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ANNEX lift. 



OOIit£OE LIBBAST, 
wOl 30 1893 

" "'•M, M. J. 






■LjI-BTlA.T<.Sr 



|olUse of |fto |er8«s. 



3.a.l,zedbyG00gIC , j 



flOLIIffE IIBHABT, 
UUI 30 1893 

fMNCBTOM, Ji Jt 






y. -^^-^ 



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THE CHRIST 

THE SON OF GOD 

Volume I. 



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A. FIVEZ, S.'r.L. 

Censor Deputatus. 



JEmptimatut : 

THOMAS S. PRESTON, V.G. 



Nbo Eboraci, Six 37, Junii, 1890. 



by Google 



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THE CHRIST 
THE SON OF GOD 



A LIFE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR 
JESUS CHRIST 



By the abbe CONSTANT FOUARD 



VxstmMtt [ram ibt Jitttp EBition biitl) i)|t flutfm'f nmtian 
By GEORGE F. X. GRIFFITH 



tSSttt) an IntToDuction 
By cardinal MANNING 



NEW YORK AND LONDON 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

1891 



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Copyright, 1890. 
Bv George F. X. Griffith. 



John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



-CJooi^Ic 



INTRODUCTION. 



The knowledge of French ia so -widely diffused iu English 
society that putJishera wisely refuse to undertake to print 
translations from the French, exceptii^ only works of 
science or of special value. Nevertheless Messrs. 
Longman have very wisely undertaken to publish an 
English translation of "La Vie de X'.S. Jesus Christ" by 
Ahh6 Fouard, Professor of Theology in Rouen. Such 
a work will be read by multitudes who do not command 
a knowledge of the French language. 

This singularly able and excellent work can need no 
commendation. It is already in its fifth edition. When 
it first appeared it had the commendation of the late 
Cardinal de Bonnechose, Archbishop of £ouen, who well 
described it as uniting "the consolations of piety with 
the explanations of true science on the text of Scripture." 
In 1881 Leo XIII. sent his benediction to the author, 
and many cardinals and a lai^e number of the bishops 
of France gave it their approbation. 

AiM Fouard describes his book in these words: 
" This Life of Jesus is an act of faith." By a deliberate 
judgment he refused to admit both controversy and 



^' 



91 59 1. '=«-.C,ooglc 



vi INTRODUCTION. 

criticism. He would not prefix even an introduction 
establishing the authenticity of the Gospels. Nevertheless 
he has given in the notes to his preface a brief summary 
of those who have attacked the books of the New 
Testament, and those who have defended them, together 
with a long list of authors, French, English, and German, 
on which his history is founded. 

Throughout the whole course of his work abundant 
notes are found at the foot of the p^e to interpret the 
text, and to illustrate the events recorded, by extensive 
researches made by himself in his pi^mage to the 
Holy Land. 

Abb^ Fouard calls attention to a fact which appears 
seldom to be borne in mind. He says it was only in 
the Middle Ages that men began to write the life of our 
Lord. From the beginning until then the living and 
Divine tradition of faith, in which the name, the person, 
the character, the words, and the works of our Divine 
Saviour pervaded the Christian world, was enough to 
draw the hearts of men to Himself The uninspired 
writers, founding themselves upon the living consciousness 
of the faith, wrote of their Divine Master as of a Person 
to whom they bore a personal relation. They interpreted 
the Scriptures of the New Testament as it were in His 
presence and by the memory of His own teaching. Their 
baptismal creed, which came to them " by hearing," filled 
them with " the word of Christ " and the knowledge of 
His mind, — for instance, the Homilies of Saint John 
Chrysostom in the East, and of Saint Augustin in the 
West Their teaching was not historical, but didactic and 



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INTRODUCTION. vii 

devotiooal, of which the Catena Aurea of Saint Thomas is 
a full proof. 

The intellectual state of the following agea took an 
historical form. Then began the compilation of the life 
of our Lord. Jansenius of Glient, Saltueron, Tillemont, 
Calmet, and De Ligny began to reduce the aacred history 
to chronological order. From that day to this the life of 
OUT Lord has been elaborated more and more in the way of 
history ; until at last some men, ceasing to realize their 
personal relation to a Living Person, have come to r^rd 
Him as an historical person, to whom they owe no duty, 
or as a mythical person who never existed. 

Not so amoHg those who inherit the living and Divine 
consciousness which animated the. early t^es of the faith. 
The name, the person, the character, the words, and the 
works of our Divine Master have ever been perpetuated in 
the daily life of those who adore Him in the unity of the 
faitli. The history of Abb^ Fouard unites the sacred 
narrative of the three-and-thirty years of our Saviour's 
earthly life with the living consciousness of faith, in which 
the mutual personal relation and the mutual personal love 
of the Divine Master and His Disciples are as living and 
sustaining at this day as they were when He ascended 
into Heaven. To all such this Life of Our Lord will be 
a golden book. 

HENRY EDWARD CARDINAL MANNING. 



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PREFACE. 



THIS Life of Jeaua is aD Act of Faith. We have had no in- 
tention of pursuing through these pages a coatroversy in 
which so many minda have been luatclied since the opening of 
our century ; we only desire to make the Saviour better known 
and loved. Surely the times are propitious ; foe the OospeU, 
combated at a thousand points, have triumphed over their 
critics. The attacking party and the defenders ahke appear 
exhausted. What is lefl for this our generation, unless it be to 
avail ourselves of the inspired Witnesses and by drawing from 
them an account of the actions of Jesus, demonstrate that He, 
Whose death some have published to the world, lives still, is 
indeeil the very Life itself? 

Yet since such a throng of vrriters have already essayed the 
same plan, any attempt to rewrite the life of the iSaviont after 
them may seem superfluous. Our excuse ia in the sublimity of 
its Subject, which no study can encompass wholly ; for the 
Divinity of the Christ is the object of eternal contemplation, and 
as in every age His Humanity appears under new features, so it 
will always demand a different portraiture. This is why we 
have so many Narratives, which, one after another, have sketched 
that Figure, Whose projwr lineaments we need but recall to 
mind, in order to perceive all that these great writers leave still 
to be attempted. 

The Gospels, explained by their pastors, sufficed the faithful 
in the first ages of Christianity. The Saviour's daily life on 
earth, the places and the dates of his wondrous deeds, were atill 



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X PREFACE. 

too memoTable, too vividly iiupressed upon their minds, for neeil 
of any remiDder to refresh their meiuory. It was by dying for 
Him that these heroic generations confessed the Lord Jesus. 
Yot, even then, error bad endeavored to deface the figure of the 
Divine Master, and the apocryphal gospels show to what a state 
it would have degradetl Him. To dispel these visionary mists 
it was only necessary to confront them with the Witnesses of the 
doings of the Christ. This task was imposed upon Tatian of 
Syria in the second century, upon Aminoniua in the third, upon 
Kusebiua of Ciesarea in the fourth. By arranging tlie Evangelists' 
Kecord of the tacts, in their order of occurrence, they composed 
therefrom a Harmony of the Go»peU} 

Some of the Fathers followed this example, but the majority 
among them were busied ratlier in interpreting the Doctrine of 
the Saviour, and it was only in the Middle Ages that lives of 
Jesus began to be written. Even at that period the historians 
meditate more than they describe. Only read the "Chain of 
Gold" by Saint Thomas, the " Holy Eminences" attributed to 
the Seraphic Doctor, the austere pages of Ludolphe le Chartreux ; 
everywhere you feel the flame of love which feeds at their heart ; 
it seems as though these men, for whom the body exists no 
longer, could not study the Saviour by any light save that of 
Tabor. Giotto has painted this transfigured Christ on the walls 
of Assisi, and we see him there, even as the Middle Ages adored 
Him, permitting the streaming rays of His Divinity to escape 
and irradiate His body, Hia head crowned with a glory as mag- 
nificent when suffering the scoui^es of the executioners as in the 
triumph of the Resurrection. It was indeed a figure which was 
typical of those ages of faitli and charity, more absorbed in imi- 
tating that Model, than anxious to set forth its details in the 
cold light of day. 

In the centuries that followed the life of Jesua assumed a more 

> A Hnnnaiiy or Concordiuice h thx name given to the various works in 
which exposiMrs endeavor to reconcile tlie Evangelists' Narntives, and 
•lijpoae the events in chronological order. Those eited above nre the first 
cfforta of this description of which there ia any reeopl extant ; others 
in jip-eat number have succeeded them. The most noteworthy will be 
found elsewhere, in tlie liat of works of which we have availed ourselves. 



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PREFACE. xi 

doctiiiial shape. Jansenius of Ghent, Salmeron, Tillemont, aud 
Calmet enriched their commentaries with treasures of eruditiou ; 
unhappily they did not base their Tesearches upon a Narrative, 
which would make the life of the Saviour natural and effective. 
Pfere de Liguy profited by the labors of his predecessors ; but 
like them be neglected the rules of art, and contented himself 
with airauging the Oospel texts in their chronological order, 
merely inserting the glosses requisite to preserve the connection. 
Even after his work the History of Jesus Christ remained still 
unwritten. 

But while these expositors crowded into their pages the tra- 
ditions of eighteen centuries, the Reformation, after having over- 
turned the faith of our fathers in Germany, began to undermine 
its very foundations. The Holy Books, though for a long time 
revered, were in their turn assaulted by Error ; authenticity, in- 
spiration, veracity, all were called in question,' Strauss came to 
consider Jesus as a fabulous personage ; Baur treats the Gospel 
as a legend, resting upon an historical foundation, but fanciful 
and imaginary so far as its wonders are concerned. Such ven- 
turnsome essays among ancient beliefs could not fail to attract 
the genius of Frenchmen, lovers of clearness and light, and it 
only needed the artistic and imaginative skill of M. Renan to 
lend a certain glittet to their inventions. 

Their success was not, however, lasting. England, always 
severely serious in the domain of Science, treated this work, 
which had so astonished ns, as a Romance. Germany smiled to 
see that we were taking theories already refuted by them, for 
the final verdict of exegetical criticism." To-day what reniaine 
of the scandal to which it gave risel No doctrine, no new 

• S«e ia Bible ct Its d^onvertea modemes, par M. Vigoaroui, prStre 
de Saiut-Sulpice, t, I, : Eaquisse de VktaUare du rationatimt hiblique en, 
Allemagne, 

* "The Work as it U composed." writes Ewald, "reflects little credit 
0[)on the Countrj which prmluceti it, and conld scarcely have had its 
oririn ftraong other Burronndings than those in which it was conceived." 
"M. Kenan a hook," adds Keim, "is more than anything else b Pftrisian 
prodnotion, — a 9uper6oial compound ; it is of no moment to the scholai', 
who will find nothing in it adapted to his use." (See M. Renan, Refute 
par lea raHmtalialt* al/emande, par Mgr. Heigaan. ) 



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xii PREFACE. 

Bchool ; only one more name to write under that of Celsus, 
Marcion, and all the rest, who for eighteen centuries have at- 
tacked the Godhead in Jesus Christ. h\k% so many others, this 
last assault hae been fruitless, the figment has faded away, — 
yet only to give place to theories moi« formidable, as they are 
more specious and sophistical. 

Scomiug Tradition, which might liave enlightened them, these 
hardy expositors would have us accept the Gospels as Apostolic 
teaching alimented and disfigured by the addition of a new 
body of texte in the course of years. To their apprehension the 
saci-ed Writings are not therefore a History, made from the 
original, but a compilation &om a succession of narratives ; and 
nothing could be more ingenious, yet at the same time more ar- 
bitrary, than their innumerable speculations, which are always 
at variance with each other, aa they vainly strive to point out 
what were, after all, the original features of the Books we possess 
to-day. We can see toward what end these innovators are 
working. By rejecting any settled dates for the Gospels, they in 
fact destroy all their authority ; fur what credence could be ac- 
corded to a confused collection of reminiscences, jotted down by 
a thousand various hands and in epochs most at variance in spirit. 
Conce<le this point and there would be an end of all certitude as 
regards the Life of Jesus. Indeed all powers that lie deepest 
down in the Christian heart have risen in defence of the Heav- 
enly Message. Marvels of erudition have been accomplished, 
and the Protestant churches, whence sprung the evil, have not 
been the last in exorcising it. Even in the judgment of liberal 
investigation, truth rests on the side of Tradition ; our Gos- 
pels are still regarded as the work of those who either saw 
the Master Himself, or heard His Apostles. Written by the 
Spirit of God, independently of each other, they shine forth in 
the white light of truth with a radiance which nothing can 
obscure. 

We shall be forgiven for not restating here the proofs which 
have put the authenticity and veracity of this Record beyond 
cavil or suspicion ; one volume would not be enough to contain 
them. Our wisest course was to refer the reader to the apolo- 



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gists vbo have triumphantly defended them,* and pursue the 
plan which we have indicated above : to j|;uther frum the Ooapels 
a History of Jeeue, — comparing the four holy Witnesses in order 
to show how their Harratives, varyiny as they do in form, inten- 
tion, and origin, nevertheless explain and contjnn each other. 
To attain this object, let us see what guides we shall follow. 

The first and most trustworthy of all is the Gospel itself. We 
possess it in thfl very language which the sacred Historians 
employed,' antl one must read it in the original tongue to appre- 
ciate all its charms ; but it is quite as necessary not to neglect 
the Versions which were composed from the first ages ; for, 

' See the InlrodiKlioas written by Hug, A<lalbert Maier, and Reith- 
nvifT ; Tholuck, The Oredibilii'j of Che Evangelical Hiitinj ; the Eoolish 
works of Norton and Westootc ; in France, De la Cniyance due A, I'Emn- 
giU, by M. Wollon, and Les Evangilia, b; Mgr. MKisnan. Etossuet was 
content to dismiss theijQeation with a few lines, — "that great concourse 
of diiftfrent nations who received and translated the Holy Books agree both 
as ti> their dat« and as to their Authors. The Pagans never contradicted 
Tradition ou this point. Neither Celsua, who attacked the sacred Books 
almost at the outset of Christianity, nor Julian the Apoetale, although he 
neither ignored nor neglected anything whereby he mielit discredit them, 
nor has any other Pagan ever suggested the ides that they were of suppo- 
sititious origin. On the contrary, one and all have credited them with the 
aame authorship as the Christians. The heretics of olden times, although 
the authority of these same Books was oppressive to them, dared not 
assert that they were not the words of the Disciples of our Lord. Some of 
these heretics, moreover, had witnessed the beginnings of the (church, and 
had seen the Books of the Gospel written beneath their own eyes ; thus 
any deception which could possibly have insinuated itself would have been 
broi^ht to light too promptly to succeed. It is true that after the Apostles' 
death, and when the Church had already penetrated into all lands, Mar- 
cion and Manes, always the most daring as they were the most ignorant 
among the heretics, . . . dared to say that three of the Gospels were for- 
geries. . . . But wljat proofs did they advance ! Only visions ; not one 
positive fact. ... To invalidate the good faith of the Church, it was con- 
sidered requisite for them to have possession of some original documents 
diOering from hera, or some other ascertainable proof. Siinimoned to pro- 
duce such proof, they and their disciples were silent, and by their silence 
have loft an indubitable evidence that In the second century of Chris, 
tiajiity, in which they wrote, there was not even an indication of unreli- 
ability, nor the least supposition which could be brought forward against 
the Tradition of the Church " [Diacoun mn- tHisloiTe univenelle, ii' partie, 

' We do not even except the First Gospel, for it appears most likely to 
us that the Greek Version from 3. Matthew's original Aramean was made 
by the Apostle himself. 



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XIV PREFACE. 

while they enlighten ua as to thn original meaning of the text, 
they enable us at the same time to decide between difl'erent 
readings. Every one knows, indeed, tliat there are no longer 
any Greek Manuscripts of the first three centuries, and that the 
oldest copies are only duplicates, made three bundled years 
after the epoch in which the Evangelists lived.' During that 
long period of transmission, different readings were multiplied, 
yet viewed as a guarantee of the genuineness of the original, 
no evidence equals the trauslations written by disciples of the 
Apostles, because they give us a faithful reflection of the Greek 
Gospels, as they were known at the birth of the Church.' 

■ Not to overload these uotea with details, we shall uot mpntion any 
readings besides those given by the five most uDcient and moat important 
Manuscripts : The Codei Sinaiticiii (K), found by Tisohendorf in tiie Hon- 
asteij of Sinai in 1859 ; this Mauuacript dates back to the fourth century. 
The Codex Vatkanus (B), belonging to the snine period aa the precedlDf;, 
is preserved in the library of the Vatican. The Codei Alexandrinus (A), 
sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril Lncar, to Charles I., in 
1628, and kept ever since in the British Museum. The Codex Ephnemi 
(C). The parchment of thb manasciipt had been washed sufficiently to 
receive the teit of S. Ephrem's Works ; hence the name. The ancient teit 
has been restored, and it forms one of the treasares of the National Library. 
The Codei Bene, or Cantabrigienais (D), given by Beza to the Universihr 
of Cambridge. These last three manuscripts dat* back to the fifth 
century. Aa regards these Codices, consult Reithmayr's Inlrodudian, and 
Scrivener's InlToduetion to the Criticism of tht New Teetameat, pp. 76- 
103. 

* We mean by this the most ancient Versions, which are the following : 
The Italic, a Latin translation of the first centuiy ; two of the Syriac Ver- 
sions, the Peshito (The Simple), composed at the beginning of the second 
century, and the Ctireton, so named from the Canon of Westminster, who 
discovered it among the Syriac manuscripts of the British Museum. The 
latter Version, in which some believe we possess the origiiisl Aramean of 
S. Matthew, is older than the Peahitc, and conseqoently goea back to the 
very days of the Apostles. Important aa these first translations are, no 
one among them equals the Vulgate, We know what careful zeal S. Jerome 
bTOught to its composition, taking every advanlage of his predecessors' la> 
bors, anri referring to the most aucient manuscripts In the Greek text. In 
order to revise and correct the Italic ; so that it is with perfect justice that 
the Church, having declared it authentic in every respect, accords it the 
same authority as to an original in everything which concents raitb and 
morals. In addition, we shall quote fiom the Coptic, Ethiopian, and Gothic 
Versions, done in the fourth century, with the Armenian, which dates from 
the fifth. (See, as to these Vei-eions, the Manuel Biblique, par I'abbi F. 
Vigouroux, t. I. pp. 137-1(13 ; Reithmayr's Introduetion, and Les Stvdes 
Publiquei, par I'ahbe Le Hir, t. 1. p. 25L) 



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PREFACE XV 

Upon this question it is equally incumbent upim us to con- 
sult tbti first Fathers ; their preaching, as it is little more than a 
commentary upon the Good Tidings, reproduces the Gospel for 
us, almost in its entirety, and, consequently we can reconstruct 
from their Homilies so many Versions antedating any which we 
know to-day. But it is principally because they explain holy 
Writ that they must ever remain our teachers. No research, no 
science, however profound it may be, can supply us with what 
they then possessed, — the actual world as Jesus found it, tlie 
self-same aspect of localities and affairs, and further still, their 
opportunities for daily intercourse with those of the faithful, 
who, having lived in the society of the Apostles, could relate 
their instructions. All these circumstances once taken into con- 
sideration, lend such tremendous weight to the teaching of the 
Fathers that even Protestant theologians have been struck by it. 
They declare that " To evade or contravene that common belief 
which existed among them would he foolish and unavailing, it 
would be to struggle agtunst the resistless rush of a torrent."^ 
We have purposely employed the phraseology of Waterland and 
Bull ; although the evidence of liberal investigation, it is no 
less uncompromising than the rulings of the Council of Trent^ 

Accordingly we shall endeavor to follow Tradition closely in 
interpreting those words of the Saviour which are the immovable 
foundation of Christian Dogma. Here there ia no room for novel- 
ties, for Truth is unchangeable. Yet it is not enough, in a Life 
of the Christ, to set forth the Evangelical Doctrine ; it is neces- 
sary to describe the places where the years of the Saviour's life 
were spent ; to learn from contemporary history what thoughts 
then occupied men's minds, what manner of people they were 
among whom Jesus lived. Upon these points the Gospels are 

1 "It is absurd to Imagine tbat all the Churches should comhine in the 
same error, and conspire Uigelher to irormpt the doctrine of Chiiat." 
(Dr. Waterland, On 0\e Use and Value of EedenaMicai ArUiquUy. 
Works, vol. v., ^p. 253-383.) "But I have and alvays shall have a 
Teligioua scruple in interpreting; the Holy Scriptures a^inst the stream of 
all the fathers and ancient docKiis" {^M, Ihfeiaio fidei Nieama, 1.1,9. 
Oxford Translation). 

* Qauiiiam Tridtniinum, sesaio qoarta. 



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sparing of detail ; written for readers of their own era who had 
under their very eyes the life of the Orient, they are constantly 
making allusions to customs differing widely from ours, and sup- 
pose that their readers are familiar with manners to which we 
indeed are more or lees strangers. This is the vanished world 
it behoves us to re-habilitate here, in order that the Gospel may 
be iiitderstoix) as it was in the day of its appearance. 

Just now it would seem that everything is ripe for such a res- 
toration of the past. Never has the East been better known ; the 
Aramaic Paraphrases, the traditions contained in the Talmud and 
the Jewish writers have been tediously conned over ; Egypt and 
Assyria, which traced such deep marks upon the monuments of 
Judea, have at last revealed the secrets of their institutions ; in a 
word, tlie knowledge of Hebrew antiquities has become as entire 
and intelligible to our generation as the archfeology of Greece and 
Eome. At the same time learned achievements in Chronology, 
based upon astronomical calculations, have established the dates 
for us, even to the month and the day. Who does not see the 
advantages offered by such vast stores of knowledge 1 We cannot 
even set down here the long array of authora whose works we 
have e^famined, and to whom we have been indebted. A list of 
those by whose labors we have profited most is placed in the front 
of this Volume, and it will show that we have borrowed much 
from Germany and England. Nevertheless, however highly we 
may have esteemed our predecessors, we have been studious to 
refer to original sources and to accept nothing except upon 
trustworthy testimony. 

An inestimable advantage has been accorded us, above and 
beyond all these others, — one which has enabled us to make the 
places in which the Saviour lived better known and realized. 
Surrounded by friends who lent ua a cooperation which was as 
intelligent and sympathetic as it was kindly, we traversed the 
Holy Land, " from Dan to Beer-Sheha," from Gaza to Libanus, 
following the Master step by step, over those hilltops which 
were the witnesses of His birth, into the valley of the shadow of 
death, wherein He faced temptation ; and along the borders of 
the lake which He loved. On every hand we have seen the 



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PREFACE. Xvii 

same world which met the eyes of Jesus, — the citiea, whose 
gates still close so eoon as ever the hrat torchlight flared up in 
the deepening twilight to dispel the darkness from their dwell- 
ings ; the troops of dogs overrunning the deserted streets, still 
venturing to lick the beggai''s body as he lies yonder hy the rich 
man's threshold ; the pomp and ceremony of the marriage-feasts, 
the banqueting-hall, with the wedding-guests reclining on purple 
and fine linen ; the wail of the mourners, the clamor of their 
lamentations mingling with the shrill notes of the flutes ; and as 
tve enter each town we still hear the plaintive monotone of the 
blind man's appeal, while the leper still attracts attention to bis 
malady by piercing moans; thence to the Desert of Jericho, — 
the lonely track winding over wild and gloomy heights, where 
the Bedouin, gaunt and hoUow-eyed with hunger, now as then 
lies in wait for the traveller who may fall within his reach. In 
the Gospels all these pictures are indicated in a line, by a single 
stroke ; it ia only when viewed under the Eastern sky that they 
regain their fresh colors, in their clear native atmosphere. 

It will be asked what rules we have observed in settling the 
relationship of the Narratives. Saint Luke has given us the 
order of events connected with the Childhood of Jesua ; Saint 
John, those which bear upon the beginnings of His Ministry. In- 
deed, the latter often goes so far as to mention the day and hour. 
Unfortunately, his testimony leaves much untold concerning the 
whole public life, or at least he only furnishes us with striking 
incidents, evidently selected with the design of setting forth the 
Divinity of the Saviour in higher relief. We must recur to the 
Synoptical Writers • to discover the sequence of events. Cer- 
tainly, no research could require more careful handling ; for the 
Evangelists, as their name implies, are bearers of Good News,— ■ 
Glad Tidings,' — and in telling it to the world the Apostles have 
endeavored, not so much to give us a complete chronicle, accom- 
panied with precise dates, as simply to show forth in Jesus the 

^ TbU iwmc has heen ajipliei) to the first three Evsngelista, becanse 



" Bi^yj^Xiiw, from n 



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Jtviii PREFACE. 

Christ Whom they adored. Saint Matthew thinks of Him only 
as the Royal Messiah ; to Saiut Mavk, Uo lives, tlie Son of God ; 
as Saint Luke sees Him, He is the Saviour of the world. Each, 
absorbed in his own one view of the Fact Divine, recounts only 
what bears particularly npon liia controlling; thouglit. 

In fact, Saint Matthew resolutely sacrifices chronology by 
attempting to associate marveUous occurrences more effectively, 
which actually took place under very different circumstances, and 
to this end connects parables which, without doubt, the Christ 
did not utter in the aame discourse. The object of the Evangelist 
in grouping the doctrines, miracles, and parables of the Saviour is 
to mass the streaming mys of light in which the Life of Jesus 
gleamed upon his sight, and by thus concentrating events render 
them of a more radiant glory. 

Saint Mark and Saint Luke have not neglected the succession 
of occurrences to such a marked degi'ee. In fact the latter, in 
so many words, announces that it is his intention to conform his 
Karrative to their order. "Since so many," he says in liis Pro- 
logne, "havfl undertaken to compose a narrative of the things 
believed among us * in the manner in which those transmitted 
them to us who from the beginning did themselves witness them, 
and have been minist<irs of the Word, so I likewise, after having 
followed the course of all these things from their earliest outset,* 
have conceived the plan of recounting these matters to you in 
their order,' most excellent Theophilus,' that thus you may be 
better able to recognize the truth of that which has been taught 

• The Volgate translates rrrXvpo^opvi^™'' by "f|uiE in nobis comrletffi 
RDiit renim ; " but the Greek text, the Syriac Version, and the interpreta- 
tion of many Fathers, allow us to give tbia word the more exact sense of, 
" mattprs firmly accepted and believed by U8." 

^'AmBir- " Alte petilo principio." Jansenine Ypreotius, TetraUu- 

' Ka9(t7i signifies in this naseafe, as commonly einewhere in the Greek 
language, "olKerring the order of events" (Thncj'dides, ii, 1, S, 26). It 
is the sense osually given to the word by S. Luke (vii. 11 ; Acts xii, 1 ; 
XTCV. 17 ; xivii. 18), as well as tbnt demanded by the connection of ideas. 
(See Tischendorf, Synopsis Evangelira, liv.) 

< The title KpArurTi would indicate that Theophilua waa of high rank 
(.4i-ts x»iil 28 ; xiiv. 3 ; xxvi. 2) ; but neither Scripture nor TVadition 
makes us any better acquainted with this noble personage. 



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yoa." These worda clearly denote Saint Luke's intention to 
leave Theophilus, not simply an authentic record of the preach- 
ing of the Apostles, but furthermore, to construct a work in 
accordance with the rules of hiatory. Wherefore, to insure per- 
fect confidence in his work, he reminds him that he has been a 
careful student of the facts, that he has set them forth from their 
inception, with great exactness and in the order in which they 
took place. Hence he is fittest to be our guide in the dispo- 
sition of events chronicled by the three synoptical writers, and 
we shall follow him with all the more confidence from the fact 
that his Narrative is generally in harmony with that of Saint 
Mark. 

We know too well what difficulties this qneation of chronology 
presents to think of insisting on the arrangement which we have 
adopted for this Life of tbe Lord. The main duty was to set 
some certain date for the principal events ; for even if it could 
be pTOved that such and such miracles, or certain words of tbe 
Master, occurred a few weeks earlier or later, variances of this 
nature would affect the arrangement of His History very little. 
As to the minor events, whose order stilt remains subject to dif- 
ference of opinion, we have thought it beet to adopt what seemed 
tbe moat reasonable construction, referring, in the Notes and 
Appendices, to the arguments which supported our preference. 

In spite of al) the care taken by our untiring friends iu cor- 
recting this effort, more than one error has undoubtedly escaped 
our notice, and the work must still remain unworthy of its Sub- 
ject. We have no other ground for hoping well of it beyond the 
knowledge of its fidelity to Tradition, whose voice, growing more 
eloquent as it comes down the ages, is now without a rival in ita 
office as Interpreter of the Saviour's words and deeds. God grant 
that it may have lost nothing of its force by coming from our 
lips. May its mighty troth touch men's hearts and revive therein 
their iaith in Jesus. More than ever is the aid of that Pivine 
Master now needed, for the latter years of the centnry grow daily 
more threatening. A secret disquiet alarms the most steadfast 
natures; an increasing license is disturbing men's minds, as the 
divisions of society become every day more apparent. The Christ 



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XX PREFACE. 

is no longer among tbem, tn console the poor and wretelied 
ones, who, bent beneath their burdeiia, still angrily spurn his 
loving-kindness, while the rich and powerful call sadly for a 
Deliverer. For salvation, for help, they can turn nowhere but 
unto Jesus. Upon Him depends all that tiiis world, aU that c 
country has still to hope for or expect. Shattered and broki 
menaced on every side, she shall surely rise again upon that day, 
when, with her children all re-nnited in the Christ, she shall 
have but cue heart, one mind, one soul, in the sight of God. 
May our humble efforts be not altogether ineffectual in speed- 
ing that r^eneiation for which all hearts are longing. It is 
the single purpose of this Book, and the sole glory we could 
desire for it. 



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d'apres lea TTialmuds. Paris, 18B7. 
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Ebrakd. The Gospel History. Edinburgh, 1863. 

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FiLLioN. fivai^ile selon S, Matthieu et S. Mara, 1878, 1879; dans la 

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Geikib. Tlie Life and Words of Christ, Loudon, 1877. 
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GuNFiBLD. Sdiolia Hellenistica iu Novum .TestanieDtum. Loudon, 

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Hasb. Dbs Lebeu Jesu. Leipzig, 1S35. 

Hbmgstenbekg. Commeutarj oa the Gospel of S. Joliu. Edinburgh, 
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Christolog; of the Old Testament. Edmbui^li, 1871. 

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IIebvei. On the Genealogies of Our Lord- Cambridge, 1853. 
Hilary (S.). Patrologie latine, t. ix. 

Hro- Einleitnug in die Scbriften des Neuen Testanienta. Stuttgart, 
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IsENAUS (S.). Patrologie greeque, ,t. ¥iL 

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JoSEPHTS. Opera, &tit. Didot. Paris, 1845-1847. 

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Lakgek, Bie letzteu Lebeustage Jesu, 

Lho (S.). Patrologie latine, t, liv. 

Li^TiN SB Hamiie. Guide indicateur des sanctuaires et lienx his- 

toriques de la terre sainte, Louvain, 1876, 
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rumqne Patrum fonlibua derivata, Strasboui^, 1474. 
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ioogic 



xxiv BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST. 

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Paris, 1867. 

Messhee. Ei'klaruug des Johannes Evangeliums. Innsbruck, 1860. 

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GoUingen, 1S58, 

Mill. Observalious on tlie attempted application of pantheistic prin- 
ciples to tlic theory and listorlc criticism of the CiospeL Cambridge, 
)861, 

UiLMAN. Historj of Cliristianitj. London, 1867- 

History of tlie Jews. London, 1866 

MusKAY. Handbook for Syria and Palestine. 

Nbander. Daa Leben Jcsa Ghristi. Hanibui^, 1845. 

Olsuausbh. Biblischer Coinmentar. Knnigaberg, 1831). 
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Patkizi. De Evaugeliis libri tres. Friburgi Brisgovite, 18S3. 

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In Joaniiem Commentarium. Romse, 18B7. 

Philo. Opera omnia. Lipsiie, 1828. 

Prbssense (db), J^sus-Chriat, son temps, sa Tie, son auTie. Paris. 

Reithhatr. Introduction aux liTres da Noaveau Testament, traduc- 
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Harmony of tlie Four Gospels, Boston, 1845. 

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RoUTH. Reliquis Sacrce. Oxford, 1846. 

Sacy (db). La sainte Bible en latin et en fran^ais, aTec des explica- 
tions du sena littoral et du sens apirituel. Paris, 1804. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST. xxv 

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Stafpfer. Idfea religieuses des Juita au temps de Notre-Swgceur. 

Paris, 1878. 

Tertvlliah. Patrologie latine, t. 1., ii. 
Thilo. Codei Apocrjplius Novi Testainenti. Leipzig, 1832. 
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Hambui^, 1835. 

Commentar znm Evangehum Joannis. Hanibui^, 1844. 

Tuou&s Aqdihas (S.). Catena Aurea in iv Evangeliu. Paris, 1636. 

Thomson. The Land and Tlie Book. London, 1863. 

TiLLEUOHT. M^moirea pour servir it I'Histoire eccl^iastique, Paris. 

1693. 
TiscHENDORF. Evangelia Apocrypha. Leipzig, 1876. 

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ToBLER. Topographic von Jerusalem. Berlin, 1854. 
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Notes on the Miracles. London, 1847- 

Studies on the Qospel. London, 1867. 

Synonyms of tbe New Testament. London, 1871. 

Variot. Les fivangiles Apoerypbes. Paris, 1878. 

Vkdillot (L). Vie de Notre- Seigneur J^sus-Clirist. Paris, 1864. 

WiHL. Oavis Novi Teatamenti. Lipsiie. 18*3, 
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Vie de N,-S. J^sus-Christ. Paris, 1865. 

Les stunts ^vangiles, traduction tir^e dc Bossuet. Paris, 1863. 

Westuoti, Introduction to the Study of tbe Gospels. London, 1867. 
• A General Survey of the History of tlie Canon of tbe New 

Testament. London, 1870. 
WiESELEK. Chronologiscbc Svnopse dec Vicr Evangelien. Hamburg, 

1843. 
WiBER. Biblisclies Realworlerbucb. Leipzig, 1847- 

Grammatik der NeutestameutUclien Sprachidioms. Leipzig, 

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Woudswokth. The New Testament of Our Lord. Londau, 1370. 



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THE TRANSLATOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. 



'T'HE only words contained iu Monsieur Fousrd'a Fifth Edi- 
■*■ tion which we have omitted here come under the beading, 
Avant-Propot dt la Stco/ide Editiun, — a short page and a half 
In length, in recognition of the popular and critical welcome the 
work bad I'eceived, and as an acknuwledgment of indebtedness 
to the prelates and professors whose counsels and corrections had 
helped laigely toward perfecting later editions, but most of all 
for an expression of gratitude to that princely Scholar, Leo XIII., 
whose Brief of April 2, 1881, conferred upon our Author the 
Apostolic benediction, with the Theologian's congratulations. 
Besides the Holy Father, many Cardinals and ecclesiastics have 
testified to their delight at the learning and faith, which indeed 
have made their impression upon every reader of this Life, from 
the humblest Christian to the great servant of God and God's 
people, under whose patronage we are happy in being able to 
place this translation. 

A word of explanation on some technical points may be of 
service to the student. Bossnet's translation of the Gospels was 
preferred by the Abb^ Fotisrd, because, as he says, "though 
oftentimes full of archaisms and curious felicities of speech, yet, 
since it is always luminous, and the work of a genius, it conveys 
the Master's meaning better than any other." Here the method 
to be followed by the interpreter was fixed beyond cavil by his 
original. The Author is well knowil on the Continent as a Hel- 
lenist, and hia helpful re-settings of the hallowed sentences tire 
not the least valuable feature of his periods, which bear their 



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xxviii THE THANSLATOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. 

burtbeii of eruditiou so happily. A cursory comparison will 
demonstrate the impossibility of making auy received Enghsh 
Version take the place of our Author's illumiuations of ancient 
Codices. 

But Professor Fuuard is eminent also ae a Hebraist ; hence, is 
some instances, he has not liesitated to revise the spelling of 
proper names, in consonance with our fuller understanding of their 
deiivation and signiticance ; for the more familiar names, how- 
ever, he retains the usual Vulgate form. Doubtless he lays as 
little stress upon such technical divergences as do all who set the 
matter higher than the manner. But here, as everywhere else, 
needless to say, our sole aim has been to find the fairest equiva- 
lent of the original form. Perhaps we may be pardoned for 
adding that we have been far from desiring to introduce strange 
forms into the present orthographical chaos, which to-day offers 
us such differences as Nabuchodonosor and Nebuchadnezzar, to 
dismay the Catholic or non-Catholic layman. 

Finally, it would betoken something like ingratitude to let this 
edition go out without a word of recognition for its many well- 
wishers: for, after the Abb^ Fouard himself, whose unvarying 
courtesy has contributed toward making our toil altogether a pleas- 
ure, this Book stands to the Very Reverend Thomas S. Campbell, 
S. J., and to other dear friends of his Company, in relations much 
like that of a son to his home and kinsfolk ; while, continuing 
the figure, our translation has the honor of claiming as its God- 
father and Mentor that ripe scholar and theologian, the Reverend 
Professor Fivez, of the New York Provincial Seminary. To his 
self-sacrificing interest and generosity we owe it that no greater 
blunders have been committed than now, perchance, and despite 
all such affectionate pains, must meet the eyes of our indulgent 
reader. 

G. F. X. 0. 

Day of St. Aathony of Padua, 

St. Joieph's Senuaarg, Thoy, N. Y. 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

VOLUME I. 



Intbosuction bv Cardinal Mannino . 
AUTHOK's PB£FAC£ 

BiBLIOOKAFHICAL LiST ...,., 

The Tban8l&iob'8 Advebtiskuent . . 



SBoob iTittft, 

THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 
CHAPTER L 

JUDELA IN THE TIME OP JB8US. 

Decline of the Maclmbeos. — R«ign of Herod the Gredt — The San- 
hedrin ; its conetitntion ; its authority in the time of Herod. — 
Jewigh fleets: Phariaeea, Saddneees, Essenes. — Erroneous iileas 
among the Jews concerning the Messiah. — The true Messiah 
foretold in the Scriptures 

CHAPTER n. 

