you, he shall iu no wise lose his reward.
Aud it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his
twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach iu their
cities.
3Iattheiv ix. 35-x. 1, aud x. 5-xi. 1. American Revision.
A Source of Alarm as Well as of Insult
The winter wore away in Machterns, the spring came, and with
it the anniversary of the death of Herod the Great, and of the
succession of Autipas to the tetrarchy. This was the opportunity
of Autipas to arrange a great feast. Herodias was present at the
feast, with Salome, her daughter by the husband whom she had
disgraced and forsaken. Whatever lenience John had won from
Herod, it is certain that Herodias hated him. Perhaps this very
lenience had been a frequent subject of dispute between them, for
Herodias, free from all compunction iu her vices, would despise
Herod for the weakness that even dallied with good while it held
fast by evil.
In any case John's bold rebuke was au affront offered less to
Herod thau to her. The dishonoured woman never pardons a
reference to her dishonour. In proportion to her knowledge of
her sin is the frantic desire to have it treated as though it had
uot been. Thus the world has seen again and again the strange
spectacle of womeu who persuade themselves that their vice does
uot exist because it is unremarked. If Herodias had ever seen
John, which it is nearly certain that she must have done, she
liad read iu his very face the uncontrolled abhorrence which he
felt for her ; and his frequent interviews with her paramour were
a source of alarm as well as insult. But uow her chauce of
vengeance had arrived.
The Life of Christ, WiUiani J. Davrson, p. 177.
" NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST " 363
A Ghastly Birthday Banquet
And when a couveuieut day was come, that Herod on hit
birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captaius, aud
the chief men of Galilee ; aud when the daughter of Herodias
herself came in aud dauced, she pleased Herod, aud them that sat
at meat with him ; aud the king said uuto the damsel. Ask of me
whatsoever thou wilt, aud I will give it thee. Aud he sware uuto
her, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, aud I will give it thee.
Aud he sware uuto her. Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will
give it thee, uuto the half of my kingdom.
Aud she weut out, aud said uuto her mother, What shall I
ask ?
Aud she said. The head of John the Baptist.
Aud she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and
asked, sayiug, I will that thou forthwith give me in a charger the
head of John the Baptist.
Aud the king was exceeding sorry ; but for the sake of his
oaths, aud of them that sat at meat, he would uot reject her.
And straightway the kiug seut forth a soldier of his guard, aud
commanded to briug his head : aud he went and beheaded him in
the prisou, aud brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the
damsel ; and the damsel gave it to her mother.
And when his disciples heard thereof, they came aud took up
his coi-pse, aud laid it in a tomb.
3Iark vi. 21-29. Revised Version.
Bearing the Headless Body to the Burying
It is all over ! As the pale moruiug light streams iuto the
keep, the fiiithful disciples, who had been told of it, come rever-
ently to bear the headless body to the burying. They go forth
for ever from that accursed place, which is so soon to become a
mass of shapeless ruius. They go to tell it to Jesus, aud hence-
forth to remain with Him. We can imagine what welcome
awaited them.
But the people ever afterwards cursed the tyrant, aud looked
for those judgments of God to follow, which wei-e so soon to de-
scend on him. And he himself was ever afterwards restless,
wretched, and full of apprehensions. He could scarcely believe
that the Baj)tist was really dead, aud wheu the fame of Jesus
204 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
reached him, and those around suggested that this was Elijah, a
prophet, or as oue of them, Herod's mind, amidst its strange per-
plexities, still reverted to the man whom he had murdered. It
was a new anxiety, perhaps, even so, a new hope ; and as for-
merly he had often and gladly heard the Baptist, so now he
would fain have seen Jesus. He would see Him ; but not now.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Slessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A, Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, p. 674.
Haunted by the Remembrance of His Victim
After the death of the Baptist, Antipas returned to Tiberias,
haunted by the remembrance of his victim. Salome went back
to her elderly husband, who had already built a tomb for him-
self, in Julias Bethsaida, and did not long survive his marriage.
Salome, left a widow, once more returned to her mother.
The marriage had been a speculation of Herodias, who hoijed
thus to get hold of the territory of her neighbour and son-in-law.
But the scheme failed, for the tetrarchy was forthwith iucor-
porated with the province of Syria. Antipas, however, still
hankered after it, and turned wistful eyes towards it, from his
palace at Tiberias, till, at last, it lured him and Herodias to
ruin.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 409.
No Man Was Witness to Those Houfs of Grief
When the Twelve came back to their Eabbi, there had reached
him news so black that the experiences of their missionary trip —
although they told him all about them volubly enough — were put
well into the background. During their absence had occurred
the terrible supper at the palace of Herod, when a girl danced
away the life of the greatest of prophets and one of the grandest
of men.
The execution of John, after all, had been sudden. . . .
Jesus was overwhelmed by it.
He received the intelligence in silence, and went away alone as
soon as he could. He spent that night by the sea in the solitary
prayer which, while it made such havoc of his vitality, seemed
strangely to renew the very treasure that it wasted. No man was
witness to those hours of grief and of resolve.
« NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST " 265
In his personal bereavement a cousciousuess of personal peril
now began distinctly to mingle. Jesus was not the man to be
deceived by this thrust from the governmeut. If he had ever
doubted before, he could doubt no longer that, as a political sus-
pect, he himself was liable to mortal dangers.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 227.
Vague Rumours of the New Prophet
This mission of the Twelve, brief as it was, had the effect to
extend still farther the ever- widening reputation of Jesus. Vague
rumors of this new prophet reached the ears of the apostate king.
An uneasy conscience awakened in him superstitious fears. He
imagined that John had risen from his tomb to haunt his king-
dom. A new danger, therefore, began to threaten Christ, who,
ever ready to meet death, was yet not ready to die before his
time had come.
Upon the return of his disciples, he accordingly took his little
boat, and sought his customary retreat on the eastern shore of the
Sea of Galilee. This was partly to escape the iuquisitiou of
Herod ; it was yet more to escape the inquisition of the people,
for the passover was drawing nigh.
All Galilee was beginning to gather in its towns and villages
preparatory to tlie annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The high-
ways were filled with caravans. Capernaum was crowded with
gathering pilgrims. Christ and his twelve friends, meeting after
their mission in this, his adopted city, had neither time nor
opportunity for quiet converse. Even their meal-hours were not
their own.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 305.
XXI
EVEN GALILEE TUEXS AGAINST HIM
'Twas seed-time when He blessed the bread,
'Twas harvest when He brake.
Many Believed That He Was the Prophet
Jesus gave Himself to the common people of Galilee, and they
gave Him in return their love and admiration. Instead of hating
Him like the Pharisees and scribes, and calling Him a glutton and
a wine-bibber, they believed Him a prophet ; they compared Him
with the very greatest figures of the past, and many, according as
they were more struck with the sublime or with the melting side of
His teaching, said He was Isaiah or Jeremiah risen from the dead.
It was a common idea of the time that the coming of the
Messiah was to be preceded by the rising again of some prophet.
The one most commonly thought of was Elijah. Accordingly
some took Jesus for Elijah. But it was only a precursor of the
Messiah they supposed Him to be, not the Messiah Himself. He
was not at all like their conception of the coming Deliverer,
which was of the most grossly material kind.
Now and then, indeed, after He had wrought some unusually
striking miracle, there might be raised a single voice or a few
voices, suggesting. Is this not He? But, wonderful as were His
deeds and His words, yet the whole aspect of His life was so un-
like their preconceptions, that the truth failed to suggest itself
forcibly and universally to their minds.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev, James Stalker, M. A., p. 103.
** He Is Beside Himself!^
And they went into an house.
And the multitude cometh together again, so they could not so
much as eat bread.
And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on
him : for they said. He is beside himself.
3Iark iii. 19-21. Authorised Version.
266
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 267
It "Was a Year of Sore Trial
What were the thoughts aud feeliugs of Jesus Himself during
this year ? To Him also it was a year of sore trial. Now for the
first time the deej) lines of care aud paiu were traced upon His
face. During the twelve-month of successful work in Galilee,
He was borne up with the joy of sustained achievement.
But now He became, in the truest sense, the Man of Sorrows.
Behind Him was His rejection by Galilee. The sorrow which He
felt at seeing the ground on which He had bestowed so much labour
turning out barren, is to be measured only by the greatness of
His love to the souls He sought to save, and the depth of His de-
votion to His work. In front of Him was His rejection at Jeru-
salem. That was now certain ; it rose up and stood out constantly
and unmistakably, meeting His eyes as often as He turned them
to the future. It absorbed His thoughts. It was a terrible
prospect ; aud, now that it drew nigh, it sometimes shook His
soul with a conflict of feelings which we scarcely dare to picture
to ourselves.
He was very much in prayer. This had all along been His de-
light aud resource. lu His busiest period, when He was often so
tired with the labours of the day that at the approach of evening
He was ready to fling Himself down iu utter fatigue. He would
nevertheless escape away from the crowds aud His disciples to
the mountain-top, and spend the whole night in lonely communion
with His Father. He never took any important step without
such a night. But now He was far oftener alone than ever be-
fore, setting forth His case to His God with strong crying aud
tears.
The Life of Jesus Chrisf, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 108,
"Who Are My Mother and Brethren ?**
While he was still speaking to the crowds, suddenly his mother
and his brothers were seen standing outside, asking to speak to
him. Then some one said to him, "See, thy mother and brothers
are standing out there, wishing to speak with thee."
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
" Who is my mother? And who are my brethren ?"
And reaching out his hand to his disciples, he said, "See my
mother and my brethren ! "
2GS THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
"For whoever is doing the will of my Father iu heaveu, he is
my brother, and sister, aud mother,"
Matthew xii. 46-50. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The Group and the Throng
Aud now the throng approaches. It is a motley multitude of
youug aud old, composed maiuly of peasauts, but with others of
higher rauk interspersed in their loose array — here a frowning
Pharisee, there a gaily-clad Herodiau whispering to some Greek
merchant or Roman soldier his scof&ng comments on the en-
thusiasm of the crowd. But these are the few, and almost every
eye of the large throng is constantly directed towards One who
stands in the centre of the separate group which the crowd sur-
rounds.
In the front of this group walk some of the newly-chosen
apostles : behind are others, among whom there is one whose
restless glance and saturnine countenance accord but little with
that look of openness and innocence which stamps his comrades
as honest men. Some of those who are looking on whisper that
he is a certain Judas of Keriotb, almost the only follower of Jesus
who is not a Galilean.
A little further iu the rear, behind the remainder of the
apostles, are four or five women, some on foot, some on mules,
among whom, though they are partly veiled, there are some who
recognise the once wealthy aud dissolute but uow repentant
Mary of Magdala ; and Salome, the wife of the fisherman Zabdia
[Zebedee] ; and one of still higher wealth and position, Joanna,
the wife of Chuza, steward of Herod Antipas.
But He whom all eyes seek is iu the very centre of the throng ;
and though at His right is Peter of Bethsaida, aud at His left the
more youthful figure of John, yet every glance is absorbed by Him
alone.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. I, p. 309.
The Great "Wrong to the Name of Mary of Magdala
Christ's friendship with womeu was . remarkable. We
have already seen that in Capernaum and its neighbourhood there
was a group of women ''who ministered unto Him of their sub-
stance." Joauna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, was the
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 209
chief of these ; au unknown woman, bearing the lovely Jewish
name of Susanna, or " the lily," was another. It has been sug-
gested that Chuza may have been the centurion who besought
Jesus in Caua of Galilee to heal his sou, in which case Joanna
would have abundant cause to show the liveliest gratitude to
Christ.
But deserving as these names are of immortal recollection,
there is one other name which eclipses theirs in interest — that of
Mary of Magdala. Magdala lies in a bend of the lake upon the
green plain of Gennesaret, at a distance of about two miles from
the town of Tiberias, and about double that distance from Caper-
naum. In the days of Christ it was wealthy and prosperous, the
home of springs which were much valued for dyeing processes,
the haunt of doves which were bred for the purposes of Temple
offerings. . . .
Mary was perhaps, the daughter of some wealthy dyer or
manufacturer of Magdala. She appears at least to have been the
mistress of her own movements, and able to follow Jesus to
Jerusalem. Until the day when Jesus entered Magdala her life
had been a misery, and a torture. She was afflicted with some
obscure form of hysteric disease, which the popular phrase of the
time, applied to all mental derangements, described as "posses-
sion of the devil."
But from that day a new life opened for Mary of Magdala.
Slie became the heroine of an ideal affection. The world held for
her but one Name and one Person. The common error, which
has done her the gross injustice of making her name the synonym
of an odious form of vice, is founded on a total misconception of
her history.
The title Magdalene is undoubtedly derived from Magdala, and
she is called Mary Magdalene merely to distinguish her from the
other Marys of the Gospels. So far is she from deserving the
odium of vice, that everything in her history points to a nature
of extreme sweetness and of much nobility. Hereafter we shall
see the unexampled part she plays in the triumph of the new re-
ligion ; and it will then become of great importance to recollect
her real character. At present we see her only as one of the
closest friends of Jesus.
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawson, p. 160.
270 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
No Opportunity Even to Eat
Aud he said to them, "Come aside by j^ourselves into a de-
serted place, aud rest a little."
For there were mauy comiug aud goiug aud they had uo op-
portuuity eveu to eat.
Aud they weut away by boat to a forsakeu place apart. Aud
the people saw them goiug, aud mauy recoguised him, aud ruu-
uiug ou foot from all the towus, they came together there before
him.
Aud Jesns, haviug lauded, saw a great multitude, aud was
moved with pity towards them, because they were like sheep uot
haviug a shepherd : aud he begau to teach them mauy things.
Mark vi. 31-34. A literal reuderiiig from the Greek,
** How Many Loaves Have Yow ? **
Toward eveuing the multitudes became huugry, aud iu this
uuiuhabited j)lace there was uo opportunity to buy provisious.
Mauy had come uusupplied either iu their haste or because they
did uot know Jesus was goiug into a desert place, or that they
would remain so long. The need was therefore great aud real,
though iu their enthusiasm they may not have realized it till
quite late. ..." Philip was apparently a matter-of-fact
mau, a quick reckoner aud a good man of business, and, there-
fore, perhaps more ready to rely ou his own shrewd calculations
thau ou unseen sources."
Putting all the accounts together, we find a simple, natural
story.
Jesus. (Speaking to Philip, whose home was at Bethsaida,
aud who therefore was acquainted with the region aud the
people.) " ^Yheuce shall we buy bread that these may eat ? "
(John.)
Philip. " Two hundred pennyworth ($32.00 worth) is not
sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. "
(John.)
The Apostles. "Send the multitudes away that they may go
into the towns and country round about, and lodge aud get
victuals." (Luke.)
Jesus. " They need not depart ; give ye them to eat."
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 271
The Apostles. " Shall we go aud buy two hundred pennyworth
of bread aud give them to eat?" (Mark.)
Jesus. "How many loaves have ye? Go and see." (Mark.)
Andrew. (Returuiug from the search aud speakiug for the
apostles.) "We have a lad here who has five barley loaves and
two fishes ; but what are these amoug so many ?"
Jesus. " Bring them hither to me."
PelouheVa Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1908, p. 81.
"Make the Men Sit down *'
It was on the farther side of the sea of Tiberias, a region which
Christ seldom visited, a region which is to-day a wilderness. A
multitude had followed the Lord across the water and were filling
the empty place with crowd aud clamor and confusion. Curiosity
was all alive. What he had doue last, what he would do next, was
flying about in question and answer from mouth to mouth. The
scene was full of movement. Every man was on his feet. Old
friends were meeting. Christ's adherents were eagerly pleading
for him. The enemies of Christ were violently claiming that he
was an impostor. Gestures were furious ; words came fast ;
faces glowed ; eyes sparkled ; feet hurried back and forth. Such
is the picture which seemed to paint itself before us in the first
verses of this sixth chapter of St. John.
And then there comes a change. The midday sun grows hot.
Hunger and exhaustion take possession of these excited frames.
The need of rest overcomes the eagerness of action. And out of
the midst of the flagging tumult comes the calm voice of Jesus,
saying to his disciples who are closest to him, " Make the men
sit down." Aud the disciples pass here aud there through the
crowd, doing their Master's will, until five thousand men are
seated on the grass.
Then a new scene appears. Quiet has come in the place of
noise ; repose instead of action. Faces which were just now
flushed aud excited have grown calm. And,- what is really at
the heart of all, there is a change in the whole crowd's activity.
It has become receptive. It is waiting to be fed. Not only with
the barley loaves aud fishes. The presence of Christ is before it
and it receives that. By and by the words of Christ fall on it
and it i-eceives them, until at last there begins to break forth
272 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
from the seated ranks the declaration that they have indeed re-
ceived him, and they whisper to one another, "This is indeed
the proj)het that should come into the world."
3Iake the 3Ien Sit down, Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 226.
Feasting Five Thousand Men, besides Women and Children
And he ordered them to make them all lie down by com-
panies on the green grass. And they sat in ranks, by hundreds
and by fifties.
And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, and look-
ing up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves and gave to
his disciples that they might set before the people. And the
two fishes he divided among them all. And they all ate and
were satisfied.
3fark vi. 39-42.
He distributed to those who were reclining, and, in the same
manner, the little fishes as much as they wished.
And when they were all satisfied, he said to his disciples,
" Collect the pieces left over so that nothing may be wasted."
They therefore gathered together and filled twelve hand-
baskets of fragments fiom the five barley loaves, which were
left over by those who had eaten.
John vi. 11-13.
And those who had eaten numbered about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
Matthew xiv. 21. Literal renderings from the Greek.
A Crown on His Dear Head
Some lioui^s had passed. The "first evening," the "evening
between the evenings," and the " second evening " were gone. It
was midnight ; and he was at last alone.
It had been a hard contest ; but he had conquered the people.
This was a much more difficult thing to do — as his throbbing
heart and exhausted nerve told him — than it had been for him to
feed five thousand men on five loaves of bread. In the estimate
of his strange power one must rank very high among mystical
gifts the art, the force, the wit, the will which peaceably dis-
persed the mob that night.
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 273
The personal friends of Jesus, swept into the general excite-
ment, were almost carried off their feet. They would have liked
nothing better than to see their Eabbi with a crown on his dear
head. They considered no throne too good for him. They would
have headed the rioters with equal zeal and indiscretion ; and
might have been in a Eoman dungeon before another sunset.
Jesus found it as important to control them as to dismiss the
multitude of men who had gone into such a frenzy over the
events of this exciting day.
To the dismay of the Twelve they were ordered to take to their
boat at once and sail away, and that without his company. This
was confounding. What a disappointment ! Not to stay and
see what was going to hapi^en ? To leave the Eabbi alone with
the mob ? To have no share in this tremendous thing ? To be
sent home like children who could not be trusted in great public
affairs ? It was hard. But they obeyed.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 240.
** O Little-Faith ! Why Didst Thoo Do«bt ? **
Jesus immediately compelled his disciples to get into the boat
and to go on ahead of him to the other side, until he had dis-
missed the crowd. And having sent the crowds away, he went up
the mountain by himself to pray : and evening having come on
he was there alone.
But the boat, now in the midst of the lake, was tossed by the
waves ; for the wind was against them.
But in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walk-
ing upon the lake. And the disciples seeing him walk on the
water, said in alarm, '' It is a ghost ! " And they cried out with
fear.
Jesus immediately spoke to them, saying, " Be of good courage ;
it is I — do not be afraid ! ' '
And Peter answering him said, " Lord, if it be thou, tell me to
come to thee upon the water."
And he said, " Come ! "
And having got down out of the boat, Peter walked upon the
water to go to Jesus.
But seeing the high wind, he was frightened, and, beginning
to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me ! "
274 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And Jesus immediately stretched out his haud, took hold of
Peter and said to him, *'0 Little-Faith 1 Why didst thou
doubt ! "
And when they had got up into the boat, the wind ceased.
And those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying,
''Truly thou art the Son of God ! "
Maitheio xiv, 22-33. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The News Spread Far and Near
When day broke on the scene of the miraculous meal of the
evening before, a number who had slept in the open air, through
the warm spring night, still remained on the spot. They had
noticed that Jesus did not cross with the Twelve, and fancied
that He was still on their side of the lake.
Meanwhile, a number of the boats which usually carried over
wood or other commodities, from these eastern districts, had come
from Tiberias ; blown roughly on their way by the same wind
that had been against the disciples. In these, many, finding that
Jesus had left the neighbourhood, took passage, and came to
Capernaum, seeking for Him. It was one of the days of syna-
gogue worship — Monday or Thursday — and they met Him on His
way to the synagogue, to which they accordingly went with Him.
Excitement was at its height. News of His arrival had spread
far and near, and His way was hindered by crowds, who had, as
usual, brought their sick to the streets through which He was
passing, in hope of His healing them.
The incidents of the preceding day might well have raised
desires for the higher spiritual food which even the rabbis taught
them to expect from the Messiah. But they felt nothing higher
than vulgar wonder, and came after Jesus in hopes of further
advantages of the same kind, and, above all, that they would
still find in Him a second Judas the Gaulonite, to lead them
against the Eomans. A few, doubtless, had worthier thoughts,
but, to the mass, the Messiah's kingdom was as gross as Mahomet's
paradise.
They were to be gathered together into the Garden of Eden, to
eat, and drink, and satisfy themselves all their days, with houses
of precious stones, beds of silk, and rivers flowing with wine, and
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 275
spicy oil for all. It was that He might gain all this for them
that they wished to set Him up as king.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 179.
They Laid Theit Sick: People in the Marketplaces
And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret
and pulled up to the shore. And on their coming out of the
boat, the people at once recognised him, and, running round all
that region they began to carry about on their couches those that
were ill, to the place where they heard he was. And wherever
he went into villages, or cities, or in the fields, they laid those
who were sick in the marketplaces, and pleaded with him that
they might touch only the edge of his garment ; and as many as
touched him were made well.
3Iark vi. 53-56. A Uteral rendering from the Greek.
Flocking airoond Him for the Healing Touch
Early on the Friday morning the boat, which bore Jesus and
His disciples, grated on the sandy beach of the plain of Gennes-
aret. As the tidings spread of His arrival and of the miracles
which had so lately been witnessed, the people from the neighbour-
ing villages and towns fl.ocked around Him, and brought their
sick for the healing touch. So the greater part of the forenoon
passed.
Meantime, while they moved, as the concourse of the people by
the way would allow, the first tidings of all this must have reached
the neighbouring Capernaum. This brought immediately on the
scene those Pharisees and scribes "who had come from Jeru-
salem " on purpose to watch, and, if possible, to compass the
destruction of Jesus. As we conceive it, they met the Lord and
His disciples on their way to Capernaum. Possibly they over-
took them, as they rested by the way, and the disciples, or some
of them, were partaking of some food — perhaps, some of the con-
secrated bread of the previous evening. The reproof of Christ
would be administered there ; then the Lord would, not only for
their teaching, but for the purposes immediately to be indicated,
turn to the multitude ; next would follow the remark of the
disciples and the reply of the Lord, spoken, probably, when they
276 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
were again on the way ; and, lastly, the final explanation of
Christ, after they had entered the house at Capernaum,
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 7.
Teaching the Lesson of the Bread of Life
The next morning the crowd that stood on the other side of the
lake saw that there was no other boat there, except the one that
the disciples had got into, and that Jesus did not go away in the
boat with them, but that his disciples had gone away alone (but
other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate the
bread after the Lord had given thanks) ; therefore when the crowd
saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves
got into boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
And when they found him on the other side of the lake, they
said to him, " Eabbi, how didst thou come here?"
Jesus answered them and said, " Verily, verily I say to you,
you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because
you ate of the loaves, and were satisfied. Work not for the food
that perishes but for the food that abides unto life eternal, which
the Son of man will give you : for the Father, God, has sealed
him."
They said therefore to him, " What should we do, that we may
work the works of God ? "
Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God,
that you should believe in him whom God has sent."
They said therefore to him, "What then dost thou do for a
sign, that we may see, and believe thee? What workest thou?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written,
'Bread out of heaven he gave them to eat.' "
Jesus therefore said to them, "Indeed, indeed, I say to you, it
was not Moses that gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Fa-
ther gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of
God is he who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the
world, "
They said therefore to him, " Lord, give us this bread forever. "
Jesus said to them, " I am the bread of life ; he that comes to
me shall not hunger at all, and he that believes on me shall never
thirst at all. But I said to you, that you have se«n me, and yet
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 277
you do not believe. All that the Father gives to me shall come
and I will not in any way cast out him that comes to me.
"For I have come down out of heaven, not that I should do
my will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will
of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me I should
not lose any but should raise him up at the last day. For this is
the will of him who sent me that every oue who sees the Sun,
and believes in him, should have eternal life ; and I will raise
him up at the last day."
Therefore the Jews were murmuring about him because he
said, "I am the bread which came down out of heaven." And
they said, >'Is not this Jesus, the sou of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? How then does he say now, 'I have
come down out of heaven ? ' "
Jesus answered, therefore, and said to them, ' ' Do not murmur
with one another. No man is able to come to me, unless the
Father who sent me attract him ; and I will raise him up at the
last day.
"It is written in the prophets, ' And they shall all be taught
of God.' Therefore every one that has heard from the Father
aud has learned, comes to me. Not that any one has seen the
Father, except he who is from God, he has seen the Father.
" Truly, truly, I say to you, he that believes on me has eternal
life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in
the desert and they died. This is the bread which comes down
out of heaven, that any oue may eat of it aud not die. I am the
living bread which came down out of heaven; if any one shall
eat of this bread, he shall live forever ; and the bread also which
I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world."
The Jews therefore were arguing with one another, saying,
" How is this man able to give us his flesh to eat? "
Jesus therefore said to them, ' ' Amen, Amen, I say to you, un-
less you shall eat the flesh of the Son of man and shall drink his
blood, you have no life in yourselves. He that eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life ; I will raise him up at the last
day. For my flesh truly is food, and my blood truly is drink.
He that eats my flesh aud drinks my blood, abides in me, and I
in him.
278 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
"As the liviug Father sent me, aud I live because of the
Father, so he that eats me, he also shall live because of me.
This is the bread which came down from heaven ; not as your
fathers ate and died ; he that eats this bread shall live forever."
Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said,
" This is a hard word ; who is able to hear it "? "
But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples were murmur-
ing at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble"?
If then you should see the Sou of man ascending where he was
before ? It is the spirit that gives life ; the flesh profits nothing :
the words I have spoken to you are spirit aud life. But there are
some of you who do not believe."
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they are who do not
believe, and who it was who should deliver him up. And he
said, " Therefore have I said to you, that no man is able to come
to me, unless it be given to him from my Father."
John vi. 22-65. A literal trauslatiou from the Greek,
A Higher Food Than Barley Loaves
Ye have come, he said in substance, for a miracle, not for the
Messiah. But there is a more imperative hunger than that of
the body, a higher food than that of barley loaves aud fishes.
Labor for that. Rather in faith receive it ; for that higher food
for the soul's need the Son of God supplies. It is, indeed, the
very fruit of the tree of life, and hath immortality concealed in it.
The manna which Moses gave to Israel in the wilderness was but
the shadow of better things to eoine. The bones of those who ate
thereof have long since mingled with the dust ; but he that eateth
of this bread shall never hunger ; he that drinketh of the waters
that pour from the Rock of Ages shall thirst no more.
That manna of Moses was for Israel only ; this bread is for the
world ; and whoso cometh to me for it I will not cast out. He
may die to sense, but spiritually he shall live, and I will raise
him up in the last day. Murmur not among yourselves. Though
you reject me, whosoever has felt in himself the fulfilment of the
prophecy of Isaiah, and has been truly taught of the Father, will
recognize beneath the disguise of the son of the carpenter the Sou
of God. Every such a one cometh unto me, and he that believeth
on me hath partaken of the true bread of heaven and hath re-
EVEN GALILEE TURNS AGAINST HIM 279
ceived everlasting life. This bread I will give by no miracle, but
by my death.
While I live I can not give life to the world. My blood must
be spilt and my body broken ; for the death of the Messiah, not
his coronation, is the life of the world. The bread which I will
give is my flesh. "For verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no
life in you ; " but " He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my
blood, dwelleth in me and I in him."
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 315,
The Miracle Had Ceased to Be a Wonder
The miracle of the loaves had ceased to be a wonder, for it was
some hours old. But this new illustration of the superhuman
power of their Master was so transcendent that their wonder
passed into worship. The impression, like many before, might
soon lose its force ; but for the moment they were so awed that,
approaching Him, they kneeled in lowliest reverence, and,
through Peter, ever their spokesman, paid Him homage in
words then first heard from human lips — " Of a truth Thou art
the Son of God."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D,, Vol. II, p. 178.
Stfwck the Fatal Blow at His Own Popolarity
It seemed the crowning hour of success. But to Jesus Himself
it was an hour of sad and bitter shame. This was all that His
year's work had come to ! This was the conception they yet had
of Him ! And they were to determine the course of His future
action, instead of humbly asking what He would have them to
do ! He accepted it as the decisive indication of the effect of His
work in Galilee. He saw how shallow were its results.
Galilee had judged itself unworthy of being the centre from
wliieh His kingdom might extend itself to the rest of the land.
H*; fled from their carnal desires, and the very next day, meeting
them again at Capernaum, He told them how much they had
been mistaken in Him ; they were looking for a Bread-king, who
would give them idleness and plenty, mountains of loaves, rivers
of milk, every comfort without labour. What He had to give
was the bread of eternal life.
280 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
His discourse was like a stream of cold water directed upon
the fiery enthusiasm of the crowd. From that hour His cause in
Galilee was doomed ; " many of His disciples went back and
walked no more with Him." It was what He intended. It was
Himself who struck the fatal blow at His popularity. He re-
solved to devote Himself thenceforward to the few who really
understood Him and were capable of being adherents of a spiri-
tual enterprise.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Eev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 104.
Synagogues No Longer Open to Him
"When His "new doctrine" had roused the opposition of the
authorities, the use of the synagogues was no longer permitted
Him. But, even from the first. He did not confine Himself to fixed
times or places. He addressed the people on the shores of the
lake, or the lonely slopes and valleys of the hills, in the streets
and market-places of towns and villages, at the crossing points
of the public roads, and even in houses ; any place, indeed, that
offered audience, was alike to Him.
The burden and spirit of His preaching may be gathered from
the Gospels throughout. He proclaimed Himself the Good Shep-
herd seeking to bring back the lost sheep to the heavenly fold ; to
quicken and turn towards God the weak, sinful human will, and
to breathe into the soul aspirations after a higher spiritual life,
from the fullness of His own perfect example.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D. , Vol. II, p. 38.
** Are You Also Willing to Go Away ? '*
After that many of his disciples went back and walked with
him no more.
Jesus said, therefore, to the Twelve, "Are you also wishing to
go away?"
Then Simon Peter answered him, " Lord, to whom shall we go 1
Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we have believed and
known that thou art the Anointed, the Son of the living God."
John vi. 66-69. A literal rendering from the Greek.
Galilee Rejects the Gospel
The verdict of Nazareth is c«»ufirmed at Capernaum. Galilee
has rejected the Gospel, and it will not again be preached to her ;
EVEN GALILEE TUKNS AGAINST HIM 2S1
within her bounds there is no longer safety for her Lord. The
Pharisees are lying iu wait for his life. Herod is seeking to seize
him. The people, advised of the true nature of his mission, turn
against him. Among his own disciples many follow him no more.
Nor can he accompany his neighbors to the paschal feast at Jeru-
salem, for the Sauhedrin have pi'onounced him worthy of death ;
and if still there are many ready to yield him a warm welcome,
it is only as a political Messiah, a national reformer, a Jewish
Kossuth, Cromwell, Washington, not as the Lord of life to all
mankind.
While, therefore, all Galilee is turning its face southward to
attend the annual gathering of the nation in the Holy City, Jesus
proceeds in the opposite direction. Of all the multitude who
have hitherto accompanied him, the Twelve alone remain still
faithful to their Lord. By their following they testify their
choice of the new kingdom in preference to the old theocracy ;
their recognition of the superiority of the claims of the Lamb of
God to those of the laaschal lamb which Moses had provided.
An outcast by his own people, an exile from his native laud,
Jesus enters the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lymau Abbott, p. 316.
" G)me onto Me, All Ye That Labour and Are Heavy Laden *'
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty
works were done, because they repented not.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the
mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done
in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. Howbeit I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven?
Thou shalt go down unto Hades : for if the mighty works had
been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have re-
mained until this day. Howbeit I say unto you, that it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment,
than for thee.
At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Fa-
ther, Lord of Heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things
282 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto
babes : yea Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father : and no
one knoweth the Sou, save the Father ; neither doth any one
know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Sou
willeth to reveal him.
Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I
am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
MaMiew xi. 20-30. Kevised Version.
xxn
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK
In Christ I feel the heart of God
Throbbing from Heaven through earth.
— Lucy Larcom.
The Glass Works of Sidon and the Dye Works of Tyre
Forsaking the shores of the sea of Galilee, He now turned to the
far north, with the Twelve as companions of His flight. His way
led Him over the rough uplands towards Safed, with its near
view of the snowy summits of Lebanon. Then, leaving Gischala
on the right, the road passed through one of the many woody
valleys of these highland regions, till, at the distance of two days'
journey from the lake, it reached the slope at the foot of which
lay the plains of Tyre. A yellow strip of beach and sand divides
the hills from the sea, into which the insular tougue of land on
which Tyre was built stretched far. He looked down, perhaps
for the first time so closely, on the smoking chimneys of the glass
works of Sidon and of the dye works at Tyre ; on the long rows
of warehouses filled with the merchandise of the world ; on the
mansions, monuments, public buildings, palaces, and temples
of the two cities, and their harbours and moles crowded with
shipping.
The busy scene before Him was the land of the accursed
Cauaauite ; the seat of the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth, which
had so often corrupted Israel ; a region, with all its wealth and
splendour, and surpassing beauty of palm groves, ^nd gardens, and
embowering green, so depraved and polluted, that the Hebrew
had adopted the name of Beelzebub — one of its idols — as the name
for the Prince of Devils. Yet, even here, Jesus felt a pity and
charity unknown to His nation, and the great sea beyond, whit-
ened with wing-like sails, would be like a dream of the future,
when distant lands, washed by the waves over which these vessels
sped, would gladly receive the message He came to deliver.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 204.
283
2S4 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
Aud he arose, and went away from there into the borders of
Tyre aud Sidon. And having entered the house, he wished no
man to know, but he could not be hidden.
For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, hav-
iug heard about him, came and fell at his feet.
Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeniciau by race. And
she asked him that he should cast the demon out of her daughter.
But Jesus said to her, " Let the children be satisfied first ; for
it is not good to take the bread of the children aud throw it to
the dogs."
But she answered and said to him, " Yes, Lord ; but even the
little dogs uuder the table eat crumbs of the children."
And he said to her, '* Because of this word, go ! The demon
has gone out of thy daughter."
And having gone away to her house, she found the demon had
gone forth and the child laid on the bed.
Mark vii. 24-30. A literal rendering from the Greek.
God Has Not Forgotten Us Gentiles
Christ said to the heathen woman : I am not sent but to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel : yet afterwards he helped both
her aud her daughter ; therefore a man might say : Christ here
contradicted himself. I reply : True, Christ was not sent to the
Gentiles, but when the Gentiles came unto him, he would not
reject or put them from him. In person he was sent only to the
Jews, aud therefore he preached only to the Jews. But through
the apostles his doctrine went into the whole world.
Aud St. Paul names the Lord Christ ... by reason of
the promise which God gave to the fathers. The Jews themselves
boast of God's justness in performing what he promised, but we
Gentiles boast of God's mercy ; God has not forgotten us Geutiles,
The Table Talk of Martin Luther, Translated and Edited by William
Hazlitt, Esq., p. 105.
He Resumed His Journey
If even the brief stay of Jesus in that friendly Jewish home by
the borders of Tyre could not remain unknown, the fame of the
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 285
healing of the Syro-Phceuician maiden would soon have rendered
impossible that privacy and retirement, which had been the
chief object of His leaving Capernaum.
Accordingly, when the two paschal days were ended, He re-
sumed His journey, extending it far beyond any previously under-
taken, perhaps beyond what had been originally intended. The
borders of Palestine proper, though not of what the rabbis
reckoned as belonging to it, were passed. Making a long circuit
through the territory of Sidon, He descended — probably through
one of the passes of the Heimon range — into the country of the
tetrarch Philip. Thence He continued "through the midst of
the borders of Decapolis," till He once more reached the eastern,
or southeastern, shore of the lake of Galilee.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheini, M, A. Oxon,,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 44.
"Working Miracles in Decapolis
And having departed again from the neighbourhood of Tyre
and Sidon, he came to the lake of Galilee, through the region of
the Ten Cities.
3Iark vii. 31.
And having gone up the mountain, he was sitting there. And
great crowds came to him having with them those who were lame,
blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they put them down
at the feet of Jesus. He healed them ; so that the crowds won-
dered at seeing the dumb speaking, the maimed restored, the lame
walking, and the blind seeing ; and they glorified the God of
Israel.
Matthew xv. 29-31. A literal rendering from the Greek,
** Even the Deaf Hear, and the Dumb Speak ! **
And they bring to him a deaf man who spoke with difficulty,
and they beseech him to lay his hand on him.
And having taken him away from the crowd aside, he put his
fingers to his ears, and having spit, he touched his tongue ; and
looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him, "Ephphatha,"
that is, " Be opened ! "
And immediately his ears were opened, and the stricture of his
tongue was loosened, and he spoke plainly. And he charged
286 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAX
them that tliey should tell no oue ; but mucli as he charged them,
so much aud a great deal more they proclaimed.
Aud they were astonished above measure, saying, ''He has
done all things well ; he makes both the deaf hear and the dumb
speak."
Mark vii, 32-37. A literal rendering from the Greek.
A Deaf Man "Who Could Only Stammer
A man had been brought to Hiin who was deaf, and could only
stammer inarticulately ; and He was besought to heal him.
From what motive is not told. He varied His usual course.
Taking him aside from the multitude, perhaps to have more
freedom, perhaps to avoid their too great excitement and its
possibly hurtful political consequences, He put His fingers into
the man's ears, and touched his tongue with a finger moistened
on His own lips.
It may be that these simple forms were intended to waken faith
in one who could hear no words, for, without the fitting spirit,
the miracle would not have been wrought. Looking up to
heaven, as if to lift the thoughts of the unfortunate man to the
eternal Father, whose power alone could heal him, Jesus then,
at last, uttered the single word of the popular dialect — "Eph-
phatha" — "Be opened" — and he was perfectly cured. An
injunction to keep the miracle jirivate was of no avail : the whole
country was presently filled with reports of it, and of other
similar wonders.
The Life and Words of CJtriaf, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 208.
Feasting the Four Thousand
In those days, the crowd being again very great, and not
having anything to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him, and
said to them,
" I am moved with sympathy for the crowd because they have
stayed with me three days now, and have nothing to eat. If I
should send them away fasting to their homes, they would faint
on the way ; and some of them have come a long distance. "
And his disciples answered him, "How can any one satisfy
them with bread in a desert ? "
And he asked them, " How many loaves have you ? "
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 2S7
And they said, *' Seven."
And he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground ; and
having taken the seven loaves, and given thanks, he broke, and
gave to his disciples, that they might place before the people,
and they set them before the crowd.
And they had a few small fishes ; and having blessed them, he
said to set these before them also.
And they ate, and were satisfied, and they picked up seven
baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
There were about four thousand of those who had eaten ; and
he sent them away.
Blark viii. 1-9. A literal translation from the Greek.
Difference between the Two Miraculous Meals
. The most noteworthy difference seems to us this — that on
the first occasion, they who were fed were Jews — on the second.
Gentiles. There is an exquisite little trait in the narrative which
affords striking, though utterly undesigned, evidence of it. In
referring to the blessing which Jesus spake over the first meal, it
was noted, that, in strict accordance with Jewish custom. He
only rendered thanks once, over the bread. But no such custom
would rnle His conduct when dispensing the food to the Gentiles ;
and indeed, His speaking the blessing only over the bread, while
He was silent when distributing the fishes, would probably have
given rise to misauderstandiug. Accordingly, we find it ex-
pressly stated that He not only gave thanks over the bread, but
also spake the blessing over the fishes.
Xor should we, wlien marking such undesigned evidences, omit
to notice, that on the first occasion, which was immediately be-
fore the Passover, the guests were, as three of the Evangelists ex-
pressly state, ranged "on the grass," while, on the present oc-
casion, which must have been several weeks later, when in the
East the grass would be burnt up, we are told by the two Evan-
gelists that they sat " on the ground."
The Life and Timet of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol, II, p. 65.
** You Cannot Discern the Signs of the Times '*
After dismissing the crowds he got into the boat, and came
within the boundaries of Magadan.
288 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And the Pharisees aud Sadducees came and tried him by ask-
ing him to show them a sign from heaven.
But he answering said to them, " When evening comes, you
say, 'Fine weather, for the sky is red,' And in the morning,
' A storm to-day for the sky is red and lowering,'
" Hypocrites ! — The face of the sky you know how to discern,
but you cannot discern the signs of the times ! A wicked and
adulterous generation is looking for a sign ; and a sign shall not
be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah."
And he went away and left them.
And the disciples, coming to the other side, forgot to take
loaves.
And Jesus said to them, "Look out and be on your guard
against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees ! "
Aud they reasoned among themselves, saying, " Because we
did not bring bread ! "
And Jesus knowing this, said to them, ''Why do you reason
among yourselves, O little faith ! because you did not bring the
loaves'? Do you not yet perceive, nor remember the five loaves
of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up ? Nor
the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you
took up ? How is it that you do not perceive that I did not speak
to you concerning bread — to beware of the leaven of the Phari-
sees and Sadducees."
Then they understood that he did not say beware of the leaven
of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew xv. 39 to xvi. 12. A literal reudering from the Greek,
The Sign Would Be Given Only Too Soon
It was, therefore, no strange thing, when the Pharisees asked
of Jesus "a sign from heaven," to attest His claims and teaching.
The answer which He gave was among the most solemu which
the leaders of Israel could have heard, and He spake it in deep
sorrow of spirit. They had asked Him virtually for some sign
of His Messiahship ; some striking vindication from heaven of
His claims. It would be given them only too soon.
We have already seen, that there was a coming of Christ in His
Kingdom — a vindication of His kingly claim before His apostate
rebellious subjects, when they who would not have Him to reign
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 289
over them, but betrayed and crucified Him, would have their
cominouwealth and city, their polity and Temple, destroyed. By
the lurid light of the flames of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary were
the words on the cross to be read again. God would vindicate
His claims by laying low the pride of their rebellion. The burn-
ing of Jerusalem was God's answer to the Jews' cry, ''Away with
Him — we have no king but Ciesar ! " — the thousands of crosses on
which the Romans hauged their captives, the terrible counterpart
of the cross on Golgotha.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 69.
*' Blessed Art Thou, Simon "—** Peter '/'
And Jesus, having come into the region of C£esarea Philippi,
questioned his disciples, saying, "Whom do men pronounce the
Son of man to be ! "
And they said, "Some, John the Baptist ; others, Elijah ; and
others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. ' '
He said to them, " But whom do you pronounce me to be ? "
And Simon Peter answering said, "Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the liviug God."
And Jesus answering said to him, "Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar- Jonah : for flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, but my
Father in heaven.
' ' And I also say to thee, that thou art Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church ; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven : and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven ; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven."
Then he charged the disciples that they should say to no one
that he was the Christ.
Matthew xvi. 13-20. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The Very Christ of God
The great confession of Peter, as the representative apostle,
had laid the foundations of the Church as such. In contradis-
tinction to the varying opinions of even those best disposed
towards Christ, it openly declared that Jesus was the very Christ
290 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
of God, the fulfilmeut of all Old Testament hope for Israel, and,
in Israel, for all mankind.
Without this confession, Christians might have been a Jewish
sect, a religious party, or a school of thought, and Jesus a teacher,
rabbi, reformer, or leader of men. But the confession which
marked Jesus as the Christ, also constituted His followers the
Church. It separated them, as it separated Him, from all
around ; it gathered them into one, even Christ ; and it marked
out the foundation on which the building made without hands
was to rise. Never was illustrative answer so exact as this : ''On
this Eock" — bold, outstanding, well-defined, immovable — "will
I build my Church,"
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oson.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 91.
The Elevation of the Son of Man
The doctrine of Jesus consisted in the elevation of the Son of
man, tha,t is, in the recognition on the part of man, that he, man,
was the son of God. In his own individuality Jesus personified
the man who has recognised the filial relation with God. He
asked his disciples whom men said that he was — the Son of man ?
His disciples replied that some took him for John the Baptist,
and some for Elijah. Then came the question, ^'- But whom say
ye that I am ? " And Peter answered, " Thou art the Messiah, the
Son of the living God.'''' Jesus responded, ^^ Flesh and blood hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven ; " mean-
ing that Peter understood, not through faith iu human explana-
tions, but because, feeling himself to be the sou of God, he under-
stood that Jesus was also the Son of God. And after having ex-
plained to Peter that the true faith is founded upon the percep-
tion of the filial relation to God, Jesus charged his other disciples
that they should tell no man that he was the Messiah. After
this, Jesus told them that although he might suffer many things
and be put to death, he, that is his doctrine, would be trium-
phantly reestablished.
My Religion, Count Leo Tolstoi, p. 145.
Foretelling His Death
And he began to teach tliem that the Son of man must suffer
many things, and be rejected of the elders, of the chief priests,
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 291
and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And
be spake that saying openly. And Peter took him and began to
rebuke him.
But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he
rebuked Peter, saying. Get thee behind me, Satan ; for thou
savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of
men.
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples
also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come up after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoso-
ever will save his life shall lose it ; but whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gosi3el's, the same shall save it.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul ?
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation ; of him shall the Son of
man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his father with
the holy angels.
And he said unto them. Verily I say unto you, That there shall
be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death
till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
Mark viii. 31 to ix. 1. Authorised Version.
The Glass and Dye Works of Sidon and Tyre
But so far were the Twelve from comprehending such an an-
nouncement, that Peter, too impulsive to wait for an opportunity
of telling how much it distressed him, could not restrain his feel-
ings. True to his character, he forthwith took Him by the hand,
and led Him aside, to remonstrate with Him, and dissuade Him
from a journey which would have such results.
" God keep this evil far from Thee, my Lord and Master," said
he. "You must not let such things happen. They will utterly
ruin the prospects of your kingdom, for they match ill with the
dignity of the Messiah. If there be any danger such as you fear,
why not use your supernatural power to preserve yourself and us.
It is not to be endured that you should suffer such indignities."
It was the very same temptation as the arch enemy had set
before Him in the wilderness : to employ His divine power for
292 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
His own advantage, instead of using it, with absolute self-surren-
der, only to carry out the will of His Father.
But, as ever before, it was instantly repelled. His quick, stern
answer must have made Peter recoil afraid. " Get thee behind
me," said He, " out of my sight, thou tempter ; thou art laying a
snare for me ; thy words shew that in these things thou euterest
not into the thoughts and plans of God, but considerest all things
only from the ideas of men, with their dreams of ambition and
human advantage."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 231.
The Swblime Transformation
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when
there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice
which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the
holy mount.
2 Peter i. 17, 18. Authorised Version.
About eight days after speaking these words, Jesus went up the
mountain to pray, taking with him Peter, John, and James. As he
was praying, the aspect of his face was changed, and his clothing
became of a glittering whiteness. And all at once two men wore
talking with Jesus ; they were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in
a glorified state, and spoke of his departure, which was destined
to take place at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been
overpowered by sleep bat, suddenly becoming wide awake, they
saw Jesas glorified aud the two men who were standing beside
him. And, as Moses and Elijah were passing away from Jesus,
Peter exclaimed :
"Sir, it is good to be here; let us make three tents, one for
you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He did not know what he was saying ; aud, while he was speak-
ing, a cloud came down and enveloped them ; and they were afraid,
as they passed into the cloud ; and from the cloud came a voice
which said —
" This is my Son, the Chosen One ; him you must hear."
Luke ix. 28-35.
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 293
The disciples, ou bearing this, fell on their faces, greatly afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying as he did so :
" Eise up, and do not be afraid."
Slatthew xvii, 6, 7.
And suddenly, on looking round, they saw that there was now
no one with them but Jesus alone.
3Iark ix. 8. The Tioentieth Century New Testament in 3Iodern English,
pp. 126, 73, and 21.
A Gentle Touch Aroused Them
How long the silence had lasted, and the last rays of the cloud had
passed, we know not. Presently, it was a gentle touch that roused
them. It was the hand of Jesus, as with words of comfort He re-
assured them : " Arise, and be not afraid." And as, startled, they
looked round about them, they saw no man save Jesus only. The
heavenly visitants had gone, the last glow of the light-cloud had
faded away, the echoes of heaven's Voice had died out. It was
night, and they were on the mount with Jesus, and with Jesus only.
Is it truth or falsehood ; was it reality or vision— or part of both,
this Transfiguration scene on Hermon? One thing, at least, must
be evident : if it be a true narrative, it cannot possibly describe
a merely subjective vision without objective reality. But, in that
case, it would be not only difficult, but impossible, to separate one
part of the narrative — the appearance of Moses and Elijah — from
the other, the Transfiguration of the Lord, and to assign to the
latter objective reality, while regarding the former as merely a
vision. But is the account true ?
It certainly represents primitive tradition, since it is not only
told by all the three Evangelists, but referred to in 2 Peter
1. 16 to 18, and evidently implied in the words of St. John, both
in his Gospel, and in the opening of his First Epistle. Few, if
any, would be so bold as to assert that the whole of this history
had been invented by the three apostles who professed to have
been its witnesses. Nor can any adequate motive be imagined
for its invention. It could not have been intended to prepare the
Jews for the crucifixion of the Messiah, since it was to be kept a
secret till after His resurrection.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 98.
294 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Chosen Three, on Mowntain Height
The choseu three, on mouutaiu height,
While Jesus bowed in prayer,
Beheld his vesture glow with light,
His face shiue wondrous fair.
And lo ! with the transfigured Lord,
Leader and seer they saw ;
With Carmel's hoary prophet stood
The giver of the law.
From the low-bending cloud above,
Whence radiant brightness shone,
Spake out the Father's voice of love,
"Hear my belov&d Son ! "
The Transfiguration, written for the Methodist Hymnal by David H. Ela.
Eymn Studies, Rev. Charles S. Nutter, p. 82.
**How Is It That Elijah Must First Come?"
And as they were coming dowu from the mouutaiu, he charged
them that they should relate to no oue what they had seen, until
the Sou of mau should be riseu from among the dead. Aud they
kept the sayiug amoug themselves, questioning, ''What is the
rising from the dead?"
Aud they asked him, saying, "The scribes say that Elijah must
come first?"
Aud he answering said to them, "Elijah indeed comes first,
and restores all things : and how it has been written of the Son
of man, that he should suffer many things and be set at nought?
But I say to you, that Elijah has come, and they did to him
whatever they pleased, just as it has beeu written of him."
3Iark ix. 9-13. A literal rendering from the Greek.
"I Believe, Lord, Help My Unbelief !*♦
And having come to the disciples he saw a great crowd around
them, and scribes arguing with them. And at once all the crowd
were greatly amazed at seeing him aud running up, they saluted
him.
Aud he asked them, "What are you discussing with them ? "
And one out of the crowd answered : "Teacher, I brought my
son with a dumb spirit to thee, aud wherever it seizes him, it
dashes him down ; and he foams and gnashes his teeth, and is
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 205
withering away. And I spoke to thy disciples that they might
cast it out ; but they had not the power,"
And Jesus replied : '' O unbelieving generation, how long shall
I be with you? How long must I bear with you? Bring him
to me ! "
And they brought him to Jesus, and when he saw him, the
sj>irit immediately threw him into convulsions and having fallen
on the ground he rolled and foamed. And Jesus asked the father,
" How long a time is it that it has been thus with him ! "
And he said, "From childhood. And often it throws him info
the fire and into the waters to destroy him ; but if thou art able
to help us, take pity on us ! "
And Jesus said to him, "If thou art able to believe! All
things are possible to him that believes."
And instantly the father of the child said with tears, "I be-
lieve ; Lord, help my unbelief ! "
And Jesus, seeing a crowd come running together, rebuked the
unclean spirit, saying to it, "Dumb and deaf spirit, I command
thee, come out of him, and go into him no more ! "
And having cried out, and thrown him into violent convulsions,
it came out ; and the boy became as if dead ; so that many said
that he was dead.
But Jesns took him by the hand, and lifted him and he got up.
And when he had come into the house, his disciples asked him
aside, " Why were we not able to cast it out? "
And he said to them, "This kind can go out by nothing but
prayer."
Mark ix. 14-29. A literal rendering from the Greek.
With Strong and Gentle Hand
It was a lesson, of which the reality was attested by the hold
which it took on the man's whole nature. While by one great
outgoing of his soul, he overleapt all, to lay hold on the one fact
set before him, he felt all the more the dark chasm of unbelief
behind him, together with the possibility, the source of faith.
Thus through the felt unbelief of faith he attained true faith by
laying hold on the divine Saviour, when he cried out and said :
"Lord, I believe ; help Thou mine unbelief." These words have
remained historic, marking all true faith, which, even as faith,
296 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
is conscious of, nay implies, unbelief, but brings it to Christ for
help. The boldest leap of faith and the timid resting at His
feet, the first beginning and the last ending of faith, have alike
this as their watchword.
Such cry could not be, and never is, unheard. It was real
demoniac influence which, continuing with this man from child-
hood onwards, had well-nigh crushed all moral individuality in
him. In his many lucid intervals these many years, since he had
grown from a child into a youth, he had never sought to shake
off the yoke and regain his moral individuality, nor would he
even now have come, if his father had not brought him. If auy,
this narrative shows the view which the Gospels and Jesus took
of what are described as the " demonised." It was a reality, and
not accommodation to Jewish views, when, as He saw "the mul-
titude running together. He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to
him : Dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him,
and no more come into him."
Another and a more violent paroxysm, so that the bystanders
almost thought him dead. But the unclean spirit had come out
of him. And with a strong, gentle hand the Saviour lifted him,
and with loviug gesture delivered him to his father.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph.D., Vol. II, p. 108.
** Give to Them f or Me and Thee**
And they having come to Capernaum, those who collected the
half shekel came to Peter, and said, "Does not your teacher pay
the half-shekel? "
He said, "Yes."
And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke first to him,
saying, "What dost thou think, Simon, the kings of the earth,
from whom do they receive custom or tribute % from their sons, or
from strangers % ' '
Peter says to him, "From the strangers." Jesus said to him,
"Then indeed the sous are free. But, in order that we may not
offend them, go to the lake, cast a hook, and take off the fish
comiug up first ; and haviug opened its mouth, thou shalt find a
shekel : take that and give to them for me and thee."
3Iatthew xvii. 24-27. A literal rendering from the Greek.
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 297
**Lest "We Give Offence'*
He told Peter to go fishiug aud raise the tax in that way from
the money the fish would bring ; but he explained that in con-
senting to this he was moved by expediency alone : "Lest we give
offence." . . .
The fact that the spies sent- out against him hit upon this par-
ticular question, "Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar," in
order to "take hold of his words, that they might deliver him
unto the governor," is eloquent of the general idea as to what his
attitude was toward Ceesars and Coesarisms. Wherefore we con-
cluded that as it happened to those ancient adversaries of his
who "took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk," so
also with the quietists in every age since ; in their efforts to wrest
The Carpenter from his basic hold in the economic, they can not
"take hold of his words."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 131.
A Sermon on Humility
In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying. Who then is
greatest in the kiugdom of heaven ?
And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of
them, and said.
Verily I say unto you. Except ye turn, and become as little
children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the
same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall
receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Matthew xviii. 1-5.
Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth
me : and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me :
for he that is least among you all, the same is great.
Luke ix. 48.
John said unto him, Master, we saw one casting out devils in
thy name : and we forbade him, because he followed not us.
But Jesus said, Forbid him not : for there is no man which
shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak
evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us.
208 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to driuk, because
ye are Christ's, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his
reward. And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones to
stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged
about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
3Iark ix. 38-42.
See that ye despise not cue of these little ones : for I say unto
you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven.
Eveu so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven,
that one of these little ones should perish.
Matthew xviii. 10, 11 and 14. Revised Version.
A Talk on Forgiveness
And if thy brother sin against thee, go, shew him his fault
between thee and him alone : if he hear thee, thou hast gained
thy brother.
But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that
at the mouth of two witnesses or three, every word may be estab-
lished. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church :
aud if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as
the Gentile and the publican.
Verily I say unto you. What things soever ye shall bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven : and what things soever ye shall
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree ou earth
as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done of them
of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are
gathered together in my uame, there am I in the midst of them.
Then came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times ;
but, Until seventy times seven.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain
king, which would make a reckoning with his servants. Aud
when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him, which
owed him ten thousand talents.
But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his lord com-
A FUGITIVE WITH HIS LITTLE FLOCK 299
mauded hiin to be sold and bis wife, aud children, aud all that
he had, and payment be made.
The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying.
Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion,
released him, and forgave him the debt.
But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants,
which owed him a hundred pence : and he laid hold on him, and
took him by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest.
So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying.
Have patience with me, and I will pay thee. And he would not ;
but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which
was due.
So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were ex-
ceeding sorry, aud came and told unto their lord all that was
done.
Then his lord called him unto him, aud saith to him, Thou wicked
servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest
me : shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-serv-
ant, even as I had mercy on thee ?
And his lord was wroth, aud delivered him to the tormentors,
till he should pay all that was due.
So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not
every one his brother from your hearts.
Matthew xviii. 15-35. Revised Version.
This Spirit Is the Salt of the Soul
We see with what trusting confidence the disciples questioned
him ; with what gentleness he taught, corrected, and exalted
them.
N^ever before had man heard such lessons, or been incited to
such virtues. It was thus in the midst of a world given up to all
forms of pride, divisions, hatreds, oppression, aud violence, that
Jesus impressed on the souls of his disciples the first features of a
new kingdom, based on humility and gentleness, pity and forgive-
ness, respect and reverence for all the weak and the oppressed.
Such a design requires some other spirit than the corrupted spirit
of man, and explains the mysterious words which conclude the
discourse :
300 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
''Salt is good," it preserves, it prevents decay. Have in you
the Spirit whicli is the salt of the soul : "Do not let it lose its
savour." It will give you peace. "Have peace one with an-
other." This was the last discourse of Jesus at Capernaum,
spoken on the eve of his quitting Galilee, and setting out for
Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ, Rev. Father Didon, Vol. I, p. 492.
XXIII
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM
Never man spake like this man.
— John vii. 46. Authorised Version.
Their Thanksgiving Week
The harvest work was over. The golden grain had bowed
before the sickle. The autumnal grape had yielded up its juice,
by its broken body and the poured libation of its blood, prophe-
sying of that body and that blood which in God's harvest is given
for the life of the world. From a thousand fields and vineyards
the joyous Israelites, marching in companies and caravans over
the intervening hills, were assembling in their holy city to cele-
brate their autumnal feast.
For Thanksgiving day did not originate with the Puritans.
It was borrowed, whether consciously or not, from the Hebraic
commonwealth. To that commonwealth, indeed, the world is in-
debted for many an idea for which undue credit has been given
to New England. Between this feast of Puritanism and that of the
Orient there was this difference — one lasts but a day, the other
consecrated a full week to festivity and rejoicing.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p, 333.
The Feast of Tabernacles
The feast of Tabernacles was one of the three great feasts which
every Jew was required to attend. It was held from the fifteenth
of Tisri to the twenty-second, the first and last days being Sab-
baths— the latter "the great day of the feast." It commemo-
rated, in part, the tent-life of Israel in the wilderness, but was
also, still more, a feast of thanks for the harvest, which was now
ended even in the orchards and vineyards. Every one lived in
booths of living twigs, branches of olive, myrtle, fir, and the
like, — raised in the open courts of houses, on roofs, and in the
streets and open places of the city. All carried in the left hand
301
802 THE STORr-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
a citron, and in the right the lulah — a branch of palm woven
round with willow and myrtle.
On each of the seven feast days the priests went out with music,
and the choir of Levites, amidst the shouts of vast multitudes,
to draw water in a golden vessel, from the spring of Siloah ; to
be poured out at the time of the morning offering as a libation,
on the west side of the great altar, amidst gieat joy, singing and
dancing, such as was not all the year besides. On the evening
of the first day a grand illumination, from huge candelabra
which shed light far and near over the city, began in the Court
of the Women, and torch dances of men were kept up, in the
court ; with music and songs, till the Temple gates closed.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 269.
**If You Can Do Such Great Things, Prove It to the World !**
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand.
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go
into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which
thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself
seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest
thyself to the world.
For even his brethren do not believe on him.
Jesus therefore saith unto them. My time is not yet come ; but
your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you ; but me
it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil.
Go ye up unto the feast : I go not up yet unto the feast ; be-
cause my time is not yet fulfilled.
And having said these things unto them, he abode still in
Galilee.
John vii. 2-9. Revised Version.
The Authorities on the Lookout for Him
The Jewish authorities kept looking for Jesus, for they had
counted on His attending the great national holiday, and thus
coming within their reach, but, to their disappointment. He ap-
peared not to be in Jerusalem. So their officers reported. His
absence had, indeed, been noted by the multitude, and every-
where He was the subject of conversation aud discussion.
The rabbis and higher Temple dignitaries had shown them
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM 303
selves so hostile to Him that no one dared to mention His name
except in whispers, for fear of excommunication, but He was
more or less the one engrossing topic of the bazaars and the
booths of the feast. Opinions were divided. Some, who judged
for themselves, maintained that He was a good man, and that it
would be well for all to follow what He taught ; others, and
they, no doubt, the great majority, who took their opinions from
their religious leaders, hotly and loudly denounced Him as un-
safe and dangerous ; a breaker of the Sabbath ; for had He not,
on His last visit, healed a blind man on the holy day ?
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D,, Vol. II, p. 269,
** You*tc Mad ! Who's Trying to Kill You ? **
But when his brethren were gone up unto the feast, then went
he also up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.
The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?
And there was much murmuring among the multitudes con-
cerning him : some said, He is a good man ; others said, Not so,
but he leadeth the multitudes astray, Howbeit no man spake
openly of him for fear of the Jews.
But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into
the temple, and taught.
The Jews therefore marveled, saying, How knoweth this man
letters, never having learned?
Jesus therefore answered them, and said. My teaching is not
mine, but his that sent me. If any man willeth to do his will,
he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether
I speak from myself. He that speaketh from himself seeketh
his own glory : but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent
me, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not
Moses give you the law, and yet none of you doeth the law ?
Why seek ye to kill me '?
The multitude answered, Thou hast a devil : who seeketh to
kill thee?