THE BIRTH OF THE PRECCRSOR 

I. The Vision of Zachakt. 

Youttah, Zachary'fl abode, — The Sacrifice of FerfHmes. — Appear- 
ance of the Angel GabrieL — Elisabeth ci 



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X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Thk CiKCUHCisioK OF John tbk Baptist. 

— The name John given him \tj7t 



CHAPTER IIL 

THE INCABNATION. 

I. The Annunciation. 

Miiry betrothfld to Joseph. — Appearance of the Anget Gabriel in the 
home at NiTareth The Angelical Salutation. — The Word 



II. Tbe Visitation. 

Journey fitrtn Nainroth to Yoottah, — Mai-y in the dwelling of Eliz- 
abeth. — The iiagnifiaa 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE NATIVITY. 

I. The Appeaiunce of the Angel to Joseph. — The 

Census of Quibinivs. 

Joseph's misgivings. — An Angel of the Lord appears to him. — 
Joseph marries Mary. — The numbering of the Roman Empire 
ordered bjr Augustus, completed in Judea by Quirinins. — Tlie 
Genealogical Tables of Bethlehem. — Genealogy of the parents of 

II. The Nativitt. 

The Inn at Bethlehem. — The Cave. — Birth of Jesus 

III. The Adoration of the Shkpheubs. 

Appearance of the Angelic hosts. — Oloria in cxcelsis, — The Shep- 
herds worship Jesus in His crib 

IV. The Circumcision and the Presentation in the 

Temple. 
Jeaus cireumcised on the eighth day. — The Name of Jesus. — Mary's 
Purification. — ^The old man Simeon. — A'un^ZWmiMis. ^ Anna 
the Prophetess 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER V 

THE EPIPHANY. 



The Hsgi of Persian origitt ; tlieir beliefs. — AppearaiiM of the SUr. 
— The Magi in JeniBalem ; Herod's [leitiirbiition. — The Adora- 
tion of the Magi 61 

II. The Flight into Ebipt ahd tub Holy IiiMociiNTs. 

Serrct departnre of the Magi. — The Holy Family in Egypt..— 
Mussaore of the Holy Iimocents. — Testimony of Macrobius. — 
Herod's dedth. — Beturu of the Holy Family to Nazareth . . . S8 



CHAPTER VI. 
JESUS AT NAZAiunn. 

I. TuE Childhood of Jesus. 

Interior development of Jetnu. — Jesus in the alma of Hary. — Galilee 
of the Gentiles. — Nazareth 

II. Jesus ahoho the Doctobs. 

Boate from Nazareth to Jerusalem — The Galileans' caravans. — The 
Child Jesus among the Doctors 

III. Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazikbth. 

Jesus in the Carpenter's shop at Nazareth. — Home life of the Holy 
Family. — The Lord's brethren 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 



Period in which John Baptist appeared. — Principal epochs in the 
life of Jean B. — Tbe territory wherein Jesus iireached. — Govern- 
ment of Judea in tbe time of Jesus . 



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xxxii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE MIHSIOM OF JOHN BAPTIST. 

"John's Desert." ^The two Precursors. — John Baptist's preaching. 
— Baptism of Jesus 106 

CHAPTEH III. 

THK TEMPTATION. 

Jesus iiDpfllled into the wildeniesH by the Holy Ghost. — Mystery 

involved in a Gctd's being tempWid. — The threefold Temptation . 120 

CHAPTER IV. 

JOHK baptimt's testimdny, and the first pisciples or je»uh. 

The Sanhediin's Embassy. — John'a testimony. — The Voict crying 
in the wildemeaa. — Thit l.amb of God. — Calling of the first 
disciples 129 

CHAPTER V. 

THE VBDDINO I 



CHAPTER VT. 

GENESABETH. 

The T.alce and Plain of Genesareth. — Cities of the Lake : Tiberias, 
Caphamanm, Betbsuda, Charozain 



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TABLE OF CONTESTS. xxxiii 

iBoott t^jra. 

FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE FIRST PASCH IN THE MINISTRY OF JEBU8. 

I. The Hucksters dkivkn from the Tkmfle. pahb 
Jesus' first sojourn at Cupharnanm. — Merelianta and inoney-changere 

axpellel from the porches, — A Temple destroyed and rebuilt in 
threo days 188 

II. NlCODEKTS. 

The second Mrth. — The breath of the Spirit, — The things of 

HetiTen. — The Light and the darkness 139 

CHAPTER II. 

JOBS baptist's last TB8TIM0NT. 

Ministry of Jesus in Juden. — Baptism performed by the disciples of 
Jesus. — Discussion between John's disciples and the Jews con- 
cerning the purifications. — Renewed testimony from the Fore- 
runner. — Sinful union of Herod Antipas with Herodias. — John 
Baptist imprisoned in the fortress of Macheronte 176 

CHAPTER, m. 

THE SAMARITAN. 

Siohem — The woman of Samaria. — The Spring of living water. — 
The true worahippers. — Jesus and the Samaritans 186 



CHAPTER IV. 

JESUS DRIVEN OUT OF NAZARBTH. 

JeauB in Galilee. — Outward appearance of Jesus. — The Jewish ayna- 
goguea. — Jesus driven from the synagogue at Nazareth. — The 
child of the ofiicer of Capliamaum 



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xxxiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE PIB8T ACTS DURING THE MINISTRY OF JEBUH IN GALILEE. 

I. The Calling of the Fibst Disciples. page 
Jesus makes His home st Csphamaum. — Calliog of the sods of Jonas 

and of Zebedee 208 

II. A Sabbath Day at Cathaknauh. 

A possessed person healed in the synagogue. — Simon's mother-in- 
law. — Nnmberless cures on the Sabbath evening 211 

III. The MiEACVLOus Dbadght of Fishes. — Hkalivg of 

A Lbfer. 

Jesus at Bethsaida. — The miraculous draught of fishes, symbol of 
the Apostles' ministry. — First mission trip into Galilee. — Heal- 
ing of a leper 217 

IV. Heauhs of a Pakalitic. 

The Sanhedrin's spies. — Paralytic healed by Jesus 222 

V. The Calling of Levi. 

The publicans. — Their husJnesB haterul to the Jews. — Levi joins 
the company of Jeens 225 



SECOND TEAE OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE SGOOND FASOHAL BEA80N IN THE MINI8TBY OP JB8DS. 

I. Tex Pool of Bbteesda. 

The paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. — Jesos and the Sanhedrin- 
ConnoiiloiB. — Jesus accused of violating the Sabbatic prescriptions 2; 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxv 

II. A Sabbath Walk thbouoh the Fields. pade 
The disciples pluck eais of com on the S&bbaOi, — Darid uid the 

Loavea of Proposition. — The Sabbath mftde for man, not idui for 

the Sabbath 237 

III. Th£ Man tith the Withxked Hand. 

Jeaua in the synitgogue cures a man with a withered hand. — The 
Sanhedrin's spies make common cause with the Uerodiana. — 
Jesus withdraws to escape their attacks 212 



CHAPTER II. 

THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 

Jesos npon the heights o( KouraBattin. — Us chooses the Twelve 
Apostles. — Character of each 2M 

CHAPTER m. 

TBB BEBHON ON THE HODHT. 

Scope andcharacterof the Sermon. — The Beatitudes. — The Ancient 
Law and the New. — The Lord's Prayer. — Treat in God. — Con- 
dosion of the Master's discourse 269 

CHAPTER IV. 

CAPHARNAnH AND NAIH. 

I. Tbe Cehtijuoh of Cafhashaoh. 

Rare qualities of the Centorion of Caphamanm. — Jesus hesls h 



271 



II. The Son of thi Widow of Naim. 

Nairn. — Funeral rites in Jewry, — Jesus heals the widow's son . . 

in. Tee Message sent bi John tfb Baptist. 

John's disciples as deputies before Jesns. — The miracles as Signs of 
the Christ. — John more than a Prophet. — The least in God's 
Kingdom greater than John 



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xxxvi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

IV. The Siwful Womam at the Banquet given by Siuom. 

JeBUs MDaug the PharitieeB. — The sinaer at the Master's feet. — The 

two debtors. — The Magdalene in Jewish aad Christiao Traditioji 286 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PARABLES. 

econd misaion into Galilee. — Tlie holy wom«ii. — The Mother and 
brothers of Jesus, — Beelzebub. — The sJu ugainst the Holy SpiriL 
— Change in tJie Master's teaching. — Parables of the Kingdom 
of God 



CHAPTER VI. 

MIRACLES DONB IN OGROESA AND CAPBARNAUH. 

I. The Possessed Creatubes of Geeoesa. 

The tempest stilled. — The possessed men. — The herd of swine . . 

II. The Banqfet given bt Levi — The Woman with the I 

oj Blood. — The Patjghteb of JaIrus. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE HieBtOK OF THE APOSTLES. — DEATH OF THE FRBCURSOR. 

I. The Mjssioh of the Apostles. 

Third misaion-journey into Galilee. — Jesns at NaM«th. — Duties 

of the Apostles. — Their MtBsioti 323 

II. Death of Jouh the Baptist. 

John in prison at Macheronte. — Celebration of Herod's birthday. — 
Herodiae and Salome. — The Baptist put to death. — Herod's 
remorseful terrors. — Jesna withdraws to the domain of Philip , 830 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. jcxxtU 

CHAPTER VIIL 

THE BREAD OF UFB. 

I. Th£ Multiplication of tub Loaves. paqe 
Betbsiudit-Juliiis. — MaltipliL'atioD of the flve loaves and the too 

fishes. — Jesus alone on the mouutAin-top. — The Apostles over- 
takeu by storui. — Jesus walking oa the waves of the I^ke. — 
Maiiirold cures iu the land of Genesareth 33(1 

II. The Pkomise of the Eucharist. 

Jesus in the synagogue at Caphamauin. — Manna and the Bread of 
Heaven. — Munuurings among the people of Capharnauui. — 
Jeaus the Bread of Life. —To eat the Flesh and to drink the 
Blood of the Christ. — The diseiplea scandaliied. — Peter's 
protestation of the Faith of the Twelve Zii 



^ppenair. 



I. Jekifsalem and the Teufle 357 

11. The " Word " OP Saint John , . . 382 

HI. The Genealogies of the Gospel 373 

IV. The Stae of the Magi 332 

V. The Bketrren of the Lokd 383 

VI. The Samaeitams 386 

VII. Thk Festival in the Fifth Cmaptee of Saint John . 389 

VIII. The Pool of Bethesda 391 



Map op Jddea in the Tike of our Lord Jesus Christ Fronliipieee 
Ma p of the Lake op Genesaretk 148 



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BOOK FIEST. 



THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 



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RATA AOTKAN. 
d. X8', W. 

ETircf St Mapiaii, irpof rov ayytXoi' ' IIus 2irTai roiVo, imX 
av&pa av ywonTKto ; 

Kal diroKpifftU 6 ayyeXos trjr<v aiiTjj • Ilvcu^a ayioc cir(Xei!cr«rai 
hrl at KoX Sufo/iK "Yi^toTov {irurKuurci uoi ■ Sio Kai to yewiLfitvov 
•hywv K\ri6^tTai YI02 ©EOY, 



C^ ^iq^*^ €e^tiinonp. 



^Mrf Mary said to the Angel: How shall this he done, 
because I know nat man ? 

Then answering the Angel said : " The Holy Spirit shall 
come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall over- 
■ shadow thee; and there/ore also The Holy which shall be 
lorn of Thee shall he called THE SON OF GOD. 

SAINT LUKE. 
i. 34, 36. 



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THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD. 



Soolt JTfrst 
THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 



JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 

Jddea in the time of the Christ waa despoiled of all her 
spleudor. The Machabeea, pontiffs and kinga of Israel 
during one century, had in that time seen their glories 
vanish, together with their virtues. The power, so nobly 
exercised by Judas and his brothers, degenerated into 
despotism under their successors ; their religious zeal 
became ambition ; and the concord which had existed 
among the sons of Mathathias gave place to such pro- 
fonnd divisions that, sixty-six years before the Christian 
era, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, two brothers sprung 
from this illustrious stock, were compelled to invoke 
the arbitration of Pompey to adjust their feuds and dis- 
sensions. The Boman general, already master of Syria, 
solemnly adjudged their differences at Damascus, and 
pronounced in favor of Hyrcanus. Eesorting to arms, 
Aristobulus hazarded a desperate defence from the Moun- 
tain of the Temple ; but in vain, — defeat was inevitable. 
Hyrcanus remained sovereign of Judea, but under the au- 
thority of the governors of Syria and with the simple title 



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4 THE CHILDBOOD OF JESUS. 

of Ethaarcli. Jerusalem for the first time saw the eagles 
within her walls. Fompey crossed the threshold of the 
Holy of Holies, and gazed in astonishment upon that Sanc- 
tuary, devoid of idol or image. The sovereignty of Juda 
had run its course ; the servitude of Israel was begun. 

Very soon Hyrcanus lost even the shadow of command 
which had been spared him. Cfesar, the conqueror of 
Pompey, united Palestine to the kingdom of Edom. and 
gave the government of these countries to an Idumean 
of noble race, Antipater. FhasaSl and Herod, two sons 
of this prince, lent lum their aid in the administration of 
affairs, — one assuming the government of Galilee, the 
other that of Judea ; but their united efforts were ineffec- 
tual for the matutaioiDg of a peace of any long duration. 
A descendant of the Machabees, Aristobulus, the brother of 
Hyrcanus, made his escape from Kome, where he was held 
as a captive, and essayed to regain the throne of his fathers, 
aided by his sons, Alexander and Antigonus. The arms of 
the last-named prince alone achieved any success ; he 
made Phasaiil prisoner, and constrained him to take his 
own life. Herai, more fortunate than his brother, eluded 
their conqueror, hurried to Rome, and was declared by the 
senate King of Judea. After three years of conflict, the 
victorious Latin l^ons reestablished hia rule in Jeru- 
salem. This was in the year 37 before Jesus Christ. 

The patronage of Kome, which never belied its promises, 
Herod's own native genius for ruling, his union with 
Mariamne, the daughter of Hyrcanus, their former eth- 
narch, — all seemed to insure him a tranquil reign. Tet 
the Idumean found in his nationality, his unhoped-for suc- 
cesses, his own restless and suspicious nature, too many 
sources of disquiet to pernut of any peaceable enjoyment 
of his power. He could take no repose while a remnant 
of the Machabean line remained alive. Two princes of 
that family, as well as his father-in-law, — Hyrcanus him- 
self, broken down by years and misfortunes, — were the 
first victims of Herod's distrust ; then came the turn of 
Mariamne, the only one of bis wives whom he had really 
loved ; and finally, neither the two children he had had by 



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JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 5 

her, nor Antipater (sou of Doris, aud Ms first-bom) were 
spared the penalty of such suspicious. Only the death of 
the tyrant could set a limit to these cnieltiea. 

In vain did Herod beautify Judea with splendid monu- 
ments, in order to divert attention from the bloody trag- 
edies which encrimsoned his marble palaces. To the Jews, 
his vast amphitheati'es were the scenes of spectacles as 
detestable as they were abhorrent The Baths and the 
Porticos introduced novel customs ; and the Roman ef^le 
which spread its wings within the Temple profaned its 
sanctity. During thirty-four years the prince wearied 
himself in fruitless endeavors to make the people forget his 
origin and their servitude. Everything did but remind this 
nation, shuddering under his yoke, that the sceptre had 
indeed passed from the sons of Jacob to those of Esau. 

Amid this universal demolition of Judaic institutions, 
one body alone withstood the tempests and retained its 
authority ; this was the Sanhedrin, — the Kational Coun- 
cil, established by Moses according to some, while accord- 
ing to others it was first convened after the Captivity. 
The ascendency which the prophets and doctors possessed 
over the people in those days of exile, the absence of the 
priests and of all external surroundings of their worship, 
the debasement into which the royal family bad fallen 
after the return from Babylon, the difficulties surrounding 
any political and religious restoration, — all these consider- 
ations had led the Jews to regard this sovereign assembly 
as a substitute for the Monarchy. 

The functions of the Sanhedrin were to inter|>ret the 
Law, to adjudge more important cases, and to exercise an 
exact surveillance over the administration of affairs. Hence 
it became at one and the same time Parliament, High 
Court of Justice, and the supreme resort of instruction in 
Judea.' Its seventy-one ^ members represented the three 

^ Josepbna, Antiquitatea, xiv. 9, 3 ; Sanhedrin,, 19. 

5 Jewish writera ao not agree as to the number composing the body of 
the Sanhedrin. Tlie majonty suppose that thei'e were seventy-one mem- 
bers for a Insting memoriitl of that nrst Council of Israel, in which seventy 
elders took part, together wiUi Moses, who presided over their delihera- 



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6 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

classes of the aatioa : the Fiieats (that is to say, the chiefs 
of the twenty-four sacerdotal classes), with whom were as- 
sociated, under Hei-od and the Eomans, the Poutiffs {who 
were in tliis manner deprived of any temporal authority 
by their foreign masters) ; and the Sciibes, as doctors and 
interpreters of the Law; together with the Ancients, chosen 
from among the elders of each trihe and family. 

During four hundred years the authority of this Council 
had remained absolute, Herod was the first to sap its 
strength ; but shrewd as he showed himself in usurping all 
other powers, he could not entirely cripple the SanbedrJn. 
That mighty assembly continued its sittings in the very 
face of the tyrant, and survived his dynasty ; for we see it, 
under the Eomans, asserting its right to settle all questions 
of doctrine, to administer justice, and to direct in secret 
the movements of the people. 

This, then, is the poor ghost of authority to which the 
power of Israel was finally reduced ; yet what must be said 
of the deterioration of religion and manners ? The last of 
the Machabees had allowed the Pontificate to be dishonored 
by permitting the Scribes to assume a predominant influence. 
Belinquished to these doctors, so zealous to discuss iu their 
elaborate commentaries the most trivial minutiae, the laws 
became mere matter for futile argnnient; and the numer- 
ous Sects, each one arrc^ating to itself the right of interprets 
ing the Law, furnish a most striking proof of the decline 
of Israel. The fame of three of these great parties has 
lived up to this day, — the Pharisees. Sadducees, and 
Essenes , and (according to the testimony of Josephus i) 
to be acquainted with this trio is to understand the ethics 
and the morals of all their contemporaries. 

Whatever uncertainty we may feel as to the origin of 
Pharisaism, we believe its sources should be sought iu 

tions. Others, however, would raise the number to serentv-two ; these do 
not iiiclode Mosea vith the seventy Councillora, but hold that the other 
two repreaentatives were Eldad and Medad, tipon whom the Spirit of tlie 
Lord descended, when in nom|)any with the Seventy (Num. xi. IS-SO). 
Selden, De Synedriis, lib. ii. cap, ir. 
' Josephus, Bdlum Judatcitm, ii. 8, 2, 



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JUDBA Iff THE TIME OF JESUS. 7 

that isolatioD which the Law of Jehovah imposed upon 
the Jews aa a nation. To shun contact with idolatrous 
peoples, in order to preserve the worship of God in its 
purity, was one of the precepts constantly reiterated by 
Moses and the Prophets. On the return from Babylon, 
Esdras and Nehemiah insisted upon this point with all the 
more earnestness because the defences which they could 
erect about the Holy Laud were so feeble and ao frequently 
infringed upon. This exclusiveness became a duty still 
more rigorous when the Syrian kings made apostasy 
obligatory, and when the High Priests Menelaus and 
Alciraus betrayed the faith by becoming the allies of their 
persecutors. All the generous hearts that Israel could 
count upon henceforth entrenched themselves in their 
despair, forming a band of picked souls whose zeal pro- 
cured them the name of the Pietists, — the Assideans.' 

Under the leadership of Mathathias and his sons these 
children of Abraham had proved themselves invincible. 
Nothing was wanting of all that goes to make true hero- 
ism, — austere, indomitable courage, a noble scorn of death, 
a living faith in the God who was their Protector, and in 
the Angels, who were their ministers and His. But peace 
once reestablished, this impetuous virtue knew not how 
to restrain itself; zeal developed into fanaticism ; the love 
of fatherland gradually narrowed into a hatred of strangers ; 
to fly from their impure contact became a law for these 
Assideans, — a law which they desired to impose upon all 
Israel. From this, in fact, came the Aramaic name of 
Parouscb,* Pharisee (that is to say, a Separatist), which was 
given them by those Jews who opposed their teachings. 

Neither the Machabees nor the priests who surrounded 
them followed the- Pharisees in these views. Obliged to 
maintain political relations with other countries, yielding 
moreover to the attractions of power and wealth, the new 
princes of Judea rejected the maxims prescribed by these 
zealots; they confined their observance to the letter of the 

» O'TBTl, 1 Much. ii. i2. 

' * O'Eftla, From the root IftB, to separate. 



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8 TBE CBILDBOOD OF JESUS. 

law, to the sedacha} so highly praised in the holy Booke, 
and it was from this trait that they got the name of Sad- 
ducees (or The Just), to whom they were fond of likening 
themselves. Such, in the days of the Machabees, were the 
diverse tendencies of the Pharisees and Sadduce^s ; let us 
see how far they had developed their theories at the time 
of the birth of Jesus. 

Each proceeded along the downward path it had marked 
out for itself. The Pontiff kings and the chiefs of the 
sacerdotal body fortified themselves in their holdings, en- 
deavoring, in the administration of public business, to 
conserve their tottering forces by intrigue and shrewdly- 
planned alliances ; while, with the neighboring nations, they 
maintained their reciprocal relations with more rigor in 
proportion as the independence of Judea began to be more 
generally menaced. From this habitual intercourse with 
the Pagan world the faith of the Sadducees grew weaker, 
and the Epicurean doctrines, which so largely obtained at 
Kome, attained an influence over them also. If they really 
retained their belief in the Creator, God, they did not con- 
cede to Him any active participation in the government of 
the world. " The Law once given to the people," they 
said, " Jehovah withdrew into the repose of Eternity, and 
abandoned man to his own free-will, unchecked and un- 
heeded." ^ Very soon they came to deny the Immortality 
of the Soul, the Eesurrection of the body, and the exist- 
ence of the Angels.* Priests of Jehovah, for the most part, 
they still continued to observe the laws, and acquitted 
themselves of their sacred functions; but, even so, they 
railed t^ainst the scrupulosity of the zealots. 

" The Pharisees," they would say ironically, " torment 
themselves to no purpose in this life of ours, since they will 
gain nothing for their pains in this world or any other,"* 

The laxity of this aristocracy, full of disdain for the 
people and of friendly toleration for the Grentiles, had 

> TX^-Vi, rigbteouEuiesB. 

* Josephoa, Beltum Jtulaieum, ii. 8, U ; Anti^itaiei, xiii. 6, B. 

* Josephoa, Antiquitatw, iviiL 1, i. 

* Abolh of Rabbi Nathan, t. 



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JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 9 

been at all times a scandal to the Pharjsees, who there- 
fore showed themselves the more ardent to protect the 
orthodoxy which was thus threatened. According to the 
Eabbitiical expression, they multiplied " hedge after hedge" 
about the Law, and would have had their prescriptions as 
strictly obligatory upon all as were the Precepts of the 
Lord. To lend some show of reason to their pretensions, 
they asserted that there was no Commandment of which 
Moses had not given an oral interpretation. To collect 
these traditions and from them to construct a complement 
to the entire Mosaical ordinance, became their aim. Col- 
leges of learned doctors were formed to enter into the 
minutiae of these Rules, and the people who, since the 
Captivity, had ceased to understand the original Hebrew ^ 
of the holy Books, received these decisions as the words 
of God himself. The instruction which they received from 
the Pharisee-Scribes is, therefore, at this epoch, all the 
religion that Israel retained ; to discover what tliat Doc- 
trine was, it suf&ces simply to open the Talmud.' 

No speculative theolt^y, no considerations concerning 
the Divine Being, or the Soul, or the end of man, or the 
things of Eternity ; only ardent discussions as to puerile 
observances ; scrupulosity as to what was lawful pushed 
to the last extreme of absurdity, while but faintly and ■ 
infrequently does some inspired sentence recall the God 
of Horeb and Sinai Past all doubt the Pharisees guarded 
the Law of their God most faithfully ; yet, in that Law, 
the exact payment of Tithes, interminable Ablutions, and 
especially the observance of the Sabbath, absorbed all their 
attention. It would be useless to enumerate the one thou- 
sand two hundred and seventy-nine Rules which a Jew 
must have always before his eyes, if he would not violate 

' 2 Ksdnia, riii. 

' It waa not until the siith century that, throngh the efforia of Rabbi 
Kabina and Rabbi Jose, who were iit the head of the Schoola of Sora and 
Pumpadita, the Talmud was given to the world in an nvailable farm; bat 
in the year 168 we find Babbi Simon, the son of Gamaliel, already begin- 
ning to oollaot the materials for that vast compilation. The traditions 
tLniTthe precepts then put in writing, had up to that time been transmitted 
by word of mouth in the Jewish schools. 



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10 TBE CBILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

the "Quiescence .of Sanctity," — the Precepts ordained for 
the conduct of guests at public banquets, the innumerable 
Contamination a to which all were declared to be exposed. 

Such a yoke as this was intolerable ; the Sadducees 
threw it off openly, the Scribes resigned themselves to en- 
during it, merely for the sake of appearances ; but, for the 
moat part, under their religious exterior, tbey concealed 
nothing but bigotry and hypocrisy. The Talmudic writers 
have torn the mask from the true features of the Pharisa- 
ism of their times ; nothing could be im^ined more mind- 
deadening and wretched in its effects than the Rules 
observed by these zealots, in order to regulate their com- 
portment and to overawe the masses. And so we see them, 
presently, in order to give an added gravity to their car- 
riage, shortening their steps so that their feet might always 
meet in their mincing gait Again, that they might never 
look upon a woman, some kept their eyes so obstinately 
lixed upon the ground as often to result in sudden col- 
lisions with the walls, while others, preserving a still more 
exact modesty, enveloped their heads in sacks and walked 
the streets like blind men.' 

If disposed to believe that these are but satirical ex- 
aggerations, that this picture ■ overdoes the reality, you 
need only turn over a few pages of the Talmud to discover 
how far hypocrisy was elaborated into a practical science. 
Read the ten chapters devoted to the " Eroubin," that is, 
the expedients to which it was permissible to resort in 
evading the Law, in the event of its becoming too incon- 
venient. For example, the " Sabbatic Rest " forbade the 
transporting of any load or burden further than two thou- 
sand cubits. In order to double this measure, it was enough 
to have deposited some food, the night before, at the fur- 
thest point in the legal distance. By this act a presumptive 
domicile was conferred, from which it was allowed to pro- 
ceed again for another two thousand cubits in any direc- 
tion.' Should the Pharisee perceive that one of his animals 

> Talmnd of Babyloa, SoUih, 22 b ; Talmud of Jeroaalem, Beratkot, ii. 
^ Etsai tuT VhiMoire et la giographit de la PaUalin*, dajrrii let Thai- 
m«dt, pftT J. Derenbourg, p. H3. 



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JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 11 

was about to die, he was permitted to kill the creature, 

without violating the holy ^bbath Eest, provided he awal- 
lowed a morsel, of the size of an olive, taken from the 
beast's carcass, thus indicating that he had been obliged to 
butcher it for nourishment. It was allowable for him to 
buy and sell also; the only precaution he must observe 
was act to pay until the morrow.^ We would not venture 
to add to this list the licentious excesses tolerated by the 
Rabbis, merely on condition that they were concealed 
under an impenetrable mask of secrecy,' 

Is it necessary to mention the fact that, however wide- 
spread among the masses was this decadence, there were 
many noble exceptions still to be found in Israel, many 
Scribes who were worthy descendants of the Assideans, true 
heirs of their faith and virtues. The Gospels speak the 
piaises of more than one,* the Talmud names still others, and, 
among the first of all, stands HilleL His poverty, borne 
with such dignified serenity, his steadfast, unswervinfi 
constancy, his zeal, his charity have rendered him justly 
celebrated. It was he, indeed, who instructed the contem- 
poraries of Jesus in maxims almost Christian in spirit: — 
" Love and strive after peace." 
" Love mankind and reconcile it to the Law." 
"He who mf^nifies his own worth debases it." 
" What am I, if I neglect my soul ? If I have no care 
for it, who will take care of it for me ? If I do not tliink 
of these things now, when shall I do so ? " * 

Dazzled by his epigramniatical brilliancy, many have 
unreasonably exalted this Rabbi by attempting to make 
him an historical peer of the Christ. They foi^et that 
Hillel never accomplished anything which can be com- 
pared to the works of the Saviour,^ Like the other Doo- 

' Bsiai sur Vhistoire el la g^ographie de la Palatine, <raprit tea Thai- 
muds, par .1. Derenbourg, p. 144. 

^ Talmud of Babylon, Kiddousckin, 40 a ; Ohagtgak, 16 a. 

' John jii. 1 ; xiiL 42 ; xix. 38 ; Mark xv. 48 ; Luke xxiii. 61. 

» Aboih, i. 11, 14. 

* " Hillel will never pass for the triia founder of Christisnity. In 
Ethics, »a in Art, words count for nothing, deeds are everything." (Kenaa, 
Vitde Jism, T.) 



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12 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

tors of hia day, while commeutating upon the Pharisaic 
laws, he coniined Iiis efforts to making that yoke bearable, 
and spoke only in the schools of Jerusalem to a stnall 
group of chosen disciples. Indeed he even shared in the 
disdain of the Scribes for the poor and humble ; this 
hauglity saying comes from him : " Ko man without edu- 
cation can escape evil-doing; no man of the common 
people has ever attained unto piety." * In a word, Hillel 
was an illustrious Scribe, Jesus is God. Between such 
there is no comparison possible. 

And finally, we have still to speak of the strangest of 
all the Jewish sects, — the Essenes. On the western 
borders of the Dead Sea, where the streams of Engedi 
empty into the lake, a verdant oasis gladdens the eye, 
wearied with those desert stretches of land, devastated by 
the fire of divine retribution. In its green recesses there 
lived (quoting the words of Pliny) " an eternal people, 
where there was never any one bom."^ No woman, no 
child, was ever found among them ; youths only were ad- 
mitted, and only after long probation. The Kssene, on 
the day of his reception, received the white garment in 
which he was robed at all the repasts of the community, 
the towel-cloth needed for his numerous ablutions, and an 
instrument which served as axe or spade, and designed for 
cutting and digging trenches and sewers, in which all ref- 

' McOaul, Old PaOis, p. fl, 158, etc. What s difference tetween the 
Saviour's teaching and the puerile trifles which Hillel discusses ! One of 
hia celebrated discourses deals with this weiKht; qnestion : " Is it lawful 
to eat an egg which a hen has laid during a frast day, when this feast falls 
npon a Sabbath ? " Actually this inquiry seemed so serious to the Rabbis 
of the period that a whole Treatise in the Talmud has taken its name from 
it {The Egg Book, Betsa). Even when Hillel's teaching is most admi- 
rable, it is too often incomplete and unsatisfactoiy. The moat gracious of 
all hia maiima (borrowed from Leviticus xii. 18), "Whatsoever thou 
wouldst not desire for thyself, do it not unto thy neighbor," omits all duties 
which man owes to his God, for the great Rabbi immediately adde ; " In 
this lieth all the Law, the rest is naught but a commentary upon it." 
{Sabbath, 31 a). We hare pnrpositly kept the Uabbi's weak points in the 
background, — sucli strange decisions, for instance, as the one in which be 
declares thai a husband may disown hi» wife on the most Frivolous pretexts, 
as that of serving him with a badly cooked meal. (QiUin, BO.) 

' Fliuy, Bidoria NaturalU, v. 16. 



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JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 13 

use vas buried with the greatest care, lest by any unclean- 
ness they should sully the purity of the sun's rays. A 
rigorous discipline was imposed upon all ; absolute obedi- 
ence, perpetual abstinence and mortification were obliga- 
tory ; their only punishment was excommunication, by 
which the condemned man was constrained to live upon 
herbs, and thus die slowly of hunger. 

What were the hopes, what were the fanatic dreams 
which could sustain the Essene in his rude lifel It is 
hard indeed to tell, for a terrible law sealed their lips and 
on the rack of torture they refused to expose their mys- 
teries. All that any one knows to-day is that they wor- 
shipped the Sun ; that they believed, like the Pythagoreans, 
in an ethereal soul, which is, for a time, confined within 
the body. Their aversion to the sacrifices of the Temple, 
and for the flesh of animals, theii- linen vestments, their 
prohibition of speech, all remind one of the Orphics^ 
whom Plato knew. Yet what was, in reality, the teaching 
of this Sect ? No one can say with any certainty, for it 
was not long-lived, and it kept its secret to the end invi- 
olate. However, it matters little or nothing so far as it 
aflects the history of Jewish religions, since the doctrine 
of theae ascetics was never popular; being confined to the 
initiated, it had but a feeble influence upon the general 
populace of Israel. 

If we wish to understand the feelings and thoughts of 
these averse Jews, we must look to the writings of that 
period. So, listen to this paragraph, found in the Book of 
Enoch : " In those days there shall he a wondrous change 
for the elect. The light of day shall shine for them with- 
out shadow and without night ; all majesty, all honor shall 
attend upon them. In those days the earth shall render 
up every treasure which she possesses; the Kingdom of 
Death also, Hell itself, and all that has teen intrusted unto 
them . . . The elect shall build their dwelling within a 
land of delights ; a new Temple shall be erected for the 
Great King, more spacious, more resplendent than the 

' Pauly, Seal MaeydoptedU : Orphbvs. 



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14 THR CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

first, and all the flocks of the earth shall be led thither 
unto sacrifice." " In that place," pursues the author of 
. these Messianic dreams, " I see a never-failing fountain of 
justice, whence flow innumerable streams of wisdom on 
every side, and all those who have thirst shall come hither 
and drink. . . . From over that new Earth the ancient 
heavens shall fade away, to give place unto another heaven, 
wherein the stars shall give forth sevenfold more light 
than before; and thenceforth the innumerahle days shall 
succeed each other in an happiness that shall know 
no end." ^ 

Their Sybilline Oracles have added to this description, 
so flattering to the senses, further promises of a felicity 
more terrestrial still. " The people of the Mighty God 
shall bathe in seas of gold and of silver, their garments 
shall be of purple ; all lands and oceans shall pour their 
treasures at their feet, an<i the Saints shall reign amid 
unceasing delights. The tiger shall graze side by side 
with the kid ; the olive tree shall be crowned with imper- 
ishable fruits ; milk, whiter than the snow, shall spring 
up from the fountains, and the young child shall play 
with the asp and the serpent without fear."^ It would be 
easy to multiply quotations. The Fourth Book of Esdras, 
the Psalms of Solomon, the Jewish writers of Alessandria, 
bear witness everywhere to the same longings; every- 
where we find these dreams of a people aspiring to a 
higher destiny, to a fuller fruition, yet looking for it only 
amid the things of earth and from temporal pleasures. 

All, indeed, as we have pointed out, did not partake of 
these material sentiments. In this degenerate people, in 
the midst of this carnal Israel, the spiritual Israel was still 
alive, a chosen band, predestined to be of the Kingdom of 
the Christ, holy souls who, by piously pondering the in- 
spired truths, had therein discovered the proper lineaments 

1 Das Bvek Henoch, ilberaetrt von Dillmann, xc, ici. 

^ These quotations are taken from the Third Book of the OracUa, which, 
with the excoption of a few frsgmenta (v. 1-96, 818-S2S, etc.), go as far 
back as the times of the Machabeea (Orncuia Sihytliita, edition of Alei- 
andria, ii. p, 818). 



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JUDEA IN THE TIME OF JESUS. 16 

of the picture which Prophecy had painted ot the true 
Messiah. 

In the very hour of man'a fall God had declared to 
Adam that One should be born of the seed of the woman ; 
and thereafter He set apart, from the race of Sem, one 
people, of tlie stock of Abraham, and from that people one 
tribe, — the tribe of Juda,^ — from which was to be born 
the Messiah. 

That mysterious Figure stands forth still more clearly, 
more perspicuously, as the years hasten on toward the 
realizing of all expectation of Him. As Moses sees Him, 
He is a Prophet, his equal in power ; in David's eyes He 
is a King, His Son, heir to his glories, as well as his mis- 
fortunes.* His very Name is discovered to the Psalmist ; 
this King of all times to come and of the timeless Eter- 
nity is to be called the Anointed of God, the Christ, the 
Messiah.^ One after another the Prophets added each a 
line to the limning of this portraiture which foreshadowed 
the advent of Divinity. Bethlehem is to be His birth- 
place, Galilee His native land, a Virgin His Mother.* He 
will preach the Good News to the pure and humble of 
heart He will enter Sion mounted upon the foal of an 
ass.^ He shall be despised and rejected, led to the slaugh- 
ter as a Lamb ; His vestments shall be parted, lots shall 
be cast for His tunic. His liands and His feet pierced ; 
vinegar shall moisten His lips.* Yet shall He become 
subject to the malefactor's death only that He may show 
forth the glory of His Kesurrection ; His soul snatched 
from the deep pit, and His body from corruption, that 
He may seat Himself upon the right hand of Jehovah, 
henceforth to reign forever in the world of human hearts.' 

Prophecy had been advanced to this point of certainty 
when Malachy appeared, the last of the Seers. It was he 

1 Gen. iii. 16 ; ix. 26 ; lii. 3 

' Deut. K^iii. 18; 2 Kings v 

' Pb. iliv. 8. 

» Miub. V. 2 ; la. ii. 1-7 ; yu. H i 

' Zach. ix. 9 ; la. liiL 3, 7. 

» Ps. uL 19 ; ui. 17 ; Irviii. 22. 

' Is. id. 10 ; Pa. IV. 10 j cix. 1. 