Some therefore of them of Jerusalem said. Is not this he whom
they seek to kill? And lo, he speaketh openly, and they say
nothing unto him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that
this is the Christ ? Howbeit we know this man whence he is :
but when the Christ cometh, no one knoweth whence he is.
304 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Jesus therefore cried in the temple, teaching and saying,
Ye both know me, and know whence I am ; and I am not come
of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. I
know him ; because I am from him, because his hour was not
yet come. But of the multitude many believed on him ; and
they said. When Christ shall come, will he do more signs than
those which this man hath done ?
The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things
concerning him ; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent
officers to take him.
John vii. 10-20 ; 25-32. Revised Version.
*' Thou Hast a Devil!*'
A general disclaimer, a cry "Thou hast a demon" (art pos-
sessed),— "who seeks to kill Thee?" here broke in upon the
Speaker. But He would not be interrupted, and continued : " One
work I did, aud all you wonder on account of it" — referring to
His healing on the Sabbath, and their utter inability to under-
stand His conduct. Well, then, Moses was a messenger of God,
and I am sent of God. Moses gave the law of circumcision — not,
indeed, that it was of his authority, but had long before been
God-given — and, to observe this law, no one hesitated to break
the Sabbath, since, according to rabbinic principle, a positive
ordinauce superseded a negative. And yet, when Christ, as sent
from God, made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath ("made
a whole man sound") they were angry with Him ! Every argu-
ment which might have been urged in favour of the postponement
of Christ's healing to a week-day, would equally apply to that
of circumcision ; while every reason that could be urged in favour
of Sabbath circumcision, would tell an hundredfold in favour of
the act of Christ. Oh, then, let them not judge after the mere
outward appearance, but "judge the right judgment."
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon,,
D. D., Pli. D., Vol. II, p. 153.
The Great Day of the Feast
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within
him shall flow rivers of living water.
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM 305
But this spake lie of the Sj)irit, which they that believed on
him were to receive : for the SjDirit was not yet given ; because
Jesus was not yet glorified.
Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words,
said, This is of a truth the prophet.
Others said, This is the Christ.
But some said. What, doth Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath
not the scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David,
and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?
So there arose a division in the multitude because of him. And
some of them would have taken him ; but no man laid hands on
him.
The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees ;
and they said unto them. Why did ye not bring him 1
The officers answered, Never man so spake.
The Pharisees therefore answered them. Are ye also led astray ?
Hath any of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees ? But
this multitude which knoweth not the law are accursed.
Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to him before, being-
one of them), Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from
himself and know what he doeth ?
They answered and said unto him. Art thou also of Galilee ?
Search, and see that out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
John vii. 37-52. Revised Version, using one Marginal.
One Faint Voice in His Defence
One faint voice only was heard in the council in hesitating de-
fence of Jesus. It was that of Nicodemus — His visitor by night
on His first appearance.
"I know, sirs, you are zealous for the Law, and rightly con-
demn those who are ignorant of it. But does the Law sanction
our thus condemning a man before it has heard him, and found
exactly what he had done ! "
He had not moral courage to take a side, but could not with-
hold a timid word. Like all weak men, he found little favour for
his faint-hearted caution.
"Are you, also, like Jesus, out of Galilee," they asked, " that
you believe in Him ; only ignorant Galileans do so 1 Search the
Scriptures, and you will see that no Galilean was ever inspired as
SOG THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
a prophet by God : the race is despised of the Highest, and is it
likely it should give Jerusalem the Messiah! "
In their blind rage they forgot that, at least, Jonah, and Hosea,
and Nahum, were Galileans, and they ignored the fact that if the
followers of Jesus were mostly from the illiterate north, He had
also not a few even from the sous of bigoted Jerusalem.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D, D., Vol. II, p. 277.
Thousands "Were Chained with Awe at His Words
We at once made our way, but with difficulty, towards the
spot where we had discovered Him. The rumor that the Christ
was in the Temple rapidly spread, and the whole multitude
pressed towards the same point. At length we attained our ob-
ject so as to get within a few feet of Him. . . .
Every voice was hushed, as that of Jesus rose clear and sweet,
and thrilling like a celestial clarion speaking. And he preached
. . . a sermon so full of wisdom, of love to man, of love to
God, of knowledge of our hearts, of divine and convincing power,
that thousands wej)t ; thousands were chained to the spot with
awe and delight, and all were moved as if an angel had ad-
dressed them. They cried, " Never man spake like this man ! "
When He had ended, the priests, seeing that He had carried
the hearts of all the people, were greatly enraged.
The Prince of the House of David, Rev. J. H. lugrabam, p. 257.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
And they went every man unto his own house : but Jesus went
unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came
again into the temple, and all the people came unto him ; and he
sat down, and taught them.
And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in
adultery ; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him.
Master, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such : what then
sayest thou of her? And this they said, tempting him, that they
might have whereof to accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the
ground.
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM 307
But when they continued asking bim, be lifted up bimself, and
said unto tbem, He that is without sin among you, let bim first
cast a stone at her.
And again be stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the
ground.
And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning
from the eldest, even unto the last : and Jesus was left alone, and
the woman, where she was, in the midst.
And Jesus lifted up bimself, and said unto her, Woman, where
are they, did no man condemn theef
And sbe said. No man, Lord.
And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee : go thy way ; from
henceforth sin no more.
John vii. 53 to viii. 11. Revised Version.
Not Their Business to Accuse Her
A large number of people had already gathered round Jesus,
when a commotion was seen in the Court of the Women, where He
had sat down to teach. A woman of the humbler class had been
guiltj' of immorality, and the scribes, on the moment, saw in her
sin a possible snare for the hated Galilean. It was not their
business, but that of her husband, to accuse her ; nor could she
be legally punished, except by divorce, if he, himself, were not a
man of pure life. It was the custom, however, in cases of diffi-
culty, to consult a famous rabbi, and advantage was taken of this,
to entrap Jesus, if possible, by asking Him to [act as judge in] the
case. If He condemned her, and insisted that she should be stoned
to death, it would injure Him in the eyes of the people, for the
Law, in this particular, had long been obsolete, from the very
commonness of the offense. If, on the other baud, He simply
dismissed her, they could charge Him with slighting the Law, for
it was still formally binding. To condemn her to death, would,
moreover, bring Him under the Roman law, as an invasion of the
riglit of the governor.
Leading forward their trembling prisoner — unveiled, and ex-
posed before the crowd of men — the bitterest degradation to an
Eastern woman — they set her before Jesus, and asked with feigned
humility :
''Teacher, this woman has been guilty of sin. Now Moses, in
308 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
the Law, charged us that such should be stoned. "What is your
opiuiou ? " . . .
Stooping down, therefore, at once to hide the blush He could
not prevent, and to show that He would have nothing to do M'ith
such a matter. He began to write on the dust before Him — most
likely the very words He was presently to utter. Had they
chosen to read them, they might have spared themselves the open
exposure that followed. But they were too occupied with their
plot to read the warning, and again and again repeated the ques-
tion, to force Him to answer. At last, raising His face for a
moment and looking straight at them, He said —
"Let him, among you, who is free from sin of a like kind, cast
the first stone at her, as is required of the chief witness, by Moses."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 279.
Why Did He Write upon the Grownd ?
In narrating the scene with the " Woman Taken in Adultery,"
a modern biographer suggests that Jesus stooped down and wrote
upon the ground to avert his eyes, in order not to stain his maid-
enly soul with a sight of the woman. The feminist note, and of
a piece with the sentimentalism that has gushed so copiously
about this personage. A man does not cough and stutter in the
presence of fleshly facts. Far more probably the reason why
Jesus [fastened his face on] the ground was in order to conceal a
countenance that was perilously near to bubbling over.
A coterie of "saints" had been thinking to bugle abroad their
own stainlessness by zeal against this woman — a showpiece of the
chronic hj'pocrisy which caste engenders when framed on lines
of Puritanism. Jesus punctures their solemn pretentiousness.
The ridiculous plight to which they were reduced, and the spec-
tacle as they slouched away one by one, was indeed something to
awake homeric laughter.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 122.
His Words Went to Their Consciences
It was an age of deep immorality, and the words of Jesus went
to their consciences. He again stooped and began to write, as
soon as He had spoken, perhaps to remind them how sin, when
followed by penitence, is effaced for ever, like characters written
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEiM 309
in dust. Meanwhile, their own bosoms became their judges.
One after another, beginning at the oldest among them, moved
off, to the very last, and Jesus was left alone, with the woman, in
the midst of the crowd.
Rising once more, and finding only the woman left, He asked
her : " Woman, where are thine accusers ? Did no one condemn
thee, by casting a stone at theel "
"No one. Lord."
"Neither," said He, "shall I. I come not to condemn, but to
save. I am no criminal judge, either to sentence or acquit. Go,
repent of thy guilt, and sin no more."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugbam Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 280.
"The Light of the World"
Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in the dark-
ness, but shall have the light of life.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of
thyself; thy witness is not true.
Jesus answered and said unto them. Even if I bear witness of
myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and
whither I go ; but ye know not whence I came, or whither I go.
Ye judge after the flesh ; I judge no man. Yea and if I judge,
my judgment is true ; for I am not alone, but I and the Father
that sent me. Yea and in your law it is writteu that the witness
of two men is true. I am he that beareth witness of myself, and
the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
They said therefore unto him. Where is thy Father?
Jesus answered. Ye know neither me, nor my Father : if ye
knew me, ye would know my Father also.
These words spake he in the treasury, as he taught in the
temple : and no man took him ; because his hour was not yet
come.
He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall
seek me, and shall die in your sin : whither I go, ye cannot come.
The Jews therefore said. Will he kill himself, that he saith,
Whither I go, ye cannot come %
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath ; I am from
above : ye are of this world ; I am not of this world. I said
310 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
therefore uuto you, that ye shall die in your sins : for except ye
believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
They said therefore unto hini, Who art thou 1
Jesus said uuto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto
you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and to
judge concerning you : howbeit he that sent me is true ; and the
things which I heard from him, these speak I nnto the world.
Thej' perceived not that h':* 5 Make to them of tlie Father. Jesus
therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall
ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the
Father taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is
with me ; he hath not left me alone ; for I do always the things
that are pleasiug to him.
As he spake these things, many believed on Mm.
John viii. 12-30. Eevised Version.
** You Look at Me with Jaundiced Eyes**
"You make yourself judge in your own favour," said they.
"You require us to believe you, on your own word. It is too
much to ask. A man's witness on his own behalf is worthless."
"I do not make myself witness in my own favour," replied
Jesus. "Your rule does not apply to me, for I speak not for
myself alone, but as the mouthpiece of Him from whom I came,
and to whom I shall soon retiu-n. If you knew who He was, you
would be forced to receive His testimony to me. But you do not
know Him, and therefore you reject it, for you know neither
whence I came nor whither I sliall return. I know, and must
know, best, whose messenger I am, and what commission He has
given me. You have no right to accuse me as a deceiver, for you
are not in a position to judge of me, since you know nothing of
my mission.
"You look at me with jauu'liced eyes, and judge only by my
lowly, outward appearance, and are thus misled. I, by myself,
judge neither in my own favour, nor against any one, for I have
come not to condemn, but to save. If, indeed, in any case, I
seem to judge, as in this instance respecting my commission, it is
not I, alone, who do so, but I ;md my Father who has sent me
judge together, and thus the jijl -inent must be true. I am not
alone ; the Father who sent me is with me, and thus, even by your
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM 311
own Law, by which the testimouy of two men is received as true,
that which I offer for myself is more than sufficient, for I offer
you my own word, and no one can convict me of untruthfulness,
and also the witness of my Father. He witnesses for me by the
very truths I utter, and by the miracles you admit I perform."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 282.
**"Whom Mafcest Thou Thyself?*'
Jesus therefore said to those Jews which had believed him, If
ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples ; and ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have
never yet been in bondage to any man : how sayest thou, Ye shall
be made free ?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one
that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. And the bond-
servant abideth not in the house for ever : the son abideth for
ever. If therefore the Sou shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.
I know that ye are Abraham's seed ; yet ye seek to kill me,
because my word hath no place in you. I speak the things which
I have seen with the Father : do ye also therefore the things
which ye heard from the Father.
They answered and said unto him. Our father is Abraham.
Jesus saith unto them. If ye were Abraham's children, ye
would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a
man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God : this
did Jiot Abraham. Ye do the works of your father.
They said unto him. We were not born of fornication ; we have
one Father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love
me : for I came foith and am come from God ; for neither have I
come of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my
speech ? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father
thereof. But because I say the truth, ye believe me not.
312 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Which of you convicteth me of sin ? If I say truth, why do ye
uot believe me ? He that is of God heareth the words of God :
for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God.
The Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not well that
thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil 1
Jesus answered, I have not a devil ; but I honour my Father,
and ye dishonour me. But I seek not mine own glory : there is
one that seeketh and judgeth.
Verily, verily, I say unto you. If a man keep my word, he
shall never see death.
The Jews said unto him, 'Now we know that thou hast a devil.
Abraham is dead, and the prophets ; and thou sayest, If a man
keep my word, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater
than our father Abraham, which is dead ? and the prophets are
dead ; whom makest thou thyself ?
Jesus answered. If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing : it is
my Father that glorifieth me ; of whom ye say, that he is your
God ; and ye have not known him : but I know him ; and if I
should say, I know him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar : but
I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day ; and he saw it and was glad.
The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years
old, and hast thou seen Abraham ?
Jesus said unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.
They took up stones therefore to cast at him : but Jesus was
hidden and went out of the temple.
John viii. 31-59. Revised Version, using Marginals.
** We Were Never Slaves to Any Man "
The Jew in every age has been tenacious of liberty. In
America to this day no political boss has been able to corral the
Jewish vote. Unlike other races, their voting strength has no
solidarity — it refuses to be counted beforehand. Incubating there
through forty heroic centuries, independency is in their blood.
A Jew is unfit by birth for a servile lot — as the capitalist class
of old discovered. In the slave markets at Rome a Jew always
brought a low price — to keep him in slavery was a harassing task
to his owners j load him with irons, his spirit held out, unsur-
HARVEST HOME WEEK IN JERUSALEM 313
rendered. Even the haughty Tacitus was moved to compliment
the Jews in that they refused to flatter emperors or to erect
statues to earthly marauders. " We be Abraham's seed, and
were never slaves to any man."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 79.
** Every Man That Committeth Sin Is the Servant of Sin **
On one occasion when He had been speaking very powerfully
about His own personal relation to His Father, a great many of
His hearers were persuaded and believed on Him. Then Jesus
said to those Jews that believed on Him, "If ye continue in my
word, then are ye my disciples indeed ; and ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free." That puzzled them.
It stirred their Jewish blood. They told Him that they were
born of Abraham, and were no man's slaves. "How sayest
Thou, Ye shall be made free?" And Jesus answered them,
"Truly I say unto you, every man that committeth sin is the
servant of sin." That was the freedom that His truth was to
bring, — a spiritual freedom, a freedom from wickedness, an un-
twisting of the tight cords from their hold on the personal nature.
Truth was something which, when it came, would set the whole
man free. By and by, in the same talk. He warmed into earnest
pity not unmixed with indignation. Poor people ! there they
stood before Him, and would not, could not, understand the
things He said to them. Would not and could not were all
mixed together. But His indignation reaches back behind them.
It cannot stop short of the Evil Spirit who is their deluder. " Ye
are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do. He was a liar from the beginning and abode not in the
truth." Again, see what a moral thing the truth is. He who
does not abide in it is not merely a doubter, not merely a dis-
believer, he is a liar. The truth is truthfulness. The subjective
and objective lose themselves in one another.
The Influence of Jeans, Phillips Brooks, p. 214.
" Before Abraham Was Born, I AM ! *'
" But that you may know that I really am greater than even
Abraham — the Friend of God — let me tell you that Abraham,
when he received, with such joy, the promise that the Messiah
314 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
should come from his race, and bless all nations, was rejoicing
that He would, hereafter, from Heaven, see my day, and He has
seen my appearing, from His abode in Paradise, and exulted
at it."
The crowd, gross as usual, understood these words of Abra-
ham's earthly life, and fancied that Jesus was now claiming to
have been alive so long ago as the time of Abraham, and to have
known him.
"It is two thousand years ago since Abraham's day," broke
in a voice, " and you are not fifty years old yet ; do you mean to
say you have seen Abraham ? "
"I mean to say," replied Jesus, "far more than even that.
Let me tell you, with the utmost solemnity, — before Abraham
was born, I AM."
This was the very phrase in which Jehovah had announced
Himself to Israel in Egypt. It implied a continuous existence
from the beginning, as if the speaker had claimed to be. Him-
self, the uncreated Eternal. Abraham had come into being, but
he had existence in Himself, without a beginning.
His hearers instantly took it in this august meaning, and Jesus,
the Truth, made no attempt, then or afterwards, to undeceive
them. Utterly turned against Him, they rushed hither and
thither, in wild fanaticism, for stones, with which to put Him to
death as a blasphemer. Many of those used in the building of
parts of the Temple, still incomplete, lay in piles at different
parts. But Jesus hid Himself among the crowd, some of whom
were less hostile, and, in the confusion, passed safely out of the
sacred precincts.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 289,
XXIV
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDEEEE
Foxes found rest aud the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree ;
But thy couch was the sod, O thou Sou of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
—Emily E. S. Elliott.
He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem
And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh come that
he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jeru-
salem, aud sent messengers before his face : aud they went, and
entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though
he were goiug to Jerusalem.
And wheu his disciples James and John saw this, they said,
Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaveu, and
consume them ?
But he turned aud rebuked them. And they went to another
village.
Luke ix. 51-56, Revised Version.
** They Deserve to Be Killed by a Thwnder-Storm ! **
It happened one day that the disciples of Jesus came to a vil-
lage and asked to be allowed to spend the night there. But no
one would let them in. And the disciples came to Jesus aud told
Him about it, saying: "Such wicked people live there — they
deserve to be killed by a thunder-storm !"
And Jesus was grieved, and said: ''You do not understand
of what spirit you are. I do not teach how to destroy but how to
save people. How can one wish one's neighbour any ill ? In
every man lives the same spirit of God as in you, and you must
not wish ill to that which is within yourselves."
The Teaching of Jesus, Leo Tolstoi. Translated by L. and A. Maude, p. 49,
315
316 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN "
** The Son of Man Hath Not Where to Lay His Head**
And as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, I
will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him. The foxes have holes, and the birds
of the heaven have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to
lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me.
But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
But he said unto him. Leave the dead to bury their own dead ;
but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.
And another also said, I will follow thee. Lord ; but first suffer
me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.
But Jesus said unto him. No man, having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke ix. 57-62. Revised Version.
Sending out the Seventy
Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and
sent them two and two before his face into every city and place,
whither he himself was about to come.
And he said unto them. The harvest is i^leuteous, but the labour-
ers are few : pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he
send forth labourers into his harvest.
Go your ways : behold I send you forth as lambs in the midst
of wolves. Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes : and salute no
man on the way. And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first
say. Peace be to this house. And if a son of peace be there, your
peace shall rest upon him : but if not, it shall turn to you again.
And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things
as they give : for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from
house to house.
And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat
such things as are set before you : and heal the sick that are
therein, and say unto them. The kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you.
But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and they receive you
not, go out into the streets thereof and say. Even the dust from
your city, that cleaveth to our feet, we do wipe off against you :
howbeit know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh. I say
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 317
unto you, It shall be more tolerable iu that day for Sodom, than
for that city.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if
the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidou, which were
done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sack-
cloth and ashes. Howbeit it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon in the judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven?
thou shalt be brought down unto Hades.
He that heareth you heareth me ; and he that rejecteth you
rejecteth me ; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent
me.
Luke X. 1-16. Revised Version.
The Charge of the King
Before their departure, the King gave them a solemn charge in
view of their work. A careful study of this will make it evident
that while He was referring to work which lay immediately before
these men, His mind traveled on to work which they would have
to do at a later period ; and even beyond, to the work of all His
disciples to the end of the age which His commission initiated.
The charge therefore had to do with three periods of work ; the
first work until the Cross ; the second period of service till the
Son of Man be come ; and the third period to the end of the age.
The Analyzed Bible, the Rev.G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., The Gospel Accord-
ing to 3Iatthew, p. 125.
*' The Labourer Is Worthy of His Hire **
. . . There was noticeable in him [a certain] dignity, ma-
tured within him by years of acknowledged mastership as a
workman. This inwrought sense of mastery tells in his every
move. The hinges of his knee had never been oiled with the oil
of cringing. His eye possessed power. This working-class agi-
tator had a way of beholding a person in silence. And the trait
must have been characteristic. For we read frequently, "He
looked upon them and said ." His port spelt the majesty of
self-respect. He even enjoins it upon his disciples, warning them
against meau-spiritedness.
Sending them on a propagandist tour, he tells them that in each
318 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
village they enter they are to claim hostelry at the chief house :
"Inquire who in it is worthy.'' And any house closing its door
against them writes itself down thereby as the abode of stupidity.
He himself glanced up at many a westering sun, without knowing
where he would lay his head that night. Nevertheless no wealth
of hospitality could warp him as guest from straightest truth-
telling. "Master, we know that thou art true, neither carest
thou for any man ; for thou regardest not the person of men."
Ofttimes he invited himself to a night's lodging, and it was
always with the air of conferring a favour. Now and then the
overture was rejected ; whereupon he concealed not his con-
temptuous pity at their lack of insight — " let the dead bury their
dead." In him never a touch of fawning flattery. His bearing
throughout was that of a spirited labourer, who had been accus-
tomed to doing an honest day's work and demanding an honest
day's pay. He bristled at any faintest squint of charity : *' The
labourer is worthy of his hire."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 38.
"Blessed Are the Eyes That See What You Have Seen!**
And the seventy returned with joy, saying. Lord, even the
devils are subject unto us in thy name.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from
heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon ser-
pents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy : and
nothing shall in any wise hurt you. Howbeit in this rejoice not,
that the spirits are subject unto you ; but rejoice that your names
are written in heaven.
In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that thou didst
hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst re-
veal them unto babes : yea, Father, for so it was well pleasing in
thy sight.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father : and no
one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father ; and who the Father
is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal
him.
And turning to the disciples, he said privately, Blessed are the
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 319
eyes which see the things that ye see : for I say unto you, that
many projphets and kings desired to see the things which ye see,
and saw them not ; and to hear the things which ye hear, and
heard them not.
Luke X. 17-24. Revised Versiou.
He Saw Good Multiplied through Others
And Jesus was gieatly moved, because he saw that the power
he had in himself to heal and to bless men, he could also impart
to others. Thus the good done might be multiplied without end,
and be transmitted from one to another. And so his spirit could
pass into the minds ev^en of the most ignorant and humble.
" Behold ! " he cried, " I see Satan falling from heaven. Now
his jjower is broken. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that thou hast not bestowed these gifts upon the wise
and the learned, but that these divine truths can be seen by those
who are only babes in the knowledge of this world." Then,
turning to us, he said, ''As God giveth all things freely to me, I
give freely to you, as ye have freely received, so freely give. Ye
are all sharers of this great gift of being sons of God. The world
knoweth nothing of this great joy. The Father and the Son know
each other ; but the world knoweth not this trust of the child in
his heavenly Father. Yet he who feels it in his soul can reveal
it to others. I have revealed it to you, and ye may reveal it again
to others, thus helping them to become sharers of your joy."
Life and Times of Jesus, as Related by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 306.
** Who Is My Neighbour?'*
And behold, a ceitain lawyer stood up and tempted him, say-
ing, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And he said unto him, What is written in the law ? how readest
thou ?
And he answering said. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him. Thou hast answered right : this do, and
thou shalt live.
320 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
But he, desiriug to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who
is my neighbour ?
Luke X. 25-29. Revised Version, using Marginals.
The Story of the Neighbourly Samaritan
Jesus made answer and said,
A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho ; and
he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and de-
parted, leaving him half dead.
And by chance a certain j)riest was going down that way : and
when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place,
and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was :
and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, and came
to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine ;
and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and
took care of him.
And on the morrow he took out two shillings, and gave them
to the host, and said, Take care of him ; and whatsoever thou
spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee.
Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbour unto him
that fell among robbers !
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke X. 30-37. Revised Version, using Marginals.
A Pharisee's Opinion of the Parable
(Extract from a supposed letter by a rabbi)
. . . . Another day he told another story, which pleased
the people greatly, the purport of which was to show how much
better an infidel of Samaria was than a Jewish priest and Levite.
It was about a Jew who was robbed and wouuded between Jeru-
salem and Jericho, and left to die among the burning rocks of
that steep defile.
At first a priest came by, and, through selfish fear, went on,
and left him.
Then a Levite came, and looked at him, and, seeing that he
was no friend of his, also went on his way.
B. Plockhorst, 1825 —
THE NEIGHBORLY SAMARITAN
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 321
At last an infidel of Samaria came, and, although he was on a
journey, stopped, and bandaged the man's wounds, and lifted him
upon his ass, and, holding him there, walked by the side until
they came to an inn in the city of Jericho. There he staid and
tended him all night ; and on the following morning, this holy
idolater gave money to the host to pay for the stranger's support
until he himself returned.
Now, this foolish story about an impossible Samaritan was
evidently told to make the people believe that all the people of
Samaria are tender-hearted, and that the priests and Levites are
hard-hearted ; and in this, again, he bore false witness against
his brethren in behalf of their worst enemies.
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Bidymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 252.
In the Home at Bethany
Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain vil-
lage : and a certain woman named Martha received him into her
house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord's
feet, and heard his word.
But Martha was distracted about much serving ; and she came
up to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister did
leave me to serve alone ? bid her therefore that she help me.
But the Lord answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha,
thou art anxious and troubled about many things : but one thing
is needful : for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not
be taken away from her.
Luke X. 38-42. Revised Version, using Marginals,
Jesus Loved Martha and Her Sister
A Martha still in deed and good endeavour ;
In faith like Mary, at His feet forever.
— Coleridge.
Her younger sister, also, would do Him all highest honour ; but,
not as Martha. Her homage consisted in forgetting all else but
Him, who spake as none had ever done. As truest courtesy or
affection consists, not in its demonstration, so with Mary in the
presence of Christ. And then a new light, another day had risen
upon her ; a fresh life had sijrang up within her soul : " she sat
322 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
at the Lord's feet, aud heard His word." "VVe dare not inquire,
and yet we well know, of what it would be. And so, time after
time — perhaps, hour after hour — as Martha passed on her busy
way, she still sat listening and living. At last, the sister who, in
her impatience, could not think that a woman could, in such
manner, fulfil her duty, or show forth her religious profiting,
broke in with what sounds like a querulous complaint : " Lord,
dost Thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone? "
Mary had served with her, but she had now left her to do the
work alone.
Would the Master bid her resume her neglected work ? But,
with tone of gentle reproof and admonition, the affectiouateness
of which appeared even in the repetition of her name, Martha,
Martha — as, similarly, on a later occasion, Simon, Simon, — did
He teach her in words which, however simple in their primary
meaning, are so full, that they have ever since borne the most
many-sided application: "Thou art careful and anxious about
many things ; but one thing is needful ; and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
It was, as we imagine, perhaps the first day of, or else the
preparation for, the feast. More than that one day did Jesus
tarry in the home of Bethany. Whether Lazarus came then to
see Him — and, still more, what both Martha and Mary learned,
either then, or afterwards, we reverently forbear to search into.
Suffice it, that though the natural disi^osition of the sisters re-
mained what it had been, yet henceforth, "Jesus loved Martha
and her sister."
The Life and Times of Je>ms the STessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D,, Vol. II, p. 147.
The Man Born Blind Browbeaten by Pharisees
Aud as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And
his disciples asked him, saying. Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or
his parents, that he should be born blind ?
Jesus answered. Neither did this man sin, nor his parents : but
that the works of God should be made manifest in him. We must
work the works of him that sent me, while it is day : the night
Cometh, when no man can work. When I am in the world, I am
the light of the world.
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 323
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and with
the clay thereof anointed his eyes, and said unto him. Go, wash
in the pool of Siloaui (which is by interpretation. Sent).
He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
The neighbours therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that
he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged ?
Others said. It is he : others said. No, but he is like him.
He said, I am he.
They said therefore unto him, How then were thine ej^es
opened ?
He answered. The man that is called Jesus made clay, and
anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam and wash :
so I went away and washed, and I received sight.
And they said unto him. Where is he ?
He saith, I know not.
They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
Now it was the sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay,
and opened his eyes.
Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received
his sight.
And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I
washed, and do see.
Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from
God, because he keepeth not the sabbath.
But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?
And there was a division among them.
They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest
thou of him, in that he opened thine eyes?
And he said, He is a prophet.
The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him that he had
been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the par-
ents of him that had received his sight, and asked them, saying.
Is this your son, who ye say was born blind ? how then doth he
now see ?
His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son,
and that he was born blind : but how he now seeth, we know
not ; or who opened his eyes, we know not : ask him ; he is of
age ; he shall speak for himself.
These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews :
?24 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should coufess
him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore said his parents, He is of age ; ask him.
So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said
unto him, Give glory to God ; we know that this man is a sinner.
He therefore answered. Whether he be a sinner, I know not :
one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.
They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee? How
opened he thine eyes *?
He answered them, I told you even now, and ye did not hear :
wherefore would ye hear it again I would ye also become his dis-
ciples !
And they reviled him, and said. Thou art his disciple, but we
are disciples of Moses. We know that God hath spoken unto
Moses : but as for this man, we know not whence he is.
The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is a
marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine
eyes. We know that God heareth not sinners : but if any man
be a worshiper of God, and do his will, him he heareth. Since
the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes
of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could
do nothing.
They answered and said unto him. Thou wast altogether born
in sins, and dost thou teach us ? And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out ; and finding him, he
said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God "?
He answered and said. And who is he. Lord, that I may be-
lieve on him ?
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that
speaketh with thee.
And he said. Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.
And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that
they which see not may see ; and that they that see may become
blind.
Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things,
and said unto him, Are we also blind ?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin :
but now ye say. We see : your sin remaineth.
John ix. 1-41. Kevised Version, using Marginals.
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 325
** One Thing I Know''
, "I know uot what this mau may be,
Sinner or saint ; but as for me,
One thing I know, that 1 am he
That once was blind, and now I see."
— John Hay.
«If Ye Were Blind, Ye Should Have No Sin "
"Vile wretch of a beggar!" . . . thou wast altogether
boru in sins, and dost teach us ! Get thee hence from this sacred
place, and dare uot to again enter it on pain of thy life ! "
And the man went forth, sad at heart ; for he longed with a
great longing to see the glories of the Temple.
Now as he walked, continually lifting his eyes to the shining
walls from which he was henceforth to be shut out, he heard a
voice speaking to him ; and turning, he saw one who looked at
him with a grave and yet sweet look, so that his heart was
mightily stirred within him, though he knew uot why. And
the mau spake to him, and he knew the voice — it was that of
him who had bidden him to wash in the pool of Siloam !
"Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"
And the beggar, trembling, made answer: "Who is he, Lord,
that I might believe on him ? "
And Jesus said unto him, " Thou hast both seen him, and it is
he that talketh with thee. "
Then the beggar fell down at his feet and kissed the hem of his
garment, crying out, " Lord, I believe ! "
Now it happened that some of the Pharisees who had cast him
out of the Temple were standing near, and heard it. And Jesus,
seeing their angry looks, and reading the thoughts of their hearts,
turned and said unto them : " For judgment I am come into this
world, that they which see not might see ; and that they which
see might be made blind."
Then the Pharisees answered him scornfully : " Are we blind
also % "
Jesus said unto them: "If ye were blind, ye should have
no sin ; but now ye say, ' We see ' ; therefore your sin re-
maiueth."
Titus, a Comrade of the Cross, Florence M. Kingsley, p. 50.
326 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Terrible Consequences of Being Cast out of the
Synagogue
Henceforth he would sit on the ground, and bear himself like
cue in deep mourning. He would allow his beard and hair to
grow wild and shaggy ; he would not bathe, nor anoint himself ;
he would not be admitted into an assembly of ten men, neither to
public prayer, nor to the academy ; though he might either teach,
or be taught by, single individuals. Nay, as if he were a leper,
people would keep at a distance of four cubits from him. If he
died, stones were cast on his coffin, nor was he allowed the honour
of the ordinary funeral, nor were they to mourn for him. Still
more terrible was the final excommunication, . . when a ban
of indefinite duration was laid on a man.
Henceforth he was like one dead. He was not allowed to study
with others ; no intercourse was to be held with him, he was not
even to be shown the road. He might, indeed, buy the neces-
saries of life, but it was forbidden to eat or drink with such an
one.
We can understand, how every one would dread such an anath-
ema. But when we remember, what it would involve to persons
in the rank of life, and so miserably poor as the parents of that
blind man, we no longer wonder at their evasion of the question
put by the Sanhedrin.
And if we ask ourselves, on what ground so terrible a punish-
ment could be inflicted to all time and in every place — for the ban
once pronounced ai>plied everywhere — simply for the confession
of Jesus as the Christ, the answer is not difficult. The rabbinists
enumerate twenty-four grounds for excommunication, of which
more than one might serve the purpose of the Pharisees. But in
general, to resist the authority of the scribes, or any of their de-
crees, or to lead others either away from "the commandments,"
or to what was regarded as profanation of the divine name, was
sufiicient to incur the ban, while it must be borne in mind that
excommunication by the president of the Sanhedrin extended
to all places and persons. . . .
But he who had been healed of his blindness was not to be .
betrayed into a denunciation of his great Physician. The sim-
plicity and earnestness of his convictions enabled him to gain
even a logical victory. It was his turn now to bring back the
LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 327
question to the issue which they had originally raised ; and we
admire it all the more, as we remember the consequences to this
poor man of thus daring the Pharisees.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Icssiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxou.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 184.
The Story of the Loving Shepherd
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door
into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the
same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth ; and
the sheep hear his voice : and he calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he
goeth before them, and the sheep follow him : for they know his
voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from
him : for they know not the voice of strangers.
This parable spake Jesus unto them : but they understood not
what things they were which he spake unto them.
Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are
thieves and robbers : but the sheep did not hear them. I am the
door : by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go
in and go out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not, but
that he may steal, and kill, and destroy : I came that they may
have life, and may have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd : the good shepherd layeth down his
life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and
scattereth them : he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth
not for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd ; and I know mine own, and mine own
know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Fa-
ther ; and I lay down my life for the sheep. "And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice ; and they shall become one flock, one
shepherd.
Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life,
that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay
328 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father.
There arose a division again among the Jews because of these
words. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad ;
why hear ye him ? Others said. These are not the sayings of one
possessed with a demon. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind ?
John X. 1-21. Revised Version, usiug Marginals, etc.
An Intefpretation of the Parable
He first describes himself, in contrast with the Pharisees, as
the genuine and divinely-called leader of the people. The blind
man whom he had healed was the representative of all such op-
pressed souls as were repelled by the selfish judges, and drawn to
Christ. It may have been the case (although the supposition is
not necessary) that the sight of a flock of sheep at hand suggested
the parable.
The thief who leaps over the wall, instead of entering the fold
by the door, represents those Avho become teachers and guides of
the peo]3le of their own mere will. The Shepherd, entering in at
the door, represents Christ, who offers himself, divinely-called, to
guide seeking souls to the kingdom of God. His voice harmonises
with the divine drawing within them : they know it, and admit
him ; he knows them all, and all their wants. He goes before
them, and leads the way to the pasture where their wants can be
satisfied. But the voice of the selfish leaders is strange to them,
and they flee with repugnance ; knowing well that such guides
have other aims than the salvation of the souls of those that hear
vhem. . . .
In this form of the parable Christ contrasts himself (as the
ehepherd who alone seeks the welfare of the sheep) not only with
^he thieves, but also with the hirelings. These two classes cor-
i-esponded to two different classes of Pharisees, viz., those who
sacrificed the welfare of the people to their own wholly selfish
films ; and those who, with better feelings, had not love enough,
and therefore not courage enough, to risk everything for the good
of souls. The latter, afraid of the power of the former, gave the
poor people up to the power of the Evil One (the wolf, v. 12), to
scatter and uivide. Standing between Christ and the Sanhedriu,
iMs party, ivith all their good intentions, had neither the steadi-
■ LEAVING GALILEE, A HOMELESS WANDERER 329
ness of purpose nor the self-sacrificing love which were needed in
such a position. In contrast with such, Christ declares, "lam
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine
(thus betokening the inward sympathy between himself and those
that belonged to him by the divine drawing within them), and I
lay down my life for the sheep."
With this view of his comiug self-sacrifice for the salvation of
men before him, his eye glances forward to the greater develop-
ment of his work that was to follow that sacrifice, and there he
sees " other sheep, not of this fold "—souls ready for the kiugdom
among other nations, who were also to have their place before its
consummation: "Them, also, I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice : and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
The Life of Jesus Christ, Augustus Neander. Translated by John McClintock
and Charles E. Blumenthal, p. 330.
The Last Anniversary of His Birth
About two months had passed since Jesus had left Jerusalem
after the Feast of Tabernacles. Although we must not commit
ourselves to such calculations, we may here mention the compu-
tation which identifies the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles
of that year with Thursday the 23d September; the last, "the
great day of the feast," with Wednesday the 29th; the [eight
days] of the feast with the 30th September ; and the Sabbath
when the man born blind was healed with the 2nd of October.
In that case, "the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple," which
commenced on the 25th day of Chislev, and lasted eight days,
would have begun on Wednesday the 1st, and closed on Wednesday
the 8th December. But, possibly, it may have been a week or
two later. At that feast, or about two months after He had
quitted the city, we find Christ once more in Jerusalem and in
the Temple. His journey thither seems indicated in the Third
Gospel (St. Luke xiii. 22), and is at least implied in the opening
words with which St. John prefaces his narrative of what hap-
pened on that occasion.
As we think of it, there seems a special fitness— presently to
be pointed out — in Christ's spending what we regard as the last
anniversary season of His birth in the Temple at that feast.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 226.
330 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication
Aud it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem : it was
winter ; and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch.
The Jews therefore came round about him, aud said unto him,
How long dost thou hold us in suspense ■? If thou art the Christ,
tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not : the works
that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me. But
ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. My sheep hear
my voice, aud I know them, and they follow me : aud I give unto
them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, aud no one shall
snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, which hath given them unto me, is greater than all ;
and no one is able to suatch them out of the Father's hand. I
and the Father are one.
The Jews took ujp stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, Mauy good works have I shewed you
from the Father ; for which of those do ye stone me 1
The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not
but for blasphemy ; aud because thou, being a mau, makest
thyself God.
Jesus answered them. Is it not written in your law, I said ye
are gods ? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God
came (aud the scripture cannot be broken), say ye of him, whom
the Father sanctified and sent into the world. Thou blasphemest :
because I said, I am the Sou of God ? If I do not the works of
my Father, believe me not. But if I do them, though ye believe
not me, believe the works : that ye may know and understand
that the Father is in me, and I iu the Father.
They sought again to take him : and he went forth out of their
haud.
And he went away again beyond Jordan into the place where
John was at the first baptizing ; and there he abode. And many
came unto him ; and they said, John indeed did no sign ; but all
things whatsoever John spake of this man were true.
Aud many believed on him there.
John X, 22-42. Revised Version.
XXV
AGAIN A EEFUGEE
How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen
gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not !
— Luke xiii. 34. Revised Version.
The Jordan between Him and His Persecutors
Once more the Jordan rolled between Him and His bitter per-
secutors. Far north, over against Galilee, in the place of John's
early labours, probably close to where Jesus Himself had been
baptized, was the scene of His last labours. And those, who so
well remembered both the Baptist and the testimony which he
had there borne to the Christ, recalled it all as they listened to
His words and saw His works. As they crowded around Him,
both the difference and the accord between John and Jesus carried
conviction to their minds.
The Baptist had done "no signs" such as those which Jesus
wrought ; but all things which John had spoken of Him, they
felt it, were true. And, undisturbed by the cavils of Pharisees
and scribes, many of these simple-minded, true-hearted men, far
away from Jerusalem, believed on Him. And so will all that is
sown for Christ, though it lie buried and forgotten of men, spring
up and ripen, as in one day, to the deep, grateful, and eternal
joy of them wiio had laboured in faith and gone to rest in hope.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 232.
Crowds Followed Him Even in Perea
In the mean time, when the many thousands of the multitude
were gathered together, insomuch that they trode one upon an-
other, he began to say unto his disciples first of all.
Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed : and
hid, that shall not be known. Wherefore whatsoever ye have said
in the darkness shall be heard in the light ; and what ye have
331
832 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF ]\IAN
spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon
the housetops.
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them which
kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But
I will warn you whom ye shall fear : Fear him, which after he
hath killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you, fear
him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings'? and not one
of them is forgotten in the sight of God. But the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Fear not : ye are of more value
than many sparrows.
And I say unto you. Every one who shall confess me before
men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of
God : but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be
denied in the presence of the angels of God. And every one who
shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven
him : but unto him that blasi^hemeth against the Holy Ghost it
shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the
synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious
how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say : for the Holy
Spirit shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say.
Luke xii. 1-12. Revised Version.
''The Last State Is Worse Than the First**
The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth
through waterless places, seeking rest ; and finding none, he saith,
I will turn back unto my house whence I came out. And when
he is come, he fiudeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he,
and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself;
and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state of that man
becometh worse than the first.
And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman
out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto him,
Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou
didst suck.
But he said. Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of
God, and keep it.
And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he
began to say. This generation is an evil generation : it seeketh
after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of
AGAIN A REFUGEE , 333
Jonah. For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so
shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the
south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this genera-
tion, and shall condemn them : for she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomou ; and behold, a greater than
Solomon is here.
The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it : for they repented at the preach-
ing of Jonah ; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Luke xi. 24-32. Revised Version.
The Story of the Rich Fool
And one out of the multitude said unto him. Master, bid my
brother divide the inheritance with me.
But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider
over you ?
And he said unto them. Take heed, and keep yourselves from
all coveteousness : for a man's life consisteth not in the abun-
dance of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying. The ground of a
certain rich man brought forth plentifully : and he reasoned with
himself, saying, "What shall I do, because I have not where to
bestow my fruits %
And he said. This will I do : I will pull down my barns, and
build greater ; and there will I bestow all my corn and my goods.
And I will say to my soul. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
But God said unto him. Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul
required of thee ; and the things which thou hast prepared,
whose shall they be ? So is he that layeth up treasure for him-
self, and is not rich toward God.
Luke xii. 13-21. Revised Version.
*' This Night Thy Soul Shall Be Required ! *'
Jesus is accustomed to set in vivid contrast the appearances of
the present and the realities of the future. It is this contrast
which invests with a singular awe the simple story of the rich
fool. He is a well-to-do and worldly-wise Perean farmer. He
has abundant land. His barns are bursting with plenty. His
334 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
stores perplex him. "What shall I do," he says to himself,
" because I have uo room where to bestow my fruits ? "
This is a very common trouble among capitalists. He does
not know how to invest. He forms his resolution to pull down
his barns and build greater. The thought of the needy and the
suffering, and of the means of real usefulness to others which his
possessions afford to him, has never occurred to his selfish soul.
He has no other message to himself than "Take thine ease ; eat,
drink, and be merry." He will, that is, retire on his fortune.
To men he seems wise, prudent, sagacious. God calls him to his
account with a sharp rebuke of his folly : " Fool ! this night thy
soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be
which thou hast provided ! " Not every one is wise who knows
how to acquire. He is truly wise only who knows how to im-
part.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 360.
Wealth Not a Crime bat a Tfost
A great party, called the Ebionite, existed, whose peculiar
tenet was the divine privilege of poverty. To this party Christ
was attracted both by His sympathies and His experience. He
had lived a poor man's life, He knew the kind of virtues which
it fostered, and He knew how painful was the contempt that it
endured. The poor needed a champion, and He esteemed such
championship a duty and a privilege. Thus He claims as one
of the original features of His ministry that the poor have the
Gospel preached to them, and it is a theme of joyous congratulation
with the Evangelists that the common peoj^le heard Him gladly.
Yet here again the fine tolerance of Christ's mind should be
noticed. He was not an Ebionite any more than He was an
ascetic. He knew that His kingdom would naturally appeal
more powerfully to the poor than to the rich, and would be
largely composed of them ; but He never defined in such a way
as to exclude the wealthy. He offers uo objection to the in-
equalities of society as such. He utters no sweeping condemna-
tions of wealth as in itself evil. He treats the possession of
wealth not as a crime but as a trust. He points out with equal
truth and justice that the peril of riches is their " deceitful ness."
The Life of Christ, William J. Dawsou, p. 79.
AGAIN A REFUGEE 335
Trust the Father and Be Ready
And lie said unto his disciples, Therefore I say uuto you, Be
not auxious for your life, what ye shall eat ; uor yet for your
body, what ye shall put ou. For the soul is more than the food,
aud the body thau the raimeut. Consider the ravens, that they
sow not, neither reap ; which have no store-chamber nor barn ;
aud God feedeth them : of how much more value are ye than the
birds ! And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit unto
the measure of his life ? If then ye are not able to do even that
which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest ?
Consider the lilies, how they grow : they toil not, neither do
they spin ; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the
grass in the field, which to-day is, aud to-morrow is cast into the
oven ; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith ?
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink,
neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the na-
tions of the world seek after : but your Father kuoweth that ye
have need of these things.
Howbeit seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added
uuto you.
Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.
Sell that which ye have, and give alms ; make for yourselves
purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth
not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning ; and
be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he
shall return from the marriage feast ; that, when he cometh and
kuocketh, they may straightway open unto him.
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall
find watching : verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself,
aud make them sit down to meat, aud shall come aud serve them.
And if he shall come in the second watch, aud if in the third,
and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this,
that if the master of the house had known iu what hour the thief
was comiug, he would have watched, and not have left his house
to be broken through.
336 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Be ye also ready : for in an hour that ye think not the Son of
man cometh.
Luke xii. 22-40. Revised Version, using Marginals.
Much Required from Those to Whom Much Has Been Given
And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or
even unto all ?
And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise steward,
whom his lord shall set over his household, to give them their
portion of food in due season ? Blessed is that servant, whom
his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say
unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath. But if that
servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ; and
shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to
eat and drink and be drunken ; the lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he especteth not, and in an hour when he
knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion
with the unfaithful. And that servant, which knew his lord's
will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be
beaten with many stripes ; but he that knew not, and did things
worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.
And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be re-
quired : and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask
the more.
I came to cast fire upon the earth ; and what will I if it is al-
ready kindled ? But I have a baptism to be baptized with ; and
how am I straitened till it be accomplished !
Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth ? I tell
you, Nay ; but rather division : for there shall be from hence-
forth, five in one house divided, three against two, and two
against three. They shall be divided, father against son, and son
against father ; mother against daughter, and daughter against
her mother ; mother in law against her daughter in law, and
daughter in law against her mother in law.
Luke xii. 41-53. Revised Version.
Exciting Times in Galilee
The times moreover, were exciting. The whole country rang
with the story of a massacre of Galileans by Pilate, at the last
AGAIN A EEFUGEE 337
Feast of Tabernacles — perhaps, at the same tumult in which
Joseph Barabbas was arrested as a ringleader, to be afterwards
freed instead of Jesus. Pilate was always ready to shed the blood
of a people he hated, and the hot-blooded Galileans, ever ready
to take affront at the hated infidels, gave him only too many
excuses for violence. They had a standing grievance in the sacri-
fices offered daily for the empire and the emperor, and at the
presence of a Eoman garrison and Eoman pickets at the Temple,
during the feasts, to keep the peace, as Turkish soldiers do at this
day, during Easter, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
But Pilate had given special offence, at this time, by appropri-
ating part of the treasures of the Temple, derived from the Temple
tax levied on all Jews over the world, and amounting to vast
sums in the aggregate — to defray the cost of great conduits he had
begun for the better supply of Jerusalem with water. Stirred up
by the priests and rabbis, the people had besieged the govern-
ment house when Pilate came up to the city at the feast, and with
loud continuous cries had demanded that the works be given up.
Seditious words against himself, the representative of the emperor,
had not been wanting. He had more than once been forced to
yield to such clamour, but this time determined to put it down.
Numbers of soldiers, in plain clothes, and armed only with clubs,
surrounded the vast mob, and used their cudgels so remorselessly
that many, both of the innocent and guilty, were left dead on the
spot.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cauningbara Geikie, D. D,, Vol. II, p. 166.
How Pilate Put an End to an Uprising
Pilate undertook to bring a current of water to Jerusalem, and did
it with the sacred money, and derived the origin of the stream from
the distance of two hundred fui^longs. However, the Jews were not
pleased with what had been done about the water ; and many ten
thousands of the people got together and made a clamour against
him, and insisted that he should leave off that design. Some of
them also used reproaches and abused the man, as crowds of such
people usually do. So he inhabited a great number of his soldiers
in their habit, who carried daggers under their garments, and
sent them to a place where they might surround them. So he bid
the Jews himself go away ; but they boldly casting reproaches
338 THE STOHY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
upon him, he gave the soldiers that signal which had beforehaud
beeu agreed upou ; who laid upon them much greater blows than
Pilate had commanded them, and equally punished those that
were tumultuous, and those that were not ; nor did they spare
them in the least ; and since the people were unarmed, and were
caught by men prepared for what they were about, there were a
great number of them slain by this means, aud others of them ran
away wounded. And thus an end was put to this sedition.
The Works of Flavins Josephus, edited by William Whistou, A.M., Vol. II.
Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chapter iii, p. 44.
"When the Tower of Sfloam Fell
But the procurator had this time prepared himself beforehand.
He had scattered numbers of his soldiers, dressed as Jews, among
the crowds, aud no sooner had the tumultuous cries began, than
these assailed those round them with clubs, and speedily drove
them off in wild terror, leaving many of their number, severely
wounded, behind. Perhaps it was about this time, when the
works had beeu pushed almost to the Pool of Siloam, that the
tower, there, fell and killed eighteen men ; a calamity attributed
by the rabbis to the wrath of God at the secularisation of the
Temple treasures. Pilate's aqueduct suffered no more hindrance
in its completion.
Tlie Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 281.
Those Eighteen Were Not Special Offenders
Now there were some present at that very season which told him
of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacri-
fices.
Aud he answered aud said unto them. Think ye that these
Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they have
suffered these things? I tell you, Nay : but, except ye repeut, ye
shall all in like manner perish.
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and
killed them, think ye that they were offenders above all the men
that dwell in Jerusalem ? I tell you, Nay : but except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish.
And he spake his parable ; A certain man had a fig tree planted
in his vineyard ; aud he came seeking fruit thereon, and found
AGAIN A REFUGEE 389
noue. And lie said iiuto the vinedresser, Behold, these three
years I coine seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it
down ; why doth it also cumber the ground?
And he answering saith unto him. Lord, let it alone this year
also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it : and if it bear fruit
tlienceforth, well ; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.
Luke xiii. 1-9. Revised Version,
Straightens a "Woman Doubled Together for Eighteen Years
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath
day. And behold, a woman that had a spirit of infirmity eight-
een years ; and she was bowed together, and could in no wise lift
lierself up.
And when Jesus saw her, he called her, and said unto her,
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his
hands upon her : and immediately she was made straight, and
glorified God.
And the ruler of the synagogue, being moved with indignation
because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, answered and said to
the multitude. There are six days in which men ought to work ;
in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the day of the
sabbath.
But the Lord answered him, and said. Ye hypocrites, doth not
each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the
manger, and lead him away to watering ?
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham,
wliom Satan had bound, lo, these eighteen years, to have been
Io(ised from this bond on the day of the sabbath?
And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to
shame : and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things
that were done by him.
Luke xiii. 10-17. Revised Version, using Marginals.
*' Lord, Are They Few That Are Saved ?'*
And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching,
and journeying on unto Jerusalem.
And one said unto him, Lord are they few that are saved ?
And he said unto them, Strive to enter in by the narrow door :
840 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
for many, I say mito you, sliall seek to enter in, and shall not be
able.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut
the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door,
sayiug. Lord, open to us ; and he shall answer and say unto you,
I know not whence ye are ; then shall ye begin to say, We did eat
and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets ;
and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are ; depart
from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be the weeping
and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and your-
selves cast forth without.
And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north
and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God, and behold,
there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be
last.
Luke xiii. 22-30. Revised Version, using Marginals.
A New Danger Threatened Him
A new danger threatened in the person of Herod. The fame
of Jesus reached the palace of the tetrarch, and filled him with
terror. His declaration to his servants is a revelation of that ter-
ror. He imagined that John the Baptist was risen from the
dead.
In this connection Matthew tells the story of Herod's relation
to John, in explanation of the terror which filled him when the
report concerning Jesus reached him. He had imprisoned John,
because John had protested against his incestuous affection for
the wife of his brother. This action on the part of Herod is seen
to have been the more dastardly in view of a fact which JVIatthew
does not record, but which is found in the Gospel of Mark, that
Herod knew that he was a righteous man aud a holy, and that in
the past he had beard him, and that gladly. Evidently at some
period he had passed under the influence of John's preaching, and
had been affected toward good thereby. In spite of these things
lie had imprisoned him, but at first dared not slay him, because
he feared the multitude.
The Analyzed Bible, the Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., The Gospel Ac'
cording to 3Iattheio, p. 160.
AGAIN A REFUGEE 341
**It "Would Not Do for a Prophet to Be Murdered Except
at Jerwsalem ! **
lu that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him,
Get thee out, and go hence : for Hei-ocl would fain kill thee. And
he said uuto them. Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out
demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third
day I end my course. Nevertheless I must go on my way to-day
and to-morrow and the day following : for it cannot be that a
prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth
them that are sent unto her ! how often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood
under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold your house is left
uuto you desolate : and I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until
ye shall say. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Luke xiii. 31-35. American Revision, using a Marginal.
He Saw through the Whole Design
Jesus had now been for some time in Perea, in the territory of
Antipas, the murderer of John. The intense unpopularity of the
crime had, doubtless, been a protection to Him, but there were
many reasons why such a man should wish the great Wonder-
worker, whom he personally feared so much, as, perhaps, the
murdered Baptist, risen from the dead, fairly out of his domin-
ions. Unwilling to appear in the matter, he used the Pharisees,
counting on their readiness to further his end of getting rid of
Him. Some of their number, therefore, came to Him, with the
air of friends anxious for His safety, and warned Him that it
would be well for Him to leave Perea as quickly as possible, as
Herod desired to kill Him.
Jesus at once saw through the whole design, as a crafty plan of
Herod for His expulsion. But He was on His way to Jerusalem,
and contented Himself with showing that He gave no grounds for
political suspicion, and that He quite well understood how little
frieudship there was in the advice the Pharisees had given Him.
"Go and tell that crafty fox," said He, "that I know why he
is afraid of me, and wishes me out of his land. Tell him there is
no cause for his alarm, for I do nothing to wake his suspicions.
342 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
I have no designs that can iujure him, but confine myself to
driving demons from i^oor men i^ossessed with them, and to heal-
ing the sick. These harmless labours I shall not intermit till the
time I have fixed to give to them is over. It will take three days
more to pass quite out of Perea, and for these three days I shall
be in his territory, but on the third day I leave it, for I am now
on my way to Jerusalem, to die there. Herod will not need to
trouble himself to kill me, for it would be unfitting for a prophet
to die outside the holy city."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D,, Vol. II, p, 343.
A Sabbath Dinner with a Leading Pharisee
And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the
rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were
watching him.
And behold, there was before him a certain man that had the
dropsy.
And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees,
saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not ?
But they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him,
and let him go. And he said unto them. Which of you shall
have an ass or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway
draw him up on a sabbath day f
And they could not answer again unto these things.
And he spake a parable unto those which were bidden, when he
marked how they chose out the chief seats ; sayiug unto them,
When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, recline not
in the chief seat ; lest haply a more honourable man than thou be
bidden of him, and he that bade thee and him shall come and say
to thee. Give this man place ; and then thou shalt begin with
shame to take the lowest place.
But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place ;
that when he that hath bidden thoe cometh, he may say to thee,
Friend, go up higher : then thon shalt have glory in the presence
of all that sit at meat with thee.
For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled ; and he
that humbleth himself shall be e?:alted.
And he said to him also that hi 1 bidden him, When thou makest
a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor
AGAIN A REFUGEE 343
thy kiusraeu, nor rich neighbours ; lest haply they also bid thee
again, and a recompense be made thee.
But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the
lame, the blind : and thou sbalt be blessed ; because they have
not wherewith to recompense thee : for thou shalt be recompensed
in the resurrection of the just.
And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these
things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the
kingdom of God.
But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper ;
and he bade many : and he sent forth his servant at supper time
to say to them that were bidden. Come ; for all things are now
ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse.
The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs
go out and see it : I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go
to prove them : I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I can-
not come.
And the servant came, and told his lord these things.
Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant,
Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring
hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame.
And the servant said. Lord, what thou didst command is done,
and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant. Go
out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come
in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, none of
those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Liike xiv. 1-24. Eevised Version, using Marginals.
No Time for Moral Snobs
The Democrat of Nazareth was so ultra in his democracy that
he could not away with caste of any kind. He had no time for
moral snobs, any more than for social snobs. The fellowship to
which he invited took in the outcasts. He likened it to a wedding
supper: "So those servants went out into the highways and
gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good ;
and the wedding was furnished with guests ! "
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 118.
344 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Counting the Cost
Now there went with him great multitudes : and he turned, and
said unto them,
If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father,
and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,
yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Whosoever
doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple.
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit
down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete
it ? Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able
to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, saying. This man
began to build, and was not able to finish.
Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war,
will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with
ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty
thousand 1 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he
sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace.
So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that
he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke xiv. 25-33. Revised Version.
** Lift up Your Eyes and Look on the Fields ! **
''What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth
not down first and consul teth whether he be able with ten thousand
to meet him that cometh with twenty thousand ? " It were suicidal.
Israel need not take up the gage alone. Wherever Eome's em-
pire was extending, a ground-swell of discontent was setting in,
a tidal heave of the industrial mass. For this was back in the
formation days of that empire, before it had saddled itself firmly
on the backs of the people, and while hope was yet alive. The
hour was striking. A hundred peoples were ready : " Say not
ye, There are yet four months and then cometh harvest. Behold,
I say unto you. Lift up your eyes and look on the fields ; for they
are white already to harvest."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 88.
XXVI
THE PAEABLES IN PEREA, AND OTHEE SAYINGS
Confirmiug with His own impress
The common law of righteousness.
— Whittier.
The One Lost Lamb
And he spake unto them this parable, sayiug, What man of
you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that
which is lost, until he find it ■? And when he hath found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and
his neighbours, saying unto them, Eejoice with me, for I have
found my sheep which was lost.
I say uuto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over
one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine right-
eous persons, who need no repentance.
Luke XV. 3-7. Ee vised Version.
The Loving Father and His Wandering Boy
And he said, " A certain man had two sons : and the younger
of them said to his father, ' Father, give me the share of the prop-
erty that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them.
"Not many days after that the younger sou gathered all to-
gether, and went on a journey to a distant laud ; and there he
wasted his property iu dissolute living.
"And when he had spent all, there arose a terrible famine in
that country ; and he began to be in want.
"And he went and hired himself to one of the citizens of that
country : who sent him into his fields to feed the hogs. And he
was longing to fill himself with the husks that the hogs were eat-
ing, but no one gave him leave.
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my
father's hired servants have plenty of food, while I am perish-
345
346 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
ing with hunger ! I will arise and go to my father, and I will
say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heav^en, and before
thee ; I am no longer worthy to be called thy sou ; make me as
one of thy hired servants." '
" And he arose and went to his father. But while he was still
a loug distance away, his father saw him, and, full of sympathy,
ran aud fell on his neck, and kissed him ardently.
"And the sou said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee. I am no longer worthy to be called
thy sou.'
"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the robe, —
the best ! — and clothe him ; and bring a ring for his hand, and
sandals for his feet, and have the fattened calf brought and killed
aud let us eat, and be merry : for this son of mine was dead, and
is alive again ; he was lost, aud is found.'
"And they began to be merry.
" Now his older son was in a field ; aud as he came up near the
house, he heard music aud dauciug. Aud he called one of his
servants to him, and inquired what was going on.
" And he said to him, ' Tliy brother has come ; and thy father
has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe
aud sound.'
"But he was angry, aud would not go in; so his father
came out and pleaded with him. But he answered aud said
to his father, ' Think how many years I have served thee, aud I
have never disobeyed one of thy commands ; and still thou never
gavest 7ne a kid, that I might make merry with my friends : but
when thy sou, — this one ! — who has devoured thy living with
harlots, came, thou didst kill the fattened calf for him!''
"And the father said to him, 'Child, thou art ever with me,
and all that is mine is thine. But it was right to rejoice and be
glad, for this brother of thine was dead, and is alive agaiu : he
was lost aud is found.' "
Luke XV, 11-32. A literal renderiug f rom the Greek.
Shows the Love of God to Man
Never certainly in human language was so much — such a world
of love aud wisdom aud tenderness — compressed into such few
immortal words. Every line, every touch of the picture is full
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 3-t7
of beautiful eternal siguificauce. The poor boy's presumptuous
claim for all that life could give him — the leaving of the old
home— the journey to a far country — the brief spasm of ''enjoy-
ment " there — the mighty famine in that land — the premature
exhaustion of all that could make life noble and endurable — the
abysmal degradation and unutterable misery that followed— the
coming to himself, aud recollection of all that he had left behind
him — the return in heart-broken penitence and deep humility —
the father's far-off sight of him, and the gush of compassion and
tenderness over this poor returning prodigal — the ringing joy of
the whole household over him who had been loved and lost, aud
had now come home — the unjust jealousy and mean complaint
of the elder brother — and then that close of the parable in a
strain of music — "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I
have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be
glad : for this thy brother was dead and is alive again ; was lost
and is found " — all this is indeed a divine epitome of the wander-
ing of man and the love of God such as no literature has ever
equaled, such as no ear of man has ever heard elsewhere.
Put in the one scale all that Confucius, or Sakya Mouni, [the
Buddha] or Zoroaster, or Socrates ever wrote or said — and they
wrote and said many beautiful and holy words — and put in the
other the Parable of the Prodigal Sou alone, with all that this
single parable connotes and means, aud can any candid spirit
doubt which scale would outweigh the other in eternal precious-
ness — in divine adaptation to the wants of man?
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 134.
The Steward of Unrighteousness
Aud he said also to his disciples, " There was a certain rich mau,
who had a steward who was accused to him of wasting his property.
" And he called him and said to him, ' What is this that I hear
of thee? Render an account of thy stewardship ; for thou canst
be no longer steward.'
" Aud the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do, see-
ing that my lord is taking away the stewardship from me? I
have not the strength to dig ; and I am ashamed to beg. I am
resolved what to do, so that, when I am put out of the steward-
ship, they may receive me into their houses.'