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16 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

who finished the painting, by hia foretelling of the pre- 
cursor of Jesus. This Herald of the Messiah would arise 
from among the children of Levi; so then the Prophet 
fixes his gaze upon that tribe. If he scourges the vices of 
the priesthood, their scandalous alliances with the daugh- 
ters of Gentiles ; if he proclaims a New Sacrifice, offered 
from the lising unto the setting of the sun,' and casts aside 
as worthless the defiled oblations of Israel, it is to prefigure 
the Forerunner, as he was to separate himself from the 
Levites, going forth before the face of the Messiah, pre- 
paring the way for Him : " Presently shall He come to 
His Temple, the Saviour whom you seek, and the Angel 
of tiie Testament whom you desire. Behold, He cometh, 
sayeth the Lord of Hosts," ^ 

Such was the Messiah for Whom all true Israelites 
waited in expectation ; such the Precursor, to be sent 
before Him, and of whose birtli Saint Luke will give ua 
the account 

' Mftl. ii. 1-11 i i. 10-12. " Id. iii. 1. 



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OHAPTEB IL 
THE BIETH OF THE PRECUESOR. 



L The Vision of ZACHARr. 

Luke i. &-2G. 

For four ceaturiea the world had waited for the fulfil- 
ment of these Prophecies. The reigu of Herod had almost 
reached its end; and the old king, beglDning at last to 
realize that he was descending slowly, surely to the tomb, 
stands out a lonely figure in the paliice which his blood- 
stained hands had made so bare and empty. Uneasy 
forebodings disturbed the souls of men. Suddenly from 
Jerusalem, and from the Temple,' a voice broke the silence 
of suspense in words that spoke deliverance and salvation. 

Among the many Levites of that time, there was a 
priest named Zachary, of the family of Abia, the eighth of 
the divisions" which, by turns, took part in the divine 

' We speak of the holy City and the Tempts in tbia Life of Jesna ao 
very often, thut eoidb description of them seems neeessary. It will be 
- foand in Appendix I, 

*'Ef ^^ij^fplai : Luke xv. 'E^ij/iepfa (properly, the ministry of eaeh 
day) ill this connection refers to the religious services performed during 
the week by the priesthood, divided into twanty-four clttsses, l<u(ether with 
the company of Levitea who were empltyed in their aliottea functions. 
This arranfreraent was instituted by DavicI, who left the rank of each class 
to be decided by lot (1 Par. xidv. 5; 2 Par. ixiii. 5 ; Joaephus, Antiqui- 
ialea, vii. 11). The Captivity had, it is true, disturbed this onler, ennce 
only four of the sacerdotal Families tetiimed from Babylon ; but tJieir 
members were diatributed once more into twenty-four classes, and each 
group kept its primitive title as it it were composed of the actual descend- 
anta of that Levite whose name it bore. Thus the sacred ministry was 
restored in the same form which it had st the foundotion of the Temple 
(1 Esdras, ii. 36-82 ; Lighttoot, HortB Sebrafae, in I.uc. 1, 6). 



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18 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

service. Kednced as they were upon the return from 
captivity, the sons of Levi were not slow to incieaae in 
number; and thus they were soon forced to seek resi- 
dences outside of Jerusalem, in the ancient sacerdotal 
cities.' Hebron and Youttah* had seen their levitieal pop- 
ulation returning to the old homes, and it was probably 
the latter of these towns ^ which was the dwelling-place of 
Zachaiy. Situated to the south of Hebron, and at some 
considerable distance from it, Youttah stretches along the 
slope of a hill, in the lieart of the mountains of Juda. In 
this retreat Zachary lived with his wife Elizabeth, who was 
also of the sacerdotal tribe. The sequestered pair " were 
just in the sight of God, and walked without reproach in 
the commandments and laws of the Lord." * Yet they found 

' FollowinB their ancient customs, the Levit* 
foiiuance of me sacred music resided in villRgen 

28; 1 Paral. is. 16); but the priests, whose min _ 

to the Temple twice it year, lived at a distance, in the sacerdotal cities 
of Juda. 

S Josue, XV. 65; xxi. 18. 

* Luke i. 39. The tradition which gives Hebron as the home of Zachaiy 
only goes back to the ninth century (Asta Saiittonitn, xxiv. junii) ; anci, 
further, there is little likelihood that S. Luke, if he were speaking of 
such a well'known town, would have employed so vague a term as "the 
city of Juda." Whenever he nses this expression he adds the name of 
the place as well : xJXit HaiUftr (Luke ii. i) ; *-oXtt 'llntrii (Acts xi. G. 
etc). 'loilja is in all probability only a softened pronunciation of the 
Hebrew 'loira Youttah (ilO*'), for the Greek i is frequently used where 
the Hebrew has O. This hypothesis, first proposed by Eeland, has been 
adopted by the m^ority of modem critics, among others by P. Patrizi {Be 
Eva-ageliii,\\h, iii. diss. x. cap. i.), and Robinson ffi^i'cai Kes^arcAes, i. 494, 
note : 206, note). On the other band, M. Gu^rin {Judie, tome i. chap. 6) 
and Frfere Li^vin {Guide Indicateur), Collowing certain Iitcal traditions, 
have preferred to locate the biithplace of the Baptist near to Jerusalem, 
and so have fixed upon Ain Karim, which has the Desert of John and the 
Monastery of Mar Zachana In the vicinity. But to our mind these vague 
indications are not enough to outweigh the authority of the ancient tra- 
ditioDE!, which give llie region about Hebron aa his native country. 

* Luke i. 6. 'ErroXaJ, the precepts of the natural law, confirmed by the 
decalogue (Rom. vii. 8, 13) ; tinauiiiiara, the positive precepts added to 
the law of nature (Rom. il. 28; viii. *). "AiSpad^i tiftiXaJf riW^oXoi /«w 
ml tA Suauti>iMTi liov (Gen. xxvl. 5). This distinction, though it is the 
only one which can be drawn between these two terms, ia nevertheless 
neither very certain nor always reliable ; it is enough to read over Psalm 
civiii. in order to be convinced that they were ofton to be regarded as 
synonymouB expressions. 



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BIRTB OF THE PRECURSOR. 19 

their piety put to a severe test ; for, childless while they 
. were botJi far advanced in age, they had finally lost all 
hope of God's ever blessing them by raising up ofl'spring 
to the barren daughter of Levi. 

The time drew round for Zachary to join his associates of 
the Class of Abia, and to fulfil his functions in the Temple ; 
he therefore took his way to Jerusalem. Each Class was 
accustomed to decide the division of the various offices by 
lot; that of Incense- Burner fell to the husband of Eliza- 
beth.' It was tlie highest of all the sacerdotal duties, and 
was performed with a solemnity of ritual which it behoves 
us to describe more in detail. 

The altar of gold, whereon was ofl'ered the sacrifice of 
perfumes, stood in the midst of the Holy Place, between 
the Seven-branched Candlestick and the Table of the Bread 
of Proposition; only a single veil separated it from the 
Holy of Holies, despoiled in Zachary's time of its Ark of 
the Covenant. Everything about the Sanctuary must be 
made ready beforehand, — the ilames of the lamps trimmed 
and brightened, the ashes removed from the lUtar, and a 
fresh fire enkindled upon it before the entrance of the priest. 
Upon hia appearance all stood aside, and the people, crowd- 
ing back beneath the porches, prayed there in silence.* 
The officiating Minister alone advanced within the Holy 
Place, and, at a signal given by a prince of the priesthood, 
must cast the precious perfumes upon the flame ; then, 
having bowed down before the Holy of Holies, he receded 
slowly, stepping backwards, that he might not turn his 
face away from the altar. A bell gave warning of liis 
withdrawal and the Benediction which he bestowed upon 
the people.* Immediately Levites intoned the sacred 
hymns, and the music of the Temple, combining with their 
voices, formed a symphony so powerful (the Eabbinical 
writers say) that it could be heaivi in Jericho.* 

Although this ceremonial was observed twice every day, 

1 Luke i 9. 

' Luke i. 10.* Tamid, 3, 6, 9 ; 8, I ; loma, 5, 1, etc. 

■ Num. Ti. 2*-2fl. 

* Li^htfoot, Hone Hebralca, in Luc. i. 



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20 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

— in the moraing and at evening, — the Jews never assisted 
thereat without a secret tremor of anxiety ; for the priest, 
who entered within the Sanctuary, was their Eepresenta- 
tive, and the incense burned beneath his hands was for 
a figure of the prayers of all. Should Jehovah reject his 
offering, if He should strike him to the earth for some legal 
impurity, then indeed would Israel be overwhelmed by the 
same blow. It was from this cause the impatience of the 
crowd arose, and the promptitude with which the Minister 
acquitted himself of his functions, that he might not pro- 
long the genera] emotion. 

But on this day these fears were quickened to terror ; for 
Zachary tarried much longer than the wonted time in the 
Holy Place.^ He appeared at last, trembling, dumb ; his 
lips so suddenly sealed, his gesticulations, his agitation, all 
declared that some portentous spectacle had burst upon his 
sight. Did he write down his marvellous vision at once ? 
The sacred text would not seem to imply as much. " He 
remained dumb,"^ it says; as if it would signify that his 
heart, as well as his tongue, refused to reveal immediately 
the celestial apparition, or that he would await that hour 
for disclosing it in which God Himself would open bis lips. 
This, then, is what Zachary at last made known. 

He was about to enter within when, to the right of the 
altar from which arose white clouds of incense, of a sudden 
an Angel appeared. Seeing this, terror overwhelmed the 
priest; but the Angel spoke to him:^ — 

" Fear not at all, Zachary ! Your prayer is heard ; your 
wife Elizabeth shall conceive a son, and you shall give him 
the name of John. This child shall be your joy and your 
delight, and the multitude shall rejoice at his nativity. 
For he shall be great before the Lord ; he shall not drink 
of wine nor of aught that doth inebriate, and he shall be 
filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. 
He shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord 
their God ; and he himself shall walk before Him * in the 



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BIRTH OF THE PRECURSOR. 21 

Spirit and might ^ of Ellas ; that he may turn the hearts of 
the fathers unto the children,' the unbelieving unto the 
wisdom of the righteous,* and prepare for the Lord a perfect 
people." 

Malachy, whose prediction the Anoel here recalls, had 
foretold that two Forerunners should herald the Messiah's 
appearance : one, John the Baptist, was to announce His 
fimt Advent;* Ellas, the other Envoy of Heaven, in the 
latter days of the world, shall descend from his chariot of 
fire to prepare men for the return of the Christ.* Yet m 
spite of the diversity of their missions, John waa to be 

' Awd^t, the power, not of narkiog miracles, for this S. John seems 
not to have possessed (John x. 11), but the migbty force of his example 
aad the commanding efficac}' of his speech. 

* Malach. iv. 6, That power of drawing together the hearts of men, 
which prophecy reserves to Elias, does not mean merely reconciliatioa 
and peace between familiea, aa Meyer would have it (HaTtdbuch iiber dua 
Eoaiigetiam del Lukag, in loco) and Alford with him (Greek Testa- 
ment, in loco) \ it ugnihes such faith as that of Abrahani, and tbe 
mighty power of those first fathers of Israel livius again in their chil- 
dren. By reminding ua of the law given upon HoreD, Malachy shows 
clearly tliat he has these holy Patriarchs in mind : more than Uiia, the 
Angel, aTter having quoted tbe first worda of the Prophet, " He shall tarn 
the hearts of the fatnera unto the children," praceeda to explain what was 
to be tbe nature of this reconciliation : " He shall bring l^k the unbe- 
lieving to wisdom, and thus he shall prepaid for the Lord a people made 
ready for HLs coming." Hence it waa to be the ituty of Elias, as it was 
the Misidou of his prototype John, to arouse the fervor of olden days in 
the hearts of Israel. " Est senaus, ut etiam lilii sic intelligatit legem, id 
est Judiei, quemadmodum patres earn intellexenint, id est prophets, in 
quibus erat et ipse Moysea " (8. Augustine, De Ciinlale Dei, xx. 29). 

* •tp6rTiirn, the practical innate sense of justice, which makes ua do what 
seems right and good to us. 

' " Behold I send My Angel before Me, and he shall prepare the way. 
Presently shall He come unto His Temple, the Saviour whom you seek, 
and the Angel of the Testament whom you desire. Behold He cotneth, 
mththe Lord of Hosts" (Halach. iii. 1). 

" " Remember the law of Moses, My servant, which I have given you 
upon Horeb. Behold, I send you Elias the Prophet, before the day of the 
Lord, the great and dreadful Day; and be shall turn the hearta of tbe 
fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their parents, 
lest I come and strike the earth with anathema" (Malaeh. iv. i, S). Evi- 
dently tbe Prophet is speaking here of the last days of the world and the 
coming of Elias, and by using the words of this second prophecy in apeak- 
ing of John Baptist the Angel Gabriel would foretell how closely the lat- 
ter, by the holiness of his life, was to bear before tbe eyes of tbe world 
the |>erfect likeness of the Theshite. 



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22 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

another Elias, because in him would be enkindled the very 
soul of the .Thesbite, — the same strong spirit, the same 
glowing genius,^ a fieiy nature which should lead captive 
the sons of Israel by word and example, and bring them 
back to the virtues of their fathers. Engrossed in the con- 
templation of so perfect a resemblance, the Jews had never, 
in their thoughts of them, separated these two forerunners 
of the Messiah. 

God did not demand of Zachary a more illuminated in- 
tuition, nor that he should foresee clearly everything that 
the Angel's announcement implied ; all that was required 
of him was that he should believe implicitly in the Mes- 
sage, however mysterious it might seem. Too haughty for 
such simple faith, the Levite still demurred ; he dared to 
demand a sign before he would yield any credence to the 
divine communication. 

" How shall I know the truth of these words ? " he 
answered. " I am old, and ray wife is advanced in 
age." 

To overcome and dissipate this incredulity, the Angel 
deigned to disclose his own dignity. 

" I am Gabriel," ' he said, " one of the ministering Spirits, 
standing ever in the presence of Grod, whom the Lord has 
sent to speak to you and to announce to you these good 
tidings. Look you, therefore, you shall be dumb and shall 
not be able to speak until tlie day wherein these things 
shall take place, because you have not believed my words, 
which shall be accomplished in their time." 

Zachary must needs have humbled himself under the 
hand which chastised him. He retreated from the sanc- 
tuary dumb ; only by his signs of awe and terror could he 
respond to the breathless throng, now quite disquieted by 
his long delay, and at once all the people knew that he 
had seen a vision in the Temple. 

' Gabriel, VlJ "\^i, the man of God. It wonld Bsem as if the Almighty 
had made thisPrince of the Angela the special Minister of thfit which we call 
the greatest work of the Godhead, — the Incarnation. It was he who 
was sent to Daniel to announce the near Advent of the Saint of saints (Dan. 
tz. 21-24} ; and it was he who was soon to be sent to Hoi;. 



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BIRTH OF THE PRECURSOR. 23 

The daya of his ministry being fulfilled,' he betook him- 
self to his home. A little later Elizabeth, his wife, con- 
ceived, and for five months secluded herself, " because," as 
she said, " the Lord bath dealt thus with me, since he has 
willed to take away my reproach among men." Nothing 
could be more natural than this desire to retreat from the 
world. It was but seemly, indeed, to prevent the curi- 
osity and malice of rumor from busying itself with such a 
marvel as was this unhoped-for conception. 



II. The Circumcision of John the Baptist. 

Luke i. 67-SO. 

" The time being come for Elizabeth to be delivered,' she 

brought forth a son ; and her neighbors and kinsfolk being 
made aware that Grod had manifested His mercy towards 
her, shared in her joy, and on the eighth day they all 
gathered unto the circumcision of the infant." 

This consecration to the God of Abraham was celebrated 
in every family with solemn festivity. Ten witnesses sur- 
rounded the child ; while the father, or some other of the 
relatives present, made with an instrument of stone the 
bloody incision.^ Zachary did not perform the sacred rite 
in person, for his moveless lips could not pronounce the 
benedictions incidental to it. So also, when at the close of 
the ceremony they desired, according to ancient custom, to 
confer a name upon the child,* and would have called him 
Zachary after the father, the latter neither heard nor 
comprehended.* 

1 Lake i. 23-2S. J Luke i. 57-59. 

' Buxtorf, Sjpuignga Judafca, cap. tiL ; Otho, Lexicon }!abbinicailt, 
p. 133. 

* Luke i. 50-63. Children rfioeiva their namPH after cireiimcision, in 
memory of the events which took plnce at the institution of this rite. At 
that time Abram and Sarai changed their names to Abraham and Sars 
(Geu.xvii.). 

'Zachary waa deaf as well as datnh ; Ax^iunr kiii^s (Luke i. 22). 



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24 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

Elizabeth, however, withstood thsm. " No," she said ; 
" he shall be called John." 

" But," it was objected, " none of your kindred bear that 
name." 

She persisted none the less in her design. Turning to- 
ward the father, who stood before them a mute and wist- 
ful spectator of this scene, she asked him by signs what 
name he wished to give tlie child. 

Zacbary, taking up his tablets, wrote thereon, " John is 
his name." ' 

Then, while they were still filled with astonishment, 
suddenly the lips of the old man were opened, his tongue 
was loosed, and he spoke' aloud in thanksgiving to the 
Lord." At this prodigy their wondering delight gave place 
to fear and awe. From that dwelling, endeared to God, 
the thrill of emotion spread swiftly throughout the sur- 
rounding country; so that shortly, among the mountains 
of Juda, nothing else was spoken of beside these marvels i 
and those who heard the tale treasui-ed it up in thoughtful 
silence, musing in their breasts, " What an one, think ye, 
shall this child be?" For the hand of God was upon 
him. 

"With his hearing and speech Zacbary recovered the 
divine favor, and, filled with the Spirit, he prophesied. 
As sung every night in our churches, the Hyum of the 
holy old man is like an echo of the ancient prophecies of 
Israel. Jehovah visits His people to save them from their 
enemies, — from the hand of those who hate them; the 
Redemption is revealed unto the eyes of this Levite, e\'en 
as the dying Moses beheld it,^ aud as Ezechiel* and count- 
less othere had represented it, — -mighty and resistless as 

• The name John is an expreasion which signifiea Grace, or Mercy of 
Jehovah, ]?fi<X ; i" the Sepluagint "I-uaHtp (1 Par. vi. 9 ; xii. 4, etc.), 
from ri', Jfth, an abbreviated form of Jehovah, and nJH, grace. The namea 
of Zachary and Eliiabcth have s like mystical meaning. Zacbary reminds 
iw that Jehovah is mindful of His people '^?t, to remember ; D', Jehovah. 
Elizabeth alludes to the covenant of God ; 7t^ God ; aod 1)2V, to swear. 

* Luke i. 83-47. 

• Dent. Jixiii. 17- 

* Ezech. xxtx. 21. 



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BIRTH OF THE PRECURSOR. 25 

the horned frontal of the savage beast whicli spreads terror 
round about its path. Yet, beneath this rude imf^,'ery — 
the last vestiges of an almost vanished era — there is a 
tenderer tone which predominates withal. The salvation of 
Israel is no longer that which the carnal-minded Jews had 
fancied, — the triumph of their race, the joys and riches of 
this world. It is Salvation in righteousness and holiness, 
won by penitence and the remission of sins. The God of 
Zachary is no longer a Jehovah who, as He moves among 
men, sows horror and death about Him, but a God with 
bowels of merciful compassion, shining upon the world like 
a holy, beneficent Light. It is as if, very different from 
the mornings of earth, this marvellous Orient, this great 
New Dawn, would be made visible, not on the horizon, but 
on high, within the heavens,^ thus to make it manifest to 
the world that He came, not to consume it with the scorch- 
ing heats of noontide, but to spread about His pathway the 
pure light of a clear, cloudless daybreak. Hence, though 
Jewish in its form, this chant is essentially Christian. 
Struck with its beauty in the original Aramean, Saint Luke 
sought to reproduce, not only the thoughts, but the figures 
as well, foreign as they are to the genius of the Greek 
tongue. To this fact is due the obscurity and, at the same 
time, the peculiar charm of this Hymn ; — 

Blessed he tbe Lord, the God of Israel, 

because He hath looked down upon Hia people, 

and hath wrought their Redemption ; ' 
He hath raised up, in the house of David His son, 

an invincible power (as it were an Horn'), 

to be our Salvation ; 

I'AraroXit i^ Ifavt (Luke L 78). 

' Lake i. 68-79. Airpiairu', a moral deliverancB rather than the politi- 
cal enfranchiitement of the new Israel. 

» Kipas ; it is a metaphor suggested by the nature of cprtain wild animals, 
which are weak and defenceless if robbed of their horns and antlers, but, 
armed with those weapons, are so terrible when tliey stand at bay. "Tliia 
lUBJestie and awe-inspiring phrase, as it is used in Sr.ripture, expresses a 
splendor, and at the same time an incomparable strength, whereby the 
enemy ia to be scattered and dismayed " ( Boaauet, Jdyvatifma aar la mya- 
tireg, XT* semaine, iii* iUvatton). Kipas mniiplat, the genitive form. 



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26 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

(according to that which He h&th promised iih, 

by the oiouth of the holy Prophets, 

from the beginning of Time ;) 
a Salvation ' whereby He will preserve us 

from our enemies, 

out of the hands of them that hate ns i 
for the accomplishment of His Loving-Kindness 

unto our fathers ; 
and as a remembrance ^ of His holy Covenant, 

the Oath ^ which He swore to Abraham our father ; 
so that, delivered from the hands of our enemies, 

and freed from fear, we may worship Him, 
in rigbteousncsa and holiness * in His sight, 

even all the days of our life. 
And thou, child, shalt be called 

the Prophet of the Most High. 
Thou shall walk before the Lord, 

to prepare His ways, 
to declare" nnto His people Salvation, 

in the pardon of their sins, 
pardon through the bowels* of mercy 

of our God : 

which has the force ot a word i 
to be our Salvation (Winer, a 
ioms, 1867, par. 59, 8). 

' "Saintpliir may be msilc to d len 1 on i\i.\ii(i ; however, it would seem 
to be more natttntl to consid taSui ktX . as a parenthesis, nnd 
vuT^plar OS the development of this thought. "A Horn, a Salvation, 
. . . whose peculiar property it is to deliver ua from onr enemies." 

* IToi^ai ... mi /unTtrS^i : these two infinitives depend upon aurriplav, 
and thus declare the design of God in working oat onr salvation. 

* °OpKor, in apposition to SiaftjtJit, is pat in the accusative because of 
the ptaition ot Si' in the sentence : "The Testament of God to onr fathei's, 
that is, the Covenant He once niade with them." 

* The entire moral and religions restoration of God's people is em- 
bodied in those two words ; imirtit bestows a, divine conBecratiou upon 

* ToG Sovmi . . . iniiicates the end to which John was to look while he 
was thus jirepiiring the ways of the Lord, — spreading the knowled"e of sal- 
vation, and proclaiming that this salvation was to consist in a washing sway 

' Ai4 tfrXi£')Tc™''iust not be sepamled from the preceding phrase, ^fd^irn 
a/iapTiSr, the remission of sins accorded na by His tenUet mprciea, any 
more than from the following phrase ; /r oTi inftKi^ra, . . . that is, the 
bowels of compassiou batten in the Orient. 



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BIRTH OF THE PRECURSOR. 27 

vhereby a Star, risiug* to the heights of beaTsn, 

hath visited us; 
illuminiDg tbem that sit iu the shadow 

and ia the darkness of death, 
leadiug our steps within the paths of peace. 

The halo which overhung the cradle of John might not 
last in all its early splendor ; for the design of God was, in 
silence and in solitude, to form of him the greatest of the 
children of men. The glorified dwellii^-place of Zachary 
disappears immediately from our range of vision. All that 
we know is that God's Spirit came upon the Baptist even 
in his childhood and impelled him to retire to the Desert 
" The child grew," says Saint Luke,* " and his soul was 
strengthened, and he was in the Desert until the day of his 
manifestation in Israel." 

' 'AwiToXi) is the word by which the Septuagiot generallj trans- 
lat«a noV, " a branch," "»n ofTHhoot," whatever apringa up, darts out. or 
gushes forth, and hence the atreHitiing rays of light ; here, in all proba- 
bility, it refers to the Star of Jacob (Num. xxiv. 17), or, better still, to 
the Sun of Truth appearing uuexpeut«dly, not upon the horizou, but beam- 
ing from the suiutnlt of the great arch of heaven : ^J Bif/ous, " Tlie true 
Daybreak will rome upon us TroTii the high celestial places, inaamuch as it 
coueth from the Boaotn of the Father to enlighten our souls" (Boasuet, 
£l€mUioaa jut- lea myslires, xv« semaine, iii» Elevation). 

' Luke L 80. 



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CHAPTER III. 

THE INCARNATION. 



I. The Amnuncutioh. 

Luk« i. 26-S8 ; John i. 1-18. 

Rix months after the conception of John,' Gabriel re- 
ceived of God a new Mission. This time it was neither to 
the Temple nor to the holy city that he must needs betake 
himself, but to Nazareth, — an obscure village of Galilee. 
He was sent thither to a young kinswoman of Elizabeth, 
named Mary,^ who was betrotlied to a descendant of the 
House of David called Joseph. Sprung likewise from the 
seed of the Great King,* she was, according to the testi- 

' Luke i, 28, 

* Marj was of the Tribe of Juda (Lube i. 32), and Elizabeth waa a 
daughter of Aaron (Lukei. S). To nnderetand how they could be cousins 
(Luke i. 36), although belonging to different tribes, we need only suppose 
that their mothers were sisters und of the tribe of Juda ; and hence one 
might hare msmed one of the Levites, whei'eas the other found a husband 
in Tier own Family. There waa no law forbidding the Levitts lo lake 
wires from other tribes ; tlie High Priest was the only one who could 
wed none but the daughter of a levite (Pbilo, De Monardiia, ii. 11; 
Exod. Ti. 23). 

■ Nowhere in the Gospel is it distinctly asserted that Mary was a 
descendant of David ; nevertheless it leaves us to understand as much. 
For Jeans, indeed, was bom of her, not by any hiitnan commerce, but by 
the operation of a Divine Mystery (Matt. i. 18 ; Lake i. 34); therefore 
He is, properly speaking, her Son, and hers atone. Now, this her Son is 
called by S. Matthew the Son of David (Matt, i. 1 ; compare S, Paul, 
Rom. i. 8) ; very evidently this can only be understood to mean that 
Mary was likewise a dau^ter of the Great King. The moat ancient 
Fathers are unanimons upon this point, and the apocryphal gospels took 
the Mine viaw (S. Justin, Adverva Tryphonem, 28, 45, 100 ; S. Irennus, 



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TBE INCARNATION. 29 

mony of Tradition, the daughter of Joachim and Anna,' 
aud had but one slater, named, like herself, Mary. Her 
parents, being deprived of male offspving, had been forced, 
in order to insure the legal transmission of their property, 
to at&anee the two sisters to two young men of the same 
lineage,* 

We do not know what combination of circumstances had 
banished these descendants of the kings of Israel from 
Bethlehem, the home of their family ; yet we must believe 
that, sharing in the destinies of their race, they had all 
fallen into poverty and obscurity ; for neither their ances- 
try nor the prophecies which promised the throne to a Sou 
of David awoke the morbid suspicions of Hei-od. The lives 
of the betrothed pair in the retired vill^e of Nazareth 
were passed in complete separation from each other, and in 
a state bordering upon destitution. Joseph was a car- 
penter; Mary worked, as he did, with her hands.^ Thus, 
then, it was an humble dwelling-place, this cottage of 
Joachim and Anna, which the Angel from Heaven visited ; 
for, in accordance with the custom of the daughters o( 
Jitda, Mary was expected to seclude herself in the pri- 
vacy of her home from the day on which her troth was 
plighted. 

But it was not merely fur these few days that Mary had 
hoped to shelter her virginity within that lowly retire- 
ment A light, which never before shone upon the 
mothers of Israel, had discovered to her the value of per- 

Adveraua ffiBresea, 3, 21, 5 ; Julius Africanus, Epistoln ad Ariatidem, 
elc ; ProUvnngelium Jaeobi, 10). The Testament of the Twelve FaikeTa 
is the only one which dilfcra from the others ; this la.'^t makes the Messiah 
bom of Juda and Levi. It is hard to understand how Ewald, with only 
tllis solitary and untruBtwortliy authority, uaa hold that Jesus belonged 
\m the Tribe of Levi. 

• See Dom Colmot, Dictioanaire de la Bible : Joachim. 

' This hypothesis, founded upon the weil-knowti law contained m 
Uumhers (xiivi. 6), is the only one by which we can explain why Marj-, 
despite her intention to preserve her Virginity, came to be betrothed to 
8. Joseph. 

' Matt liii 56. "An aneient tradition tells us that she too earned 
her own daily bread hj daily toils ; tJiis is why Jesus is called by the 
most ancient of the lathers 'fabri et qu:estuarife Filius.' " (Boasuet, 
iS^aaliara mtr let myiUres, xij' aemaine, 1" elevation. ) 



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30 THE CBILDBOOD OF JESUS. 

petual continence, and she was resolved never to know 
laaa.* How was she to reconcile this inspiration from 
Heaven with the promise made for her by her parents ? 
It was a period of perplexity and an agonizing ordeal, this 
to which Mary was subjected from the time of her be- 
trothal, and it was destined to cause her an even more 
profound trouble on the day of the Angelical Message.^ 

A little to the westward of Nazareth there is a fountain 
which bears the name of Maiy. The Greeks have erected 
close at hand their Church of the Annunciation. They 
hold that the Angel uttered his salutation to the Virgin on 
that spot, when at evening she had set out from tlie vil- 
lage on her way thither to draw water. This legend, taken 
from the Proto-gospel of Saint James, is not based upon 
any reliable foundation, and Christian art is more truly 
inspired when it represents tlie Virgin as kneeling in the 
privacy of her chamber at the hour in which the Angel 
appeared to her.^ 

Doubtless by those same vows of chastity she had has- 
tened the day of the coming of the Messiah, when the 
celestial messenger appeared before her eyes * and said : 

• The queation aalted by Maiy, " How may this happen, since I know 
not miin I has qo meaning at all unless we suppose that she had formed 
II steadfast rasolntion to remain a virgin ; for certainly she had only to 
look forward to the near fiilRlmeiit of her plighted trotb, and thus her 
natural motherhood would be the accomplisbment of the Angel's Mes- 
sage. It was only a reasonable conclusion which the Fathers drew from 
Mary's own words, that she had consecrated her Virginity to Heaven. 
(8. Augustine, De Virginilate, i, etc.) 

• Here we follow the opinion of P. Patrizi [De EvatigtUia, lib. i. diss, 
XV. cap. ii.), and with him we think that by these words S. Matthew 
means to liave us understand that Mary wa» only affianced at the time ot 
the Annunciation : 1Avri<rrtue(iinit . . . vfAt fl iivrt\Bf~a' airroit ... (i. 18) 
. . . Lteytpeiit ti i'lawij^ . . . wapiXa^ rij* yuKUKa aiirnS . , . (i. 2i). 
In fact, the reason given by Christian antiquity for the marriage of the 
Virgin was the necessity by which she would be h und to pre rve her 
honor as Mother of the King; but in olden tim would not be 
thought enough to know that she was betrothed wh n J a wa con- 
ceived I S. Hilary (in MaU. i.), S. Epiphanius (ffier \ x pa . 8), 
S. Jerome {in. Matt, i,), and S. John Chryaostom {Em Matt.) 
have all held the latter view, and their opinion se m t be th most 
plausible one. 

• m>rt\ei«. (Luke i. 28.) 
< Luke L %%-^. 



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THE INCARNATION. 31 

" Hail, full of grace,^ the Lord is with you ; you are bleased 
among all women." ' 

Yet, Iiaviug heard this, she was troubled at his saying, 
and she thought within lierself what could be the meaning 
of such a salutation. But the Angel resumed : — 

" Fear not at all, Mary ; you have found grace in God's 
sight. And behold you shall conceive in your womb and 
shall bear a Sou, and you shall give Him the name of 
Jesus. He shall be great, and He shall be called the Sou 
of the Most-High, aud the Lord God shall give to Him the 
throne oC David His father: He shall reign eternally iu 
the liouse of Jacob, and of His Kingdom there shall be no 
end." 

Mary had meditated much upon the Prophecies ; she 
could not therefore mistake the purport of the Angel's 
announcement. This child, Hon of the Most-High, King 
and Saviour of men for all eternity, — this could only 
be the Messiah ; and to her was to accme the honor of 
bringing forth the Desired of Days. But the daughter 
of David had resolved to remain a Virgin for God's 
sake, and despite this promise that she should be the 
Mother of a God she continued steadfast in her inspired 
design. 

Unable to make the Angel's words harmonize with this 



1 Exegetical critics of the Protestant persuHsion. in their anxiety to m-e- 
vent any cultiis of Mary, Ketierally render the word ttxuptnaiUin) by "thou 
who hast found favor with God ;" but the translation in tha Vulgatp, 



H plena," is that given by n m^ority of the versiona and by tlie 
Latin Fathers. The Church liaH never feared that this interpretation 
would give any occaaion fur superstitious worship ; she has always known 
how V> mark with perfect clearness the diHerenee between the plenitudi- of 
grace which is in Jesus, and that which the Holy Bible attributes to Hary 
and 4) the Saints {Acta vi. 8). " Very diifei'euC ia the fulness of power 
which is in the waters at the fountain -head from llie plenitude possessed 
by the streams and channels which draw their life from it." (Maldonatus, 
inLue. i.29.) 

^ EfiXoyiifi^TI may signify, "blessed beyond all women," or " procUimeil 
blessed by all women." The lirst sense, which is the one adopted by the 
Vulgate, seems more natunil, Tiachendorf Hupprpsses this member of the 
sentence, and in fact it is not to be found in his Mnnnscript of Sinai, nor 
in that of the Vatican ; hut since it is in the text of the Latin and Syriae 
versions, and in the manuscripts of Alexandria, Ephraim, and Beza, we 
surely have grave reaaons for retaining iL 



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32 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

VOW, " How may this be," she replied,^ " since T know not 
man X " 

Gabriel immediately enlightened her. " The Holy Ghost 
shall come upon yoii," he said, " and the Power of the 
Most-High shall enfold you within His Shadow ; therefore 
it is that the Holy One which shall be born of you shall 
be called the Son of God. And behold your cousin Eliza- 
beth also has conceived a son in her old age ; and it is now 
the sixth month for her who is called barren, because 
nothing is impossible unto God," 

This was sufficient to insure Mary's entire abandonment 
to the Will of the Almighty. She bowed down before the 
yeraphic Messenger : " I am the handmaid of the Lord," 
she said ; " let it be done unto me according to Thy word." 
And forthwith the Angel withdrew I'rom her sight 

What happened then in the little liouse of Nazareth 1 

In one line John has expressed the unspeakable thought : 
" The Wonl was made flesh, and took up ite habitation 
with us." 2 The Word, — that is to say, the Eternal and 
substantial Utterance of God, His own, and only Son : " A 
Son who was not bom at the commandment of His Father, 
but Who, by puissance and by plenitude, flashed forth from 
His Bosom, God of God, Light of Light." ^ 

Of the Word we can learn little enough from the first 
three Evangelists ; so intent are they upon tracing the foot- 
steps upon earth of the God made Man tliat they speak of 
His Divine nature but mrely ; * yet this is not at all the case 
with John.^ The beloved Disciple of Jesus had drawn from 
the heart of His Master a relish and a perception of the 

' Luke i. 34-38. 

» John i. 14. 

' S. Basil, llrnliB de Fide, Horn, xxv. 

* "The otliei' tlirei- KvHugplisw, albeit they liad wallied the earth witli 
the niaJi-Coil, have siiid but little of Hin Divinity ; but this man [John], 
as though it irkeil him to walk llm earth, as if even at this, the very out- 
set of his apeakitig, the h«avene had thundered, hath raised himself not 
only aboTe our world, . . . hut above all thf hosts of Angels . . . 
anil, finding his way to Hini by Whoni all things are made, sayetS: In tlie 
beginning was the Word." (S, Augnstine, Jii. Joartnern, tract, iixvi. 1.) 

' The doctrine of tlie Word of S, Jobn and the origin of this term ia 
considered in Appendix II. 



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TBE INCARNATION. 33 

highest Mysteries. So when, following Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke, he took up his pen to write " that which his 
eyes had seen, his ears heard, that which his bauds had 
touched of the Word of life,"^ stilled in the thick atmos- 
phere of the lower world of thouglit, he spurns the air 
with strong eagle-pinions, and rising far aloft above tbe 
earth and the heavens, he penetmtes to the Throne of Him 
Whose hfe he would recount. From those fearful heights 
his first word rang forth like a peai of thunder upon tbe 
ears of the Christians of Ephesus, who kaelt in prayer and 
fasting round about him.^ 

" In the beginning was tbe Word, 

" And the Word was with Clod, 

" And the Word was God ; 

" He it is Wlio was with God in the beginning. 

" All things have been made by Him, and without Him 
is nothing made that has been made. 

" In Him was the life, and the life was tlie L^jht of men.^ 

" And the Word was made flesh," adds Saint John ; that 
is to say, has formed unto Himself a body out of the most 
pure blood of Mary, — the Eternal Father has produced, 

' 1 .TohQ i. 1. 

" " Eoolesiastiea narrat liiatorift, cum a patribas Joaunes cofjeretur 
ut scriberet, ita facturum se respondisiK, si, indiuto jejimio, in com- 
mune omnea Deaiu deprecareiitur ; quo vxpluto, revelltione saturatus, 
in illud prooemium caXo veuieas eruntarit : ' In principio erat Verbum.' " 
(S. Jerome, in Xattheeum, ProoBmiian; Kusebiiia, Hialoria Ecclesiaalica, vi. 
1 4 ; Fragment de Sfuratori.) 

* John i. 1-1. In tbe Bosom of God the Light is Lifa because the 
divine Attributes are only the diflereDt nspects of one only and infinite 
Action of the Godhead. Far away in those unfathomable depths the Life 
hath robed Itself in splendor, wherefore it is the Light and the Trutli, 
Several of the Fathers, among the rest S. JuBtiri [in Joan., Tmotatua 
L 16-lH), punctnnte this passage diA'erentlj': "All thinga that have beeu 
tuaile are the Life which is in Him, and that Life is the Light of men ; " 
that is to say, all creatures, before they were called into existence, were 
couteuiplated and foreseen by the Word. Therefore, in their conception 
(when they weie the perfect models of imjierfeet things) they formed tbe 
subject of His high Counsels, and thus by partaking of His thoughts, thev 
also had part in Him, even as He is ; they were like Him, the Life Itself. 
The masterpiece of the aitist only exists in the intelligence which has 
conceived it ; for canvas and tiiarUe cannot convey the contemplated ideal. 
So it is with created things : they can find their completion only in that 
Eternal Thouglit, wherein everything is Life and the Light of Life. 