348 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
" And calling to him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to
the first, ' How much owest thou to my lord ! '
" And he said, ' A hundred measures of oil.'
"And he said, 'Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and
write fifty.'
" Then said he to another, * And how much owest thou ?'
" And he said, ' A hundred measures of wheat.'
" He said to him, ' Take thy bill, and write eighty.'
'' And his lord commended the steward of unrighteousuess be-
cause he had done wisely : for the children of this age are for
their own generation wiser than the sons of the light. And I say
to you, Make for yourselves friends by means of the mammon
of unrighteousness ; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you
into the eternal tabernacles.
" He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much :
and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in
much.
"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches ?
" And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's,
who will give you that which is your own f No household servant
can serve two masters : for either he will hate the one, and love
the other ; or he will hold to one, and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon."
And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these
things ; and they scoffed at him.
And he said to them, "You are the ones that justify yourselves
in the sight of men ; but God knows your hearts : for that which
is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
"The law and the prophets were until John: from that time
the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man
enters violently into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to
pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall."
Luke xvi, 1-17. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
The Beggar and the Rich Man
" Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in
purple and fine linen, fariug sumptuously every day : and a
certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 349
aud (lesiriug to be fed witli tlie crumbs that fell from the rich
man's table ; yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
" Aud it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was
carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom : and the rich
man also died, and was buried.
"And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and
saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
" And he cried and said, ' Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
aud send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,
aud cool my tongue ; for I am in anguish in this flame ! '
"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that thou in thy life-
time received thy good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, evil
things : but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish.
And in all these things between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed, that they that would pass from here to you may not be able,
and that none may cross over from there to us.'
" And he said, ' I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst
send him to my father's house ; for I have five brothers, that
he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of tor-
ment.'
"But Abraham said, 'They have Moses aud the prophets ; let
them hear them.'
"And he said, 'Ko, Father Abraham: but if one should go
to them from the dead, they would repent. '
"And he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the
prophets, they would not be persuaded even if one should rise
from the dead.' "
Luke xvi. 19-31. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Dives Awoke to the Mistake He Had Made
. . . Dives . . awoke to the mistake he had made, de-
sirous to send from hell and tell his five brothers to use the family
fortune in erecting a " Dives Home for the Hungry," belike with
the family name and coat of arms over the front portal. Jesus
would concede no such privilege. He referred those "five
brethren" to Moses and the prophets; let them hear them " —
Moses being the leader of the labour movement which had given
to the slaves in the Goshen brick-yards their long-deferred rights ;
and the prophets being those ardent Old Testament tribunes of
350 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
the people who had so hotly couteuded for the family idea of
society against the exploiters and grasi)ers at the top.
Dante's idea that each sin ou earth fashions its own projier
punishment in hell receives confirmation in this parable. "The
great gulf fixed," which constituted Dives's hell, Mas the gulf
which he himself had brought about. For the private fortune he
amassed had broken up the solidarity of society — had introduced
into it a chasm both broad and deep. The gulf between him and
Lazarus in this world exists in the world to come to plague him.
The thirst which parched Dives's tongue, " being in torments,"
was the thirst for companionship, the healing contact once more
with his fellows, from whom his fortune had sundered him like a
butcher's cleaver.
Jesus had so exalted a notion of the working class, their ab-
sence of cant, their rugged facing of facts, their elemental simplic-
ities, their first-hand contact with the realities of life, that he
regarded any man who should draw himself off from them in a
fancied superiority, as immeasurably the loser thereby, and as
putting himself "in torments."
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 138.
** We Are Only Unprofitable Slaves I **
And he said to his disciples, "It is impossible but that occa-
sions of stumbling should come : but woe to him, through whom
they come ! It would be well for him if a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and he Mere thrown into the sea, rather than
that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
" Take heed to yourselves : if thy brother sin, rebuke him j
and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven
times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, ' I
repent ; ' thou shalt forgive him."
And the apostles said to the Lord, " Increase our faith."
And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard
seed, you would say to this mustard tree, ' Be rooted up, and be
plauted in the sea ; ' and it would obey you.
" But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping-
sheep, that will say to him, when he is come in from the field,
' Come at once and sit down to meat ; ' and will not rather say to
him, ' Get me something for supper, and gird thyself, and serve
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 351
me, till I have eaten and diauk ; aud afterward thou shalt eat
aud driuk ? '
"Does he thauk the servant because he did the things that
were commanded *? Just so you also, when you shall have done all
the things that are commanded you, say, ' We are unprofitable
bondservants ; we have done that which it was our duty to do.' "
Luke xvii. 1-10. Revised Versiou, using Marginals, etc.
The Kingdom Is in Your Midst
And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
Cometh, he auswered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observ^ation : neither shall they say, Lo, here : or, There!
for lo, the kiugdom of God is in the midst of you.
Aud he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye
shall desire to see one of the days of the Sou of man, and ye shall
not see it :
And they shall say to you, Lo, there ! Lo, here ! go not away,
nor follow after them : for as the lightning, when it lighteueth
out of one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part
under heaven ; so shall the Son of man be in his day. But first
must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation.
Aud as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they
married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them.
Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot ; they ate,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded ;
but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, aud destroyed them all : after the same
manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.
In that day, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in
the house, let him not go down to take them away : and let him
that is in the field likewise not return back. Remember Lot's
wife. Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it : but
whosoever shall lose his life shall i)reserve it.
I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one
bed ; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. There
shall be two women grinding together ; the one shall be taken,
aud the other shall be left.
852 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Aud they answering say unto him, Where, Lordl And he
said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the vultures also
be gathered together.
Luke xvii. 20-37. Revised Version, using Marginals.
The Pharisee and the Publican
And he spoke also for the benefit of those who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous and despised the rest, this
parable :
"Two men went up into the temple to pray : the one a Phari-
see, and the other a tax-collector.
"The Pharisee, standing, was praying thus to himself, 'God, I
thank thee that I am uot like the rest of men, rapacious, unright-
eous, adulterers, or even like this publican ! I fast twice in the
week ; I tithe everything I gain.'
"But the publican, standing afar off, would not even lift up
the eyes to heaven, but was striking his breast, saying, ' God be
merciful to me the sinner ! '
" I tell you, this man went down justified to his house rather
than that other. For every one who exalts himself shall be
humbled : but he that humbles himself shall be exalted."
Luke xviii. 9-14. A literal rendering from the Greek.
One Went to Brag, the Other to Pray
Two went to pray ? O, rather say,
One went to brag, the other to pray ;
One stands up close aud treads on high,
Where the other dares not lend his eye ;
One nearer to God's altar trod,
The other to the altar's God.
Two Went up to the Temple to Prny, Richard Crashaw, A New Library of
Poetry and Song, edited by William CuUen Bryant, p. 362.
** Whatever Is Right I Will Pay You*'
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a house-
holder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into
his vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a shilling a day,
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 353
he seut them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third
hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle ; and to
them he said, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is
right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did
likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others
standing ; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day
idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.
He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard.
And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto
his steward. Call the labourers, and pay them tlieir hire, beginning
from the last unto the first.
And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour,
they received every man a shilling.
And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive
more ; and they likewise received every man a shilling.
And when they had received it, they murmured against the
householder, saying. These last have spent but one hour, and thou
hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the
day and the scorching heat.
But he answered and said to one of them. Friend, I do thee no
wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling'? Take up
that which is thine, and go thy way ; it is my will to give unto
this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I
will with mine own ? Or is thine eye evil, because I am good ?
So the last shall be first, and the first last.
Matthew x-s.. 1-16. Revised Version, usiug Marginals.
**No Duties withowt Rights, No Rights without Duties**
At the same time that he castigated the privileged orders, The
Carj)euter was at pains to point out that workingmen have obli-
gations. The kingdom of self-respect bites both ways. Those
at the bottom of the social mass could fail to enter into it equally
with those at the top. " Whatsoever ye would that others should
do unto you, do ye also unto them ;" . . "no duties without
rights, no rights without duties."
The new order of society which he was announcing would create
354 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
privileges for the toiling masses ; but it would also create obllga-
tious ; aud he stressed the obligatious quite as strougly as the
privileges. Que of the obligatious was fidelitj^ to coutract. He
pictures a group of labourers iu the market place agreeing to work
for a specified sum. Others, eleveuth-hour meu — it is expressly
stated that their idleness uutil that hour had not been their fault —
euter iuto the day's work at the same figure. Upou beiug paid
off that night, the first group complain because the late-comers
get as much as they. This spirit the parable tenderly but firmly
rebuked: "Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree
with me for a penny ? "
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 139.
The Parable of the Pounds and the Cities
Aud as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable,
because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they supposed
that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear.
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went iuto a far country,
to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called
ten servants of his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto
them. Trade ye herewith till I come.
But his citizens hated him, and sent an ambassage after him,
saying. We will not that this man reign over us.
And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having
received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, unto
whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might
know what they had gained by trading.
Aud the first came before him, saying. Lord, thy pound hath
made ten pounds more.
And he said, Well done, thou good servant : because thou wast
found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
Aud the second came, saying, Thy pound, Lord, hath made
five pounds.
Aud he said unto him also. Be thou also over five cities.
And the other came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound,
which I kept laid up iu a napkin : for I feared thee, because thou
art an austere man : thou takost up that which thou layedst not
down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow.
He saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee,
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 355
thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am an austere man,
taking up that which I laid not down, and reaping that which I
did not sow : then wherefore gavest thou not my money into the
bank, and I at my coming should have required it with interest ?
And he said unto them that stood by, Take away from him the
pound, and give it unto him that hath the ten pounds.
And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.
I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall be given ;
but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be
taken away from him.
But these mine enemies, that would not that I should reign
over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Luke xix. 11-27. Revised Version, using Marginals.
** Which of the Two Did His Father's Will?**
" But what do you think ?
* 'A certain man had two sons ; and he came to the first, and
said, 'Child, go work to-day in the vineyard.'
"And he answered, 'I will not:' but afterward he repented
and went.
" And he came to the second, and said the same.
*' And he answered and said, ' I go. Sir : ' but did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father ? "
They say, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Verily I say to you, that the publicans
and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
" For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you
did not believe him ; but the publicans and the harlots believed
him : and you, when you saw it, did not even repent afterward,
that you might believe him."
Matthew xxi. 28-32. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
**This Is the Heir, Come, Let Us Kill Him ! '*
"Hear another parable: There was a man that was a house-
holder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and
dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husband-
men, and went into another country. And when the season of
the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen to
receive his fruits.
356 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN'
"Aud the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and
killed another, and stoned another.
" Again, he sent other servants — a larger number than the
first : and they treated them in the same way.
"But afterward he sent to them his sou, saying, 'They will
respect my son. '
"But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among
themselves, 'This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and take his
inheritance.'
"And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and
killed him.
" When, therefore, the lord of the vineyard shall come, what
will he do to those husbandmen?"
They say to him, "He will miserably destroy those wretched
men, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who
will pay him the fruits in their seasons."
Jesus said to them, ' ' Did you never read in the scriptures :
" ' The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner :
This was from the Lord,
And it is marvelous iu our ej^es ? '
"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God shall betaken
away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the
fruits of the kingdom.
" Aud he that falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces :
but on whomever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust."
And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his par-
ables, they perceived that he spoke of them.
And when they tried to arrest him, they were afraid of the
crowds, because they accepted him as a jirophet.
Matthew xxi. 33-46. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The Marriage Feast and the Wedding Garment
Aud Jesus answered and preached to them iu parables, again,
saying,
"The kingdom of heaven is compared to a certain king, who
made a marriage feast for his sou, and sent out his servants to
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 357
call those who were invited to the marriage feast : and they would
not come.
"Again he sent out other servants, saying, ' Tell those who are
invited, " See, I have made ready my dinner : my oxen and my
fatliugs are killed, and all things are ready : come to the mar-
riage feast." '
"But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to
his own farm, another to his merchandise : and the rest
laid hold of his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed
them.
"But the king was angry, and sent his armies, and destroyed
those murderers, and burned their city.
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but
those who were invited were not worthy.
" 'Go therefore to the parting of the highways, and as many as
you shall find, invite to the marriage feast.' And those servants
went out into the highways, and gathered together all, as many
as they found, both bad and good : and the wedding was filled
with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man
there who had not a wedding-garment on ; and he said to him,
' Friend, how earnest thou in here not having a wedding-gar-
ment ? '
" And he was speechless.
" Then the king said to the servants, ' Bind him hand and foot,
and cast him out into the outer darkness ; there shall be the
weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
" For many are called, but few chosen,"
3IaUhew xxii. 1-14. Eevised, with Marginals, etc.
The Story of the Ten Maidens
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be compared to ten
maidens, who took their torches, and went out to meet the bride-
groom.
"And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For the
foolisb ones, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them :
but the wise maidens took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
' ' Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept.
358 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
''But at midnight there is a cry, ' Behold the bridegroom !
Come out to meet him.'
' ' Then all the girls got up and trimmed their lamps. And
the foolish said to the wise, ' Give us some of your oil ; for our
lamps are going out.'
"But the wise ones answered, saying, ' Perhaps there will not
be enough for us and for you : go rather to the dealers, and buy
some for yourselves. '
"And while they were gone away to buy, the bridegroom
came : and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage
feast : and the door was shut.
" Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord,
open for us ! '
" But he answered and said, ' Indeed I say to you, I do not
know you.'
" Watch therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
Matthew xxv. 1-13. Revised Version, modernised, etc.
The Good-for-Nothing Servant
For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his
own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And to one
he gave five talents, to another two, to another one ; to each ac-
cording to his special ability ; and he went on his journey.
Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded
with them, and made other five talents. In like manner he also
that received the two gained other two.
But he that received the one went away and dug in the earth,
and hid his lord's money.
Now after a long time the lord of those servants came and made
a reckoning with them.
And he that received the five talents came and brought five
talents more, saying. Lord, thou deliveredst to me five talents : lo,
I have gained five talents besides.
His lord said to him. Well done, good and fiiithful servant !
Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over
many things ; enter into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that had received the two talents came and said.
Lord, thou deliveredst to me two talents : lo, I have gained two
talents besides.
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 359
His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant ;
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over
many things : enter thou iuto the joy of thy lord.
And he also that had received the one talent came, and said,
Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where
thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter :
and I was afraid, aud went away and hid thy talent in the earth :
lo, thou hast thine own.
But his lord answered and said to him. Thou wicked, lazy
slave ! Thou kuewest that I reap where I did not sow, and gather
where I did not scatter ; thou oughtest therefore to have placed
my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have
received back my own with interest.
Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him
that has the ten talents, for to every one that has shall be given,
aud he shall have abundance : but from him that has not, even
that which he has shall be taken away.
And cast the unprofitable slave out iuto the outer darkness :
there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
3Iattheio xxv. 14-30. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
** For the Least of These Brothers of Mine **
But when the Sou of man shall come in his glory, aud all the
angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory : and
before him shall be gathered all the nations : and he shall separate
them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats : aud he shall place the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left.
Then shall the King say to those on his right hand. Come,
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world : for I was hungry, and you gave me
food : I was thirsty, and you gave me drink : I was a stranger,
aud you took me in ; naked, and you clothed me : I was sick and
you visited me : I was in prison, and you came to me.
Then shall the righteous ones answer him, saying, Lord, when
did we see thee hungry, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee
drink % And when did we see thee a stranger and took thee in?
or naked, and clothed thee ? And wheu did we see thee sick, or
in prison, aud came to thee %
860 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I saj
to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of my brethren, even the
least of these, you did it to me.
Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Depart
from me, under a curse, into the eternal fire which is prepared
for the devil and his angels : for I was hungry, and you did not
give me to eat : I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink :
I was a stranger, and you did not take me in : naked, and you
did not clothe me : sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.
Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when did we see
thee hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did
not minister to thee ?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Indeed I say to you,
inasmuch as you did not do it to one of these least, you did not
do it to me.
And these shall go away into eternal punishment : but the
righteous into eternal life.
Matthew xxv. 31-46. Revised, using Marginals, modernized, etc.
For the Good or Evil Side
Ouce to every man and nation conies the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side ;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left band, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light.
The Present Crisis, James Russell Lowell, Complete Poetical Works, p. 67.
New-Found Sayings of Jesws
{Discovered at Oxyrynchus, Egypt, in 1897)
These are the (wonderful 1) words which Jesus the living (Lord)
spake to . . . and Thomas, and he said unto (them), Every
one that hearkens to these words shall never taste of death.
First Saijiuff
Jesus saith. Let not him who seeks . . . cease until he
finds, and when he finds he shall be astonished ; astonished he shall
reach the kingdom, and having reached the kingdom he shall rest.
Second Saying
Jesus saith, (Ye ask 1 who are those) that draw us (to the
kingdom, if) the kingdom is in Heaven? . . . the fowls of
THE PARABLES IN PEREA 361
the air, and all the beasts that are under the earth or upon the
earth, and the fishes of the sea, (these are they which draw) you,
and the kingdom of Heaven is within you ; and whoever shall
know himself shall find it. (Strive therefore f) to know your-
selves, and ye shall be aware that ye are the sons of the (almighty ?)
Father ; (and ?) ye shall know that ye are in (the city of God ?),
and ye are (the city *?).
Third Saying
Jesus saith, A man shall not hesitate ... to ask . . .
concerning his place (in the kingdom. Ye shall know) that
many that are first shall be last and the last first and (they shall
have eternal life %).
Fourth Saying
Jesus saith. Everything that is not before thy face and that
which is hidden from thee sliall be revealed to thee. For there
is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, nor buried
which shall not be raised.
Fifth Saying
His disciples question him and say, How shall we fast and how
shall we (pray?) . . and what (commandment) shall we keep
. . . Jesus saith ... do not ... of truth . . .
blessed is he . . .
New Sayings of Jesus and Fragment of a Lost Gospel, Edited by Bernard P.
Grenfell, D. Litfc., M. A., pp. 12-19.
The Fragment of a Lost Gospel
{Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, in 1897)
I
. . . and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote
that is in thy brother's eye.
II
Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find
the kingdom of God ; and except ye make the Sabbath a real
Sabbath, ye shall not see the Father.
Ill
Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world and in the flesh
was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found
I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men,
because they are blind in their heart and see not. . .
362 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
IV
. . . . poverty.
V
Jesus saith, Wherever there are (two), they are not without
God, aud wherever there is one alone, I say, I am with him.
Raise the stone, aud there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood,
aud there am I.
VI
Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country,
neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him. .
VII
Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a high hill aud estab-
lished, can neither fall nor be hid.
VIII
Jesus saith. Thou hearest with one ear, (but the other thou hast
closed).
New Sayings of Jesus and Fragment of a Lost Gospel, Bernard P. Greufell,
D. Litt., M. A., pp. 37 aud 38.
Nor Did It Lessen What He Taught
Suppose it could be shown that, knowing what Confucius taught in
China, Buddha in India, Zoroaster in Persia, Plato in Greece, Jesus
selected the true and essential out of all these and other systems
of thought, aud wove them into the unity of the Christian system.
Then unbelief would have a new problem. For the religious
genius that fastened intuitively upon the best elements of each
separate faith, and fused these borrowed fragments into a new
and distinctive religion, would only be inferior to the wisdom
which was necessary to the creation of the Christian system in the
absence of aid from outside sources.
As it is, we maj^ say with one of our poets :
" Nor did it lessen what He taught,
Or make the gospel Jesus brought
Less precious, that his lips retold
Some portions of the truth of old :
Confirming with his own impress
The common law of righteousness."
(—Whittier.)
The OrigitmUty of Jesus. Rev. Matt S. Hughes, D.D.,Zion'8 Herald, Vol,
LXXXIX, May 31, 1911, p. 683.
XXVII
CALLING LAZARUS BACK
"Where have ye laid him? "—"Come and see ! "
But ere His eyes could see, they wept.
— 3Irs. Browning.
A Gap of Untold Events
It was while in Perea, that this message suddenly reached the
Master from the well-remembered home at Bethany, "the village
of Mary" — who, although the younger, is for obvious reasons
first mentioned in this history — "and her sister Martha," con-
cerning their (younger) brother Lazarus : " Lord, behold he whom
Thou lovest is sick." They are apparently the very words which
"the sisters" bade their messenger tell. We note as an impor-
tant fact to be stored in our memory, that the Lazarus, who had
not even been mentioned in the only account preserved to us of
a previous visit of Christ to Bethany, is described as "he whom
Christ loved."
What a gap of untold events between the two visits of Christ
to Bethany — and what modesty should it teach us as regards in-
ferences from the circumstance that certain events are not recorded
in the Gospels ! The messenger was apparently dismissed by
Christ with this reply : " This sickness is not unto death, but for
the glory of God, in order that the Sou of God may be glorified
thereby."
We must here bear iu mind, that this answer was heard by
such of the apostles as were present at the time. They would
naturally infer from it that Lazarus would not die, and that his
restoration would glorify Christ, either as having foretold it, or
prayed for it, or effected it by His will. Yet its true meaning —
even, as we now see, its literal interpretation, was, that its final
upshot was not to be the death of Lazarus, but that it was to be
for the glory of God, in order that Christ as the Son of God might
be made manifest. And we learn, how much more full are the
363
364 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
words of Christ tliau they often appear to us ; and how truly, aud
eveu literally, they may bear quite another meaning than appears
to our honest misapprehension of them — a meaning which onlj^
the event, the future, will disclose.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim. M. A. Oxon.,
D/D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 312.
"LazamsIsDead!/*
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the vil-
lage of Mary and her sister Martha ; aud it was that Mary who
anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her
hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he
whom thou lovest is sick.
But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be
glorified thereby.
Now Jesus loved Martha, aud her sister, and Lazarus. "When
therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed at that time two
days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the
disciples, Let us go into Judea again.
The disciples say to him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now seek-
ing to stone thee ; and art thou going there again %
Jesus answered. Are there not twelve hours in the day? If
a man walk in the day he does not stumble, because he sees the
light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him. He said these things, aud after
this he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep ; but I
go, that I may awake him out of his sleep.
The disciples therefore said to him, Lord, if he has fallen
asleep, he will recover.
Now Jesus had spoken of his death : but they thought that he
spoke of taking rest in sleep.
Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent
that you may believe ; nevertheless let us go to him.
Thomas therefore, who is called Twin, said to his fellow-
disciples, Let us go too, that we may die with him !
John xi. 1-16. Kevised Versiou, using Marginals, etc.
CALLING LAZARUS BACK 365
Going Back into the Jaws of Danger
"The rabbis aud piiesls were seeking ouly the other day to
stoue Thee, Eabbi," said they iu amazement — "aud art Thou
really going back into the very jaws of danger? "
"The time allotted me by God for my work," replied Jesus,
"is not yet done, and so long as it lasts no one cau harm me.
The time appointed for a man, is like the hours of light given to
a traveler for his journey. There is no fear of his stumbling in
the day, because he sees the sun ; but as he stumbles when it has
set, so man, though he walk safely till the appointed time ends,
cau do so no longer when it is over. Till mine is over, I am safe. "
Pausing a few minutes. He went on to tell them why He was
going to Bethany, in spite of all danger. " Our friend Lazarus,"
said He, "has fallen asleep, but I go that I may awake him out
of sleep."
Unwilling to expose themselves or their Master to unnecessary
peril, their wishes read in these words a cause for remaining
where they were.
"To sleep is good for the sick," said they, thinking He spoke
of natural sleep. But their hopes were speedily dashed. ' ' Laza-
rus," said He, now openly, "is dead, and I am glad for your
sakes, that I was not there to heal him from mere sickness. The
far greater proof of my divine glory, which you will see iu my
raising him from the grave, would not have been given, and thus
you would have lost the aid to still firmer trust in me, which is
so necessary now I am so soon to leave you."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 309.
Why? Why? Why?
Lazarus was . most prominent . in Bethany, aud the cir-
cumstances of his death were on everybody's tongue. The village
was astir with mourners. Neighbors gossiped about the dead
man's tarrying friend, — not kindly. Muttered reproaches, dis-
pleased and distressed faces, met the Healer everywhere. Before
he had set foot within the borders of the village, he felt himself
to be the most unpopular man in it. . . . A grumbling by-
stander viciously observed that the Nazarene was not in a hurry
to enter the house where he had been so well treated, aud whose
bereavement he could have prevented if he had taken the trouble ;
366 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
for there seemed to be no doubt but that he was a very distin-
guished healer.
Jesus entered into conversation with no one, but stood silently,
lookiug so troubled that his disciples felt discouraged. What did
it all mean ? How would he defend himself when people called
him a craven or a faithless friend ? Why had he let it happen
as he had? Why? Why? Why?
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 278.
Past Power of Speech
He had a commanding air. His garments were the garments
of the people, but his mien was the mien of a kiug. His sandals
were dusty and travel- worn. He had the hands of an artisau.
His head was royal, and raised itself upon strong shoulders. He
had beautiful hair, of the finest texture, curling and fair ; his
unshaven beard fell to his breast ; the expression of his concealed
lips was delicate as no word may tell it. . . As the two stood
confronting each other, they were to the eye like human love con-
frontiug the Divine, human anguish appealing to Divine pity,
the helplessness of earth questioning the power of heaven. . . .
That supreme look burned into her soul like holy fire. Those
eyes, — what color had they? What form? No man knew, or
knoweth unto this day. . . The majesty and beauty of that
face, past power of speech to say it, or form of dream to dream it,
blazed above her for a moment.
Come Forth ! Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward, p. 312.
** If Thou Hadst Been Here!*'
So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb
four days already.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off ;
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console
them concerning their brother.
Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went
and met him : but Mary still sat in the house. Martha therefore
said to Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would
not have died ! And even now I know that, whatever thou shalt
ask of God, God will give thee.
Jesus said to her. Thy brother shall rise again.
CALLING LAZARUS BACK 367
Martha said to him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life : he that
believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live : and whoever
lives and believes in me shall never die. Dost thou believe
this?
She said to him, Yes, Lord : I have believed that thou art
the Christ, the Son of God, even he that is coming into the
world.
And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary
her sister, secretly, saying, The Teacher is here, and is calling
for thee.
And she, when she heard it, arose quickly and went to him.
(I^ow Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the
place where Martha met him.) The Jews then who were with her
in the house, and were comforting her, when they saw Mary, that
she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that
she was going to the tomb to wail there. Mary therefore, when
she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet,
saying to him, Lord if thou hadst been here, piy brother would
not have died !
When Jesus therefore saw her wailing, and the Jews also wail-
iug who came with her, he was moved with indignation, and
shuddered, and said. Where have you laid him?
They say to him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept.
John xi. 17-35. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Jes«s Wept
Two sayings of the holy Scriptures beat
Like pulses in the Church's brow and breast
And by thera we find rest in our unrest,
And, heart-deep in salt tears, do yet entreat,
God's fellowship as if on heavenly seat.
The first is, " Jesus wept," whereon is prest
Full many a sobbing face that drops its best
And sweetest waters on the record sweet.
Sonnets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 3Irs. Browning^a Complete Poetical
Works, p. 359.
368 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Martha and Mary Coold Not Understand Each Other
Hours passed. Mary sat on iu the dark and dreary room.
She had the temperament which does not, because it cannot, con-
quer grief by action. All her strength must come through reflec-
tion and religious faith. She must think herself, and pray
herself, not work herself into peace. The worker and the
dreamer are always at odds, and Martha and Mary could no more
understand each other than the Pharisee and Sadducee, or the
living and the dead.
Mary was sitting just as her sister . . . had . . left
her, when Martha unexpectedly returned. She hurried into the
room excitedly, and said :
" The Master called for thee." . .
Mary arose slowly. Martha's voice jarred on her, but she was
used to that. She veiled herself and followed her sister con-
fusedly. She was unconscious of any details on that sad, strange
walk into the outer world, her first since she had followed her
brother to his grave. She did not lift her eyes from the ground.
She saw the gravel, the blades of grass, and little pebbles and
glittering sand, and Martha's robe fluttering before her. She
could not tell where she was, nor how far she had gone, when a
voice quite near her murmured : —
''Mary."
Come Forth .' Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward, p. 302.
No One Stirred or Spoke
He had suddenly retreated a step or two, and fixed his eyes upon
the tomb. Then, lifting them to the hot, bright sky, he stretched
his hands out in the attitude of supplication, and so stood, rapt
and mute, among the people, and no one stirred or spoke in all
the throng. Solemnly, in an undertone, and overheard only by
those who stood nearest him, he slowly and distinctly said :
" Behold, I am the Eesurrection. I am the Life. He that be-
lieveth on me, though he were dead, he shall live."
. . . The Nazarene had ordered the stone which guarded
the sepulchre to be removed. Protests from the family, whis-
pers from the crowd, a moment of intense and terrible excitement,
swept giddily over the senses.
Come Forth ! Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward, p. 312.
CALLING LAZARUS BACK 369
*' La^arws, Come forth ! **
The Jews therefore said, See how he loved him !
But some of them said, Could uot this mau, who opened the
ej'es of the bliud mau have caused also that this mau should uot
die?
Jesus therefore, beiug moved again with iudignation in him-
self, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay
upon it.
Jesus said. Take away the stone.
Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to him. Lord, by
this time the body is decaying, for he has been dead four days.
Jesus said to her. Did I uot say to thee, that, if thou didst
believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God ?
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee
that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou dost hear me
always : but because of the crowd standing around I said it, that
they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come forth !
He that was dead came out, bound hand and foot with grave-
bands ; and his face was bandaged with a napkin.
Jesus said to them, Eelease him, and let him go.
Many therefore of the Jews, who came to Mary and saw what
he did, believed in him.
But some of them weut away to the Pharisees, and told them
what Jesus had done.
John xi. 36-46. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Great God of Out People, "What a Sight !
Jesus, rapt in prayer, stood with eyes lifted to heaven, and so
standing seemed to have grown unaware of any who pressed about
him. Mary came near, and sinking, . . . drew the hem of
his dusty garment to her lips and kissed it. An inexplicable awe
had fallen upon the hearts of the throng. The silence became
profound. The bird upon the tomb had ceased singing.
Suddenly a loud and ringing voice struck the still air : —
' ' Lazarus ! Lazarus ! ' '
Who addressed the dead mau, as one addresseth a friend who
370 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
is expected to reply? The people stared at each other and shud-
dered.
"Lazarus! Lazarus! Come forth T^
The cry was commaudiug and awful. It penetrated the souls
of the living as lightning penetrates the earth. If any voice could
have reached the spirit of the dead —
Great God of our people ! Look yonder ! What has befallen
us % What thing is this ? Whom have we in our midst % What
is this blinding sight?
The stone lips of the sepulchre mutter ; the black throat
yawns ; there is motion within, and sound. Steps stir — there
is a flickering of light and a shifting of shadow — a shape moves,
and rises before our eyes. Is it the living? Was it the dead ?
Clad in his shroud, as the tomb had taken him, Lazarus, for
four days a dead man, stoops from the sepulchre, stands upright,
and, walking steadily into the bright air, moves down the scat-
tering ranks of his mourners, and solemnly regards them.
Come Forth ! Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward, p. 314.
Frenzied with the Thrill of It
What was to be said ? Jerusalem and her suburbs trembled
with wonder and dismay. The astounding story admitted of no
qualifying interpretation. It must be accepted or rejected al-
together. It soon became evident that rejection was impossible.
Lazarus had been a live man a week ago. Dead, and four days
buried yesterday, he was alive to-day. It was only necessary to
visit Bethany and see for one's self Hundreds hurried, gaping,
to the spot. Curiosity inundated the village. His house was
besieged. It was only a matter of hours before the incredible
facts were dashed into the fiice of the Church. The governing
authorities took fright. The Sanhedrin was hastily convened.
The case of the Jewish nation against Jesus of Nazareth was
formally opened that very Friday, within twenty-four hours after
Lazarus had emerged from his tomb, and stood staring amid the
flowers, in the approach of night, among the appalled and silent
witnesses of the inconceivable truth.
Strictly speaking, the preliminaries to the arrest of the great
heretic were all illegal. The Sanhedrin had no civil or criminal
jurisdiction, except by the mercy of Rome, and the hastiness of
CALLING LAZARUS BACK 371
their procedure was iu itself irregular. But all formalities,
ecclesiastical, civic, or humane, were distorted by one mad
thrust. Lazarus had come out of his grave — how, no one could
pretend to explain ? But he was out, and the Nazarene had done
the deed. The people were frenzied with the thrill of it. They
were massing from all quarters to rally about Jesus. The cry,
"Messiah ! the Messiah !" rang through capital and countryside.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 287.
** Where Wert Thou, Brother ? "
When Lazarus left his charuel cave,
And home to Mary's house returned,
Was this demanded — if he yearned
To hear her weeping by his grave?
" Where wert thou, brother, those four days? "
There lives no record of reply,
Which telling what it is to die
Had surely added praise to praise.
From every house the neighbours met,
The streets were filled with joyful sound,
A solemn gladness even crowned
The purple brows of Olivet,
Behold a man raised up by Christ !
The rest remaineth uu revealed ;
He told it not, or something sealed
The lips of that Evangelist.
In Sfemoriam, Alfred Tennyson, Poetical Works, p. 255.
Conspired to Seize Lazarus and Smother Him
But, though this strange event had so slight an influence on my
mind, it produced a vast change in the attitude of the Jews iu
Jerusalem. It had been the fashion in the great city to ridicule
our prophet and his disciples. Men thought it absurd for a
prophet to come from Galilee, or that any good could proceed
from Nazareth. But as soon as this history of Lazarus was noised
abroad, a change came over the city. Men stood in groups talk-
ing about it, and declaring that Jesus was certainly the King who
was to come. Even iu the Sauhedriu, and among the priests of
373 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
the temple, many declared that they would follow him as soou as
he openly claimed the office. Dark threats began to be uttered
against the chief priests and the Pharisees who were opposed to
him.
"This is always the way," men said. " They build tombs to
the prophets who lived five hundred years ago ; but as soou as
God sends us a new prophet, they try to kill him. But they shall
not kill Jesus, even if we have to pull down the temj^le over their
heads."
Tluis the city was full of ferment. And the enemies of Jesus
became much alarmed, and did not dare to speak openly against
him ; but privately, as I afterward heard, they discussed the plan
of seizing Lazarus by night, smothering him, so that no sign of
violence should appear, and putting him secretly in the sepulchre
where he was before. Then they meant to deny that any such
wonder had been done, and intended to invite those who believed
in it to choose a number of persons to examine the sepulchre, and
see if his body were not still there. Such was the plan, but I
suppose they found it too difficult to execute. Nevertheless, they
took among themselves a resolution, confirming it with an oath,
that Jesus should be put to death as soou as they could find a
way to accomplish their purpose.
Life and Times of Jesus, us Related hy Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 329.
"Wild Legends abowt Lazarus
Of the after-history of Lazarus, with one momentary exception,
we know nothing, for none of the numerous traditions and legends
respecting him are reliable. He is said to have been thirty years
old when he was raised from the dead, and to have lived for
thirty years after ; to have been of royal descent ; to have owned
a whole quarter of Jerusalem, and to have been, by profession, a
soldier. His bones were said to have been found in the year
A. D. 890, with those of Mary Magdalene, in the island of Cyprus !
and the remains thus honoured were carried to Constantinople.
Other traditions take him to Marseilles, and speak of him as the
first Christian bishop of that city. But the very extravagance of
these legends shows their worthlessness as history.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 334.
XXVIII
A FUGITIVE ONCE MOEE
Then one deep love doth supersede
All other.
— Tennyson.
** If We Let Him Go on Like This, Every One Will Believe
in Him !^*
Therefoee the ruliug priests aud Pharisees assembled a
council, aud said, "What are we doiug while this mau is per-
forming all these miracles'? If we let him go on like this every
oue will believe iu him, aud the Eomaus will come aud take away
our place aud natiou."
But a certain oue of them, Caiaphas, beiisg the high priest that
year, said to them: "You do not know anything nor consider
that it is profitable for us that one mau should die for the people,
aud that the whole natiou should not jDerish."
But he did not say this from himself but, being high priest that
year, prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the natiou : aud
not only for the natiou, but also that he might unite the children
of God who have been scattered abroad.
Therefore from that day they conspired together to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked among the Jews publicly, but went
away from there into the country near the desert, to a town
called Ephraim, aud there he remained with his disciples.
John xi. 47-54. A literal rendering from the Greek.
To Prove a Miracle Is to Prove It Was Not a Miracle
Instinctively we feel that such a miracle as the raising of Lazarus
calls for more than merely logical formulas. Heart aud mind crave
something higher than questions of what may be logically pos-
sible or impossible. AVe want, so to speak, living evidence, aud
we have it. We have it, first of all, iu the person of the lucar-
373
374 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
nate God, who came not ouly to abolish death, but iu whose
presence the continuance of disease aud death was impossible.
And we have it also in the narrative of the event itself.
It were, indeed, an absurd demand to prove a miracle, since to
do so were to show that it was not a miracle. But we may be
rationally asked these three things : first, to show that no other
explanation is rationally possible than that which proceeds on
the ground of its being a miracle ; secondly, to show, that such
a view of it is consistent with itself and with all the details of the
narrative ; aud, thirdly, that it is harmonious with what pre-
cedes and what follows the narrative. The second aud third of
these arguments will be the outcome of our later study of the
history of the event ; the first, that no other explanation of the
narrative is rationally possible, must now be briefly attempted.
We may here dismiss, as what would not be entertained by any
one familiar with historical inquiries, the idea that such a narra-
tive could be au absolute invention, ungrounded on any fact.
Again, we may put aside as repugnant to, at least English, com-
mon sense, the theory that Lazarus was not really dead (so, the
rationalists). Nor would any one, who had the faintest sym-
pathy with the moral standpoint of the Gospels, entertain the
view of M. Renan, that it was all a "pious fraud" concocted
between all parties, and that, in order to convert Jerusalem by a
signal miracle, Lazarus had himself dressed up as a dead body
and laid in the family tomb.
Scarcely more rational is M. Renan's latest suggestion, that it
was all a misunderstanding : M.utha and Mary having told Jesus
the wish of friends, that lie sliculd do some notable miracle to
convince the Jews, and suggesting that they would believe if one
rose from the dead, when He had replied, that they would not
believe even if Lazarus rose from his grave — and that tradition
had transformed this conversation into an actual event ! I^or,
finally, would English common sense readily believe (with Baur),
that the whole narrative was an ideal composition to illustrate
what must be regarded as the metaphysical statement: "I am
the Resurrection and the Life." Among ourselves, at least, no
serious refutation of these and similar views can be necessary.
The Life and Times of Je.ius the .Vtss/ti/t, Alfred Edersheiiu, M. A. Oxon.,
D.D,, Ph.D., Vol. II, p. 310.
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 375
** Go, Show Yourselves to the Priests ! **
As both Galilee aud Samaiua were uow closed to Hiin, He could
only journey ou His way to Perea, dowu iu the valley of Beth-
sheau, between the borders of both proviuces. There a very
touching iucideut occurred. Ou the outskirts of one of the vil-
lages, a dull, harsh, plaintive cry smote His ears, and looking up
He saw "ten men who were lepers," united iu a community of
deadly misery. They were afar off, for they dared not aj)proach,
since their approach was pollution, and they were obliged to
warn away all who would have come near them by the heart-rend-
ing cry, . . "Unclean! unclean!"
There was something in that living death of leprosy — recalling
as it did the most frightful images of suffering aud degradation,
corrupting as it did the very fountains of the life-blood of man,
distorting his countenance, rendering loathsome his touch, slowly
encrusting and affecting him with a plague-spot of disease far more
horrible than death itself — which always seems to have thrilled
the Lord's heart with a keen aud instantaneous compassion.
And never more so than at this moment.
Scarcely had He heard their piteous cry of " Jesus, Master,
have mercy ou us," than instantly, without suthcient pause even
to approach them more nearly, He called aloud to them, "Go,
show yourselves unto the priests." They knew the signifi-
cance of that command : they knew that it bade them hurry off to
claim from the priest the recognition of their cure, the certificate
of their restitution to every rite and privilege of human life.
Already, at the sound of that i^otent voice, they felt a stream of
wholesome life, of recovered energy, of purer blood, pulsing
through their veins ; and as they went they were cleansed.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 110.
** But Where Are the Nine ? **
And it came to i^ass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem,
that he was passing along the border of Samaria and Galilee.
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men
that were lepers, who stood afar oft' : and they lifted up their
voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
And when he saw them, he said to them, Go aud show your-
selves to the priests.
876 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And it came to pass, as tliey went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
with a loud voice glorifying God ; and he fell upon his face at his
feet, giving him thanks : and he was a Samaritan.
And Jesus answering said. Were not the ten cleansed ? but
where are the nine? Were there none found that returned to
give glory to God, except this alien !
And he said to him, Get up, and go thy way : thy faith has
saved thee.
LuTce xvii. 11-19. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
A School of Magic Would Have Been the Issue
The four narrators of the life of Jesus are unanimous in extolling
his miracles. One of them, Mark, spokesman of the Apostle Peter,
insists so much on this point, that, if we were to trace the features
of the Christ only according to this Gospel, we should think of
Jesus as an exorcist who possessed some talisman of rare efficacy,
— a very potent sorcerer, who inspired fear, and whom people
wished to escape from.
We will admit, then, without hesitation, that acts which would
now be considered as showing illusion or insanity held a large
place in the life of Jesus. Must we sacrifice to this uninviting
aspect the sublime features of such a life! No such thing ! A
mere sorcerer would not have brought about a moral revolution
like that effected by Jesus. If the miracle- monger had effaced in
him the moralist and the religious reformer, not Christianity but
a school of magic would have been the issue.
The Life of Jesus, Ernest Renau, p. 275.
On Marriage and Divorce
And there came unto him Pharisees, testing him, and saying, Is
it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he who made
them from the beginning made them male and female, and said,
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall
cleave to his wife ; and the two shall become one flesh ? So that
they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath
joined together, let not man put asunder.
\Vm. Hole
" BUT WHERE ARE THE NINE? "
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 377
They say unto bim, Why theu did Moses commaud to give a
bill of divorcement, and to put her away ?
He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered
you to put away your wives : but from the begiuuiug it hath not
been so.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except
for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: aud
he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery.
The disciples say unto him. If the case of the man is so with his
wife, it is not expedient to marry. But he said unto them, ISTot
all men receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. For
there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb :
aud there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men : and
there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom
of heaven's sake.
He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
Matthew xix. 3-12. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
** God Made Man and Woman at the Same Time **
" Have you never read," answered He, " that the Creator of men
made mau and woman at the same time, in the very beginning of
our race, aud gave them to each other as husband and wife? And
do you not know that so intimate was the relation thus instituted,
that, close though the connection be between parents and children,
God has said that that between man aud wife is so much closer,
that a son, who, before, was under his parents, and was bound
more closely to them thau to any other persons in the world, is to
separate himself from his father and mother when he marries, and
to form a still nearer relationship with his wife — such a relation-
ship that the two shall become, as it were, one. As soon as a mau
and woman are married, therefore, the two make, together, only
one being. But since it is God who has joined them thus, divorce
is the putting asunder by man of what God has made into one.
Marriage is a sacred union, and mau is not to regard it as some-
thing which he can undo at his pleasure."
ISTothiug could be said against this from natural grounds, but
the objection lay ready tliat the law of Moses was not so strict,
and a prospect offered of forcing Jesus either to contradict Him-
self, or to pronounce openly against the great founder of the
378 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
uatiou. "If this be so," said they, "how comes it that Moses
permitted a man to divorce his wife ? for you know that he says
that writings of divorcement might be given where a divorce was
wished, aud these dissolved the marriage."
"Moses," replied our Lord, "did, indeed, suffer you to put
away your wives, to prevent a greater evil. He did so as a states-
man and a law-giver, from the necessities of the age, which made
auy better law impracticable. Our fathers were too rude aud
headstrong to permit his doing more. But, though he did not
prohibit divorce, because the feelings of the times did not allow
him to do so, it does not follow from this that his action in this
matter was the original law of the Creator, or that conscieuce aud
religion sanction such separations. I say, therefore, that whoever
puts away his wife, except for fornicatiou, which destroys the
very essence of marriage by dissolving the oneness it had formed,
and shall marry another, commits adultery ; and whoever marries
her who is put away for any other cause commits adultery, be-
cause the woman is still, in God's sight, wife of him who has
divorced her."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 348.
Children Saw in Him One of Themselves
It was because they saw in him one of themselves, that chil-
dren gathered at his knee. In a deep sense Jesus never grew up.
To the disciplined vigors of manhood he joined the wondering
wisdom and the joyousness of childhood — the wide-open hand
and heart. A genius is one who is a child at forty. Jesus
championed the cause of genius against the care-laden dulness of
a civilization cowed by its possessions.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 123.
** Let the Little Ones Come to Me **
And they were bringing little children to him that he might
touch them : aud the disciples reproved those who brought them.
But Jesus having seen this, was indignant, and said to them,
" Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of God is filled with this sort.
"Indeed, I tell you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom
of God as a little child, shall not get into it auy way."
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 37:t
Aud having taken them in his arms, he put his bauds ou them
and blessed them.
Mark x. 13-16, A literal renderiug from the Greek.
** Lat the Wee Bairns Coom tae Me **
The Maister sat iu a wee cot house
Tae the Jordan's watters uear,
An' the fisherfolk crush'd aud croodet roon'
The Maister's words tae hear.
Au' eveu the bairus frae nearhan' streets
Kept mixiu' iu wi' the thrang,
Laddies and lassies wi' wee bare feet,
Jinkin' the crood amang.
An' ane o' the twal' at the Maister's side
Ris up au' cried alood :
" Come, come, bairus, this is nae place for you.
Riu awa' oot o' the crood."
But the Maister said, as they turned tae go,
" Lat the wee bairns coora tae Me."
An' He gaithert them roon' Him wbaur He sat,
An' lifted ane up on His knee.
Aye, He gaithert them roon' Him whaur He sat,
An' He straikit their curly hair,
An' He said to the wunnerin' fisherfolk
Wha croodet aroon' Him there :
"Send na the weans awa' frae Me,
But raither this lesson learn.
That uane'll win iu at heaven's yett [gate]
Wha is na as puir's a bairn."
An' He that has ta'en us for kith and kin,
Tho' a Prince o' the far awa',
Gaithert them roon' Him whaur He sat,
An' blisset them ane an' a'.
The Maister and the Bnirns. au anonj'mous Scotch poem.
A Certain Rich Young Man
Aud as he was going forth on his way, there ran one to him,
aud kneeled to him, and asked him. Good Teacher, what shall I
do that I may inherit eternal life ?
380 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And Jesus said unto hiin, Why callest thou me good *? uoue is
good save oue, even God.
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill. Do not com-
mit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not
defraud. Honour thy father and mother.
And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things have I ob-
served from my youth.
And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him,
Oue thiug thou lackest : go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come,
follow me.
But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sor-
rowful : for he was one that had great possessions.
3Iark x. 17-22. Revised Version, using Marginals,
Wished to Join His Chttrch
A young man, attracted by the character and doctrines of
Jesus, came to him and requested permission to join his Church.
He was of noble birth. He was very wealthy. He was a man
of exemplary character and of warm enthusiasms. He had been
a dutiful son and an upright citizen. He was very much in
earnest. He came running to Jesus, kneeled at his feet, and
addressed him as " Good Master." He was quite ready . . .
to accept him as his Rabbi. It is not quite so clear that he was
prepared to recognize in him the diviue Messiah, the Son of God.
Jesus tried the depth of his faith in this respect by a test question.
" Why," said he, "callest thou me good ? There is none good
but one — God ! " To this question the young man made no reply.
Jesus was nevertheless strongly attracted to him. But to enter
his discipleship there had been from the first one condition — for-
sake all and follow him. In tliat little Church it was absolutely
essential that no member should be bound by any ties to the
earth : for its internal harmony, quite essential that there should
be no distiuctious based on wealth or family.
"Go," said he, " sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasures in heaven ; and come and follow me."
This demand was very different from that of the medieval
hierarchy, which said. Sell that thou hast and give to the Church.
Jesus simply demanded of this candidate that he share with his
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 381
compauions their privations, tlieir poverty, and their faith iu
God. He laid ou him no other cross than that which had been
voluntarily assumed by all his disciples, who had left their all to
follow Jesus.
But this was too much for the rich young noble, and he went
away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. Thus Christ
exemplified, in part, the meaning of his counsel :
" Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many shall seek to
enter iu and shall not be able."
The door is open to all, but it is entered by none without a
struggle.
Jesus of Nazareth, Lyman Abbott, p. 362.
** The Great RefusaP'
The youth had not expected a reply so obvious and so simple.
He cannot believe that he is merely referred to the Ten Com-
mandments, and so he asks, in surprise, "What sort of com-
mandments 1 ' '
Jesus, as the youth wanted to do something, tells him merely
of those of the Second Table, for, as has been well remarked,
" Christ sends the proud to the Law, and invites the humble to
the Gospel."
"Master," replied the youth in surprise, "all these have I
observed from my youth."
Doubtless iu the mere letter he may have done so, as millions
have ; but he evidently knew little of all that those command-
ments had been interpreted by the Christ to mean.
And Jesus, seeing his sincerity, looking on him loved him, and
gave him one short crucial test of his real condition. He was not
content with the commonplace ; he aspired after the heroical, or
rather thought that he did ; therefore Jesus gave him a heroic act
to do.
" One thing," He said, " thou lackest," and bade him go, sell
all he had, distribute it to the poor, and come and follow Him.
It was too much. The young ruler went away very sorrowful,
grief in his heart, and a cloud upon his brow, for he had great
possessions. He preferred the comforts of earth to the treasures
of heaven ; he would not purchase the things of eternity by
abandoning those of time; he made, as Dante calls it, 'Hhe
,^82 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
great refusal." And so lie vanishes from the Gospel history ;
nor do the Evangelists know anything of him farther.
But the sad, stern imagination of the poet follows him, and
there, among the myriads of those who are blown about like
autumn leaves on the confines of the other world, blindly follow-
ing the flutter of a giddy flag, rejected by Heaven, despised even
by Hell, hateful alike to God and to his enemies, he sees . . .
" The shade of him
Who made, through cowardice, the great refusal."
{—Dante.)
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 161.
"How Hard for the Rich to Get into the Kingdom!**
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples,
How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom
of God !
And the disciples were amazed at his words.
But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children,
how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the
kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's
eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
And they were astonished exceedingly, saying among them-
selves. Then who can be saved '?
Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but
not with God : for all things are possible with God.
Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have
followed thee.
Jesus said. Verily I say unto you. There is no man that hath
left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or chil-
dren, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel's sake, but that
he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lauds, with
persecutions : and in the world to come, eternal life.
But many that are first shall be last : and the last first.
Mark x. 23-31, Revised Version, usiug Marginals.
Timidity and Stupidity of Wealth
Property is a natural born coward, and opposes a Chinese
rigidity to every suggestion of change. Here and there a prop-
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 383
ertied individual gets over being timid and becomes a free man j
but this is an acquired trait. Natively the pocket-book has a
weak heart — gets palpitation easily. Regard for the pocket-book
makes for mediocrity, for a " safe," that is, a conventional career,
timorous of change.
Jesus was a foe to anaemia in all of its forms. He called people
to live on the pins side of life rather than on the minus side. He
even held that it is better to go too far in the plus direction rather
than not far enough. The elder brother in the parable has one
fault, he was incurably commonplace — uninteresting respecta-
bility. This is why he suffers in contrast with the adventurous
younger brother. The curse of a property-ridden civilization is
its unendurable dulness. Under the timidity which the cares of
wealth enforce, spontaneity is crushed out, originality is choked ;
genius dies, smothered beneath the ''goods of this world."
Jesus could not sufficiently stress his contempt of the man who
has gained the whole world but has lost spirit.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 120,
Telling the Disciples Again "What Was before Them
And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem ; and Jesus
was going before them : and they were amazed ; but some, as
they followed, were afraid.
And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the
tiling^ that were to happen unto him, saying, Behold, we go up
to Jerusalem ; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the
chief priests and the scribes ; and they shall condemn him to
death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles : and they shall
mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and
shall kill him ; and after three days he shall rise again.
Blark x. 32-34. Revised Version, using Marginals.
A Joy in His Eyes
This he said, with a joy in his eyes I had seldom seen. Then
he spoke again, and his voice was like tender music in our ears.
"No, ray children, there is a power in what God has given me
to reveal, which is immortal. Death cannot touch it, but it will
conquer death. Therefore be not alarmed, if those who hate me
seem to triumph ; for the decisive hour is at hand.
384 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
''We go to Jerusalem soou, and for the last time. You have
seeu me patieut while I have taught iu Galilee, but uow you will
see me firm. The hour has come for words of strength : the final
struggle is at hand. Those who have power iu their hands by
whom the people have been led, must see a mightier power than
their own iu their midst, or they will not submit.
"But I see plainly that they will uot yield. So long they have
ruled, that they will not surrender. They will verily think that
they ought to kill me, and thej^ will kill me. Children, you go
to Jerusalem to see me die. "
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated hy Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 223.
Mistaken Ambition of Salome for Her Sons
Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her
sous, worshiping him, and asking a certain thing of him.
And he said unto her. What wouldest thou %
She saith unto him, Command that these my two sous may sit,
cue on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said. Ye know not what ye ask. Are
ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink ?
They say unto him, We are able.
He saith unto tliem, My cup indeed ye shall drink : but to sit
on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give, but
it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation
concerning the two brethren.
But Jesus called them unto him and said. Ye know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones
exercise authority over them. Not so shall it be among you :
but whosoever would become great among you shall be your
servant ; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your
slave: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Matthew xx. 20-28. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
In the Region of Jericho
The upland pastures of Perea were now behind them, and the
road led down to the sunken channel of the Jordan, and the
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 385
"diviue district" of Jericho. This small but rich plain was
the most luxuriant spot in Palestine. Sloping gently upwards
from the level of the Dead Sea, 1,350 feet below the Mediter-
ranean, to the stern background of the hills of Quarantana, it had
the climate of Lower Egypt, and displayed the vegetation of the
tropics. Its fig-trees were preeminently famous : it was unique
in its groves of palms of various kinds : its crops of dates were a
proverb : the balsam-plant, which grew principally here, fur-
nished a costly perfume, and was in great repute for healing
wounds : maize yielded a double harvest : wheat ripened a whole
month earlier than in Galilee, and innumerable bees found a
paradise in the many aromatic flowers and plants, not a few
unknown elsewhere, which filled the air with odors, and the laud-
scape with beauty.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 361.
Going to Lodge with Zaecheus
And he entered and was passing through Jericho. And be-
hold, a man called by name Zacchseus ; and he was a chief
publican, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus who he was ; and could not for the
crowd, because he was little of stature. And he ran on before, and
climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him : for he was to pass
that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto
him, Zacchseus, make haste, and come down ; for to-day I must
abide in thy house.
And he made haste, and came down, and received him joy-
fully.
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He is gone
to lodge with a man that is a sinner.
And Zacchteus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I have wrongfully
exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.
And Jesus said unto him, To-day is salvation come to this
house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was
lost.
Luke xLx. 1-10. Revised Version.
386 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
**Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!**
And as he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great
multitude, the son of Timseus, Bartimseus, a blind beggar, was
sittiug by the wayside.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to
cry out and say, Jesus, thou sou of David, have mercy on me.
And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace : but
he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy
on me.
And Jesus stood still, and said. Call ye him.
And they call the blind man, saying unto him. Be of good
cheer : rise, he calleth thee.
And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to
Jesus.
And Jesus answered him, and said. What wilt thou that I
should do unto Ihee?
And the blind man said unto him, Rabboni, that I may receive
my sight.
And Jesus said unto him. Go thy way ; thy faith hath saved
thee. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him
in the way.
Mark x. 46-52. Revised Versiou, using oue Marginal.
**Fear Not, Arise, He Calleth Thee!**
(An attempt has been made to render from tlie Greek the beautiful dialogue
between the blind man and the Master. W. W, )
Blind Bartimeus at the gates
Of Jericho in darkness waits ;
He hears the crowd ;— he hears a breath
Say, " It is Christ of Nazareth ! "
And calls in tones of agony,
[Greek] "Jesus, have mercy now on me ! "
The thronging multitudes increase ;
Blind Bartimeus, hold thy peace !
But still, above the noisy crowd,
The beggar's cry is shrill and loud ;
Until they say, " He calleth thee ! "
[Greek] " Fear not, arise, He calleth thee ! "
Wm. Hole
JESUS, SON OF DAVID, TAKE PITY ON ME!
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 387
Then saith the Christ, as silent stands
The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands? "
And he replies, " O give me light !
Rabbi, restore the blind man's sight."
And Jesus answers,
[Greek] " Go in peace
Thy faith from blindness gives release ! "
Ye that have eyes yet cannot see,
In darkness and in misery,
Recall those mighty Voices Three,
[Greek] " Jesus, have mercy now on me !
Fear not, arise, and go in peace !
Thy faith from blindness gives release ! "
Blind BartimeuSf Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Poetical Works, p. 22.
Would He Come up to the Feast ?
Meanwliile, all classes alike, in Jerusalem, discussed the proba-
bility of Christ's comiug to the feast. The excitement among the
people was evident, and increased the alarm of the [Jewish Church]
party, for how could they withstand Him, if He once gained general
popular support? The advice of Caiaphas had, therefore, been
accepted as the policy of the party at large, and orders had been
issued that He should be arrested at once, when found. It was
even required that any one who knew where He was should report
it, with a view to His apprehension.
In the midst of this commotion, Jesus quietly entered Bethany,
on the sixth day before the Passover. It was, however, impossi-
ble for Him to remain concealed. The news passed from mouth,
to mouth, and the street of the village soon became thronged with
visitors, who came, not only to see Him, but to see Lazarus also,
whom they heard He had raised from the dead. The high priests
began to question whether they could not manage to put him,
also, to death. The sight of him was winning many disciples to
Jesus. They would try.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 368.
The Swpper in Bethany
Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand : and many went up
to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, to purify
themselves.
388 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
They souglit therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another,
as they stood in the temple, What think ye. That he will not
come to the feast ?
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given command-
ment, that if any man knew where he was, he should shew it,
that they might take him.
Jesus therefore six days before the passover came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead.
So they made him a supper there : and Martha served ; but
Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him.
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of genuine uard, very
precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with
her hair : and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, which should betray him,
saith, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings,
and given to the poor'?
Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor ; but be-
cause he was a thief, and having the box, took away what was
put therein.
Jesus therefore said. Let her alone to keep it against the day of
my burying. For the poor ye have always with you ; but me ye
have not always.
The common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was
there : and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they
might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus
also to death ; because that by reason of him many of the Jews
went away, and believed on Jesus.
John xi. 55-xii. 11. Revised Version , using Marginals.
The Most Touching Expression of Love He Ever Received
The action of Mary in itself is a revelation of perhaps the most
wonderful and touching expression of love the Saviour ever re-
ceived, while the action of Judas was the most dastardly to which
He was ever subjected. Mary's love is the brightest gleam, and
Judas's treachery the darkest shade in these final hours. It is
important, moreover, that they should thus be closely connected,
and that the one should have led directly to the other. Contact
with Christ in the neighbourhood of the Cross always brings the
A FUGITIVE ONCE MORE 389
true character to the light. The strong sympathetic love of Mary,
and the instinct of greed which cursed Judas, are revealed at the
same time.
The action of Mary according to the King's interpretation of it,
was a revelation of the fact that she had in some measure appre-
hended the sorrows of His heart.
The criticism of the disciples was a revelation of how far they
were away from Him in these days of His supreme sorrow.
His defence of Mary is full of beauty, and constitutes the only
occasion when He suggested that a memorial should be granted
to any one in this world.
The Analyzed Bible, The Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D, D., The Gospel
According to Blatthew, p. 277.
One Deep Love Doth Supersede All Other
Her eyes are homes of silent prayer,
Nor other thought her mind admits
But, he was dead, and there he sits,
And He that brought him back is there.
Then one deep love doth supersede
All other, when her ardent gaze
Roves from the living brother's face,
And rests upon the Life indeed.
All subtle thought, all curious fears,
Borne down by gladness so complete,
She bows, she bathes her Saviour's feet
With costly spikenard and with tears.
Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers,
Whose loves in higher love endure ;
Whose souls possess themselves so pure,
Or is there blessedness like theirs ?
In Memoriam, Alfred Tennyson, Poetical Works, p. 114.
XXIX
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE
"If thou hadst known, even thou ! "
— Jesus the Christ.
No More Precious Possession
Christianity has uo more precious possession than the memory
of Jesus during the week when He stood face to face with death.
Unspeakably great as He always was, it may be reverently said
that He was never so great as during those days of direst calamity.
All that was grandest and all that was most tender, the most hu-
man and the most divine aspects of His character, were brought
out as they had never been before.
He came to Jerusalem well aware that He was about to die.
For a whole year the fact had been stariug Him constantly in the
face, and the long-looked-for had come at last. He knew it
was His Father's will, and, when the hour arrived. He bent His
steps with sublime fortitude to the fatal spot. It was not, how-
ever, without a terrible conflict of feelings ; the ebb and flow of
the most diverse emotions — anguish and ecstasy, the most pro-
longed and crushing depression, the most triumphant joy and the
most majestic peace — swayed hither and thither within Him like
the moods of a vast ocean.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 120.
** Behold, Thy King Is Coming »-
When they approached Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, on
the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
" Go into the village opposite, and immediately you shall find
an ass tied, and a colt with her : let them loose , and bring them
to me.
"And if any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The
Lord hath need of them ' ; and he will send them at once. "
Now this has come to pass, in order that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
390
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 891
" Tell the daughter of Zion,
Behold, thy King cometh unto the«,
Meek, aud riding upon an ass,
And upon a colt the foal of an ass."
Matthew xxi. 1-5. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The Whole Multitude Began to Rejoice
Aud they that were seut went away, and found it just as he
had said to them.
And as they were untying the colt, the owners of it said to
them, " Why are you letting the colt loose ? "
And they said, "The Lord has need of it."
Aud they brought it to Jesus : and they threw their garments
upou the colt, aud set Jesus upon it.
And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. And
as he was now coining near, just at the descent of the Mount of
Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and
praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which
they had seen, chanting,
"Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord :
peace in heaven, aud glory in the highest ! ' '
Luke xix, 32-38. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The People and the Pharisees
The common people that had come to the feast, when they
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of
the palm trees, aud went forth to meet him, and cried out,
Hosanna ; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,
even the Kiug of Israel.
Aud Jesus, having found a young ass, sat on it ; as it is
written,
Fear not, daughter of Ziou : behold, thy King cometh, sitting
on an ass's colt.
These things his disciples did not understand at first : but when
Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were
written of him, and that they had done these things to him.
John xii. 12-16, Revised Version, with Marginals and ancient authorities.
And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said unto him,
Master, rebuke thy disciples.