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34 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

in the bosom of the Virgin, that 3aine Son whom He has, 
from all eternity, begotten within His own Bosom. lu 
that all-happy moment, this blood, this vii^inal body 
found itself pervaded and absorbed by God : " The Word 
was made flesh, that the tiesli might become God."^ 

And this union was not to he transitory ; for the purpose 
of the Word is to consummate His nuion with man, " to 
dwell amongst us," "to pitch His tent* in onr midst," 
which is the force of the woi-ds used in the original text. 
This last word of the Evangelist carries an allusion to the 
luminous cloud which had enveloped the Tabernacle long 
^o to show that Jehovah sojourned in the midst of His 
people.* In the time of Jesus, the sanctuary of Herod 
was empty of its Ark of the Covenant, nor did its curtain of 
glory any more screen the Holy Receptacle. John shows 
how the Word did take up its abode in the midst of Israel, 
of a truth. " He has pitched His Tent in our midst," he 
says, " and we have seen His glory," not blazing by brilliant 
intervals, as did ttiat of the ancient Cloud, but streaming 
upon the world in rays of splendor, which are the efful- 
gence of grace and truth, — Grace, by which we mean the 
Life divine that animates our souls ; Truth, by which we 
mean the Light of God that illuminates them. 

"We have all received of this fulness," he pursues;* "a 

1 John i. 14, " Verlmnj caro factum eat, ut cam fieret Delia," 
(S. Ambroae. ) 

2 'BTK-^mrti'. (John i. 14.) 
' Tlie pavilion for the Ark b 

ttpiieared JEsod, xl. 32 ; " 
dedicated, we again see 

awful to behold: "Nei . ... , . ^ ■ 

acquit themselvea of their functions, by reason of the Cloud, because the 
Glory of Jehovah had filled the holy House, and Solomon cried out ; 
Jehovah hath said that He wonld pitch His tent in a Cloud." (3 Kings 
viii. 10-12.) And then, when this ceremot^ was concluded, the Divine 
Vapor was no more visible from without its 'l^bemacle, and yet all Israel 
knew that it still abode within the Holy of Holies, between Uie Cherubim 
wliiuh overshadow the propitiatory with their wings, and that so Jehovah 
continued to make His hahitation in that mysterious Cloud until the day 
when Nahnobodonosor destroyed the Temple. 

* John i. 16-18. " Inlerposito breviter Joannis testimonio, peigit de- 
clarare illam quam dixcrat plenitudinem gratise et veritatis." (Janaeniua 
Ypreutiua, in Joan. L 16.) 



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TBE INCARNATION. 35 

grace more abounding has succeeded the ancient gifts ^ of 
Jehovah to the Jews." " Moaes did but give us the Law, 
we liave gained grace and truth by Jesus Christ. Mosea 
had never beheld Jehovah save through the splendrous 
mists of Siuai, — for never has any one seen God ; He, the 
one aod ooly Sou (the only-b^otten God,^ according to 
another reading), — He who, in the Bosom of God,* exists 
in His very Presence, — He alone can declare to us, of 
Himself, what He is." 

Such, in the eyes of Saint John, was the Salvation 
which the Son of Mary came to accomplish. The Truth 
must, then, at Its Incarnation, illumine the eyes long 
blinded to the light;* grace must tiow in cleansing streams 
there where sin had soiled the very springs of our natural 
life ;* and the Word, embodied in our flesh, must repair the 
ruined handiwork of the Creative Word, of the Word 
Which was in the beginning. 



II. The Visitation. 



In those days Mary, rising up, went in haste toward 
the mountainous country, to the city of Youttah.* What 

' " Gratiam pra gratia." " The New Covenant in place of the ancient 
ailinnce." Tliia interpretation, wliich ia also that of tlie Greek Fathers, 
seems Xa ua tlie most natural oue. The diHerent meanings given to this 
jiassage may be seen in Father Corluy's work. {Commmlariua in Etan- 
gelitim Joannia, p. 36.) 

* The reading lavayn'^ Tltt is to be found in the Latin versions, in the 
Syraiu of Cnrrton, and in the majority of mannscripts, as well aa in the 
Latin Fathers. But the othrr form, funvyeviit 6idi, has also an imposing 
array of authorities, — the manuscripts of the Vatican and Sinai, the 
Codei Ephrtemi, the PrshJto, S, Theodotus, 8. Epiphanns, and Didymns. 

"'0 Ovdj Til- itoXxoi- does not mean: " He Who reposes in theB<^oni of 
the Father," ^r- t^ 'i\irii>. On the contrary, the preposition tli with the 
accusative sonifies that the Wold is living, opcrattog within the Bosom ol 
the Father, Degotten by Him, and ceaselessly turning back upon tbia Its 
Well-spring of Life. 

* 'AX^iia (John L 17), as opposed to rd ^ (i. 4). 

* XdiMj (John i. 17), as opposed to M (i. 4). 
■ Lnke i. 39. See above, p. 22. 



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36 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

prompted her to undertake so long a journey? — one so 
unusual, too, when we recall how strict was the seclusion 
which custom had imposed upon a young Jewess after her 
betrothal ? i Are we to believe that Joseph, having liad 
knowledge of Mary's state, rejected her, and that she 
sought consolation in the society of Elizabeth, as well as 
escape from the hard-heartedness of luen ;^ or, better still, 
was she not led by a longing to unbui-deii her lieart, which 
was now overbrimming with its new gladness, and so 
sought the company of a soul capable of understanding 
her ? Elizabeth shared with her in these bountiful bless- 
ings of the Lord ; thus she had been designated by the 
Angel as Mary's natural confidant. Was there i)ot in all 
this an adequate motive for the Vii^in's disregard of those 
rigorous Jewish customs ? 

It took only a few days for Mary to go from Nazareth 
to Youttah.^ She traversed Judea, screening herself lie- 
neath the veil of a humility already perfect, — indeed, so 
forgetful was she of the eminence to which she had beeu 
elevated over all Creation, that she gladly humbled herself 
thus, in order to discourse with her kinswoman of the 
divine honors vouchsafed to them. Wherefore, so soon as 
Elizabeth heard Mary's salutation within her dwelling, the 
child leaped witliin her, and revealed to her the Presence 
of the Incarnate God.* 

" You are blessed from among all women," she cried out, , 
"and the Fruit of your womb is blessed. And whence 
is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come 
unto me ?" 

This knowledge of the secrets of Heaven Elizabeth owed 
to the Precursor, who was aroused within the maternal 

I Philo D, S/ie t! b 1 1j'jbai m 31 Ketoviut vii 6 
^ This bypothesis has been adopted ly Longe, mho las made a poet 
ioal use of \t in hw Vie dc J€3 s bnt it la hardly probable that Mary 
would b&ve departed so tar f'om her usual luaidenl; reserre as to 
confide the secret of he i otherhooi] to Joseph and certainly tl eie uajj 
DO occasion for ber to do ai ju9t at thia time and before iier journev 
southwari 

' From Nazareth to Helro is ge era!l\ called a h t lajs journey 



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THE VISITATION. 37 

bo3om, that so he might salute Jesus ; this is what she 
declared, adding, — 

"So soon as the voice of your salutation came to my 
ears, the child that I bear leaped in my breast" Then, 
i-eflecting upon the incredulity and chastisement of her 
husband, which set the serene faith of Mary in so much 
higher relief, — 

" Blessed," she cried, " is she who hath believed that 
the word which the Lord hath spoken to her shall be 
accomplished." * 

Amid these transports of surprise and joy Mary remaiued 
calm and recollected ; her lips opened at last, but it was to 
praise God for this new lai^ess of His bounty toward 
her, for His providence toward the world, for His mer- 
ciful goodness to all Israel ; these three ideas sustain tlie 
burden of the whole Magnificat^ 

" My soul doth glorify the Lord, 

and my spirit^ is made esoeeding glad 

in God my Saviour. 
Because He hath regarded the lowliness 

of HiM handmaid : 
and behold all generations 

shall proclaim me DIeased. 
For the All-Powerful hath done great things to me : 

and Holy is His Name ; 
and His mercy reactieth from age to age, 

unto those who fear Him." 

Turning from the marvellous effects of the Eternal 
Holiness, the Love Eternal, in her regard, Mary's glance 
sweeps over the world ; it seems to her flashing vision as 

'Elsewhere S. Lnke gives this same itenae to 8ri {Acta xxvii, 25). 
The Vulgate translates it differently : " IJeata, qiiie orpdidisti, quoniani 

Erfieieotur ea ijuie dicta sunt ttbi a Domino." " Blesned nrt thon who 
st believed, because those things shall be act-oiupliahed that were spoken 
to thee by the Lord." 

* Luke i. 40-5S. 

* *u>;i) is the soul consiilcnHl in its relations to the body whereby 
it gives it life. IIvcE/ui, an the othei hand, is used 
immaterial and mare clrvated Httributi'Ei. 



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38 THE CHILDBOOD OF JESUS. 

lying proatrate at the feet of that Almighty One, Whom 
she knew she was soon to bring forth unto it. 

" He hath showed forth the Might of His arm, 
He htkth scattered those who were proudly elated 

iQ the thoughts of their hearts. 
He casteth the powerful headlong from their thrones, 

and hath lifted up the humble. 
He hath filled the hungry with food, 

and sent away the rich with empty hands." 

This great upheaval in hnman destinies must result in 
the triumph of the veritable Israel, and in this thought 
the sacred Canticle finds its final note of joy. 

" He hath taken under His protection 
Israel, His servant, 
Being mindful of His mercies to Abraham 

and to His people, from generation to generation." 

Nor need we marvel at the sight of Mary pouring forth 
her feeling under this poetic form. In the East, where 
song is the natural expression of every emotion, ouly a 
few thoughts are requisite to the development of a poem. 
Inspired sinjply by the remembrance of the hymns of 
Israel,^ and by the grace of which she was the spotless 
Vessel, the Vii^n, uplifted upon the wings of the Divine 
Spirit, drew from her enraptured soul the measure of this 
Canticle, as simple as it is sublime.^ 

' P. Patrizi {De. Evangeliii, lib. iii. dissert, xi.) hm collected the paa- 
aagea in the Old TpstAinent whiuh Mnrj' may have hod in miud wlivu sbe 
broke forth into licr (^nnticle of joy. Nothing eonld show better how 
she had grown up with tlie knowledge of the holy hooks ; for almost eveiy 
phra»e which she aseit had been already consecrated 1^ tiMsooiation with 
the revealed word. 

' It ia tlie opinion of some modern critics that the Msgniticat in liut a 
(loeticol abridgment of such conversations «s took place dnriug those 
months which Hary yiassod with her kinsfolk. Thus their sim|>le words 
were finnlly tranBforini>d into a 3ong, which of course would be religiously 

Preserved in n family tike that of Zachary, and so would vonte to the 
nowlcdge of S. l.ukc. This supposition seems to na as uncalled for as it 
certainly is unnecessary. 



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CHAPTER IV. 

THE NATIVITY. 



I. The Appearance of the Angel to Joseph. — The 

Census of Quirinius. 

Matt. i. 18-25; Luke ii. 1-15. 

Afteh nearly three months passed in her cousin's home, 
. Mary returned to Nazareth.^ That she was soon to be a 
mother was, of course, at once made known, and Joseph 
was made acquainted with tlie bitterest of all human 
sorrows.^ He could not hesitate as to the duty of repu- 
diating this affianced maiden, whom honor would not per- 
mit him to retain ; yet, as " he was just," and knew the 
severity of the Law towards the sinning woman, he resolved 
to spare Mary.^ The betrothment, considered among Jews 
as sacred as tlie marriage tie, like it could be broken by 
divorce ; * but although the Act of Separation was public in 
its nature, yet, in certain cases, usage allowed of its being 
drawn up in secret.* Joseph chose this plan, which was 

> Luka i. 36, 

'Matt. L 18, 19. 

' Dili the laws which ordered that the sinfiil wife be put away and pub- 
licly deDQUUced alao apply to the faithlesa betrothed ? There ure good 
reasona for doubting it ; however, public opinion appears to hav? obliged a 
lover te renounce an unfaithful maiden. (Selden, Hwn- Ebraica, lib. iii. 
cap. iviii.) 

* Selden, Uxor Mr., lib. ii. cap. i. ; lib. iii. cap. xviii. 

^ There cannot be any question here of a jiublic divorce, for Joseph's 
intention was not to defame the character of Mary (Matt. i. 19). So too 
there is little likelihood that Joaeph could have contemplated a aepantion 
by common consent and without letter of divorce, since the Law formally 



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40 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

at the same time in accordance with his duty and his 
giief. 

But while he was sadly poQdering this step the Angel 
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said to him,* 
"Joseph, soa of David, be not afraid to take unto you 
Mary, your espoused ; for That wliich is born in her is of 
the Holy Spirit. She shall bring forth a Son, and you 
shall give to Him the name of Jesus ^ (which means a 
Saviour) ; He it ia Who shall save His people from their 
sins." " This," adds Saint Mattliew,^ " was done to ac- 
complish what the Lord had said by the mouth of the 
Prophet:"* "Behold a Virgin shall conceive in her womb, 
and shall bring forth a Son, and He shall he called^ 
Emmanuel, that la, God with ua."* 

When Joseph bad arisen from his sleep, he had no 
other thought beyond the desire to fulfil the command of 
the Angel. He was eager to repair the unmerited outrage 
Mary had suffered in liis thoughts. Nuptial ceremonies at 

forbade any such course (D«ut. iiiv. 1). All he wishwl was \a acquit 
himseir of the legal rormalities. And aa secretly aa possible. Now, nUhoiigh 
the deed of divorce was ostensibly a public aet (Ewald, Alteiihiktacr, 
p. 224), theifl is nothing to show that it could not be effected privately, 
and Abarbanel supposes that under teitain circumataneea the cause for 
breaking off the covenanted union was not disclosed. (Buxtorf, Dc 
Diixrriio.] 

' Matt. i. 20, 21- 

^ 'I^iraDt is the same name as Jehoshua, plOV^', in the Law and the 
prophecies; Jeshoua, JfU'?, in the hagiographies. The name signifies "the 
Salvation of the Lord." (See Philo, De Mutalioae nominwn., par. 21,) 

» Matt. L 22, 23. 

' Isaias vii. 14. In regard to this prophecy, and particularly as to the 
real mesning of the word HoSj), consult Les trois grands pmphilea, par 
M. ly; Hir, pp. 58-80, and the same writer's £tiides bibliques, L i. 
pp. 84-87, 

' KaXiffoiwu'. The Hebrew has OK^P. " Verbum Caraik, quod omnes 
inter|iretati sunt Vocabia, potest intelligi et Vocabit ; quod ipaa scilicet 
Virgo qiue concipiet et pariet, hoc Chriatum appellatura sit nomine." 
{S. Jerome, in loeo.) , 

^'Eitiluxmvp,, "God with us," 7K tlBy. Nowhere do we read that 
Jesus was ever called by thia name ; hence we can only look npon it " as 
one of those mystical titles which the Prophets give in a spiritual sense, in 
order to express certain effects of the divine power, without any conseqaent 
nscesuty that the person thus described use it as his sutname." (Boaauet, 
iStvtUvna sur Ut laysUra, xvi< semaine, iv* ^evation. ) 



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TEE NATIVITY. 41 

once ushered the young spouse into his house, but " he knew 
her not," pursues the aacred text, " until the day wherein 
she brought forth a Sou ' and gave to Him the name of 
Jesus," Not that after His birth Joseph ceased to respect 
the virginal temple in which Jeaus was incarnate. Chris- 
tian tradition has always shrunk with horror from the 
thought that Mary, whose taintless blood had mingled 
with the blood of a God, could ever have forfeited the 
purity of trod's Tabernacle, the habitation of His over- 
shadowing cloud, and the Ark of the Loi-d. Saint Mat- 
thew's only thought here was to emphasize the miraculous 
nature of her maiden Motherhood, and to declare the ful- 
filment of Isaiah's prediction that " a Virgin shall conceive 
and bring forth a Son." ' 

Nazareth, which was to be the abode of Jesus for many 
long years, did not witness His birth. The prophecies had 
reserved tliat glory for Hethlehem ; and the whole world, 
at the destined hour of His birth, was disturbed, that these 
predictions might be accomplished. " In those days," says 
the sacred text,^ "an enrollment of the empire brought 
Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the edict which pre- 
scribed it emanating from Augustus." This prince, at that 
time, held the whole world in his sovereign ^rasp. The 
adopted son of C^sar, he had inherited his projects, and 
of these the most considerable and wide-reaching iu its 
consequences consisted in a registration of the Roman 
world.* This general taking of statistics was to include a 
valuation of all the resources of the provinces, and a reap- 
portionment of the tax-list. Interrupted for a while, the 
work of Caesar was pushed forward again by Augustus, 

'The mtijorit}' of the versions (Vulgate, Peshito, Ethiopian, Arme- 
nian) give the text : tA* Tllm ain^s Tit rpui-rirBKoi; whiuh we find in the 
Codex Ephnemi and tliat of Bezs. The Syriac of ('iiietoii and the msnu- 
Bcripts of the Vatican and of Sinai have ainiply 'tejccv TIAv. Theophylactiis 
and EuthytniuB, who have the reiuling rpan-liToiaii', also odd that invaluable 
conimentaiy xpun-oi mil nirot, " lirst and only." 

' Matt. i. 22, 25, 

* According to jEthicus Ist«r (Cimitographia), the decree of the Senate 
which ordeTed this work dated as far bock as the consulate of Julius 
Ciesar and Anthony, 44 B. c. Compare Oroaus, lib. i. 2. 



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42 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

who, besides a description of the various lands, added a 
recapitulation of their subjects. Twenty Commissioners, 
whose probity had recommended them to the favor of the 
prince, were despatched into the countries which bore the 
yoke of obedience to him/ and there they devoted twenty- 
five yeare to this work.^ The result was inscribed by the 
hand of Augustus himself, in a Book called by Suetonius, 
"Statistics of the Empire."* "It was," says Tacitus, " a 
pictorial reflection of the imperial acquisitions ; herein 
one might see how many of the citizens and of the allies 
were under arms, the number of fleets, kingdoms, prov- 
inces, tlie revenues from tribute and toll gatlierers, an esti- 
mate of necessaiy expenditures aa well as of perquisites." * 
In what year did the decretal for this universal census 
become operative ? It is difficult to decide. The three 
censuses attributed to Augustus upon the bas-relief at Aq- 
cynis * seem to refer simply to the regular numbering of the 
people of Home, made by the Censors once every five years. 
Apparently Augustus promulgated this edict when, feeling 
himself to be at last absolute master of the Empire, he 
forthwith devoted all his enei^es to its consolidation.* 

1 Suiilas, Lexicon, 'Aratpaip^. Casaiodoms, Fariarum, tib, iit. 52. 

* ^thiciis tells us that it lasted twenty-foui- or twenty-fire years. See 
Bitschl, Vcrviasung der BomUdun Seinhi, and Egger, Examen des His- 
toricna cCAvgui^, p. 50. 

' Suetonius. AitgustjD, 101 : " BreTiehnm iinperiL" 

* Tacitufl, Annnles, i. 11. Dion Casaiun, Ivi. 33. 

^ AugnstuH bad commanded that a rcpivsentation of his mighty deeds, 
as written out by himself, should be graven upon brass sbont the base of 
hia mausoleum m the Field of Mara {Suetonius, Aag-adua, 101). The 
town of Ancyrus bad this inscription copied upon marble, and placed it in 
the temple which it raised to the god Augustus. These last tables, very 
much mutilated, have come down to us. The matter is clearly explained 
in the ExploriUioa anhMogique of MM. Ferrot and Guillaume, and in 
Mommsan'a Res gestce diei AvgusH. 

* M. WaUon (De la Croyaace due A I'^itlnnmle, partie ii. c. ii) has 
proved that the silence of Tacitus, Snet«nius, and DEonysiu.i Cassius, does 
not invalidate the existence of this edict, sjid that the testitnonv of the 
land-surveyors of Casaiodoms and Siiidas implies some snch Act. "We will 
only cite this passage from FrontinusT "Huic addendce sunt mensunp 
limitum et terminorum ex libris Augusti et Neronis Cieaarum sed et 
Balbi mensoris, rjui, temporibus Anguati, omnium provinciarum et cin 
tatum formas et mensuras compertas in commentanos retulit et legem 
agrariam per nniversitetem provincianim distinxit et declaravit 



LiOOglc 



THE NATIVITY. 43 

Even the allied kiuydoms must needs make this act of 
gubmissioii, aud Saint Luke informs us that its perform- 
aiice was brought about in Judea at the time in which 
Jesus was born,' "This first enrolling," he adds, "was 
made by Quirinius, Governor of Syria ; " ^ in other words it 
was made autlioritative by Saturnimis, as TertuUian tells 
us;^ was continued under his successor Varus; and hence 
it could not have been consummated until the time when 
Quiriuius first took in hand tlie government of Syria.* 

Ten years later this same distinguished ex-consul, hav- 
ing been despatched to Judea to reduce it to the condition 
of a Roman province, found himself obliged to rectify his 
earlier efforts, and to make a new census in order definitely 
to regulate the tribute. From this fact comes the care 
with which Saint Luke would distinguish between the two 
enrolments.* If the first baa left fewer traces among Jew- 

I It has been asked how this census, ordered l>y Augustus, could be 
made to apply to a kingdom which had kept jts autonomy and ita king. 
Til understand this we must reinemhei' that tlie States so allied to Komi! 
were considered as part of the Empire (Suetonius, AuguUua, 48 ; Strabo, 
xrii. ; Tacitus, Annale>, i. 11 ; vi. 4t), and tliat Judea in paiticular wa;< 
kept under Augustus's personal direction. After iKins aubjngated and 
mails liable to tiibute by Ponipey, it owed the shadow of liberty which it 
still possessed to Kerod'a shrewd political aililreas. This prince was at 
first protected by Octavius, as he had been by C£es«r; but his cucessea, and 
the war nhteli he dectai'ed on his own rcapunaibility agalnat the king of 
Arabia, drew from the Em|>eror tlmt severe admonition: "Hitherto I have 
treated you as a friend ; henceforth 1 shall treat you as a subject " (Joae- 
phus, Aatiqailata, xvi. 9. 3). In this way he was informed that Judea 
would be reduced to a Koman province ; after that announcement, what 
p|se was to be expected but that Augiiatus would extend the schedule tii 
include this country, if only as n preliminary step to a more complete 
subjugation ! 

»Lakeii. 2. 

' TertuUian, Adixraiis J/nrciii»eni, 17. 19. 

* Tlie researches of Zunijit aud of Mommsen have finally established the 
fact that Qnirinins was twice Govcnior of Syria at the time of Herod's 
death (750), and ten yeara later, as is expi'csitly told us by Jose]ihns 
[AntiqHUata, xviL 13, 6 ; xviii. 1, 1 et 3, 1. See Mommsen, Res grata: 
diiii Aiigitati, and Zuniiit, De Syria Ramniia pTomvcia, pp. 97, B8). 

" Joaephua, without mentioning this first muster in no many worda, 
seems to allude tn it, however; "Six thousand Pharisees," says he, " re- 
fiisfld to awear, when all Judea took the oath of fidelity to Cresar Augustus 
and to the interests of the king." And he adds that the names of the 
nonjurors were bronglit to Heroi^ tvho fined them (Josephus, AnU^Uatet, 



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44 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

ish annals, and caused no such bloody revolts ' as did the 
second, it is because it was merely a description of the 
peoples and their goods, involving neither any levy of 
taxes nor military service ;^ but most of all is it due to tlie 
fact that Herod was still alive, and, by shrewd political 
address, was able to manipulate the workings of this en- 
forced enrolment. In fact we can see how this Roman 
Census, taken under the eyes of the Imperial Commission- 
ers was, notwithstanding, administered according to Jewish 
forms. 

Now the Isi-aelites were in the habit of taking an ac- 
count of their population, not in their place of residence 
or birth, but by assembling themselves according to the 
Family and the Tribe, whence each one had sprung.^ A 
muster of Judea, therefoi-e, was nothing less than a revi- 
sion of the Genealt^icai Tables. These precious Archives 
were carefully kept and higldy treasured by the particular 
city which was by way of being regarded as the first 
fatherland of each Family. David was born at Bethlehem ; 
it was to this town therefore tliat Joseph must betake 
himself, "for he was of the Tribe and Family" of the 
Great King.* 

Two of the Evangelists had held in their hands the 

jivii. 2, 4). Hence the oath wns accompanied 1jy a regiBteiing of naiiie?;, 
and as the time in which it was enforeed (about 718J tallies \nth the date 
nrJudea'a subjection to the Roman Censas, there is good reason to sup- 
pose that they were one and the same event. (See Sanclemen te, De vul- 
garit eerie emaitdatioiie, lib. tii. 3 ; Pntriri, De Evangeliis, lib. iii. dissert, 
xviii. 33.) 

'Acts V. 37; Josephne, AiUigiiilolea, xviii. 1, 1; Bdl-am Jiidafeam, 

^ M. Wallon has aet forth the very valid reasons for holding this theory 
in his learned dissertation npon the Cenans taken by Qninnivis {De la 
Croytma: due d VSvanfiUe, part. H. chap. iii). 

* When in the desert of Sintu God commanded Moses to number the 



S. Luke, oIkoi and rarpii, con'espond to those which ne jini! in the Hebrew 
teit: n^na^n, which designates the Tribe, TOTptd (Luke ii. <), and 
n>3« ni3, the hoo.sehoId of the fathers ; that is, the various Families 
whicb composed each Tribe, oi«o! (Luke ii. 4). 
• Luke ii. 4, 5. 



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THK NATIVITY 45 

Genealogical Tables of Bethlehem ; naturally each searched 
therein after what would most clearly support his indi- 
vidual point of view. Saint Matthew, occupied in the 
collection of evidence which would reveal in Jesus, the 
King and the Messiah promised to Israel, for his part only 
demanded of these Archives an endorsement of Joseph's 
royal ancestry. Saint Luke, writing for the Gentiles, inter- 
ests himself solely in the natural filiation, and he shows us 
in what oi-der of generation the second Adam traces His 
lineage np to the first man, and thus to God Himself.^ 

One might very well marvel that the sacred historians, 
who have given us these genealogies of Joseph, should have 
passed over in silence that of Mary, if it were not so well 
known that, according to the teaching of Tradition, the 
Virgin was a near relative, probably the niece, of Joseph,^ 
and that, in consequence, her paternity corresponded with 
that of her husband. The family trees of the parents of 

' As to the genealogies of S. Matthew and S. Luke, see Appeudix III. 
^ 111 what degree of kinship did Mary stand to Joseph ? Aa Scripture 
ia silent on this point, we must consult Tradition ; and a careful examina- 
tion of all the testimony has led onr sobei'est critics to arrive at these con- 
clusions ; (1) that Joseph (of the house of Panther) had two brothers, 
named Cleophna (Alpheus) and Joachim ; (2) that Mary, daughter of the 
last named, was conseqnetiCl)' the ntece of Joseph. This opinion, althongli 
not certain, seems at least very well supiiorted by the facts (see the Bol- 
landists, Ada Sandonim, 19 Martii ; Zacharia, J^ocGOi^ di Diaacrtaz. t. i. 
diss. V. 3 ; and especially Father Patrizi, De EvaiigcUis, lib. iii. disBeit. 
ix. cap. XX.). Everything indicates that Joseph was still young wlirn 
he married Mary. "Without one exception,' says M. de Rossi, "every 
sarcophagus and monument of the first four centnries gives a type uf 
manhood for S. Joseiih which is very different from the fijfure we eii- 
eouDter nowadays ; lie is always represented as a young man and 
beardless [Bullclino di Archeologia crutifina, 1865. pp. 26-32, and 66-72. 
Compare with this Rome mulerraine, par Paul Allai'd, p. 332). It is 
only in the fourth century that certain Fathers, after consulting tlie 
apocryphal gospels, made S. Joseph an old man. S. Epiphanius even 
goes so far as to give his age as abont forty-four years. Onr more 
conservative theologians have not hesitated to discard these recent tra- 
ditions. "Juvenis, vel vir, triginta, quadragintave annomm," saya 
. -Suarez, in 3"° dim' Tluima:, disputntio vii. seetio iii. And foros- 
inuch as it was God's design to rover the maiden motherhood of Mary 
beneath the veil of maniaee, tlius to shield the honor of Jesus from idle 
rumor, so, likewise, no sacli unusual and siiocking ditrerenee in the n^tes 
of the pair would have been allowed, lest it should cusi a shade of ridicule 
u]Mn their union. 



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46 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

Jesua being the same; nothing could be more natural for 
the Evangelists than to set down these pedigrees just as 
they foiind them in the records at Bethlehem ; lor the Jews 
were prone to overlook the descent of their women-folk, 
by giving only that of the men. 



' II. The Nativity. 

Luke ii. *-7. 

So then, to inscribe himself in the Public Registers, the 
carpenter of Nazareth quitted his native liills of Zabulon. 
His young wife too, made the journey with him. Eveiy- 
tbing drew her to Bethlehem ; a secret inspiration from 
Heaven as well afi her affection for Joseph. Perhaps, too, 
there was some obligation for her appearauce in person at 
the enrolling, aa beiug the heiress oi' lier family. 

Four days of foot-travel separate Nazareth from the 
city of David. Mary, as her time was so near, made the 
distance very slowly, for winter makes the roads rough, 
and the holy Family journeyed on foot, doubtless, like 
other poor pilgrims. Leaving behind tbem the plain of 
Esdrelon, En-Gaimim, Sicheni, and Sion, about two hour.s 
from the last-named town they percei\'ed at length the 
dwellings of Bethlehem. 

This village is located upon a long and whitish hill, 
whose slope, covered with vines, oli\'e, and fig trees, forms 
a circle of terraces, rising one above another in regular 
curves, like steps in a stairway of verdure. On the sum- 
mit rests to-dfty a heavy pile of sombre buildings; it is 
the Chureli of the Nativity, which screens the holy Grotto, 
and round about it are the three convents built by the 
Latins, the Cireeks, and the Armenians. From tliese 
heights, at a glance of the eye, we can descry, far below us, 
the fertile valleys, the ancient domain of Boaz and of 
Jesse, the far-away pastures, where, protecting their herds 
from the mountain lions, there had grown up that intrepid 



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THE NATlVITr. 47 

race of Shepherds, which once supplied Israel with the 
noblest of her captaius. 

A3 they entered Bethlehem they would first encounter 
the hostlery, of which the Khan of luodei-u Oriental vil- 
lages is stilt a fair copy, a huge square enclosed hy porti- 
cos; here, under t!ie shelter of some rude galleries, tJie 
ground being i-aised a foot or two above the level, travellers 
are spreading out their mats \ipon the narrow platform, 
while all about them beasts of burden block up the court- 
yard ; such was the aspect of the place before which Joseph 
and Mary presented themselves. 

• The concourse of strangers in those busy days of the 
registration, the poverty of these late comers, the very 
condition of Mary, all promised the humble pair a cold 
welcome. So it happened that they received the reply, 
" that there was no room for them ;" ^ and despite their fa- 
tigue they must needs seek elsewhere for some restiug- 
placa The chalk-hills of Judea are honey-combed with 
innumerable caves. One of these excavations, close by 
the inn, was used aa a shelter for such beasts as the public 
stables were unable to accommodate. Hary, according to 
the testimony of Tradition,* could find no other refuge but 
this. And there, amid the straw which served as bedding 
for the beasts,* far from all assistance, on a cold winter's 

1 Luke ii. 7. 

' From the earliest tiiiioa Chivitiiuia have always regarded the stable 
in which JestM was born aa one of thoaa hill-caves. S. Justin (bom at 
Sicham about lOS) says iu ao many wards ; " Joseph, not knowing where 
to fiud lodj^iig^ in Bethlehem, withdrew to a. grotl« near the villa^ " 
{Advenva Tryiilu/nem, 78). Ori^n assures ns that they still showed, this 
cavern with the manger in his day i and beside this, wo know how fre- 
quently these numerous excavations &erve<l in Jndea as a shelter for 
animnls. It was in one of these letreats that S. Jerome passed tlie thirty 
years which lie consecrated to prayer and study ; ami it was close to the 
Crib that lie wrote the Vnlf^te and his famous Commentaries : and it wai 
there too that he wished to die. To-day the manger is no Inngt^ in the 
cave ; but n star of gold, lighted by sixteen hirnpN, stands out ajtninst the 
white marble slalis with which the walls are i^veivd, and an inscription 
recalls that upon this s])ot Mary brought the Saviour into the world ; Hio 
DB ViHGiNE Maria Jesus CHiitsTtts naius est. 

' The tradition which deckrea that an ass and an ox stood over the crib 
is to be referred to the first centiuies ; for in the year 318, we find Chris- 
tian sculptors making uae of it [Bossi, Jttacriptionea chrisliaiur, t. i. p. 51), 



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48 THE CHILDUOOO OF JESUS. 

night,* the hour came for her to be delivered, and she 
brought forth unto the world, Jeaua. 

The object of assault for nineteen centuries, this humble 
Birth, the adoration of some, to others has seemed but a 
folly and a libel. 

" Preserve nie from it all i " cried the impious Marcion, 
in the very first centuries. "Away with these pitiful 
swaddling-bands and this manger, unworthy of the God 
whom I adore." 

In vain did Tertullian 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." ^ In vain have all our 

Probably it baa no olber origin tban tbosa trords of Isaias; "The oi 
knoweth his master, and the ass the stahle of his loTd," which nas after- 
warda eupported t^ a misCakea iutfirpretation of Habacuc iii. 2. loHteail 
of the reajling, "Lord, Thou abalt make known Thy nork in the midst 
of the years, *^the Septuagint and the Italic Verwon have, "Thou shalt 
manifest Tliyself betu'(«n two animals " ('Er ^try jvo fibwr lyiMt^ri : " In 
m«dio duorum aninialiuui innote^ceria"). Hence, ivllhout doubt, arose the 
pious legend which bos been pei-petualed even to our day (see Tillemont, 

^ There ia no Itason to reject the tradition which Bxes the tventy-Gfth 
of December as the date or the Saviour's Katirity. It has ber □ generally 
accepted since the fourth century, and the modem Chronologista have 
rai'ely disputed it. Wieseler {Chronologtxhe Syiiopse der Evangdim, 
p. 140] prefers to put it in the beginning of Januaiy, and certainty it 
could not have been later than the first days of February, since Jesus 
C'biist waa pi'esentcd in the Temple forty days after His Birth ; and the 
Presentation must have preceded the month of April, which ia the date 
of Herod'a death. S. Luke, it is true, shows us tlie shepherds iHssing the 
I night out in the pasture-lauds at the moment of Jesus' birth, and, accord- 
yng to the Talmudists, this waa not their cuttom exc*pt in the period from 
Mai'ch to November. But the writei's, whose testimony we now quote, 
were only speaking of the general practices of the country, and it might 
well be that at Bucli a juncture, when strangers were pouring into Bethlc' 
hem, the people thereabouts would put their flocks out to pasture in the 
more sheltered valleys, in order to make room in their stables for the beaata 
of burden which otherwise would block up the viliage streets. The tem- 
perature is not the aama over all Palestine ; thus, although the valley of 
the Jordan escapes the sharpest spells of winter, still, almost avety year 
snow is visible along the mountains. Even on the fifth of April, M. Guerin 
h]is I'ecorded a heavy fall of Know covering the streets of Jerusalem {SoTna- 
Tip, t. i. p. 47). During five veara, the highest temperature observed by 
Barclay in that city was 33° ; the lowest. 3o.3 ; medium, IT", 

1 On^cuniqne ailhuc ut pusilla et inliJina et indjgna colligitis ad do- 
Creatoria, simpiiui et certa ratione proponam : Deum noD 



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THE NATIVITY. 49 

Doctors who have followed him made manifest to us the 
High Counsel, so full of wisdom and merciful compassion, 
which moved the Word Incarnate to this Self-abasemetit ; 
the God that was bom of a woman and laid in a manger ' 
has offended the haughty spirit of man, and Mareioa's cry 
is repeated still from century to century. 

Without going as far as this in their impatient scorn, 
the Christians of this same era sought to d^nify the hu- 
mility of their God by fanciful prodigies. They would 
have us believe that the glory, which Jesus rejected, envel- 
oped His cradle ; that Mary, upon her entrance into the 
sombre grotto, filled it with a noon-tide radiance ; that the 
Angels, in robes of splendor, hung over them in trailing 
legions ; that the stars retarded their heavenly motions to 
contemplate the Birth of God, to shed upou Him their 
gentle rays ; that the manger itself was resplendent with 
a great lustre, and that alt eyes were veiled, unable to 
sustain the gorgeous glare.* 

Very difl'erent from this is the simple story of the Gos- 
pel ; here there is no outward pomp ; all the glory of the 
crib lies in its inherent loveliness. It is only the soul 
that is illumined by it; 'tis to the heart alone it speaks. 
Furthermore, we must not forget that here, by anything 
we add to the Majesty of the Clirist, we detract just 
so much from His Love. The Word, in oi-der to save 
us, has not disdained the womb oi a Virgin ; why, 
then, should we blush at the lowliness of our God ? The 



potuiflse humanos congi-essua inire, nisi hnmsnoa et sensus et ftflectua 
suseepisset, per quos vim majestatis sum, ititolerabilem ntique humaine 
mfdiocritati, humilitate tempcntret, sibi quidem indigna, homini nutem 
necessflria, et ita jmii Deo digna, quia aihjl tam dignum Deo, quam aalus 
homiQis" (Teitulliao, Adeeriut Mareioium, lib. ii, cap. xxvii.). "Quales 
et quanti eum fasces proiiucerent ! Quails purpura de liumeria ejus floreret ! 
Quale auruni de capite I'adtaret, nist eloriam sieculi alienam et sibi et suis 

{'udicasset ! Igitur qua noluit, rajecit ; quie rej«cit, damnavit" (Tertul- 
ian, De IdiioUUria, cap. xviii.). 

1 This crib, made of elay, was the manger of the animals which were 
stublad in the cavern (Tillemont, M€moires pour scn-ir a F hisloire eaUei- 
aalique, t. i. p. 418), 

'Arabian Ooapel of Ike Childhood, iii.; Apocryphal Gospel of S. 
MttttheiB, xiii. 



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50 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

more profound it appears the more it forces us to love 
Him.* 

Kevertheless, though Mary knew all the natural cares of 
motherhood, she was yet unacquaiuted with all those evils 
which are the penalty of sin, — the sorrows and the heavy- 
heartedness iuto which all daughters of Adam must fall' 
We should not even say that her Motherhood was like that 
of Eve, in the age of innocence ; I'ur as she was a greater 
than Eve so hers was the unparalleled happiness of pre- 
serving her Virgin purity in hearing the Divine Child." 
When Jesus was born, it was as when the ripe fruit is 
parted from the branch that bore it, so cheerful, so com- 
fortable, and attended with all joys was the coming of the 
Christ-Child into the world* 

So Saint Luke shows us this Virgin Mother, immediately 
upon her deliverance, lavishing upon her Holy Infant the 
cares ordinarily left to strangers ; she envelopes Him iu 
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 did necessity. Cover Him, Mary ; cover that ten- 
der Baby body ; shield Him in thy maiden bosom ! Dost 
understand thy Motherhood ? Hast tlioii not any pertur- 
bation 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 iiojirish Him, what time 
the Angels summon new hosts of invisible worshippei-s." * 

' S. Jerome, Adversyu Helxtidiuin, 18. 

^ Suaraz, Disp. Jtiii. m S*" dial Thomtc; Cnjetan, in Z'" diet Thmaa, 
quiestio xxxv. art vi, 

' "Virgo ante psrtnm, in partn, post partura " (S. Augustine, Sermo 

' S. Jerome, Adveraus Hehidiiim, 8. 

6 Luke ii. 7. 

* Bosaiiet, £l€Balimi3 aur lea myiUrea, x\i* semaine, iii' elevation. 



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THE NATIVITY. 51 

III. The Adokation of the Shepherds. 

Lute ii. 8-20. 

To the east of Bethlehem there extend toward the 
Dead Sea one of the greenest of valleys. In olden times 
there stood in that place " the Tower of the Heids," ^ near 
which Jacob had pitched his tent, there to mourn his 
dearly loved Bachel, Kuth had gleaned in those happy 
fields, and the boy David tended there liia fathei-'a ftocks. 
To-day, in that same valley, the olive trees overshadow a 
lonely crypt. Consecrated to the Holy Angels, this sanc- 
tuary marks the spot over which the heavens were opened 
to reveal to Earth the coming of its Saviour.^ 

" Certain of the shepherds," says Saint Luke, " were 
guarding their flocks and keeping their watches through the 
night. Then suddenly the Angel of the Lord appeared 
unto them, the glory of the Lord* enveloped them in light, 
and they were seized with a great terror." For to the sons 
of Israel no splendor could emanate from the skies, with- 
out recalling the flaming heights of Sinai and Che dread 
Jehovah, Whom no man might look upon and live.* 

Straightway the Angel reassured them, " Be not afraid," 
he said; "I am come to announce good tidings of great 
joy unto you and unto all your people. To-day, in the 
city of David, is born to you a Saviour, the Christ, the 
Lord j' and behold the sign by which you shall know him : 

' Migdal Eder. Gen. xiiv. 21 ; S. Jerome, lAber de sHu et jiominibus : 
Bethlehem. 

" We are confirmed in our fidelity lo the traditions which place the 
apparition of the Angels at Deir Er-Ralouat. The objections which M. 
Guarmani has made agaiiist this time-honored belief do not appear un- 
answerable ; thej are clearly set forth and learnedly discussed by H. Guerin 
in his Deacriptioa de la Jiiddc, cliap. vii. 

■ Luke ii. 8-12. Doubtless bv those words : !i£a Kuplou, S. Luke alludes 
also to tliat luminous Cloud which overhung the Tabernaclfl ; for in the 
Old Testament it is often called " the Glory of the Lord " ( Exod. xl. 32 ; 
SKings viii. 10, 11, etc). 

' Exod. XX. 18, 19. 

* X/warii Kvptat. This is the only instance where the holy Records 
make use of these two titles associated in this Djanner (Kuptar ml Xpiirrir 



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52 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

you shall find an Infant, wrapt in swaddling clothes and 
lying in a manger." 

A manger, an infant, to work out their salvation I What 
strange tidings are these 1 The Wonderful, the Mighty 
God, the Father of Eternity, the Messiah, for whose glori- 
ous coming Israel was in expectation, has revealed Himself 
at last in nakedness, in abandonment, in the midst of the 
straw of a stable ! What a sudden reversal of the most 
dearly cherished dreams of the Jews ! Xhey must needs 
be simple. and docile hearts who could receive this Mes- 
sage. And so the Angel bore the glad tidings, neither to 
the Doctors of the Law nor to the great ones of earth, but 
to these shepherds ; and in them he found that which he 
was seeking, — the Faith of Abraham, of Isaac and of 
Jacob. 

Their gentle souls were all aglow upon his words, and 
suddenly, while their eyes were still drinking in the celes- 
tial radiance, all at onee they saw that the Angel was not 
alone ; a multitude of spirits, all hosts of Heaven, sur- 
rounded them,' and the Angelic choir entoned the chant 
whose echoes resound each day in the holy mystery of the 
Mass, — 

" Glory to God in the highest of the heavens, and peace 
upon Earth unto all men beloved of God!"^ 

The shepherds heard with rapture this concert of the 
Angels ; and when it had faded away into the far depths 
of the skies, and the Messengers of God had gone from 
their sight, " Let us go to Bethlehem," they cried to one 
another immediately, " and see this which has happened, 
— see this which the Loixl has made known to us." 



iii. 24, 

the Messiah, Who is i 

> Luka ii. 13-15. 

' The wading (v dj^jw^on riioitiat should be adliered to, for it is thai 
of thfl Vulgate and the most antii^nt manuscripts, — that of Sinai, the Vati- 
can, Cambriilge, and the Alexandrine. "The word iu the original which 
we render ai '«>od-will' is used to signify the good-will which God has for 
us, and thus declares that peace is given unto men so loved by God " 
(Bossuet, £/tiiotiim3, xvi< semaine, ix> ^Uvation). 



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THE NATIVITY. 53 

And making haste to depart, they ascended the hill.i 
Upon its heights they found the cave ; Id the dumb beast's 
crib lay an Infant, wrapt in swaddling bands and laid 
amidst the straw ; over Him knelt a young Mother, a 
Uhoughtful and silent man. 

It was tlie sign given from on High ; they recognized 
it ; and their faith bursting forth into joyous transpoiis, 
they recounted- to those who surrounded them all that had 
been said to them concerning this Child. The sudden ar- 
rival of the shepherds, their search throughout the village 
had attracted attention. Soon the throng of listeners 
grew in numbers, and " all were in admiration at this tale 
which the shepherds related." * 

Having rendered their testimony to the heavenly origin 
of the Babe, " tiie shepherds returned, glorifying and prais- 
ing God for all the things which they had heai-d and seen, 
eveu as He had made known unto them." Midmost of all 
this concert of delighted homage the Mother of Jesus was 
silent " Treasuring up all these things, she pondered over 
them in her heart," ' until the day when Saint Luke wrote 
them down at her inspiration ; for it would seem certain 
that in this portion of his Gospel, which is so entirely ilif- 
ferent from all the other accounts, we aie reading the very 
words of Maiy. This story, at once so simple and so ten- 
der, betrays the Virgin's hand and the Mother's heart* 

' Lake ii. 16, 17. 

a Luke ii. 18-20. 

" Luke ii. 19. 

* All the critics concede that the two first ch&ptera of S. Luke have an 
Hebraic coloriug, a touch aC artlessnesa and innocence which does not 
ac^rd with the ordinary manuel of the Evanselist, fond aa he is of hU 
scholarly phrases. Evidently, in this part he hae borroweil now and 
again from the actual wonls of some eje-n'itnpsa of the Saviour's esrliir 
years ; the simplicitj of the tale and the [lerfect recollection of all the 
hymns mate us naturally think at once of the Mother of .Tesus. " Ea 

Jate (Lucas) narmt <U Christo pucro, ah ipsa hiijun matre audiase cre- 
endiim onininu est. Qua de re conefnticntes hahcmus nonnuUoH 
etiam de schola Rationalistarmn " (Patrui, De EraageUU, lib. 1, cap. iii, 
({Ufeat. 4). 



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THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 



IV. The Circumcision and the Pkesentation dj 
THE Temple. 

Luke Ti. 21-38. 

What happened after the departure o_f the shepherds ? 
Weie the emotions which their tale had excited lasting ? 
Did the citizens of Bethlehem make all haste to offer 
Maty that dwelling^ where the Magi were soon to find 
her ? 

The Gospel, while it notes this change of abode, does 
not tell either at what time or in what manner it was 
effected ; certainly, to worldly eyes, there was nothing of 
distinction about this poor Family of the Saviour; and 
therefore it is most probable that the attention, so suddenly 
attracted to them by the shepherds, was as promptly drawn 
away by the more exciting incidents of the Census-taking. 
For, eight days later, when the Babe was to be circumcised, 
the same Evangelist, who tells us how great was the gath- 
ering on the same event happening in the life of John 
Baptist, now simply remarks of Jesus; "On the eighth day 
He was circumcised." ^ 

Apparently it was Joseph who performed the sacred rite,' 
and so shed the first drops of the Blood Divine. The Christ, 
in order to fulfil all justice, was required to eiidure this 
humiliation, and bear in His body the stigma of the sins 
which He had taken upon Himself. Yet He only underwent 
circumcision that He might set us free from its bondage, 
by substituting for it a purification more ele\'ated, one 
wholly spiritual, — that of the heart and of the heart's evil 
desires. 

It was the time for giving the Child His Name. Tlie 

> Matt. ii. 11. 
= Luke ii. 21. 
' Although the circumcistnn of Jesua seems to have taken place without 



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TBE PRESENTATION. 55 

Angel had apprised tliem by a heavenly mandate that He 
should be called Jesus,' — a name that spoke of fiialvatioii 
to the Jews, and recalled thoughts of their entrance into the 
ppomised land and of the return from Captivity.^ The sub- 
liinest of the titles of the Christ — the Messiali ^ — only 
compasses in its meaning the Majesty of the Son of God, — 
that Anointment by which he was consecrated King and 
I'outiff; the name Jesus signifies One who has loved ns 
even to the dying for us ; it bears in upon the heart with 
a profounder impress of love, a celestial sweetness, a secret 
relish of salvation, and a foretaste of our deliverance. 

The Law commanded that this first-bora should be pi'c- 
sented in the Temple ; as it is written : " Every male child 
that Cometh from the mother's womb shall be consecrated 
to the Lord ; " * and it was necessary for Mary to be puri- 
fied, since the Levitical canons declared every woman un- 
clean aftei- the birth of her offspring. Uui'ing forty days, 
if it were a son, eighty if a daughter, slie %>'as forbidden to 
approach the Sanctuary.^ The custom among the mothers 
of Isi-ael was to pass this time secluded in their homes 
until the day on which the expiatory sacrifice was to purify 

1 Luke it. 81. 

^ JehoshuB, Jeabila, Jeshu, »-er« the three forms unctai' wliii^h the name 
nf Israel's Dellrerer was spoken or wHttcn. As n Ehaitow of the tnie 
Saviour it was bovno by Joshua, kou of Noun, who brought tho people into 
the Holy l,and, and hy Joahmt, son of Joseder,, who, with Zorobabel, led 
them back (rom the Captivity in Babylon (1 Eadr. ii. 2 ; iii. 2). 

•Christ, XpKTTit, is simply the Greek tranalatioti of the Hebrew word 
ri'pn, " The Anointed." 

« Liikft ii. 22-21. God gave this command to Mosm after the flieht 
from EKJpt (Exod. xiii. 2). Thus, aa Sovereign Master of all things. He 
reserved the first-frnits of each family, in onJer that hy this means the 
others might be consecrated to Him in the person of these their choicest 
ofTerings. Indeed they had, in a special manner, belonged to Him ever 
since the night when He had eiterminated the first-bom of the Egyptians, 
and spared the eldest of the children of Israel ; the lives then saved bv 
Him were owed to Him by every claim of gratitude. I Jiter on, in plaee of 
the eldest sons of each family. He chose to call the sons of Ijevi to be His 
servants ; and only the first-bom, who exceeded the number of two hundred 
and seventy-three l.evite9 fixed hy the Law, were to be n'deeine.l by the 
pa^entQrfiveBhekels(Nnm. iii. 12, 44, 45). A last disposition extended 



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56 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

them. They offered, then, a year-old lamb for a holocaust, 
and a turtle dove or a youug pigeon for a Siu-offering. In 
kind consideration for the poor, the Law permitted them 
in place of a lamb, which would have been too costly, to 
make presentation simply of two turtle doves or two young 
pigeons. Such was the obligation to which the Virgin 
submitted herself, altliough she knew nothing of the com- 
mon misfortunes of women in her stainless generation. 

On the fortieth day following the Nativity "the time 
of their purification was accompEshed." ' The sacred t«xt 
extends the expiation entailed upon the mother so as to 
include Jesus also; for since the Law considered everything 
impure that had been touched by the woman during this 
period, the child she bore in her arms was excommunicated 
as much as the mother. So Joseph and Mary went up to 
Jerusalem to consecrate Jesus to the Lord ; the five shek- 
els ^ of the Sanctuary relieved Him of the obligation to re- 
main as a Server at the altars, and the " Sacrifice of the 
Poor " was offered for the purification of them both. 

" Now there was at this time in Jerusalem a just man, 
and one who feared God, named Simeon, who lived in ex- 
pectation of the consolation of IsraeL The Holy Ghost 
was with him, and it had been revealed to Iiim by this 
Spirit of God that he should not surely die, before he had 
seen the Christ of the Lord."^ 

Tlie terras of which Saint Luke makes use in speaking 
of this aged man indicate that he had in mind a dis- 
tinguished personage, perhax)3 even the famous Scribe * 

1 Lulte ii. 22. The Vulgate and ibe I,atin versions have the reailing 
contained in the Cambridge iniinusoript, m0afivriu>S oftroD ; however, the 
other form, a/n-Or, which gives it n meaning nmoh more easy to oniJerstand, 
should be preferreci, for we find it in the most ancient mauuscvipts, — the 
Alexandrine, those of the Vatican anii of Sinai, — and in a m^ority oS the 
Versions (Syriae, Coptic, Gothic, etc.^ "Quod cur rejiciamus uon sane 
est ; Qimm Moysas lege saneiTerit ut is quoiine pollui censeretur et pnrga- 
tione indigere, qui pollutum tangeret, pueri nasnentes poUuerentnt necesse 
erat contactu matris, ipso parttt poUutie " (Patrizi, De SvanffeUis, lib. iii. 
dissert, xxv. 6). 

^ About four dollara in our money. 

' I.ukfl ii. 25, 28. 

* H^at SttiimaXoi {Oo^ of Nicodemwi). 



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THE PRESENTATION. 57 

Rabbaa ^ Simeon, son of HiUel, Indeed there is a perfect 
resemblance in this sketch of his to the historical Sim- 
eon, — a similarity in age and residence, an equally high- 
souled zeal, with the same saintliness of life. The Talmud, 
which expatiates complacently upon the grand-parents 
and sons of Hillel, preserves an expressive silence as to 
Simeon ;^ and this doubtless because it would gladly bury 
in oblivion a President of the Sanhedrin who celebrated 
the bii'th of Jesus, and who had thoughts anent the Mes- 
siah ^ which differed very widely from those of his contem- 
poraries, so widely in fact that the latter finally deposed 
him from the presidency of the Supreme Council* 

At the moment when Mary and Joseph were approach- 
ing the Sanctuary that indwelling Spirit, moving within 
the old man's heart, was conducting him to the Temple." 
There was nothing in their exterior to draw his gaze, upon 
them, — a poor family making their Sin-offering, while in 
the arms of the mother there lay a Httle Child ; and yet 
it was enough for him. To the eyes of the Seer this Infant 

' Rjibl«n, that is, the Master above all others. Simeon is the first 
Scribe whose iiaiiie was honored with this superlative title (see Liffhtfoot, 
Harnuntia in. Evaiige/., pars. i. sect. iv.). 

" Liahtfoot, Harte HebiiiTciF., in Luc. ii. 3*. 

* Pfui, Sj/napris Oriiie., nd Luc. 

' On this qnestion see Patrizi (De Evangtliis, lib. iii. dissert, 26} and 
Witsius {Misctllnnca sacra, i. 21, 14). The objectiona whiah have been 
made to Father Patrizi's eotichiaions are : (1) lliat Simeon, son or Hillel, 
was still alive some time after the l«.itivit j ; (2) that his son Gamaliel is 
known not as a Christian, but as a Pharisee ; (3) that S. Lnke would not 
have spoken of so famous a Doctor in such vague terms as ' ' Now there 
was then at Jeviisaleni n nmn immed Simeon." These difficulties can all 
be disposed of, for (1) the sacred text (Luke ii. 26) does not say that 
Simeon died after havina seen the Lord, but that his eyes were not to be 
closed in death before he had beheld Him ; (2) as for Gamaliel, it ma^ 
easily be believed that, hohling as high rank as he did among the Phari- 
sees, he would not at once follovr his father's example ; bnt thongh out- 
waiilly he remained nttnclied to this sect, he had nevertheless an openly 
professed aympath; for the doctrine and the disciples of Jesus ; he under- 
took their defence before the Sanhedrin (Acts v. 84), and the primitive 
traditions assert that he died a Christian {RecognMvmes, i. 65 ; Photins, 
Cod., 171) ; (3) to dispose of the last objaotion, it is enough to remark 
that 8. Luke was writing for Gentiles, to whom the doctors of Israel were 
known hardly at all. 

" Luke ii. 27, 28. 



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58 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

appeared, what indeed He was, the loug-expecteil Salva- 
tion, the Consolation which he had waited for so long, the 
one and only Object of his vows. Simeon took Him into 
his arms, and in an ecstasy of the Divine Spirit he intoned 
this Canticle : — 

" Now hath it come to pass, O Lord, 

that Thou dost deliver' Thy servant ; 

" according to Thy word, 

he will go in peace. 
"For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation : 

that Salvation which Thou hnst pi'epared 

in the face of all the nations : 
"even as a Light, which shall reveal Itself 

unto the Gentiles 
" and the Glory of Israel, Thy people." 

Meanwhile "the father and the mother of the Child 
were filled with wonder at the things which he had spoken 
of Him, and Simeon hlessed Him;"' but as his eyes fell 
upon Mary, he perceived in prophetic vision all that this 
Mother was to suffer. Then, holding up the Babe before 
her, — 

"He Whom you now look upon," he said, "is for the 
ruin * and the resurrection of many in Israel. He shall lie a 
Man rejected and denied.* As for you, a sword of sorrow 
shall piei'ce your soul." " 

Then, reverting to the Son of Mary and to the trials that 
awaited Him, he revealed what would ensue : ■' And thus," 

' Lake ii. 29-33. 'AToAueit, "Thon deliverest me, Thou mnkest my 
chains to fall from me." 

3 Luke ii. 34. 35. 

» IlTWff'ii', the Stumbling Block and lioult of Offence, on which unbelief 
shall fall nnd. he dashed to pieces (la. vlii. 14). 

* 'Sitiiixiiiv ianiktybiumii, thnt i»i io say, the perfect Ensimple of n mnn 
who ia disowned and despised, whose life shows what it is to be rejectei! 
bj- ail men. The Ilehraic turn of expression, tmn3lat''d by Jhe Greek 
words tirai tit vriiitiav, has no other mesiiins (Bosenmiiller, in loco). 

" Kai aoS a niTTft rifr i/vx^! i"'^ ■ • ■ should be considered HS a pareti' 
theHcnl thought. The connective, orat St, in this way refers to the 
preceding phrase, "The Christ shall be an Ensample of all adverRitiea," 



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THE PRESENTATiUfJ. 59 

he added, " the thoughts which many hide in their hearts 
shall be revealed;" that is to say, in the Presence of the 
Christ, — He who was to be for the scandal and the acorn 
of this world, — before Him all secret thoughts should be 
unveiled. He would distinguish in this way between those 
who dreamed of riches, glory, and temporal happiness as part 
of the coming of the Messi^, and those who, seeking Him 
for Himself, are prepared to welcome Him under whatever 
form he may appear. 

Mary listened in silence to this menacing prediction. 
Such as she appears to us now in the Temple, such she 
ever remains throughout the whole Gospel, — enveloped in 
her modesty, her heart at times flooded with joys which no 
language can express, but oftener resigned under the sword 
which even now tore this Mother's heart in expectation of 
the end. 

" Thei-e was present also a Prophetess named Anna, 
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser,' of a very ad- 
vanced ^e. She had lived seven years with her husband 
since her virginity, and she had remained a widow up to 
her eighty-fourth year,^ never leaving the Temple, and serv- 
ing God night and day in fasting and prayer." It was this 
zeal for the House of God which merited for her that she 
should find therein, and therein adore, her Saviour. Aa 
she was coming into the Temple at that same moment, she 
recc^iaed the Child, Whom Simeon bad bleaaed, rendered 
thanks to Heaven for unveiling to her eyes this Mystery, 

1 Luke ii. 36. " Pmliaps it waa to show that Jesus Christ finds His 
woi'stiiptiers smang njaiiy tribi^, and hence in this number visa also found 
the Tnbe of Aser, to Mhich Jacob and Mas«s had promised only "good 
bread, oil in abniidance," and in a word, " the riches of the mines of iron 
nnd of copper " {Gen. xlii. 20 ; Deuter. XTxiii. 24, 25). But now, in the 
person of this widow, note how " the soft finery of the kings and nations 
of earth, the good things of the land, are all changed to fasting and 
mortification " (Bosauet, SUcalions stfr Its myslires, xviii« semaine, xxi« 
iUvation]. 

* The reading XVP" ^"5 iriiy iySojiKOtrn Tifftrd.oui', which declares how, 
during her long widowhood, the holy Anna was steadfast in her fidelity to 
her first hustand, has been preferred by Lachmann and Tischendorf ; and 
with good reason, since we find it in the Vulgate, in most of the Vereions, 
in tJie Alexandrine Manuacript, and in that of the Vatican. The received 
text gives in in place of fat. 



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60 THE CBtLDHOOD OF JESUS. 

and praising the Lord her God,^ she spoke of Him to all 
those who awaited the redemption of Israel. 

The Lord, the God praised by the Prophetess, is mani- 
festly Jesus; to Anna, daughter of Phamiel, belongs, then, 
the signal honor of having first announced to Jerusalem the 
Divinity of the Christ, which other most illustrious wit- 
nesses were soon to publish to the world. 

' The reading Kupfy ia baaed on the siithority of the AlexKndrine Manu- 
script and a miyority of the Versions (Vulgate, Syiiao, Gothic, etc.)- We 
find 6cu iu the manuscripts of the Vatican and of Sinai, and in the Codex 
BezK. Tischendorf haa adopted the latter Conn in his Eighth Edition. 



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CHAPTER V. 
THE EPIPHANY. 



I. The Magl 

Matt. ii. 1-11. 



While Joseph and Mary were leaving Jerusalem,' a rich 
caravan was entering it " These were certain Magi ^ of the 
Orient," says Saint Matthew. This word, borrowed from 
the religious terminology of the Persians, is used here to 
designate the Sacerdotal Class; and it would seem to indi- 
cate, therefore, that the Magi were priests of that nation. 
This feeling is confirmed by the paintings in the catacombs, 
where we see the M^i always robed in the costume of 
the Persians, — the high head-dress, the tunic girded at the 
loins, over which floats a mantle thrown back over the 

' After having related the facta which we have been considering, S. I-uke 
adds: "And when they had fnllilled all things according to the Law 
of the Lord, they went baclt to Galilee, to their town of Nazareth" (Luke 
ii. 39). From thia some have concluded that Joseph returned to that 
towJi before the adoration of the Magi, not to remain, but to aet in order 
what he possessed there, ao as to establish himself at Bethlehem. Thus it 
would be after his return that the adoration of the Magi and the flight 
into Egypt took ]>tace. Father Patrizi has adopted thta hypothesis, but it 
only seems to us to complicate the sequence of events needlessly ; for the 
text of S. Luke does not necessarily imply that the return of the Holy 
Family to Galilee followed immediately after the Purification. 

* In the Pehlvi {the vulgar tongue of Persia in the time of Sassanides), 
Mogh ia the word for Priest (Hyde, De ReligioJie veterum Persamm, p. 372). 
Fiirst (Hsbrdisch^ Randto&rlerbuch : JO) thinks that the proper meaning 
of the word is "a sage," as the Hebrew and the Aramean translated it 
by D3n. Other phiiologiata give it the sense of "agrandee;" these con- 
nected it with the root, JO (Magh), the Sanscrit Mahat : Magnate = VLiyat 



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62 THE CHTLDSOOD OF JESUS. 

shoulders, the legs either bare or covered with boots, closely 
bound with thoQgs aftev the fashion of this people.^ 

Ministers of a religion far superior to any of the numer- 
ous forms of Paganisiii; the Magi appear to have worshipped 
at all times One Supreme Divinity,'' toward wliom they 
observed an austere cult. There were neither altars nor 
statues in their temples ; their choirs never marched with 
other than reverent gravity, sending up to God their solemn 
chants and prayers. 

These noble beliefs had survived intact among the Per- 
sians up to the time when, under the guidance of Cyrus, 
they ascended into the plains of Mesopotamia. There 
mingling with the Chaldean Magi,^ if they did not preserve 
the purity of their faith, they however came under the 
potent influence which the Israelite captives exereised 
upon their conquei'oi-s at that period, and in particular 

' Martigoy, Dictirmnaire des AnliquiUs ehr^Mennea, arUcIa Mages. The 
traditions of tiie Sjriaii Churoli and the Greek Fathers give PeiBia as 
the nativft country of the Magi. Teiiullian and S. Justin do not sgi'ee 
with these witnesses. The nature of the presents offered to Jesus have 
made thein think at onee of Arabia, the laud of gold, of frankincense, 
and myrrh. See Patri^i <ifc Evangdiis, lib. iii. dissertat. ixvii. cap. ii. 

^ His name was Aoumniaida (Onuuzd), "the lumiuoos, tlie resplen- 
dent, the mightiest and the best, most perfect and most active, very 
intelligent and very Ireautiful" (Yaena,i. IJ. This supreme and uncreated 
God has created all things ; aa the Piinciple of Good He only distributes 
blessings, bat while drawing into life the forces which were to rule matter. 
He lould not prevent the H]ipearance {resulting fi'om the action and reaction 
of those same propertiesl of a destructive genius, An^mainyous (Ahri- 
man), "The Worker of Death." This latest-bom spirit sows naught Imt 
sin and darkness through the world, and indeed seems to be all-powerful 
for evil ; nevertheless, at the end of time he shall see his forces completely 
destroyed, and he shall be eonstrainal to acknowledge the sovereignty of 
Aouraniazda (Spiegel, Erd'aische AltcrUtumskmidc, t ri. pp. 121-158). 

» Although the title Magi is of Persian origin, it was known among the 
Babylonians before Cyi-us ; in fact, we find the Chief Magi mentioned in 
the number of those officials sent to Jemsalem by Nabuchodonosor (Jar. 
xxxix. 3). Among the Chaldeans this name was evidently nsed to desig- 
nate an ancient and powerful race, to whom the eaeerdotnl office was 
reserved. Though not so near the revealed Truths aa were the Ma^ ot 
Persia and Media, given also to the worship of fire and other superstitious 
practices, they however had not neglectwi more lofty studies ; nstrononty 
eapecially had an honorable place among them, for we know that their ob- 
servations, which were forwarded to Aristotle by Callisthenes, covered s 
period of nineteen hundred and three years (Aristotle, De Calo, iL). 



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THE EPIPHANY. 63 

under the teachings ot I>aniel. It is a fact, which we know 
from Scripture, that this Prophet, after his introduction 
into the palace of Nabuehodonosor, showed himself ten 
times as wise as the priests and sootlisayers of Chaldea,' 
and hence he \v*aa placed at their head through the favor 
of the prince. His ascendency only increased under the 
four succeeding princes and the three dynasties, and was 
afterwards confirnted hy the triumph of ttitj Persians ; for 
these new victors sympathized with the hatred which Israel 
had ever felt for idolatry.^ 

Being made subject in this maimer to the authority of 
Daniel, the Magi — Chaldean as well as Persian — could not 
possibly have been ignorant of his predictions concerning 
a Messiah, in which he had gone so tar as to mark the 
year, the month, and the hour of His Birth. They had 
learned from him that the Saint of Saints, who should 
receive the divine Anointment, was that very One whom 
Balaam had beheld rising from Jacob like a Star.' From 
the Magi these prophecies were disseminated among the 
people ; and in the time of Jesus there was a settled con- 
viction, cherished likewise throughout all the East, that a 
King was to arise from Judea, who should conquer the 
world* 

In the midst of this expectancy a strange Star * shone out 
suddenly in the eastern sky* The Magi always followed 
the course of the stars attentively ; in the clear nights of 
tlie Orient, when the heavens hang out all their glittering 
lamps, they had remarked tliis Star, and recognized it as 
the signal for some great marvel. And at the same time 
their hearts as well as their eyes were opened to admit 
the light which heralded the Olirist ; they recalled to each 



' Num. xxiv. 17. 

* This report had even coma to the ears of Suetonius and Tacitus : 
" Percrebuerat Oriente toto vetus et constaus ojiiiiio, esse in fatis ut, eo 
tempore, .Tadsa profeoti, rerum potirentur " (Seut«nius, CespastaniM, 4 ; 
Timitus, Historia:, liii. v. i^ap. xiii. ). 

' As to tlie nature of this pben " 

• Matt. ii. 2. 



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64 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

other the Star of Jacob aud of Judea, and three from 
among them resolved to travel afar in search of Him of 
whose approacli the heavens were telling. 

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 journeying ;^ 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 I'ound, 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 lugg^e. But great was the surprise 
when these strangers were heard to inquire, " Where is the 
King of the Jews who haa been bom ? We have seen Hia 
Star in the East, and are come to adore Him." * 

This question, flying from lip to lip, came to the ears of 
Herod. No one could be more disturbed by it than he, 
conscious that his unhoped-for good fortune and his thirty 
years reign had not been able to sanctify his pretensions tii 
royalty in his subjects' eyes. In vain had he espoused the 
daughter of the last kings of Judea, in order to make them 
forget his origin ; none the less did the blood of Ishmael 
and of Esau flow in hia veins ; and the Scribes loved to 
i-ecall that he bad been " the servant of the Asmoneans."* 
Powerless to appease this bitter hatred, the usurper could 
know no repose ; and in his dread of any rivaliy, he shed 
the blood of his family in torrents. No remnant of the 
race of the Machabees being left alive, he had hoped, at 
last, to reign without i'urther strife, when the rumor bruited 
abroad reached his ears, — that certain strangers were 
seeking in Jerusalem for a new-born King of the Jews. 
At once the tyrant's jealousy was aroused to a savager 

' They had been travelling for about four months if thi-y eamc from 
Persia (Greawell, Disserliilions on a Harmony of Ike Gospel, vol. ii. dissert. 
xvjii.), or seventy daya if they staiied from Clialdea {S. Jolin Chrysostom, 



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THE EPIPHANY. 65 

intensity than ever. So, it was no longer the extinguished 
race of tlie Machabees, but that of David, which now 
threatened hira; for this unknown Babe, destined to the 
throne, could be none other than the Messiah ; and it was 
easy to aee from the excitement which pervaded the city 
that all Jerusalem was reading the occurrence in that 

light. 

Dissembling his fears, in order to strike a better directed 
blow,* Herod couvened a council composed of High-Priesta 
and Scribes,^ and ordered them to declare where the 
Messiah should be born. The answer could not be 
misunderstood. 

" In Bethlehem of Juda," they said ; "for it is written, 
' And thou Bethlehem, land of Juda, thou art not the last 
among the principalities of Juda, for from thee shall 
spring the Chief Who shall feed the flock of Israel, My 
people.' " " 

These members of the Sanhedrin did not so much quote 

» Matt, ii, *-fi. 

^ This doea not mean the whole SaDhedriu, which comprised also the 
Ancients at the people ; but it was rather such mninbers of that assembly as 
had the authority to interpret the Holy Writings. 

* The citation in S. Matthew is a free paraphrase of that text : " And 
thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art too little to form one chiliad of Jnila, and 
notwithstanding out of thee the Prince of Israel shall come forth " {Mich. 
V. 2), The ttHMs were divided into Chiliads, D'AW, or groups of a 
thousand families, each one having at its bead a Chief called ni7K, of 
■iSm, which in Hebrew aignities a thousand (Keil, Bibl. Arehdologie, 
par. 140). It was this last word which the Jewish doctors consulted by 
Herod translated '£!=JK3, "among the Cliiefs," it i77e/i6trn', instead of 
'fiSK|, "among the Chiliada," iv xAidir», which we find in tlic Sep- 
tuagint. Thus, commenting freely upon the text of the Prophet, they 
gave it this fonu, and though it demrts from the original text, it renders 
the thought very clearly ; " Thou, Bethlehem, art not as thou seemeet, in 
[hs lowest rank among the Chiefs of the Families of Juda;" Bethlehem 
being personified, and taking its rank among the princes of Israel. 
Mtcheas had appended to Bethlehem the ancient name of that village, — 
Ephrata. 3. Matthew here substitutes those words, Tfi 'loliSa, "in the 
land of Juda," in order to distinguish this Bethlehem from a town of the 
same name situated in the territory of Znbulon. The last member of 
the sentence, tarit notiuuitt, " who shall pasture Mj people Israel," is an 
addition to the text of Micheas, inspired hy the words of the Prophet, 
which follow : " He shall feed the flock of Israel, brought back by Him 
unto their God." 



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66 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

the words of the prophet Micheas as they interpreted his 
thought ; but Herod saw ouly too clearly what he had 
wished to know, and his plans were at once settled. 

He resolved to separate the Magi, not ouly from the 
Jews, who must naturally be all afire with eniotiou 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.' 

So soon as there was nothing more to learn, " Go to 
Bethlehem," 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." 

And he despatched them on the instant, without guides, 
without escort, thus giving no time for any warning, in 
order that no one, either at Jerusalem or at Bethlehem or 
among the retinue of the Magi, might suspect his inten- 
tions and rob him of his Victim, Night had fallen upon 
the city ; Herod saw in all this the very moment adapted 
to his designs. It was hut to result in their confusion. 

Scarcely had the Magi passed beneath the gates of 
Jerusalem, when the Star shone out anew upon their gaze.' 
" This sight filled them with great joy ; " for the Star, 
leading them on their way, preceded them to Bethlehem, 
and rested above the place where they were to find the 
Babe.« 

There they found only Mary and Jesus.' Whereupon 

1 Mfltt. ii. 7, 8. 

"Matt.ii. 9-U. 

) It would Be«m that the adoration of the Hagi did not take place in 
the sUble where Jesus was bam, far (I) the holy reconi speaks of the 
house, oUia (Matt. iL 11), where it occnrred ; and (2) among the number- 
less niounmenta of Christian art whii^h linve represented this sceoe, we 
onlj find two of nn enilier date than the eleventh uuntniy in wliich Jesus 
.18 depicrtfld as lying in the manger. In every other picture Mary ia seated 
in her dwelling, holding Jesus in lier anus. 

* From tfae silence of the sattred text, it appears that Joseph must have 
been alwent when the Magi arrived (Janaeniuu Yprentiua, TdraleiKhia, iu 
Mat. ii.). 



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THE EPIPHANY. 67 - 

that holy night witnessed a wondious spectacle : at the 
feet of a Yirgia, claspiog within her arms a young Child, 

these three sages fell prostrate in the dust, and adored the 
txodliead enslirined within this poor abode. Round about 
them, their attendants were eagerly bestirring themselves 
on all sides ; the camels too had bent their knees, while 
the retainers lightened them of their precious burdens. 
Then the Magi, opening these treasures, made offering of 
them to Jesus. There were gold, incense, and myrrh.' 

Such is the scene in the Gospel. Pious legends there 
are, which add more details than one. They rolw these 
wise men in the royal purple, set crowns upon their brows, 
depict their features and their expression; 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 loug 
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 within his 
hand prefigured the Death of the Son of man." * 

Unhappily, these details have no authority at all ; for 
it is only ill the sixth century that Saint Caesar of Aries 
confers upon the Magi the title of Kings, now so generally 
attributed to them,^ and it is in tlie ninth that we find their 

' This gum, which exudea from the BaUamodendnm Myrrha, has a 
soiDewhat bitter taste. At first it is of yellonish-vhite color ; after a little 
begins to take on light golden shades, and ns it hardens becomes gradually 
of a deep red (see Winer, BibliKhes Realworterbwck : Mtr'bh). 

' Bede, De Colledaiiew, 

' Everytliiiig lombines to prove that the Magi were not kinga. (1) 
S. Mattheir. nhosc leading motive is to set the Royalty of Jesus in 
higher relief, would not hare failed to draw attention to these aoTereigna 
boning their ni^estic heads at the feet of the Monarch of Etomlty : 

(3) Hei'od would have received them with much more ceremony ; (3) the 
primitive monnments of (.'hristian art, whii'.h ehow the Magi wearing the 
Persian cap, never set the tiara over it, although that was the diadem of 
the Pei'si&D kings. The first mosaic in which we see the Magi wearing 
crowns belongs to the eighth century (Ciampini quoted by Fr. Patrizi) ; 

(4) but of this we can feel sure, i. e.., that eveu before the time of Saint 
Cieur of Arlea a certain few of the Fatheiii regarded the words of Psalm 



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68 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

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.^ 



II. The Flight into Egypt and the Holy Innocents. 
Matt.ii.l2-2S. 

This their pious duty being discharged, the Magi were 
relieved from the fulfilment of their promise to Herod ; for 
God, Who had been leading them thus far, would still take 
care for their return. Being warned in dreams not to ap- 
pear again before the king, they returned to their own 
country by another road. 