392 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And he answered and said, I tell you that, if they hold their
peace, the stones will cry out.
Luke xix. 39, 40. Ke vised Version.
The multitude therefore that was with him when he called
Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bare
witness.
For this cause also the multitude went and met him, for that
they heard that he had done this sign.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Behold how ye
prevail nothing : lo, the world is gone after him !
John xii. 17-19. Revised Version.
** Give Victory, O God, to the Son of David ! **
There were three paths over the Mount of Olives — on the north,
in the hollow between the two crests of the hill ; next, over the
summit ; and on the south, between the Mount of Olives and the
Hill of Offence — still the most frequented and the best. Along
this Jesus advanced, preceded and followed by multitudes, with
loud cries of rejoicing, as at the Feast of Tabernacles, when the
great Hallel was daily sung in their processions. [As they do in
the East] their acclamations took a rhythmical form, which was
long chanted in the early Church, as the first Christian hymn.
*' Give (Thou) the triumph, (O Jehovah), to the Son of David !
Blessed be the kingdom of our Father David, now to be restored in the
name of Jehovah !
Blessed be He that cometh — the King of Israel — in the name of
Jehovah !
Our peace and salvation (now comiug) are from God above !
Praised be He in the highest heavens (for sending them by Him, the Son
of David) !
From the highest heavens, send Thou, now, salvation ! "
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. 11, p. 373.
The Choir Invisible
In all triumphal processions there is a "choir invisible," ac-
companying the visible throng. Sometimes they are chanting
dirges over the wrecks, the distress and poverty and bloodshed,
ravaged fields, ruined villages, widows and orphans, crimes and
cruelties, which the victories left in their path. Sometimes they
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 393
are singing hymns of joy over the good accomplished, the progress
of all that is good for man, intermingled with many a minor
chord of sorrow.
If Christ had opened the eyes of those looking upon this scene
as the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, so that they might
see the invisible and hear the inaudible, no pen could picture the
real triumphant procession. They would have seen the vast
multitude of those whom he had healed and comforted and saved
from sin, — Lazarus, Bartimeus, the ten lepers, the widow of Nain's
son, the ruler's daughter, a host of those whom he had raised
from the dead, those from whom he had cast out devils, the blind
whom he had made to see, and the lame who now walked, the
lepers he had cleansed, those who had been delivered from the
bondage of their si us and brought to the light of the Gospel.
There would join them the angels who sang at his birth, Moses
and Elijah, who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, and
the twelve legions of angels he once said were ready at his call.
Heaven would swiftly have emptied itself, and all its choirs would
joyfully have come down to do him honor, and sing their songs
of joy over many sinners brought to repentance.
The triumphs of Caesar and Pompey were but child's play to
this. Not all of earth's monarchs together could have summoned
such a procession. Imagination fails to paint the picture of
Christ's real triumphal procession. What a j)icture this would
make for an artist who would fill the air around and above the ac-
tual procession with these persons, as the space around Raphael's
picture of the infant Jesus is filled with a cloud of angel faces.
Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1901, F. N. Peloubet, D. D.,
p. 25.
**0 That Thou Hadst Known!"
And when he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, say-
ing, O that thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things
which belong unto peace ! But now they are hidden from thine
eyes.
For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall
throw up an embankment and compass thee round, and besiege
thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and
thy children within thee ; and they shall not leave in thee one
394 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
stoue upon another ; because thou didst not know the time of thy
visitation.
Luke sir. 41-44. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
The Scene Overpowered Even Himself
The whole scene was overpowering, even to Jesus Himself.
He was crossing the ground on which, a generation later, the
tenth Roman legion would be encamped, as part of the besieg-
ing force destined to lay all the splendour before Him in ashes.
Knowing the future as He did, His heart was filled with inde-
scribable sadness, for He was a patriot aud a man, though also
the Son of God. Looking at the spectacle before Him, aud think-
ing of the contrast a few years would show, tears burst from His
eyes, and His disciples heard Him sayiug — "Would that thou
hadst known, thou, Jerusalem, in this thy day, when" I come,
who, alone, can bring it — what would giv^e thee peace and safety !
But now, thou seest not what only could make them thine — the
receiving me as the Messiah ! Days will come upon thee, when
thine enemies will raise a mount about thee, and compass thee
round, and invest thee on every side, aud level thee with the
ground, and bury thy children under thy ruins, aud leave not one
stone in thee upon another, because thou kuewest not the time
when God, through me, offered thee salvation ! "
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 375.
After Looking arottnd in the Temple
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred,
saying, "Who is this?
And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from
Nazareth of Galilee.
llattheiv xxi, 10, 11. Revised Version.
And he returned iuto Jerusalem, into the temple ; and when he
had looked rouud about upon all things, it beiug now eventide,
he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Mark xi. 11. Revised Version.
What Would Have Happened ?
There is no point in the life of Jesus at which we are more
urged to ask, What would have happened if His claim had been
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 396
conceded — if the citizens of Jerusalem had been carried away
with the enthusiasm of the provincials, and the prejudices of
priests and scribes had been borne down before the torrent of
public approval? Would Jesus have put Himself at the head
of the nation and inaugurated an era of the world's history totally
different from that which followed? These questions very soon
carry us beyond our depth, yet no intelligent reader of the
Gospels can help asking them.
Jesus had formally made offer of Himself to the capital and the
authorities of the nation, but met with no response. The pro-
vincial recognition of His claims was insufficient to carry a
national assent. He accepted the decision as final. The multi-
tude expected a signal from Him, and in their excited mood
would have obeyed it, whatever it might have been. But He
gave them none, and, after looking round about Him for a little
in the temple, left them and returned to Bethany.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 116.
Blasting a Fig-tree
Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he was hungry.
And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, he came to it, and found
nothing on it but leaves ; and he said to it,
" Let there be no fruit from thee henceforth for ever ! "
Mattheiv xxi. 18, 19. A literal rendering from the Greek,
And as they passed by in the morning [after], they saw the fig-
tree withered away from the roots.
And Peter calling to remembrance said to him, "Rabbi, look !
The fig-tree which thou didst curse is withered away."
And Jesus answering said to them, ' ' Have faith in God. Indeed
I say to you, Whoever shall say to this mountain, ' Be taken up
and thrown into the sea' ; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that what he says is coming to pass ; he shall have it.
" Therefore I say to you. All things whatever you pray and ask
for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything
against any one ; that your Father also who is in heaven may
forgive you your trespasses."
Mark xi. 20-25. A literal rendering from the Greek.
396 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
His Only Miracle of Judgment
On His way to the city, the King performed the only miracle
of judgment which He ever wrought, as He by a word of com-
mand destroyed the fig-tree, whereon He found nothing but
leaves.
This action impressed His disciples, and they inquired "How
did the fig-tree immediately wither away? " It is interesting to
notice that they did not ask why He destroyed the tree, but how
He did it. There is nothing in the story to suggest either that
they understood His meaning, or that they did not. I think that
it is most probable that they thoroughly understood, but they
were perplexed as to tlie swiftness of the judgment, for we notice
that the word immediately is twice used, once in Matthew's de-
scription of what happened, and once in the inquiry of the
disciples.
Moreover, He did not give them any explanation of the mean-
ing, but answered the question as they asked it, affirming the
power of faith, and the power of prayer, as at their disposal for
doing even more wonderful things than they had seen done.
There can, however, be no doubt that the value of the miracle
was parabolic. There has been a good deal of discussion as to this
act of the Lord, as though in itself it were out of harmony with
strict justice, esj)ecially in view of Mark's declaration that "it
was not the season of figs." That declaration was evidently
literally true, for these thiugs happened in March, and the first
fig crop is not gathered until June. On the other hand, the early
fruit buds appear on the fig-tree in February, and its leaves unfold
in March. On this fig-tree the Lord found nothing but leaves
only. It is evident that there would be no fruit on this tree be-
cause its vitality had run to leaf. In that it was a perfect picture
of the Jewish nation, and His judgment on the tree was an equally
perfect symbol of the judgment to fall on the Jewish nation.
The Analyzed Bible, The Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., The Gospel
According to Matthew, p. 233.
Is Modern Religion ** the Barren Fig-tree ? **
(The Vieiv of an Enlightened Oriental)
Why did Jesus rebuke the fig-tree? Thoughtless men exult in
the absurdity of the act. Yet the fig-tree that is full of leaves,
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 397
aud does uot show a fruit upon which the wayfarer can satisfy
his hunger, contains within itself a pregnant lesson. It reminds
us of the . vane, how "every branch that beareth not fruit he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit,"
The vine-branch withereth, and men cast it into the fire ; the
fig-tree also withereth to its roots. Unfertile piety is a curse.
It is a by-word for the heathen, and a hissing for the infidel.
The religious man who abounds in words, as the fig-tree in leaves,
who is full of doctrines and authorities, but cannot yield a prac-
tical life upon which tired wayfarers can quench their hunger
aud thirst, only cumbers the ground.
The test of religion is in its reproductiveness. Any church that
practically does no good must cause its own removal. And any
church-member who does not bring forth an abundance of good
fruit must be taken away, and cast into the fire.
The barrenness of speculation, the fruitless controversies often
indulged in, the fine, unprofitable sermons which pulpits put
forth every summer aud winter, the dearth of genuine spirituality
and practical usefulness in religious bodies, might very well
necessitate the parable of the fig-tree.
Unless our creeds fertilize the world, and our lives furnish meat
aud drink to mankind, the curse uttered on barrenness will descend
upon us.
The Oriental Christ, P. C. Mozoomdar, p. 109.
The Children in the Temple
And Jesus entered the temple and threw out all those who sold
aud bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-
changers, and the seats of those that sold doves ; and he said to
them.
It is written. My house shall be called a house of prayer : but
you make it a den of robbers.
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple : and
he healed them.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful
things that he did, and the children that were crying in the
temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David ; they were
moved with indignation, and said to him, Hearest thou what
these are saying ?
398 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Aud Jesus said to them, Yes : did you uever read, Out of the
mouth of babes aud sucklings thou hast perfected praise 1
And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany,
and lodged there.
Matthew xxi. 12-17. Revised Version, with ancient and modern authorities.
" By Whose Authority ? **
And it came to pass, on one of the days, as he was teaching the
people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, there came upon
him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ; and they
spoke, saying to him.
Tell us : by what authority doest thou these things 1 or who is
he that gave thee this authority ?
And he answered and said to them, I also will ask you a
question ; and tell me :
The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men ?
Aud they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we shall say.
From heaven, he will say. Why did you not believe him? But
if we shall say. From men, all the people will stone us : for they
are persuaded that John was a prophet.
And they answered that they did not know where it was from.
And Jesus said to them. Neither do I tell you by what authority
I do these things.
Luke XX. 1-8. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc,
** I Will Ask You One Question ♦*
Jesus looked at them calmly, and replied, "I, also, will ask
you one question. If ye answer me, I will tell you by what
authority I do these things. The baptism of John the Baptist —
was it from heaveu, or of men ? "
Never saw I men so confused. Astonishment came over them,
and they hastily consulted together. All saw the dilemma in
which they were placed by this question which seemed so simi)le ;
for, if they admitted that John was sent by God, Jesus would
then have asked why tliey, the Great Council, who claimed the
power to know and decide concerning all prophets, had not be-
lieved in him? They would thus admit, that either by their own
ignorance, or disobedience to God's will, they had rejected a
prophet of God. Having done this, what right had they to
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 399
decide ou the claims of Jesus ? But tliey dared not say, iu the
presence of the people, that John had not been sent by God ; for
the death of John, slain by Herod for his fidelity, had made him
sacred in the eyes of the nation. He was now its great saint and
martyr.
Therefore the delegates hesitated, and at last replied that they
could not say. Then Jesus replied, ''Neither tell I you by what
authority I do these thiugs." And all men justified Jesus, say-
ing, " If these scribes and rulers are so ignorant of the things of
God, what right have they to decide upon the claims of this
prophet of Galilee ? "
Life and Times of Jesus, as Related by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 345,
The Sadducees Try to Entrap Him
And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, the ones who
say tl^ere is no resurrection ; and they asked him, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us, that if a man's brother die, having
a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and
raise up children for his brother.
"There were, for instance, seven brothers: and the first took
a wife, and died childless ; and the secoud ; and the third took
her ; and in the same way the seven also left no children, and
died. Afterward the woman also died.
"In the resurrection, therefore, of which brother shall she be
the wife ? For the seven had her as wife. "
And Jesus said to them, "The sous of this age marry and are
giveu in marriage : but they that are accounted worthy to attain
to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry,
nor are giveu iu marriage : for neither can they die any more :
for they are equal to the angels ; and are sons of God, being sous
of the resurrection.
" But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place
coucerniug the Bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abra-
ham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
" Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living : for all
live for him."
Aud certain of the scribes answering said, " Teacher, thou hast
well said."
Luke XX. 27-39. A literal rendering from the Greek.
400 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Pharisees and Herodians
And they send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the
Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. And when they
had come, they say to him. Teacher, we know that thou art true,
and carest not for any one : for thou regardest not the person of
men, but of a truth teachest the way of God : Is it lawful to give
tribute to Caesar, or not ? Shall we give, or shall we not give ?
But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why do you
try me? Bring me a shilling, that I may see it.
They brought it, and he said to them, Whose is this image and
suj)erscription ?
And they said to him, Csesar's.
And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are
Csesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
And they wondered greatly at him.
Mark xii. 13-17. Revised Version, with Marginals etc,
"Render to Caesar the Things That Are Caesar's **
" You hypocrites ? — you actors ! " replied He ; " I see through
your designs, and value your deceitful flatteries at their worth.
Why do you thus seek to entrap me, under pretence of religious
scruples, which you wish me to solve for you! Bring me the
coin you pay as the Roman tax."
A Roman denarius was presently brought Him — a coin which
the Jew hated intensely, for it was that in which the poll tax was
paid, and was, thus, the sign of slavery to the heathen. Besides,
it bore the idolatrous image of the Roman emperor, Tiberius, and
the legend of his authority. The emperors, to Vespasian, to
spare Jewish feeling, had a special coinage struck for Judea,
without a likeness on it, and only the name of the emperor and
the traditional Jewish emblems. But other coins, stamped with
the image of Augustus or Tiberius, naturally found their way to
Jerusalem, especially at the feasts. Such a coin was now handed
to Jesus, with the hope, doubtless, that the double abomination —
the idolatrous image on one side, and the legend of Jewish sub-
jection on the other — might provoke Him to some treasonable
expression. But the result proved the reverse.
" Whose image and superscription is this ? " asked He.
"Caesar's."
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 401
" Render, then, to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's, and to
God, the things that are God's."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 394.
A Scribe Who Was Not Far from the Kingdom
And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning to-
gether, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him,
What commandment is the first of all f
Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel ; The Lord our
God, the Lord is one : and thou shalt love the Lord thy God
from all thy heart, and from all thy soul, and from all thy mind,
and from all thy strength.
The second is this. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is none other commandment greater than these.
And the scribe said to him, Of a truth. Teacher, thou hast well
said that he is one ; and there is none other but he : and to love
him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with
all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is much
more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said to
him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.
3Iark xii. 28-34. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
They Dared Not Ask Him Another Question
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked
them a question, saying, What do you think of the Christ, whose
son is he *?
They say to him. The son of David.
He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call him
Lord, saying,
The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit on my right hand,
Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet ?
If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son ?
And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did any man
dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.
Matthew xxii. 41-46. Rarised Version, using Marginals, etc.
402 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Gifts with a G^mmefcial Value in the Future World
. . . Jesus passed into the great forecourt of the women,
fifteen steps below that of the men. It was a wide space of a
hundred and thirty-five cubits in length and breadth, and was
open to the people at large. Popular assemblies, indeed, were at
times held in it, and it was the scene of the torch-dance at the
Feast of Tabernacles. It was especially frequented, however, by
both sexes, because the building was there in which the pious
presented their offerings.
Jesus had sat down to rest, after the multiplied excitements of
the past hours, over against the treasury, where the continuous
stream of persons casting in their money necessarily attracted His
notice. As each came, He could judge by his appearance how
much he threw in. The poor could only give paltry coins, but
the rich cast in gold and silver ; some, doubtless, from an honest
zeal for the glory of God ; others, because alms, in the sordid
theology of the day, had their commercial value in the future
world.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 408.
The Poor Widow^s Farthing
And he sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the crowd
cast coin into the treasury : and many that were rich threw in
much.
And there came a poor widow, and she dropped in two mites,
which make a farthing. And he called to him his disciples, and
said to them, " Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all those that are casting into the treasury : for they all threw
in of their superfluity ; but she of her want put in all that she
had, even all her living."
Mark xii. 41-44. A literal rendering from the Greek.
The Others Cast Away, She Only Gave
Two mites, two drops, yet all her house and land
Fall from a steady heart, though trembling hand ;
The others' wanton wealth foams high, and brave ;
The others cast away, she oulj' gave.
The Widow^s Elites. Richard Crashaw, A Neio Library of Poetry and Song.
Edited by William Cullen Bryant, p. 362.
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 403
" Sir, We Wish to See Jesus **
Now there -were certain Greeks among those that went up to
worship at the feast : these therefore came to Philip, who was of
Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying. Sir, we would see
Jesus.
Philip Cometh and telleth Andrew : Andrew cometh, and Philip,
and they tell Jesus.
And Jesus answereth them, saying,
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into
the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone ; but if it die, it
beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it ; and he
that hateth his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am,
there shall also my servant be : if any man serve me, him will the
Father honor.
Now is my soul troubled ; and what shall I say "? Father, save
me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour.
Father, glorify thy name.
There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both
glorified it, and will glorify it again.
The multitude therefore, that stood by and heard it, said
that it had thundered : others said. An angel hath spoken to
him.
Jesus answered and said, This voice hath not come for my sake,
bat for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world : now
shall the prince of this world be cast out.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
myself.
But this he said, signifying by what manner of death he
should die.
The multitude therefore answered him, "We have heard out of
the law that the Christ abideth for ever : and how sayest thou,
The Son of man must be lifted up ? Who is this Son of man ?
Jesus therefore said unto them. Yet a little while is the light
among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness over-
take you not : and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not
whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light,
that ye may become sons of light.
404 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
These things spake Jesus, and he depai'ted aud hid himself
from them.
John xii. 20-36, American Revision.
The Jews Reject Their Messiah
But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they
did not believe in him : that the word of Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled which he spake.
Lord, who hath believed our report?
Aud to vs-hom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah said
again :
He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart ;
Lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart,
And should turn.
And I should heal them.
These things said Isaiah, because he saw his glory ; and he
spoke of him.
Nevertheless many, even of the rulers, believed on him ; but
because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should
be put out of the synagogue : for they loved the glory of men
more than the glory of God.
And Jesus cried, sayiug : He that believes on me, believes not
on me, but on him that sent me. And he that beholds me be-
holds him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that
whoever believes in me may not abide in the darkness. And if
any man hear my sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not :
for I came not to judge the world but to save the world. He that
rejects me and receives not my sayings, has one that judges him :
the word that I spoke, the same shall judge him in the last day.
For I spoke not from myself ; but the Father who sent me, he
has given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I
should speak. And I know that his commandment is life eter-
nal : the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has
said to me, so I speak.
John xii. 37-50. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 405
Judaism Had Chosen Its Own Way
The theology aud hieiarchy of Judaism had become, iu fact,
what Jesus opeuly declared them — whitewashed sepulchres, pure
to the eye, but with death aud corruptiou within. They had
proved that they were so, by rejectiug Him, because He de-
m^auded moral aud religious reform. Wedded to the false aud
immoral, they rather killed Him thau let Him lead them back
to God.
Over such a state of thiugs He could ouly raise His sad lameu-
tatiou ! Judaism had chosen its own way, and left Him to His.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 407.
Warnings of the End of the Temple, and of the Wofid
Aud Jesus went out from the temple, aud was goiug ou his
way ; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of
the temple.
But he answered aud said to them, Do you not see all these
things? Verily I say to you, there shall not be left here one
stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him
privately, saying. Tell us, wheu shall these things be? and what
shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ?
Aud Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man
lead you astray. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
the Christ ; aud shall lead many astray. And you shall hear of
wars and rumours of wars : see that you are not troubled : for these
things must needs come to pass ; but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king-
dom : aud there shall be famines aud earthquakes in divers places.
But all these thiugs are the beginniug of travail.
Then they shall deliver you up to tribulatiou, and shall kill you :
and you shall be hated for my name's sake.
And then shall many stumble, aud shall deliver up one another,
and shall hate one another.
Aud many false prophets shall arise, aud shall lead many astray.
And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many
shall grow cold.
Bat he that endures to the end the same shall be saved.
And these good tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in the
406 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations ; and then
shall the end come.
When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which
was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy
place, (let him that reads understand), then let them that are in
Judea flee to the mountains : let him that is on the housetop not
go down to take out the thiugs that are in his house : and let him
that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.
But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck
in those days !
And pray that your flight may not be in the winter, nor on a
sabbath : for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been
from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have
been saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is the Christ, or,
here, believe him not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, aud shall
show great signs and wonders ; so as to lead astray, if j)0ssible,
even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand.
If therefore th6y shall say to you. Behold, he is in the wilder-
ness ; go not forth : Behold, he is in the inner chambers ; believe
him not. For as the lightning cojnes forth from the east, and is
seen even from the west ; so shall be the j)resence of the coming
of the Son of man. Wherever the carcass is, there will the
vultures be gathered together.
But immediately, after the tribulation of those days, the sun
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, aud the
stars shall fiill from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall
be shaken : and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven : aud then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Sou of man coming on the clouds of heaven
with power aud great glory. And he shall send forth his angels
with a trumpet of great souud, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now from the fig-tree learn her parable : when her branch is
now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the
summer is near ; even so you also, when you see all these things,
know you that he is near, even at the doors.
TELLING THEM OF COMING DESTRUCTION
LAST DAYS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 407
Truly I saj to you, this geneiatiou shall uot pass away, till all
these thiugs are accomplished.
Heaven aud earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away. But of that day aud hour uo oue knows, uot eveu the
augels of heaven, but the Father ouly.
Aud as the days of Noah, so shall be the preseuce of the Sou of
man. For as iu those days which were before the flood they were
eatiug aud drinking, marrying and giving iu marriage, until the
day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew uot until the
flood came, aud took them all away ; so shall be the presence of
the Sou of man.
And there shall two men be iu the field ; oue is taken, aud oue
is left : two women shall be grinding at the mill ; oue is taken,
aud one is left.
Watch therefore : for you know uot ou what day your Lord is
coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had
known iu what watch the thief was coming, he would have
watched, aud would uot have allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore be also ready : for in an hour that you think not the
Son of man is coming.
Who then is the faithful aud wise servant, whom his lord has
set over his household, to give them their food iu due season ?
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find
so doing. Indeed I say to you, that he will set him over all that
he has.
But if that evil servant shall say iu his heart, My lord is de-
laying, aud shall begin to beat his fellowservauts, aud shall eat
and drink with the drunken ; the lord of that servant shall come
in a day when he does not expect and iu an hour when he is uot
aware, aud shall severely scourge him, aud appoint his portion
witli the hypocrites : there shall be the weepiug aud gnashing of
teeth.
Blatlheiv xxiv. 1-51. Revised, nsiug Marginals, modernised, etc.
A Last Sad Look of Quenchless Pity-
It was still early iu the afternoon, aud He might have stayed
iu the Temple till it shut at sunset, then a few minutes after six
iu the evening. But these were almost the last words He was to
speak as a public teacher. His mission to His nation was ended.
408 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
There remained only a brief interval of communion with the
loved ones round Him, and, then, would come the consummation
of Calvary, His work was over, except the final and greatest
act of all. Casting a last sad look of quenchless pity on all, He
turned away to Bethany, to seek seclusion till the time came for
His self-sacrifice. . . .
Once more, only, was the pleading voice raised. A number
of those near apparently followed Him as He retired, and He
could not tear Himself from them, without a final outburst of
yearning desire for their salvation. Turniug round, and raisiug
His voice till the sound rang far and wide, He cried : —
''Think not that the faith I demand in myself in any way
lessens or takes from the faith that is due to God. To believe in
me, and to believe in God, are the same thing. He who has that
faith in me, which the proofs I have given of my being sent from
God demand, believes not so much in me as in Him who sent me.
And thus, also, he who looks on me as on Him who sent me— on
the Godhead of my Father revealed in me. In me ye have a
light. I came into the world to enlighten men, that every one
who yields himself to my guidance, may be as when one walks
after a light, and may no louger remain in the darkness of igno-
rance, superstition and sin.
"Yet if any one who hears my words, refuses to believe in me
— let him not think that I shall inflict judgment on him for his
refusal. The end of my coming is not to judge the world, but,
rather, to save it from eternal ruin. He who rejects me, my
words, and my deeds, has in his own breast a judge that will
condemn him hereafter. The truth I have spoken, in the name
of God, which he has refused to receive, will condemn him in his
own conscience at the last day, and will condemn him also from
the lips of the great Judge. For the words I have spoken have
been no mere utterances of my own ; I have taught only that
which I was commissioned by my Father to speak, and I know
that my teaching, if obeyed and followed, secures everlasting life
to men. All that I say is only what my Father has told me to
speak in His name. Therefore, let no man think that I speak
anything but that which ray Father has given me to proclaim. I
am He whom God hath sent, and my words are the words of God."
The Life atid Words of Christ, Cunningliam Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 413,
LAST DAY;^; IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 409
**Not One Stone Left upon Another ! '*
" Master," said they, "see what a woudio us structure this is.
What stoues ! what buildings ! what spleudour ! what wealth !
How the whole Temple rises, terrace above terrace, from the
great white walls, to the Holy Place, shining with gold ! and it
is not finished even yet ! "
The Temple, says Josephus, was built of white stones of great
size — the length of each about thirty-seven and a half feet, some
even forty -five feet, — the thickness twelve feet, and the breadth
eighteen.
But Jesus looked at all this strength, wealth, and magnificence,
with very different eyes. To Him the Jewish theocracy had out-
lived its day, and had sunk into moral decrepitude and ap-
proaching death, which the mere outward splendour of its Temple
could not hide. Israel, in rejecting Him, the Voice of God, call-
ing it to rise to new spiritual life, had shown itself ripe for
divine judgment. His own death, already determined by the
ecclesiastical authorities, and now close at hand, would seal the
fate of the nation and its religion. It would be the proclamation
of the passing away of the kingdom of God on earth from Judaism,
now dead in forms and rites, to the heathen nations willing to re-
ceive its spirit and liberty. . . .
"Yes," said Jesus, in utter sadness, "I see all : they are very
great buildings, but I tell you solemnly, the day will come when
there will not be one stone of them all left on another, not thrown
down."
llie Life and Words of Christ, Cuuuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p, 415.
** After Two Days the Son of Man Is to Be Delivered «p ! **
And every day he was teaching in the temple ; and every
night he went out, and lodged on the mount that is called the
Mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning
to him in the temple, to hear him.
Lulce xxi. 37, 38. Revised Version.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words,
he said unto his disciples. Ye know that after two days the pass-
over Cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
Matthew xxvi. 1, 2. Revised Version.
XXX
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL
Treason like a deadly bligbt.
— Moore.
The Terrible Night-Study of Jodas
. It is a terrible night-studj , that of Judas. We seem to tread
our way over loose stoues of hot molteu lava, as we climb to the
edge of the crater, aud shudderiogly look down its depths. And
yet there, uear there, have stood uot only St. Peter in the night
of his denial, but mostly all of us, save they whose angels have
always looked up into the face of our Father in heaven. And
yet, iu our weakness, we have even wept over them ! There,
near there, have we stood, not in the hours of our weakness, but
in those of our sore temptation, when the blast of doubt had al-
most quenched the flickering light, or the storm of passion or of
self-will broken the bruised reed. But He prayed for us— aud
through the night came over desolate moor aud stony height the
light of His presence, and above the wild storm rose the voice of
Him who has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Yet near to us, close to us, was the dark abyss ; and we can never
more forget our last, almost sliding, foothold as we quitted its
edge.
A terrible night study this of Judas, and best to make it here,
at once, from its beginning to its end. We shall indeed, catch a
sudden glimpse of him again, as the light of the torches flashes
on the traitor-face iu Gethsemane ; and once more hear his voice
in the assemblage of the haughty, sneering councilors of Israel,
when his footfall on the marble pavement of the Temple-halls,
and the clink of those thirty accursed pieces of silver shall
waken the echoes, wake also the dirge of despair in his soul, and
he shall flee from the night of his soul into the night that for ever
closes around him.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Ederaheim, M. A. Oxou.,
D.D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 471.
410
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 411
From De Quincey^s Apology
The miscalculatiou, ... of Judas Iscariot . . . did
uot hiuge at all upou political oversight, but upon a total spiritual
bliuduess ; iu which blinduess, however, he weut no farther than
at that time did probably most of his brethren. Upon them, quite
as little as upon Mm, had yet dawned the true grandeur of the
Christian scheme. In this only he outran his brethren — that,
sharing in their blinduess, he greatly exceeded them in presump-
tion. All alike had imputed to their Master views utterly irrecon-
cilable with the grandeur of his new and heavenly religion.
It was no religion at all which they, previously to the cruci-
fixion, supposed to be the object of Christ's teaching ; it was a
mere preparation for a pitiably vulgar scheme of earthly aggran-
dizement. But, whilst the other apostles had simply failed to
comprehend their Master, Judas has presumptuously assumed that
he did comprehend him ; and understood his purposes better than
Christ himself. His object was audacious in a high degree, but
(according to the theory which I am explaining) for that very reason
not treacherous at all. The more that he was liable to the approach
of audacity, the less can he be suspected of perfidy. He supposed
himself executing the very innermost purposes of Christ, . .
His hope was, that, when at length actually arrested by the Jew
ish authorities, Christ would no longer vacillate ; he would be forced
into giving the signal to the i^opulace of Jerusalem, who would
then rise unanimously, for the double purpose of placing Christ
at the head of an insurrectionary movement, and of throwing
off the Roman yoke. As regards the worldly prospects of this
scheme, it is bj^ no means improbable that Iscariot was right. It
seems, indeed, altogether impossible that he, who (as treasurer
of the apostolic fraternity) had, in all likelihood, the most of
worldly wisdom, and was best acquainted with the temper of the
times, could have made any gross blunder as to the wishes and
secret designs of the populace in Jerusalem.
Essays on ChrisiinnUy, Paganism and Superstiiion, Thomas De Quincey,
Judas Iscariot, p. 228.
Conspiring with the Priests
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called
the Passover.
412 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And the chief priests aud the scribes sought how they might
put him to death ; for they feared the people.
Luke xxii. 1, 2.
Theu were gathered together the ruling priests aud the elders of
the people, at the court of the high priest, who was called Caia-
phas ; aud they took couusel together that they might take Jesus
by craftiness, aud kill him. But they said, "Not during the
feast, lest a tumult arise among the people."
Matthew xxvi. 3-5. A literal reuderiDg from the Greek.
And Satan entered iuto Judas, who was called Iscariot, being
of the number of the twelve.
Aud he went away, and consulted with the chief priests aud
cai)taius, how he might deliver him to them.
And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
And he consented, aud sought opportunity to deliver him to
them in the absence of the multitude.
Luke xxii. 3-6. Revised Versiou, etc.
* The Price of a Slave ! *'
Jesus would soou returu to the city. Judas could find out his
movements in advance, he would inform them at once, they would
arrest him quietly, aud before the people had a chance to shout
rescue for their persecuted deliverer they could be persuaded
that he was only a condemned crimiual, an enemy to the nation.
When it came to settling the price of the bargain, all in the
room saw that they were dealing with a madman.
"The price of a slave ! The price of a slave ! " he kept cryiug
in a querulous monotone.
And, as if he were a child to be petted aud pleased, they
weighed out to him at once the few pitiful coins, only about
twenty-three dollars, which he hastily dropped iuto his bag, aud
theu hurried furtively away.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byrou Forbush, p. 219.
Did Jes«s Suspect the Treachery ?
And the uext day — the Wednesday in Passion week — must have
baffled him. Each day Jesus had left Bethanj'^ in the morning
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 413
and had goue to Jerusalem. Why did He not go on that day ?
Did He suspect treachery ? That day in the Temple courts the
multitude listened for His voice in vain. Doubtless the people
waited for Him with intense expectation ; doubtless the priests
and Pharisees looked out for Him with sinister hope ; but He did
not come. The day was spent by Him in deep seclusion, and so far
as we know, in perfect rest and silence. He prepared Himself in
peace and prayer for the awfulness of His coming struggle. It
may be that He wandered alone to the hilly uplands above and
around the quiet village, and there, under the vernal sunshine,
held high communing with His Father in heaven. But how the
day was passed by Him we do not know. A veil of holy silence
falls over it. He was among the few who loved Him and believed
in Him. To them He may have spoken, but His work as a
teacher on earth was done.
And on that night He lay down for the last time on earth. On
the Thursday morning, He woke never to sleej) again.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 275.
Preparing for the Passover
And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed
the passover, his disciples said to him, " Where dost thou wish
that we go and make ready that thou may est eat the passover ? ' '
And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into
the city, and there shall a man bearing a pitcher of water meet
you ; follow him ; and wherever he shall enter, say to the master
of the house, 'The Teacher says. Where is my guest-chamber
where I shall eat the passover with my disciples ? '
"And he will himself show you a large upper room furnished
and ready : and there make ready for us."
And the disciples went forth, and came into the city, and
found all as he had said to them : and they prepared the passover.
And when it was evening he came with the twelve.
diark xiv. 12-17. Revised, using Marginals and modern forms.
The Young Man with the Water-pot
On the afternoon of that day Mark had gone to a public foun-
tain to bring water for the Passover season. There he met two
men known to him as disciples of Jesus, who said to him, '' The
414 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Master saitli, Where is my guest-cbamber, where I shall eat the
Passover with my disciples? " Jesus aud his disciples were ac-
quaiuted with the family aud had some previous tentative arrange-
ment concerning the room, but none of them had ever been to the
house, aud the meeting at the fountain was by appointment, for
Jesus was in hiding from his enemies. It was because there was
some occasion for secrecy that the plan was carried out in this
fashion, aud the two disciples had no conversation with Mark as
thej^ walked through the streets ; they merely kept in sight the
young mau with the water-pot on his shoulder, and they followed
him until he entered the courtyard aud shut the outer door. Then
he set down the water- pot, greeted them, led them up the outer
stairway that opened from the courtyard, aud showed them an
upper room, which iu this case must have practically covered the
whole of the lower floor.
Mark himself describes it as "a large upper room, furnished
aud ready." Brief as is his account of things in general, his
description of this room is far more minute than that of the other
evangelists. Even those who copied them omitted some of the
details which he gives. They meant more to him than to the
others.
The Boy Who Ran Away, William E. Barton, D. D., The Outlook, Novem-
ber 18, 1911, p. 664.
Getting Ready to Eat the Passover Together
Mark had been busy during the rest of the afternoon and even-
ing preparing for the family's own celebration of the Passover.
They doubtless had guests, for small families were accustomed to
iuvite iu enough people so that together they might consume
the whole of the Passover lamb. Doubtless, also, they were ac-
customed to having guests in the upper room, for Jerusalem was
full of people at the Passover time, and many of them had to
make temporary arrangements for the observance of the Passover.
Mark had beeu accustomed to something of this sort through
all the years of his boyhood ; but this was au unusual occasion.
Slight as was his acquaintance with the disciples of Jesus, he
knew enough to feel a keen sense of apprehension in view of the
plots and rumors that were current iu Jerusalem that week. The
family that ate the supper downstairs must have commented with
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 415
many expressions of wonder and sympathy upon the other group
that were eating the Passover beneath the same roof.
The Boy Who Ran Away, William E. Barton, D. D., The Outlook, Novem-
ber 18, 1911, p. 6<i4.
** Where Is the Gwest Chamber?"
"Yonder is a man bearing a pitcher. Dost see him? He is
about to turn up the street."
"I see him," said Peter, looking earnestly in the direction in
which John was pointing. "Let us follow quickly, lest he escape
out of our sight."
So the two followed the man, who presently paused before the
gateway of a house, seemingly that of a well-to-do family. The
two entered boldly in after the pitcher-bearer, who turned to stare
at them with amazement.
" We would see the master of the house, " said Peter authori-
tatively.
The man made obeisance. "Wait here for a moment, good
sirs, and I will fetch him," he said, looking curiously at the two.
Presently he returned, followed by an elderly man.
"If thou art the master of the house," said Peter, fixing his
eyes upon him, " I have a message for thee."
The man bowed his head. "Speak," he replied, "and I will
listen."
"This is my message," continued Peter. "The Master saith
unto thee, * Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the
Passover with my disciples *? ' "
. . . "Lo, I have prepared the chamber, and it is ready.
Follow me."
They followed him, and he showed them a large upper room,
furnished with everything needful for the feast.
2'itus, a Comrade of the Cross, Florence M. Kingsley, p. 72,
The Ceremonial of Slaying the Lamb
Before the incense was burnt for the evening sacrifice, or yet
the lamps in the golden candlestick were trimmed for the night,
the paschal lambs were slain. The worshipers were admitted in
three divisions within the Court of the Priests. When the first
416 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
company had entered, the massive Nicanor gates — which led from
the Court of the Women to that of Israel — and the other side-
gates into the Court of the Priests, were closed. A threefold
blast from the priests' trumpets intimated that the lambs were
being slain. This each Israelite did for himself. We can scarcely
be mistaken in supposing that Peter and John would be in the
first of the three companies into which the officers were divided ;
for they must have been anxious to be goue, and to meet the
Master and their brethren in that "upper room." Peter and
John had slain the lamb. In two rows the officiating priests
stood, up to the great Altar of Burnt-offering. As one caught up
the blood from the dying lamb in a golden bowl, he handed it to
his colleague, receiving in return an empty bowl ; and so the
blood was passed on to the great altar, where it was jerked in one
jet at the base of the altar. While this was going on, the Ilallel
was being chanted by the Levites. We remember that only the
first line of every Psalm was repeated by the worshipers ; while to
every other line they responded by a Hallelujah, till Psalm cxviii
was reached, when, besides the first, these three lines were also
repeated :
Save now, I beseech Thee, Lord ;
O Lord, I beseech Thee, seud now prosperity.
Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
As Peter and John repeated them on that afternoon, the words
must have sounded most deeply significant. But their minds
must have also reverted to that triumphal entry into the city a
few days before, when Israel had greeted with these words the
advent of their King. And now — was it not as if it had only
beeu au anticipation of the hymn, when the blood of the paschal
lamb was being shed ?
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 487.
Judas May Have Gone from the Market to the Palace
If we mistake not, [the] purchases had, however, already been
made on the previous afternoon by Judas. It is not likely that
they would have been left to the last ; nor that He who had so
lately condemned the traffic in the courts of the Temple would
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 417
have seut His two disciples thither to purchase the paschal lamb,
which would have been necessary to secure an animal that had
passed Levitical inspection, since on the Passover-day there
would have been no time to subject it to such scrutiny. On the
other hand, if Judas had made this purchase, we perceive not
only on what pretext he may have gone to Jerusalem on the pre-
vious afternoon, but also how, on his way from the sheep-market
to the Temple, to have his lamb inspected, he may have learned
that the chief priests and Sanhedrists were just then in session in
the palace of the high priest close by.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxoo.,
D. D., Ph.D., Vol. II, p. 486.
**That Furtive Mien, That Scowling Eye"
When Judas slank away from his brethren on that fatal even-
ing he would rely on being admitted without difficulty within
the city precincts, and into the presence of the assembled elders.
He applied accordingly to the '' captains" of the Temple, the
members of the Levitical guard who had the care of the sacred
buildings, and they at once announced his message and brought
him in person before the priests and rulers of the Jews.
Some of the priests had already seen him at their previous
meeting ; others would doubtless recognise him. If Judas re-
sembled the conception of him which tradition has handed
down —
" That furtive mien, that scowling eye,
Of hair that red and tufted fell " —
they could have hardly failed to notice the man of Kerioth as one
of those who followed Jesus — perhaps to despise and to detest
Him, as almost the only Jew among the Galilean apostles. And
now they were to be leagued with him in wickedness. The fact
that one who had lived with Jesus, who had heard all He had
said and seen all He had done — was yet ready to betray Him —
strengthened them in their purpose ; the fact that they, * the
hierarchs and nobles, were ready not only to praise, but even to
reward Judas for what he proposed to do, strengthened Mm in
his dark and desiderate design. As in water face answereth to
418 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
face, so did the heart of Judas aud of the Jews become assimilated
by the reflection of mutual sympathy. As iron sharpeneth iron,
so did the blunt weapon of his brutal auger give fresh edge to
their polished hate.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 270.
** Ingratitude More Strong Than Traitor's Arms **
Jesus was not taken by suiprise, but knew all that was before
him. It was part of the great plan of redemption, foretold ages
before. . . .
For Brutus, as you know, was Cfesar's angel ;
This was the most uukindest cut of all ;
For when the noble Caesar saw HIM stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitor's arras.
Quite vanquished him ; then burst his mighty heart."
Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1898, F. N. Peloubet, D. D.,
p. 148.
A Sin against the Human Heart
But the crowning profanation, for which humanity will never
forgive him, was the sign by which he had agreed to make his
Master known to His enemies. It is probable that he came on in
front, as if he did not belong to the band behind ; and, hurrying
towards Jesus, as if to apprise Him of His danger and condole
with Him on so sad a misfortune as His apprehension, he flung
himself on His neck, sobbing, "Master, Master!" and not only
did he kiss Him, but he did so repeatedly or fervently : so the
word signifies. As long as there is true, pure love in the world,
this act will be hated and despised by every one who has ever
given or received this token of affection. It was a sin against
the human heart and all its charities. But none can feel its
horror as it must have been felt by Jesns.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 4.
Yet Not Altogether Bad
Judas was not altogether bad. The fact that The Carpenter
. . . chose him out from the large number of his followers to
be one of the Twelve — the inner group — speaks much. The fact
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 419
that out of this twelve he was picked for the trusted position of
treasurer, s]ieaks still more. Further still, the fact that his own
conscience immediately after the traitorous deed, accused him
with an utter abandon of remorse, speaks most of all.
In less than twelve hours after he had done the deed, he comes
ic himself. Thereupon, man-fashion, he seeks to ma,ke amend in
every way possible — he puts forth an utter effort to save his
Master. He goes to the chief priests as Jesus is about to be
sentenced, and recants his recantation. It is a perilous step for
him personally. Nevertheless he takes it and without flinching.
He stands boldly before the tyrannical chief magistrates and
pleads the cause of his aforetime lord. It is one of the most
courageous acts recorded between the covers of the Bible. For
this was during a reign of terrorism, when even the members of
the ruling class such as Nicodemus visited the Galilean by night,
if they visited him at all. Free speech was not tolerated. A
military dictatorship, under the control largely of an irrespon-
sible and venomous hierarchy, was upon the city.
Judas takes his life in his hands when he thus openly
identifies himself with the hated Nazarene, and champions his
cause. But the recantation avails not. Judas is laughed at for
his pains. Thereupon he refuses to profit by the proceeds of his
Q3ed.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck "White, p. 173.
To Undo What He Had Done
He was seized with an uncontrollable desire to undo what he
had done. The money, on which his heart had been set, was
now like a spectre to his excited fancy. Every coin seemed to be
an eye through which eternal justice was gazing at his crime or
to have a tongue crying out for vengeance. As the murderer is
irresistibly drawn back to the spot where his victim lies, he re-
turned to the place where his deed of treachery had been trans-
acted and, confronting those by whom he had been employed,
handed back the money with the passionate confession, ''I have
betrayed innocent blood." But he had come to miserable com-
forters. With cynical disdain they asked, ''What is that to us?
See thou to that."
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 124.
420 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
"I Am Lost— Lost!"
" Ghastly, clay-white, a shadow of a man,
With robes all soiled and toro, aud tangled beard,
Into the chamber where the council sat
Came feebly staggering : scarce should I have known
'Twas Judas, with that haggard, blasted face :
So had that night's great horror altered him.
As one all blindly walking in a dream
He to the table came — against it leaned —
Glared wildly round awhile ; then, stretching forth.
From his torn robes, a trembling hand, flung down.
As if a snake had stung him, a small purse.
That broke and scattered its white coins about,
And, with a shrill voice, cried, ' Take back the purse ;
'Twas not for that foul dross I did the deed —
'Twas not for that — oh, horror ! not for that !
But that I did believe he was the Lord ;
Aud that he is the Lord I still believe.
But oh, the sin ! — the sin ! I have betrayed
The innocent blood, and I am lost ! am lost ! '
So crying, round his face his robes he threw.
And blindly rushed away."
A Roman Lawyer in Jerusalem, William Wetmore Story, In Defence of
Judas, p. 27.
Can There Be Compassion for the Betrayer of the Christ ?
Deeper — farther out into the night ! to its farthest bounds —
where rises aud falls the dark flood of death. The wild howl
of the storm has lashed the dark waters into fury : they toss and
break in wild billows at his feet. One narrow rift in the cloud-
curtain overhead, aud, iu the pale, deathlike light lies the Figure
of the Christ, so calm aud placid, untouched and unharmed, on
the storm-tossed waters, as it had been that night lying on the
lake of Galilee, when Judas had seen Him come to them over the
surging billows, and then bid them be peace. Peace ! What
peace to him now — in earth or heaven ? It was the same Christ,
but thoru-crowned, with nail -prints in His hands and feet. And
this Judas had done to the Master !
In the lurid morn that broke on the other shore where the flood
had cast him up, did he meet those searching, loving eyes of Jesus,
THE BASEST CONSPIRACY OF ALL 421
whose gaze he knew so well — when he came to answer for the
deeds done in the flesh ?
And — can there be a store in the Eternal Compassion for the
betrayer of Christ 1
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A, Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D,, Vol. II, p. 478.
* Went to His Own Place **
The world has agreed to regard Judas as the chief of sinners ;
but, in so judging, it has exceeded its prerogative. Man is not
competent to judge his brother. The master passion of Judas
was a base one ; Dante may be right in considering treachery
the worst of crimes ; and the supreme excellence of Christ affixes
an unparalleled stigma to the injury inflicted on Him. But the
motives of action are too hidden, and the history of every deed is
too complicated, to justify us in saying who is the worst of
men. . . .
Two things it is our duty to do in regard to Judas : flrst,
not so to palliate his sin as to blunt the healthy, natural abhor-
rence of it ; and, secondly, not to think of him as a sinner apart
and alone, with a nature so different from our own that to us he
can be no example. But for the rest, there is only one verdict
which is at once righteous, dignified and safe ; and it is contained
in the declaration of St. Peter, that he ''went to his own place."
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D. , p. 128.
XXXI
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST
The Holy Supper is kept indeed,
In whatso we share with another's need.
— Lowell.
** 1 Have Yearned to Eat This with You ! *'
And when the hour was come, he sat dowu aud the apostles
with him. Aud he said unto them, With
desire I have desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer : for I say unto you
I will not eat it uutil it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God.
Luke xxii. 14-16. Revised Version.
From Select Notes on the International Lessons
for 1 901, Rev. F. N. Peloubet, D. D.
**We Did Not Know Then What the Master Meant"
(Imagined reminiscences of John the Evangelist)
And Jesus, standing in front of the table, said, ^'I have greatly
desired to eat this Passover with you ; for this is the last time I
shall eat it, until it be fulfilled by a higher Passover in the new
kingdom. Let us drink this wine together for the last time.
The wine which we shall drink together when we meet agaiu will
be the new wine of the kingdom of God."
We did not know what this meant ; but afterward, when we
had ceased to be Jews, and had become citizens of the new king-
dom of Christ, where all men may be kings and priests unto God,
we left behind our Jewish Passover. Then we understood what
the Master meant by his saying, "fulfilled." All that was good
and true in the old covenant was carried up into something better
in the new covenant. The bodily rest of the Jewish sabbath was
fulfilled in the rest of the heart at peace with God. The grateful
thanksgiving of the Passover for Jewish deliverance was fulfilled
422
THE LAST SUPPER-AND THE FIRST 423
in our constant gratitude to God, wlio had shown us that all men
can be saved from evil, and that death and hell shall be cast into
the lake of fire. We needed not to kill innocent lambs by thou-
sands every year ; for we had our one innocent Lamb, Christ our
Passover, a Lamb slain in the counsel of God from the foundation
of the world.
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 376.
His Only Passover Sacrifice
So far as appears, or we have reason to infer, this Passover was
the only sacrifice ever offered by Jesus Himself. "We remember
indeed, the first sacrifice of the Virgin Mother at her purifi-
cation. But that was hers. If Christ was in Jerusalem at any
Passover before His public ministry began. He would, of course,
have been a guest at some table, not the head of a company
(which must consist of at least ten persons). Hence, He would
not have been the offerer of the paschal lamb. And of the three
Passovers since His public ministry had begun, at the first His
twelve apostles had not been gathered, so that He could not have
appeared as the head of a company ; while at the second He was
not in Jerusalem but in the utmost parts of Galilee, in the border-
land of Tyre and Sidon, where, of course, no sacrifice could be
brought. Thus, the first, the last, the only sacrifice which Jesus
offered was that in which, symbolically, He offered Himself.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. OzoD.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 490.
Striving For the Best Places
And there arose also among them a contention, which of them was
accounted to he the greater. — Luke xxii. 24.
The strife probably began when the disciples were assembling
in the upper room and were about to take their places at the
table. Even in this most solemn hour, more solemn than they
realized, there arose a contention among the disciples as to who
should be the greatest, probably with reference to the places of
honor and nearness to Jesus, with an outlook toward the highest
places in the new kingdom which was soon to begin. Also, be-
cause no one was willing to take upon himself the servile duty of
washing the travel-soiled feet of the company.
424 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
It is quite possible that those sought the best places who had
received unusual honors, as the three who had been selected for
the Transfiguration, Peter, with the keys, Judas, the treasurer,
James and John, who had asked to be nearest the king. But,
except in Judas' case, we may be sure that the best of motives
were mingled in very large proportions with the unworthy ones,
and that they wanted to be near him whom they loved, and to be
useful in the work of the kingdom.
Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1901, F. N. Peloubet, D. D,, p. 60.
Judas Obtained the Chief Seat — above the Master !
St. John . . . opens his narrative with this notice : "And
during supper, the devil having already cast it into his heart,
that Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, shall betray Him." For,
although the w ords form a general introduction to what follows,
and refer to the entrance of Satan into the heart of Judas on
the previous afternoon, when he sold his Master to the San-
hedrists, they are not without special significance as placed in
connection with the Supper. But we are not left to general
conjecture in regard to the influence of Judas in this strife.
There is, we believe, ample evidence that he not only claimed,
but actually obtained, the chief seat at the table next to the Lord.
This . . . was not, as is generally believed, at the right, but
at the left of Christ, not below, but above Him, on the couches or
pillows on which they reclined.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 493.
A Picture of Their Arrangement at Table
From the Gospel narratives we infer, that St. John must have
reclined next to Jesus, on His right hand, since otherwise he
could not have leaned back on His bosom. This, as we shall
presently show, would be at one end — the head of the table, or,
to be more precise, at one end of the couches. For, dismissing all
conventional ideas, we must think of it as a low Eastern table.
In the Talmud, the table of the disciples of the sages is de-
scribed as two parts covered with a cloth, the other third being
left bare for the dishes to stand on. There is evidence that this
part of the table was outside the circle of those who were ranged
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 425
around it. Occasionally a ring was fixed in it, by which the
table was suspended above the ground, so as to preserve it from
any possible Levitical defilement.
During the paschal supper, it was the custom to remove the
table at one part of the service ; or, if this be deemed a later
arrangement, the dishes at least would be taken off aud put on
again. This would render it necessary that the end of the table
should protrude beyond the line of guests who reclined around it.
For, as already repeatedly stated, it was the custom to recline at
table, . . . each guest occupyiug a separate divan or pillow.
It would, therefore, have been impossible to place or remove
anything from the table from behind the guests.
Hence, as a matter of necessity, the free end of the table, which
was not covered with a cloth, would protrude beyond the line
of those who reclined around it. We can now form a picture of
the arrangement. Around a low Eastern table, oval or rather
elongated, two parts covered with a cloth, and standing or else
suspended, the single divans or pillows are ranged in the form of
an elongated horseshoe, leaving free one end of the table, some-
what as in the accompanying [diagram]. Here A represents the
table, B B respectively the ends of the two rows
r7=^^?=^
of single divans on which each guest reclines on
his left side, with his head (C) nearest the table,
and his feet (D) stretching back towards the
ground.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Alfred Eder-
sheim, M. A. Oxon., D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 493.
Diagram from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred
Edersheim, M. A. Oxon., D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 494.
An IllostiratecJ Lesson in Httmility
[Jesus] rose from supper and laid aside his garments ; and he
took a towel and girded himself.
Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he
was girded.
So he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, '' Lord, dost tJiou
wash my feet % "
426 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Jesus answered and said to him, " What I do thou knowest not
now ; but thou shalt understand hereafter."
Peter said to him, "Thou shalt never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part
with me. "
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my
hands and my head."
Jesus said to him, "He that is bathed needs not to wash,
but is clean every whit : and you are cleau, but not all."
For he knew him that should betray him ; therefore said he,
" You are not all clean."
So when he had washed their feet and taken his garments, and
reclined again, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done
to you"? You call me Teacher and Lord : and you say well, for
so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given
you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
" Truly indeed, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his
lord ; neither an apostle greater than he that sent him. If you
know these thiugs, blessed are you if you do them."
John xiii. 4-17. Eendered into modern speech.
And he said to them.
The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them ; and they
that have authority over them are called Benefactors.
But you shall not be so : but he that is the greater among you,
let him become as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he that
doth serve. For which is greater, he that reclines at meat, or he
that serves. But you are they that have continued with me in
my temptations ; I appoint to you, even as my father appointed
to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table iu my
kingdom ; and you shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes
of Israel.
Luke xxii. 25-30. American Revision, using Marginals and other au-
thorities.
** He That Is Greatest, Let Him Be the Servant ! **
From these words, . . . which Christ spake to Peter : "If
I wash thee not, thou hast no part iu me," it is not to be under-
stood that Christ, at the same time, baptized his disciples ; for in
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 427
Jolin iv, it is clearly expressed that he himself baptized none, but
that his disciples, at his command, baptized each other. Neither
did the Lord speak these words only of water washing, but of spir-
itual washing, through which he, and none other, washes and
cleanses Peter, the other disciples, and all true believers, from
their sins, and justifies and saves them ; as if he would say : I am
the true bather, therefore if I wash thee not, Peter, thou remain-
est unclean, and dead in thy sins.
The reason that Christ washed not his own, but his disciples'
feet, whereas the high-priest in the law washed not others' but his
own, was this : the high-priest in the law was unclean, and a sin-
ner like other men, therefore he washed his own feet, and offered
not only for the sins of the peoj^le, but also for his own. But our
everlasting High Priest is holy, innocent, unstained, and separate
from sin ; therefore it was needless for him to wash his feet, but
he washed and cleansed us, through his blood, from all our sins.
Moreover, by this his washing of feet he would show, that his
new kingdom which he would establish should be no temporal and
outward kingdom, where respect of persons was to be held, as in
Moses' kingdom, one higher and greater than the other, but where
one should serve another in humility, as he says : "He that is
greatest among you, let him be your servant ; " which he himself
showed by this example, as he says, . . "If I your Lord
and Master have washed your feet, then ye ought to wash one
another's feet."
The Table Talk of Martin Luther, Translated and edited by William
Hazlitt, Esq., p. 98.
What Was the Idea of God in This ?
"Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your serv-
ant." And is there, in all the gospel, any emblematic act more
sublime than that final attempt, at the last sorrowful supper, of
our Lord to impress upon his disciples the meaning of his mis-
sion ? We can hear the amazed cry of Peter, " Lord, dost thou
wash my feet?" and Jesus saying to him, "What I do thou
knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." He, the
Messiah, washing their feet ! Incomprehensible ! What was the
idea of God conveyed in this act ?
Modern Government and Christianity, Winston Churchill, Atlantic 3Ionthly,
Vol. CXX, No. 1, January, 1912, p. 16.
428 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
♦*One of You Shall Betray Me!*'
"When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and
testified, saying : Verily, verily, I say to you,
that one of you shall betray me.
John xiii. 21, Eevised Version, using Marginals and
ancient authorities.
From Peloiibet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for 1901 , p. 62.
Anything Seemed Possible Then
"Verily, verily, I say uuto you, that one of 2/oit shall betray
me ! " That night all^ even the best beloved, were to forsake Him,
but it was not that ; that night even the boldest-hearted was to
deny Him with oaths, but it wasnot^/iai; nay, but one of them
was to betray Him. Already a deep unspeakable sadness had
fallen over the sacred meal. Like the sombre and threateuiug
crimson that intermingles with the colours of sunset, a dark omen
seemed to be overshadowing them — a shapeless presentiment of
evil — an unspoken sense of dread. If all their hopes were to be
thus blighted — if at this very Passover, He for whom they had
given up all, and who had been to them all in all, was indeed to
be betrayed by one of themselves to an uupitied and ignominious
end — if this were possible, anything seemed possible. Their hearts
were troubled. All their want of nobility, all their failure in
love, all the depth of their selfishness, all the weakness of their
faith —
" Every evil thought they ever thought,
And every evil word they ever said,
And every evil thing they ever did,"
all crowded upon their memories, and made their consciousness
afraid. None of them seemed safe from anything, and each read
his own self-distrust in his brother disciple's eye.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. E. S., Vol. II, p. 285.
"Is It I, Rabbi ?*'
And they were exceeding sorrowful, and every one began to say
to him, Is it I, Lord ?
THE LAST SUPPEH— AND THE FIRST 429
And lie answered and said, He that dipped his hand with ine in
the dish, the same shall betray me.
The Sou of man is going, even as it is written of him : but woe
to that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed ! It would
have been good for that man if he had not been born.
And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, Is it I,
Eabbi ?
He said to him,
Thou hast said !
3Iatthew xxvi. 22-25. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc,
Judas Went o«t
There was at the table reclining in Jesus' bosom one of his dis-
ciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to
him and said to him, " Tell us who it is that he is talking about."
Leaning back, as he was on Jesus' breast, he said to him, "Lord,
who is it?"
Jesus therefore answered, "It is he for whom I shall dip the
sop, and give it to him."
So when he had dipped the sop he took and gave it to Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot.
And after the sop then Satan entered into him.
Jesus therefore said to him, "What thou doest, do quickly."
Now no one at the table knew for what intent he spoke this to
him. For some thought because Judas had the box, that Jesus
said to him, "Buy what things we have need of for the feast; "
or, that he should give something to the poor.
Then he, having received the sop, went out immediately ; and
it was night.
John xiii. 23-30. Revised Version, using Marginals, ancient authorities, etc.
"And It Was Night*'
After all the rest had sunk into silence, there grated upon the
Saviour's ear that hoarse untimely whisper, in all the bitterness
of its defiant mockery — not asking, as the rest had asked, in lov-
ing reverence, " i>or(?, is it I'?" but with the cold formal title,
" Ea&M, is it I ? "
Then that low unreproachful answer, "Thou hast said," sealed
his guilt. The rest did not hear it ; it was probably caught by
430 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Peter and Jobu alone ; and Judas ate the sop which Jesus had
given him, and after the sop Satan entered into him.
As all the winds, on some night of storm, riot and howl through
the rent walls of some desecrated shrine, so through the ruined
life of Judas envy and avarice, and hatred and ingratitude were
rushing all at once. In that bewildering chaos of a soul spotted
with mortal guilt, the Satanic had triumphed over the human ; in
that dark heart earth and hell were thenceforth at one ; in that
lost soul sin had conceived and brought forth death.
"What thou art doing, do more quickly," said Jesus to him
aloud. He knew what the words implied, he knew that they
meant, " Thy fell purpose is matured, carry it out with no more
of these futile hypocrisies and meaningless delays."
Judas rose from the feast. The innocent-hearted apostles
thought that Jesus had bidden him go out and make purchases
for to-morrow's Passover, or give something out of the common
store which should enable the poor to buy their paschal lamb.
And so from the lighted room, from the holy banquet, from
the blessed company, from the presence of his Lord, he went
immediately out, and — as the beloved disciple adds, with a shud-
der of dread significance letting the curtain of darkness fall for
ever on that appalling figure — ^^and it tons nighV^
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. K. S., Vol. II, p. 288.
Relieved of Some Ghastly Incubtjs
No sooner had Judas left the room, than, as though they had
been relieved of some ghastly incubus, the spirits of the little
company revived. The presence of that haunted soul lay with a
weight of horror on the heart of his Master, and no sooner had
he departed than the sadness of the feast seems to have been
sensibly relieved.
The solemn exultation which dilated the soul of their Lord —
that joy like the sense of a boundless sunlight behind the earth-
born mists — communicated itself to the spirits of His followers.
The dull clouds caught the sunset colouring. In sweet and tender
communion, perhaps two hours glided away at that quiet banquet.
Now it was that, conscious of the. impending separation, and
fixed unalterably in His sublime resolve, He opened His heart to
the little band of those who loved Him, and spoke among them
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 431
those farewell discourses preserved for us by St. John alone, so
"rarely mixed of sadness and joys, and studded with mysteries
as with emeralds." ''Now," He said, as though with a sigh of
relief, "uow is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in
Him."
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol, II, p. 293.
The Last Swpper Is Made the First
And as they were eating, he took a loaf, and when he had
blessed he broke it, and gave it to them and said, Take, this is
my body.
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to
them : and they all drank of it.
And he said to them, This is my blood of the new testament,
which is poured out for many.
Verily I say to you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the
vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Mark xiv. 22-25. Revised Version, using Marginals, and ancient authorities.
Another Wine, Another Feast
So speaking, the Lord commenced that Supper, which in itself
was symbol and pledge of what He had just said and promised.
The paschal supper began, as always, by the head of the company
taking the first cup, and speaking over it "the thauksgiving."
The form presently in use consists really of two benedictioDS —
the first over the wine, the second for the return of this feast day
with all that it implies, and for being preserved once more to
witness it.
Turning to the Gospels, the words which follow the record of
the benediction on the part of Christ seem to imply that Jesus
had, at any rate, so far made use of the ordinary thauksgiviug
as to speak both these benedictions. . . This we infer from
what the Lord added, as He passed the cup round the circle of
the disciples. No more, so He told them, would He speak the
benediction over the fruit of the vine — not again utter the thanks
"over the day," that they had been "preserved alive, sustained,
and brought to this season."
Another wine, and at another feast, now awaited Him — that in
the future, when the Kingdom would come. It was to be the last
432 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
of the old [Passovers] ; the first, or rather the symbol aud promise,
of the new. And so, for the first and last time, did He speak the
twofold benediction at the beginning of the Supper.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 496.
Pawl's Accownt of the Lord's Supper
For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you,
how the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took
bread ; and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,
"This is my body, which is for you: do this in remembrance
of me. "
In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, " This cup is
the new covenant in my blood : do this as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread, and drink the cup, you pro-
claim the Lord's death until he comes.
1 Corinthians xi. 23-26. Revised Version, modernised.
What Did Jesws See ?
The evening was passing ; all too rapidly, all too heavily.
Across the countenance of Jesus advanced an immeasurable
shadow. He took up the Passover loaf and broke it, with a
solemnity so significant that every eye in the room now fastened
itself upon him. His low voice faltered a little in the Passover
blessing, and when he said :
"This is my body, — broken, and for you. Eat."
He poured the wine into the paschal cups. It ran a deep red
in the light of the festal lamps.
"This is my blood," he added ; "drink."
In a silence like that of the after world, the group obeyed him.
With bowed heads, with streaming cheeks, with shrinking lips,
they ate, they drank ; wondering, but asking him no question
now.
The cup trembled a little in his hands as he pressed it to the
lips of John. In his eyes rested the solitary look of far prevision
which his friends had learned to know.
What did he see 1 Cruciform oak, nails, the point of a spear,
then the gush which comes from the heart ?
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 433
But what did he see 1 Far down the years quiet grouj^s iu holy
houses, sitting with bowed heads. . . . With wet eyes, with
hushed hearts, those who celebrate this solemnity do think of
him: they murmur a name, — it is his; they melt with tenderness
for suffering, — it is his.
The feeling that his own race, his own day denied him, the
future gives him. Millions offer what the few refused. The true
heart of the world will not foreclose its sympathy from this man
acquainted with grief.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 346.
Sifting the Disciples
[And the Lord said] "Simon, Simon, — see! — Satan demanded
to have you [disciples] for the sifting, as wheat ; but I pleaded
for thee that thy faith may not fail ; and when thou hast turned
back, confirm thy brethren."
Luke xxii. 31, 32. A literal rendering.
"Yet a Little While''
Jesus said, " Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified
in him ; and God shall glorify him in himself, and straightway
shall he glorify him.
"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall
seek me : and as I said to the Jews, Where I am going, you cannot
go ; so now I say to you.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you shall love one
another ; even as I loved you, that you may also love one another.
By this all men shall know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another. ' '
Simon Peter said to him, " Lord, where art thou going "? "
Jesus answered, " Where I am going thou canst not follow me
now ; but thou shalt follow afterwards."
Peter said to him, "Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now?
I will lay down my life for thee ! "
Jesus answered, ' ' Wilt thou lay down thy life for me *? Truly
indeed, I say to thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied
me three times ! ' '
John xiii. 31-38. Revised "Version, modernised.
434 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Peter "Was Sorely Distressed
Peter was sorely distressed at such words. Conscious of his
honest love and fidelity, it seemed as if Jesus doubted both. His
warm Galilean heart was full. He felt as if his Master spoke of
his acting in a way of which he could not believe himself capable.
"Lord," said he, "I care not what happens to Thee. I am
ready to go with Thee to prison, or to die with Thee, but I will
never leave Thee, nor be untrue to Thee. "
"Do you think so, Peter?" replied Jesus, with a voice
full of tenderness — "I tell you that this very night, before the
cock crows the second time, you will thrice deny that you
know me."
"If I were to die for it," answered the apostle, "no one will
ever hear me deny Thee."
" I can say the same," added all the other apostles.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunuiugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 444.
** Look ! Here Are Two Swords **
And he said to them, "When I sent you out without purse
and wallet and shoes, did you need anything! "
And they said, " Nothing."
And he said to them, ' ' But now, he that has a purse, let him
take it, and likewise a wallet : and he that has no sword, let him
sell his cloak and buy one.
" For I say to you, that this which is written must be fulfilled
in me, * And he was reckoned with transgressors ' : for that
which concerns me has fulfilment."
And they said, " Lord, look ! Here are two swords."
And he said to them, "It is enough."
Luke xxii. 35-38. Revised Version, moderuised, using Marginals, etc.
How He Happened to Have the Sword
These Galileans, after the custom of their countrymen, had pro-
vided themselves with short swords, which they concealed under
their upper garment. It was natural for men of their disposition,
so imperfectly understanding their Master's teaching, to have
taken what might seem to them only a needful precaution in
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 435
coining to Jerusalem. At least two of them — anioDg them Peter
— now produced swords. But this was not the time to reason
with them, and our Lord simply put it aside. Events would only
too soon teach them.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D,, Pb. D., Vol. II, p. 537.
Beautiful Words Broke the Sacred Stillness
With wide, grand eyes gazing out through the windows of the
upper chamber of the stoue house, he saw these things and
spoke not of them. Sacrament was in his silence. He broke
it by some of the most beautiful words that ever came from
his lips. He began, in a voice hardly above a whisper, to
offer to his friends his last directions, to extend his parting bene-
dictions.
The Passover lights burned low, and seemed almost afraid to
reveal his face, which melted into dimness, which struggled into
form, and wore a wonderful expression. Sobbing was heard
about the paschal table. Some hid their faces in their hands, but
John wept upon the arm of his Lord. Peter had not moved from
the floor where he lay at Jesus' feet.
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God. . . .
Believe in me."
The Story of Jems Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 347.
** Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled " in the Language of
Wydiffe
. Millions of loyal and heroic people, many of whom "wan-
dered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,
tormented," have found hope and joy in reading in their own
tongue wherein tbey were born, the comforting words of the
Master, before His going away, as found in the fourteenth chap-
ter of John. Here are several extracts from that familiar chapter
of comfort and cheer, given in the quaint and rugged language of
Wycliffe's second translation :
Be not Soure herte afraied, ne drede it ; 3e bileuen in God, and
bileue se in me. In the hous of my fadir ben many dwellyngis }
436 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
if an J thing lesse, T hadde seid to Sou, for Y go to make redi to
^^ou a place. And if Y go, and make redi to sou a place, eftsoones
Y come, and Y schal take Sou to my silf, that where Y am, 3e be.
And whidur Y go, Se witeu, and Se witen the weie. . . .
Treuli, treuli, Y seie to Sou, if a man bileueth in me, also he
schal do the werks that Y do ; and he schal do grettere werkis
than these, for Y go to the fadir. . . . Y schal not leeue Sou
fadirles, Y schal come to 3ou. Sit a litil, and the world seeth not
now me ; but Se schulen se me, for Y lyue, and Se schulen lyue.
. . . These thingis Y haue spokun to Sou, dwellyuge among
Sou ; but thilke Hooli Goost, the coumfortour, whom the fadir
schal sende in my name, he schal teche Sou alle thingis, what
euere thiugis Y schal seie to Sou. Pees Y leeue to Sou, my pees
Y Sine to Sou ; not as the world Syueth, Y sieu to Sou, be not
Soure herte affrayed, ne drede it.
The Wonder-Story of the English Bible, Wayne Whipple, from the mannscripfe.
**1 Am Going Back to the Father **
"I have spoken these things to you in parables ; but the hour
is coming when I will speak to you no longer in allegories, but I
will announce to you plainly concerning the Father.
" In that day you shall ask in my name ; and I do not say to
you that I will beseech the Father for you, for the Father himself
loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I
came out from God. I came out from the Father and have come
into the world ; I am leaving the world and am going back to the
Father."
His disciples say to him, "Lo, now thou art speaking plainly,
and art not speaking in a jiarable. Now we know that thou dost
know everything, and hast no need that any man should ask thee.
By this we believe that thou didst come forth from God."
Jesus answered them, "Now do you believe? See, the hour is
coming, and has come now, that you shall be scattered, each to
his own, and you will leave me alone ; and yet I am not alone
for the Father is with me.
"These things I have told you that you may have peace in me.
In the world you have trouble ; but be of good courage, I have
overcome the world."
John xvi. 25-33. A literal rendering from the Greek.
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 437
The Prayer of Intercession
These things spake Jesus ; and liftiug up his eyes to heaven he
said,
Father, the hour is come ; glorify thy Sou, that the Sou may
glorify thee : even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh,
that whatsoever thou hast giveu him, to them he should give
eternal life.
And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only
true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.
I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work
which thou hast given me to do. And now, O Father, glorify
thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. I manifested thy name unto the men
whom thou gavest me out of the world : thine they were, and
thou gavest them to me ; and they have kept thy word. 'Now
they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are
from thee : for the words which thou gavest me I have given
unto them ; and they received them, and they believed that thou
didst send me.
I pray for them : I pray not for the world, but for those whom
thou hast given me ; for they are thine, and thine are mine : and
I am glorified in them.
And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which
thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou
hast given me : and I guarded them, and not one of them perished,
but the son of perdition ; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I come to thee ; and these things I speak in the
world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I
have given them thy word ; and the world hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray
not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou
shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth : thy word is truth.
As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into
the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they
themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
438 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe
ou me through their word ; that they may all be one ; even as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in
us : that the world may believe that thou didst send me.
And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto
them ; that they may be one, even as we are one ; I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be perfected into one ; that the world
may know that thou didst >:Qjid me, and lovedst them, even as
thou lovedst me.
Father, that which thou hast given me, I will that, where I
am, they also may be with me ; that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me : for thou lovedst me before the
foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, the world knew thee not, but I knew thee ;
and these knew that thou didst send me ; and I made known unto
them thy name, and will make it known ; that the love where-
with thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them.
John xvii, 1-26. Revised Version.
The House of the Last Swppeir
While Jesus and his disciples were eating the Passover in the
upper room the family who owned the house were observing the
same festival in the living-rooms below. This family consisted
of a widow, named Mary, her s;)U John Mark, a large boy almost
grown to manhood, and possibly other and younger children of
whom we have no knowledge. Our interest centers chiefly in this
boy John Mark. He was old enough to be considered the man
of the house, yet young enou?;li to be carrying water-pots and
performing other services such t'.s women and boys performed in
making ready for the Passover. . . .
The Passover supper was ended downstairs and the guests took
their departure. Mark gathered all that was left of the Passover
lamb — the few shreds of flesh and the bones, which had been un-
jointed with care that none of them be broken — and burned them
in the brazier in the courtyard, and was still standing there
watching them being consumed when one of the disciples de-
scended the outer stair and brought down the bones from the
lamb that had been eaten upstairs and burned them in like
manner : for this was the commandment of Moses, that nothing
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST 439
of the Passover lamb should remain until morning and that
everything left should be consumed by fire ; and there was a
verse in one of the Psalms which had assumed the character of a
divine command among them, "'He keepeth all his bones ; not
one of them is broken. ' '
Mark returned inside and went to bed. His mother had al-
ready retired, and he lay down for what was left of the night,
but he could not get to sleep. He still heard conversation up-
stairs. Jesus was talking to his disciples, and now and then they
interrupted him with questions. Mark could not distinguish the
eager word of Philip, " Lord, show us the Father, and it suf&ceth
us," nor that of Thomas, "Lord, we know not whither thou
goest ; and how can we know the way 1" But he knew when
one of the disciples was asking a question and when Jesus spoke
in answer.
Shortly after midnight Jesus and his disciples descended the
outer stair and passed into the courtyard. Mark wondered where
they were going and what was about to happen. Jerusalem had
been so full of inquiry and conjecture and vague rumor, the boy
could not help feeling apprehensive.
The Boy Who Ban Away, William E. Barton, D. D., The Outlook, November,
1911, p. 664.
Jesus Joining in the Hymn
And ivhen they had sung a hymn they went out unto the mount of
Olives. — Matthew xxvi. 30.
In the certain ears of peril, in the grip of inevitable death,
triumphantly and joyously, the sweet, deep voice of Jesus rang
out :
" O, give thanks uuto the Lord !
For He is good ! ' '
The shapes of shame and torture flitted into the stone room.
Images which froze the blood at his heart huddled between him
and the Passover lamps. But he sang on strongly :
" Oh, give thanks unto the Lord God of Heaven,
For His mercy endureth forever ! "
The singing penetrated into the open air ; the notes of his
pathetic voice dropped into the street. Few men had heard
440 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Jesus sing, and the beauty of his tone attracted attention. Twos
and threes stopped to listen. Many foreigners, not occupied with
the paschal ceremony, were strolling about the city. Groups
collected at no great distance from the stone house.
A skulking figure, stealing down the street, waved a Eoman
guardsman back, and listened with the others. Judas Iscariot
drew himself into the shadow of an alley and watched. It was
but a few moments after this that the paschal party left the upper
chamber and came out into the street.
When the singing had ceased, the groups of listeners scattered.
Jesus and the eleven passed apparently unnoticed, and set their
faces eastward. Having avoided the Temple area, the party
turned northward up the valley of the Kedron.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 349.
Excitement among the Chwrch Authorities
While Jesus was tenderly bidding farewell to His few followers
in the upper room, all was bustle and excitement among the
Church authorities, now on the track of His blood by the help of
Judas.
It was the great holiday of the year at Jerusalem : the week in
which, beyond any other time, the whole population gave them-
selves up to rejoicing. The citizens, from the highest to the low-
est, were reaping the great golden harvest of the year from the
myriads of pilgrims, and they, on their side, had the excitement of
numbers, and novelty, and religious enthusiasm. A mere moun-
tain city, Jerusalem lived by the Temple, either directly or in-
directly, and it was now the loadstone that had drawn the whole
Jewish world around it.
The Life and Words of Christ, Canningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 471.
So They Came to Gethsemane
So they came to Gethsemane, which is about a mile from the
citj' walls. It was a garden or orchard marked probably by some
slight enclosure ; and as it had been a place of frequent resort for
Jesus and His followers, we may assume that it belonged to some
friendly owner. The name Gethsemane means " the oil-press,"
and doubtless it was so called from a press to crush the olives yielded
THE LAST SUPPER— AND THE FIRST
441
by the countless trees from which the hill derives its designation.
. . . The traditional site, venerable and beautiful as it is from
the age and size of the grey, gnarled olive-trees, of which one is
still known as the Tree of the Agony, is perhaps too public —
being, as it always must have beeu, at the angle formed by the
two paths which lead over the sumuiit and shoulder of Olivet — to
be regarded as the actual spot. It was more probably one of the
secluded hollows at no great distance from it which witnessed that
scene of awful and pathetic mystery.
But although the exact spot cannot be determined with certainty,
the general position of Gethsemane is clear, and then as now the
chequering moonlight, the grey leaves, the dark brown trunks,
the soft greensward, the ravine with Olivet towering over it to the
eastward and Jerusalem to the west, must have been the main
external features of a place which must be regarded with undying
interest while Time shall be, as the place where the Saviour of
mankind entered alone into the Valley of the Shadow.
Tlie Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 307.
From Pclouhct's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for 1 90/, p. 69.
XXXII
AGONY, BETRAYAL, AEREST
With lanterns did they seek the Suu.
— George Herbert.
A Place Named Gethsemane
And they come to a place named Gethsemane, and he says to
his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
And he takes Peter and James and John with him. And he
began to be greatly moved and deeply depressed. And he says
to them, "Very sorrowful is my soul — even unto death ! Stay
here and watch."
And going a little farther, he fell upon the earth and prayed
that, if possible, the hour might pass from him.
And he said, " Abba, Eather, all things are possible to thee.
Take away this cup from me ; — but not what I will, but what
thou!''
And he comes and finds them sleeping.
Mark xiv. 32-37. A literal reudering from the Greek.
Pre-eminently His Passion
As regards what is called pre-eminently his passion, the scene
of martyrdom that closes his life, it is easy to distinguish a char-
acter in it which separates it from all mere human martyrdoms.
Thus, it will be observed, that his agony, the scene in which his
suffering is bitterest and most evident, is, on human principles,
wholly misplaced. It comes before the time, when as yet there
is no arrest, and no human prospect that there will be any. He
is at large, to go where he pleases, and in perfect outward safety.
His disciples havejust been gathered round him in a scene of more
than family tenderness and affection.
Indeed it is but a very few hours since that he was coming into
the city, at the head of a vast procession, followed by loud accla-
mations, and attended by such honors as may fitly celebrate the
inaugural of a king. Yet here, with no bad sign apparent, we
442
AGONY, BETRAYAL, ARREST 443
Bee him plunged into a sceue of deepest distress, and racked, in
his feeling, with more than mortal agony.
The Character of Jesus, Horace Bushnell, p. 30.
Being in Agony He Prayed
And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and falling
on his knees, he prayed, saying, "Father if thou art willing to
take this cup away from me — but not my will but thine be done ! "
And an angel from heaven appeared strengthening him. And
being in agony he prayed the more earnestly. And his sweat be-
came as great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And
rising from prayer, he came to his disciples and found them sleep-
ing from grief, and he said to them, " Why are you asleep 1 Get
up and pray not to get into temptation."
Luke xxii. 41-46. A literal rendering from the Greek.
No Fear for Himself Caused His Anguish
Leaving his disciples, Jesus goes a few paces into the darkness.
There he falls upon his face ; he cries to heaven in his agony.
Just when his cause had commenced to move so auspiciously, with
the representatives from the world-wide dispersion rallying to him
and with an entering wedge among the Jewish ruling class itself,
to be trapped in the dark and slain in this fashion — it broke him
down ! Not fear for himself caused the agony of that Gethsemane
moment. He had been born and bred to a life of hardness.
Nerve flabbiuess was not in his make-up. No bodily shrinking,
nor the disgrace of a felon's death, could have wrung from him
swfeat, "as it were great drops of blood falling down to the
ground." His fear was for the stability of his disciples. One of
them had already gone over to the enemy. Would it not be thus
with them alH
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 176.
"Not Able to Watch One Hour ? "
And he says to Peter, "Simon, art thou asleep ? Wast thou
not able to watch one hour? Wat.^h and pray that you do not go
into temptation. Indeed the spirit is willing but the flesh is
weak."
And having gone away again he prayed, saying the same thing,
Ui THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
and when he returned lie found them asleep again, for their eyes
were heavy and they did not know what to answer.
And he comes the third time, and says to them, "Sleep on now
and take your rest. It is enough. The hour
has come. Lo, the Son of man is delivered
into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go.
See ! he who is delivering me up has come."
3Iark xiv. 37-42. A literal rendering from the
Greek.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for i poi .p. 73.
Returning the Third Time
Jesus had just returned from His third prayer, and was rousing
His disciples ; when He heard the noise of the soldiers and the
crowd, and saw their lights approaching. The disappointment,
even in His most trusted friends, asleep when they should have
watched, and leaving it to Himself to discover Judas and his
band, wounded His heart. With keen but gentle irony, therefore,
He told them that they might sleep on now and take their rest,
if they chose ; their watching was no longer needed. His hour
had come. Then, speaking in a serious strain. He bade them
"rise and go out with Him, for the traitor was at hand."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol, II, p. 480.
The Loftiest Courage
Men saw Jesus stand on the hill at Nazareth among a crowd of
hooting enemies. They saw Him stand calmly in the boat on the
stormy midnight lake and never tremble. They saw Him face
the gibbering maniac among the tombs. They saw Him set His
face toward Jerusalem and go up thither quietly, knowing that
there He would be crucified. They said to one another, "See
how brave He is. He does not know anything like fear. Behold,
what manliness ! " And then, full of this enthusiasm, some of
them witnessed Gethsemane. They heard Him pray to be re-
leased from the approaching pain. They watched Him in the
days before Gethsemane, as the horror of the coming death
gathered around Him.
" Father, save me from this hour," they heard Him cry. It is
AGONY, BETRAYAL, ARREST 445
impossible not to believe that tlieir conception of manliness under-
went first a shock and then an enlargement, as their Master showed
them that sensitiveness to pain is a true and necessary element in
the loftiest courage.
The BTanliness of Christ, Phillips Brooks, The Candle of the Lord and Other
Sermons, p. 265.
*Tis Midnight in the Garden Now
{This hymn was ivritten by a man who, like Abraham Lincoln^ never
went to school more than a few months. W. W.)
'Tis midnight ; and on Olive's brow
The star is dimmed that lately shone:
'Tis midnight ; in the garden now,
The suffering Saviour prays alone.
'Tis midnight ; and from all removed.
The Saviour wrestles lone with fears ;
E'en that disciple whom he loved
Heeds not his Master's grief and tears.
'Tis midnight ; and for others' guilt
The Man of sorrows weeps in blood ;
Yet he that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by his God.
'Tis midnight ; and from ether-plains
Is borne the song that angels know ;
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Saviour's woe.
Poems, William Bingham Tappan, Hymn Studies, Rev. Charles S. Nutter, p. 89,
**HaiI, Rabbi ! ''—and Kissed Him M«ch
And while he was speaking, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came,
and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the
chief priests and elders of the people.
Now he that betrayed him had given them a
sign, saying. Whomever I shall kiss, that is
he : take him.
And straightway he came to Jesus, and said,
Hail, Rabbi ! — and kissed him much.
Matthew xxvi. 47-49. Revised Version, using Marginals.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons /or lpot,p. 78.
UQ THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
" Dost Thou Betray the Son of Man ? **
And even as Jesus spoke the traitor himself appeared. Over-
doing his part — acting in the too-hurried impetuosity of a crime
so hideous that he dared not pause to think — he pressed forward
into the enclosure, and was in front of all the rest. "Comrade,"
said Jesus to him as he hurried forward, " the crime for which
thou art come " — the sentence seems to have been cut short by
the deep agitation of His spirit, nor did Judas return any answer,
intent only on giving to his confederates his shameful precon-
certed signal. "He whom I kiss," he had said to them, "the
same is He. Seize Him at once, and lead Him away safely."
And so, advancing to Jesus with his usual cold title of address,
he exclaimed, " Eabbi, Eabbi, hail ! " and profaned the sacred
cheek of his Master with a kiss of overacted salutation.
"Judas," said Jesus to him, with stern and sad reproach,
" dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss? "
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 318.
Jwdas Was Afraid
On this occasion the emotion of Gethsemane was upon Him —
the rapt sense of victory and of a mind steeled to go through with
its purpose — and perhaps there remained on His face some traces
of the Agony, which scared the onlookers. It is not necessary to
suppose that there was anything preternatural, though part of the
terror of His captors may have been the dread lest He should
destroy them by a miracle. Evidently Judas was afraid of some-
thing of this kind when he said, " Take Him and lead Him away
safely."
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 7.
"Whom Are You Looking for?"
Judas then, haviug received the cohort of soldiers, and officers
from the chief priests and the Pharisees, comes thither with
lanterns and torches and weapons.
Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon
him, went forth, and said to them. Whom are you seeking?
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus said to them, I am he.
And Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
AGONY, BETRAYAL, ARREST 447
Wlieu therefore he said to them, I am he, they went backward,
and fell to the ground.
Again therefore he asked them, Whom are you seeking 1
And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered, I told you that I am he : if therefore you are
seeking me, let these go their way : that the word might be ful-
filled which he spoke, Of those whom thou hast given me I lost
not one.
Simon Peter therefore having a sword drew it, and struck the
high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear.
Now the servant's name was Malchus.
Jesus therefore said to Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath :
the cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
John xviii. 3-11. Revised Version, usiug Marginals, etc.
As a Good Shepherd Stands forth
. . . As a good shepherd stands forth between his flock and
danger, so Jesus, when His captors drew nigh, threw Himself
between them and His followers. It was partly with this in view
that He went so boldly out and concentrated attention on Him-
self by the challenge, "Whom seek ye?" When they replied,
"Jesus of Nazareth," He said, "I am he: if therefore ye seek
me, let these go their way. ' '
And the fright into which they were thrown made them forget
His followers in their anxiety to secure Himself.
This was as He intended.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 12.
Taxes Them with Cowardice
Turning to the " chief priests and captains of the Temple, and
the elders which were come out against him," Jesus taunts them
with their cowardice in coming upon him in the night and for not
daring an open challenge in the daytime when the people would
be awake and could rally to him :
' ' When I was daily with you in the Temple, ye stretched forth
no hands against me ; but this is your hour, and the power of
darkness."
His disciples make their escape, apparently at a quiet sugges-
448 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
tion to that effect from Jesus — his resourcefulness not forsaking
him even now. He himself is taken into custody.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 177,
Twice Repelled by the Glory of His Pefson
But there was a divinity upon Him that they could not seize
Him at first ; but as a wave climbing of a rock is beaten back and
scattered into members, till falling down it creeps with gentle
waftings, and kisses the feet of the stonj^ mountain, and encircles
it : so the soldiers coming at first with a rude attempt, were twice
repelled by the glory of His person, till they, falling at His feet,
were at last admitted to a seizure of His body.
The History of the Life and Death of Jesus Christ, Jeremy Taylor, Part III,
XV, p. 595.
** Excwse Me This Once **
And those around Him, seeing what was going to happen, ex-
claimed : "Lord, shall we fight with the sword*?" And one of
them struck the bondman of the high priest and took off his
right ear. And in consequence, Jesus said :
"Excuse me this once."
And He touched the man's ear and healed it.
Luke xxii. 49-51. A literal rendering into modern speech.
A Knight among Knaves
In his blinded, blundering M^ay Simon Peter began to brandish
a sword he had brought from the supper room. With a clumsy
blow he sliced off the ear of Malchus, an upper servant of
Caiaphas.
Jesus, whose arms had been seized by the Temple police, gazed
sadly upon the wrong done by His too impulsive disciple.
Turning to Peter He reproved him tenderly for his violent
rashness.
"Put that sword back in its place," He ordered, "for those
who use the sword shall die by the sword. "
Then, half reproachfully, half assuringly, He asked them all if
they did not know that He could escape if He desired, for instead
of twelve frightened followers, He could call down twelve legions
— seventy-two thousand — of the angel hosts to rescue Him.
AGONY, BETRAYAL, ARREST 449
Although He had williugly resigned Himself to this capture,
He now wished to repair the wrong which Peter had wrought —
for the mistaken apostle's sake, as well as for that of the wounded
servant and his wicked master. He could easily have freed His
hands from the desperate grasp of the frightened soldiers — or He
might have performed the miracle by a word or a look. But He
gently removed His arms from their weakening hold as He said
with a courteous smile,
"Excuse me this once."
Without knowing why, they let go, and He did one more work
of healing before their quailing eyes. Reaching out, He touched
and restored the severed ear, then surrendered again to their cruel
will the beautiful hands that had never done anything but good.
This was the last miraculous act of mercy in the earthly pilgrim-
age of tlie sinless Knight *' without fear and without reproach."
W. W.
The Naked Yottng Man
He [Mark] arrived in time to see Judas's kiss of betrayal and
Jesus in the hands of the mob. He pressed closer than was alto-
gether prudent — his boyish curiosity and his interest getting the
better of his judgment — and before he knew it he was in the out-
skirts of the mob. Suddenly a rough hand was laid upon him
and somebody demanded of him what was his business there.
Then in an instant terror overtook him ; he wrested himself
loose from his captor and ran homeward, leaving the linen sheet
in the hands of the man who had seized him. He reached his
own home, entered the gate of the courtyard, barred it behind
him, listened a moment to be sure he was not pursued, and then
crept back to bed, where he panted and shivered until he got his
breath, and lay awake until almost morning. In the morning
none of the family knew that he had been out, nor did he tell it
immediately ; but long years afterwards, when he heard the story
of that night from Peter and wrote it down as Peter told it to
him, he could not refrain from adding these words, which neither
Matthew nor Luke thought wortli keeping and which few people
understood when they read them :
"And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him
a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked
450 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
body ; and the young men laid hold on him : and he left the linen
cloth, and fled from them naked."
The Boy Who Ran Away, William E. Barton, D. D., The Outlook, Novem-
ber 18, 1911, p. 665.
The Disciples Disappear among the Trees
When Jesus was bound in Gethsemane and led away back to
Jerusalem, all His disciples forsook Him and fled. They disap-
peared, I suppose, among the bushes and trees of the garden and
escaped into the surrounding country or wherever they thought
they would be safe.
But two of the Twelve — St. Peter and St. John, who tells the
story — soon rallied from the first panic and followed, at a dis-
tance, the baud in whose midst their Master was. Keeping in
the shadow of the trees by the roadside, keeping in the shadow
of the houses in the streets, they stole after the moving mass. At
last, when it got near its destination — the palace of the high
priest — they harried forward ; and St. John went in with the
crowd ; but somehow, probably through irresolution, St. Peter
was left outside in the street ; and the door was shut.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Chnst, James Stalker, D. D., p. 31.
The Jewish Senate Greatly Agitated
The elders of the people — a body equivalent to a Jewish senate
— were in [great] agitation respecting Jesus ; for they, also, were
identified with the preservation of things as they were. One or
two of them — Nieodemus, and Joseph of Arimathsea — were se-
cretly in his favour, but they had not moral courage to take his
part openly. The names of the rest have perished.
The college of rabbis took an equally vigorous part, but its
members at this time can only be guessed, though some who had
met the boy Jesus, twenty years before, in the Temj^le school,
doubtless, survived.
2 he Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 475.
XXXIII
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL
Trial of cruel mockiugs and scourgings.
— Uebreics xi. 36.
Taken before Annas
So the cohort and the military tribune, and the officers of the
Jews seized Jesus and bound him, and led him to Annas first ;
for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was
high priest that year.
Now Caiaphas was he that gave counsel to
the Jews that it was expedient that one man
should die for the people.
John xviii. 12-14. Eevised, with Marginals, etc.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for ipoi, p. 83,
The Late High Priest
No figure is better known in contemporary Jewish history than
that of Annas ; no person deemed more fortunate or successful,
but none also more generally execrated than the late high priest.
He had held the pontificate for only six or seven years ; but it
was filled by not fewer than five of his sons, by his son-in-law
Caiaphas, and by a grandson. And in those days it was, at least
for one of Annas' disposition, much better to have been than to
be high priest.
He enjoyed all the dignity of the office, and all its influence
also, since he was able to promote to it those most closely con-
nected with him. And, while they acted publicly, he really
directed affiiirs, without either the responsibility or the restraints
which the office imposed. His influence with the Romans he
owed to the religious views which he professed, to his open
partisanship of the foreigner, and to his enormous wealth.
451
452 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Sadducean Annas was an eminently safe Churchman, not
troubled with any special convictions nor with Jewish fanaticism,
a pleasant and a useful man also, who was able to furnish his
friends in the Prsetorium with large sums of money. We have
seen what immense revenues the family of Annas must have
derived from the Temple booths, and how nefarious and un-
popular was the traffic. The names of those bold, licentious,
unscrupulous, degenerate sons of Aaron were spoken with
whispered curses.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Blessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 547.
Through John's Influence Peter Was Admitted
Now Simon Peter and the other disciple followed Jesus. And
that disciple was known to the high priest and entered with
Jesus into the high priest's court, but Peter stood outside at the
door. Therefore the other disciple, who was known to the high
priest, went out and spoke to the door-keeper and brought
Peter in.
John xviii. 15, 16. A literal rendering from the Greek.
In a Trap
John no doubt, as soon as he got Peter inside the door, hurried
away across the court into the hall where Jesus was, to witness
the proceedings.
Not so Peter. He was not familiar with the place as John
was ; and he had the shyness of a plain man at the sight of a
great house. Besides, he was under fear of being recognised as a
follower of Christ and apprehended. Now also the unlucky blow
he had made at Malchus at the gate of Gethsemane had to be paid
for, because it greatly increased his chance of detection.
He remained, therefore, just inside the great door, watching
from the shadows of the archway what was going on inside, and,
without knowing it, himself being watched by the portress from her
coigne of vantage. He was ill at ease ; for he did not know what
to do. He did not dare to go, like John, into the judgment-hall.
Perhaps he half wished he could get out into the street again.
He was in a trap.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D. , p. 34,
THE GRP:AT CHUE-CH TKIAL 453
** Aft Thou One of This Man's Disciples ? *'
The maid therefore that kept the door said to Peter, Art thou
also one of this man's disciples'?
He said, I am not.
Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having
made a charcoal fire ; for it was cold ; and they were warming
themselves : and Peter also was with them, standing and warm-
ing himself.
John xviii. 17, 18. Revised, with Marginals, etc.
In Mortal Terror
A fire of wood kindled in the open court in the chilly April
night, had attracted all round it, Peter among the rest, by its
cheerful blaze. He sat, with weary heart, by the light, wonder-
ing what the end would be, and not without alarm for his owu
safety, in case he should be recognised, and charged with his
violence in the garden. Meanwhile, the door-keeper, who, per-
haps, had seen him in attendance on Jesus in the "Woman's Court
of the Temple, sauntered, like others, to the fire, and with a
woman's abruptness, after gazing at him steadily, put the ques-
tion directly to him —
" Art thou, also, one of this man's disciples? "
Confused and off his guard, he said nothing, but she would not
let him go.
"Thou, also, wast with Jesiis of Galilee," she continued — re-
peating to those round her, " Certainly this man, also, was with
Him."
"Woman," said Peter, stammering out the words in mortal
terror for his life, "I do not know Him ; I do not know what
you mean."
But his conscience was ill at ease, and his fears grew apace.
He could no longer hide his confusion, and went off into the
darkness of the porch. His inexorable inquisitor would not,
however, let him escape. He had hardly come to the light again,
after a time, when she once more scanned him, and, determined
to justify herself, began to speak of him to the serving men and
slaves.
*' He is one of them. He was with Jesus of Nazareth. "
454 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Irritated and alarmed, and losing all presence of mind, he re-
peated his denial with an oath.
" I do not know the man. I am not one of His disciples. I
swear I am not."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunniugham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 496.
** I Have Spoken Openly to the "World **
The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of
his teaching.
Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world ; I ever
taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come
together ; and in secret spoke I nothing. Why ask est thou me?
Ask them that have heard me, what I spoke to them : behold,
these know the things which I said.
And when he had said this, one of the officers standing by
struck Jesus with a rod, saying, Answerest thou the high priest
so?
Jesus answered him. If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the
evil : but if well, why smitest thou me ?
Annas therefore sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
John xviii. 19-24. Kevised Version, using Marginals, etc.
" Answerest Thoa the High Priest So ? **
Such then were the feelings of bitter contempt and hatred with
which the ex-High Priest assumed the initiative in interrogating
Jesus. The fact that he dared not avow them — nay, was forced to
keep them wholly out of sight — would only add to the intensity
of his bitterness. Even his method of procedure seems to have
been as wholly illegal as was his assumption, in such a place and
at such an hour, of any legal function whatever. Anxious, at all
hazards, to trump up some available charge of secret sedition, or
of unorthodox teaching, he questioned Jesus of His disciples and
of His doctrine. The answer, for all its calmness, involved a
deep reproof.
' ' I have spoken openly to the world ; I ever taught in the syna-
gogue and in the Temple, where all the Jews come together, and
in secret I said nothing. Why askest thou me ? Ask those who
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL 455
have heard me what I said to tliem. Lo ! these " — pointing, per-
haps to the bystanders — "know what I said to them."
The emphatic rejietition of the "I," and its uunsually signifi-
cant position at the end of the sentence, sliow that a contrast was
intended ; as though He had said, "This midnight, this sedition,
this secrecy, this indecent mockery of justice, are yours, not mine.
There has never been anything [hidden] in my doctrine ; never
anything to conceal in my actions ; no hole-and-corner plots
among my followers. But thou ? and thine ? " Even the minions
of Annas felt the false position of their master under this calm
rebuke ; they felt that before the transparent innocence of this
youthful Rabbi of Nazareth the hoary hypocrisy of the crafty
Sadducee was abashed.
" Answerest thou the High Priest so ?" said one of them with
a burst of illegal insolence ; and then, unreproved by this
priestly violator of justice, he profaned with the first infamous
blow the sacred face of Christ.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S,, Vol. II, p. 335.
Scouring the City to Get Their Senate Together
It allowed time . to get together the Sanhedrin. Messengers
were dispatched to scour the city for the members at the midnight
hour, because the case was urgent and could not brook delay.
None knew what might happen if the multitude, when it woke
in the morning, found the popular Teacher in the hands of His
unpopular enemies. But, if the trial were all over before day-
break and Jesus already in the strong hands of the Romans
before the multitude had learnt that anything was going on, there
would be nothing to fear. So the Sanhedrin was assembled
under cloud of night ; and the proceedings went forward in the
small hours of the morning in the house of Caiaphas, to which
Jesus had been removed.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 19.
The False Witnesses Disagree
And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and there came
together with him all the chief priests and elders and the
scribes.
And Peter had followed him afar off, even within, into the court
456 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
of the high priest ; and he was sitting with the officers, and warm-
ing himself in the light of the fire.
Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witness
against Jesus to put him to death ; and found it not.
For many bore false witness against him, and their evidence
agreed not together.
And there stood up certain ones, and bore false witness against
him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this sanctuary that
is made with hands, and in three days I will build another with-
out hands.
And not even so did their witness agree together.
And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus,
saying, Answerest thou nothing*? What is it that these witness
against thee ?
But he held his peace, and answered nothing.
Mark xiv. 53-61. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
That Majestic Silence
But that majestic silence troubled, thwarted, confounded, mad-
dened them. It weighed them down for the moment with an
incubus of intolerable self-condemnation. They felt, before that
silence, as if they were the culprits. He the judge. And as every
poisoned arrow of their carefully provided perjuries fell harmless
at His feet, as though blunted on the diamond shield of His white
innocence, they began to fear lest, after all, their thirst for His
blood would go unslaked, and their whole plot fail. Were they
to be conquered by the feebleness of their own weapons, without
His stirring a finger, or uttering a word ? Was this Prophet of
Nazareth to prevail against 'them, merely for the lack of a few
consistent lies? Was His life charmed even against calumny
confirmed by oaths ? It was intolerable.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 340.
"Art Thoo the Christ?**
Again the high priest asked him, and said to him, Art thou
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ?
And Jesus said, I am : and you shall see the Son of man sitting
at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
And the high priest rent his clothes, and said, What further
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL 457
need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy:
what do you think ?
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Mark xiv. 61-64. Revised Version, with Marginals, etc.
*' Thou Hast Said!*'
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said. — Matthew xxvi. 64.
Jesus had been standing before the domineering high priest, as
that blustering prelate's judge and accuser. When Caiaphas,
instead of asking Him to plead guilty or not guilty of the charge
against Him, demanded with the most solemn oath, whether He
really was the world- expected Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus' s
answer, " You have said it," was a revelation. It was as if the
Accused had answered : "In spite of yourself you have confessed
it. Right here before the assembled Senate you have given me my
rightful title, for that is who I AM ! "
w. w.
Reverberating down the Ages
How this great coufession lifts the whole scene ! We see no
longer these small men and their sordid proceedings ; but the Son
of man bearing witness to Himself in the audience of the universe.
How little we care now what the Jewish judges will say about
Him ! This great confession reverberates down the ages, and
the heart of the world, as it hears it from His lips, says. Amen.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D, D,, p. 26.
Caiaphas Played His Part Well
Caiaphas played his part]well. Quivering with passion, and tri-
umphant at his success, he forgot the practised coldness of the Sad-
ducee, and once more springing from his couch with well-feigned
horror at the words of Jesus, though they were precisely what he
wished, rent the bosom of his priestly robe of fine linen, as if it
were too narrow to let him breathe, after hearing such blasphemy.
He forgot that it was the worst of blasphemy for his own lips to use
the name of Jehovah as a mere cloak for crime and wickedness !
Jesus had spoken with the calmness of truth and innocence.
He had applied to Himself words of Daniel, and of the Psalms,
universally understood of the Messiah, and had predicted His
sitting henceforth with Jehovah on the throne of heaven, and
458 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
descending in divine majesty to judge the earth, though, while
He spoke, He was at the very threshold of a shameful death.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuningham Geikie, D, D., Vol. II, p. 494.
*' Blasphemy ! He Is a Man of Death !*'
Now, at this awful, decisive moment, when death was near —
when, humanly speaking, nothing could be gained, everything
must be lost, by the avowal — there thrilled through all the ages —
thrilled through that Eternity, which is the synchronism of all the
future, and all the present, and all the past — the solemn auswer,
"I AM ; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.^' In that answer the
thunder rolled — a thunder louder than at Sinai, though the ears
of the cynic and the Sadducee heard it not then, nor hear it now.
In overacted and ill-omened horror, the unjust judge who had thus
supplemented the failure of the perjuries which he had vainly
sought — the false High Priest rending his linen robes before the
True — demanded of the assembly His instant condemnation.
"Blasphemy ! " he exclaimed ; "what further need have we
of witnesses ! See, noiv ye heard his blasphemy ! What is your
decision?" And with the confused tumultuous cry, "He is
. . . a man of death ! "
"Guilty of death ! " the dark conclave was broken up, and the
second stage of the trial of Jesus was over.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 342.
**Man, I Don't Know What You're Talking about !**
And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the court,
and had sat down together, Peter sat in the midst of them.
And a certain maid seeing him as he sat in the light of the fire,
and looking stedfastly upon him, said, This man also was with him.
But he denied, saying, Woman, I know him not.
And after a little while another saw him, and said. Thou also
art one of them.
But Peter said, Man, I am not.
And after the space of about one hour another confidently
affirmed, saying, Of a truth this man also was with him : for he
is a Galilean.
But Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL 459
And immediately, while he was speakiug, the cock crew.
And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.
And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how that he said
to him, Before the cock crow this day, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke xxii. 55-62. Eevised Version, usiug Margiuals, etc.
Stttng with Unutterable Anguish
As Jesus stepped down out of the hall into the courtyard. His
ear had caught the accents of His disciple, and stung with unut-
terable anguish, He turned quickly round in the direction whence
the sounds proceeded. At the same moment Peter turned, and
they looked one another full in the face. Jesus did not speak ;
for a single syllable, even of surprise, would have betrayed His
disciple. Nor could He linger ; for the soldiers were hurrying
Him on. But for a single instant their eyes met, and soul looked
into soul.
Who shall say what was in that look of Christ ? There may be
a world in a look. It may be more eloquent than a whole volume
of words. It may reveal far more than the lips can ever utter.
One soul may give itself away to another in a look. A look may
beatify or plunge in the depths of despair.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 40.
The Saviour Looked on Peter
The Saviour looked ou Peter. Ay, no word,
No gesture of reproach ; the heavens serene,
Though heavy with armed justice, did not lean
Their thunders that way ; the forsaken Lord
Looked only ou the traitor. None record
What that look was, none guess ; for those who have seen
Wronged lovers loving through a death-pang keen,
Or pale-cheeked martyrs smiling to a sword.
Have missed Jehovah at the judgment-call.
And Peter, from the height of blasphemy, —
" I never knew this man " — did quail and fall
As knowing straight that God, and turned free
And went out speechless from the face of all.
And filled the silence, weeping bitterly.
Sonnets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Jfrs, Browning''s Complete Poetical
Works, p. 359.
460 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Remorse of Judas
Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was con-
demned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I
betrayed innocent blood.
But they said. What is that to us ? see thou to it.
And he threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary, and
departed ; and he went away and hanged himself.
And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is
not lawful to put them into the sacred treasury, since it is the
price of blood.
And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field,
to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The Field
of Blood unto this day.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah
the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of him whom they priced, on the part of the sons of
Israel ; and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord
appointed me.
Matthew xxvii. 3-10. Revised Version, using Marginals, ete.
** 1 Have Sinned, He Is Innocent ! **
. . . " All left bim to his fate,
Not one dared own that he was a follower —
Not one gave witness for him of them all.
Stop ! When I say not one of them, I mean
No one but Judas — Judas whom they call
The traitor — who betrayed him to his death.
He rushed into the council-hall and cried,
' 'Tis I have sinned — Christus is innocent.' "
A Roman Lawyer in Jerusalem,Wi\\iam Wetmore Story, In Defence of Judas,
p. 11.
Peter Never Slept Past the Hour of His Shame
He lived to be an old man, but it has been said of Simon Peter
that never, from that dawn to his last, could he sleep past the
hour that had known his shame ; but rising from his bed, while
the cocks called through the valleys, he prayed forgiveness for
his sin, and found it.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 374.
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL 461
" Prophesy ! Who Struck Thee ? "
And the men that held Jesus mocked him, aud beat him. And
they blindfolded him, aud asked him, saying, Prophesy : who is
he that struck thee ?
And many other things did they speak against him, reviling him.
Luke xxii. 63-65. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
The Judges Separated for an Hour or Two of Sleep
Meanwhile, Jesus was left in charge of the rough Temple
police, while the judges separated for an hour or two of sleep.
There was nothing, now, to restrain the coarse natures to whom
the condemned prisoner had been consigned. One under sen-
tence of death was always, in these rough ages, the sport and
mockery of his guards, and those in charge of Jesus, made worse
than common by the example of the judges, vented their cruelty
on Him with the coarsest brutality. Their passions, indeed, in-
tensified their bitterness, for they were fierce Jewish bigots. He
was to die as a false prophet, and as such they treated Him, rack-
ing their ingenuity to invent insult and injury.
Having blindfolded Him, some struck Him violently on the
head with their fists, or perhaps with the vine-stick, which
Roman centurions and other officials carried as their sign of
rank, and were wont to use on the face or head of the soldiers ;
for some of the captors of Jesus had such staves with them — others
struck Him with their open hands, while still others, adding the
greatest indignity an Oriental could offer, spat in His face ; cry-
ing, as they insulted and tortured Him — "Prophesy to us, thou
Messiah, who was it that did it 1 "
The hands they had bound had healed the sick, and raised the
dead ; the lips they smote had calmed the winds and the waves.
One word, and the splendours of the Mount of Transfiguration
would have filled the chamber ; one word, and the menials now
sporting with Him at their will would have perished. But, as
He had begun and continued. He would end— as self-restrained
in the use of His awful powers on His own behalf as if He had
been the most helpless of men. Divine patience and infinite love
knew no wearying. He had but to will it and walk free, but He
came to die for man, and He would not shrink from doing so.
The Life arid Words of Christ, Cunuingbam Geikie, D. D,, Vol. II, p. 495.
462 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
They Disagreed among Themselves
Caiaphas, as raliug high j)riest, was president of the SanhedriD,
before which Jesus was tried. A legal meeting of this court could
not be held before sunrise, perhaps about six o'clock. But there
were many of its members already on the spot, who had been
drawn together by their interest in the case. They were eager to
get to work, both to gratify their own dislike to Him and to pre-
vent the interference of the populace with their proceedings.
Accordingly they resolved to hold an informal meeting at once,
at which the accusation, evidence and so forth might be put into
shape, so that, when the legal hour for opening their doors ar-
rived, there might be nothing to do but to repeat the necessary
formalities and carry Him off to the governor. This was done ;
and, while Jerusalem slept, these eager judges hurried forward
their dark designs.
They did not begin, as might have been expected, with a clear
statement of the crime with which He was charged. Indeed, it
would have been difficult for them to do so, for they were divided
among themselves. Many things in His life which the Pharisees
regarded as criminal were treated by the Sadducees with indiffer-
ence ; and other acts of His, like the cleansing of the temple,
which had enraged the Sadducees, afforded gratification to the
Pharisees.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M, A., p. 128.
Scene of the Temple Trial
Imagine, then, a large room forming one side of the court of an
Oriental house, from which it is separated only by a row of
pillars, so that what is going on in the lighted interior is visible
to those outside. The room is semicircular. Bound the arc of
the semicircle the half-hundred or more members sit on a divan.
Caiaphas, the president, occupies a kind of throne in the centre
of the opposite wall. In front stands the Accused, facing him,
with the jailers on the one side and the witnesses on the other.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 20.
Before the Sanhedrin
And as soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the
people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes ;
THE GREAT CHURCH TRIAL 4C3
and tliey led him away into their council, saying, If thou art the
Christ, tell us.
But he said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe : and
if I ask you, you will not answer. But from henceforth shall
the Sou of man be seated at the right hand of the power of God.
And they all said. Art thou then the Son of God ?
And he said to them. You say it because I am.
And they said, What further need have we of witness ? for we
ourselves have heard from his own mouth.
Luke XKu. 66-71. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Leading Their Own Messiah in Chains
And they bound Mm, and led Mm away, and delivered Mm up to
Pilate the governor. — Matthew xxvii. 2.
What a spectacle was that ! The heads of the Jewish nation
leading their own Messiah in chains to deliver Him up to a
Gentile governor, with the petition that He should be put to
death ! Shades of the heroes and the prophets, who loved this
nation and boasted of it and foretold its glorious fate, the hour
of destiny has come, and this is the result !
It was an act of national suicide. But was it not more % Was
it not the frustration of the purpose and the promise of God ?
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 48.
XXXIV
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE
The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now.
— Thomas Kelly.
That Morning in the Praetorium
" Accursed morn ! — more in my thoughts than Eome!
When Sanhedrists and priests, with Caiaphas
To lead the learned rabble, broke my sleep.
And brought, that I should doom him, that one man
Whom, of all Jews, I hated not, nor scorned.
And when I asked ' What accusation
Have ye against this one ? ' and bade them judge
According to their law (which — under Rome —
Held no more power to kill), they, wanting blood,
Must have me hear how he perverted minds,
Decried our tax, would pull the Temple down,
And make himself a king."
The Light of the World, Sir Edwin Arnold, K. C. I. E., C. S. I., p. 69.
Oracle
tie pa
Pilate Knew Them Well
Pilate understood perfectly well with whora^ie was dealing.
He could only be amused with their zeal for tfie payment of the
Roman tribute. One of the Evangelists says, " He knew that for
envy they had delivered Him." How far he was already ac-
quainted with the career of Jesus we cannot tell. He had been
governor all the time of the movement inaugurated by the Baptist
and continued by Christ, and he can hardly have remained in
entire ignorance of it. The dream of his wife, which we shall
come to soon, seems to prove that Jesus had already been a theme
of conversation in the palace ; and perhaps the tedium of a visit
to Jerusalem may have been relieved for the governor and his
wife by the story of the young Enthusiast who was bearding the
fanatic priests. Pilate displays, all through, a real interest in
Jesus and a genuine respect.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 53.
464
4 i W^k^
Wm. Hole
" WHY, WHAT HAS HE DONE? "
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE 466
" What Accusation Do Yoa Bring against This Man?"
They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Prsetorium :
and it was early ; aud they themselves entered not into the palace,
that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover.
Pilate therefore went out to them, aud said, What accusation
do you bring against this man?
They answered and said to him, If this man were not an evil-
doer, we should not have delivered him up to thee.
Pilate therefore said to them. Take him yourselves, andjudg*
him according to your law.
The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for
us to put any man to death : that the word of
Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke,
signifying by what manner of death he should
die.
John xviii. 28-32. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
From Peloubet's Notes on the Internationat
Lessons for i 901 , p. 91.
**If He Were Not a Great Offender We Would Not Deliver
Him up to You **
Pilate, having taken his seat, began the proceedings by formally
asking Caiaphas and his colleagues what accusation they had
against the prisoner.
" If He had not been a great offender," replied Caiaphas, as
spokesman, " we would not have delivered Him up to thee. We
have power enough to punish ordinary offenders by our own
laws, but this man's crime goes beyond our powers in the punish-
ment it demands, aud, therefore, we have handed Him over to
you. That we have done so, I submit, is proof that He deserves
death. The presence of myself, the high priest, and of the nota-
bles of the nation, as His accusers, may suffice to prove the
blackness of His guilt."
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 503.
Sent over to Herod^s Palace
And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, I find
no fault in this man.
466 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
But they were the more urgent, sayiug, He stirs up the people,
teacbiug throughout all Judea, and begiuniug from Galilee eveu
to this place.
But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the mau were a
Galilean.
And when he knew that he was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent
him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in these
days.
Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad : for he
was of a loDg time desirous to see him, because he had heard
concerning him ; and he hoped to see some miracle done by
him. And he questioned him in many words ; but he answered
nothing.
And the chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accus-
ing him.
And Herod with his soldiers set him at nought, and mocked
him, and arraying him in gorgeous apparel sent him back to
Pilate.
And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that
very day : for before they were at enmity between themselves.
Luke xxiii. 4-12. Revised Version, etc.
Herod Treated Jesus as if He Were a Juggler
Such was Herod's estimate of Christ. He put Him on the level
of a new dancer or singer ; he looked on His miracles as a species
of conjuring or magic ; and he expected from Him the same
entertainment as he might have obtained from any wandering
professor of magical arts.
At once he addressed Him in the friendliest manner and ques-
tioned Him in many words. Apijarently he quite forgot the
purpose for which Pilate had sent Him. He did not even wait
for any replies, but went rambling on. He had thought much
about religion, and he wished Jesus to know it. He had theorii-s
to ventilate, puzzles to propound, remarks to make. A man who
has no religion may yet have a great deal to say about religion ;
and there are people who like far better to hear themselves talk-
ing than to listen to any speaker, however wise. No mouth is
more voluble than that of a characterless man of feeling.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D,, p. 68.
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE 4G7
Remained Silent That the Baptist Might Be Heard
It may be tliouglit that Jesus ought to have spoken to Herod —
that He missed au opportuuity. Ought He not to have appealed
to his conscience and attempted to rouse him to a sense of his
sin ? To this I answer that His silence was itself this appeal.
Had there been a spark of conscience left in Herod, those eyes
looking him through and through, and that divine dignity meas-
uring and weighing him, would have caused his sins to rise up
out of the grave and overwhelm him. Jesus was silent, that the
voice of the dead Baptist might be heard.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 72.
Back to Pilate
And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers aud
the ]3eople, and said to them, "You brought to me this man, as
one that perverts the people : and, behold, I, having examined
him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things
of which you accuse him : no, nor yet Herod :
for he sent him back to us ; and behold, noth-
ing punishable by death has been done by him.
I will therefore chastise him, aud release him."
Luke xxiii. 13-16. Revised Versiou, usiug modem
form.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for 1 901 , p. 93.
A Ctowd Had Gathered Meanwhile
Up to this point the actors assembled on the stage of Christ's
trial were comparatively few. It had been the express desire of
the Jewish authorities to hurry the case through before the popu-
lace of the city and the crowds of Passover strangers got wind of
it. The proceedings had accordingly gone forward all night ; and
it was still early morning. As Jesus was led through the streets
to Herod and back, accompanied by so many of the principal
citizens, no doubt a considerable number must have gathered.
But now circumstances brouglit a great multitude on the scene.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D, D., p. 82.
468 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Qoss-qaestioned in Private by Pilate
Pilate therefore entered again into the Prsetorium, and called to
Jesus, and said to him, Art thou the King of the Jews ?
Jesus answered, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell
thee concerning me ?
Pilate answered, Am I a Jew ? Thine own nation and the chief
priests delivered thee to me : what hast thou done ?
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world : if my king-
dom were of this world, then would my officers fight, that I should
not be delivered to the Jews : but now is my kingdom not from
hence.
Pilate therefore said to him, Art thou a king then ?
Jesus answered. Thou sayest it because I am a king. To this
end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world,
that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the
truth hears my voice.
Pilate said to him. What is truth f
John xviii. 33-38, Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
'*My Kingdom Is Not of This World**
He [Pilate] saw simply a Galilean peasant ; not a wild revolu-
tionist nor a hardened criminal. The man seemed jperfectly harm-
less.
" Did you suggest that," answered Jesus quietly, "or have other
people said that to you about mel "
"Do you take me for a Jew?" Pilate answered crossly. "It
is your countrymen and your own jiriests that have handed you
over to me. What have you been doing, now? "
"My kingdom," said Jesus firmly, "is not one of this world's
kingdoms. If it had been, of course my servants would have been
fighting to prevent my being handed over to the Jews, but, as it
is, my kingdom is nothing of that kind."
" So you are a king after all ! " exclaimed Pilate.
"Yes. I am King, as you say," answered Jesus. " I was born
for this, I have come into the world for this one thing— to bear
witness to the Truth. Everyone who is on the side of Truth
hears my voiee."
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE 469
" Truth 1 ' ' asked Pilate scornfully. ' ' What is that ? ' '
He made up his mind that Jesus was a dreamer.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byron Forbush, p. 243.
** What Shall I Do to Jes«s"Who Is Called the Christ ?**
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to
the multitude one prisoner, whom they wished.
And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
When thei'efore they were gathered together, Pilate said to
them, Whom do you wish that I release to you ? Barabbas, or
Jesus who is called the Christ 1
For he kuew that for envy they had delivered him up.
And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to
him, saying, Have nothing to do with that righteous man : for I
have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes
that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
But the governor answered and said to them. Which of the two
is it your will that I release to you ?
And they said, Barabbas.
Pilate said to them, What then shall I do to Jesus who is called
the Christ ?
They all say, Let him be crucified.
And he said. Why, what evil has he done"?
But they cried out exceedingly, saying. Let him be crucified.
So when Pilate saw that he availed nothing, but rather a tumult
was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the mul-
titude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man :
you see to it !
And all the people answered and said. His blood be on us, and
on our children.
Then he released to them Barabbas : but Jesus he scourged and
delivered to be crucified.
llatthew xxvii. 15-26. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
"Not This Man, but Barabbas !*'
Arrived within a few feet of the barrier which divided the ju-
dicial precincts from the common hall, Pilate paused. Lifting up
470 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
his voice so that it might be heard ou the very outskirts of the
throngj he addressed himself to the people, at the same time
pointing to the regal Figure standing a little way behind him.
" Behold your King ! "
Yells of derisive laughter answered him, intermingled with
hooting and hisses. Caiaphas smiled disdainfully, and Annas
ai3peared to be convulsed with a paroxysm of silent mirth. Pilate's
glance swept over them both with a supreme and measureless
scorn. He loathed the Jewish priests, their ritual and their doc-
trine, and made no secret of his abhorrence. Holding up one
hand to enjoin silence he again appealed to the irritated and im-
patient mob.
" I have examined this man before you," he said, in deliberate
far-reaching accents, " and I find in him no fault worthy of death ! "
Here he paused, and a sudden hush of stupefaction and surprise
fell on the listening crowd. The governor resumed, —
"But ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at
the Passover ; will ye therefore that I release unto you the ' King
of the Jews'?"
A roar of furious denial interrupted and drowned his voice.
" Not this man ! "
''Not this man, but Barabbas ! "
Bambbas, A Dream of the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 36.
A Thrill of Horroi" through the Heart of Humanity-
No. That basin of water washes not the blood of the Galilean
from the hands of the Roman Empire, red with world-wide spolia-
tion. It was Rome that put J( sus to death. The Jewish method
of capital punishment was by stoning. The assassination of The
Carpenter, a deed that has sent a thrill of horror through the heart
of humanity ever since, was perpetrated by Rome and by a hand-
ful of Romanized renegades among the Jewish privileged class.
The hand-washing scene was but Pilate's spectacular — and one
likes to believe ineffectual — attempt to restore peace in his family.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 181.
He Should Have Been Protected from the Jews
Pilate had tried Jesus and found Him innocent; and so he
fi-aukly told the members of the Sanhedrin, thereby reversing
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE 471
their seutence. What ought to have followed 1 Of course Jesus
ought to have been released and, if necessary, protected from the
feeling of the Jews.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D,, p. 61.
Growned with Thorns
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Prsetorium,
and gathered around him the whole cohort.
And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And
they plaited a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a
reed in his right hand ; and they knelt down before him, and
mocked him, saying. Hail, King of the Jews !
And they did spit upon him, and took the reed and smote him
on the head.
Blaithew xxvii. 27-30. Revised VersioD, using Marginals, etc.
A Mock Coronation
Their horseplay took the form of a mock coronation. They
had caught the drift of the trial sufficiently to know that the
charge against Jesus was that He pretended to be a king ; and
lofty pretensions on the part of one who appears to be mean and
poor easily lend themselves to ridicule. Besides, in their minds
there was perhaps an amused scorn at the thought of a Jew aim-
ing at a sovereignty above that of C?esar. Foreign soldiers
stationed in Palestine cannot have liked the Jews, who hated
them so cordially ; and this may have given an edge to their
scorn of a Jewish pretender.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D,, p. 92.
** I Have Power to Crucify Thee **
And Pilate went out again, and said to them, ''Behold, I bring
him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime in him."
Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the
purple garment. And Pilate said to them, "Behold, the man ! "
When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they
cried out, saying, "Crucify ! " — " Crucify ! " —
Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and crucify him :
for I find no crime in him."
The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by that law he
ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. "
472 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more
afraid ; and he entered the palace again, and said to Jesus,
" Whence art thou I "
But Jesus gave him no answer.
Pilate therefore said to him, "Speakest thou not to me? know-
est thou not that I have authority to release thee, and have power
to crucify thee *? "
Jesus answered him, " Thou wouldest have no authority against
me, except it were given thee from above : therefore he that de-
livered me to thee has greater sin,"
John xix. 4-11. Eevised Version, with Marginals and other authorities.
"Behold the Man!**
I see One bearing human pain, His cross, in mortal test,
A Knight without reproach or stain, a crown of thorns His crest ;
O waiting world, " Behold the Man ! " — of all mankind the best —
The Son of man and God.
W. W,
What a Sight It Was!
If Pilate actually placed the two Jesuses side by side on his
platform, what a sight it was ! The political desperado, stained
with murder, there ; the Healer and Teacher, who had gone about
continually doing good, the Son of man, the Sou of God, here.
Now which will you have — Jesus or Barabbas? And the cry
came ringing from ten thousand throats, " Barabbas ! "
To Jesus what must that have meant ! These were the inhab-
itants of Jerusalem, whom He had longed to gather as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings ; they were the hearers
of His words, the subjects of His miracles, the objects of His love ;
and they prefer to Him a murderer and a robber.
The Trial and Death of Jesits Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 84.
** Shall I Crucify Your King?**
Upon this Pilate sought to release him : but the Jews cried out,
saying, "If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend :
every one that makes himself a king, opposes Caesar."
When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out,
and sat down upon the judgment-seat at a place called "The Pave-
ment," but in Hebrew, "Gabbatha."
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE 473
Now it was the Preparation of the Passover : it was about the
sixth hour.
And he said to the Jews, " Behold, your King ! "
They therefore cried out, " Away with him ! away with him !
crucify him ! "
Pilate said to them, " Shall I crucify your King? "
The chief priests answered, " We have no king but Cajsar."
Then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified.
John xix. 12-16. Revised, with Margiuals aud other authorities.
*'We Have No King but Caesar I**
There was little more to do. The mind of Pilate was very sav-
age and his heart very sore. He had been beaten and humiliated ;
and he would gladly inflict some humiliation on his opponents, if
he could find a way. He ascended the judgment-seat, "in a place
that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha"— an
act similar in significance, I suppose, with our judges' habit, be-
fore pronouncing a death sentence, of putting on the black cap.
Pointing to Jesus, he exclaimed, " Behold your King ! " It was
as much as to say that he believed this really to be their Messiah
— this poor, bleeding, mishandled Man. He was trying to cut
them with a taunt. And he succeeded : smarting with pain they
shouted, "Away with Him! away with Him! crucify Him!"
"What," he proceeded, "shall I crucify your King?" aud,
borne away with fury, they responded, " We have no king but
Csesar. "
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 112.
** The Intermediate Death **
The Evangelists have passed as rapidly as possible over the last
scenes of indignity aud horror, and we are too thankful to follow
their example. Bar- Abbas was at once released. Jesus was
handed over to the soldiery to be scourged and crucified, although
final and formal judgment had not yet been pronounced.