As soon as the Magi had departed, the Angel of the Lord 
appeared to Joseph while sleeping. 

" Arise," he said to hira ; " take the Child and His 
Mother, and flee into I^pt. There you will dwell until 
such time as I shall declare to you, for Herod is searching 
for the Child to destroy Him," 

It was still night ; ' Joseph, rising up, took the Child and 
His Mother, and set forth.* 

bod., "Reges Tharais et insula mnnera offerent . . . ftc," oa in soma 
sort foreshadowing the adoration of the Hagi (see Patrizi, De EvangeliU, 
lili, iii. diasert. xxvii. cap, ii, pars. iii.J. 

' Zttccariti, Atmolali(nKt ad Tirm. , m Matt. ii. 1 . 

* The traditions of the Syrian Church increased this number to twelve ; 
but it has ever been the feeling of the Church that there were but thi^ee. 
To be more exact, S. Leo (440-461} is the first from whom we have 
any formal testimony on this point ; however, we know that this Father 
followed the ancient traditions, for the monumcnta in the Catacombs, 
which are older than his time by two centuries at least, almost alwaya 
represent three Magi adoring the Child-God. The rare ejiceptiona t« this 
rule can only be traced to the caprice of individual artists (see P, Patrizi, 
De EvOTtgeliis, lib. iii. dissertat. xxvii. cap. ii, pars. ii. ; F, Allanl, Smae 
Souiavaine, p. 329). 

»Nun-At(Matt. ii. 14). 

* We believe that is not at all improbable that the events which S. Mat- 
thew relatea in verses 12-14 of chapter ii, should have occurred during the 
space of one night. In fact, the rapid fum of the narrative, the present 
tense used in the phrase Idoi dyytXas ipainTai, which follows hnnediately 
after irax'^pv^i'^i^ aiirfiv, would seem to indicate that there was no 



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THE FLIGHT. 69 

Egypt has ever been the refuge for those uufortunates ' 
whom persecutloD and famine have drivec forth t'ruiu the 
land of Israel. From the mountains of Juda it only takes 
a journey of three days to reach Rhiuocoluia.' Beyond that 
valley, with its narrow water-courses, Herod had no further 
power ; it was Egypt. To all fugitives it offered safety 
and an assured asylum ; and for this reason the Jews of the 
Dispersion had once spread tlieir colonies throughout all 
the land of Mizraira, the ancient abode of their fathers.* 

The Gospel tells us nothing concerning this flight of 
Jesus ; doubtless this is because nothing occurred worthy 
of remark. The long stretches of the Desert alone wit- 
nessed the passage of the Holy Family; some unknown 
dwelling sheltered them ; while there was nothing of any 
note about them to betray their own unparalleled distinc- 
tion. The design of God in sinking these early days in 
the shadow was thereby to throw out in higher relief the 
future splendor of the Divine Life, and not to diizzle 
the gaze by such wonders as are found only in the apoc- 
ryphal gospels. 

All in vain have the great painters of Italy immortalized 
these legends ; the dragons of the desert couchant before 
their Lord ; the lions and tigers bounding forward to adore 
Him ; beneatli His feet the sand grows green and floweriTig 

lapse of time between the departare of the Hagi and the apiiarition of the 
Angel to S. Joseph. And, furthermore, it ia enough Xo recall the circum- 
stances at this crisia to comprehend with what swiftneas thia incident 
rouat hit»e come upon all the actors in It Bethleheni ia but a two boars' 
journey from Jerusalem ; would Herod, consumed as he was by restlens sus- 
picions, have allowed anywhere from seven to ten days to elapse (as Fr. 
Patrizi thinks was the case} hefoTe taltinc action in the premiseal The 
jeslousy which deroured his peace of mind would not have permitted him 



■e such a long delay. Undouhtedly be had knowledge of the pre- 

e departure of the Magi on the very next morning, and o" ^'- 

day ordered the massacre of the Holy Innocents. 



■ipitate departure of the Magi on the very next morning, s 
ordered the massacre of the Holy Innocents. 
To-day called Ouadi-el-Arish, that is, Naehal Mizraim, the ri'er of 



1 the Tliehfus, whither Alexander had formerly 
transported them, the Jews spread throughout erery known countiy, from 
the deserts of Liliyaon the north ns far as the frontiers of Ethiopia (Phiio, 
in Flaccum, ii, 623), and their colonies soon covered Cyrenaiea, a part of 
Libya and the African coasts of the Mediterranean (Josephua, Antiaiiitata, 
xvi. 7, 2|. 



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70 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

as the Field of the Boses of Jericho ; while tlie palm-trees 
bow down their fronded crests, disclosing their fruits to 
the Fugitives,' All these lovely pictures are but reveries 
boru of a fanciful devotion. 

Certain local traditions merit perhaps more considera- 
tion. To the east of Cairo a sycamore is venerated as 
having once overshatlowed the Holy Family ; and near by 
there bubbles up a Bti-eani whose waters (or so say the 
Copts) were sweetened beneath the touch of Jesus. This 
legend point.s out Heliopolis, the ancient On,^ as the abode 
of the Saviour in Egypt ; but they cannot tell us what 
possible reason Joseph could have had for conducting the 
Mother and the Child so far away, when he might have 
found a secure shelter on the frontier. Indeed the time of 
their exile was so short^ that it was probably here, on the 
border, that the fugitives remained. 

The precipitate departure of the Magi upset all Herod's 
plans. The morbid jealousy of the tyrant, little used to 
findii^ himself thwarted, vented itself in savage fury. 

' The Ardbian Gospel of the Childhood, li., uv. ; The Apocryp/ial Gos- 
pel of Satnt MaUkew, iviii., xxiv. 

^ The ancientOn(now.a-da)'Kltnowna8MatttreeyKh,the native country of 
Asenalh, wife of Joseph) received, in the time of tin' persecution of Anti- 
ochus, a Jewish colony, which was conducted by the High-Priest Onins ; 
the Sanctuary built by him in this city rivalled tfiat of Jerusalem in splen- 
dor. Of this temple and of the monunienta of Heliopolis there now 
remain but a few scattered signs, , — an obelisk, and some cnimbliug stone- 
work half buried under the green harvest lands of Matareeyah. The tree 
which is still called "the Virgin's" is better preserved; it towers up 
mnjestically in the middle of a garden, now carefully tended 1^ the Copts, 
and, despite its ^aats, yet retains the verdure of youth, Matareayeh is 
only two hours' journey from Cairo ; a sightly and pleasant road winds 
across the fields, overhung with oracgrs and nopals. 

' The apocryphal gospels, in order Xo allow some time for the perform- 
ance of the numberless mirooles recounted by them, suppose that the 
sojourn of Jesus in Egypt lasted three years lArab. Gospel, xxvi.); S. Bona- 
venture extends it to seven. But there are much weightier reasons for 
limiting this exile to a relatively short space of time ; for, on the one 
hand, tne massacre of the Holy Innocents took place, as we shall see, only 
a little before the death of Herod ; and on the other hand, when Joseph 
returned to Judea, Archelaus still bore the title of king, which he assumed 
at his father's death lPaai\t6€i, Matt. ii. 22). Some months later, Augus- 
tus obli^d him to content himself with the more modest style of cthuarch ; 
hence it eould not have been long after the death of Herod thet Ju;;ppli 
brought back the Holy Faniily into Judeo. 



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THE EOLY INNOCENTS. 71 

Lacking any precise information, but only recalling what 
the Magi had said about the time of the Star's appearance, 

he concluded from this that the young King must be yet 
unweaned ; and aa it is the custom with Jewish mothers 
to nurse their babies for two years,* he ordered a slaughter 
of all the children of that age and under in Bethlehem 
and the outlying territory.^ 

This cruel order was executed at once, with a brutality 
which wrought most horrid anguish iu those mothers' 
breasts ; for Saint Matthew tells us of the shrill screams 
reechoinp round about the mountains. Eaehel herself 
awakes from the tomb, where she sleeps at the foot of 
Bethlehem,* to mingle her mournful cries with those of the 
afflicted women. Then was accomplished that which had 
been foretold by the prophet Jeremy, — "A voice has been 
heard upon the heights,' great weeping and an unceasing 
wail of lamentation : Rachel mourning her cliildren, and 
she will not he comforted, because they are not." 

Certainly, if we take these words in their literal sense, 
it was over the Jews made captives under Nabuzardan 
and collect«d at Rama to go together into exile, — it was 
over these wretched ones that Judea laments with the 
voice of Rachel, the beloved spouse of Jacob;" but, most 

^Keloubot, 69 ; 2 Machab. vii, 37. 

* 'Opfott, probably the dwellings and hamlets uround Bethlehem. 

■ Hatt. ii. 17, IS. Yon pass the tonib of Rachel, Koiibbet Rahil, as 
yoQ descend from Bethlehem, going to Jcruaaleni, after about a half-hour's 
journey. In its present form the monnnient is evidently apoeryphal, and 
probably contains the ashea of some holy Mussulman, NeTertheless, the 
traditions of Chiistian and Mnssulmaii alike aji'ee in locating the tomb of 
Jacob's wife npon this spot, and the place answers very well to all we 
know of the burial of Rachel (see Guerin, Judfi, chap, yiii.), 

* Jerom. xxxi, 15. Bamo, npl, signifles a High Place, and the Vul- 
gate, in common with the Targum of Jonathaa, gives it this sense in 
the text of Jeremy; "Voiin eicelso audita est . . ." The Septuagint 
and the Syriac Version, on the contrary, make it a proper name ; and 
the Vulgate in the text of 8. Matthew retains the name witliout trans- 
lating it ; " Vox in Rama audita est . . .," etc. It is difficult to decide 
where this Tillage was situated, sincu the geographers have located it in 
eight different ^aces ; but evidently it must nave been one of tlie cliff 
hamlets which surround the heights of Bethlehem (see Stanley, Situii and 
PaUsHne, ch. iv., note oil Ramak). 

* Jer. xl. 1, and the Targnm of Jonathas on Jeremy ixxi. 15. 



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72 TBE CHILDHOOD OF JESVS. 

i-easonably, Saint Matthew sees in this passage a portent 
of the tears which should be shed over the Holy Innocents. 
Indeed, nothing had ever occuixed to the Israelites which 
had not some secret reference to the Messiah ; sufferings 
and joys, humiliations and triumphs, each after their own 
manner, were for a figure of that which should be perfectly 
fulfilled in Jesus. The bereavement celebrated by Jeremy 
was thus in reality a prophecy of the moanings and wails 
which would rise over the firet-fruits of our martyrs.^ 

This massacre made little stir in Judea ; and Rama alone 
hearkened to the piercing shrieks of the mothers. In 
those days what mattered the sacrifice of a few' little chil- 
dren to a monarch's caprice ? Antiquity had small respect 
for babyhood ;^ furthermore, the reign, now just at its close, 
had been nothing but a tissue of murders, tortures, and 
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 oue can 
conceive how easily profane historians might pass over a 
deed so unimportant in their eyes.^ 

' Moreover, it is enoujrfi to read over the entii* chapter in onler to con- 
vinca one's self that the Propliet's glance was taking m events fsr beyond 
that present captivity of Rama and the return from Babylon, even to the 
•Jistant days of the Saviour ; for he announces that in this aatne time of 
which he is speaking there shall be a marvellous Childbirth, a gracious 
law Hrittsn Jeep in their hearts, and a new pledge destined to cast the 
ancient Testament into the shadow (Jei^em. xxxi. 15, 22, 31-35). 

* The number of the Holy Innocents has been exaggerated ; Bethlehem 
being a mere village, there could not have been any great mnltitnde which 
would fall under the conditions of Herod's barbarous order. 

° Suetonius {Augudtts., 9i) tells us that at the time Augustus was bom, 
there was a prediction which announced the near advent of a Child wlio 
should reign over the world. In order to preclude any Ruch danger which 
might menace tbe existence of the Republic, the Senate ordered all the 



decree, each one of them hoping that the prophecy might refer to his own 

* Josephns, AiUiqwUaUs, xvii. 11, 2. 

* Josephus' silence on this point has notJiing surprising about it ; it is 
a well-known fact that this historian and courtier wrote rather for tbe 
Romans, and not at all for his fellow -countrymen. This is why he affects 
such lofty indifference in regard to the religious sects, which were then 
absorbing the mind of nil Judea. If he scarcely deigns to mention the 



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THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 73 

Nevertheless, Augustus seems to have had some knowl- 
edge of the fact, for Macrobius has preserved this charac- 
teristic speech of his : " Upon the news that Herod had 
sacrificed his own sou, among the children of two years of 
^e butchered by him in Syria, ' It were far pleasanter,' 
quoth the Emperor, ' to be Herod's sow than his son.' " ^ 
This imperial pun supposes a confusion as to the facts, — 
quite natural on the part of Augustus, who must have 
learned of this massacre as coincident with the news of 
the murder of Antipater, who had been the fomenter of a 
new revolt against his father. It could not have been in- 
vented later on, in the Christian centuries ; for then the 
immolation of these first martyrs had attained an unparal- 
leled importance in all minda. At all events, this sally 
of Augustus is not simply a valuable witness of the fact 
as recounted by Saint Matthew, but it even enables ua to 
fix the date also, since it was but five days before his 
death that Herod delivered his son into the hands of 
the executioner.^ 

Not that God had delayed His visitation of the tyrant 
until this moment, A horrid disease, which Heaven seems 
to reserve for persecutors,' had been corroding and consum- 
ing his body, little by little. Our pen would refuse to 
copy the picture drawn by Josephus ; it is enough to say 
that the corruption of the tomb devoured him during life 
itself. A prey to insupportable agonies, he souglit some 
relief in the warm baths of Callirboe ; but he was forced to 
return to his superb palace, overshadowed by the palm- 



Satamal., lib. ii. 4). It is eaay to uii<t«rBtalid tlie allusion in tliis pla; 

Son words, if we remember that the Jews could not eat pork. In fact, 
nciobiua, who relates it, lived in the fifth century of our era ; but he 
drew his matter from much more Riicient writings. Miil bus learnedly 
established the authenticity of thia fact {Observations cm the Appliealioii 0/ 
FatUheistic Friticipleii, p. 292). 

" Josephus, Btllum Jicdaicum, i. 33, 8. 

' Anhochus Epiphanes, Mariinian, and Diocletian saccambed to 
Phihiariais. 



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74 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

trees of Jericho, and there stretch himself npon a bed of 
torture. Vexatious tidings found their way thither to 
irritate his frenzied spirit. A rumor of his death had 
reached Jerusalem, and a golden eagle, placed by him over 
the gate of the Temple, ha!d been torn down. The culprits 
were two famous scribes, Judas and Mathias, After being 
dragged to Jericho, with forty of their disciples, they were 
burned alive ; ^ but their death only added to Herod's hideous 
terrors. Succumbing at last to the extremity of his suffer- 
ings, he attempted to shorten their duration, and thereafter 
recovered consciousness only long enough to order that 
horrible execution of his son. His last thought was worthy 
of such a life; he was determined that tears should be 
shed at his funeral, and, knowing it was impossible to 
expect those of affection, he collected into the Hippo- 
drome of Jericho the Chiefs of the great Jewish Fam- 
lies, that he might have them butchered at the hour of 
his death. The order was not executed;* but it is well 
to recall it just here, as it enables us to comprehend 
how the massacre of the Holy Innocents would be 
passed over almost unnoticed in the midst of the tor- 
rents of blood which the tyrant spilled in the delirium 
of his last days, 

Herod's end was so impatiently awaited that the news 
must have been carried, far and wide, in a short space; 
but the Angel of the Lord anticipated its arrival in 
i^pt. 

He appeared to Joseph during his sleep, and said to 
him 1* "Arise, take the Child and the Mother, and return 
to the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the life 
of the Child." 

Joseph rose lip immediately, and set out toward Jtidea. 
Saint Matthew, always intent upon setting forth the ac- 

' The date on which these iiufartunate Zealota were put to the torture 
ha« been fiipd as the twelfth of Mireh, in the year 750 of Borne ; for 
Jo8ephu<i says that on that.Bame night there wn.1 an eclipse of the ninon 
(see Ideler, Baadbuch der CkronologU, vol. ii. p. 28 ; Wieseler, Chrooo- 
logitdte Synapse, p, S6). 

* JosephuB, AiitiqttiUUei, xvi. anii xvii 

• Matl. ii. 19-21. 



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THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 75 

compliabment of the prophecies in Jesus, upon this event 
refers to that line from Osee : ^ " I have called My Son out 
of Egypt," whose terms apply both to the Exodus of Israel 
and to the return of the Child-Jesus. It was a habit with 
the Jewish people to consider their very existence and 
their history as the outlines of the coming Messiah ; and 
this made the connection very striking for the first readers 
of this Qflspel. 

Joseph's intention was to settle in Bethlehem ; his 
thoughts often recurred thither ; and, more than all else, 
was it not expedient that the Child, Who was destined to 
rnle over the world, should dwell near to Jerusalem and 
His Temple ? But on the road the Holy Family learned 
that Archelaus reigned in the place of his father. Judea 
had only changed the person of her tyrant ; for, as his first 
essay in infamy, the son of Herod had already put to the 
sword, within the Temple walls, three thousand of his sub- 
jects. Joseph dared not expose the Treasure confided to 
him to such perils. He lifted his eyes heavenwards, and 
Heaven made answer, in a dream, that he should retire into 
Galilee. At his death Herod had bequeathed this province 
to another of his sons, Herod Antipas. Under this ruler, 
of a corrupt but careless character, the Divine Child would 
incur fewer dangers ; for this reason Joseph returned to 
dwell in Nazareth ; ^ and thus was fulfilled what had been 
said by the Prophets, — " that Jesus should be called a 
Uazarene." ^ 

This was not so much any particular prediction (as 
Saint Matthew refers to it), as it was a thought often 
uttered by the Prophets ; the Messiah was to be " The 
Netzer," that is to say, the Flower, that shall crown the 
rod of Jesse. On its side, Nazareth took its name from 
the same stem, in allusion to the beauty of its site — for 

' Matt. ii. 15; Osaa xi, 1. "Quod acriptum est; Parvulus Israel, et 
dilexi ilium, et ex Mgypto vocavi filiuin menm ; dicituv quidem de populo 
Israel, qui vocatur ex JEgypUi, qui diligitur, qui eo tempore poat errorem 
idololatri* quasi infans et pamilua est vocatus ; sed perfect* refertur ad 
Christum" {8. Jerome, in Oaee, iL). 

' Matt. ii. 28. 



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76 TBE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

" it was the flower of Galilee." ^ We do not know how this 
word, which from its origin could evoke none but the 
sweetest reminisceaces, iu the end lost all loveliness in 
their eyes ; indeed, for the Jews, " the Nazarene " was 
iiQinistakably a term of contempt, and apparently it was 
in order to upraise it to a new dignity that Saint Matthew 
recalls how Jesus once dwelt in Nazareth, was hailed by 
its name,^ and was thus the Flower of Israel. 



' "IbimuB ad Nazareth, et jnxts interpretation em □oiuiiiis «juB, Florem 
videbimus Galilea " <S. Jerome, Epist. ilvi.). 

2 Nafuipaioi. This word does not signify that Jeaus was vowed to the 
Lord by the vows of the Nazarite. In fact, the Hebrew word whicli 
is used to designate this const^cratiaa b '*'']}, a diOerent root from *l!tj, 
a boiigb, a branch, a flower, from which the name of Nazareth was takeo. 
S. Jerome tells ua that the first doctors among the Jews converted to 
Christianity considered that this Prophecy of which S. Matthew is spik- 
ing was to be found in all those passages of holy writ wbere the Mesaiab is 
l-epresented Rs a Branch, bearing fre^ flowers and leaves, upon the trunk 
of Jesse (Isai. liii. 2 ; Jerem. xiiii. 5 ; Zachar, vi. 12), and particularly in 
that ftgure in tbe eleventh chapter of Isaiah : "An offshoot shall sming 
from tbe stem of Jesse, and over above these roots a branch shall rise 
bearing its crown of Iruit." S. Matthew dues not indeed quote any 
special prophecy, and speaks only in general terms, Sid rfii" rpo^yfrCir 
(Matt. M. 28). 



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CHAPTER VL 
JESUS AT NAZARETH. 



The Childhood of Jesus. 

Lake ii. 40. 



All that we know of the Childhood of Jesus is com- 
prised in those words of Saint Luke : " The Child grew, 
and waxed strong in the fulness of wisdoKi, and the grace 
of God was upon Him." There was tlierefore a trans- 
itional period in the life of Jesus, — a period of growth 
in body, which grew like that of other children, — a period 
of progress, even "of the soul, which fortiiied itself," 
according to another reading of the sacred text.^ 

How are we to understand this interior development of 
Je.'^us ? The common feeling is that His wisdom and His 
power declared itself by degrees, although he possessed 
them in their plenitude even from His Conception ; and 
hence this increase in strength was only an apparent 
progress. However, we should not forget that the Saviour 
willed not only to appear, but to be in reality, a Child ; 
now, it is the law of childhood that, just as the organs, at 

I Iiukfl ii. 40. Ilrei'ftart is sn adiiltion wliich we Rnd in the Alexan- 
drine Mflnusciipt and the Syiiae Version ; it la very rightly I'^potid by 
LachiDann, TrajiEellea, and Tischendorf, for it hss weighty nutLoriiies 
againat it, — the Vulgate, the mannscri^ta of the Vatican and of Sinu, 
and the Codei Bezfe. Salmeron gives this interpretation of it : " Hoc ad 
interiorem haminem p«rtinct, q^uod scilicet per cetatU incrementa auge- 
batnr." Howerer, this reading ia a very valuable gloss, for it fix*s the 
aense of the otherwiae vague expression, inpaTauivTo, 



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78 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

first imperfect, develop little by little, 80 the inteUigeoce 
awakes in perfect concord with it' Since Jesus was once 
a Child, did He too submit Himself to the gentle influ- 
ences of age and its changeful growth ? Yet, if we admit 
this point, how are we to reconcile that absolute Omni- 
science possessed by the Man-Ood in virtue of the Hypo- 
static Union, with any intellectual increase, however small 
we may consider it to have been, even were it no more 
than an experimental knowledge, as many theologians 
define it ? ^ Here there is, we must confess, an inexplicable 
problem ; and it were wiser by far to humble our minds 
before it, than to insist stubbornly upon a satisfactory 
solution. Wg believe, with firm faith, that Jesus is the 
Son of God, that He is God even as is the Father, and by 
this He is always infinitely wise, infinitely mighty; on 
the other hand, we read in the Gospel that Jesus was 
really a Child, and that He grew, in age, in grace, in wis- 
dom. No one of these truths involves a contradiction ; 
certainly we do not kuow how they were reconciled in 
Him ; and yet, if it were otherwise, the Incarnation would 
cease to be — what God has willed that it should forever 
be — a Mystery, which escapes the grasp of our reason 
without shocking or contradicting it. 

However jt may have been with the interior life of 
Jesus, outwardly at least there was nothing to distinguish 
Him from the children among whom He lived, and in 
Mary's arms He appears to us as Bossuet has painted 

1 "Christas non habuit regakriter ullom opcl-ationem humariMn nisi 
dependenter ab oi^^is et dispositionibus conDaturalibuE, sicnt alii homines: 
nee loquebntiir ab infantia . , , er^ Hon babuit operationem Immanffl 
phantosice ante organum bene dispositnni, erao nee opcrationem humanam 
intelligendi, quia hiec tam p^ndet a phantasia, quani phantasma ab organo 
dieposito" (De Lngo, diar. xxi. sect. \. n. 5, 11}. 

^ "Scientiam simpliciter acnuisitam in Christo falBse per Be claruni 
videtnr, riec apparet quomodi) ea negate, prseaertim quatenue empinea est, 
sine specie qnSdam Docetisnii, infantia, ptieritja, tota vita lesu Clinsti 
siplioari possit . . . De temptire et modo quo eteperit CbnstuB habere 
banc acientiam, valde probabilia videtur sententia Card, de Lugo fui<ise 
paalatim et progressn tetatis commnnicatam. Cum enim hujus scientia- 
UBUB non sit independens ab organia corporeis, videtur i^rte Deus initium 
et incrementum ejus accommwlaase ipsi natnrali couBtitutioni organomm 
(Franzelin, De Vtrbo inairnaU>, sect. iii. cap. ii. th. 42). 



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JESUS AT NAZABETB. 79 

Him ; " Thou lovely Babe ! Happy were they who gazed 
upon Thee, stretching forth Thy arms from out the swad- 
dling bands, lifting up little fingers to caress Thy holy 
Mother ; now, upheld by her firm hands, adventuring Thy 
first short steps; now practising Thy baby-tongue with 
stammerings of the praise of God, Thy Father! I wot^ 
ship Thee, dear Child, at every stage of Thy divine growth, 
the while Thou art nursed at her pure breasts, or wliile, 
with feeble wails of infancy. Thou dost call for her, or 
while Thou dost repose upon her bosom, clasped in her 
warm arms." ^ 

The mysterious tide of this divine Childhood passed 
away in the obsoui-e vill^e in which Joseph and Mary 
dwelt. We know already the name of their retreat ; it 
will suffice to describe its site, to make it understood why 
Jesus loved Nazareth, and preferred it to any other abode. 

Judca is scarcely more than a succession of hill-ranges, 
running from the north to the south, at some distance 
from the Mediterranean. In the west they slope down 
to the sea-shore ; in the east they are broken suddenly, to 
leave a passage through which the Jordan fiows, hemmed 
in by their steep walls and that of the mountains of Hau- 
ran. Thus four parallel lines of hills make up the whole 
of Palestine ; the plains along the sea-board, the high- 
lands of Juda, the bed of the Jordan, and, beyond that, 
the hills of Perea. Only one valley, that of Esdralon, 
breaking through it transversely, cuts the first chain into 
two parts ; one of these stretches north to the Libanus, — 
this is Galilee ; the other extends south as far as the 
desert, —^ that is the land of Juda, 

Nazareth belongs to G-alilee, and nestles down along the 
mountain-side, shielded from the plain of Esdralon by the 
many hill-tops which are crossed by those winding foot- 
paths and steep, hilly roads. On the confines of the vil- 
lage these crests stand apart for a space (as it were), so to 
encircle with their wooded heights a grassy vale. Some 
scholars have presumed that this verdant amphitheatre 
was once the crater of an extinct volcano, and indeed the 

1 Bosauet, St^vations aur Us myslires, xx* seraaine, 1" eUvation. 



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80 THE CBILDBOOD OF JESUS. 

fertility of the spot supports their conjecture. In feet, 
Palestine has do more smiting glade than this little valley 
of Nazareth. Antoninus the Martyr compares it to ^ 
paradise. " Its women are of an inconipamble grace," he 
says, " and their beauty, which surpasses that of all the 
muidens of Juda, is a gift from Mary. As for its wiues, 
its honey, its oil and its fruits, it yields uot the palm 
even to fruitful Egypt" ^ To-day Nazareth has lost these 
glories ; hut it still has its meadows, its shady hollows, 
watered by cool springs, its gardens of nopal and fig trees, 
where the olive mingles with orange and pomegranate 
trees, in fruit and in flower. To the southwest, the village 
spreads down the slope of the mountain, and the campanile 
of the Latin Convent marks the location of the abode 
of Jesus. 

Nazareth has no other horizon beside this circle of 
wooded eminences, which shut it in on every side, but 
from the brow of the hillside on which the village is built 
Jesus could in one glance embrace all that territory 
which He had come to conquer : to the north, the moun- 
tain peaks of Libanus and Hermon, covered with eternal 
snows ; to the east. Mount Tabor, like a dome of verdure, 
then the deep river-bed of the Jordan, and the high table- 
lands of Galahad ; from its southern side, the plain of 
Esdralon reached from His feet as far as the mountains of 
Manassah ; on the east was the Sea, and Carmel, with its 
many reminders of Elias. 

Galilee of the Gentiles, as its name^ indicates, did not 
form a little world by itself, like the land of Juda. Its 
inhabitants were of various races. Phtenicians peopled 
the frontier of Tyre and of Sidon ; mingling with the 
Jews were Arabs and Assyrians, who together cultivated 
the fields of that province ; a few Greek colonies occupied 
the towns of the Decapolis ; and, over all, the garrisons of 
Eome held the whole country in their grasp. 

Amid these surroundings the early years of Jesus were 
passed. Outwardly the same as other children. He received 



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JESUS AMONG THE DOCTORS. 81 

from Mary and from Joseph the simple lessons which the 
Law prescribed ; ' at His Mother's knee he learned to read 
the Scriptures, which only spoke of Him ; but Mary knew 
What He was, and thougli charged with the duty of in- 
structing Him, she never forgot that He must be the 
Object of her adoration. 



II. Jesdb among the Doctors. 

Luke u. 41-60. 

Along about His twelfth year,^ the young Jew found 
Himself, in a certain measure, exempt from the family 
government. Having entered the synagogue. He had be- 
gun already to bind about His brows the phylacteries, — 
long bands of parchment, covered with sacred texts, — and 
was become " a Sou of the Law," and so subject to its 
prescriptions. One of paramount importance was to visit 
Jerusalem at the Feast of the Paach. The parents of 
Jesus acquitted themselves of their duty faithfully; and 
although custom did not insist upon the presence of the 
women,* Mary accompanied her spouse. The Saviour was 

1 Exod. xii. 2e ; Deut. iv. 9, vi. 7, 20 ; 2 Tim. iii. 15. Kitto, Cyclo- 
/HBdia : Education. Doubtless it wxs from this custom tbat Christian art 
obtained the idea of representing the Chilil Jesua learning to read at th<; 
knees of Maiy. It is a pious fiction which in no wise olfends dogmatic 
truth ; for the Saviour, despite Uia infinite 'Wisdom, desired to be obedient 
l>oth to the Law and to His parent^ even in the slightest details. 

^ Aben Esra, in Oen. svii. 14 (Jost; GeachiclUe da Judentkatna, iii. 3, 1), 
informs Us that having arrived at his thii-t«enth year, the child was made 
subject to the Law. According to this, Jesus, being only twelve years of 
aga, simply attended the Feaat as accompanying His family. The Fatliers 
held a contrary opinion, and assure us that on Uiis occasion Jesus took His 
part in the le^l ceremonies ; for the rest, the rule which obliged the Jews 
to go np to Jerusalem for the Pasch was probably made to include all the 
male children : " eiceptia surdo, stulto, puerulo ; pnemlus autem iUe 
dioitar, qni nisi a patre mantt trahatur, incedere non valet " (Bartolocci, 
BUliothaa magna Raibinica, vol. ii. p. 132 ; Lightfoot, I£or<e Mebra^cix, in 
Lno. iL). 

' " Pascha feminamm est arbitriiim " (Siddmischin, fol. 61, 3 ; Schoett- 
gen, HuTix HebraiecB, vol. i. p. 2ti6). 

VOL. 1.-6 



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82 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

twelve years old when, for the first time doubtless, He 
made the journey to Jerusalem with His Family.* 

The pilgrims from Galilee, because they I'eared the vio- 
lence of the Samaritans, usually were loatli to cross over 
their country,^ It may be believed that the hatred of the 
sectaries was not so active at this moment; for the tradi- 
tions declare that, botli going and coming, the Holy Family 
followed the direct road, which passes close by Sichem. 
By this route Nazareth is distant from Jerusalem some 
thirty-two leagues, and the trip would take a slow-travel- 
ling caravan not less than three or four days. To the 
south of the valley of Esdralon, the springs and groves of 
En-Ganuini afibrd a first camping-spot for tlie pilgrims. 
From thence, after crossing the hUl-country of Manassah, 
on the second evening, the t«nts are pitched near Jacob's 
Well, at the foot of Mounts Ehal and Garizim, Beerotli 
with its fountains was the customary stopping-place for the 
third day.^ After this there remained only some three 
hours' travel, and hence the next morning would find them 
within the walls of Jerusalem. 

In that city the Holy Family passed the seven days of 
the Passover.* And on the day following tlie caravans 
were gathered together for their departure ; that of Galilee, 
which was composed of many thousands of persons,^ was 
never ready for the start until near mid-day ; for tradition ^ 
points out Eeeroth as the spot where, at nightfall, Joseph 
and Mary were first made 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 remem- 
bered that Jerusalem, during the Passover Season, was 

1 Luke ii. 42. 

* See Id Appendix VI. how the Samaritans romied a Eeparate nation \a 
the midst of Judea, and were the hereditaiy foes of the people of God. 

» This route is poetically described by Farrar ( The Lift of Christ, vol. i. 
chap, vi.), and vrith more eiactnesa in Murray's Handbook for PaUilitu. 

* TefKiwadyroir rit Wp<" (Luke ii. 43). 

' Galilee was the most densely populated part of Palestine (Josephus, 
Beltum JudaSeum, iii. 3, 2). 

* This is given by Quaresmius ns being a very ancient tradition {Eluei- 
dnlio Terra mnctce, t. ii.) (See Go^rin, Description de la Jud€e, t. iii. 
pp. 7-9). 



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JESUS AMONG THE DOCTORS. 83 

thronged witb two or three millioD pilirriius,^ and in con- 

sequence caravans were formed amidst the greatest con- 
fusion. It was only when the long files of travellers with 
camels and mules had left the city gates far behind them, 
tliat it became possible to collect tc^etlier one's own party, 
and to keep some order. Kindred and fiieuds 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 liynius.^ 
The parents of Jesus not seeing Him, would think that 
He had joined some other baud, and thus they would pur- 
sue their way, expecting Him to rejoin them when the 
Oai-avan 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 sedi- 
tiou. The exile of Archelaus, recently deposed by Au- 
gustus, had resulted in the reduction of his kingdom into 
a Roman province and the imposition of additional taxes. 
At this new badge of servitude the people revolted, and 
the excitemeot raised by the insurrections of Sadoc and 
Judas the Ganlonite was still agitating them. In such 
troublous times, amid the wild crews which were scouring 
over the country, what periLs m^ht not menace a lost 
child ! 

Joseph and Mary returned immediately t-o Jerusalem.* 
For the apace of two nights and two days, all along the 
wayside and through the Holy City, they continued the 
fruitless search. Only upon the third day did they dis- 
cover the Child, " seated in the Temple, in the midst of 
the Doctors, hearing them and asking them questions, the 

* Josephua, who speaks of them as being an innnmerable multitude, 
also relates that when Ceatiiis isaned an order to count the Innihs immo- 
lated for the Pttsaover, thay reported the nunihar as two hundred and fifty- 
six thousand. Now, as each lamb waa eaten b; a group of from ten to 
twenty persons, the number of Jews who took part in this Passover must 
hava beea abont three millions (Josephua, Belluin. Judatcu/m, n. 1, 8 ; 
vi.9, 3.) 

* At such times the Psalms of the Degrees (cxi.-cixxii.) were chanted. 
' Luke ii. 44. 

* Lake iL 45-*7. 



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84 THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 

while all those who heard Him were astonished at His 
discretion and at His answers." 

How came it that Jesus should be found in this place 
and in such noble company ? The Jewish Doctois were 
accustomed to meet upon Sabbath-days in one of the lofty 
halls of the Temple,^ and would there solve any difficulties 
occurring in the interpretation of the Law. In the time of 
the Pasch particularly, when Jews from all over the world 
flocked to Jerusalem, there were great througa about these 
far-famed masters, eager to be instructed by them. The 
Divine Child mingled among their auditors; those ques- 
tions of His, so profound in their simplicity, attracted the 
attention of the Doctors, who were soon surrounding Him, 
eager to question and to hear Him.^ And such was the 
charm of His discourse that it held these sages of Israel 
fast captives to His voice. 

This congregation was not unworthy to hearken to Him, 
for it was made illustrious by men of most venerable au- 
thority; Hillel,^ revered as the peer of Moses, habited still 
in all the majesty of a noble old aoe; the unyielding 
Shammaj,* who bound all that Hillel loosed ; Jonathas, 
son of XJziel, whose speech was so fiery that the birds 
(says the Talmud), as they passed above his head, 
were either burned, or were transformed into Seraphim.' 
Grouped about these, the parents of Jesus might have 
seen Rabban Simeon as well, — he who had foretold to 
Mary her future griefs ; probably there, too, were Joseph 
of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, whom Grace was shortly to 
allure,* But even more than the aspect of this company 

' Tbe Sanliediin, together with the Scribes, ordinaiily Rssembled in the 
Hall of (lazith, a va»t baailiun built of squaris blocks of stune erected by 
Simon ben Shetah (110 B. c.) ; it was not far from the Priests' Porches 
and tbe Court of tlie Israelites (see Eitto, Cydaptedia : Sanhedrin). 

' " Interrogabat tnagistroa, non nt aliquid disoerel, sed nt inteirogans 
erudiret" (Origen, ffomilia, lix. , in Luc). 

* According to the datrs given by Sepp in bis Life of Jttua, Hillel, 
though ver; aged, nould still be living at this time ILeben Jttu, B. i. 



^sl. 



ti ligHt, Hillel solvit " (Mischna, potsim), 
*■ aoucca, ad ; Baba-batkra, 134. 
* Sepp {Lebenjau, B. i. K. xxi.) has collected variona details, as abuD- 
dant as tliey are curious, concerning these difTerent iietaooages, their manner 



JESUS ASfONG THE DOCTORS. 85 

did the part played by their Son overwhelm them with 
amazement. He iu Whom, thus far, they had seen only 
a thoughtful, recollected Child, sedulous to conceal the 
Divinity inherent in Him, — He now discloses Himself 
suddenly as a superior Being, ovei-awing by His questions 
and replies these old men of consummate learning. 

Still the marvellous character of this scene could not 
make Mary quite foi^et all that slie had been made to 
suffer, and her tremulous heart overflowed in this tender 
reproach : 

" My Son, why treat us thus ? Your father and I have 
souglit You sorrowing." 

Jesus was content to recall to Mary's mind that His 
only Father was in the heavens. 