Indeed, Pilate seems to have hoped that the horrors of the
scourging might still move the people to desist from the ferocious
cry for the cross. For the same reason we may also hope, that
the scourging was not inflicted with the same ferocity as in the
474 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
case of Christian martyrs, wlieu, with the object of eliciting the
incrimination of others, or else recantation, the scourge of leather
thougs was loaded with lead, or armed with spikes and bones,
■which lacerated back, and chest, and face, till the victim some-
times fell down before the judge a bleeding mass of torn flesh.
But, however modified, and without repeating the harrowing
realism of a Cicero, scourging was the terrible introduction to
crucifixion — "the intermediate death."
Stripped of His clothes, His hands tied and back bent, the
Victim would be bound to a column or stake, in front of the Prse-
torium. The scourging ended, the soldiery would hastily cast
upon Him His upper garments, and lead Him back to the PrjB-
torium. Here they called the whole cohort together, and the
silent, faint Sufferer became the object of their ribald jesting.
From His bleeding body they tore the clothes, and in mockery
arrayed Him in scarlet or purple. For crown they wound together
thorns, and for scepter they placed in His hand a reed. Then
alternately, in mock i^roclamation they hailed Him King, or wor-
shiped Him as God, and smote Him or heajied on Him other
indignities.
The Life and Times of Jesus the ilessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D.D., Ph.D., Vol. II, p. 579.
From Indignity to Indignity
To Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, and again to Pilate ;
from indignity to indignity, from torture to torture, had He been
hurried all that livelong night, all that morning. All throughout
He had borne Himself with a divine majesty, which had awak-
ened alike the deeper feelings of Pilate and the infuriated hatred
of the Jews. But if His divinity gave its meaning to His human-
ity, that humanity gave its true meaning to His voluntary sacri-
fice. So far, then, from seeking to hide its manifestations, the
Evangelists, not indeed needlessly but unhesitatingly, put them
forward. Unrefreshed by food or sleep, after the terrible events
of that night and morning, while His pallid face bore the blood-
marks from the crown of thorns, His mangled body was unable to
bear the weight of the cross.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxou.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 586.
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE
47:)
So Solemn That the Very Hour Is Given
He [Pilate] sat down ouce more in the judgment-seat, outside
the Pi'fBtorium, in the place called "Pavement," and, from its
outlook over the City, " Gabbatha," "The rounded height." So
solemn is the transaction that the Evangelist pauses to note once
more the day — nay, the veiy hour, when the process had com-
menced. It had been the Friday in Passover week, and between
six and seven of the morning. And at the close Pilate ouce more
in mockery presented to them Jesus: "Behold your King!"
Ouce more they called for His crucifixion — aud, when again
challenged, the chief priests burst into the cry, which preceded
Pilate's final sentence, to be presently executed : " We have no
king but Caesar ! "
With this cry Judaism was, in the person of its representatives,
guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, of apostasy. It com-
mitted suicide ; and, ever since, has its dead body been carried
in show from land to laud, and from century to century : to be
dead, aud to remain dead, till He come a second time, who is the
Eesurrection and the Life !
The Life and Times of Jesus (he 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersbeim, M. A. Oxon,,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 580.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons for igot, p. 96.
XXXV
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM
Did e'er such love aud sorrow meet ?
—Dr. Watts.
** Go, Soldier, Get Ready the Cross ! "
. . . "Go, soldier, get ready the cross!" lu some such
formula of terrible import Pilate must have giveu his fiual order.
It was uow probably about uiue o'clock, aud the executiou followed
immediately upou the judgmeut. The time required for uecessary
preparation would not be mauy miuutes, aud during this brief
pause the soldiers, whose duty it was to see that the sentence was
carried out, stripped Jesus of the scarlet war-cloak, uow dyed
with the yet deeper stains of blood, and clad Him again in His
owu garments. When the cross had been prepared they laid it —
or possibly only one of the beams of it — upou His shoulders, and
led Him to the place of punishment.
The nearness of the great feast, the myriads who were present
in Jerusalem, made it desirable to seize the opportunity for strik-
ing terror into all Jewish malefactors. Two were therefore
selected for execution at the same time with Jesus — two brigauds
and rebels of the lowest stamp. Their crosses were laid upon
them, a maniple of soldiers in full armour were marshaled under
the command of their centurion, aud, amid thousands of spec-
tators, coldly inquisitive or furiously hostile, the procession
started on its way.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 392.
Hwrried Straight from the Judgment Seat
Persons coudemned to death in modern times are allowed a
few weeks, or at least days, to prepare for eternity ; but Jesus
was crucified the same day on which He was condemned. There
was a merciful law of Rome in existence at the time, ordaining
that ten days should intervene between the passing of a capital
sentence and its executiou ; but either this was not intended for
476
THERE THEY CKUCIFIED HIM 4T7
use iu the provinces or Jesus was judged to be outside the scope
of its mercy, because lie Lad made Himself a king. At all
eveuts He was hurried straight from the judgment-seat to the place
of execution, without opportunity for preparation or farewells.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 130.
The Cross Too Horrible for a Roman Even to Think of
Death by the cross was the most terrible and the most dreaded
and shameful punishment of antiquity — a punishment, the very
name of which, Cicero tells us, should never come near the
thoughts, the eyes, or ears, of a Roman citizen, far less his
person. It was of Eastern origin, and had been in use among
the Persians and Carthaginians, long before its employment in
western countries.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 525,
The Terrible Preparations
The terrible preparations were soon made : the hammer, the
nails, the cross, the very food for the soldiers who were to watch
under each cross. Four soldiers would be detailed for each cross,
the whole beiug under the command of a centurion. As always,
the cross was borne to the execution by Him who was to suffer on
it — perhaps His arms bound to it with cords : But there is
happily no evidence — rather, every indication to the contrary —
that, according to ancient custom, the neck of the Sufferer was
fastened within the . two horizontal pieces of wood, fastened
at the end, to which the hands were bound.
Ordinarily, the procession was headed by the centurion, or
rather, j)receded by one who proclaimed the nature of the crime,
and carried a white, wooden board, on which it was written.
Commonly, also, it took the longest road to the place of execu-
tion, and through the most crowded streets, so as to attract most
public attention. But we would suggest, that alike this long
circuit and the proclamation of the herald were, in the present
instance, dispensed with. They are not hinted at in the text,
and seem incongruous to the festive season, and the other circum-
stances of the history.
The Life jand Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. U, p. S82.
478 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Led oat to Die
And he loent out, hearing the cross for himself, to the place called
the place of a skull, which is called in Hebreto, Golgotha. — John
xix. 17, 18.
And when they led him away, they laid hold
upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the
country, and laid on him the cross, to bear
it after Jesus.
Luke xxiii. 26. Revised Version.
From Peloubet's Notes on the International
Lessons for i goi ,p. 98.
The Revolting Task of Simon of Cyrene
One or two of the soldiers might have relieved Him ; but,
in the spirit of horseplay and mischief which had character-
ised their part of the proceedings from the moment when
Christ fell into their hands, they laid hold of a casual
passer-by and requisitioned his services for the purpose. He
was coming in from the region beyond the gate as they were
going out, and they acted under the sanction of military law or
custom.
To the man it must have been an extreme annoyance and in-
dignity. Doubtless he was bent on business of his own, which
had to be deferred. His family or his friends might be waiting
for him, but he was turned the opposite way. To touch the in-
strument of death was as revolting to him as it would be to us to
handle the hangman's rope ; perhaps more so, becanse it was
Passover time, and this would make him ceremonially unclean.
It was a jest of the soldiers, and he was their laughing stock. As
he walked by the side of the robbers, it looked as if he were on
the way to execution himself.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 136.
** Daughters of Jertisalem, Weep Not for Me ! **
And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and
of women who bewailed and lamented him.
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 479
But Jesus, turning uuto them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your
children. For behold the days are coming iu which they shall
say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore,
and the breasts that never gave suck. Then shall they begin
to say to the mountains. Fall on us ; and to the hills.
Cover us.
For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be
done in the dry ?
And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to
be put to death.
Lrike xxiii. 27-32. Revised Version.
Far Different His Tears from Theirs
. . The women who had followed with the populace closed
around the Sufferer, raising their lamentations. At His entrance
into Jerusalem, Jesus had wept over the daughters of Jerusalem ;
as He left it for the last time they wept over Him. But far dif-
ferent were the reasons for His tears from theirs of mere pity.
And, if proof were required of His divine strength, even in the
utmost depth of His human weakness — how, conquered, He
was conqueror — it would surely be found in the words iu
which He bade them turn their thoughts of pity where pity
would be called for, even to themselves and their children
in the near judgment upon Jerusalem. The time would come,
when the Old Testament curse of barrenness would be coveted as
a blessing. . .
But how often, these many centuries, must Israel's women have
felt that terrible longing for childlessness and how often must the
praj'er of despair for the quick death of falling mountains and
burying hills rather than prolonged torture have risen to the lips
of Israel's sufferers ! And yet, even so, these words were also
prophetic of a still more terrible future ! For, if Israel had put
such flame to its "green tree" how terribly would the divine
judgment burn among the dry wood of an apostate and rebellious
people, that had so delivered up its divine King, and pronounced
sentence upon itself by pronouncing it upon Him !
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxou.,
D.D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 588.
480 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
** What I Have Written I Have Written **
Aud Pilate wrote a title also, aud put it on the cross. And
there was written,
JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS
This title therefore many of the Jews read : for the place of the
city where Jesus was crucified was near at hand : and it was
written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek.
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not,
The King of the Jews ; but, that he said, I am the King of the
Jews!
Pilate answered. What I have written I have written.
John xix. 19-22. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
This Is What Would Become of a Jewish King !
Pilate made use of this opportunity to pay out the Jews for the
annoyance they had caused him. He had parted from them in
anger, for they had humiliated him ; but he sent after them that
which should be a drop of bitterness in their c^ip of triumph.
When they were still at his judgment-seat, his last blow in his
encounter with them had been to pretend to be convinced that
Jesus really was their king. This insult he now prolonged by
wording the inscription thus: ''This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews." It was as much as to say. This is what becomes of a
Jewish king ; this is what the Romans do with him ; the king of
this nation is a slave, a crucified criminal ; and, if such be the
king, what must the nation be whose king he is"?
The Trial and Death of Jesus Chi-ist, James Stalker, D. D., p. 170,
Nothing Could Be More Unjust Than This Title
The title "King of the Jews," which Jesus had never taken
upon himself, but which his enemies represented as the sum and
substance of his acts and pretensions, was naturally the best
ground on which they might excite the jealousy of the Roman
power. He was accused of sedition, as being guilty of treason
against the State. Nothing could be more unjust, for Jesus had
always recognised the Roman empire as the established power ;
but conservative religious parties are not wont to shrink from
calumny.
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 481
In spite of him they drew all sorts of couclusioDS from his
teaching : they made him out to be a disciple of Judas the Gaul-
onite ; they asserted that he forbade the payment of tribute to
Coesar. Pilate asked him if he was really the King of the Jews.
Jesus disguised nothing of his thought ; but the great ambiguity of
speech which had been the source of his strength, and which after
his death was to establish his kingship, was his destruction now.
The Life of Jesus, Ernest Reuau, p. 378.
Forced by the Sneering Inscription to Go on with the Crowd
We suppose that, after the condemnation of Jesus, the Sanhe-
drists had gone from the Praetorium into the Temple, to take part
in its services. When informed of the offensive tablet, they has-
tened once more to the Prfetorium, to induce Pilate not to allow it
to be put up. This explains the inversion in the order of the
account in the Gospel of St. John, or rather, its location in that
narrative in immediate connection with the notice, that the San-
hedrists were afraid the Jews who passed by might be influenced
by the inscription.
We imagine that the Sanhedrists had originally no intention
of doing anything so un-Jewish as not only to gaze at the suffer-
ings of the Crucified, but to even deride Him in His agony — that,
in fact, they had not intended going to Golgotha at all.
But when they found that Pilate would not yield to their re-
monstrances, some of them hastened to the place of crucifixion,
and, mingling with the crowd, sought to incite their jeers, so as
to prevent any deeper impression which the significant words of
the inscription might have produced.
The Life and Times of Jesiis the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 591.
The Centurion Gave the Fatal Signal
Just then . . . the centurion [gave] the fatal signal. [He]
had in truth purposely delayed this act till the last possible mo-
ment, and now, when he was finally compelled to lift his gaunt-
leted hand in sign that the terrible work of torture should
commence, he caught, for the further inward distress and remorse
of his mind, a sudden look from the patient, upturned divine
eyes. . . [He] could not bear those eyes — their lustrous
4S2 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
purity aud courage were too much for Lis composure, — and
trembling from head to foot with an almost womauish nervous
ness he abruptly turned away.
The murmuring noise of the vast expectant multitude died off
gradually like the retreating surge of a distant sea, — a profound
silence reigned, — and the hot movelessness of the air grew more
aud more weightily intensified. The executioners having received
their commands, and overcoming their momentary hesitation,
gathered in a rough half-nude group around the cross whereon
lay unresistingly the Wonder of the Ages, and knelt to their
hideous task, their muscular browu arms, grimy with dust and
stained already with splashes of blood from the crucifying of the
two thieves, contrasting strangely with the dazzling whiteness of
the Figure before them.
They paused a moment, holding the huge long-pointed nails
aloft. . . . Would this Man of Nazareth struggle *? Would
it be needful to rope His limbs to the wooden beams as they had
done to the other two condemned? With the fierce scrutiny of
those accustomed to signs of rebellion in the tortured, they studied
their passive Captive Not a quiver stirred the firmly
composed limbs. . . Without further parley they commenced
their work, . . . and the startled earth, affrighted, groaned
aloud in cavernous echoes as the cruel hammers heavily rose and
fell, clanging out the tocsin of a God's death and a world's re-
demption.
Barabbas, A Dream cf the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p, 101,
** Father, Forgive Them, for They Know Not "What They Do ! **
And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they Tcnow not what they
do. — Luke xxiii. 34.
They gave him wine to drink mingled with gall : and when he
had tasted it, he would not drink it.
And when they had crucified him, they
parted his garments among them, casting lots:
aud they sat and watched him there.
Matthew xxvii. 34-36. Eevised Version.
From Pehubct's Notes oh the International
Ltssons/or 1901, p. 100.
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 483
Refusing the Drink
It was a simple act, yet full of heroism. He was iu that ex-
tremity of thirst when a person will drink almost anything ; and
He was face to face with outrageous torture. In subsequent times
many of His own faithful martyrs, on their way to execution,
gladly availed themselves of this merciful provision. But he
would not allow His intellect to be clouded. His obedience was
not yet complete ; His plan was not fully wrought out ; He would
keep his taste for death pure.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 160.
Fastened to the Torture-Tiree
A dreadful hush of horror reigned. The stirless heat of the
atmosphere felt as heavy to the senses as an overhanging solid
mass of burning iron. The forces of nature seemed paralyzed, as
though some sudden shock had been dealt at the core of life, or
as though the rolliug world had paused, palpitating for breath in
its pacing round the sun.
Not a sound broke the oppressive stillness save the dull
reverberation of the hammers at their deadly business, — for the
vast human multitude stood dumb, sullenly watching the work-
ing of their will, yet moved by a vague remorse and an equally
vague terror. Not one among them would have dared to suggest
at this late hour any mercy for the Victim ; they, the peojile, had
desired this thing, and their desire was being accomplished. All
being carried out as they wished, they could not well complain,
nor could they recall their own decision.
But there was something unnatural and ghastly in the scene, —
a chill sense of nameless desolation began to creep upon the air,
— and while each man and woman present strained both body and
sight to see the fine fair limbs of the Galilean pierced through and
fastened to the torture- tree, they were all conscious of fear ; fear
of what or of whom, none could have truly told, — nevertheless
fear dominated and daunted the spirits of every one. And it was
this unconfessed, inexplicable alarm that kept them silent, — so
that not even a whispered "Alas!" escaped from any pitying
voice when the beautifully arched, delicate feet of the Divine
Sufferer were roughly seized, crossed over and held iu position
484 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
by one executioner, while another placed the nail in the nerve-
centres of the tender flesh.
A third callous ruffian dealt the measured blows which drove
in the thick, sharp, iron prong with a slow force calculated to
double and treble the exquisite agony of lingering martyrdom, —
and swiftly the hurt veins rebelled against their wrong in burst-
ing jets of innocent blood. The crimson stain welled up and
made a piteous rose on the torn skin's whiteness, but He who was
thus wounded, stirred not at all, nor uttered a cry. His human
flesh mutely complained of human injustice in those reproachful
red life-drops ; but the indomitable Spirit that dwelt within that
flesh made light of merely mortal torment, and was already seiz-
ing Death in the grasp of victory.
Barabbas, A Dream of the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 102.
A General Forward Movement to See the Cross Set «p
The executioners having finished the first part of their task,
now beckoned the centurion to step forward and see for himself
that the nails in the Victim's body were secure, so that he might
be able to certify to the authorities that the law had been ade-
quately fulfilled. With a sickening heart, [the centurion] obeyed
the signal. But his sight was dazzled, — his brain reeled — there was
a choking dryness in his throat, and he could not speak a word.
Yet this time the Man of Sorrows never looked at him, — the
divine orbs of light and genius were turned to heaven alone, as
though absorbing the fiery glory of the sun. And, was it fancy
or some delusion of his own sense of vision that suddenly gave
him the impression of an approaching darkness in the sky? — as
if indeed the sun were losing luster? He rubbed his eyes and
gazed dubiously about, — surely a mysterious shadow as of out-
spread wings rested on the landscape ! Were the people, — were
the soldiers conscious of this ?
Apparently not. Their attention was concentrated on the work
of death — and there was a general eager forward movement of the
crowd to see the cross set up. As [the centurion] dazed and be-
wildered, stepped back, the executioners, six in all, men of sinewy
and powerful build, bent themselves energetically to the com-
pletion of their work.
Barabbas, A Dream of the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 104.
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 485
The Great Cross with Love Transfixed «pon It
The great cross, with the greatest Love trausfixed upon it, was
thrust iuto the deep socket dug for its reception on the summit of
the hill. It fell with a thudding reverberation as though its end
had struck the very centre of the earth, — and trembling to and
fro for a few seconds like a tree shaken by a storm-wind, was soon
perfectly still, fixed steadily upright between the two already
crucified thieves, who though dying fast, were not already dead.
Salvation's Symbol stood declared ! — and Simon of Cyrene, hav-
ing done all he was needed to do, retreated slowly with faltering
steps and swimming brain, conscious only of one thing, — that the
blood of the Victim had stained his breast, and that the stain
seemed to burn his flesh like fire. . . .
And now the cross being openly set up, and the slow devour-
ings of death having commenced upon the sinless Sacrifice, a long
wild shout of savage exultation arose from the multitude, — a shout
that rang in harsh, hoarse echoes over the hill, through the low-
lying gardens beyond, and away as it seemed to the summit of
Mount Moriah, where over Solomon's glistening Temple, a cloud
as of dust or smoke, hung like a warning of storm and fire. And
the barbaric human clamour, as it mutteringly died away, was sud-
denly taken up and all unexpectedly answered by a greater up-
roar,— a deep, threatening boom of far-off thunder.
Barabhas, A Dream of the World^s Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 105.
The Nail That Held Him op
Thiuk ye, sin nailed him to that cross? —
For sin the hammer swung,
Sin lifted up the cruel tree
On whose broad arms he hung,
Sin triumphed, when from anguished lips
His bitter cry was wrung ?
So seemed it. But not sin, nor men,
Nor nails had held him there ;
Love was the nail that held him up
And made him strong to bear
For us that weary weight of woe —
That tempest of despair.
Echoes a!nd Pictures from the Life of Christ, Richard H. Thomas, M. D., p. 64.
486 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Taunts in the Midst of Torture
And they that passed by railed at him, wagging their heads aud
saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three
days, save thyself.
If thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.
In like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the
scribes and elders, said,
He saved others, can he not save himself?
He is the King of Israel ; let him now come down from the
cross, and we will believe on him.
He trusted iu God ; let him deliver him now, if he desires him !
For he said, I am the Son of God.
Aud the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon
him the same reproach.
Matthew xxvii. 39-44. Revised Version, with Marginals, etc.
The Multitude Roared Applause and Laughter
Wide rays of light tinged with a singular redness like that of
an out-breaking volcano, blazed forth brilliantly over the hill.
Cheered by the spleudour, the people threw off, in part, their vague
terrors,— their faces brightened, — and Caiaphas, profiting by his
opportunity, stepped out in full view of the crowd, and advanced
majestically towards the cross from which the " King of the Jews"
looked down upon him. Lifting his hand to shade his eyes from the
crimson glare which haloed with a burning ring the outstretched,
patient Figure, he exclaimed iu clear, loud accents — "Thou that
destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself
and come down from the cross ! "
The multitude heard, and roared applause and laughter. Even
the grim soldiers smiled — for, thought thej'^. If the Man of Galilee
were a true miracle- worker. He could never have a better oppor-
tunity for displaying His powers than now.
Caiaphas smiled proudly, — he had struck the right note, and
had distracted the attention of the mob from their personal alarms
of the storm, to renewed interest iu the cruelty that was being en-
acted. Still standing before the cross, he studied with placid piti-
lessness every outline of the perfect Human shape iu which the
divine glory was concealed, — and watched with the scieutifie in-
terest of a merciless torturer the gradual welling up and slow
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 487
dropping of blood from the wounded hands and feet, — the pained,
patient struggling of the quickened breath, — the pale, parted lips,
— the wearily-drooping, half-closed eyes.
Annas, sleek and sly, with an air of hypocritical forbearance
and compassion, approached, also, and looked up at the same
piteous spectacle. Then, rubbing his hands gently together, he
said softly, yet distinctly, —
" He saved others, — himself he cannot save ! If he be the King
of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will be-
lieve him I "
Barabbas, A Dream of the World^s Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 108.
"Wtiy Did He Not Reprove Them?
But amid this chorus of infamy Jesus spoke not. He couldhaye
spoken. The pains of crucifixion did not confuse the intellect,
or paralyze the powers of speech. We read of crucified men who,
for hours together upon the cross, vented their sorrow, their rage,
or their despair in the manner that best accorded with their char-
acter ; of some who raved and cursed, and spat at their enemies ;
of others who protested to the last against the iniquity of their
sentence ; of others who implored compassion with abject entreat-
ies ; of one even who, from the cross, as from a tribunal, harangued
the multitude of his countrymen, and upbraided them with their
wickedness and vice. But, except to bless and to encourage, and
to add to the happiness and hope of others, Jesus spoke not. So
far as the malice of the passers-by, and of priests and Sauhedrists,
and soldiers, and of these poor robbers who suffered with Him,
was concerned — as before during the trial, so now upon the cross
— He maintained unbroken His kingly silence.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W, Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 409.
The Motive of Their Derision
The derision of the Sauhedrists under the cross was . . .
not entirely spontaneous, but had a special motive. The place of
crucifixion was close to the great road which led from the north
to Jerusalem. On that feast day, when, as there was no law to
limit, as on the weekly day of rest, locomotion to a "Sabbath
day's journey," many would pass in and out of the city, and the
488 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
crowd would naturally be arrested by the spectacle of the three
crosses.
Equally naturally would they have been impressed by the [title]
over the cross of Christ. The words, describing the Sufferer as
"the King of the Jews," might, when taken in connection with
what was known of Jesus, have raised most dangerous questions.
And this the presence of the Sanhedrists was intended to prevent,
by turning the popular mind in a totally different direction. It
was just such a taunt and argumentation as would appeal to that
coarse realism of the common people, which is too often misnamed
"common sense."
St. Luke significantly ascribes the derision of Jesus only to the
rulers, and we repeat, that that of the passers-by, recorded by
St. Matthew and St. Mark, was excited by them. Thus here also
the main guilt rested on the leaders of the people.
The Life and Times of Jesus the 3Iessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 597.
Was He Tempted on the Cross ?
Was it a temptation to Him, one wonders, when so often from
every side the invitation was given Him to come down from the
cross? This was substantially the same temptation as was ad-
dressed to Him at the opeuiug of His career, when Satan urged
Him to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple. It had
haunted Him in various forms all His life through. And now it
assails Him once more at the crisis of His fate.
They thought His patience was impotence and His silence a con-
fession of defeat. Why should He not let His glory blaze forth
and confound them ? How easily He could have done it ! Yet
no, He could not. They were quite right when they said, "He
saved others. Himself He cannot save." Had He saved Himself,
He would not have been the Saviour.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 179. .
He Saw Faces of Those Who Had Believed in Him
Beyond, up the wooded slopes of Olivet, lay unseen Bethany.
His dimming eye wandered over the crest of the horizon towards
beautiful Galilee ; there came upon his confused senses a breath
from his dear lake, seventy miles away.
THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM 489
He seemed, for a moment, to be preaching in his own boat.
Some sick persons were brought to him, on the shore, and a
merciful instinct caused him to move his hands, as if he would
heal the sufferers.
The anguish of the form of death which forbids the victim even
to writhe recalled his drifting mind. It could not float far, for
his brain was strong and clear. He retained throughout his tor-
ment his own self-possession.
He looked upon the people, thinking of them in his favorite
word. What a "multitude " they were ! Had they all come out
to see him suffer! It would have been something if they had not
taunted him so !
He recognized faces among them, — this one he had comforted
in a great sorrow ; that one he had cured of a cruel disease ; he
identified persons whom he had seen often in his audiences, and
who had believed in him and trusted him. He saw that they
were classifying him, now, with the common felons who occupied
the crosses at his right hand and at his left.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 390.
Gambling for the Seamless Garment
The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his
garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part ; and also
the tunic : now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top
throughout.
They said therefore to one another, Let us not tear it, but
draw lots for it, whose it shall be : that the scripture might be
fulfilled which says.
They parted my garments among them,
And upon my vesture did they cast lots.
These things therefore the soldiers did.
John xix. 23, 24. Revised Version, using Marginals, etc.
Amttsement and Profit to the Soldiers
The soldiers, their ghastly task over, sat down at the foot of
the cross to divide their booty.
They obtained from it not only profit but amusement; for,
490 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
after dividing the articles as well as they could, they had to cast
lots about the last, which they could not divide. One of them
fetched some dice out of his pocket — gambling was a favourite
pastime of Eomau soldiers — and they settled the difficulty by a
game.
Look at them — chaffering, chattering, laughing ; and, above
their heads, not a yard away, that Figure. What a picture !
The Son of God atoning for the sins of the world, whilst angels
and glorified spirits crowd the walls of the celestial city to look
down at the spectacle ; and, within a yard of His sacred Person,
the soldiers, in absolute apathy, gambling for these poor shreds of
clothing !
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D,, p. 175.
The ** Stations " of the Cross
(As Eepresented in Roman Catholic Churches )
The First : Being Sentenced to Death,
The Second : Eeceiving the Cross.
The Third : Sinking under the Weight of the Cross.
The Fourth : Meeting His Mother.
The Fifth : Placing the Cross upon Simon of Cyrene.
The Sixth : Veronica Wiping His Face with the Veil.
The Seventh: Falling the Second Time.
The Eighth: Speaking to the " Daughters of Jerusalem."
The Ninth : Falling the Third Time.
The Tenth : Being Stripped of His Garments.
The Eleventh : His Crucifixion.
The Twelfth : His Death.
The Thirteenth: Taking His Body down from the Cross.
The Fourteenth : His Burial.
W. W.
XXXVI
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS
" It is finished — Man is made ! "
— Tennyson.
** Att Thou the Christ ? Save Thyself and Us ! **
And one of the malefactors who were hanged railed at him,
saying, Art not thou the Christ *? Save thyself and us.
But the other answered, and rebuking him said. Dost thou not
even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation ? And
we indeed justly ; for we receive the due reward of our deeds :
but this man has done nothing amiss.
And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy
kingdom.
And he said to him. Verily I say to thee, to-day thou shalt be
with me in Paradise.
Luke xxiii. 39-43. Revised Version, with Marginals, etc.
The Repenting Robber's ** Remember Me ! *'
They gazed fearfully at the Man on the middle cross. He was
hanging motionless, his head sunken upon his breast.
The man on the cross at the left was groaning and blaspheming
horribly ; in the frightened hush his words could be distinctly
heard. He was cursing the Man at his side. "■ If thou be the
Christ," he shrieked, with an awful imprecation, "save thyself
and us ! "
He who hung on the other side of the Nazarene had been silent
till now, save for his piteous sighing ; but now he spoke — the
fierce agony had cleared his brain at last.
" Wilt thou not hold thy peace ! " he cried in his clear young
voice. . . . "Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the
491
492 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
same coudemuatiou'? And we indeed justly ; for we receive the
due reward of our deeds. But he is innocent."
Then he turned his dying eyes on Jesus, and said tremulously,
beseechingly: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom."
And into the face of Jesus, blood-stained, befouled, and ghastly
with the pallor of approaching death, there flashed a look of
joy. . .
" Verily I say unto thee," — and his voice was clear, beautiful
and far-reaching as of old — "to-day shalt thou be with me in
Paradise."
[The man] smiled radiantly. What cared he now for the pain,
the shame, the dying !
" To-day — with him — in Paradise ! "
TiUts, a Comrade of the Cross, Floreuce M. Kingsley, p. 87.
Did John Bring Mary for the Last Mournful Farewell ?
We can now in some measure realise events. When St. John
had seen the Saviour nailed to the cross, he had gone to the city
and brought with him for a last mournful farewell the Virgin,
accompanied by those who, as most nearly connected with her,
would naturally be with her : her own sister Salome, the sister-
in-law of Joseph and wife (or more probably widow) of Clopas,
and her who of all others had experienced most of His blessed
power to save — Mary of Magdala.
Once more we reverentlj^ mark His divine calm of utter self-
forgetfulness and His human thoughtfiilness for others. As they
stood under the cross, He committed His mother to the disciple
whom He loved, and established a new human relationship be-
tween him and who was nearest to Himself. And calmly,
earnestly, and immediately did that disciple undertake the
sacred charge, and bring her — whose soul the sword had pierced
— away from the scene of unutterable woe to the shelter of his
home.
And this temporary absence of John from the cross may ac-
count for the want of all detail in his narrative till quite the
closing scene.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 603.
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 493
♦* Behold Thy Son!**— "Behold Thy Mother !"
But there were staudiug by the cross of Jesus his mother, aud
his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, aud Mary Mag-
daleue.
Wheu Jesus therefore saw his mother, aud the disciple staud-
iug by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, Womau, behold
thy sou !
Theu said he to the disciple. Behold thy mother !
Aud from that hour the disciple took her to his owu home.
John xix. 25-27. Revised Version, etc.
His Words Were Few but Thowghtfwl
Johu was the ouly oue of the Twelve who braved death to be
preseut. Jesus the uight before had saved all their lives iu the
olive orchard, but to-day they had forsakeu him.
This oue faithful comrade he drew uearer by calliug his uame,
aud theu he spoke also to his mother. The words were few and
feeble, but, oh, so thoughtful.
''Johu. See! your mother.
"Mother, he will be your sou."
Aud as long as she lived, Johu took care of her for Jesus.
The Boys' Life of Christ, William Byrou Forbush, p. 254.
Stood the Afflicted Mother Weeping
( " Stabat Slater Dolorosa ")
[This most pathetic of all poems of the Middle Ages was written
iu the thirteenth century by a Franciscan friar of Umbria, Italy,
named Jacopone.]
Stood the afflicted mother weeping,
Near the cross her station keeping
Whereon hung her Son and Lord ;
Through whose spirit sympathising,
Sorrowing and agonising,
Also passed the cruel sword.
Oh ! how mournful and distressM
Was that favoured aud most blessed
Mother of the only Son ;
Trembling, grieving, bosom heaving,
While perceiving, scarce believing,
Pains of that illustrious Oue.
494 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Who the man, who, called a brother,
Would not weep, saw he Christ's mother
In such deep distress and wild?
Who could not sad tribute render
Witnessing that mother tender
Agonising with her child ?
Stabat Mater Dolorosa, Translated by Abraham Coles, A New Library of
Poetry and Song, Edited by William Culleu Bryant, p. 355.
A Voice Pulsating with the Keenest Anguish
A deep sigh broke from his lips, — a sigh tliat was almost a
groau ; an evil man himself, what right had he to judge of evil
women ! Jast theu the Magdaleu raised her tear-wet eyes and
looked at him, — her luxuriant hair fell about her like a golden
veil, — her mouth quivered as though she were about to speak, —
but as she met his sternly meditative gaze, she recoiled, and hid-
ing her face in the folds of her mantle, dragged herself nearer to
the foot of the cross and crouched there, motionless. And the
other woman, — she for whom . . . the welcome light had been
kindled in the beginning, — what of her? She no longer stood
erect as when the bells had rung, — she had fallen once more upon
her knees, and her face, too, was hidden.
Suddenly a voice, pulsating with keenest anguish, yet sweet
and resonant, pealed through the air :
"Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani ! "
With one accord the moving populace all came to an abrupt
halt, and every eye was turned towards the central cross from
whence these thrilling accents rang. Bars of gold were in the
sky, — and now, the long-vanished sun, red as a world on fire,
showed itself in round splendour abov^e the summit of Calvary.
"Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani!" cried the agonised voice again,
and the penetrating appeal, piercing aloft, was caught up in the
breaking clouds and lost in answering thunder.
''He calleth for Elias," exclaimed a man, one of those in the
front rank of the crowd that was now pressing itself towards the
cross in morbid curiosity, — "Let us see whether Elias will come
to take him down ! ' '
And he laughed derisively.
Meanwhile . the centurion, looked up, — and saw that the
last great agony of death was on the Kazarene. Death in the
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 495
bloom of life, — death, when every strong human nerve and sinew
and drop of blood most potently rebelled at such premature dis-
solution,— death in a torture more hideous than imagination can
depict or speech describe, — this was the fate that now darkly de-
scended upon the diviuest Purity, divinest Love ! Terrible
shudderiugs ran through the firm, heroically moulded Man's
frame, — the beautiful eyes were rolled up and fixed, — the lips
were parted, and the struggling breath panted forth in short
quick gasps. The fiery gold radiance of the heavens si^read
itself out in wider glory, — the sun was sinking rapidly. Moved
by an impulse of compassion, [the centurion] whispered to a
soldier standing by, who, obeying his officer's suggestion, dipped
a sponge in vinegar and, placing it on a tall reed, lifted it to the
lips of the immortal Sufferer, with the intention of moistening
the parched tongue and reviving the swooning senses. But there
was no sign that He was conscious, — and while the soldier still
endeavoured to pass the sponge gently over the bleeding brows to
cool and comfort the torn and aching flesh, the sleek priest
Annas stepped forward from amongst the people and interfered.
'^Let be, — let be!" said he suavely and with a meek smile,
— "Let us see whether Elias will come to save him ! "
Barabbas, A Dream of the World^s Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 127.
« My God ! Why Didst Tho« Forsake Me ? **
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land
until the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, " Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani ? " that is, " My God ! my God ! why hast
thou forsaken me"? "
And some of those that stood there, when they heard it, said,
"This man is calling Elijah."
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and
filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
And the rest said, " Let be ! Let us see whether Elijah is com-
ing to save him."
Matthew xxvii. 45-49. Revised, with Marginals, etc.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, " It is
finished ! ' '
John xix. 30. Revised, etc.
496 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice,
he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit : and having said this, he gave up
the gliost."
Luke xxiii. 46. Revised Version, etc.
From Peloubet's Select Notes on the International
Lessons /or 1901, p. 104.
Ah God, What a Cry I
Ah God, what a cry !
. . . Uttered with the last energy which assists dissolution,
spoken in the tongue of his youth, and of the lowly people for
whom he had cared, the piteous words which one who loves him
sensitively would not, even yet, urge the refusing lips to repeat,
carried the last surprise of his broken heart.
As his unanswered question went up from the cross to the
heavens, the darkness deepened to fright. The wind arose, but
fell at once to ominous calm. Then the lips of the earth opened
and spoke.
The Story of Jems Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 394.
** Into Thy Hands I G)mmend My Spirit ! **
Suddenly the difficult breathing of the Nazarene ceased ; a
marvelous luminance fell on the ui)turued face, — the lips that
had been parted in gasping agouy closed in a dreamy smile of
perfect peace, — and a flaming golden glory, wing-shaped and
splendid, woven as it seemed out of all the varying hues of both
storm and sunset, spread itself on either side of the cross. Up-
ward, to the topmost visible height of heaven, those giant cloud-
pinions towered plume-wise, and between them and the dying
Christ, the sun, now sunk to a half-circle, glittered like an
enormous jeweled monstrance for the Host in some cathedral of
air. In the midst of this ethereal radiance the pale face of the
world's Eedeemer shone forth, rapt and transfigured by mysteri-
ous ecstasy, — and His voice, faint, solemn, but melodious as music
itself, thrilled softly through the light and silence :
"Father! Into thy hands . . . I commend — my Spirit ! "
Barabias, A Dream of the World 's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 128.
M. Mxinkacsy, 1844 —
" WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? "
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 497
"It Is Finished!*'
As the words were uttered, [the ceuturiou] and the soldier who
liad proffered the viuegar, exchauged a glance, — a rapid glance
of mutual suggestion and understanding. With assumed rough-
ness and impatience, the soldier raised his spear and deliberately
thrust it deep into the side of the dying Nazarene. A stream of
blood gushed out, mingled with water ; and the man wliose merci-
ful desire to put an end to torture had thus impelled him to pierce
the delicate flesh, sprang back, vaguely affrighted at what he had
done. For, with the sharp shock of the blow, the thorn-
crowned head drooped suddenly, — the eyes that had been turned
to heaven now looked down, . . . down, for the last time to
earth, . . . and rested upon the watching crowd with such
an unspeakable passion of pity, love, and yearning, that all the
people were silent, stricken with something like shame as well as
awe.
Never again in all the centuries to come would such a Love
look down upon humanity ! — never again would the erring world
receive such a sublime forgiveness ! — such a tender parting
benediction ! The wondrous smile still lingered on the pale
lips, — a light more glorious than all the sunshine that
ever fell on earth, illumined the divinely beautiful features.
One last, lingering, compassionate gaze, — the clear, search-
ing, conscious supernal gaze of an immortal God bid-
ding farewell for ever to mortality, and then . . . with
an exulting sweetness and solemnity, the final words were
uttered :
" It is finished ! "
The fair head fell forward heavily on the chest, — the tortured
limbs quivered once . . . twice . . . and then were
still. Death had apparently claimed its own, — and no sign was
given to show that Death itself was mastered. All was over ; —
God's message had been given, and God's Messenger slain. The
law was satisfied with its own justice ! A god could not have
died, — but He who had been called the "Sou of God " was dead !
It was "finished;" — the winged glory in the skies folded itself
up and fled away, and like a torch inverted, the red sun dropped
into the night.
Barabbas, A Dream of the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 129.
498 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Seven ** Words ** from the Cross
The First Word : '-'■Father, forgive them; for they know not
what they do.''
Probably spoken in the height of his agony, when the cross,
with the Victim upon it, was dioj)ped, with a sudden wrench, into
its place in the ground. . . .
The Second Word: ^'Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt
thou be ivith me in Paradise.''
This word expressed the power and desire of Jesus to save .
the worst sinners, even at the last moment. . . .
The Third Word: '^ Woman, behold thy son." . . • . ^^ Be-
hold thy mother."
. . . This word expressed the loving care of Jesus for the
temporal, as well as the spiritual, welfare of his own. . . .
The Fourth Word: '-'My God, my God, lohy hast Thou for-
saken me ? ' '
Spoken toward the close of the darkness, this cry was the ex-
pression of a human experience in many an hour of darkness aud
despair, without which Jesus could uot have been "in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin." It was Sl feeling, not a
fact. . . .
The Fifth Word : "J thirst."
Shortly before death. The sole expression of bodily suffering.
The pain, as in the case of wounded soldiers, swallowed up all
other agonies. . . .
The Sixth Word : "It is finished ! "
This is one word in the Greek, and it has been called "the
greatest word ever uttered." . . .
The Seventh Word : " Father, into Thy hands I commend my
spirit."
This word teaches us how to die.
Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1901, Rev. F, N. Peloubet, D. D.,
pp. 103-1U3.
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 499
**TfuIy This Was a Son of God!**
And behold, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from
the top to the bottom ; and the earth quaked ; and the rocks were
rent ; and the tombs were oi^ened ; aud mauy bodies of the saints
that had fallen asleep were raised ; and coming cut of the tombs
after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to
mauy.
Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching
Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the tilings that weie
done, feared exceedingly, saying. Truly, this was a son of (iod.
And many women were there beholding from afar, who had
followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him : among whom
was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James aud Joses,
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Matthew xxvii. 51-56. Revised, using Marginals.
And many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Mark xv. 41. Revised, etc.
John Led the Mother Away
The narrative leaves the impression that with the beloved
disciple these four women were standing close to the cross : the
Mother of Jesus, the sister of His mother, Mary the wife of
Clopas, aud Mary of Magdala. A comparison with what is
related by St. Matthew and St. Mark snj^plies further important
particulars. We read there of only three women, the name of
the mother of our Lord being omitted. But then it must be re-
membered that this refers to a later period in the history of the
crucifixion. It seems as if John had fulfilled to the letter the
Lord's command: "Behold thy mother," and literally "from
that very hour " taken her to his own home. If we are right in
this supposition, then, in the absence of St. John — who led away
the Virgin Mother from that scene of horror — the other three
women would withdraw to a distance, where we find them at the
end, not "by the cross," . . . but "beholding from afar,"
aud now joined by others, also, who had loved and followed
Christ.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 602.
500 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
No Woman "Was Ever Unkind to Jesus
It is said there is no iustauce iu the Gospels of a woman being
an enemy of Jesus. No woman deserted or betrayed, persecuted
or opposed Him. But women followed Him, they ministered to
Him of their substance, they waslied His feet with tears, they
auoiuted His head with spikenard ; and now, when their hus-
bands and brothers were hounding Him to death, they accom-
panied Him with weepiug and wailing to the scene of martyrdom.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 147.
Not She !
Not she with trait'rous kiss her Saviour stung;
Not she denied him with unholy tongue ;
She, when apostles shrank, could danger brave,
Last at his cross and earliest at his grave.
— Eaton S. Barrett.
When Man Is Silent, Nature Speaks
As I looked, dark shadows began to fall around me : great
black clouds were rolling up from the sea, and all the laud of the
Philistines lay in shade. The clouds rose up higher, and hid the
sun. A darkness like that of night fell over the whole country.
" Yes," said I, " when man is silent, nature speaks. The people
of Jerusalem care nothing for what is happening. They do not
care that the greatest and best of all men is dying in agony out-
side of the city ; but the sun is ashamed to look on this deed of
Satan, and hides his fiice ; the earth puts on a mourning dress ;
the skies weep for this greatest of all prophets."
As I said this, there came a low rumbling sound ; and, though
the storm had not yet come, the trees began to lash their branches.
Directly I felt the earth shaking under me ; and some of the rocks
were dislodged, and rolled down the side of the peak. Then
there came another deep rumbling sound, passing away toward
the sea of death. I started to my feet iu terror ; but in a moment
all was over, and the stillness returned. Then I knew that this
was what the Greeks call seismos, or earth-shaking ; and it
seemed to me that the earth and the heavens both sympathized
with the sufferings of a soul mightier than they. And I remem-
bered his words, " If these should hold their peace, the very rocks
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 501
would cry out." Meu tlirougli cowardice held their peace, aud
the rocks were already speaking.
Life and Times of Jesus, as Eclated by Thomas Didmnus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 391.
** They Shall Look on Him Whom They Pierced
The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparatiou, that the
bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the
day of that sabbath was a high day) asked of Pilate that their
legs might be broken, aud that they might be takeu away.
The soldiers therefore came, aud broke the legs of the first, and
of the other that was crucified with him : but when they came to
Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they did not break his
legs : however one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side,
and straightway there came out blood aud water.
Aud he that has seen has borue witness, and his witness is
true : aud he knows that he says true, that you also may believe.
For these things came to pass, that the scrix)ture might be ful-
filled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
And again another scripture says. They shall look on him
whom they pierced.
John xix. 31-37. Eevised Version , with Marginals, etc.
Then the Ghastly "Work Began
Pilate hearkened to the request of the Jews, and orders were
given to the soldiers to act accordingly. Theu the ghastly work
began. They broke the legs of the malefactor on the one side of
Jesus, aud then those of the malefactor on the opposite side.
The penitent thief was not spared 5 but what a diflfereuce his
peniteuce made ! To his companion this was nothing but an
additional indignity ; to him it was the kuockiug-off of the fetters,
that his spirit might the sooner wing its way to Paradise, where
Christ had trysted to meet him.
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, James Stalker, D. D., p. 298.
He Had Died of a Broken Heart
That any one should die so soon on the cross, especially one,
like Jesus, in the prime of life, and unweakened by previous ill-
health, and in such vigour to the last as to utter such a shriek as
502 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
that with which He expired, api^eared eveu to Christian antiquity,
to imply some supernatural cause. But the mingled flow of blood
and water seems to point unmistakably to another explanation.
The immediate cause of death appears, beyond question, to have
been the rupture of His heart, brought about by mental agony.
Excess of joy or grief is known to induce the bursting of some
division of the heart, and the consequent flow of blood into the
pericardium, or bag, filled with colorless serum, like water, in
which the heart is suspended. In ordinary cases, only examina-
tion after death discovers the fact, but in that of our Lord's, the
same end was answered by the thrust of the soldier's spear. In
a death from heart-rupture "the hand is suddenly carried to the
front of the chest, and a piercing shriek uttered." The hands of
Jesus were nailed to the cross, but the appalling shriek is re-
corded.
Jesus died, literally, of a broken heart !
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 541,
The Hurried Burial
And when evening had now come, because it was the Prepara-
tion, that is, the day before the sabbath, there came Joseph of
Arimathiea, a councilor of honourable estate, who also himself was
looking for the kingdom of God : and he boldly went in to Pilate,
and asked for the body of Jesus.
And Pilate marveled if he were already dead : and calling to
him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while
dead. And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the
corpse to Joseph.
3Iark xv. 42-45.
And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to
him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a
hundred pounds.
So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths
with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden ;
and in the garden a new tomb in which man was never yet laid.
There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was
near at hand) they laid Jesus.
John xix. 39-42.
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS 503
And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where
he was laid.
Mark xv. 47. Revised Version, etc.
In a New Tomb
A tomb, never yet used, had been hewn out in the hill-side for
himself, by Joseph, in a garden not far from Calvary.
To this the body of Jesus was now taken. Nicodemus had
come with some of his servants, and he and they, with Joseph
and his attendants, and Mary of Magdala, and Mary the mother
of James the Less, and of Joses ; the wife of Clopas, and perhaps,
some others of the true-hearted women from Galilee, were the
only followers of His bier.
Arrived at the grave, the sacred burden was laid down for a
time, till the needed preparations were made for placing it in the
tomb. The whole body, stained as it was with blood, was ten-
derly washed, and then wrapped in broad bands of white linen,
within which were thickly strewn powdered myrrh and aloes,
which had been provided by Nicodemus for the imperfect em-
balmment practised by the Jews. The ends of the bandages were
appareutly secured on the inner side with gum, as in the case of
the Egyptian dead. A white cloth was finally laid over the face,
after a last kiss, the pledge of undying love.
The corpse was then laid in a niche in the rock, and since there
was no stone door, as in some tombs, a great stone, prepared for the
purpose, was rolled against the entrance, to protect the body from
the designs of enemies, or the attacks of wild beasts. It was only
a hurried burial, for the last rays of the sun were shining on the
garden as the stone was set up agaiust the entrance to the grave.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cuuninghain Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 545.
Rest in Thy Glory, Noble Fotrnder !
Rest now in thy glory, noble Founder ! Thy work is com-
pleted ; thy divinity is established. Fear no more to see the
edifice of thy efforts crumble through any fault ! Henceforth,
beyond all frailty, thou shalt aid from the depth of thy divine
peace the unending results that follow from thy deeds. At the
cost of a few hours of suffering, which have not even touched thy
great soul, thou hast achieved immortality the most complete.
504 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
During thousands of years, the world will breathe life from thee.
Around thee, as an ensign lifted above our conflicts, will be fought
the hottest battle. A thousand times more living, more beloved,
since thy death than during the days of thy pilgrimage here below,
thou wilt become so completely the corner-stone of humanity, that
to tear thy name from the record of this world would be to disturb its
very foundations. Henceforth men shall draw no boundary be-
tween thee and God. Do thou, who hast completely vanquished
death, take possession of thy kingdom, whither, by the royal road
thou hast pointed out, long generations of adorers shall follow thee !
The Life of Jesus, Eruest Renan, p. 395.
Sealing and Guarding the Tomb
Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation,
the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together before
Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that the deceiver said, while he
was yet alive, After three days I rise again. Command therefore
that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his
disciples come and steal him away, and say to the people. He is
risen from the dead : and the last error will be worse than the
first.
Pilate said to them, Take a guard : go your way, make it sure
as you know. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing
the stone, the guard being with them.
Matthew xxvii. 62-66. Revised, using Marginals, etc.
Left to Sleep through the Sabbath
Meanwhile, the fears of the chief priests and their party had
already awaked. A meeting had been held immediately after
the crucifixion,, and the success of the scheme to crush Jesus had,
doubtless, been the subject of hearty mutual congratulations. But
they dreaded that all was not over. It was remembered by one or
more that " the deceiver " had spoken darkly of rising from the dead
on the third day, and His disciples, acting on this hint, might steal
the body, and spread abroad the assertion that He had actually
risen, misleading the people more than ever, by claiming for Him
divine honours. It was hence necessary that the grave should be
watched for three days. A deputation was, therefore, appointed
EVEN TH7. DEATH OF THE CROSS 505
to wait ou Pilate, representing their apprehensions. Tired of
them, and hating thein, the governor was in no humour to argue.
"Ye have a guard,'' said he, with military bluutness. ''Go,
make it as sure as ye can."
This they did. Passing a strong cord across the stone, and
securing its ends by clay, they sealed it, after noting that the
soldiers were duly stationed so as to make approach without their
knowledge impossible.
And thus the Eedeemer was left — pale, but victorious — to sleep
through the Sabbath.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p, 545,
How He Tfi«mphed over the Crwelty and Shame of It All
. We gladly turn away from the awful sight, to think how
by His strength of soul, His resignation, and His love, Jesus tri-
umphed over the shame, the cruelty, and horror of it ; and how,
as the sunset with its crimson glory makes even the putrid pool
burn like a shield of gold and drenches with brilliance the vilest
object held up against its beams. He converted the symbol of
slavery and wickedness into a symbol for whatever is most pure
and glorious in the world. The head hung free in crucifixion, so
that He was able not only to see what was going on beneath Him,
but also to speak. He uttered seven sentences at intervals, which
have been preserved to us. . They are seven windows by which
we can still look into His very mind and heart, and learn the im-
pressions made on Him by what was hai^pening. They show that
He retained unimpaired the serenity and majesty which had
characterised Him throughout His trial, and exhibited in their
fullest exercise all the qualities which bad already made His
character illustrious.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 143.
The Greatest Crime in History
The murder of Jesus was the greatest crime in history. . . .
No authentic monument marks the skull-shaped knob of ground
outside Jerusalem where the murder was committed. But it
needs no monument. The Orient as it is to-day, and as it threat-
ens to remain for millenniums yet to come, is a tombstone suf-
ficiently dismal, recording the event.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 189.
xxxvn
LEGEOT)S SACEED AND PEOFANE
Some call her Memory,
And some, Tradition.
— George Eliot.
The Letter of Abgarws to Jestts
{Mentioned by Eusebius, ia the Fourth Century)
Abgarus, king of Edessa, to Jesus the good Saviour, who ap-
pears at Jerusalem, greeting :
I have been informed concerning you and your cures, which
are performed without the use of medicines and herbs. For it is
reported, that you cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, do
both cleanse lepers, and cast out unclean spirits and devils, and
restore them to health who have been long diseased, and raised
up the dead ; all of which when I heard, I was persuaded of one
of these two, viz : either you are God himself descended from
heaven, who did these things, or the son of God. On this account
therefore I have wrote to you, earnestly to desire you would take
the trouble of a journey hither, and cure a disease which I am
under. For I hear the Jews ridicule you, and intend you mis-
chief My city is small indeed, but neat, and large enough for
us both.
The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa, The Apocryphal
[Spurious] New Testament, p. 62.
Reply Said to Have Been Written by the Qirist
Abgarus, you are happy, forasmuch as you have believed on
me, whom ye have not seen. For it is written concerning me,
that those who have seen me should not believe on me, that they
who have not seen might believe and live.
As to that part of your letter, which relates to my giving you a
visit, I must inform you, that I must fulfil all the ends of my
mission in this country, and after that be received up again to
him who sent me. But after my ascension I will send one of my
506
.' ■' '''.;■ ' ' ■ y 'i
'''■'"'■:- • ■^■'■""'^ -■; ■ ': ' :'■:.■■ i
.■'■■■'■- ■ ■ . " ' ' ■ ■ i\
•*-'('■■ ■ ■• ■ '' ' ■ ' ■. ♦
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:.-■■"■ ■ ..... • <-,<
. - . .- ..'■.. .-.'..■ ^ , i ■ '.''. ' .- '-
- ' ' ' '■ ' ■''■ v* i#-<^
EARLY PORTRAIT OF JESUS
Supposed to have been painted by Luke " the Beloved Physician " for Abgarus
of Edessa. Its history is traceable far back into the Middle Ages, though its origin
is lost in obscurity. Reproduced here for the first time by permission of its present
owners J. E. Barr&Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
LEGENDS SACRED AND PROFANE 607
disciples, who will cure your disease, and give life to you, and all
that are with you.
The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa, The Apocryphal
[Spurious] New Testament, p. 63.
The Portrait Sent to Abgaros
John of Damascus, in his fiery zeal in the great controversy on
the use of images, sought to paralyze the opposition of the
iconoclast emperor Coustautiue Coprouymus, by bringing for-
ward a legend which we meet first at the close of the fifth cen-
tury, that Abgarus, king of Edessa, had once sent a painter to
Jesus to take His portrait, but the artist failed, from the dazzling
brightness of the Saviour's features. Jesus, the legend went on
to say, hououriug the spirit that had prompted the attempt, im-
pressed His likeuess on the cloth with which He was wont to
wipe His brow, and seut it to Abgarus. But, though a letter of
Abgarus to Jesus, aud of Jesus to Abgarus, are noticed as early
as the middle of the second century, by Justin Martyr, this won-
drous story of the miraculous portrait appears only as an addition
of centuries later.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D, D., Vol. I, p. 430.
The Wandering Jew
According to a popular legend, Jesus is said to have paused to
rest in front of the shop of a cobbler named Ahasuerus, of the
tribe of Naphtali. The sight of the fainting Saviour did not
move the shoemaker to pity. Striking Him with his fist, he
shouted, " Don't stop here ! Go on ! Move faster ! "
The tottering Victim gazed reproachfully at the cobbler, and
said sadly :
" I indeed am going on, but tarry thou till I come again."
This is one of many forms of the legend of the Wandering Jew,
which has been enlarged upon by Eugene Sue, General Lew
Wallace and Eugene Field. The story of the Jew who has been
condemned to wander about the world until the second coming of
the Christ has gained a strong hold on the popular imagination.
In some countries the Jews themselves set out a cup of wine or
other drink, at Passover time, for his refreshment if he should be
hovering about.
W.W.
508 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Veronica and the Handkerchief Portrait
While removing the cross from the back of the fallen Victim
and placing it on the shoulders of Simon of Cyrene the sad pro-
cession came to a halt.
At this time, according to a tradition, a woman, heavily veiled,
came out of a house beside the Way of Sorrows and, reaching the
side of the bleeding Sufferer, offered Him a large handkerchief.
Jesus took the cloth, wiped the sweat and blood from His face,
and returned it to her with His thanks.
As the procession started on, the woman was rudely thrust
aside. The sight of His bleeding face had so affected her that she
swooned on entering the house. When she recovered conscious-
ness she found the likeness of Jesus on the napkin with which
He had wiped His face. Falling on her knees she cried out :
" Blessed be the name of God my Saviour, who hath left me this
memorial ! ' '
It is related that when she showed this napkin to the Virgin
Mary, His mother recognised His portrait and burst into tears.
The woman of the miraculous likeness is supposed to have
visited Rome, and the napkin is believed to be the one still pre-
served in the Vatican, She has been canonised as St, Veronica,
(meaning '' true likeness ") and the story of her pitying ministry
is told as one of the " Stations of the Cross " in Roman Catholic
Churches.
W. W.
The King of Glory Enters through the Gates of Hell
Then there was a great voice, as of the sound of thunder saying,
Lift up your gates, O princes ; and be ye lifted up, ye gates of
hell, and the King of Glory will enter in.
The prince of hell perceiving the same voice repeated, cried
out as though he had been ignorant. Who is that King of
Glory ?
David replied to the prince of hell, and said, I understand
the words of that voice, because I spake them by his spirit. And
now, as I have above said, I say unto thee, the Lord strong and
powerful, the Lord mighty in battle : he is the King of Glory,
and he is the Lord in heaven and in earth ; He hath looked down
to hear the groans of the prisoners, and to set loose those that are
From the Sacred Relic in the Vatican Gabriel Max
PORTRAIT BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN IMPRINTED MIRACULOUSLY
ON veronica's veil
Notice the effect of opening and closing of the eyes
LEGENDS SACKED AND PROFANE 509
appointed to death. Aud now, tliou filthy and stinking prince
of hell, open thy gates, that the King of Glory may enter in : for
he is the Lord of heaven aud earth.
While David was saying this, the mighty Lord appeared in the
form of a man, and enlightened those places which had ever be-
fore been in darkness, and broke asunder the fetters which before
could not be broken ; aud with his invincible power visited those
who sate in the deep darkness by iniquity, and the shadow of
death by sin.
Ads of Pilate, (attributed to Nicodemus) The Apocryphal [Spurious] New
Testament, p. 84.
Caesar Commands Pilate to Send the Great Physician
to Heal Him
Now whereas Tiberius Csesar emperor of the Eomans was suf-
fering from a grievous sickness, aud hearing that there was at
Jerusalem a certain physician, Jesus by name, who healed all
diseases by his word alone ; not knowing that the Jews and
Pilate had put him to death, he thus bade one of his attendants,
Volusiauus by name, saying. Go as quickly as thou canst across
the sea, and tell Pilate, my servant and friend, to send me this
physician to restore me to my original health. Aud Volusiauus,
having heard the order of the emperor, immediately departed,
and came to Pilate, as it was commanded him. And he told the
same Pilate what had been committed to him by Tiberius Csesar,
saying, Tiberius Coesar, emperor of the Eomans, thy lord,
having heard that in this city there is a physician who healeth
diseases by his word alone, earnestly eutreateth thee to send him
to heal his disease. And Pilate was greatly terrified on hearing
this, knowing that through envy he had caused him to be slain.
Pilate answered the messenger, saying thus. This man was a
malefactor, and a man who drew after himself all the people ; so,
after counsel taken of the wise men of the city I caused him to
be crucified.
The Death of Pilate, The Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testament, p. 279.
Pilate's Excuse
Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Cwsar the Emperor — Greeting :
Upon Jesus Christ, whom I fully made known to thee in
my last, a bitter punishment hath at length been inflicted by the
510 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
will of the people, although I was uuwilliug and apprehensive.
In good truth, no age ever had or will have a man so good and
strict. But the people made a wonderful effort, and all their
scribes, chiefs and elders agreed to crucify this ambassador of
truth, their own prophets, like the Sibyls with us, advising the
contrary ; and when he was hanged supernatural signs appeared,
and in the judgment of philosophers menaced the whole world
with ruin. His disciples flourish, not belying their master by
their behaviour and continence of life ; nay, in his name they are
most beneficent. Had I not feared a sedition might arise among
the people, who were almost furious, perhaps this man would
have yet been living with us. Although, being rather compelled
by fidelity to thy dignity, than led by my own inclination, I did
not strive with all my might to prevent the sale and suffering of
righteous blood, guiltless of every accusation, unjustly, indeed,
through the maliciousness of men, and yet, as the Scriptures
interpret, to their owu destruction.
Farewell. The 5th of the Calends of April.
The Epistle of Pontius Pilate, The Apocryphal [Spurious] Neic Testa-
ment, p. 272.
Condemned to the Most Ignominious Death
Then Pontius Pilate was apprehended by command of Csesar
and brought to Eome. Csesar, hearing that Pilate had come to
Rome, was filled with exceeding wrath against him, and caused
him to be brought to him. Now Pilate brought with him the
seamless coat of Jesus, and wore it when before the emperor. As
soon as the emperor saw him he laid aside all his wrath, and
forthwith rose to him, and was unable to speak harshly to him in
anything : and he who in his absence seemed so terrible and
fierce now in his presence is found comparatively gentle.
And when he had dismissed him, he soon became terribly in-
flamed against him, declaring himself wretched, because he had
not expressed to him the anger of his bosom. And immediately
he had him recalled, swearing and protesting that he was a child
of death, and unfitted to live upon earth. And when he saw him
he instantly greeted him, and laid aside all the fury of his mind.
All were astonished, and he was astonished himself, that he
was so enraged against Pilate while absent, and could say noth-
LEGENDS SACRED AND PROFANE 511
ing to him sharply while he was present. At length, by divine
suggestion, or perhaps by the persuasion of some Christian, he
had him stripped of the coat, and soon resumed against him his
original fury of mind. And when the emperor was wondering
very much about this, they told him it had been the coat of the
Lord Jesus. Then the emperor commanded him to be kept in
prison till he should take counsel with the wise men what ought
to be done with him. And after a few days' sentence was given
against Pilate that he should be condemned to the most ignomin-
ious death. When Pilate heard this he slew himself with his
own dagger, and by such a death put an end to his life.
The Death of Pilate, The Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testament, p. 281.
"What They Did with Pilate*s Body
When Pilate's death was made known Caesar said, Truly he has
died a most ignominious death, whose own hand hath not spared
him. He was thei-efore fastened to a great block of stone and sunk
in the river Tiber. But wicked and unclean spirits, rejoicing in
his wicked and unclean body, all moved about in the water, and
caused in the air dreadful lightning and tempests, thunder and
hail, so that all were seized with horrible fear. On which account
the Romans dragged him out of the river Tiber, bore him away in
derision to Vienue, and sunk him in the river Rhone. For Vienne
means, as it were, Way of Gehenna, because it was then a place of
cursing. And evil spirits were there and did the same things.
Those men, therefore, not enduring to be so harassed by demons,
removed the vessel of cursing from them and sent it to be buried
in the territory of Losania. But when they were troubled exceed-
ingly by the aforesaid vexations, they put it away from them and
sunk it in a certain pool surrounded by mountains, where even
yet, according to the account of some, sundry diabolical contri-
vances are said to issue forth.
The Death of Pilate, The Apocryphal [Spurious] New Testament, p. 281.
All That Josephus Relates about Jestts
( This paragraph is believed to be an interpolation)
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful
to call him a man ; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher
of such men as receive truth with pleasure. He drew over to him
512 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
both many of the Jews, and mauy of the Gentiles. He was [the]
Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men
among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him
at the first did not forsake him ; for he appeared to them alive
again the third day ; as the divine prophets had foretold these
and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And
the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this
day.
The Works of Flavius Josephus, edited by William Winston, A. M., Book II.
Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chapter iii, p. 45.
H .2
XXXVIII
THE BEIGHTNESS OF HIS EISING
O Christ ! Thy triumphs now begin.
— Milman.
As It Began to Dawn
And on the sabbath day they rested according to the com-
mandment.
Luke xxiii. 56.
Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came
to see the sepulchre.
And behold, there was a great earthquake ; for an angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone,
and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his
raiment white as snow : and for fear of him the watchers did
quake, and became like dead men.
Matthciv xxviii. 1-4. Eevised Version, etc.
Waiting fot the First Streak of Easter Light
Did they, who had spent what remained of daylight to prepare
spices wherewith to anoint the dead Christ, expect His body to
be removed, or did they expect — perhaps in their sorrow even
think of His word : "I rise again 1 " But on that holy Sabbath,
when the Sanhedrists were thinking of how to make sure of the
dead Christ, what were the thoughts of Joseph of Arimathsea and
Nicodemns, of Peter and John, of the other disciples, and espe-
cially of the loving women who only waited for the first streak of
Easter light to do their last service of love? What were their
thoughts of God — what of Christ — what of the words He had
spoken, the deeds He had wrought, the salvation He had come to
bring, and the kingdom of heaven which He was to open to all
believers ?
613
5U THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Behind Him liad closed the gates of Hades ; but upon them
rather than upon Him had fallen the shadows of death. Yet
they still loved Him — and stronger than death was love.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 620.
** Death Is Dead; Life Is Eternal'.*'
Quivering to its deepest underground fibers, the earth sup-
ported the glowing forms of God's ethereal envoys ; — together
they stood, the fire of their white trauspareut wings quenching
the silver reflex of the sinking moon, — their radiant faces turned
towards the closed sepulchre wherein their Master slept. Again
the great wind rushed in resonant harp-like chords through
heaven, — again the ground rocked and trembled, and again the
thunder sounded its deep trump of wakening eloquence. And
all the mystic voices of the air seemed whispering the great truths
about to be made manifest : — '' Death is dead ; Life is Eternal !
God is Love!"
Barahbas, A Bream of the World's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 251.
The Great Disk Stirred in Its Groove
They passed to and fro, and came together at the mouth of the
sepulchre, where they stood on guard.
In any two comrades picked for united duty, there is liable to
be one finer and braver than the other. Of these two men, he
who was the quicker of eye suddenly went the color of terror,
pointed with his spear, and fell.
The stone that closed the tomb was moving.
The other guardsman sprang, with a Roman oath, and struck
at the stone with his sword, but he did not hit it. The great disk
began to stir in its groove and slowly rolled out to one side.
The moon was down, but the sun was not yet up ; yet the
garden glowed ; a light that was neither of dawn nor of sunset
rayed upon the tomb. The leaves of the vines that clung about
it had the look that foliage has when it is aflame, and every flower
in the garden was a bell or cup of fire. . . . Glory became
translucent ; trausluceuce softly outlined —
But the bolder of the guards turned as faint as his mate, and
dropped beside him.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 400.
THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS RISING 515
Sublimely Beaotifol He Stood
And now a deep silence reigned. All the soldiers of the watch
lay stretched on the ground unconscious, as though struck dead by
lightning, — the previous mysterious singing of the birds had
ceased ; and only the lambent quivering of the wing-like glory
surrounding the angelic messengers, seemed to make an expressed
though unheard sound as of music. Then ... in the midst
of the solemn hush . . . the great stone that closed the tomb
of the Crucified trembled . . . and was suddenly thrust back
like a door flung open in haste for the exit of a king ... .
and lo ! . . . a third great Angel joined the other two !
. . . Sublimely beautiful He stood, — the Risen from the
Dead ! . . . gazing with loving eyes on all the swooning,
sleepiug world of men — the same grand countenance that had
made a glory of the cross of death, now, with a smile of victory,
gave poor humanity the gift of everlasting Life ! The grateful
skies brightened above Him, earth exhaled its choicest odours
through every little pulsiug leaf and scented herb and tree ; nature
exulted in the touch of thiugs eternal, — and the dim pearly light
of the gradually breaking morn fell on all thiugs with a greater
purity, a brighter blessedness than ever had invested it before.
The Man Crucified and Risen, now manifested in Himself the
mystic miugling of God in humanity, and taught that for the
powers of the soul set free from sin, there is no limit, no vanquish-
ment, no end. No more eternal partings for those who on earth
should learn to love each other, — no more the withering hopeless-
ness of despair, — the only "death" now possible to redeemed
mortality being "the bondage of sin" voluntarily entered into
and preferred by the unbelieving. And from this self- wrought,
self-chosen doom not even a God can save.
Bardbhas, A Dream of the World 's Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 252.
"Walking in His Garden in the Cool of the Day**
There . . . was the symbol of the animal man, blindly
conscious of the creative Soul of the Universe, yet doubting all
manifestations of that Soul, and thrusting his own narrow fears
and skepticisms forward to obstruct and bar out the very presence
of the Eternal. And [there] . . . stood the pure and stately
516 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
embodiment of the Spirit of God made human,— the example
of a perfect manhood ; the emblem of life and the symbol of
Geuius, which, slandered and tortured, and slain and buried, rises
eternally triumphant over evil and death.
A faint sigh stirred the air, — the sigh of One who knew that
by the pitiless will of Man, He should be wronged and spiritually
re-crucified for ages ; and then the risen Light of the World
turned away and glided among the little trembling trees. His
figure gradually becoming a mere misty outline, vague and un-
defiuable, as though it were the floatiug shadow of a dream. Two
hours had yet to pass ere the sun would rise, — meanwhile a
fragrant freshness sweetened the breaking dawn, and all nature
remained absorbed in a sacred silence of enraptured worship,
conscious that the Master and Lord of Life was now, as once be-
fore iu oldest time, '' walking in His garden in the cool of the
day."
Barabbas, A Dream of the World^s Tragedy, Marie Corelli, p. 254.
Strange Things the Women Saw
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might
come aud anoint him.
And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the
tomb when the sun was risen. And they were saying among
themselves, Who shall roll away the stone for us from the door
of the tomb ? and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled
back : for it was exceeding great.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the
right side, arrayed in a white robe ; and they were amazed.
Aud he said to them. Be not amazed : you seek Jesus, the
Nazarene, who has been crucified : he is risen ; he is not here :
behold, the place where they laid him !
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goes before you into
Galilee, there you shall see him as he said to you.
And they went out and fled from the tomb ; for trembling and
astonishment had come upon them : and they said nothing to any
one ; for they were afraid.
Mark xvi. 1-8. Revised Version, etc.
W. A. Bouguereaii
WHAT THE WOMEN SAW
THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS EISING 517
** Behold ! the Stone Had Been Rolled away ! **
{As supposed to have been related by Blary of Blagdala)
"When we reached the tomb, behold, the mouth was open;
and the stone had been rolled away, and was lying near by. In
a moment it flashed into our mind that the body had been taken
away. We said, 'Who hath done this, — his friends, or his
enemies ? '
"We thought for a moment, that Joseph had come earlier
than we to the grave, and was now in the tomb, washing the
body before it should be wrapped up with spices. We looked
down into the tomb. All was silent, and it seemed empty.
Then I said to the other women, ' Wait here, and I will run
quickly, and overtake Peter and John, and bring them back. ' So
I ran quickly ; and, after passing a little way beyond the city
wall, I overtook them as they descended into the Valley of
Hiunom. I said to them, ' They have taken away my master out
of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him.' "
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 433.
What John and Peter Saw
[Mary Magdalene] ran therefore and came to Simon Peter, and
to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They
have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not
where they have laid him.
Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they
went toward the tomb.
And they ran both together : and the other disciple outran
Peter, and came first to the tomb ; and stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen cloths lying ; yet he did not enter.
Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered
the tomb ; and he beheld the linen cloths lying, and the napkin,
that had been upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but
rolled up in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple who came first to the tomb entered also,
and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture,
that he must rise again from the dead.
So the disciples went away again to their own home.
John XX. 2-10. Revised, with Marginals and other authorities.
618 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Who Could Have Removed the Body ?
"Who removed the body of Christ from the tomb ? Six weeks
afterwards, Peter preached the resurrection of Christ iu Jeru-
salem. If Christ's enemies had removed the body, they could
easily have silenced Peter ; if His friends, they would have been
guilty of such fraud, as not even Strauss deems possible in the
circumstances. The theories of deception, delusion, and vision
beiug thus impossible, and the . . objection to tlie fact, as
involving a miracle, being a [beggiug of the whole question] the
historical student is shut up to the simple acceptance of the
narrative. To this conclusion the unpreparedness of the disciples,
their previous opinions, their new testimony unto martyrdom,
the foundation of the Christian Church, the testimouy of so
many, singly and in company, and the series of recorded mani-
festatious during forty days, and in such different circumstances,
where mistake was impossible, had already pointed with unerring
certainty. And even if slight discrepancies, nay, some not
strictly historical details, which might have been the outcome of
earliest tradition in the apostolic Church, could be shown in those
accounts which were not of eyewitnesses, it would assuredly not
invalidate the great fact itself, which may unhesitatingly he pro-
nounced that best established in history.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 628.
Mary Magdalene Lingers Near the Tomb
But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping : so, as
she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb ; and she beheld
two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet
where the body of Jesus had lain.
And they say to her. Woman, why weepest thou ?
She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and
I know not where they have laid him.
When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beheld
Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her. Woman, why weepest thou %
She supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if thou
hast carried him from here, tell me where thou hast laid him, and
I will take him away.
THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS RISING 519
Jesus said to her, Mary.
She turned herself, aud said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which
is to say, Teacher.
Jesus said to her. Do not take hold of me ; for I am not yet
ascended to the Father : but go to my brethren, and say to them,
I ascend to my Father aud your Father, aud my God and your
God.
Mary Magdaleue came and told the disciples, I have seen the
Lord ; aud how he had said these things to her.
John XX. 11-18. Revised Version, with Marginals and other authorities.
(Supposed account by Mary Mlagdalene)
"I remained outside the tomb. When I thought of all the
misery which had come on us, aud that now we had not even the
poor consolation of burying our master, I thought my heart would
break, and I burst into a passion of weeping. Weeping thus, I
stooped down to look again into the tomb, to be sure that the
body was really gone ; and I saw dimly two white figures, as I
supposed, sitting a little way apart, and I thought they were
angels. And a voice said tenderly, 'Why weepest thou,
woman?' I thought the voice came from the angels in the
tomb, and I answered, ' Because they have taken away my mas-
ter, and I know not where they have laid him.' But instantly I
turned round, and saw a man standing near, with no clothing
except something wrapped round the body, leaving the arms and
legs bare, as a laborer when he goes to his work. Aud the man
said to me again, in the same tender voice I had supposed to come
from the tomb, the same words, 'Why weepest thou, woman?
Whom seekest thou ? ' Thinking it was the man who worked in
the garden and took care of it, and that perhaps he had not known
of his master's command to put the body in the tomb, I suddenly
thought, ' Perhaps he has removed it ; ' and I said, ' Sir, if thou
hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, aud I
will take him away.' Then he said to me, ' Mary ! ' and I knew
in a moment who it was. It was lie, Thomas, — he himself. I
could not be mistaken in that voice : there never was such a voice
in the world. Aud he called me 'Mary,' just as he has so often
called me, but oh ! with so much pity and tenderness, that I shall
520 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
never forget the sound of that word. It was he himself, Thomas ;
and he is alive ! "
Life and Times of Jesus, as Belated by Thomas Didymus, James Freeman
Clarke, p. 434.
It Seemed to Them but Idle Talk
And they entered in, and found not the body. And it came to
pass, while they were perplexed about that, behold, two men
stood by them in dazzling apparel : and as they were frightened,
and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said to them.
Why do you seek him that lives among the dead ? He is not
here, but is risen : remember how he spoke to you when he was
yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up
into the hands of cruel meu, and be crucified, and the third day
rise again.
And they remembered his words, and returned and told all
these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.
And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk ; and they
disbelieved them.
Luke xxiv. 3-9, and 11. Revised, with Marginals and ancient authorities.
The News Spread Fast
The news of the Eesurrection spread fast among the disciples in
Jerusalem ; still it required time to reach all, and even when it
spread, the fact was too great to be realised at once, and too con-
trary to previous expectations, to be other than slowly understood.
Deep dejection reigned throughout the little Christian company.
In spite of all their Master's warnings, His death had come on
them by surprise, and, as it seemed, had destroyed everything.
Cut off suddenly from all the hopes of an earthly kingdom they
had cherished, notwithstanding the constant lessons of Christ's
life and words, and deeply distressed by the loss of their Teacher
and Head, they appeared to be left helpless, and paralyzed. The
horrors of the past few days engrossed their thoughts and conver-
sation. They believed Him now in Paradise, but no one dreamed
of a resurrection so soon. John had, indeed, risen in some meas-
ure to the grandeur of the truth, and Peter had even seen Him,
but the bulk of the disciples had lost well nigh all hope. The
report of the empty grave and of the vision of angels and of their
THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS RISING 521
announcement that He was alive, was insufSlcient to break their
gloom, and prolonged their perplexity without relieving it.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 555.
Bribing the Soldiers "Who Had Guarded the Grave
Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came
into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had
happened.
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken
counsel, they gave large money to the soldiers, saying, Say, His
disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
And if this come to a hearing before the governor, we will per-
suade him, and rid you of care.
So they took the money, and did as they were taught : and this
saying was spread abroad among the Jews, until this day.
Matthew xxviii. 11-15. Revised Version, with Marginals and other authorities.
Their Only Refage Seemed to Be in Lies
It was useless for the guards to stay beside an empty grave.
With fear for the consequences, and horror at all that they had
seen, they fled to the members of the Sanhedrin who had given
them their secret commission. To these hardened hearts belief
and investigation were alike out of the question. Their only
refuge seemed to be in lies. They instantly tried to hush up the
whole matter. They suggested to the soldiers that they must
have slept, and that while they did so the disciples had stolen
the body of Jesus.
But such a tale was too infamous for credence., and too ridiculous
for publicity. If it became known, nothing could have saved these
soldiers, supposing them to have been Romans, from disgrace and
execution. The Sadducees therefore bribed the men to consult
their common interests by burying the whole matter in secrecy
and silence. It was only gradually and later, and to the initiated,
that the base calumny was spread. Within six weeks of the
Resurrection, that great event was the unshaken faith of every
Christian ; within a few years of the event the palpable historic
proofs of it and the numerous testimonies of its reality — strength-
ened by a memorable vision vouchsafed to himself — had won
522 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
assent from the acute and Doble intellect of a young Pharisaic
zealot and persecutor whose name was Saul.
The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Fiirrar, D. D., F. R. S., Vol. II, p. 436.
**We Have Crucified a Man, but We Could Not Slay a God !''
"The Eesurrection " had been a theological phrase in Pales-
tine, accepted by some, refused by others, and a puzzle to all.
Now it came to be called a fact of history. For the dead had
been seen abroad, and recognized.
It also came, but not at once, to be understood that this mystery
had some connection with the other, mightier one, which, in time,
absorbed the interest of all thoughtful men.
There were those who bowed their heads, and smote their
breasts and said : " We have crucified a man. But we could not
slay a God ! "
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 405.
Arguments on the Resurrection
The most remarkable of all miracles is the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. It therefore is entitled to a distinct exami-
nation. The following facts in the case are acknowledged by
friends and foes :
1. Jesus Christ frequently predicted the circumstances of his
death. 2. He actually died. 3. Was buried. 4. Was miss-
ing from the tomb.
Now there are but three conceivable ways by which the body
could be removed from the sepulchre. By his enemies, by his
friends, or by himself, as he had predicted.
If by his enemies, their motive must have been to produce the
body, and thereby confront the apostles, and convince them of
fraud in their Master. But the body was not produced by them.
If by his friends, we cannot tell for what purpose. The dead
body could not prove to them or others that he was risen ; bnt
would, on the contrary, be a standing and visible proof against
them.
It is true his enemies reported that his friends had " stole him
away." But when their report is examined it will appear false.
1. So manifestly improbable is the report, that Matthew, though
he faithfully records the whole, does not offer a syllable to refute it.
THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS RISING 523
2. The disciples were few in number, aud destitute of natural
courage.
Thej were generally dismayed aud terrified at the fate of their
Master.
Heuce, wheu he was apprehended, they all forsook him aud
fled. Peter followed him afar off; aud wheu accused of being a
disciple, deuied it three times with vehemence aud oaths. Not
one attended him in the judgment hall. And wheu he was
crucified, the only persons that ventured to stand near his cross
were his mother, with two or three other women, and St. John.
It is not therefore probable that they would be found at such a
work, especially at such a season ; for,
3. It was the occasion of the great Passover, when Jerusalem
was full of people. It is also said to have been a time of the full
moon.
4. It is not probable that all the guard would fall asleep at
once, especially as they were in the open air.
5. If they were all asleep, they could not depose to anything
that passed mean time. Sleeping witnesses ! They could not
know that it was stolen ; or, if it was, hy tvhom.
6. It was certain death to Roman soldiers to be found sleeping
upon guard. Heuce if they had been asleep, they would not have
voluntarily confessed it.
7. If the reports of these soldiers had been believed, the rulers
would have punished them. This they never did.
8. If the soldiers had believed their own story, they ever after
would have reproached the disciples with it. This they were
never kuowu to do.
If, therefore, the body could be removed in no other way, it
must have been by his own power, as he had previously foretold.
The more direct evidence of this great miracle is contained in
the eleven distinct appearances of Christ after his burial. These
were at different hours of the day, at different places, and, on one
occasion to five hundred persons.
He did not appear to them silently, but talked and ate with
them, showed his hands and feet, made them handle him, etc. ;
held several long conversations with them, aud at last ascended
to heaven in their sight.
A Theological Compend, Rev. Amos Binney, p. 27.
524 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
" The Lord Is Risen Indeed ! **
The importance of all this cauuot be adequately expressed in
words. A dead Christ might have been a teacher and wonder-
worker, and remembered and loved as such. But only a risen
and living Christ could be the Saviour, the Life, and the Life
Giver — and as such preached to all men. And of this most
blessed truth we have the fullest and most unquestionable evi-
dence. We can, therefore, implicitly yield ourselves to the
realism of that most sacred and blessed fact. This is the founda-
tion of the Church, the inscription on the banner of her armies,
the strength and comfort of every Christian heart, and the grand
hope of humanity :
"The Lord is risen indeed."
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol! II, p. 629.
XXXIX
APPEAEANCES OF THE EISEN LOED
Not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.
—St. Paul.
The ** Traveler Unknown ** on the Road to Emmaas
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village
named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem.
And they communed with each other of all these things which
had happened.
And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned to-
gether, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But
their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
And he said to them, "What words are these that you ex-
change one with another as you walk *? "
And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named
Cleophas, answering said to him, "Dost thou alone sojourn in
Jerusalem and not know the things which have happened there
in these days'? "
And he said to them, " What things ? "
And they said to him, "The things concerning Jesus the
Nazareue, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before
God and all the people : and how the chief priests and our rulers
delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
But we hoped that it was He who should redeem Israel. Yes,
and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things
came to pass. Moreover certain women of our company amazed
us, having been early at the tomb ; and when they found not his
body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of
angels, who said that he was alive.
"And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb,
and found it just as the women had said : but they did not see
him."
625
526 THE STOHY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
And he said to them, ''O foolish men, and slo\r of heart to
believe after all that the prophets have spokeu ! Was it not
necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into
his glory*? "
And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he inter-
preted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
And they came near the village, to which they were going : and
he made as though he would go farther.
And they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is
toward evening, and the day is now far spent."
And he went in to stay with them.
And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to
supper, he took the loaf, and blessed it and breaking it he gave
some to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him ; and he
vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to another, "Was not our heart burning
within us, while he spoke to us in the way, while he opened the
scriptures to us? "
And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem,
and found the eleven gathered together, aud those who were with
them, saying, "The Lord is risen indeefd, aud has appeared to
Simon."
And they rehearsed the things by the way, and how he was
known by them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke xxiv. 13-35. Revised, with Marginals and modernised.
"What of the Great New Hope of the Kingdom ?
It was the early afternoon of that spring day perhaps soon after
the early meal, when two men from that circle of disciples left
the city. Their narrative affords deeply interesting glimpses
into the circle of the Church in those first days. The impression
conveyed to us is of utter bewilderment, in which only some
things stood out unshaken and firm : love to the person of Jesus ;
love among the brethren ; mutual confidence and fellowship ;
together with a dim hope of something yet to come — if not Christ
in His kingdom, yet some manifestation of, or approach to it.
The apostolic college seems broken up into units 5 even the two
APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN LORD 527
chief apostles, Peter and Johu, are only '' certain of tbem that
were with us." And no wonder ; for they are no longer '' apos-
tles"— sent out. Who is to send them forth? Not a dead
Christ ! And what would be their commission, and to whom
and whither ? And above all rested a cloud of utter uncertainty
and perplexity. Jesus loas a prophet mighty in word and deed
before God and all the people. But their rulers had crucified
Him. What was to be their new relation to Jesus ; what to their
rulers % And what of the great new hope of the kingdom, which
they had connected with Him ?
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 637.
Standing in Theff Midst
When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of
the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and
said to them, Peace be unto you.
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his
side.
The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
Jesus therefore said to them again. Peace be unto you : as the
Father has sent me, even so I send you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to
them. Receive the Holy Spirit : whose soever sins you forgive,
they are forgiven them ; whose soever sins you retain, they are
retained.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with
them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to
him, We have seen the Lord.
But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put
my hand into his side, I will not believe.
John XX. 19-25. Revised Version, with Marginals, etc.
Thomas the Twin Was Not There
At this meeting, Thomas surnamed the Twin was not present.
The cause of his absence is not intimated j but we conjecture that
528 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
he was just then in no mood to associate with his fellow-dis-
ciples. He was evidently of a melancholy, despondent temper ;
and the fearful scenes of Passion Week had probably plunged
him into the deepest mental distress. He was brave, loving, and
constant, but lacking in hope and faith. Indeed, he is well called
the skeptical apostle. When the other disciples said to him,
"We have seen the Lord," he replied, "Except I shall see in
His hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His
side, I will not believe."
Have we, then a Hume, or a Eenan among the apostles?
Though ten of his colleagues testified that they had seen their
Master alive, he would not believe. He would not be convinced
by any evidence short of sensation : nay, he would not receive
the testimony of a single sense ; he must not only see but handle ;
he must put his finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his
hand into His side. There is something wonderfully modern in
this. A Voltaire, or a Strauss, could not have demanded more
overpowering evidence. Even previous to the death of Christ,
the tendency of Thomas to call in question everything spiritual
and mysterious had been clearly disclosed. When Jesus said
that He was going to His Father, and by a way which they all
knew, Thomas broke in with an objection : "Lord, we know not
whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way ?"
Immanuel, Zachary Eddy, D. D., p. 742.
The Convincing of Thomas
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and
Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, Peace be unto you.
Then he said to Thomas, Eeach hither thy finger, and see my
hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and put it in to my side : and
be not faithless, but believing.
Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God !
Jesus said to him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast be-
lieved. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have be-
lieved.
John XX. 26-29. Revised Version, with Marginals.
APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN LORD 529
** Thoa Aft My God Indeed ! **
Where gathered His disciples true,
There in the midst Christ stood to view,
Proclaiming : " Peace be unto you ! "
Hallelujah !
When Didymus now heard it said,
That Jesus rising left the dead,
' Strong doubt possessed his heart and head.
Hallelujah !
" See, Thomas, see My wounded side,
These hands and feet ! ' ' the Saviour cried,
" Doubt not : believe; in Me confide."
Hallelujah !
When Thomas searched with earnest heed
Feet, hands, and side, from doubting freed,
He said : " Thou art my God indeed ! "
Hallelujah !
Let Zion's Sons and Daughters Say, Translated from the Latin by Prof.
Thomas C. Porter. Christ in Song, Philip SchafE, D. D., Vol. I, p. 255.
The Reconfirming of Petet
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples
at the sea of Tiberias ; and he manifested himself in this way.
There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called the Twin,
and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zehedee, and
two other of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, I am going a-fishiug.
They say to him. We also are coming with thee.
They went forth, and got into the boat ; and that night they
caught nothing. But when day was breaking, Jesus stood on the
beach : yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus therefore said to them, '' Children, have you anything to
eat?"
They answered him, "No."
And he said to them, " Cast the net on the right side of the
boat, and you shall find."
They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for
the multitude of fishes.
530 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is
the Lord !"
So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his
tuuic about him (for he was uaked), and threw himself into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not
far from the land, but about two hundred cubits off), dragging
the net full of fishes.
So when they got out upon the land, they saw a fire of charcoal
there, and a fish laid thereon, and a loaf.
Jesus said to them, " Bring some of the fish which you have
just caught."
Simon Peter therefore went aboard, and drew the net to land,
full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty-three : and for all there
were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, '' Come to breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared inquire of him. Who art thou?
knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus came, and took the loaf, and gave them some, and the fish
likewise.
This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the
disciples, after he had risen from the dead.
So when they had breakfasted, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? "
He said to him, "Yes, Lord ; thou knowest that I love thee."
He said to him, " Feed my lambs."
He said to him again a second time, "Simon, sou of Jonas,
lovest thou me?"
He said to him, " Yes, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee."
Jesus said to him, " Feed my sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me?"
Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time,
"Lovest thou me? " And he said to him, " Lord, thou knowest
all things ; Thou perceivest that I love thee."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Verily, verily I say to
thee. When thou wast young, thou didst dress thyself, and walked
whither thou wouldest : but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt
stretch forth thy hands, and another shall dress thee, and carry
thee whither thou wouldest not."
APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN LORD 531
Now this he said, signifying by what manner of death h« should
glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he said to him, "Follow me."
Peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved fol-
lowing ; who leaned back on his breast at the supper, and said
then, " Lord, who is he that is betraying thee? "
Peter therefore seeing him said to Jesus, " Lord, and this man —
what!"
Jesus said to him, " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is
that to thee 1 follow thou me ! "
This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that
disciple should not die : yet Jesus said not to him, that he should
not die ; but, " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee?"
This is the disciple that bears witness of these things, and
wrote these things : and we know that his witness is true.
John xxi. 1-24. Revised, using Marginals and other authorities, modernised.
"They Will Lead You Where You Would Not Go"
" Hear now," He continued, " what awaits you. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Hitherto you have girded yourself and
gone whither you pleased, and you do so still ; but, in your old
age you will stretch forth your hands helplessly, and will give
yourself up to others, who will gird you with chains, and lead
you off where you would fain not go — to the place of judgment."
An assurance of safety for the present, and a timely warning of
what the future would bring ! There was a brief pause, and then
the words, " Follow me," summoned the apostle once more, as of
old : but spoken this time, by the risen and glorified Saviour —
it called him to follow Him in a martyr's death, and then, to the
glory beyond.
Peter, taking the last words literally, fancied he was to follow
his Master as before, and as Jesus seemed now leaving them, had
done so a few paces, when, turning round, he saw John coming
after him. Unwilling to separate from one endeared by long
companionship as a fellow-disciple, he, therefore, ventured to
ask, in hope that John too, would be allowed to come with them
— "Lord, what will this man do?" But things were not as in
old days of common familiar communion. " If I should please
532 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
that he live till my returD, why should you seek to know it?"
replied Jesus. "From you I require that you follow me in the
path in which I have gone before you. ' '
I'he Life and Words of Christ, Cunuingham Geikie, D. D., Vol. II, p. 568.
"Lo, I Am v/ith Yow Alwayl**
But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him,
they worshiped him : but some doubted.
And Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, " All
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatever I com-
manded you and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world."
Matthew xxviii. 16-20. Revised, with Marginals, etc.
** On Thee Has the Lord a Great "Work to Complete \ **
"Earth, thou grain of sand on the shore of the Universe of
God ; thou Bethlehem, amongst the princely cities of the
heavens ; thou art, and remaiuest, the Loved One amongst ten
thousand suns and worlds, the Chosen of God . Thee will He
again visit, and then thou wilt prepare a throne for Him, as thou
gavest Him a manger cradle ; in His radiant glory wilt thou re-
joice, as thou didst once drink His blood and His tears, and
mourn His death ! On thee has the Lord a great work to com-
plete ! "
Das Leben Jcsu, Pressel, Translated by Cunuingham Geikie, D. D,, p. 558.
Carried op into Heaven
And he said to them. These are my words which I spoke to you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled
which are written in the law of Moses and the prophets, and the
psalms, concerning me.
Then he opened their mind, that they might understand the
scriptures ; and he said to them. Thus it is written that the Christ
should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day ; and
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his
APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN LORD 533
name to all nations. Beginning from Jerusalem, you are wit-
nesses of these things. And behold I send forth the promise of
my Father upon you : but tarry in the city, until you are clothed
with power from on high.
And he led them out until they were opposite Bethany : and
he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from
them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped
him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy : and were con-
tinually in the temple, blessing God.
Luke xxiv. 44-53. Revised, with Marginals, etc.
Twelve Manifestations after He Arose from the Dead
(Note. Mosb authorities give eleven appearances, the tvrelfth being cited
from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, xv, 8.)
(1) To Mary Magdalene, in the garden of the tomb.
^^ Mary .' " " Touch me not.^^
(2) To the women returning homeward.
" Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee.'^
(3) To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus.
'' Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things ? "
(4) To Peter.
And that he was seen of Cej)has, then of the twelve.
1 Corinthians xv. 5.
(5) To the Ten (Judas and Thomas being absent) in the upper
room.
" Feace be unto you ! " ^^ Receive the Holy Spirit ! "
(6) To the Eleven in the upper room.
' ' Peace be unto you ! ' ' (To Thomas. ) ' ' Blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have believed J^
(7) To seven apostles on the Sea of Galilee.
(To Peter. ) ' ' Feed my lambs. ' '
(8) To the Eleven on a mountain in Galilee.
'''■All power is given unto me." ^^Go and disciple all
nations.''^
^^Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'' ^
534 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
(9) To five hundred in Galilee or Bethany.
After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at
once. 1 Corinthians xv. 6.
(10) To James.
After that he was seen of James. 1 Corinthians xv. 7.
(11) The Ascension, near Bethany.
(12) To Paul.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born
out of due time. 1 Corinthians xv. 8.
W. W.
Paul's Summary of the Appearances
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures ;
and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures :
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve : after that,
he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom
the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep.
After that, he was seen of James ; and then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of
due time.
1 Corinthians xv. 3-8. Authorised Version.
He Has Left Us a Rich World of Thoughts
He has left us not only a life, but a rich world of thoughts in
which all the best inspirations and longings of mankind meet and
are reflected. It is the expression of the purest and directest
truths which rise in the depths of the soul, and they are made
common to all mankind by being uttered in the simplest and most
popular form.
The Historic Christ, Theodor Keim, p, 184.
Qosing "Words of the Fourth Gospel
Many other signs, therefore, Jesus did in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book : but these are written,
APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN LORD 535
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sou of God ;
aud that believiug you may have life iu his uam«.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which
if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world
itself would not contain the books that should be written.
John XX. 30, 31 ; and xxi. 25. Revised Version, etc.
So Ends the Gospel of the King
So ends the Gospel of the King. He came and declared the
laws of the Kingdom, and revealed its beauty iu His life, aud its
beneficence in His deeds. His own, according to the flesh, would
have noue of Him, and in uuholy coalition with Gentile powers,
uttered the verdict, " We will not have this Man to reign over
us."
Yet the final note is not that of man's rejection of the King, but
of God's exaltation of Him ; and we are gathered around the risen
One, and cry no longer as the expression of a desire. Long live
the King ; but as the proclamation of a certainty, For ever lives
the King.
The Analyzed Bible, The Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., The Gospel Ac-
cording to Matthew, p. 307.
He Has Left Us the August Opporttinity of Evetlasting Life
Thus vanished from the earth Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of
God.
Evil never touched his spirit. Corruption did not approach
his body. Even his ashes were not permitted to remain in the
soil of the land that had slain him.
He was born in denial of the laws of life. He died in de-
fiance of the laws of death. He was Lord of law. Ideal
of sacrifice, Master of suffering, the grandest intellect, the
purest heart that this low world has known — its Supreme Soul —
he passed.
He has left us the faith which bears his name. He has left us
the august opportunity of everlasting life.
The Story of Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, p. 412.
536 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Heaven's Golden Day Has Broken !
And so their last question to Him, ere He had parted from
them, was also answered, and with blessed assurance. Rever-
ently they worshiped Him ; then, with great joy, returned to
Jerusalem. So it was all true, all real — and Christ "sat down at
the right hand of God ! " Henceforth, neither doubting, ashamed,
nor yet afraid they ''were continually in the Temple, blessing
God."
"And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that
followed. Amen. "
Amen]! It is so. Ring out the bells of heaven ; sing forth the
angelic welcome of worship ; carry it to the utmost bounds of
earth ! Shine forth from Bethany, Thou Sun of Righteousness,
and chase away earth's mist and darkness, for Heaven's golden
day has broken !
The Life and Times of Jesus the Ifessiah, Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon.,
D. D., Ph. D., Vol. II, p. 652.
XL
THE SON OF MAN AND GOD
Faith has yet its Olivet,
Aud love its Galilee.
— Whittier.
The Fourfold Gospel
From Canon Farrar's Messages of the Books we take the follow-
ing descriptions :
''St. Matthew's is the Gospel for the Jews, the Gospel of the
past, the Gospel which sees in Christianity a fulfilment of Judaism,
the Gospel of discourses, the Gospel which represents Christ as
the Messiah of the Jew. . . .
"St. Mark's is the Gospel for the Eomaus, the Gospel of the
present, the Gospel of incident, the anecdotal Gospel, the Gospel
which represents Christ as the Son of God and Lord of the
world. . . .
"St. Luke's is the Gospel for the Greeks, the Gospel of the
future, the Gospel of progressive Christianity, of the universality
and gratuitousness of the Gospel, the historic Gospel, the Gospel of
Jesus as the Good Physician and the Saviour of mankind. . . .
"St. John's is j)reemiuently the Gospel for the Church, the
Gospel of eternity, the spiritual Gospel, the Gospel of Christ as
the Eternal Son, and the Incarnate Word."
Select Notes on the International Lessons for 1900, F. N. Peloubet, D. D., p. 9.
How Mark Wrote the Good News
Mark began to write his story of the Good News with extreme
modesty and brevity. He began with the teaching of John, and
hurried right into the heart of his record. His story included no
account of the birth of Jesus, or of his early life, or of his parent-
age, or descent from David ; and it contained no formal dis-
courses, only a few parables, and not very many miracles. It
was a concise and nearly colorless account of the story of Jesus
537
538 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
as it had been received by a youug man from those who were
with Jesus, written with no attempt at precise historical order,
but only to set down the main things which a young man had
heard from those older than himself.
It was so brief that it came to be undervalued. Matthew used
it aud copied almost the whole of it into his longer Gospel, which
circulated freely among the Jews ; Luke copied very nearly all
of it in his beautiful story, written for the Gentiles ; aud these
two became so popular, oue among the Jews aud the other among
the Gentiles, that they quite overshadowed the shorter aud
simpler Gospel on which both of them had depended. There
came a time, indeed, when there appears to have been only a
single copy of Mark's Gospel that was knowu to exist in the
possession of the early Church, aud that was mutilated, for the
last chapter had been torn off. We do not know how Mark fin-
ished his story of the Eesurrectiou, for his account ends appar-
ently at the eighth verse of the sixteenth chapter, and the re-
maining twelve verses are a later addition written by some one in
an attempt to suj)ply the missing verses of Mark's narrative.
The Boy Who Ran Away, William E. Barton, D. D., The Outlook, No-
vember 18, 1911, p. 667.
Did Mary the Mother Tell Her Story to Lwke ?
If we are riglit in our view as to Luke's authority and as to the
way in which that authority reached him, viz., by oral com-
munication, it appears that either the Virgin was still living
when Luke Vas in Palestine during the years 57 and 58 — which is
quite possible on the supposition that she was quite young when
Jesus was born — or Luke had conversed with some one very
intimate with her, who knew her heart and could give him what
was almost as good as first-hand information. Beyond that we
cannot safely go ; but yet one may venture to state the impres-
sion— though it may be generally considered merely fanciful —
that the intermediary, if one existed, is more likely to have been
a woman than a man. There is a womanly spirit in the whole
narrative, which seems inconsistent with the transmission from
man to man, and which, moreover, is an indication of Luke's
character : he had a marked sympathy with women.
Was Christ Born at Bethlehem ? W. M. Ramsey, M. A., D. C. L., p. 88.
THE SON OF MAN AND GOD 539
Fable That Each Apostle Inserted an Article in the Creed
It is affirmed by Ambrose, "that the twelve Apostles, as
skilful artificers, assembled together and made a key by their
common advice, that is, the Creed ; by which the darkness of
the devil is disclosed, tbat the light of Christ may appear."
Others fable that every apostle inserted an article, by which
the creed is divided into twelve articles ; and a sermon, fathered
upon St. Austin, and quoted by Lord Chancellor King, fabricates
that each particular article was thus inserted by each particular
apostle : —
Peter. — 1. I believe in God the Father Almighty ;
John. — 2. Maker of heaven and earth ;
James. — 3. And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord ;
Andrew. — 4. "Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of
the Virgin Mary ;
Philip. — 5. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead
and buried ;
Thomas. — 6. He descended into hell, the third day he rose
again from the dead ;
Bartholomew. — 7. He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right
hand of God the Father Almighty ;
Matthew. — 8. From thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead 5
James, the son of Alpheus. — 9. I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy Catholic Church ;
Simon Zelotes. — 10. The communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins ;
Jude, the brother of James.— 11. The resurrection of the
body;
Matthias. — 12, And the life everlasting. Amen.
The Apocryplial [Spurious] New Testament, p. 91.
540 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
■\
Traditional Deaths of the Apostles
Judas' s death is described by the evangelists.
Matthew suffered martyrdom by the sword iu Ethiopia.
Johu was put into a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped death
and was banished to Patmos.
Peter was crucified at Jerusalem with his head downward.
James was beheaded at Jerusalem.
James the Less was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple and
beaten to death below.
Philip was hanged to a pillar iu Phrygia.
Bartholomew was flayed alive.
Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his perse-
cutors till he died.
Thomas was run through the body at Coromandel, India.
Jude was shot to death with arrows.
Simon the Cauaantean is believed to have suffered martyrdom
iu Eome.
AV. W.
Many Priests Joined the Disciples of Jesus
The higher ranks of the priesthood — rich and haughty — con-
tributed to the degradation of their poorer brethren, whom they
despised, oppressed, and plundered. Nor was the general char-
acter of the priesthood unaffected by the corruption of the times ;
as a class, they were blind guides of the bliud. Not a few, how-
ever, in so numerous a bodj', must have retained more or less
religious sensibility, for we find that many even of the members
of the Jerusalem Council were so alive to the corruption of the
hierarchy at large, that they believed on Christ, its great antago-
nist, and a large number of priests, shortly after His crucifixion,
openly joined His disciples.
The Life and Words of Christ, Cunningham Geikie, D. D., Vol. I, p. 82.
Christians Accused of Setting Fire to Rome
[Nero] punished, with exquisite tortnre, a race of men detested
for their evil practices, by vulgar appellation commonly called
Christians.
H. Hofmann, 1824-
" LO, I AM WITH YOU ALW AY ! "
THE SON OF MAN AND GOD 541
The name was derived from Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea. By that
event the sect, of which he was the founder, received a blow,
which, for a time, checked the growtli of a dangerous supersti-
tion ; but it revived soon after, and spread with recruited vigor,
not only in Judea, the soil that gave it birth, but even in the
city of Rome, the common sink into which everything infamous
and abominable flows like a torrent from all quarters of the world.
Nero proceeded with his usual artifice. He found a set of profli-
gate wretches, who were induced to confess themselves guilty, and,
on the evidence of such men, a number of Christians were con-
victed, not indeed, upon clear evidence of their having set the city
on fire, but rather on account of their sullen hatred of the whole
human race. They were put to death with exquisite cruelty, and
to their sufferings Nero added mockery and derision. Some were
covered with the skins of wild beasts, and left to be devoured by
dogs ; others were nailed to the cross ; numbers were burnt alive ;
and many, covered over with inflammable matter, were lighted
up, when the day declined, to serve as torches during the
night.
For the convenience of seeing this tragic spectacle, the emperor
lent his own gardens. He added the sports of the circus, and
assisted in person, sometimes driving a curricle, and occasionally
mixing with the rabble in his coachman's dress. At length the
cruelty of these proceedings filled every breast with compassion.
Humanity relented in favour of the Christians. The manners of
that people were, no doubt, of a pernicious tendency, and their
crimes called for the hand of justice ; but it was evident, that
they fell a sacrifice, not for the public good, but to glut the rage
and cruelty of one man only.
The Annals of Tacitus. The Works of Cornelius Tacitus, Book XV, Section
xliv, p. 287.
Faith of Our Fathers !
Faith of our fathers ! living still
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword :
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene'er we hear that glorious word !
Faith of our fathers ! holy faith !
We will be true to thee till death 1
542 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free :
How sweet would be their children's fate,
If they, like them, could die for thee !
Faith of our fathers ! holy faith !
We will be true to thee till death !
Faith of Our Fathers ! Frederick W. Faber, The Methodist Hymnal, p. 290.
The Chain of Christian Evidence from the First Centwry
There are iu existence ancient Greek manuscripts of the New
Testament that have come down unchanged from the fourth
century. In them are the four Gospels, substantially the same as
those in use in the churches to-day. We are therefore certain
that we have the same history of Christ's life as was accepted by
believers universally in that century. To make "assurance double
sure," we have the decision of two famous Councils of that age
concerning the canon of New Testament scripture. In 397 the
Council of Carthage placed the sanction of its judgment upon
those books which were to be read in the churches as of divine
authority. The catalogue was precisely the same as is to-day
accepted. In 363 the Council of Laodicaea gave a list of the books
received which was identical with ours with the one exception
that no mention was made of the Apocalyj)se [Revelation].
Following back the stream of evidence from this point we come
next to a history of the Church from the apostolic age written by
Eusebius of Coesarea, who lived from 260 A. D. to 338 A. D. In
this work there is distinct testimony to the fact that at the close
of the third century the Gospels were received everywhere with-
out any question as to their historic accuracy. Next in order is
Origen, who lived from 185 A. D. to 254 A. D. He published a
catalogue of the canon of his day and it began with the four
Gospels.
The next witness is Ireufeus, who wrote a treatise in the same
year Origen was born, namely 185 A. d., in which special mention
is made of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as the accredited
Gospels. About 160 A. d., Tatian prepared a work which he
called the Diatessaron, and which was a compilation of the story
of Christ's life from the four Gospels.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 146 A. d., Justin Martyr
THE SON OF MAN AND GOD 543
issued an "Apology" in which he referred in definite terms to
the Memoirs of the Apostles, and said that they were read on every
Sunday in the public congregations of Christians. He made about
200 quotations from the Gospels, from which it is evident that
by "Memoirs" he meant precisely what we call Gospels. In
135 A. D., Papias published an exposition of Matthew aud Mark
which he called the Oracles of the Lord and which were accepted
generally at that time by believers.
We are thus carried beyond the middle of the second century
by the distinct testimony of credible and competent witnesses.
From their statements it is perfectly plain that the Christian
churches about 150 A. d. were supplied with the story of their
Lord's life in those Gospels which still stand at the head of the
New Testament canon.
To bridge the distance from this date to the age of the
apostles is a very easy matter. The life of one man is suflBicient
to cover the space. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, who was
martyred in 155 or 156 A. D., was an old man at the time of
his decease. He was born somewhere about 70 A. D. In his
youth he was a disciple of the apostle John and from him learned
the story of our Lord's life. When John died Polycarp was
thirty years old. It was his privilege to know many other per-
sons who had seen the risen Christ. Treasuring up these recol-
lections he went through the churches preaching the doctrines
he had received, and recounting the history he had heard from
those who had been eye witnesses of the scenes reported. . . .
The fact that near the close of Polycarp' s life the churches
universally accepted Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as authentic
and trustworthy is an unanswerable witness to their accuracy.
Had these books been untrustworthy, the man, who had talked
with John himself again and again, and from his lips learned the
sacred story and teachings, would have been a swift and effective
exposer of their errors. False Gospels could not have stood be-
fore him. Their acceptance without a breath of doubt is proof
positive that they accorded with the report which the aged bishop
brought direct from the apostolic age. The line of evidence is
thus complete from the latter half of the first century to the
present day.
A Search after Grounds for Faith, Rev. Willis P. Odell, D. D., pp. 7-9,
644 THE STORY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Fire in the Heart of History
Workingmen see in Jesus one of themselves. Ou coming into
power one of tlieir first acts would be to put this Workiugman
into the public schools — a moulder of childhood's formative clay.
The Carpenter of Nazareth is the greatest working force in his-
tory. He is woven into every part of knowledge. To keep him
longer quarantined from the schools and colleges would not only
bereave the young of collision with the most efficient moral dy-
namic ever known, but it would also maim the intellect. Jesus is
the central fire that burns at the heart of history. Leave him
out, European chronicles are meaningless — the march of the
centuries nothing but a splendid chaos. Art, letters, the develop-
ment of institutions, are kuowable only to those who know him.
He is the red cord across the stretch of centuries, the clue to an
otherwise infinite maze and bafflement. Only to whoso has
knowledge of this Workingman is there presented a map of his-
tory and the human drama unfolds itself in a scheme of orderli-
ness and progression. The calendar on the wall of every home
and shop and office attests the unavoidable Carpenter. To re-
lease him, therefore, from the the Sunday-schools and the cate-
chism . . . into the public school where he belongs by in-
alienable right, is the premier need of our day.
The Call of The Carpenter, Bouck White, p. 342.
The Life of Christ in History Can Not Cease
The life of Christ in history can not cease. His influence waxes
more and more ; the dead nations are waiting till it reach them,
and it is the hope of the earnest spirits that are bringing in the
new earth. All discoveries of the modern world, every develop-
ment of juster ideas, of higher powers, of more exquisite feelings
in mankind, are only new helps to interpret Him ; and the lift-
ing-up of life to the level of His ideas and character is the pro-
gramme of the human race.
The Life of Jesus Christ, Rev. James Stalker, M. A., p. 152.
THE SON OF MAN AND GOD 546
The Christ That Is to Be
Ring out the grief that saps the miud,
For those that here we see no more ;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife ;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite ;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease ;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold ;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant and the free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ;
Ring out the darkness of the land.
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
In Memoriam, ovi. Alfred Tennyson, Poetical Works, p. 129.
546 THE STOEY-LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
The Son of Man the Son of God
Thou seemest human aud divine —
The highest, holiest manhood thou !
Our wills are ours, we know not how —
Our wills are ours to make them thine.
— Tennyson.
Special Acknowledgments
It is with an almost overwhelming sense of obligation that I now, in ad-
dition to the credits given in the body of my book, make fuller acknowledg-
ment of the many kindnesses shown me by publishers, authors and others
whose distinguished generosity has done so much to make The Story-Life of
the Son of Man possible.
From an " embarrassment of riches " it has been necessary to choose only
the very best, and even then it has been impossible to use more than a tithe
of the good things at hand.
Thanks, in the first place, should go to Longmans, Green & Co. for
fundamental extracts liberally allowed from four of the greatest works on the
sublime subject :
The Lfe and Words of Christ, by Dr. Cunningham Geikie ;
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Dr. Alfred Edersheim ;
Jesus the Messiah, a popular abridgment of the same ;
The Christ the Son of God, by Abbe Constant Fouard, that devout and
fascinating Roman Catholic authority — making a strong and necessary quar-
tet for ministers, teachers, students and general readers of the Life of the
Master.
Next in order, and equal in interest and importance, comes that learned
and long-popular work.
The Life of Christ, by Archdeacon Frederic W. Farrar, for the free use
of which many thanks are due Cassell & Company ; also
Jesus Christ, by the Reverend Father Didon, and published by Keg an
Paul, Trench, TrUbner & Co.
Among the great books on the Christ published originally in America,
many stories showing deep insight and intense feeling have been chosen from
the following, for the use of which Houghton Mifflin Company give
their kind consent :
The Story of Jesus Christ, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps ;
Within the Pale, by Mary Antin, whose contributions to
547
548 SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Atlantic Monthly have stirred the literary and social world of the day ;
paragraphs from
Modern Government and Christianity, by Winston Churchill ; and for
vivid pages from
Come Forth ! by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward.
Also for extracts from the poems of Holmes, Longfellow, Lowell, and
Whittier ; and
The Christ Story, by Eva March Tappan.
Special recognition is accorded to D. Appleton & Company for courtesies
in connection with their American edition of
The Life and Words of Christ, by Dr. Geikie, as well as for charming
child stories from
ji Book of the Christ Child, by Eleanor Hammond Broadus.
To Bromfield & Company, sincere thanks are rendered for permissions
covering a number of extracts from
The Life of Jesus the Christ, by Henry Ward Beecher.
From the best of the single-volume Lives of the Christ, stories — not half
so many as desired — have been selected from
Life and Times of Jesus, as Related by Thomas Didymus, by James Free-
man Clarke, now published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company ; and
thanks are tendered to George W, Jacobs & Co. for rich excerpts from
Tlie Life of Christ, by William J. Dawson, beloved m two hemispheres.
Sincere gratitude is expressed to Funk & Wagnalls Company for liberal
allowances from
The Boys' Life of Christ, by William Byron Forbush, whose studies ot
♦* The Boy Problem," and *• Travel Lessons on the Life of Jesus," have
made him able to tell admirably the story of the one Boy to al) others.
Another refreshing book which presents this subject from the standpoint ot
the world's worker is
The Call of The Carpenter, by Bouck White, Head Resident of Trinity
House, New York. Doubleday Page & Co. were unstinted in their gen-
erosity, allowing the use of many excerpts from a work which has just had a
wide welcome in social and religious circles.
Fleming H. Revell Company have contributed but a modest share, con-
sidering their hundreds of religious publications — for these few books are
indispensable :
The Life of Jesus Christ, by Rev. James Stalker, M. A., a model of con-
densed and lucid characterisation ;
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5^9
Studies of the Man Christ Jesus, by Robert E. Speer ;
The Analyzed Bible, by the Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D., and from
thsrt standard work by a score of authorities.
The Twentieth Century New Testament, a Translation into Modern
English.
In this connection a work of similar import should be mentioned, namely.
The New Testament in Modern English, by Ferrar Fenton.
While referring to these versions in the modern vernacular the thanks ot
writer and publishers should be extended to Thomas Nelson & Sons for
selections permitted from the
American Revision of the New Testament.
Acknowledgment is made at the same time for many quotations allowed
from the
Revised Version of 1 88 1, as also the
Authorised, or King James Translation.
Quotations also are made from the so-called
Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome, rendered into English ; from the
Rheims New Testament, later incorporated into the
Douai or Douay Bible, as revised and published under the approval of the
Most Reverend John Hughes, D. D., Archbishop of New York, with the
imprint of T. W. Strong.
Recourse also has been taken to many versions, from those of King Alfred,
WyclifFe, Tyndale and Luther to the recent discoveries in Oxyrynchus,
Egypt, entitled.
New Sayings of Jesus, and
Fragments of a Lost Gospel, edited by Bernard P. Grenfell, D. Litt., per-
missions for which were given by the Oxford University Press.
Writers of fiction have done much for the readers in imagining the scenes
in the Life of the Christ. Foremost among these stands Marie Corelli, whose
Barabbas, A Dream of the World's Tragedy, has given palpitating de-
scriptions of the Crucifixion. Besides her own kind consent, that of her
American publishers, J. B. Lippincott Company, has been secured.
Harper & Brothers, also, have granted leave to quote from the vivid
Jesus of Nazareth, an early work by Lyman Abbott, copyright, 1868, by
Harper & Brothers ; copyright, 1896 and 19 10, by Lyman Abbott ;
Vergilius, by Irving Bacheller, and have permitted the copying of a foot-
note from that well-known authority.
The Land and the Book, by William M. Thomson.
550 SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Of the truth which is stranger than fiction, yet much of it wrought by the
imagination, one of the most vivid stories about the Christ is
A Day in Capernaum, by Franz Delitzsch, rather roughly translated from
the German by J. G. Morris and the writer of this Story-Life. It was printed
in America by the Reformed Church Publication Society.
The yearly volumes published by W. A. Wilde Company, entitled
Select Notes on the International Lessons by F. N. and M. A. Peloubet,
have been drawn upon freely, by permission, for stories, excerpts and
illustrations.
Acknowledgment is also made to various publishers for permission to
reprint extracts from the following works :
Charles Scribner's Sons,
j4 History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, by Emil
Schiirer, D. D., M. A. ; and
The Character of Jesus, by Horace Bushnell.
G. P. Putnam's Sons,
Was Christ Born at Bethlehem, by Sir William Mitchell Ramsay.
David McKay,
The Apocryphal Books of the New Testament.
Little, Brovv^n & Company,
The Life of Jesus, by Ernest Renan.
Messrs. Roberts Brothers,
Ecce Homo : A Survey of the Life and Work of Jesus Christ, by John R.
Seeley ;
The Prince of the House of David, by Rev. J. H. Ingraham.
Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.,
Bethesda, and
What Went Ye Out to See, by Arthur Hugh Clough, and
My Religion, and
The Teaching of Jesus, by Count Leo Tolstoi, translated by L. and A.
Maude.
Funk & Wagnalls Company,
The Light of the World, by Sir Edwin Arnold. Further acknowledg-
ments are made to
Longmans, Green & Co., for permission to quote from the English edi
tion of this brilliant poem.
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 551
Also to the publishers of
/;; Memoriam, by Alfred Lord Tennyson ;
Echoes and Pictures From the Life of Christ, by Richard H. Thomas, M. D.
The Sunday School Times,
The Inn That Missed Its Chance, by Amos R. Wells.
DoUBLEDAY PaGE & CoMPANY,
The New Library of Poetry and Song, edited by William Cullen Bryant.
David C. Cook Publishing Co.,
Titus, a Comrade of the Cross, by Florence Morse Kingsley.
The Methodist Book Concern,
Jesus Christ in His Homeland, by Lydia M. von Finkelstein Mountford.
The Outlook Company,
The Boy Who Ran Away, by William E. Barton, D. D.
Geo. W. Dillingham Company,
The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, as found in Buddhists* records, by
Nicolas Notovitch.
George H. Doran Company, successor to A. C. Armstrong & Son, for
many extracts from
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ.
E. P. Dutton & Co.,
The Influence of Jems,
The Manliness of Christ,
The Candle of the Lord and Other Sermons, by Phillips Brooks.
Thanks are collectively expressed to authors or publishers, or both, of the
following valuable works :
The Oriental Christ, by Protap Chunder Mozoomdar ;
Confucianism and Taouism, by Sir Robert K. Douglas ;
Essays on Christianity, Paganism and Superstition, by Thomas DeQuincey,
containing that great author's famous Apology for
Judas Iscariot ; in which connection must be mentioned
/;/ Defense of Judas, as given in a poetic pamphlet entitled,
A Roman Lawyer in Jerusalem, by William Wetmore Story, and pub:
lished by the Philosopher Press ; also for an extract from
Immanuel, by Zachary Eddy ;
Outlines of Ancient and Modern History, by Royal Robbins ;
A Theological Compend, by the Rev. Amos Binney, and many other books
of great worth.
562 SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Zion's Herald receives grateful recognition for permissions to reprint
from its columns certain verses on
Galilee, by Wayne Whipple, and the peroration of a sermon on
The Originality of Jesus, by Matt S. Hughes, D. D.
It is impossible to acknowledge the whole debt for aids in producing this
Story-Life, from Paul and Josephus down to Mozoomdar and Mary Antin.
Among the many who have given personal help and sympathy are, the
writer's mother, Mrs. A. J. Whipple, now of Seattle, Washington, who, by
her prayers and those of a scattered band of Mothers in Israel held up " The
Life " and its unworthy compiler daily before the Throne ;
To the " chief friend," William H. Eddishaw, who, with his devoted
mother and sister, lent aid and inspiration to the success of this work ;
To the Rev. Dr. Charles Wesley Burns, the pastor beloved, for many
helpful thoughts, during the years of preparation for the book ;
To Dr. Naaman H. Keyser, for the use of curiosities and obscure author-
ities which lend an added interest to this mosaic Life ;
To Dr. S. P. Ross, of Philadelphia, for able professional assistance ;
To Captain J. E. Barr, for the use of unique and valuable originals in
illustrating the book ;
To the Honourable John Wanamaker, for permission to copy his great
painting of St. Veronica, now hanging in Bethany Church, Philadelphia ;
To Charles Sydney Bradford, for artistic painstaking in reproducing
several beautiful illustrations for this work ;
To Herman Newman, for many suggestions and helpful books.
It seems now that it would have been almost impossible to produce this
Story-Life without the untiring courtesies and cooperation of the following ;
The Librarian and Assistants of the Friends' Library of Germantown ;
The Librarian and Assistants of the Free Library of Philadelphia, in-
cluding the Assistants at the Germantown and Widener Branches ;
The Librarian and Assistants of the Philadelphia Library Company,
(founded by Benjamin Franklin) and of the Ridgway Branch ;
The Librarian and Assistants of the Mercantile Library of Philadelphia ;
And of Ernest Spofford, Assistant Librarian of Pennsylvania Histor-
ical Society.
INDEX
Aaron, 452. ^ , . • no
Abbott, Rev. Dr. Lyman, stones, 139,
150, 190, 205, 229, 265, 281, 301, 334,
381.
Abel 235.
Abgarus, king of Edessa, 506, 507.
Abiathar, 190, 191.
Abilene, district, 115.
Abraham, 94, 115, 150. 178, 219, 220.
311-14, 339, 340, 349, 385, 399.
Aceldama, see Field of Blood.
Adam, Samaritan belief about, 150.
yEnon, the Baptist at 154.
Ahasuerus, the Wandermg Jew, 507. ^
Alexis, husband of Herod the Greats
sister Salome, 42, 72, 73.
Alfred the Great, 211.
Alphaeus. See also Clopas, 106.
Ambrose, Saint, 539. ^„ ,^e
Andrew, one of the Twelve, 128, 165,
166 171, 192, 203-5; with certain
Greeks, 403; 539, 540.
Angel or Angels, Gabriel, 48-50 ; ap-
pearing to the shepherds, 62, 63 ; il-
lustration, 63 ; illustration, flight to
Egypt, 71 ; minister to Jesus, 124_; 133 ;
names used in magic, 177; coming in
glory, 291 ; always behold His face,
298; in presence of, 332; all the holy
angels, 359; "hath spoken to Him,"
403 ; into the face of our Father,
410; 445; twelve legions in His de-
fense, 448; at the tomb, 516; in the
tomb, 518, 520.
Anna, prophetess in Temple, 66.
Annas (Ananus, Hanan), 115, 144, 451,
452, 454, 455, 464, 470, 474, 487, 495.
Annunciation, 48-50.
Antin (Grabau), Mary, story, 44.
Antipas (Herod), 72, 115, 155. 257-9,
262-5, 268, 281, 340-2; 466, 467, 474.
Antonia, castle, 41, 111.
Apocryphal New Testament, stories, 76,
77, 80-2, 84-8, 506, 507, 509-11, 539.
Appearances of the Christ after Resin--
rection, 525-536; 533, 534.
Aramaic (Aramean, Syriac), 93, 112,
113, 136, 137; "Talitha cumi," 255;
"Ephphatha," 285, 286; "Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani," 494, 495.
Ararat, Mount, 150.
Archelaus, 72-4, 101.
Arnold, Sir Edwin, stories, 110, 464.
Ascension of Jesus, 532-5.
Asceticism, Jesus opposed to, 127.
Asmonean, lineage or family, 48, 66.
Atonement, Day of, 90, 136. See also
Feasts.
Augustine, Saint, 539.
Augustus (Octavius), Emperor, 31, 34,
53, 55, 71, 101, 131.
B
Baal, heathen deity, 283.
Babylon, 48, 67.
Bacheller, Irving, stories, 40, 69.
Balaam, prophet of Midian, 39.
Baltasar (Balthasar), traditional name
of one of the Magi, 70.
Baptism of Jesus, 118-20.
Barabbas, 337, 469, 470, 472, 473.
Barrett, Eaton S., story, 500.
Bartholomew. See also Nathanael, 134,
203, 204; 529, 539, 540.
Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus), 386, 387;
illustration, 386; 393.
Barton, William E., stories, 414, 415,
439, 450, 538.
Beatitudes, 206-209.
Bede, "the Venerable," 70.
Bedouin Arabs, 116.
Beecher, Henry Ward, stories, 36, 47,
50, 53, 89, 91, 95, 98, 103, 118, 119.
Beelzebub (Beelzebul), 232, 233, 261,
283.
Beeroth, village, 101.
Beersheba, the southern boundary of
country, 59.
Bethabara, 118, 132, 205.
Bethany, 321, 322, 363-6; 370, 387, 388,
394, 395, 398, 408, 412, 488, 523.
Bethel, 149.
Bethesda, 180, 181, 188.
Bethlehem, 42, 55-8, 62, 63, 66-8, 73,
74, 78, 305, 532.
Bethphage, 390.
Bethsaida, 133, 164, 199, 204, 268, 270,
281, 317, 403.
Bethsaida, Julias, 264.
Bethshean, 375.
Binney, Amos, story, 523.
Boat, preaching from, 192, 200, 201,
240, 241, 246-9, 251, 287.
Bonaventura, 90.
Brahmin, 239.
Broadus, Eleanor Hammond, stories,
78-80, 83.
Brooks, N. €., story, 131.
Brooks, Phillips, stories, 102, 272, 313,
445.
Brothers of Jesus (traditional) James,
Joses, Simon and Jude, 106, 164-5,
302. _
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, quota-
tions, 104, 163; stories, 367, 459.
Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, 12, 13.
Burns, Charles Wesley, story, 35.
Bushnell, Horace, 443.
553
554, THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Caesar (Augustus, Tiberius, etc., see
Augustus, Tiberius, etc.), General
application, 105, 110, 289; "Render
unto," 400, 401 ; ''No king but,"
471-5; 481.