" Why did you seek Me ? " He said ; " did you not know 
that indeed I must be about My Father's business ? " ^ 

But even this reply, — the first sentence from the Sav- 
iour's lips which has come down to us, — this His word 
neither Joseph nor Mary comprehended. The humble 
Vii'gin herself makes the avowal by that line in Saint 
Luke's narrative:^"And His parents did not understand 
what He had said to them ? " 

All she could do, then, was to engi-ave upon lier mem- 
ory everything she saw and heard that day. As for Jesus, 
He invested Himself again in the same serene silence as 
of old, and now the veil which had covered His Childhood 
once more screens from our view the eighteen years which 
are to follow. 

of life, their doctrine, and their disciples. Tlie Scribes of the lower class 
revered them sa oracles (Cf. Lightfoot, Horis ffebraU:^, ia Matt. xvi. IB; 
a,nd JoBt, Geschickie dfs Judenlkumt, ii. 3, 13). 

' Luke ii. 48, 49. That commentary of Euthymius, " U tt not befitting 
foe Me to be in My Father's house, in this Temple which is His abode ? " 
unnecessarily restricts the deeper significance of those words. Tlie Vulgate 
leaves them their natural sense by putting it under this general form " ^ 
lis qu» Patris Mei sunt oportet Me esse; Does if "' '""'" 

2 Luke ii. 50. 



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THE- CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 



III. The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth. 

Lake ii. 61-G2. 

" Jesus went down to Nazareth with His parents ; there 
He was subject to them, aud He increased id wisdom, in 
age, and in grace before God and before man." Saint Luke 
here reiterates of the Youth of the Saviour what he had 
formerly said of His Childhood. He grew in accordance 
with the laws of that Humanity wherewith He had clothed 
Himself, and this external life had nothing to the outward 
view but what was natural and ordinary : only it was an 
irreproachable life and an unpretentious one. Those who 
saw Jesus In the days of His hidden life, beheld before 
their eyes only a poor laborer toiling in his workshop. 

Joseph was a carpenter ; Jesus was one like him. His 
countiymen recognized Him as such when He preached in 
the synagc^ue of Nazareth. 

"Is not this fellow, here, the carpenter, Mary's son?"i 
they cried out. 

It was a custom among the Jews for every child, what- 
ever his rank or fortune might be, to learn some mechani- 
cal art.^ It was then doubly necessary for Jesus to work 
with His hands, for the Holy Family was poor, and their 
only means of livelihood were drawn irom this handicraft 
of Joseph. 

Everything leads us to suppose that the latter died dur- 
ing the hidden life of the Saviour ; indeed his name ap- 
pears no more in the Gospel, neither at the bridal banquet 

■ Mark Ti. 3. 

' The dignity of manual labor, its healthfal effects upon the body, 
which is strengtheDed by it, and upon tlie conduct of life, which is puri- 
tied by it, were tmtha never naheeded by the Jews, as among the Greeks 
aud Latins. S. Paul mended tents ; B. Ismaet, the illustrious astron- 
omer and rival of Oamaliel II., made needles (Jenisal., Beraekol, iv. 1) ; 
fi. Jose was a tanner iSabbiUh, 496) ; B. Jochanan a shoemaker, etc. 
" Labor is the workman's honor and dignity," says R. Judah (yedarim, 
49 6). Hence, all these most illustrious doctors took care to have some 
mechanical art ; having this, they had the means of gaining a livelihood 
and preserving their independence. ^See Kitto, Cydopcedia : Education ; 
Sepp, Leben Jem, B. i. K. zxiii.) 



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JESUS AT NAZARETH. 87 

in Cana, nor at the departure for Caphamaum,* nor amid 
any of those other circumstances in which the relations of 
the Christ are mentioned. Besides this, would Jesus have 
left Mary to Saint John if her husband had been still 
alive ?' Joseph died in Nazareth, therefore, in the arms of 
Mary, and with the kiss of peace upon his lips from the 
Lord Himself. Jesus was left alone to be the support of 
His Mother ; and so He busied Himself in that carpenter's 
workshop at Nazareth, handling the saw and the plane. 
In its infancy, the Church was wont to recall, for the 
reverent remembrance of the faithful, those ploughs and 
yokes which His divine hands once fashioned from the 
rough wood.' 

It may be that Jesus did not always dwell alone tn that 
quiet home. According to a tradition mentioned by Euse- 
bius, a sister of the Holy Virgin, like her called Mary,* had 
married a brother of Joseph, named Alpheus or Cleophas.^ 
He too must have died during Jesus' sojourn in Nazareth, 
for the Gospel observes the same silence concerning him 
that it does as to Joseph. But for the two sisters, it 
would seem that they kept together; and the numerous 
children of Mary, wife of Cleophas, are those brothers and 
sisters of Jesus of whom the townspeople spoke in these 
terms : " Are not His brethren named James, Joseph, 
Simon, and Jude ? and are not His sisters all here amongst 
us ? " ® It is the usage in Sacred Scripture, and is, in fact, a 
general custom in the Greek language,' to call even distant 
kinsfolk brethren. That term, therefore, only refers to 
these four cousins of Jesus, As for the daughters of Mary 
and Alpheus, who lived in the household of the Saviour, 
we know neither their names nor their number. However 
these words : " Are they not all here among us ? " leave it 
to be supposed that there were at least three.* 

> John ii. 1, II, 12. = Mark vL 8 ; Matt, iriii. 55. 

' S. Justin, C»tUm Tryphonem, 88, * Jnbii xix. 2S. 
' Hegeeippua, npud Eusebiiim, Riatm'ia ecdesUisdcn,, lib. iii. cap. xi. 
« Mark vi. S. 

' Gan. xiii. 8, xiv. 14 ; Lev. xxv. 4S ; Job xix. 13; Xenopbon, Cyro- 
poafta, i. B, 47 ; Isoerates, Fanegyricas, 20 ; Plato, fitednw, 57- 
' As to thasfl brpthren of the Lord, see Appendix V. 



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88 THE CHILDHOOD OF JKSUS. 

Two of their brotfaera are better known; we shall en- 
counter tbem shortly among the Apostles. James, son of 
Alpbeiis, is that " brother of the Lord " whom Saint Paul 
wanted to see, together with Peter, and whom he hailed as 
one of the pillars of the Ctuirch.^ His sturdy virtue got 
for him the surname of The Just. " Consecrated to God 
from the womb of his mother, he drank nor wine, nor 
strong liquor, and abstained from animal food. Never had 
the razor been passed over his locks, never did he use fine 
oil to anoint his limbs," * Jude, the brother of James,^ had 
not, like him, this austerity of the Nazarite ; but it was as 
a tribute to his generosity that he was given the name of 
Lebbeus (Thaddeus), " the Man of Heart," * by which he ia 
distinguished in the Gospel. 

These characteristics were not, however, unfolded until 
later on, beneath the breath of the Holy Spirit, At Naz- 
areth the kindred of the Saviour had no higher thoughts 
than such as were common to their contemporaries; all 
their desires limited to the enjoyment of the good things 
of this earth. At the outset of the Ministry of Jesus, they 
understood so little what was His divine Mission that they 
set out upon a day to bring Him back by force to their 
home, and to constrain Him to take some nourishment : 
" He is becoming mad," * they said. Used as they were to 
see in Jesus one of their own household, the cousins of 
the Saviour were apparently the last to believe in Him ; 
and if, seeing the marvels worked by their " Brother," they 
did finally follow Him, it was in the hope of finding the 
wealth and honore they coveted. 

The following fact related by Saint John hai-dly leaves 
any doubt about this point. 

It was just as the Feast of the Tabernacles was drawing 
near, in the last year of Jesus ; He had not more than six 
months to live. His brethren came to Him : 

1 Matt. n. 8 ; Gal. i, 18. ii. 9. 

* Hegesippus, spud EuBebmm, ffisloria etxUmaaiica, ii. 23. 
» Lulte vi. 18. 

* Matt. I. 3 ; Mark iii. 18. T>, he«rt ; IH, breast. 

* Mark Hi. 20, 21. 



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JESUS AT NAZARETH. 89 

" Come out from Galilee," * they cried, " and go into 
Judea, so that your disciples may see the works which 
you do; for no man does such things in secret when he 
wishes to show himself publicly. Since you are doing 
these things, manifest yourself to the world." 

" Even Hia brethren," adds Saint John, sadly, " did not 
believe in Him." And still it was in their society that 
Jesus of Nazareth lived. These laborers, more engrossed 
in earthly cravings than careful for the things of Heaven, 
shared iu His tasks, gathered around the same family 
table, sat by the same fireside, were witnesses of His 
days and nights. And thus Jesus, by partaking of them, 
has hallow^ those daily trials of our daily life, which 
Heaven mingles with the joys of home and family, 
and which make for the probation and salvation of so 
many souls. 

• John vii. 2-6. 



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BOOK SECOND. 



THE BEGINNINGS 



MINISTRY OF JESUS. 



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RATA MATeAION. 



rivofx^H^av oi ovpavoi, koX ttSa- DNEYMA ©EOY Karaffa 
(iHTCt vtpurrtpav tpjjd/iO'ol' «»■ avrov. Koi ISmi <K1NH ^it 

ojipai^ Xeyovtra 

OStiSc ciTTlv 'O YIOS Itov o aya-HTjTW, tv oi cvSoKijira. 



€I)e ^ejftimoup of tl^ I^olp Cnnttp. 



^n«i /esws being baptized, forthwith came out of the water ; 
mid lo, the heavens were opened, and He saw THE SPIRIT 
OF GOD descending as a Dove and coming upon Him. And 
behold a VOICE from Heaven, saying : 

"This is My beloved SON', in Whom I am well phased!" 



SAINT MATTHEW. 
iii. 16, 17. 



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THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY 

OF JESUS. 



THE EPOCH AND THE LOCALITIES IN WHICH JESUS 
EXERCISED HIS MINISTRY. 



" In the year fifteen of the reign of Tiberius Cfesar, Pon- 
tius Pilate being Grovernor of Judea, and Herod Tetrarch of 
Galilee, Philip, hia brother, ruling over Iturea and the 
land of Trachonitis, and Lysaniaa over the country about 
AbUa, under the Pontificate of Annas and of Caiphas, the 
word of God -was spoken to John, son of Zachary, in the 
desert." Saint Luke, in using these terms to announce 
the mission of John the Baptist, has not thought so much 
of giving US, in this summary of the times, an accurate 
chronology, as he desires to recall the various circum- 
stances surrounding the appearance of the Precursor of 
Jesns ; nevertheless, he is not so wanting in precision but 
that we can infer from his words the very year in which 
the Saviour commeuced His Ministry. Indeed, the public 
life of Jesus was begun by His Baptism ; and as this bap- 
tism followed close upon the first preaching of John the 
Baptist, it must have been in about the fifteenth year of 
Tiberius that the Saviour, leaving Nazareth, descended to 
the banks of the river Jordan. 



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94 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

But what are we to understaod by the fifteenth year of 
Tiberius ? As Augustus died the nineteenth of August, in 
the year 767 of Rome {14 A. d. of our calendar), would it 
not seem, at first sight, that this year must be from 781 to 
782 (28 to 29 of the Christian era), and that consequently 
the birth of Jesus took place, at the latest, in 751, since He 
was " about thirty years old " ^ at the time of His baptism ? 
However, this date cannot be adopted: for we know from 
incontrovertible testimony, on the one liand, that Heiod 
died in the month of April, 750,^ and, on the other, that 
the Nativity of Jesus preceded that event* The fifteenth 
year of Tiberius must then be computed by reckoning, not 
from the death of Augustus, but from the year in which 
Tiberius took active part in the 'government of the Em- 
pire. This way of calculating the reign of their emperors 
was the common custom in the provinces of the East. 
Wieseler has demonstrated this fact by the aid of inscrip- 
tions and medab.* 

Adopting this hypothesis, Jesus was born toward the 
end of the year 749, some months before the death of 
Herod, and He began His Ministry about 780 (27 of the 
common era). 

One other date, which is preserved by Saint John, 
supports these conclusions. Some months after His 
Baptism we find Jeans in Jerusalem for the Passover. 
Moved to wrath at sight of the hucksters in the Temple, 

> Luke itt. 23. 

' M. Wallon has established this puint in bja Ln Crviiimix due A 
l'&!angiU, c. iv. part ij. A cawful stiiilv of cfrtRin medals of the time of 
Herod Antipaa has led a learned prolesbor Heir Ssttler of Manich, 
to adopt the same conclusions. These coina, nnaccountably neglected 
hitherto, give the number of years during wbuh the Tetrarch coveniBd 
Galilee, and have thna determined the exact date of the den^ of his 
father, Herod the Oraat. 

' Matt. ii. I. 

• Wieseler, Beitrdge ztir riclUigen Wardigwnq dtr Eiangtlun pj. IBl- 
194 ; Comp. Patmi, Db Evang. t. iii. diss xixin 45 M FUlion iEiang 
selim S. Luc. in loc.) observes that thu mode of rompntation Ims been 
adopted by the great majority of modem exegetical critics It cannot be 
denied, however, that the contmTj opinion is tiipported by weighty rea- 
sons ; they are clearly SKt forth in the scholarly work of M 1 abb^ Memain, 
La Connaaaance dea tempi fvangdi^iKS, and in the works of M Wallon 



TEE EPOCH AND TBE LOCALITIES. 95 

He whipped them from their stalla with blows fivm a 
thong. 

The Jews demanded at once, " What warrant have you 
to show us for such actions as these ? " ■ 

" Overturn this Temple," said Jesus, " and in three days 
I will rebuild it once more ! "' 

"What?" they replied, "this Temple was forty-six 
years in building, and will you raise it up again in three 
days ? " 

The restoration of the Temple which is referred to here 
was commenced by Herod in the eighteenth year of his 
reign (734).^ The Passover during which these words were 
spoken is therefore that of 780. Now, the date of this 
Pasch being also that in which Jesus began His ministiy. 
His birth, which took place thirty years earlier,* must be 
put about 750 (four years before Christ), or, to be more 
exact, in the month of December, 749 (j'ear 5 b. c.).* 

These two dates (749 and 780) settled upon, — the one as 
fixing the nativity of Jeaus, the other that of the com- 
mencement of His ministry, — there remains only to be de- 
termined tlie period of His death, in order to arrange the 
chronicle of His whole life. It took place, as we shall see 
later," on the fortieth of Nisan (Friday, the seventh of 

' John ii. 13-25. 

^JosephuB, AntiqtiitaUa, xv. II, 1. 

' Lake iii. 23. 

* Tbia date is the oue most commonly adopted. In fact, I.^my, UsLer, 
Petdu, Bengel, Wieseler, Anger, Greswell, agrei' in setting the date of tlir 
Nativity somewhere about the end of the year 6 B. c, or at the beginning 
of the year i. Although M. WaUon coincidea with San-Clemente and 
Ideler in favor of the year 747 (year 7 B. c), he nevertheleas confesses 
that there are no decisive reasons to be alleged against the year 749. So, 
after alt is said od tb? subject, one is free ts prefer either .<>ide of the aivn- 
nient_: "Whether we shoald locate the Birth of our Lord at a little earlier 
or a little lat«r date, and thereby shorten or prolong Hia lite on earth by a 
short space, is. after all a discussion which displays our uncertainty as to 
the chronology of the world aa much as it affects the dates in the life of 
Jesus Christ. And let the discussion result as it may, the thoughtful 
I'eader will have recognized the truth that all this can in no measure aflect 
the ordering or the fullilment of God's eternal Counsels, Let us scrupu- 
lously ttvoicianaehi'onisnis, and the rest we may safely leave for the learned 
labor of scholars" (Bossuet, Z>iscoi(rs sur VHisloire uniremelle, partie i. 
^poqne I*.). 

' See Apiieudix X., The Chronology of the Passiou, 



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'J<i BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTBY OF JESUS. 

April) 783 a. u. c. (the thirtieth year of our era). And 
lieiice there must have been four Passovers during the 
public life of Jesus, That of 780 marks the beginning 
of His preaching' and teaching; a second (781) would 
seem to be the one referred to by Saint John in his 
fifth chapter^ as that id which Jesus cured a paralytic 
at the Poo! of Bethesda." The Saviour did not attend 
the third (782); it was just about the time when He 
multiplied the loaves in Galilee, and to His disciples 
promised a New Pasch ; the fourth Passover* was that of 
His deatli (783). 

As for the ministry of John the Baptist, it preceded the 
first Pasch of 780 by some months. But the period that 
elapsed between the autumn of 779 and that of 780 had 
been observed by all Judea as a Sabbatical Year.* We 
know what that t«rin meant in the Mosaic legislation. 
Every seven years the fields were left fallow ; what they 
brought forth of themselves was divided between the poor, 
the foreigners and the cattle, while over all Judea there 
was a full remission of all debts.* Is it not most probable 
that John Baptist appeared at the beginning of this year, 
when such a piiDtracted period of leisure allowed of the 
people's listening to his Message, — a Message in which 
they heard him speak of expiation, mercy, and forgive- 
ness 1 The Sabbatic Year commenced, like the civil year, 
in the month of Tishri (September) ; '' therefore the ministry 
of John Baptist preceded the Baptism of Jesus by about 
three months. A tradition of the primitive Church locates 
the latter event about the sixth of January, during that 
same winter.* 

We may conclude from these facts that the various 

> John li. 13. 

» John vi. i. See Appendix Vril. 

• WipBeler, Chnmologische Sijnopae, p. 204. 

* Kitto, Cyclopeedia: Sabbatccal Year. 

' The Jews commenced their religious year somewhere in the spring 
eijuiDoctial season, in the month Nisan (April), nod th«ir civil year nboat 
the autumnal equinox, in the month of Tishri (September). 

> Patrizi, De Evangeliis, lib. iii. diiisei-t. xix. 



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THE EPOCH AND THE LOCALITIES. 97 

events in the life of Jesus Christ may reasoDably be con- 
nected with tlie foUowiag dates : — 



749 A. U. 


, &, 5 b. c. 


Dec 25 


, Nativity of Jesus; 


779 „ 


26 A. u^ 


Sept., 


John the Baptist ; 


780 „ 


27 „ 


Jau., 


Baptism of Jeaua Christ ; 


780 „ 


27 „ 


April, 


First Pasch (John, ii.) ; 


781 „ 


28 


April, 


Second Pasch (John, v.) ; 


782 „ 


29 „ 


April, 


Third Paach (John, vi.); 


783 „ 


30 „ 


April, 


Death of Jesus Christ. 



Whichever view one may choose to follow in this matter 
of dates, there is uo reason for laying any very great stress 
upon it, after all ; for Saint Luke ouly alludes cursorily to 
such dates as he gives, aud without ever being divOTted 
from his subject But, on the other band, he goes into a 
detailed account of the names of sovereigns and countries, 
in order to give a survey of the world at the point of time 
when John Baptist began to preach. He mentions the 
lands through which the Saviour moved ; he tells what 
princes held sway in each. It is therefore the field of the 
Ministry of Jesus which is here spread before our eyes. 

First of all, let ns glance over the regions included in 
that field. Two of these provinces, Judea and Galilee, are 
already known to us. However, it may be remarked that 
this latter comprised also (as belonging to the realm of 
Herod Antipas) the mountains of Galaad, which the Gos- 
pel calls by the name of Perea, " the country on the other 
aide of Jordan."^ 

Below this province begins the domain of Philip, con- 
taining the pasture lands of Basan.^ On the east, " the 
landof theTrachonites;" andontheijorth,"Iturea."' This 

I n^pov Tou lopiirov (Matt. iv. 15 ; John i. 28, iii. 2fl ; Josephiis, jku- 
nm). This country reached from Hieromax na far as the Amoii. 

* S. Lake doea not speak of the land of Basan ; bat we know from 
Josephna that the realm of Philip then comprised the portion of terri- 
tory hnown to-day as Haurau, which at that time waa divided iota four 
provinces, — Gaulanitis (the present Jaiilan), Anranitis (which properly 
speaking is Hauran), Batanea (Ard-el-Bathanveh), and Trachonitia (now 
Lejah). (Josephua. Antiquitnlra, xvji. 8, 1 ; 11. 4.) 

' Iturea owed its name to Jetur, son of IsBiaijl (Iji-n. xxv. IG ; 1 Paral. 
T. 18). 



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98 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

last-named region, with its rich meadow-eountiy in the 
south, gradually grows more ami more forbidding of aspect 
the nearer we approach to Damascus. The ground is 
rugged, strewn with jagged rocks and black bowlders, and 
the flocks feed within the craters of extinct volcanoes. 

Still wilder and more gloomy is the Trachonite country. 
It lies between Iturea, Basan, and the desert, only elevated 
some thirty feet above the undulating plains of Hauran, — 
like a shoal of rocks in a sea of verdure. Any one might 
imagine, viewing the chaotic condition of these dreary wilds, 
that some time, long ago, huge waves of basalt had been 
petrified all at once in the midst of a tremendous tempest. 
Some violent upheaval must have been the cause 'of these 
ugly chasms, dark caves, and deep defiles, which make the 
waste lands of Lejah • an object of wonderment. Such it 
was in the days of Jesus, and such we find it still to-day ; 
for neither time nor man has changed the character of this 
sti'ange country. The sixty cities of Argob — "the Heap 
of Kocks,"* as the Hebrews called them — have still pre- 
sen'ed intact their rugged walls and their houses with 
doors made of stone, — aJl so dark and gloomy that, in the 
time of Solomon,* they were believed to be made of bronze. 
Abilene, the province ruled by that Lysanias whom Saint 
Luke puts last in his list, is a country of a more charming 
complexion. It lies about the base of the Antiliban 
Mountains. The traveller who leaves Damascus for Baal- 
bek, after a six hours' journey in a gorge made fertile by the 
waters of Barada, encounters the ruins of ancient Abila 
(called to-day Souk Ouadi Bai'ada), the many inscriptions 
found in this locality * leaving no doubt as to this point. 
This city was the capital of a principality which extended 

> The Arab's nam* for this province, Lejah (Tlie Lair), wae given to it 
becanae of its being used as a refuge and haunt for the robber hordes ; that 
of Trachon, Trachonitis {rpax^s «" iirpiMijt r6rat), as well an the He- 
brew word AiKob, alludes to the rooky character of the soil. This singular 
region is oval in form, and is about flight leases in length by five in 



:e 37- There the two 



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THE EPOCH ANO THE LOCALITIES. 99 

from Hermon to Libanus, and of which the origin ia vely 
doubtful. Josephua and Strabo speak of a Ptolemy, son 
of Meneus, who held sway over the plains of the Marsyas, in 
the mountainous country of Iturea, and counted among its 
towns Ghalcis, at the foot of libanus, and Heliopolis 
(Baalbek).' This Ptolemy had a sou, Lysanias, who was 
put to death by Antony, at the instigation of Cleopatra, 
who thus wrested from nim his realm.' What became of 
this principality thereafter ? Did it pass into the hands 
of Herod, who, as we know, purchased from Cleopatra a par- 
cel of her domains in Syria,^ and obtained the remainder 
from Augustus after the battle of Actium ? * There ia rooiri 
here for any number of conjectures, since after the death 
of Lysaniaa no mention of his kingdom is found anywhere 
until the time (about sixty yeara later it was) when Saint 
Luke mentions this same region in connection with a 
Lysanias, — no longer as king but tetrarch — of Abila. 
The division of Palestine and the neighboring country into 
Tetrarchies did not take place until the death of Herod. 
Probably during ttiat epoch a prince of the lines of 
Ptolemy and Lysanias, and bearing the name of the latter 
king, received fmm Rome, along with the title of tetrarch, 
a portion of the kingdom of his fathers, and so made Abila 
the centre of a new state. The historian Joaephus had 
some knowledge of this tetrarchy, since he takes care to 
distinguish between the Abila of the second Lysaniaa and 
Chalcis, the capital of the first ruler of that name ;^ and, 
furthermore, we possess inscriptions later than the time of 
Herod which in like manner make mentioa of a Lysanias, 
Tetrarch of Abilene.* 
The other princes who lived in the time of Jesus were 

' Joaephmi, ArUiquUaUi. xiv. 7, 1 : Strabo, xvii. The Marayas emptiM 
into the Orontes between Lnriana and A|>aineB. 
^ Joaephus, AMiquUaUt, iv. 4, 1. 

* Josaphua, xv. i, 2. 

* Josflphus, XV. 7. 3. 

' Joseplius, Bell-am Jitdalcum, a. IS, 8 ; AnCvjuitata, xx., 7. 1. 

' Here we have done no more than give the conclusions arrived at b; 
M. Wallon from his learned researches aa t« the Abilene of Lyaanias 
{De la Otagajux due d Vlioangile, partie ii. chapitre v. ; compare Kitto'a 
Cydop<edia : Lyhanias). 



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100 BEGINNINGS OF THE- MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

sons of Herod the Great, and had inherited his estates. It 
is true that their father's will only designated two among 
them for the succession,— Arcbe^us and Antipa^ ; but in 
those days everything happened in Judea according to the 
good pleasure of Rome, aud Augustus had little respect for 
any dispositions made by the old king. Half of his teiii- 
tory — Idumea, Samaria, and Judea — was handed over to 
Archelaus ; the rest, divided in equal parts, formed two 
tetrarchies, which, following the proper acceptation of this 
term/ comprised each a quarter of the kingdom of Herod, 
One such portion fell to the lot of Antipaa ; it was com- 
posed of Galilee and Perea. The other was reserved for 
Philip, — the son whom Herod had by Cleopatra of Jeru- 
salem, and who while he was being educated at Rome had 
won the imperial fovor.^ His tetrarchy extended from the 
Lake of Genesareth^ to the sources of the Jordan. It com- 
prised Iturea and Trachonttis, as we have already seen, and 
beyond this countries much more fertile, — Giaulauitis, 
Auranitis, and Batanea ; these altogether went to make np 
his province.* During the entire lifetime of Jesus ^ these 
countries enjoyed peace under the government of a prince 
who was just, humane, and a patron of the arts* More 
than once did the Saviour pass along its pleasant paths, 
whether it was to seek a retreat near Moiint Hermon, or 

' The title of Tetmrch properly meana tlie sovereign of a fourth part of 
Buy country {Smith, Dii^ioimr^ of jtiitiqaitiea: Tbtuahcua). It wss given 
by the Eoraans to those tributary princes whose doniaina were not impor- 
tiuit enougli to merit the name of kingdom ; however, the tetrarchy of 
Antipaa and that of Philip were each made up iu reality of one quarter 
of the kingdom of Herod (Josephus, Anliquilates, xvii. 11. 4 ; Belhim 
Judaieum, ii. 6, 3). 

* Josephus, Anliquilales, xvji. 1, 3 ; Bdtaiii Judaleum, i. 28, 4. 

■ The village of Bethsiuda, on the northwestern shore of the lake and 
near tho mouth of the Jordan, was one of his possessions. This Bethsoida, 
situated in Gaulanitis, should not be confounded with a villa^ of the 
same name which we shall encounter later on, upon the western border of 
the lake. Philip transfoimed this little hamlet into a superb town, which 
thua became his favorite residence. He afterwards called it Julias, iu 
honor of the daughter of his illustrious benefactor. 

* JosephOB, AntiqiiUaUs, ivii. II, 4 ; Helium Judaieum, ii. 6, 3. 

* Philip reigned over this tetrarchy for thirty-seven years (from the 
year 4 B. c, to 34 a. d.). 

' Josephus, Aiiliquitalt$, iviii. 4, 6. 



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THE EPOCH AND THE LOCALITIES. 101 

to rest within its fresh blooming valleya watered by tlie 
springs of the Jordan.' 

Of all the regions which we have been naming over, no 
one listened for a longer time to the teachings of the 
Saviour than Galilee. Antipas, tetrarch of this province, 
was an indolent and dissipated prince, entirely engrossed 
in the pursuit of vicious pleasures and in courting the 
favor of Tiberius ;^ he was of a nature which would be apt 
to pay little heed to a matter which appeared so trivial, to 
bis way of thinking, that it need not cause him any un- 
easiness. His only desire in the matter was to witness 
some of the wonders concerning which rumor had ai-oused 
his curiosity.^ 

As for Archelaus, he could 'never have been seen by 
Jesus ; for in the tenth year of the Divine Childhood this 
prince was deposed and exiled among the Gauls. From 
the outset Augustus had distrusted his weak and passion- 
ate natui-e, and he only vouchsafed to allow him for a 
time the title of ethnarch, promising him that of king if 
he proved liimself worthy thereof.* But the Emperor saw 
his forebodings amply and immediately justified; for the 
Jews were shortly stirred to revolt by the tyranny of their 
new ruler. Hence it became necessaFy to withdraw what 
little power had been conferred' upon him. 

Thus vanished even that poor shadow of independence 
which had still remained to Judea. Augustus made the 
country merely an appendage to Syria, the government of 
which was then in the hands of Pnblius Sulpicius Quirinius. 
Nevertheless, the importance of Judea, as well as the neces- 
sity of restraining so uneasy a people, made the presence 
of a procurator invested with almost absolute authority 
requisite.* 

' Matt. iri. 13. 

' JosepliUB, AiiMqwitaUs, xviii. 2, 3. 

* Josephua, AntiquilMes, xvil. II, 4 ; 13, 2 ; BtUum JudaUMm, ii. 6, 3. 

' The Procurators (proeuraton-s Cffisaris} in the imperinl prowinoen 
were intrusted with the uoUeotorship of tflxps ; they eieroiB«d laiietions 
analogous to that of the Queators m seuntoiial provinces. Sometimes, 
however, wheu the seditious state of the country detnanded it, they had 



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102 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS 

A Koman knight, Copouius, was the first to till this diffi- 
cult positioL. He was obliged to uae force to bend this 
stubborn country beneath his yoke, and impose upon it the 
tax-levy which had been decreed tor the whole empire. It 
required all the intJueuce that the High-Friest Joazar could 
exert to prevent a general uprising ; but he could not, by 
any efforts, discourse a certain few fanatics, wlio revolted 
at a signal from Judas the Ganlonite and the Pharisee 
Sddoo. Their attempts were at ouce suppressed ; but the 
frequent executions only exalted their courage ; and, ever 
after, similar Zealots did not cease to trouble the peace 
of Jerusalem, still repeating their war-cry : " We have no 
other Master but God." These seditions, which were con- 
tinually springing up, exhausted the patience of the first 
governors promptly enough. In less than ten years we see 
three Romans, each in turn endeavoiing to direct the 
affairs of Judea, — Coponius, Marcus Ambivius, and 
Annius Rufus. 

With Tiberius Judea entered upon a calmer era, and 
during the twenty-three years of his reign it received but 
two procurators, — Valerius Gratus and Pontius Pilate.' 
Of the former, the only fact on record which is remembered 
of him is the faciUly with which he deposed the High- 
Priests ; for finding Annas invested with these lofty func- 
tions on his entering into office, he substituted Ismael, son 
of Fabi ; then, after him, Eleazar, son of Annas ; a little 
later, Simon, son of Camith ; and finally, Joseph Caiphas, 
son-in-law of Annas. 

Pontius Pilate, who succeeded him, has attained a sad 
renown. In the twelfth year of Tiberius, being chaiged 
with the government of Judea, he showed himself, at the 
outset, such as he was to the last moment, — a man with a 
predisposition to justice, but rendered unreliable by a com- 
bination of ambition and cowardice, One of liia first acts 
was to send a Roman garrison, with their standards, to 
r executing 



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THE EPOCH AND TBE LOCALITIES. 103 

Jerasalem. His predecesaor, more politic thau he, had 
been careful not to intrude within the Temple walla with 
those Roman ensigns, emblazoned with idolatrous legends 
and insignia ; they even forbore to interfere with the troops 
of Zealots. But at the command of Pilate legiouaries broke 
down the gates in the night time, and at dawn the populace 
saw with horror those impure images contaminating the 
Citadel of God. A suppHant throng was despatched to 
Oesarea, and during five days kept beseeching Pilate with 
their clamorous petitions. The Governor, wearying of 
their persistency, ordered the soldiers to surround the 
crowd and disperse them by force of arms. At their ap- 
proach the Jews cast themselves tiat upon the ground, 
preferring to die rather than to endure any violation of the 
Law. Pilate was compelled to yield to their stubborn 
resolution, and withdrew his standards. 

At another time, a little later than this, he was even less 
successful in a similar enterprise. He suspended, along 
the walls of his palace in Jerusalem, golden shields with 
the names of P^an divinities graven upon their glittering 
surfaces. Again the people rose up in revolt, and Tiberius 
himself ordained the removal of those emblems, which 
were so abhorred by his new subjects. 

It was not merely this vacillatioQ between rashness and 
timidity which mihtated against PiJate's authority ; even 
his favors were treated with disdain. Jerusalem lacked a 
sufficiency of water ; he decided to bring the needed supply 
from a distance of about three leagues, introducing it into 
the city through one of those majestic aqueducts, such as 
remain to this day a grand memorial of ancient Pome. 
But the people, upon learning that the revenues of the 
Temple were to be devoted to this project, laid hold upon 
the workmen and put a stop to all labor upon it. Much 
blood was spilt before the rebels were suppressed. 

This persistent hostility put Pilate's capricious nature 
out of all patience, and he decided to follow the example 
of his predecessors. He retired to Cesarea, upon the 
borders of the sea, administered the government while 
keeping aloof from the people, and contented himself with 



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104 BEGINNINGS OP THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

levying taxes and putting a check upon unruly spirits. It 
was only during the feasts of the Pasch tbat he would con- 
descend to occupy the fortress Antouia with a detachment 
of his troops ; for from this seat he could dominate the 
Temple with its throngs, while he held his forces in readi- 
ness to crush out any insurrection.' 

Of all the members of the Sanhedrin, those who con- 
ceived the bitterest animosity against Jesus were the 
princes of the Priesthood, And so, because they had such 
a preponderating influence in that Council, Saint Luke 
mentions this fact at the outset of his Gospel — that Annas 
and Caiphas were the two leaders of the great Sacerdotal 
Body during the public life of the Saviour. Annas, it 
would seem, held the first place there. Although de- 
posed from his of&ce by Valerius Gratus, the predecessor 
of Pilate, he not only retained enough influence to procure 
the elevation of his five sons, together with this same son* 
in-law Caiphas, to the pontificate, but he even managed to 
maintain a rigorous authority in all the councils of the 
high-priests who succeeded him. Undoubtedly the Jews, 
who held the more tenaciously by their theocratic institu- 
tions in proportion as the Itomans infringed upon them 
more insolently, in this instance would regard the con- 
tinual changes imposed upon their royal priesthood as 
illegal and without force. Exasperated by such sacrileges, 
they would, to all outward appearance indeed, submit to 
the pontiff put over them by the will of Kome ; but all the 
same they would look upon one man alone as their legiti- 
mate head. This man was Annas, whom, as we shall see, 
they loaded with attention and honors.' 

) In regard to tbe condition of Jiulea aSier it was lednced to a Roman 
province, and as to the various procurators who administered its affaira, 
aer Milman, Hiilory of the Jems, book xii. 

" Probahly thia is what 3. Luke meant to have us understand when he 
put tbe title High-Friest in the singular number and next to the name 
of Annas. In fact, the original l«it should be translated thua : " Under 
Annaa the High-Priest, and uniler Caiphaa" — 'Bri ^xtipim 'Awu «al 
Kai'ct^ The Vulgate has given us the reading of the received t«xt : 
ipX"!^'^—"'^ principibua sacerdotnm Anna et Caipha." TTib other 
form, ipj^iep^tit, is sunporteii by the authority of the moat ancient manu- 
scripts, — the Atexandrine, those of the Vatican, Sinai, Ephraim, Beza, etc. 



THE EPOCH AND THE LOCALITIES. 105 

Such was the government of Judea in the time of Jesus 
Christ, such the circumstances amid which He appeared, 
and to which Saint Luke has been careful to call our at- 
tention. As he was addressing readers who were familiar 
with the period and the places of which he speaks, a few 
words sufficed for his purpose ; to-day we need to know 
much more of detail in order to give the words of the 
Evangelist their original clearness and importance. 



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CHAPTER II. 

THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 
Matt. iii. 1-17 ; Mark i. 1-11 ; Luke Ui. 1-22. 

In a westerly direction from Jerusalem and near the vil- 
lage of Ain Karira, you will find a eave which still bears 
the name of John. It is a considerable cavern, difficult 
of access, and retains no sign of habitation, save a stone 
bench hewn out of the rock, made to serve for a bed or 
couch ; a few stunted shrubs surround the mouth, and close 
by there is a spring, beneath which a basin has been hol- 
lowed out. It is h'ere, as the local traditions teU us, the 
son of Zachary grew to manhood. The solitary reaches 
round about are called " John's Desert," and some would 
even go so far as to make this neighborhood the birthplace 
of the Precursor. We have seen that much weightier 
evidences have secured that distinction for the region 
about Hebron. So, then, Ain Karim is only one of those 
numerous retreats in which the Prophet passed the solitary 
days and years of his early life. 

From his very infancy, in fact, John had given signs of 
a strength of soul far from common, and though by right 
of inheritince he might have claimed the office of Sacri- 
ficer, he quitted the Temple to bury himself in the desert' 
By tliia term is to be understood the wild hill-country 
which reaches from Hebron to Jerusalem, being no more 
than a series of steep ranges, cleft and broken into by a 
number of parched and arid valleys ; a patch of dry un- 
derbrush, here and there, ia aU that varies the monotony 
of those chalky stretches, whose glare so wearies one's 
■ Lake i. 80. 