Caesarea, 40, 111.
Caesarea Philippi, 254, 289.
Caiaphas, stories by, 76, 77, 80, 81,
82, 84, 87; referred to, 115, 373,
412, 448, 451, 455, 457, 458, 462-5,
470, 474, 486.
Calvary (Golgotha), 408, 494, 503.
Cana, 132, 135, 136, 140, 155, 161, 163,
164, 269, 529.
Canaan, Canaanite, 283.
Capernaum, 140. 155, 161, 164-6, 167-
79, 193, 199, 204, 218, 265, 268, 269,
274, 275, 279, 281. 285, 296, 300,
317,
Carmel (Mount), 122, 163, 294.
Cataline, 35.
Centurion, Roman Captain, 140, 218-
20, 481, 484, 494, 495, 499, 502.
Childhood, Children, 297, 298, 378-9.
Chorazin, by Galilee, 164, 199, 281,
317.
Christian, Christians, 511-12, 518, 521,
524, 540, 541, 543.
Church, of Christ, 289, 290, 380, 518,
524, 526, 538, 543.
Churchill, Winston, story, 427.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 34, 474.
Circumcision of Jesus, 64.
Clarke, Tames Freeman, stories, 149,
184, 194, 207, 208, 215, 216, 319, 321,
372, 384, 399, 423, 501, 517, 520.
Cleophas (Clopas?), 525.
Clopas (Cleopas), see also Alphaeus,
492, 493, 499, 503, 525.
Clough, Arthur Hugh, story, 181 ;
quoted, 192; 201.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, story, 321.
Commandments, quoted by Christ, 380;
second Table, 381 : the greatest. 401 ;
what to say, 404; according to, 513.
Confucius, 214, 215. 347, 362.
Congreve, William, quoted, 257.
Constantine, Capronymus, 507.
Constantine, Emperor of the East (325
A.D.), 131.
Constantinople, 372.
Corban, a gift by vow to God. 230.
Corelli, Marie, referred to. 7 ; stories,
470, 482. 484, 487, 495, 496, 497,
514, 515, 516.
Council of Carthage, A.D. 397. 542.
Council of Laodicrea. A.D. 363. 542.
Court of the Women, in the Temple,
302, 307. 402. 416, 453.
Crashaw, Richard, quoted, 128; stones,
352, 402.
Crassus, Lucius Licinius, 37.
Creed, the .Apostles', 539.
Cross foreshadowed, 146, 182, 317;
form, 477.
Crown of Thorns. 464. 471, 472, 474.
Crucifixion. 95. 471-3; 476-505; 540.
"Crucify Him!" 471-3.
Cum.Tan Sibyl, 39.
Cyprus, 372.
Cyrene, 478.
Dan, at northern boundary of country,
59.
Daniel, Hebrew prophet, 406, 457.
Dante Alighieri, referred to, 350; "the
great refusal," 381 ; about Judas, 421.
David, King of Israel, 48, 49, 55-7, 59,
61, 62, 94, 98; city of, 99; 109
144, 185, 190, 191, 218, 305, 392,
397, 401, 509.
Dawson, William T., stories, 36, 122,
124, 127, 134, 140, 143, 146, 179, 185,
203, 239, 241, 259, 262, 269, 334.
Day of .\tonement, 90, 136.
Dead restored to life, 220-4; 254-6;
363-72.
Dead Sea, 114, 385.
Decapolis, 198, 251, 285.
Delitzsch, Dr. Franz, referred to, 129;
stories, 132, 169, 170, 173, 175.
Demon, Demoniac, possessed by, 167-
9; unclean spirits, 176-8; maniac of
Gadara, 249-51; daughter of heathen,
284 : boy on the Mount, 295-7 ; Jesus
accused of, 303. 304, 328.
DeOuincey, Thomas, story, 411.
Diatessaron, 542.
Didon. Father, stories, 220, 300.
Dives, 348-50.
Divorce, Jesus on, 376, 377.
Douglas, Sir Robert K., story, 215.
Douay. (Douai), Roman Catholic
translation of the Bible. The Lord's
Prayer. 212.
Doves, as offerings, 64, 143, 144.
Dumachus, 79, 80.
E
Easter, the first, 513.
Ebal, Mount, Samaria, 149, 150.
Ebionite, 334.
Eddy, Zachary, story, 528.
Edersheim. .Mfred, stories, 42, 47, 64,
88, 90. 92, 129, 133, 178, 232, 264,
276, 285, 287, 289, 290, 293, 296,
304, 322, 327, 329, 331, 364, 374,
410, 416, 417, 421, 423, 424, 425,
432, 435, 452, 474, 475, 477, 479,
481, 488. 492. 499, 514, 518, 524,
527, 536.
Edessa, 506. 507.
Edmunds, Dr. Albert J., authority on
Oriental religions and literature, 12,
18.
Egypt (country and history), the flight
into. 70. 71 ; 72, 73 ; legends con-
cerning the flight, 76, 77 ; in mem-
ory of, 100; temple of Karnak, 131;
climate of lower region, 385.
Ela. David H., story, 294.
Eleven, the disciples after the loss of
Tudas. 440. 442-50, 520, 532, 533.
"520, 532. 533.
Eliiah (Elias), Hebrew prophet, 114,
117. 119. 123, 160, 162, 259, 266,
289, 2^0 ; "on the holy mount." 292-
4. 393, 494, 495.
Eliot, George, see George Eliot.
Elliott, Emily E. S.. story. 315.
Elisabeth, wife of Zacharias and
mother of John the Baptist, 45-9,
51, 54, 58, 119.
INDEX
555
'Elisha (Eliseus), 119, 121, 160, 162,
393.
Emmaus, 52S, 534.
Enrollment, Edict of, 55, 67.
Ephraim, 373.
Epicurean, Greek philosophy, 34, 35.
Erasmus, Desiderius, 229.
Esdraelon, Plain, 103, 163.
Esdras, Book in the Apoenypha, 39.
Ethiopia, 540.
Eusebius of Cresarea, 542.
Ezra, 113.
F
Faber, F. W., hymn writer, story,
542.
Farrar, Archdeacon, Frederic W.,
stories, 59, 91, 118, 123, 125, 141,
144, 152, 164, 165, 179, 186, 188,
189, 193, 218, 251, 268, 347, 375.
382, 413, 418, 428, 430, 431, 441,
446, 455, 456, 458, 476, 487, 522;
referred to, 537.
Feast, Jewish (see also Passover, Tab-
ernacles, Dedication, etc.), 89, 90;
165; Tabernacles, 301-14; Taber-
nacles, 329; Dedication, 329, 330;
Tabernacles, 337; Tabernacles, 392.
Fenelon, 229.
Field, Eugene, referred to, 507.
Field of Blood (Aceldama), 460.
Fig-tree, 133; blasted, 395-7; parable,
406.
Fleetwood, John, story, 219.
Fool, the Rich, 333, 334.
Forbush, W. B., stories, 93, 94, 96,
97, 99, 100. 102, 103, 110, 112, 114,
120, 146, 157, 158, 162, 412, 469,
493.
Forgiving sins, 174, 175; of one an-
other, 298-300.
Fouard, Abbe Constant, stories, 60,
61, 67, 68, 70, 71, 101, 122, 137, 138,
253, 254.
Gabriel, 46, 48, 50.
Gadara, 249-51.
Gamala, 108.
Gamaliel, Rabbi, 42.
Garden of Eden, 274.
Caspar (Gaspard, Caspar), one of the
Magi, 70.
Gaulomitis, district, 72.
Gautama, the Buddha, 12; (Sakya
Mouni) 347; 362.
Gehenna, Hell, 511. See also Hell.
Geikie, Cunningham, stories, 34, 35,
37-9, 41, 48, 63, 65, 66, 72, 74, 99,
105, 106, 111, 112, 114, 116, 120,
124, 126, 130, 134-6, 139, 149, 151,
164, 166, 168, 171, 175-7, 179, 182,
188, 195, 196, 198, 201, 202, 204,
214, 230, 232, 233, 235, 238, 240,
258, 264, 27S, 279, 280, 283, 286,
292, 302, 303, 306, 308, 309, 311,
314, 337, 338, 342, 365, 372, 378,
385, 387, 392, 394, 401. 402, 405.
408, 409, 434, 440, 444. 450, 454,
458, 461, 465, 477, 502, 503, 505.
507, 521, 532, 540.
Gennesaret, Plain, 269, 275.
Gentile, Gentiles, 65, 165, 215, 220,
236, 237, 260, 283-5, 287, 298, 382-
4, 426, 463, 512, 535, 538.
George Eliot, pen name of Marian
Evans Lewes Cross, the English
novelist who translated Strauss's
skeptical Life of Jesus, 11, 12;
Quotation from a poem, 506.
Gerizim, 149, 150.
Germanicus (Caesar), 7>1 .
Gethsemane, Garden of, 410, 440, 442-
50, 452.
Gifts ("gold, frankincense and myrrh )
68, 69'.
Gloria in Excelsis, 63.
Golden Rule, first taught, 12; as stat-
ed by Jesus and others, 214, 215.
Golgotha, 289, 478. 505.
Gratus, Valerius, 111.
Great Physician, the (Healer), 170,
171, 173, 176-8, 196, 198; leper, 217,
218; centurion's servant. 218-20;
woman with hemorrhage. 252-4 ;
blind men, 256; all kinds of plagues
and infirmities, 258, 259; sick in
market places, 275 ; all manner of
diseases, 285; dumb man, 285, 286;
boy with dumb spirit, 294-6; 365.
Greek, spoken in the time of Christ,
93, 112, 113, 205, 480. 523.
Grenfell, Bernard P., stories, 361, 362.
H
Hades. 281, 289, 317, 349, 514.
Haggai, 40.
Hallel, 392, 416, 439.
Hannah, 512.
Hay, John, story, 325.
Hebrew, 93. 112, 113, 159. 180, 480.
Hebron, city, region, 116.
Hell, 332, 508, 509, 539_.
Herbert, George, quotation, 442.
Hermon. 285. 293. 294.
Herod Antipas. see Antipas.
Herod the Great, king of Judea, 37,
40. 42; 45. 55, 66-8, 70: death, 72;
legends, 11, 79, 82, 92; 197, 198,
236, 259. 262.
Herodians, 186, 236, 268, 400.
Herodias, 257. 262-4.
Hinnom. Valley, 99. 517.
Holland. Tosiah Gilbert, 55.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 180.
Holy Place (Sanctuary), 48, 409.
Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost), 46, 49, 51
65; at the baptism of Tesus, 119-21
128, 318, 332, 401 : Wycliffe, 436
"Receive ye," 527: 532, 533, 539.
Horace, Roman poet, 34.
Hosea, 306.
House of the Last Supper, 438-9.
Hughes, Matt. S., story, 362.
Hume, David, 528.
Idumaea, Idumean, 40, 48.
Ingraham, J. H., stories, 223, 306.
Inn (Khan), Bethlehem, 58-60.
Irenaeus, 542.
Isaac, 151, 219, 220, 340, 399.
Isaiah, 48, 115: Jesus reads from, 159,
160: at Capernaum, 165, 166; "He
did not cry aloud," 201 ; quoted, 230,
556 THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
237, 242; Jesus believed to be, 266;
quoted, 278, 390, 391 ; "Who hath
believed our report?" 404; "He hath
blinded their eyes," 404.
Iturea, district, 115.
J
Jacob, 149-52, 188, 219, 220, 340, 399.
Jacob's Well, 149-52.
Jacopone, Franciscan friar, wrote
"Stabat Mater," 493.
Jairus, 252, 254.
James, son of Alphaeus, 106, 203, 204,
534, 539, 540.
James, son of Zebedee and Salome,
166, 171, 192, 203-5, 254, 315, 384,
424, 442, 499, 529, 534, 539, 540.
Jeremiah, 71, 266, 289, 460.
Jericho, 8, 42, 73, 121, 320, 385, 386.
Jerome, Saint, 8.
Jerusalem, Jewish capital, 40, 41, 88,
92, 96-9, 100, 101, 103, 117, 118,
121, 129, 132, 142, 143, 146, 149,
151-3, 158, 169, 175, 176, 180, 182,
184, 188, 210, 223, 232, 265, 269,
275, 289, 300; Feast of Tabernacles,
301-14; 315, 320, 337, 339, 341, 342,
354, 444, 450, 462, 464, 466, 472,
475, 476; "Daughters of," 478, 479,
487, 490, 500, 505, 518, 525, 526,
533, 540.
Jesus of Nazareth, "the Master Story
Teller," 9; first taught the Gold-
en Rule, 12; "went about doing
good," 13; birth mentioned, 33;
name given, 48 ; before birth, 53 ;
birth, 59, 60 ; manger, 60, 62, 63 ;
swaddling clothes, 61, 62; mother's
lullaby, 62 ; visit of shepherds, 63,
64; circumcised and presented in
Temple, 64, 65 ; Simeon's prophecy,
65, 66; Anna's blessing, 66; visited
by Magi, 66-9 ; flight to Egypt, 70 ;
stay in Egypt, 72 : "Out oi Egypt,"
73 ; taken to Nazareth, 73 ; "He
shall be called a Nazarene," 74;
spurious stories of His boyhood, 75-
87; legend of His infancy from the
Koran, 75 ; legend of the swaddling
clothes, 76; of restoring a mule to
manhood, 77 ; of the miraculous
field of grain, 77; of the twining of
junipers, 78; of the quivering as-
pen, 78 ; of the boyhood of the two
thieves, 79; of the tall palm, 80; of
the broken pitcher, 80 ; of Him and
Judas as boys together, 81 ; of re-
storing the right colours to the dyer's
cloths, 81 ; of the throne Joseph had
built wrongly, 82 ; of a boy bitten
by a serpent, 83 : of the boys turned
to kids, 83 ; of the dead boy's vin-
dication, 84 ; of the clay sparrows,
85 ; of the withered boy, 85 ; strik-
ing a boy dead, 86 ; of the indig-
nant neighbours, 86; of Jesus (St.
Issa) in India, 87; the concealed
miracles, 87 ; portrait when twelve
years old, 89: doing nothing won-
derful, 90 ; "like His brethren," 91 ;
going to school in the synagogue,
92-5 ; a real boy growing to manly
manhood, 95; off for a trip to Jeru-
salem, 96; through Samaria, 97;
"Our feet shall stand within thy
gates, O Jerusalem !" 98 ; in His
Father's house, 99 ; the Passover
supper, 100 ; the boy lingers behind,
100; an anxious search, 101; finding
Him in the Temple among the rab-
bis, 101 ; "Why are you treating us
like this?" 102; "Didn't you know >
I must be about my Father's work?"
102; leaving the Temple with them,
101 ; back to Nazareth, an obedient
Son, 103; working at His trade, 104-
14 ; growing in size and knowledge,
104; doing carpenter work, 104;
cabinet making and other things, 104;
death of Joseph, 105; turning His
hand to many kinds of work, 106;
making yokes and ploughs, 104, 107;
terrible Roman conditions around
Him, 108; hearing others talk about
the coming i\Iessiah, 109 ; working
patiently on for twenty years, 112;
familiar with three languages, 112;
going to hear John the Baptist, 1J4;
His baptism, 118-20; coming from
Galilee to Jordan, 118; "Suffer it
now," 119; "This is my Son, my
Beloved!" 119; "led up by the
Spirit into the wilderness," 120; His
temptation, 120-7; was He capable
of sinning? 125; unerring choice,
126; parting of the ways for Him
and John, 126, 127; against asceti-
cism, 127; accepting four followers
and taking them to a wedding, 128-
41 ; "Behold the Lamb of God !"
128 ; followed by two of John's dis-
ciples, 129; portrait descriptions,
129-32; calling Andrew and .Simon,
132; finding Philip and Nathanael,
133; the first four disciples, 134;
invited to a wedding, 135; gently
reproves His mother, 136: His first
miracle, 135-8; goes to Capernaum,
140; to Jerusalem and return, 143-
56; going up to Jerusalem, 143;
driving the market men and brokers
out of the Temple, 143-5 ; "Destroy
this Temple!" 145, 6; the first
shadows of the Cross, 146; teach-
ing in the Temple, 146; Nicode-
mus's night visit, 147, 8; Phar-
isees jealous already, 149; Jesus did
not baptize, 149; returns through
Samaria, 149-51 ; converses with a
woman who comes to the well, 152,
153; preaches to the Samaritans,
154; the Baptist's testimony at
./^inon, 154; at Cana again, 155;
giving health to the nobleman's
son, 155, 6: preaching in Nazareth
and driven from his old home, 157-
67; goes over to Nazareth, 157;
enters the synagogue there, 157;
reading from Isaiah, 159: "This day
is this Scripture fulfilled," 160;
"Isn't this the carpenter?" 161, 62;
putting Him out, 162: pushing to-
ward the nrecinicp, 163: leaving the
home of His childhood, 163: nreach-
ing in the neighbourhood, 164; His
own family becomes estranged, 164,
INDEX
557
165; going to Capernaum to live,
165 ; invited to make His home with
Peter, 165, 66: a sample • day in Ca-
pernaum, 167-78; casts out a foul
spirit in the synagogue, 167, 8 ;
healing in the streets, 169; a blind
man, 170; Peter's mother-in-law,
171 ; a paralyzed man carried by
four friends, 172-5; preacliing and
healing, 176, 7; at sunset, heal-
ing and casting out demons, 177,
178; all night communion, 179;
"My Father works, and I work,"
179; controversy over the Sabbath,
180-91 ; healing the infirm man at
Bethesda, 180, 1 ; cited before au-
thorities for the first time, 182;
His defense, 182-4; His disciples
pluck heads of grain and eat, 184;
defending the disciples, 185, 6; re-
storing a man's withered hand in
a synagogue, 186-8; conspiring to
murder Him, 188; foolish Sabbath
regulations, 188-90 ; "The Son of Man
is Lord of the Sabbath," 191 ; desig-
nating the rest of His disciples and
teaching through Galilee, 192-205;
the first miraculous haul of fish,
192; the calling of Matthew, the
publican, 193-5; eating with sin-
ners, 194-7; "Can the sons of the
bride-chamber fast?" 197; parable of
old and new garments and wine-
skins, 197, 8; preaching and heal-
ing, 198; all Galilee at His feet,
199; preaching from a boat, 200,
201; the happiest time in His
mother's later life, 202 ; names of
the Twelve, 203-5 ; their standing
and attainments, 205 ; "One whose
love gives life its worth," 205 ; the
Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's
Prayer, and the Golden Rule, 206-
16; the Beatitudes and "Woes,"
207-9; the salt of the earth, and the
light of the world, 209 ; on oaths
and retaliation, 210, 211; saying the
model prayer, 211-13; "Ask, seek,
knock," 213, 214; the Golden Rule,
214, 5 ; "as one having authority,"
216; His first healing of a leper,
217, 8; curing a centurion's ser-
vant, 218-20; restoring a widow's
son to life, 220-4; opposing Phari-
see and Sadducee, 225-39; dining
with Simon the Pharisee, 225-7;
denouncing the Pharisees, 230-2;
"How can Satan cast out Satan?"
2-33 ; the sign to Nineveh, 233, 4 ;
"Woes," upon Pharisees and rabbis,
234, 5 ; conspiring to destroy Him,
237, 8 ; telling the people stories on
the shores of Galilee, 240-6; crowd-
ed to seek refuge in a boat, 240 ;
"the Sower," and its explanation,
242, 3 ; "the wheat and the tares,"
243 ; explained, 244 ; mustard seed
and leaven, 244 ; lamp, treasure,
pearl, net, 245; "things new and
old," 246 ; recognised as a prophet,
246; starting across the lake, 247;
calms a sudden storm, 248, 9; finds
a naked maniac among the tombs,
249 ; drives the "legion" of demons
into a licrd of swine, 250 ; sends the
maniac liome, sane, as a missionary,
251 ; returning across the lake he is
met by Jairus, 251, 2; heals a wo-
man of chronic hemorrhage, 252, 3 ;
told that Jairus's daughter is dead
now, 254 ; brings her back to life,
255, 6 ; cures two blind men and a
dumb demon, 256; answering mes-
sengers from the Baptist, 258; work-
ing many miracles, 258, 9; sends
the Twelve on a mission, 260-2 ;
hears of John's death, 263, 4 ; return
of the Twelve, 265 ; no time even
to eat, 265 ; Galilee, opposing Him,
266-82; "He is beside Himself!"
266; "My mother and my brethren,"
267, 8 ; the women who befriended
Him, 268, 9; no chance to eat, 270;
"How many loaves have youj"' 270 ;
"Give them something to eat," 271 ;
"Make the men sit down," 271 ;
feeding five thousand, 272; sending
them all away, 273 ; communing
with the Father, 273 ; walking on
the water, 273; "O Little Faith!"
274; healing the sick in the market-
places, 275 ; "the Bread of Heaven,"
276-8; "Thou art the Son gf God!"
279; striking the fatal blow at His
own popularity, 279, 80 ; synagogues
closed against Him, 280: "Will ye
also go away?" 280; Galilee rejects
Him, 280, 1; "Come unto Me!"
281, 2; as Fugitive with a few fol-
lowers, 283-300 ; in the region of
Tyre and Sidon, 283, 4; casting a
demon out of a heathen's daughter,
284, 5; returns to Decapolis, 285;
deaf stammerer made to speak, 285,
6; feeding the four thousand, 286,
7; "You cannot discern the signs,"
288, 9; "On this rock will I build
my Church," 289, 90: fortelling His
death, 290, 1 ; "Get thee behind me—
Peter!" 291, 2; the Transfiguration,
291, 2; "Hear my beloved Son,"
293, 4; "Elijah has come," 294;
casting demon out of a boy, 294-
6; paying the tribute money, 296, 7;
"Lest we give offence," 297;, "As a
little child," 297, 8; talks to them
about forgiving, 298, 9 ; story of the
unrelenting servant, 298, 9 ; l^t dis-
course at Capernaum, 300; the Feast
of Tabernacles, 301-14; "Manifest
Thyself to the world," 302; "Where
is He?" 303 ; goes up to the feast,
303 ; "How knoweth this man let-
ters?" 303_; "Thou hast a devil!"
303 ; Pharisees send ofificers to ar-
rest Him. 304; "The great dav of
the feast," 304; "living water," 304;
"Never man so spake," 305 ; Nico-
demus speaks in His defence, 305 ;
a woman caught in adultery, 306 :
"Go, sin no more," 307; why did
He write on the ground? 308: "the
Light of the world," 309; "Who
art thou?" 310; "Before Abraham
558 THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
was, I AM," 312-14; they pick up
stones, but He passes out unhurt,
314; a homeless wanderer, 315-30;
"sets His face toward Jerusalem,"
315; "The Son of Man hath not
where to lay His head," 316; charges
the Seventy and sends them out,
316-18; receives them back, 318, 19;
"Who is my neighbour?" 319; the
Good Samaritan, 320, 1 ; in the home
of Mary and Martha, 321, 2; gives
sight to a man born blind, 322-5;
parable of the Good Shepherd, 327-9;
the last anniversary of His birth,
329; attends the Feast of Dedication,
330; an exile again, 331-44; with-
draws to Perea, 331; confessing and
denying Him, 332; "Blessed are they
that hear," 332; "This night is thy
soul required," 333; "Blessed are
those servants," 335 ; divitjed houses,
336 ; "I tell you, nay," 338 ;
straightens a woman bent double,
339; "Are they few that are saved?"
339, 40; "Go and say to that fox,"
341; "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" 341;
dinner wi'th a leading Pharisee, 342 ;
parable of excuses, 343 ; "None of
those shall taste of my supper!" 343;
counting the cost beforehand, 344 ;
"Look at the fields!" 344: parables
in Perea, 345-62 ; the Ninety and
Nine, 345; the Prodigal Son, 345-7;
"Render an account of thy steward-
ship!" 347, 8; the Rich Man and
Lazarus, 348-50; the Unprofitable
Servants, 350, 1 ; warnings of the
kingdom. 351, 2: the Pharisee and
the Publican, 352: Labourers in tTie
Vineyard, 352-4; the Pounds and the
Cities, 354, 5: "Which did his fath-
er's will?" 355; the Wicked Hus-
bandmen, 355, 6: the Marriage Feast
and the Wedding Garment, 356, 7 ;
the Wise and Foolish Virgins, 357,
8; the Talents, 358, 9; "For the
least of these, my brethren," 359,60;
New-Found sayings, 360-2; the found-
ing of the Christian system, 362; the
raising of Lazarus, 363-72 ; hears of
Lazarus's illness. 363 : "Lazarus is
dead." 364 ; back into danger, 365*;
in Bethany again. 366: "If Thou
hadst been here!" 367; "Jesus wept,"
367; "I am the Resurrection." 368;
"Lazarus, come forth!" 369, 70;
conspiring to kill Him and Lazarus,
too, 372; Sanhedrin plots against His
life, 373 : "If w'e let Him go on like
this!" 373; the ten lepers, 375, 6;
on marriage, 376-8 : blessing the lit-
tle ones, 378-9: warning the disci-
ples, 383. 4 ; ambition of Salome,
384 ; lodges in Jericho with Zac-
chsus, 385 : gives sight to Barti-
majus, 38^, 7: "\Vill He come up to
the feast?" 387: supper in His honour
at Bethanv, 387 : Mary anoints Him
with costly spikenard, 388, 9 ; pre-
paring for a formal entry into Je-
rusalem, 390 : multitudes rejoice. 391-
3; weeping over Jerusalem, 393, 4;
looking about in the Temple, 394 ;
returns to Bethany, 394, 5 ; blasting
a fig-tree, 395 ; His only miracle of
judgment, 396; the children in the
Temple, 191; "By whose authority?"
398 ; "I will ask you one question,"
398, 9 ; Sadducees inquire .about tlie
Resurrection," 399; Pharisees and
Herodians also try to trap Him, 400,
1; "Render unto Caesar," 401; "Thou
art not far from the kingdom," 401 ;
they dare not ask Him more, 401;
over against the treasury, 402;
praising the poor widow, 402 ; "We
would see Jesus," 403 ; the Jews re-
ject Him, 404, 5 ; warnings to the
Twelve, 405; false Messiahs, 406;
foretelling the destruction of the
Temple, 408, 9; "After two days the
Son of Man will be delivered up,"
409 ; chief priests and scribes plot to
put Him to death, 412: "Where is
the guest-chamber?" 413; preparing
to eat the Passover, 414-16; can
there be mercy for Judas? 417-20;
the last Passover and the Lord's
Supper, 422-39; "I have longed to
eat this with you!" 422; His only
Passover sacrifice, 423 : teaching
them humility, 425-7; "One of you
shall betray me!" 428; "Is it I?"
428, 9; giving the sop, 429, 30; in-
stituting the Lord's Supper, 431, 2;
"Simon. I have prayed for thee,"
433 ; "The cock shall not crow till
thou hast denied me three times,"
433, 4; "Here are two swords,"
434, 5 : "Let not your hearts be
troubled," 435, 6; "I have overcome
the world," 436: the Prayer of In-
tercession, 437; joining in "the hvmn,
439, 40; so they came to Geth-
semane, 440, 1 ; in the garden, 442-
50 ; "Sit here while I pray there,"
442: "Not as I will, but Thou!" 442;
in agony He prayed, 443; sweat great
drops of blood." 443 : He comes
back the third time, 444 ; goes out
to meet His betrayer, 44.4 ; the lofti-
est courage, 444, 5 ; angels "sweetly
soothe the Saviour's woe," 445 ;
"Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him
much, 445 ; "Dost thou betray with
a kiss?" 446: "Whom are you look-
ing for?" 446, 7 : "Put up thy sword."
447; twice repelled by the glory of
His person, 448 ; "Excuse me this
once," 448; His last mirgcle, 448, 9;
the naked young man, 449, 50 ;
"they all forsook Him and fled."
450 : led to the palace of the high
priest, 450: the Sanhedrin agitated,
450: examined by priest and tried
by the Sanhedrin. 451-63; before
Annas, 451 : through John's influ-
ence Peter gets in, 452 ; "Why smit-
est thou me?" 454; the first blow in
His face. 455 : that maiestic silence,
456; "Thou hast said." 457: Caia-
phas plays a part, 457, 8: "Guilty
of death!" 458; stung with unut-
terable anguish, 459; "the Saviour
INDEX
559
looked on Peter," 459; "I have
sinned, He is innocent," 460; "the
Field of Blood," 460.; "Prophesy,
who struck thee?" 461 ; before the
Sanhedrin, 462 ; leading their own
Messiah in chains, 463 ; before Pi-
late, 464-75; "What accusation?"
465 ; sent to Antipas, 466, 7 ; back
to Pilate, 467 ; examined privately,
468; "What shall I do with Jesus?"
469; scourged, 469; "Hail, King o£
the Jews!" 470, 1; "Behold your
King!" 473; "We have no king
but Csesar!" 473-5; "Go, soldier,
get ready the cross!" 476; the ter-
rible preparations, 477; "bearing the
cross for Himself, 478 ; laid upon
Simon of Cyrene, 478 ; "Weep not
for me," 478, 9 ; Pilate's petty re-
venge, 480; "the King of the Jews!"
480, 1 ; "Father, forgive them," 482 ;
declining the stupefying liquor, 482,
3 ; the cross set up ; "the nail that
held Him up," 485 ; taunts in the
midst of torture, 486; "He cannot
help Himself!" 487; gambling for
the seamless garment, 489, 90 ; the
"Stations" of the Cross, 490 ; "To-
day shalt thou be with me in Para-
dise," 491, 2; "Behold thy Son!"
493 ; "My God, why didst thou for-
sake me?" 494, 5; "I thirst!" — "It
is finished," "Into thy hands I com-
mend my Spirit !" 496-8 ; "Truly,
this was the Son of God !" 499 ; John
takes Mary the Mother to his home,
499; women never unkind to Him,
500 ; an earthquake, 500, 1 ; "They
shall look upon Him whom they
pierced," 501 : He died, literally, of
a broken heart, 501, 2; the hurried
burial, 502, 3; the new tomb, 503;
sealing and guarding it, 504, 5 ; how
He triumphed over the cruelty and
shame, 505 ; the greatest crime in
history, 505 ; a great earthquake,
513, 14; the stone was moving,
514; "walking in His garden," 516:
"He is not here," 516; John and
Peter at the tomb, 517; Mary Mag-
dalene lingers, 518; "Mary!" 519;
"as idle talk," 520; the news spread
fast, 520 ; bribing the grave watch-
ers, 521 ; arguments for the Resur-
rection, 522, 3 ; "The Lord is risen
indeed !" 524 ; walking to Emmaus
with two disciples, 525 ; "Abide
with us," 526; "Peace unto you!"
527; convincing Thomas, 528, 9;
meets them by the lake, 529 ; an-
other great haul of fish, 530; "Feed
my sheep," 530 ; "Follow thou me,"
531; "Go, disciple all nations," 532;
"Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end," 532; carried up into
Heaven, 533 ; they returned to the
Temple blessing God, 533 ; summary
of His twelve appearances after the
Resurrection, 533, 4 ; "Christ sat
down at the right hand of God,"
536.
Jezreel, 164.
Joanna, 268.
John (Jonah, Jonas), 132, 289, 530.
John of Damascus (8th century), 131,
507.
John the Baptist, 44; birth and name,
54; 115-19; 126-9; 135, 148, 149,
157, 165, 183, 197, 205; death, 257-
9; 262-5; 289; as Elijah, 290, 294,
330, 331, 340, 341, 348, 355, 398,
399, 467.
John the Beloved, 123, 128, 136, 137,
171, 192, 202-5, 254, 268, 315, 329,
384, 416, 424, 430, 432, 442, 445,
450, 452; "Behold thy mother!"
492, 3; 499, 512; 513, 517, 520, 523;
524; 527, 529-31; 537, 539, 540, 543.
John, Letters of, referred to, 293.
Jonah, 233, 234; 28, 306, 333.
Jordan, river, 114, 115, 117-20, 122,
157, 198, 257, 330.
Joseph of Arimathea, 229, 450, 503,
513, 517.
Joseph, son of Jacob, 149, 150.
Joseph, husband of Mary the mother,
48, 56-9, 62-5, 70-4, 76-80, 82, 85, 86,
88, 91. 94, 96, 97, 100-7, 133, 160-2,
277, 492.
Tosephus, Flavius, stories, 43, 73 ; men-
tioned, 89, 109; referred to, 171, 237,
409; story, 512.
Joses, 106.
Joshua, 92.
Joshua, 150, 151.
Jubilees, 39.
juda(h), 50. 51.
Judas Iscariot (of Kerioth), legend of
boyhood, 81; referred to, 203-5; 268,
388, 389, 410-13, 416-21; treasurer,
424 ; obtained the most honoured
place, 424; "Is it I?" 429; "went
out," 429, 430, 440, 444-6; 460, 534,
540.
Judas the Gaulonite (of Galilee), 94,
101, 108, 109, 274, 481.
Tudas the Maccabee (Maccabsus), 164
B.C., 89.
Tudas, son of James, 203, 204.
Jude, 539, 540. See also Thaddeus.
Julius Cresar, 35, 393.
Justin Martyr, 104, 507, 542.
K
Kedron (Kidron), 99, 440.
Keim, Theodor, story, 534.
Kelly, Thomas, quotation, 464.
Kempis, Thomas a, stories, 104, 124.
Khan, see Inn.
"King of the Jews," 464, 468, 470-4,
477, 479-81, 486-8.
Kingdom of God (of Heaven), 316,
328, 340, 351, 352, 355, 361, 382;
"not far from," 401 ; "when Thou
comest into Thv kingdom," 491, 492;
new hope of, 526, 527; laws of, 535.
Kingsley, Florence Morse, stories, 171,
173, 174, 325, 415, 492.
Knight, the sinless, 449.
Koran (Kur-an), story, 76.
Lamb of God, applied to Jesus, 125,
128, 132, 259.
560 THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Lane, Edward William, story from the
Koran, 76.
Languages spoken by Jesus, 93, 112,
113. See also Aramaic, Greek, He-
brew.
Larcom, Lucy, quotation, 283.
Last Supper, the 422-40.
Latin translations, "The Magnificat,"
51-3; "The Virgin's Lullaby," 62;
"Nunc Dimittis," 65; inscription on
the Cross, 480 ; "Stabat Mater Dol-
orosa," 493, 494; "Thou Art my
God, indeed!" 529. See also Vul-
gate (Bible in Latin).
Lazarus (the beggar), 348-50.
Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary,
322; brought back to life, 363-72;
374, 388, 389, 392, 393.
Leah, 44.
Lebanon, 283.
Lebbxus, one of the Twelve. See
Thaddseus.
"Legion," 250, 251.
Legion, Roman regiment, 394, 448.
Lentulus, Publius, 130.
Lepers, Jesus healing, 217, 218; the
ten, 375, 376; the Samaritan, 376;
the ten, 393.
Levi, son of Alphxus, see Matthew.
Leviticus, 93.
Libona, 149.
"Light of the World," the, 209, 322,
516.
Livia, 105.
Livy (Titus Livius), Roman historian,
34.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, story,
387
Lord's Prayer, the 211-13.
Lord's Supper, instituted, 431-3.
Losania, 511.
Lot, 351.
Lowell, James Russell, quotation, 142;
story, 360; quotation, 422.
Luke, 55, 61, 66, 123. 209; quota-
tion, 217; 448, 449, 537.
Luther, Martin, 112: translation of the
Lord's Prayer, 212; on Gentiles,
284 ; on washing the disciples' feet,
427.
Lysanias, 115.
M
Machserus, 262.
Macrobius, Roman grammarian, 71.
Magadan, see Magdala, 287.
Magdala, 268, 269.
Magi, 66-71, 74.
Magnificat, the, 51-3.
Mahomet, 274.
Malachi, 114.
Malchus, 447, 448, 452.
Man of Sorrows, the, 179, 267, 484.
Manger, 60-3.
Marcion, 60.
Mariamne. 40, 74.
Mark (John), 123, 185, 376, 396, 413-
15, 438, 439, 449, 450, 488, 499, 537,
538.
Marriage, customs, etc., Cana, 135-9;
the wedding feast and garment, 356-
8.
Marseilles, 372.
Martha, 321, 322, 363, 364, 366-9. 374.
388.
Martyr, Justin, the, see Justin .Martyr.
Mary Magdalene (of Magdala or Mig-
dol), 268, 269, 372, 492-4; illustra-
tion, beneath the Cross, 496; 499
503; 513, 516-19; 534.
Mary, Mother of Jesus, 44, 45, 48-66
69-81, 84, 91, 94, 96, 100-6; in the
Temple, 109, 110, 119, 135-8, 140,
164, 202, 267, 490, 492-4; at the
Cross, 496, 499, 538, 539.
Mary, mother of James and Joses.
499, 503, 513, 516.
Mary, mother of John Mark, 438.
Mary (traditional name of), sister of
Jesus, 94.
Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus.
321, 322, 363, 364, 366-9, 371, 374
378, 379.
Massacre of the infants, 71.
Matthew, Levi, 7, 74, 123, 193-5, 201
203-5, 208, 449, 488, 499, 522, 537-
40.
Matthias, 539.
Mecaenas, 33.
Melchior, 70.
Menander, 214.
Messiah (the Christ, the Anointed, the
Coming One), 39, 42, 44, 49, 51, 60
62, 65, 67, 88, 109, 113, 114, 116-18,
120, 132, 133, 145, 149, 153, 154
167-9, 177, 178, 201, 202, 206, 233.
258, 259, 266, 274, 278-81, 288-92,
303-6, 309-14, 324, 326, 330, 356
371, 381, 382, 394, 395, 401, 404,
405; false Messiahs, 406; 427 456-
8, 463, 469, 491, 512, 526, 535; "the
Christ that is to be," 545.
Milman, Henry Hart, quotation, 513.
Milton, John, quotations, 44, 68, 100
118; referred to, 126.
Miracles, Miracle Worker, first, at
Cana, 135, 138; second, at Cana,
155, 6; casting out the foul spirit,
167, 8; blind man and others, 170;
Peter's mother-in-law, 171; paralyzed
man carried by four friends, 172-5;
many beside the Lake, 176-8; in-
firm man at Bethesda, 180, 1 : great
catch of fish, 192, 3; 198; first heal-
ing of a leper, 217, 18; centurion's
servant, 220 ; restores son to the
widow of Nain, 220-4 ; driving many
demons into the swine, 250, 1 ; heal-
ing a woman of chronic hemorrhage,
252-4: raising Jairus's daughter from
the dead, 254-6; two blind men and
a dumb demon. 256; curing many
of infirmities, plagues and evil spir-
its, 258, 9; the sick in the market
places, 260; feeding the 5000, 270-2;
walking on the water, 273 : casting
the demon out of the heathen wo-
man's daughter, 284, 5 ; on a moun-
tain in Decapolis, 285; a deaf man,
285, 6: feeding the 4000, 286, 7; the
Transfiguration, 292-4; casting de-
mon out of dumb boy, 295-6; the
fish with the shekel in its mouth,
296, 7; gives sight to a man born
INDEX
661
blind, 322-5 ; straightening a woman
bent double, 339 ; raising of Lazarus,
363-72; the ten leper?, 375; blind
Bartimseus, 386, 7 ; blasting the fig-
tree, 395-7; restores Malchus's ear
(His last), 447-9.
Mishua(h), part of the Talmud, 93,
228, 229.
Money-changers, 142-5, 397.
Moore, Thomas, quotation, 410.
Morgan, G. Campbell, stories, 121,
317, 340, 389, 396, 535.
Moses, Hebrew leader and lawgiver,
10, 40, 48, 64, 65, 94, 123, 133, 147,
150, 151, 182-5, 210, 217, 230, 241,
276; Transfiguration, 292-4; 303,
304, 306-8, 324, 349, 377, 378, 399,
526.
Mount Moriah, on which the Temple
stood, 485.
Mountford, Lydia M. von Finkelstein,
stories, 57, 61.
Mozoomdar, Protap Chunder, stories,
213 397.
MuIIe'r, Dr'. Max, 12, 13.
N
Naaman, 160, 162.
Nahum, 306.
Nain, 220, 224, 293.
Naphtali, 165, 507.
Nathan the prophet, 218.
Nathanael (Bartholomew, which see),
one of the Twelve, 133, 134, 529.
Nazareth (Nazara), 48, 51, 54-8, 73, 74,
83-6, 88-95, 99, 103, 104, 106-8, 110,
114, 120, 122, 127, 133, 157-65, 167,
194, 204, 343, 365, 368, 371, 394, 444,
446, 447, 453, 455, 456, 480, 482,
491, 494, 496, 497, 516, 535.
Neander, Augustus, story, 329.
Nero, Caesar, 36, 540, 541.
Nicephorus Callisti, or Callistus, 131.
Nicodemus, 147-9, 229, 238, 305, 419,
450, 502, 503, 513.
Nicodemus, so-called Gospel of, 254,
509.
Nineveh, Chaldea, 234, 333. _
Nirvana, Buddhist and Christian com-
pared, 13.
Noah, 150; referred to, 351, 407.
Nobleman's son, 155, 6.
Notovitch, Nicoles, story, 87.
Nunc Dimittis, 65.
Nutter, Charles S., Hymn Studies, 294.
Octavius, see Augustus.
Odell, Willis P., story, 543.
Offence, Mount, 392.
Olivet (Mount of Olives), outside of
Jerusalem, 114, 306, 371, 390-3, 409,
439, 441, 445, 488.
"Oracles of the Lord," by Papias, 543.
Origen (Origenes Adamantius), 542.
Oxyrynchus, Egypt, 360, 361,
Palestine, Map of, 283.
Pali, sacred language of the Buddhists,
12, 13.
Paneas, 72.
Papias, 543.
Parables, "The Prodigal Son," re-
ferred to, 9 ; old and new garments
and wine skins, 197; delivered in
Galilee, 240-6; the Sower, 242, 3;
Wheat and Tares, 243, 4; Mustard
Seed, 244; Leaven, 244; the Lamp,
Hid Treasure, Pearl of Great Price,
Net Filled with (".ood and Bad, 245;
Things New and Old, 246; referred
to, 247; the Unforgiving Servant,
298, 9; the Good Samaritan, 319-21;
the Good Shepherd, 327-9; the Rich
Fool, 333, 4: Servants Found
Watching, 335, 6; the Narrow Gate,
339; "Open unto Us," 340; the In-
vited Guests and their Excuses, 342,
3 ; Counting the Cost, 344 ; the
Ninety and Nine, 345 ; the Prodigal
Son, 345-7 ; the Unrighteous Stew-
ard, 347, 8 ; Dives and Lazarus, 348-
50 ; the Pharisee and the Publican,
352 ; Labourers in the Vineyard, 352-
4 ; the Pounds and the Cities, 354, 5 ;
the Two Sons, 355; the Wicked
Husbandman, 355 ; the Marriage
Feast and the Wedding Garment,
356, 7; the Wise and Foolish Vir-
gins, 357, 8; the Talents, 358, 9;
"For the Least of These, my Breth-
ren," 359; the Sheep and the Goats,
360 ; New-Found Sayings of Jesus,
361-3; "no longer in parables," 436.
Paradise, 492, 501, 520, 528
Passion (Week), 412. 442, 443, 528.
Passover (Pasch, Pascha, Paschal),
Feast, 90, 100, 101, 132, 143, 285,
287, 387, 411-16, 422-40; 465, 467,
469, 470, 475, 478; Preparation, 501,
502, 504, 507.
Patmos, 540.
Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the Apostle to
the Gentiles, 66, 201; quoted, 225;
a Pharisee, 238 ; mentioned by
Luther, 284 ; account of the Lord's
Supper, 432; 522; quoted, 525, 533,
534.
Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, 432,
533, 534; cited, 533.
Pavement, the, 472, 475.
Peloubet, F. N., stories, 106, 271, 393,
418, 424, 498, 537.
Peloubet's Notes, 428, 441, 444, 445,
451, 465, 467, 475, 478, 482, 496.
Perea, district, 9, 72, 149, 331, 333,
341, 342; parables spoken in, 345-
62: 363, 375.
Perushim, 228 ; see also Pharisee.
Peter, Simon, son of John, Jonah or
Jonas, one of the Twelve, 132-4,
165, 166, 171, 176, 177, 192, 193,
200, 203-5, 253, 254, 268; tries to
walk on the water, 273, 274: spokes-
man for the Twelve, 279, 80; "The
Great Confession," 289, 90; "Get
thee behind me!" 291, 2; witnesses
the Transfiguration, 292-4; the shekel
for poll tax, 296, 7; "How often
shall I forgive?" 298, 336, 376, 382,
395, 410, 415, 416, 421, 424-7, 429,
430, 433, 434, 442, 443, 447-50, 452.
56^ THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
453, 455, 458-60, 513, 516-18, 520;
527, 529-32, 534, 539.
Peter's mother-in-law, 165, 166; cured
of fever, 171.
Pharisee, Pharisees, Pharisaic, Peru-
shim, Jewish religionists, 110, 111,
117, 118, 129, 143, 149, 184, 186-8,
190, 195-7, 206, 225-39: "Separatists"
and "Neighbours," 227, 228; some
of the family of Jesus, 238: 240,
258, 266, 268, 275, 281, 288, 304-6,
322, 3, 328, 331, 341, 342, 348, 352,
368, 369,372, 373, 376,388,391. 392,
400, 401, 404, 446, 462, 504, 522.
Phelps (Ward"), Elizabeth Stuart,
stories, 38, 45, 50. 51, 54, 57, 59,
74, 159. 161, 162, 163, 177, 200, 203,
221, 222. 226, 248. 250. 256, 265, 273,
366, 368, 370, 371, 432, 435, 440,
460, 489, 496, 514, 522, 535.
Philip (Herod), 72, 115, 257, 262, 285.
Philip of Bethsaida, one of the Twelve,
133, 134, 203-5: at the feeding of
the 5000, 270 : brings certain Greeks
to Jesus, 403 ; "Show us the Father,"
439: 539, 540.
Philo (Tud.TUs), 39.
Phrygia, 540.
Pilate, Pontius, 100, 111, 115; upris-
ing against, 336-8: trial of Jesus,
464-75: "Behold the Man!" 472;
476, 480, 481, 501, 502, 509-12, 539,
541.
Plato, 362.
Polycarp, 543.
Pompeii, 34.
Pompeius Sextus, 37.
Pompey, Roman general, 37, 66, 393.
Pope, Alexander, quotation, 206.
Praetorium, 452, 464, 465, 468, 471,
474, 475, 481.
Preparation, see Passover.
Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the
Temple. 64, 65, 74.
Pres=el. (German author, story, 532.
Prodigal Son, parable, referred to, 9.
See also Parables.
Prophet, Jesus as, 201, 218. 223, 26.'?,
266, 289, 323, 341, 394, 456, 461, 527.
Prophets, Book of the, 93. see also
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, etc.
Psalms of David, 93; 240; 401; 416,
439. 457; 489.
Psalms of Solomon, 39.
Publican, Publicans, 193-7, 352, 385.
Purification of Mary and Joseph, 64 ;
of the Jews, 135, 154; Pharisees, 225,
230, 232.
Rachel. 44.
Rama(h), Bethlehem, 71.
Ramsey, Sir William M., story, 538.
Rebecca, 44.
Redeemer of the World, 496, 505.
Reformation, Lutheran, referred to, 143.
Renan, Ernest, 7. 10, 374; stories,
376. 481, 504. 528.
Resurrection, "I am the," 368, 374:
Sadducees' question, 399 ; 475 ; of
Christ, 513-16; 517-24.
Riches, Jesus' attitude toward, 'the
rich fool," 333, 334; "the rich young
ruler," 379-83.
Robbins, Royal, story, 33.
Roman Catholic, 91 ; Donay translation
of the Lord's Prayer, 212; Erasmus
and Fenelon, 229 ; statue of St. Ve-
ronica, 254 ; story of St. Veronica,
508.
Rome, city, empire, law, power, sol-
diery, etc., 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 53, 55,
56, 58, 89, 95, 98, 100, 101, 108-11,
117, 130, 194, 207, 210, 268, 273,
274, 289, 337, 370, 373; legion, 374;
guardsman, 440; tribune, 451; cen-
turion, 461, 464, 470: soldiers, etc.,
476-8: 489, 490; Veronica in, 508,
509-11: oath, 514: 521, 523, 540, 541.
Root, George F., story, 254.
Sabbath, observance, 85; 128; at Ca-
pernaum, 167-78; 176-8, 180-91; ab-
surd regulations, 184-91 ; at the
Feast of Tabernacles, 303-5 : dinner
with a leading Pharisee, 342, 343 ;
burial and preparations, 501-3 : 513-16.
Saddouk (Sadoe, Sadducus), 108, 109.
Sadducee, 117, 142, 143, 225, 236-8,
237, 288, 399, 452, 455, 458, 462, 521.
Salome, daughter Herodias, 263, 264.
Salome, sister Herold the Great, 42,
72. 73.
Salome, sister Jesus, 94.
Salome, sister Mary the mother, 492,
493, 496, 516.
Salome, wife of Zebedee, 106, 268, 384,
516.
Samaria, Samaritan (citv, region, peo-
ple), 97, 149, 151-5; 158, 260; Jesus
called "a Samaritan," 312; 315, 375;
leper, 376.
Samaritan, 320, 321, 320.
Samaritan woman, 151-4.
Samuel, 51, 52.
Sanctuary, see Temple.
Sanhedrin, the Jewish senate, 41, 42,
117, 187, 326, '328, 370, 371, 398, 450,
455-7, 462, 463, 464, 470, 481, 487,
488, 513, 521.
Satan, tempting Tesus, 120-4; "casting
out Satan," 232, 233, 240 ; to Peter,
291: 304, 311, 312: "fallen as light-
ning," 318, 319; had bound, 339; and
Judas, 412; entered into Judas, 429,
430, "demanded to help you." 433.
Sayings, New, of Tesus, 361, 362.
School, ancient Jewish, 92-4. 103, 180.
Schiirer, Dr. Emil, stories, 228, 237.
Scourging of Tesus, 467, 469, 473, 474.
Scribes, Sophers, professors, 184, 186,
195, 201, 215, 216, 230, 232. 246, 266,
275, 294, 306, 307, 331, 342; "not
far from the kingdom," 401 ; con-
spired against Jesus, 412; 462, 510.
Seeley, John R.. story, 125.
Sejanus, 33, 110.
Seneca, Lucius, Annseus, 36, 37.
Sepphoris, 108.
Sermon on the Mount, 206-16.
Seth, 150.
Seven "Words" from the Cross, 498.
INDEX
563
Seventy disciples, 316-18; 319.
Shakespeare, William, 10, 44, 91, 418.
Shammai, 41, 189; 215, 21(5.
Shepherd, the Good, 327-9.
Shiloh, 149.
Sidon, 160, 176, 281, 283-5, 317, 423.
Siloam, Pool, 99; 323-5; 338.
Siloam, Tower, 338.
Simeon, 65, 66.
Simon of Cyrene, 478, 485, 490, 508.
Simon the Pharisee, 225-7.
Simon the Zealot (Zelotes), the Can-
aanean (Canaanite), one of the Twelve,
203, 204, 539, 540.
Sinai, the "Mount of the Law," 123,
458.
Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Salome, 94 ;
Esther and Tamar, 106.
Slaves, of Romans, 37, 38, 100, 108.
Socrates, 214, 347.
Sodom and Gomorrah, 260, 281, 317,
351.
Solomon, 48, 131, 234, 333, 335, 485.
Solomon, Song of, 139.
Solomon's Porch, in the Temple, 330.
Son of David, Jesus addressed as, 256,
386; 392, 397, 401.
Son of God, title of Jesus, 128, 133,
177, 182, 183, 200, 249, 274, 277-9,
282, 289, 292: claiming to be, 309-
15; 318, 319, 323-5, 363, 364, 367,
380, 394, 404, 408, 463, 486, 490,
497, 499, 535, 539. 546.
Son of Man, Jesus called Himself, 133,
147, 149, 167, 174, 179, 183, 191,
208, 234, 244, 259, 261, 276-9, 289,
290, 294, 310, 316, 317, 332, 351,
359, 383-5, 403, 406, 407, 409, 429,
431, 433, 444, 446, 456, 458, 463,
520, 546.
Spartacus, 37.
Speer, Robert E., stories, 93, 99.
Stabat Mater Dolorosa, 494.
Stalker, James, stories from the Life of
Christ, 55, 62, 126, 199, 229, 236,
246, 266, 267, 280, 390, 395, 462,
505, 544.
Stalker, James, stories from "The Trial
and Death of Jesus Christ," 418,
419, 421, 446, 447, 450, 452, 455, 457,
459, 463, 464, 466, 467, 471. 472,
473, 477, 478, 480, 483, 488, 490, 500,
501.
"Stations" of the Cross, 490, 508.
Storv, William Wetmore, stories, 420,
460.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, story, 39.
Strauss, David Friedrich, 11, 518, 528.
Sue, Eugene, 597.
Susanna, 269.
Sychar ("liar" or "drunkard"), 149, 50.
"Symphony from the New World," by
Dvorak, 134.
Syria, Roman province of, 194, 26L
Syrophoenician woman, 284, 285.
Tabernacle of Moses, 151.
Tabernacles, Feast of, 90, 301-14, 329,
337, 392, 402.
Tacitus, Cornelius, 37, 541.
Talmud, 93, 136, 185, 229, 253, 424.
Tappan, Eva March, stories, 145, 155.
Tappan, William Bingham, story, 445.
Targum, 39.
Tarichaea, 171.
Tatian, 542.
Taylor, Jeremy, story, 448.
Temple, at Jerusalem (Herod's) 40,
46, 64, 66, 88, 89, 98, 99, 100, 101,
116, 117, 121, 123, 142-6, 197, 269,
289, 302-14, 325, 337, 338, 388, 394,
395, 397-410, 415-17, 440, 447, 448,
450, 452, 461, 464, 481, 485, 533, 540.
Temple of Solomon, 14.
Temptation of Jesus, 120-6.
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, Invocation, 6;
quotations, 7, 12, 88; story, 371;
quotation, 373 ; story, Mary of
Bethany, 389; quotation, 491; story,
525 ; quotation, 546.
Tertullian, 60.
Thadda;us (Lebbreus), 203, 204.
Thomas Didymus (the Twin) one of
the Twelve, 85, 86; mentioned, 194,
203, 204, 360, 364, *439, 519, 520,
527-9 539 540.
Thomas, Richard H., M.D., 33; stories,
224, 239, 485.
Thomson, William McClure, story, 189.
Thring, Rev. Godfrey, story, 249.
Tiber, 34, 37, 511.
Tiberias, 264, 269, 274, 276.
Tiberius C»sar, 33, 37, 115, 130, 131,
509-11.
Tisri, 301.
Tissot, 13; illustrations (blank)
Titus, 79, 80.
Tobit, 314.
Tolstoi, 211, 290, 315.
Trachoni'tis, 72, 115.
Trades-unions, Egypt and elsewhere,
72.
Traditions of Jesus's boyhood, 75-87;
"of the elders," 229-32; apocryphal,
506-12.
Trajan, Roman emperor, 37.
Transfiguration, the, 292-4; 393, 424.
Treasury in the Temple, 309, 402, 460.
Tree of the Agony in Gethsemane, 441.
Tresoasses, how introduced into the
Lord's Prayer, 211-13.
Tribute money, Peter and the fish, 296,
297.
Twelve, the (Apostles), Jesus choosing,
132-5, 192-205; sending on a mission,
260-2; illustration, charging the
Twelve, 261 ; returning, 265 ; sending
them off in the boat, 273 ; crossing
Galilee, 274: fleeing with Him, 283-
300 : illustration, alone with them,
336 ; in Perea and going to Jerusa-
lem, 373-89; at Bethany, 394; fare-
well words, 412; with the disciples,
413; Judas chosen one of them,
418; Matthias in Judas's place, 439.
Twentieth Century New Testament,
the twenty authorities, 8 ; stories, 46,
55, 67, 70, 71, 73, 146, 153, 154, 156,
160, 165, 181, 192, 196, 210, 217, 250,
251, 293.
Tyndale, William, Bible translation,
211 212.
Tyre,' city and region, 162, 176, 281,
283-5, 317, 423,
564 THE STORY LIFE OF THE SON OF MAN
Upper Room of the Lord's Supper,
414, 415, 423, 440.
Vale of Hinnom, see Hinnom.
Vale of Kedron (Kidron), see Kedron.
Varus, Publius, Quintilius, 95.
Vatican, 508.
Veil of the Temple, 47, 499.
Vergil, 34, 39.
Verily (rendered also, amen, indeed,
truly, of a truth, assuredly, most
assuredly), favorite words with Jesus,
133, 147, 182, 260, 276, 277, 279, 291,
297, 298, 311, 312, 327, 335, 336, 355,
382, 384, 402, 403, 405, 407, 426, 428;
"treuli, treuli," 436, 491, 492, 499,
530.
Veronica (meaning "true-likeness"),
(Saint), legends about, 254: in "Sta-
tions of the Cross," 490, 507.
Via Dolorosa, see Man of Sorrows.
Vienne, 511.
Vinegar on the Cross, 495.
Virgin, the, 44, 45, 51, 54, 61-3, 78,
423, 492, 490, 538, 539. See also,
Mary, mother of Jesus.
Voice, the, Isaiah, 115, 117-19; 383; in
the Temple, 403; 409, 423, 492, 499,
538, 539.
Voltaire, 528.
Volusianus, 509.
Vows, Oaths, Jesus's teaching concern-
ing, 210.
Vulgate, 8, 10; the Lord's Prayer
from, 211.
W
Wallace, General Lew, 507.
Wandering Jew, 507.
Ward, Herbert D., stories, 366, 368,
370.
Watts, Isaac, quotation, 476.
Way of Sorrows, 508.
Wells, Amos R., story, 60.
Whipple, Wayne, stanza from "The
March of Any Man," 14; sources of
the "Magnificat," 52; four lists of
the Twelve, arranged, 203 ; two
stanzas "Galilee," 205 ; extract from
"The Wondtr-Story of the English
Bible," 211; translation of Lord's
Prayer from Luther's Bible, 212;
literal renderings, 226, 231, 240-3
268, 270, 272, 273, 275, 279, 280, 284-
90, 295, 296, 352, 356, 373, 379; from
Greek in Longfellow's "Blind Barti-
meus," 386; 391, 395, 399, 402, 412,
426, 433 ; e.xtract from "The Won-
der-Story of the English Bible," 436,
442, 444, 448; story, 448, 449; ren-
dering, 452; story, 457; stanza from
"The March of Any Man," 472 ; "Sta-
tions of the Cross," 490; stories, 507,
508 ; twelve appearances after the
Resurrection, 534 ; traditional deaths
of the Apostles, 540.
White, Bouck, stories, 37, 53, 95, 104,
105, 107, 108, 110, 117, 159, 197, 209,
227, 297, 308, 313, 318, 343, 344,
350, 354, 378, 383, 419, 443, 448, 470,
505, 544.
Whittier, John Greenleaf, quotations,
247, 345, 362, 537.
Wine, at the marriage in Cana, 135-9;
old in new bottles, 197; at the Lord's
Supper, 431-3; mingled with gall,
482.
Woes, pronounced by Jesus, 207, 209;
"hypocrites!" 231, 232; against Phar-
isees, 234, 235 ; against lawyers, 235.
WycliflFe, John, Bible translation,
stories, 211, 436.
Young, Edward, 70.
Zacchseus, 385.
Zachariah, 235.
Zarephath, Sidonia, 160.
Zebedee (Zebediah, Zabdai), 106, 192,
268, 384, 499, 529.
Zechariah, Zacharias, 45-8, SO, 54, 115.
Zion, Mount, 44, 99, 391.
Zoroaster, 347, 362.
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A vitalizing, tonic treatise of a fundamental theme. The
scholarly author of "The Theology of the New Testament"
needs no introduction. He is a stalwart defender of the
essential truths of Christianity. The British Congregational-
ist says: "This remarkable book will have a place of its
own side by side with Prof. Newton Clarke's more elaborate
work."
J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.
The Inspiration and Authority of Holy
Scriptures H^^M introduction by Principal Forsyth
Principal Forsythe's Introduction gives the key to the
book: "There is no more difficult position to-day than that
of the minister who has to stand between the world of mod-
ern knowledge and the world of traditional religion and
mediate between them." "Its facts have been verified in
the writers own experience, and they are set down in the
precise order that they appear to be necessary in the life of a
man who desires to live well and die well." — Expository
Times.
GEORGE HANSON, P.P.
The Resurrection and the Life
This thorough-going study of the Resurrection of Jesus
is characterized by a vigorous intellectual grasp of the sub-
ject. The author presents a most assuring and comforting
contribution to Christian apologetics. It is a work that will
not only meet the demands of the scholarly and thoughtful,
but minister to those who have no questionings.
STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
HORACE EMORY WARNER, D.D. Introduction bf
' /. /?. Mott, D. D
The Psychology of the Chri^ian Life
iivo, cloth, net $1.50.
"Dr. Warner has written something new and thought-
provoking. The method is, in general, that of the empirical
school so valiantly championed by the late Prof. William
James. Yet our author explores a narrower field, confining
kimself rigidly to Christian experience." — Book News.
D. A. MURRAY, D.D.
Christian Faith and the New Psychology
8vo, cloth, net $1.50,
"Dr. Murray may be classed among the mediators be-
tween modern thought and evangelical theology. Evolution
and the New Psychology are to him not sources of difficulty
as a Christian thinker, but aids to faith. It is one of the
most original and stimulating books in the field of Christian
apologetics." — The Continent.
THEOLOGICAL
WILLIAM ALEXANDER GRIST
The Hi^oric Chri^inthe Faith of To-day
8vo, cloth, net $2.50.
"It would be difficult to exaggerate the value and sig-
nificance of this new study of the historic Christ; or the
singular lucidity, beauty and simplicity of its style. That
it should be the work of a writer hitherto comparatively
unknown makes it the more surprising. It is not a life of
Christ, in the ordinary sense of the term; but it is a rever-
ent study and vivid presentation of the commanding figure
in human history, in the light of all that modern scholarship
has disclosed." — Living Age.
GEORGE COULSON nrORK^^AX. rh.D. {Leipsic)
At-Onement; or Reconciliation with God
l2mo, cloth, net $1.25.
Dr. Workman, Late Professor of Old Testament E::egesis
ana Literature in Weslyan 'Iheological College, Montreal,
and author of "The Old Testament Vindicated," lucidly
presents this vital subject under the following heads: Atone-
ment in Itself, in God, in Christ, in Man. in Sacrifice, in
Death, in Suffering, in Service, and in Theory. Chancellor
Burwash, of \'ictoria University, says: "This work of
great importance, should do excellent service at the present
time. It gives Scriptural emphasis to the love of God aa
the source of man's redemption."
''teii?iiiiiIi'm?.'filT'=^' Seminary Libra
1 1012 01210 8942
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