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TBE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 107 

eyes. Even this dreary undei^rowth disappears as you near 
the Dead Sea; the desolation now comes to be complete, an 

absolute ^aste ; the sight can descry nothing but an undu- 
lating moorland, as it were, made up of gray fields of 
ashes ; while in the distance the attainted lake exhales its 
noisome breath, recalling the lueniory of Sodom's awful 
condemnation.' Such is the appearance of the desert 
where John dwelt until the age of thirty, not as a hermit, 
but wandering about, like the prophets of olden time, with- 
out other shelter than the caverns of the mountains or 
the scanty foliage of the thickets.^ 

In the midst of this wilderness, blasted by the thunder 
bolts of divine Justice, John grew to an understandii^ of 
his Mission. All things must have revealed it to him, 
both the wondrous happenings at his birth and the pro- 
phecies which foretold his coming. Two of these predic- 
tions are mentioned in the Gospel. That of Malachy* 
prophesied that the Lord would send before His Messiah a 
Messenger, to prepare the way against His coming. In 
the other, Isaiah t«lls us to hearken " to the voice of him 
who cries out in the desert : * Prepare ye the way for the 
Lord ; make straight His paths ; every deep defile shall be 
filled up ; every mountain and little hill laid low ; the 
crooked paths shall be straightened out, the nigged places 
become plain, and all fiesh shall see the Salvation which 

1 Th« Dead Sea presents this repulsive appearance whenever the strong 
heat of the sun penetrates to the foul depths of that seething sea of asphalt ; 
but only let the wind blow from the north and sweep away the bituTninoua 
vapors, and at once its whok aspect changes. During a fresh, breeiy 
morning in the apring, we have seen the waters of the accursed pool as 
bright and charming as any lake in Italy ; its placid waves ripple softly 
upon the beach ; and until you plunge your hand into the water you would 
scarcely believe it could be of ao repulsive a nature. 

Ufeingsvi. 2. 

'Matt, iil 1. 

* Is. xl. 3. The words tv tp^Mif, which both here and in the Sep- 
tuagiut refer to fioSrriH, are connected with i-rottidiraTr in the Hebrew : 
" A cry reeehofd ; Prepare ye in the desert the ways of the Lord I " 
S. Luke (iii. 4-6) gives this prophecy more at length than do<^ S. Mat- 
thew (iii 8) ; bat S, Mark (i. 2S) gives it preceded by this oracle of 
Mnlichy (iii. 1) ; "Behold, I send My Angel before Thy face to prepare 
the way for Thee." 



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108 BEOINNINGS OF THE MimSTRY OF JESUS. 

Cometh of God." These impassable ravines, these moun- 
tains rising around him on every side, these steep path- 
ways, forced by the great bowlders and precipices to make 
innumerable curves and windings, — all these were before 
the eyes of John ; and to him, a.? to Isaiah, these all only be- 
tokened that desolation, midmost the wilderness of souls, 
which he must needs make ready for the coming of the 
Messiah. As the Precursor of Jesus, he was to run before 
Him, just as heralds announce the sovereigns of the East, 
with trumpet and loud voice, bidding all make clear the 
thoroughfares to do honor to the royal progress. 

John was preparing himself for his ministry, not only 
by meditatii^ oo what Heaven revealed to him, but by the 
practice of the most austere virtues. Consecrated to God 
by the vow of the Nazarite, he never tasted either of the 
fruit of the vine or of strong liquor, nor had his locks 
ever been shorn.* But soon this abstinence seemed to him 
too common and too slight. All his food, in the desert, 
was limited to locusts,* and the wild honey found among 
the rocks.^ His frame became reduced by fasting. Gaunt 
and half-naked, wearing no other covering than a leathern 
gii-dle about his loins, while over his shoulders hung a 
cloak of camel's-liair. 

Therefore, so soon as John entered the valley of Jericho. 
all eyes were drawn to him, while forthwith they recalled 



the same way (Pliny, Historia natxiyalis, v 

' ' hanes, Achamejises, 116 ; Niebiihr, _ ... ^ ,. 

n the Hiwrs of the Barbary States making a meal of these insecta 
( Travels, p. 164). The locust was served up in various fashions, some- 
times ground and mixed with meal, sometimes salted or smoked, sometimes 
roasted, and dressed with butter, Kitto {Fictoriai Biile, note on Lev. %i. 
ai ) assures us that the taste of the grasshopper cooked in this style is not 
unlike that of the shrimp. 

' Wild honey has always been abundant in Palestine. Long before 
their entrance into Jndea, the Lord had described it to Moses as a land 
where floweth milk and honey (Exod. iii. 8). All travellers agree in de- 
claring that in this respect it has not changed, and that in the wildaft and 
most deserted spots the bees fill the hollows of the trees and the crevites in 
the rocks with their «-axj combs. 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 109 

how Elias was caught up in the chariot of fire, from these 
same fields of theirs.^ They had always believed that the 
Thesbite had been but lifted up into the heavens that he 
might descend again upon some future day. This Malachy 
had declared. But that famous prophecy, in which he 
alluded to both precursors, had only perplexed the minds 
of the Jews. They could not distinguish John, tlie Herald 
of the living Christ, from Elias, who was to precede the 
last coming of the Lord ; and as Elias was alone named 
by the Prophet,^ it was to him solely that their hopes had 
reverted. And hence always, upon the least rumor that 
Grod had raised up a new Seer, one single questiou sprung 
to the lips of the whole people : — 

" Is it Elias ? " 

On beholding John, their excitement was all the more 
natural, since in him there was really revived the lofty 
fervor and austere features of the most illustrious of all 
the prophets; the same abruptness in manifesting himself, 
the same ascetic garb, the same strong speech. The re- 
semblance was so perfect that the people were mistaken, 
and believed that the Thesbite had returned, just as he is 
painted in the Song of the son of Sirach : " — 

He hath arisen, EHiaa, the Prophet who is as a fire ! 
His word bums like a torch. 
He hath brought down upon iBrael a famine. 
And, in his mighty zeal, he hath made them very few. 
Armed with the word of the Lord, he hath shut up the heavens. 
And, from thence, three times hath he drawn down fire. 
What glory unto thee, Eliaa, flash forth these wondrous deeds : 
Who then shall equal thy renown 1 
Thou who hast awaked the dead men from their tombs. 
Thou who didst bring them up from Hades by the word of the 
Moat High I 

' i Kings ii. 1-14. 

* We have already flUnded (page 27) to the fact that Mnlachy, in the 
thinl chapter of his Piophpcy, announces th« mniinff of John Bnntist 
as the Herald of .iMua, while in the fourth chapter he speaks of Eliaa 
returning at the end of the world ; " I will send tlie Prophet Elias before 
the great Day of the I,ord Cometh," etc, 

* Ecclesiastic, ilviii. 



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110 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Thou who haat brought down kiugs, down to perdition, 
And the haughty ones from their beds of soft repose ! 
Thou hast hearkened to the sentence upon Siou, 
And upon Horeb heard decrees of vengeance ; 
And thou hast anointed kings unto penance. 
And the Propliets, that they may come after thee. 
Uplifted in the (iery whirlwind's midst, 
Upon the chariot with steeds of flame. 
Thou art preserved to give us warning of the fateful hour. 
And to appease His nrmtb, ere ever it blaze hercely forth: 
To reconcile the hearts of the fathers unto the children, 
And to restore again the tribes of Israel ! 

Blessed are they who have beheld thee, they that have been 
beloved by thee ! 

The hope of finding a Prophet so famous thrilled the 
heart of all Israel, and on every side they flocked to the 
Jordan. Here it was that John commenced his Mission. 
" His voice resounded through the desert of Judea," says 
Saint Matthew ;• by which we are to understand (following 
Saint Luke^), "thi-onghout all the country which borders 
upon the Jordan." 

In fact this stream beats a singular aspect, because of 
its flowing along between uninhabited banks. No craft 
ever furrows its waters ; no town is builded along its brink. 
The valley through which it rushes on its way is called 
by the Greeks the Channel (The Aulon), and by the Arabs 
the Gorge (The Ghor).^ It merits both these names ; now 
extending itself to some width, then again intrenched be- 
tween the mountain-sides which overhang it. In the 
middle way lies a long gully, forming the bed of the Jor- 
dan, which flows along hidden beneath a leafy screen of 
willows and azaroles. At a distance this green line, wind- 

> Matt. iii. 1. 

" Luke iii. 2, 8. 

■ Tho Jordan (the larden, from the word T:',, larad, " to dracend " ) 
well deserved its name ; lor in its numberless windings it has channellrd 
out s bed which continaally deepens aa it Bows along. Though the Marsh 
of Houleh lies hut a short distance from the sources of the stream, it has, 
however, at that point rpached a depth of eighty-eight metres below the 
level c^ the Mediterranean. 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. HI 

ing through the barren pass, is all that there is to indicate 

the presence of the stream. 

The Prophet generally remained near some ford ; for he 
baptized by immersiou, and everywhere else the steep 
river-banks make it difficult of access. Jolin the Evange- 
list, at this point, speaks of a place named " Bethany or 
Bethbara, over beyond the Jordan." Both these words 
signify alike " the House at the Passage," ^ and hence we 
know that the river used to be crossed at this spot. The 
tradition which locates this ford opposite Jericho says 
that Jesus received baptism here, together with a great 
number of those who had come from the south. John 
remained a long time at Bethany, for that route was fitt- 
quented by the Jews who travelled between Perea and 
Jerusalem. Only toward the end of his life do we see 
him ascending the course of the stream, as far as CEiion 
(The Springs) ; this was near Salem, and above the Pass of 
Succoth, over which Jacob crossed on his return from 
Mesopotamia. So that, with Jericho on the south, (Enon 
to the north, keeping to the valley of the Joi-dan, we have 
marked out for us the region within which John preached 
and baptized. He exercised his ministrations there with 
entire freedom, passing from one bank to the other, but 
without ever withdrawing far from the streams of water, 
which were necessary for baptism and the symbol of hia 



It ia often asked whence the Precursor borrowed this 



' The most ancient Manuserints aud nearlj' all the Yersions have Betb- 
V. Orieen uioposed the I'eaaing Bethbara, because in bU timn there 
^ of that name on the banks of the Jordan, while he had looked 



le called Bethany. Bethbara, 11^3^ H'S, the House at the 
PaaaagB, and Bethany, FI'^JK !V3, the Boat or Ferry House, according to 
bizn might have been used to designate tbe same place. But without 
resorting to this hypotheaia, why not admit that in Origen's day the 
village of Bethany might have disappeared ? In a country which for three 
hundred years was ravaged by fire and swnrd, such a fact would not be 
in the least unlikely. The traditions of the Latin Church indicate Bethany 
as tbe spot where Jesus was baptized, .just opposite Jericho, near the rained 
Convent of 8. John. The pilgrims who come from the Oreek Church hold 
that the ^wt is three or four kilometres lower down the stream ( Kobinsou, 
Biblical SeseuTchea, t. i. p. 536). 



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112 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

rite, aod some believe that it is to be connected with the 
ablutions wliicb were ordained foi Jewish proselytes. But 
why need we look to au origiu so uncertain as this ? * What 
moved John with the desire of baptizing was, in the first 
place, the example of those frequent purifications com- 
manded by the law ; but, moat of all, the exhortations of 
the Prophets,^ which urged them to wash away the stains 
of sin from their souls, wliile they thus purified their 
bodies. John's Baptism was only figurative of this cleans- 
ing of the heart, and, to make it clear that true contrition 
must penetrate through all secret recesses of the soul 
of man, the Precursor chose to immerse the whole body 
of the sinner. 

One other ordeal was enjoined upon his penitents by 
the Baptist, — that of confessing their sins. The sacred 
text seems to insinuate that he even made it an express 
condition of baptism.^ Did it only go so far as an acknowl- 
edgment that all men are sinners ? Christian antiquity 
never tolerated any such belief, for it was in remembrance 
of the Confession prescribed by John that the catechumens 
made a voluntary declaration of their sins.* 

And, after all, the persuasions by which John incited 
them to penance leave no doubt as to the motive animat- 
ing his thought. It is all summed up in those words : — 

" Do penance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is nigh unto 
you ! " 

The Kingdom of Heaven, no longer the kingdom upon 
earth, of which Israel was in expectation. The Jewish 
doctors, deluded by their own chimeras, had but travestied 
that expression, "the Kingdom of Heaven," by making it 

' Neither Josephus nor Fbilo, nor anj ot the Targumists, make mention 
of tbis Ablntion of the Proselytes, and the fii'st trace we itnd of it ia in tbe 
Qemara of Babylon. 

» Is. i. 16 ; iv. 4. 

' 'EiaitoXoyouiieBoi, Mark i. 5. Tbe present participle would indicate 
that the penitents received baptism at the moment of their oonfesaion, 
and by this it would seem that John only bapti?^d those from nhom he 
obt^ned this token of repentance (Fritzsche, in loco]. 

* " Cum oonfessione omniam retro delictonim, ut exponant etiam bap- 
tismum Joannis" (Tertullian, De BaptUmo, 20. SeeFatrizi, De Evan, 
geliia, lib. iii. dissertat. xUv. 6). 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 113 

portend the temporal triumph of the Messiah ; ^ but John 
restored to it its real signilicaiiGe, and by this proclaimed 
the divine character of the coming reign. 

This Message thrilled them witli aU the more emotion 
since everything about the Baptbt spoke to their souls so 
insistently, moving them to true coutiition. He was a 
Voice, — "a Voice crying iu the desert, 'Prepare ye the 
way of the Lord.'"* He was listened to by the sons of 
Israel, who were just then celebratii^ a solemn Sabbatical 
Year, and so, during the leisure hours of those holy days 
of rest, felt their hearts stirred with deeper yearnings than 
ever before for the coming of the Messiah. More than 
that (let us never lose sight of this fact), there are certain 
times when grace moves upon the spirit of this world 
in more notable abundance ; the appearance of John the 
Baptist was the signal of one such great epoch. The 
hand of God laid hold upon the agitated throng and 
bore them on towards the sacred stream. They came 
from either bank, " from Jerusalem, from Judea, and 
from the countries lying round the Jordan ; " * that is 
to say, from Perea, from Samaria, from Galilee, and from 
Gaulanitis. Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, publicans, sol- 
diers, courtesans, one and all, hurried to listen to this 
man's word, so stem and relentless to all imposture, all 
pride and luxury. 

The poor and humble ones were the first to kneel 
before the envoy of Heaven.* One after another they 
stepped down into the stream of the Jordan, weeping, con- 
fessing their sins, and, by their penitence, giving an effi- 
cacy to John's baptism which it had not in itself. But 
when it came the turn of the Pharisees and Sadducees, 
and when the stem Prophet saw them advancing to play 
a hypocritical part in the performance of the sacred rite, 
then rang out those thundering words, bringing them to a 
halt there upon the bank : — 

' Sm Schoettgen, Mora Hihralca, dis»ertatio De Rtgnu axlomm. 

* Mark i, 3. 

* Matt, iii. 6. 

* Hatt. iii. S. 



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114 BEGINNINGS Of THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

" Breed of vipers," * he cried, " of whom have you leanied 
to flee from the Wrath that is to come ? " 

These great ones of Judea had never listened to such 
language as this ; they were used to see foreheads bowed 
down to the ground before them, while all Jerusalem hailed 
them as her masters. John tore away the mask : — 

" Show me some worthy fruits of repentance," was hia 
command, " and do not \'enture* to say among yourselves : 
'We have Abraham for our father.' For I say to you, God 
ia able to make these stones give birth to children unto 
Abraham." 

It were impossible to strike these haughty men with a 
lietter aimed or a more trenchaut blow. It was useless 
for them to pride themselves upon their ancestry. John 
had declared that to be sons of Abraham by the flesh 
was of no avail to them, if they were not the true off- 
spring of his virtue and his faith. The same Hand which 
had formed Adam out of clay, and brought Isaac from the 
hosom which was chill and barren as a stone,^ could like- 
wise bring forth from the very pebbles of this river-bed the 
seed promised unto Abraham, innumerable as the stars of 
heaven, or as the sand upon the shores of the sea.* 

Thus, finally, the ancient alliance was declared to be 
dissolved, and with it went the loftiest prerogative of Israel, 
— that ancient privil^e which had exalted it above all the 
nations. For, John added ; " Already the axe is at the root 
of the trees. Every tree which will not bear good fruit 
shall be cut down and thrown into the fire." * And yet this 
warning was to be of no avail. Humiliated, but not con- 
verted, the Pharisees and Sadducees withdrew from the 
Jordan, while only a very few of their number bowed 
down beneath the hand of John and received his baptism.* 

Though he was unapaving, even to harshness, toward 
these supercilious formalists, the Precursor had only words 
of mercy and kindness for the common people. When, in 

' Matt iii. 7-9. " Serpeotes e aerpentibuB " (Lightfoot, Hortt Sdiral- 
OT, in Matt, jti. 7). 

' H4 Sp^ijaBi (Luke iii. 8} ; " Do not even begin Ui say ; do not 
attemiit it." 

« la. V. 1. • Gen. xxii. 17. ' Matt. iii. 10. ' Luke iii. SO. 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 115 

their turn, the crowd gathered around the Prophet, asking, 
" And we t<»o ; what must we do ? " ^ John did not tell them 
to imitate hia penitential lil'e ; he was content to preach 
to them the duties of almsgiving aad fraternal love. 

" Let him who has two coats give to him who has none, 
and let him who has food use it in like manner." 

The publicans drew near as well. Hateful to the Jews 
from their office as collectors of the Komau tax, they came to 
seek John, ready to sacrifice everything for this baptism.^ 

" Master, what shall we do ? " they asked him. 

He did not oblige them to throw up this despised .busi- 
ness of theii^ ; but rising above the narrow views of his 
countrymen, he recc^nized that they might serve the pub- 
lic authority without wronging the people. 

" Demand nothing," he said, ■' above that which has been 
commanded you." 

Certain soldiers, upon their march, passed near to where 
John was preaching,^ and witnessed some of these scenes 
of pardon. These also, yielding to grace, questioned the 
Prophet, and he told them: "Uo not do any violence, nor 
any fraud ; be content with your pay." 

This was the way he chose to throw open the gates of 
the celestial kingdom, and thus he prepared them for the 
coming of Jesus, by preaching, not a visionary perfection, 
but a godly and upright fulfilment of man's daily duties, 
and the ordinary virtues of each one's state of lite. 

Yet, notwithstanding, every day the excitement increased 
with the growing concourse of people about the Baptist, 
Very soon it was not only of Elias that they spoke, but 
the whole country began to cherish the thought that this 
might indeed be the Christ.* John heard them, and his 
reply came quick and sharp : — 

" As for me, I baptize you with water, in order that you 
may do penance ; but after me there cometh One who is 
mightier than I ; I am not worthy to loosen, — to bear 

iLnkeiii. 10, 11. ''Lukeiii. 12, 13. 

• SrpoT-evi/wFOi (Lulte iii. 14); " On their way to the war, — in active 
servicp" (Herodotus, \i. 28, etc.). 

* Luke iiL IG, Itl. 



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116 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

His shoes. He it is who shall baptize you with the Holy 
Uhost aud with fire." ' 

Xo louger a baptism of water, unquickened and lifeless, 
a» was that of the Precursor, but ao ablution made fruit- 
ful by the Holy Ghost. 

These are but fragments recalled from the many sermons 
which John preached ; for " he spoke many other exhorta- 
tions, evangelizing the people."^ If that Message of his 
bad come down to us in its entirety, throughout all his 
speech we should find the same eloquence, ahve with the 
figures of the desert, with its scarped cliffs, hissing ser- 
peulis, and gnarled tree-trunks, among which he had lived 
for so long a time. 

Yet sometimes, too, he spoke of their fields and harvests, 
as when he depicted the Messiah as a Thresher, with the 
huge cradle of the harvester in His hand," throwing upon 
the air the good grain, mingled with all its impurities, to 
be winnowed by the wind, even as He does to-day in His 
Chureh upon earth ; Whose wheat are the elect, whom He 
receives again purified for the heavenly storehouse ; the 
chaff, those profitless souls which shall forever be con- 
sumed. "The fan is in His hand," .he said, "and He will 
cleanse His floor ; He will gather together the good grain 
into His granary, and will burn the chaff in a fire which 
shall not be extinguished." * 

He whom John announced under such animated imagery 
followed close upon the footsteps of His Herald. The 

> Matt. iii. 11 ; Luke Hi. 16. » Luke iii. 18. 

• In order to understand this figure aright, one needs to recall the man- 
nor in Thich the Jews gathered in their crops. As soon aa the mowers 
had cut down the grain, they arranged the sheaves upon a round platform ; 
then cattle yoked abreast were put to trampling it, until the eara were all 
crushed and the srain loosened Troui its envelope. Toward evening, at the 
time when usually in the East a atroug breeze blows up, they toas this 
compound of grain and loose straw into the air by the aid of a fan (a huge 
shovel wich a very short handle) ; the grain, as it is the heavier, falls back 
to the earth, while the chaff and lighter refuse are carried off to some dia- 
tance by the wind. This is what is meant by purging the threshing-floor ; 
after thia, all that the harvester had to do was to store his crop in the 
caverns, which are f^nerally used as granaries in this region. As for tha 
straw and the chaff, they mostly bam it as a fertilizer. 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 117 

Baptist, as we have remarked already, began bis nunistry 
in the laoDth of September, with tlie b^inoing of the Sab- 
batic Year; tliree months after this Jesus appeared upon 
the banks of the Jordan. According to the primitive ti'adi- 
tions they were then in tlie middle of winter; for the mild 
climate of Jericho permitted John to pursue his practice 
of immersion during this season. 

Although united by ties of kinship, Jesus and His Fore- 
runner do not seem to have had any intercourse until this 
time. One had grown up in Galilee, the other in the desert. 
" I did not know Hi[n," ^ is said twice, in fact, by John the 
Baptist, " but He Wbo hath sent me to baptize with water 
said to me : ' He upon Whom you shall see the Holy Ghost 
coming down and abiding with Him, He it is Who bap- 
tizeth with the Holy Ghost.' " Watching solely for the 
fulRlment of this promise, John awaited the covenanted 
signal from on high. 

But even before this marvel did actually take place, the 
Viophet i-ecognized Jesus. It may have been by revelation 
from Heaven ; it may liave been by some divine lineaments 
making the Master known to His messenger. The Lord 
had followed the throng of Galileans to the Jordan ; He 
was therefore surrounded by the surging crowds when He 
was seen by the Precursor. John had thought to finish 
his ministry when the Christ should appear ; so what must 
have been his awe and wouder when he saw Him descend- 
ing into the waters of the stream with the penitents, and 
heard Him ask for baptism at his hands I 

"I ought to be baptized by Thee," he exclaimed, "and 
dost Thou come to me ! " and he withstood Him." 

" Suffer Me to do this now," said Jesus ; " thus it be- 
hoveth us to fulfil all justice." 

It was indeed the decree of Heaven that the Christ 
should efface our sins by placing Himself among the ranks 
of common sinners. 

1 John i. 31, 33. 

'^ A«KiiXi«p (Matt. iii. 14) is a stronger exprenaion than (niXim, and well 
describea liow earnestly John at first rejected the idea of baptizing Jesua, 
and how he withstood Him »a far sa might be. 



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118 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

John resisted no longer, but immereed Jesus in the 
Jordan ; and lo, at the moiuent when the Lord arose from 
the waters, and waa in prayer, the heavens were thrown 
open, the Holy Ghost came down upon Him in the form 
of a Dove, and rested over Jesus ; at the same time a 
Voice came from the far heights, which said ; " This is My 
dearly beloved Son, in Whom I am always well pleased." 

This Vision does not seem to have attracted the atten- 
tion of the Jews towards Jesus. Without doubt they did 
not hear the Voice of God, but only, as it were, a noise as 
of thunder ; • but John could not have misapprehended the 
Spectacle which was intended for bis eyes aloue. In that 
instant he perceived all that appeals to our reverent 
thoughts of it, — - the Trinity made manifest to man for the 
first time: the Father in the Voice falling from the heavens, 
the Son in Jesus, the Holy Ghost in the Dove, symbol of 
grace, whose reign was now begun in the world. Then, too, 
he saw the waters of earth sanctified by the presence of the 
Christ, receiving of Him the power to puriiy souls in bap- 
tism. Then he saw Jesus proclaimed the Son of God, — 
that Sou of Whom the Psalmist sang,^ begotten in the Bosom 
of God before the day-star and the sunrise were conceived. 

Drawn thither by memories such as these, a caravan of 
some six or seven thousand pilgrims every year leaves the 
Holy City, in the Paschal Season, to go down to the Jonlan; 
at its head marches the Pasha of Jerusalem, and a Turkish 
escort wards off the robbers, who still infest the defiles just 
as they did in the days of the good Samaritan. These 
throngs, of most various complexion and costume, make their 
camp at evening near Gilgal, in the place where the Israel- 
ites long since pitched their tents, afcer having crossed the 
stream.^ On the morrow, two hours before dawn, the clang 
of the kettle-drums awakeus the multitude ; thousands of 
torches flare up over the plain, and the crowds are far 
along on their road before the heat of the day becomes In- 

1 S. Jiiatin {Dialogus cum Tryphone., par, 88) adds this apocryphal 
tonch to the picture : be says that the Jordan wai Buddei)]y changed to 
a Btream of radiaat Gre. 

3 Pa. uix. 3. 'Josueiii. 



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THE MISSION OF JOHN BAPTIST. 119 

supportable. The first rays of the sun are just gilding the 
mountain-topa of Moab, when the great Caravau arrives at 
the spot where the Jordau is of easy access ; horses, asses, 
mules, camels (which sometimes caiTy a whole family), 
pick out a pathway through the brushwood, aud so, wad- 
ing out in the current, the pilgrims perform tlieir pious 
ablutions.^ 

Formerly, at that place, long marble slabs beautified the 
banks, and a Cross rose out of the midst of the waves above 
the very spot where Jesus was baptized. Priests went 
before the pilgrims into the waters, to sanctify them with 
solemn prayers, casting balm and flowers on the stream ; 
then only did the faithful step down into the river, clad in 
a garment which they afterwards took away with them, 
and in which they were robed in death.^ 

These ciistoms are now but a dim -remembered story. 
The churches, the monasteries, once so numerous along the 
banks, to-day only encumber them with their ruins ; while 
the pilgrims who bathe in the stream are no longer sons, 
as of old, submissive to their Mother. Greeks, Copts, Jac- 
obites, Armenians, all have rent asunder the seamless robe 
of the Church, and display before the eyes of the Mus- 
sulmans those piteous divisions which they have made in 
the Kingdom of the Christ. Nevertheless they all, by this 
common homage paid to the Jordan and to Jesus, bear 
witness to the fact that in these lands the Saviour once 
besought His Father that the one Baptism and one only 
Faith might regenerate the world. This Prayer, uttered by 
Him unto whom the Heavens hearkened "'for the rever- 
ence which was His due," ^ may not be denied forever. A 
time will come — would that it might be soon! — when 
all Christian peoples will plunge once more into the rivers 
of Jordan to be made one in Jesus, without a shadow of 
reserve, in a perfect Unity of faith, hope, and love. 

' See the Diiisl«rlr descriptioli of thia scene in Stanley's Sinai and Pales- 
tine, chap. rii. 3. We could do no more than borrow a r«n- details from 
that admirable work of art ; tha picture is too vaat (or us to reproduce it 



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CHAPTER Til. 

THE TEMPTATION. 

Matt. iv. 1-11 ; Mart i. 12, 13 ; Luke iv. 1-13. 

The Holy Spirit had rested upon Jesus, not only to bear 
witness outwardly to the grace which abounded within 
Him, but to exercise an active influence over Him. And 
therefore, so soon as the Christ had received this consecra- 
tion. He was " led by the Spirit," Saint Matthew recounts ; ^ 
"impelled," says Saint Luke ; ^ " thrust out," borne away, 
driven " into the desert," accordiug to Saint Mark.* The 
energy of the terms chosen by the Evangelists plainly indi- 
cates that though the Spirit of God never failed to guide 
the steps of the Saviour, yet there was, here and now, a 
more sensible and lively motion than was customary upon 
the part of the Holy Ghost 

Intrusting Himself to this Divine Compulsion the Lord 
went up into the desert.* Ey this name all the traditions 
understand a certain hill to the west of Jericho, which 
now bears the name of the Fortieth (Quarantine), in mem- 
ory of the Fasting of Jesus, rising above the Fountain of 
Eliseus, its sides all honeycombed with caves. Long ago, 
whole communities of hermits dwelt there, anxious to lead 
their solitary life iu imitation of their liedeemer, in the 
very spot where He conseomted, by His example, the way 
of abstinence and prayer. 

But no monastic discipline ever equalled in austerity 
the penance done by Jesus ; for it was in the mid.st of 
winter that He buried Himself in that retreat — at a time 
when the wilderness is more desolate than _ ever, — the 

1 Mutt iv. ' Lake iv. " Mark i. * Matt. iv. 



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THE TEMPTATION. 121 

very ekiea are pitiless, and the trees are bare of fruit, and 
stnpped of their lee^y acreens. Here He abode in an 
enture aoUtiide, " alone with the wild beasts," ' aurrouuded 
by lions and leopards, which lurk in the thickets of the 
Jordan,' amid the jackals whose mournful howling is still 
heard along the mouatains. 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. 

But it was to attain far other triumphs than these that 
the Saviour had gone up into the desert. He had come 
hither that He might be tempted. The New Adam, He 
was come to take up the combat at the point where the 
first had failed and fled, and to turn defeat into victory. 
Vet what manner of trial was this with which He must 
needs make issue 1 Must we really, with the rationalists, 
treat it all as a vision, in which the Christ, like the heroes 
of ancient fable, was given to choose between the paths of 
Virtue and of Vice ? Did the Saviour, in relating His Temp- 
tation to His disciples, represent it as being merely an alle- 
gory ? There is nothing in the Gospels to suggest such a 
thought ; and it is only by a preconceived idea of stripping 
the scene of everything marvellous that one can be brought 
to consider it otherwise than as an actual happening. 

However it is a profitless effort at best; for what as- 
tounds us in the inspired record is not so much the won- 
ders wrought, then and there, as it is the simple fact of 
a God being tempted. Theology has no problem to offer 
us requiring more delicate discrimination in its solution. 
Could the world have anything wherewith to seduce a 
Divine Nature ? Where was the merit in such a victory 
for a Soul which could not sin ? At every step the mind 
must halt before the brink of an abyss, and of necessity 
we must acknowledge that here the mystery of the In- 
carnation presents one of its features which still remains 
shrouded in deepest obscurity to mortal ken. 

Without pretending to illuminate those infinite depths. 



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122 BEGlNNtNGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

we ought to roake it clearly understood, however, that the 
greatest difficulty comes from the idea, ordinarily eutei- 
tained, that the Tetiiptation of Jesus was like to ours. 
There is scarcely any appetite for evil in us which does 
not leave some traces of its passE^ through our souls. 
Let the wretched thought be as swift as may be, the first 
movement of the heart is too often as if she would detain 
it. There was nought of this in Jesus ; for having taken 
no part in the perversion of our humanity, he could not 
know those desires which awake within us without our 
consent, and which are nevertheless our own, because we 
can detect therein either the promptings of past faults, or 
the seed sown by inherent concupiscence. Jesus was but 
tempted outwardly, by an imagery and eloquence appealing 
most strikingly to the senses, yet without the possibility of 
such attractions hurting His Soul or staining it. If clear 
water be absolutely free from all impurity, the rudest 
shock will not at ali disturb or sully its sweet limpidity ; 
yet if it i-est upon a miry bottom, the least movement will 
suffice to drabble it. Thus it is with Jesus and with us ; 
those same storms in which our sinful natures oftenest 
suffer shipwreck could only assault and buffet Him ; they 
could not soil the purity of the Son of Mary. 

Incorruptible in the bosom of corruption, none the less 
was Jesus made acquainted with the stru^les of our daily 
warfare, even as He tasted all the glories of such victory. 
His resistance, which was that of a hero in this Tempta- 
tion in the desert, — which later on in the Garden of Geth- 
semani was unto the shedding of blood, — this divine 
hardihood was then, and will ever continue to be. His 
eternal merit. And that we may better comprehend it, 
it is imjwrtant to remember that His time of trial was not 
limited to the three assaults whose details are known to 
us, but that it was an issue consuming all of tlie forty days 
during which Jesus remained in the desert During all 
that time He was tempted : ' " And now He can have com- 
passion upon our infirmities, for, without sinning, He hath 
been subject to all our temptations."" 

1 Mark L 13 ; Luke iv. 2. * HpV. iv. 15. 



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THE TEMPTATION. 123 

It was also a season of penance for the Saviour, through 
which He passed without eating or drinking. It would 
seem that during that long fast, wrapped in prayer and 
inward strife, He remained unconscious of the needs of 
the body ; " but when the forty days were spent,' He was 
liungiy," and the Demon profited by that hour of weakness 
to attack Him in person. Under what semUance ^ did he 
present himself before Jesus ? Was it as a Spirit of dark- 
ness, as an Angel of light, or with the features of man ? 
This the Lord did not disclose ; and there is little to be 
gained for us by forming any conjectures. 

Not less clouded in obscurity is the character of the con- 
flict in which such mighty powers were brought to battle. 
Was there only that threefold attack of sensuality, vain- 
glory, and ambition ? Surely to concede only such feeble 
weapons as these to Satan, now in arms against bis Lord, 
were to underrate the artifice and cunning of the Fiend. 
Though the Saviour passed through all our common trials, 
yet all that was during the forty days which preceded the 
last combat ; at this hour, wherein the Prince of Dark- 
ness entered the lists, it would be only natural to expect 
that the allurements would take on somewhat of nobility 
commensurate with Him toward Whom they were di- 
rected, and at the same time something auper-subtile and 
strange worthy of the fallen Angel, whose wiles were all 
exerted then. The aim of the Tempter seems to be be- 
trayed even in his (questions. He wanted to know surely 

' Luke iv. 2. The fasting of Moses upon Sinai {Dent. ir. 9) and that 
of Elias on his journey towai'd Horeb (3 Kings xii. 8) laated the same 
length of time, and in Holy Writ tliis number is manifestly held to be the 
preacribed period of peniteDce. We find the some in the forty days and 
forty nights of the Deluge (Gen. vii. 4), in the forty years which IsraS 
passed in the wilderness (Num. xiv. 38), in the forty Mows of the thong 
whieh the Law inflicted upon the guilty (Deat. xxv. 3), in the forty 
yeara of desolation which Ezeohiel foretold for E^ypt (Ezeoh. xxix. 11); 
in a word, everywhere where thei'e is any question of chastiseiaent or of 
sufferings (8. Jerome, in Jmi. iii. 4). Thus the Cbnreh, inspired by the 
eiample of Jesus, every year commands the faithful to observe the forty 
days' fast of Lent, 

^ The language of Scripture and Tradition do not admit of a doubt as to 
the fact of Satan having appeared to Jesus under a visible and tangible 



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124 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

who Jesus was;^ for that keen intellect, which still re- 
mained in spite of his overthrow as clear as ever, had seen 
in the Divine Counsels that his ruin and the salvation of 
the world would be consummated on the day when the 
Son of God should become Incarnate.^ 

So then he approached the Saviour : " If you are the 
Son of Giod, command these stones to become bread !" 

The snare waa worthy of the hand that fashioned it. 
Satan did not offer to those eyes hollowed by long listing, 
to the lips parched with thirst, to that famished body, the 
enticement of luscious fruits or savory meats. He was 
content to remind Him Whom no lust could have mas- 
tered that He, the Son of God, held nature at His beck, 
and that one word from Him would suffice to change the 
stones into bread. Was it befitting that the Christ should 
perish of hunger in this wilderness, where Heaven seemed 
to have abandoned Him ? Was it not high time to have 
recourse to His almighty Attributes ! ^ 

But Jesus could not forget that it was the will of His 
Father that He use this power of miracles, which belonged 
to Him, not for Himself, but for others. With one word 
He thrust back the Tempter : — 

" It is written : Man does not live by bread alone, but 
by every word * which comes from the mouth of God." 

Even as Israel was nourished with Manna during the 
forty years in the desert," so the Christ would intrust Him- 



x\i. art, L com. ii.). 

^ Suarez, In tertiam partem divi Thorny, qiueatio xli. art. i. com. ii 
'"Hac tentatione volnit diabalua Christum itllicere nd Tanam >nue 

Ktentia oat«iitationeni, «t ad difBdentiam opia Dei Patris ; qunEJ diceret : 
ter tuna per quttdraginta dies tui oblitus eat, nee tibi cibum aubroiait ; 
tu e:^ tibi ipai consule" (Comeliua a Lapide, OommeiUaria in HalClueum,, 
iv. 3). 

• Matt. iv. 4i Deut. viii. 3; or more siactly, "of everything which 
comes from God." In order to give the words the deep signiflcanco -whioli 
they have in the Hebrew, ItjJto-S^S^, they must be rendered " all that 
which Cometh." 

* "You ahall remember," Hoses had said to them, "the ways whereby 
the Lord has led you during these forty years to afflict you and try you, in 
order that He might lay bwe all that was hidden in your hearts, and that 



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THE TEMPTATION. 125 

self to the Divine Loving-kindDess, seeking above all else 
that support of the soul, which is the Word of God, His 
Truth. 

Jesus bad not responded to that query ; " If you are the 
Sou of God ; " but the Devil knew that a superior being 
stood before him, — in all likelihood the Messiah promised 
to Israel. Thereafter he had but one intention, — to bring 
the Christ to unveil His Mission, and thereby His nature.' 
Therefore he transported Him to the Holy City,^ and 
placed Him upon a pinnacle* of the Temple. Then, point- 
He might know whelheryon would be constant or unfaithful to His Cota- 
mandments. He has afaicted you with hunger, and He iita given you 
MauDa, a food unknown to you and to your fathers, to show you that man 
doea not live by bread only, hut hy all things which proceed from tha 
mouth of God " (Deuter. viii. 2, 8). 

,,1 The two EvangelistB who give the details of the threefold Temptation 
do not follow the same order. S, Matthew puts the scene on the pin- 
nacle of the Temple second, — in the place where S. Luke has the tempht- 
tation opon the high mountain. Althoach iha latter ha eenerally more 
careful Own the other in his chronological details, yet S. Matthew, who 
lived so long with Jeaus, and hence gathered bis knowledge of the Tempta- 
tion from His lips, is more Eltoly here to give the actual order of events. 
Then too, the terms used by hira to connect the facts seem to imply as 
much jrire "then," ri\w, "and again "); and further, the words by which 
both depict the Devil meeting with his repulse upon the high mountain 
(" Begone from here, Satan I "> would lead us to suppose that that was the 
arena of the final trial. 

* The thought that that spotless Tabernacle of His body should be not 
merely touchea by the foal fiend, hut surrendered to his pleasure, to be 
home by him up to the very summit of God's Sanctuary, this has dis- 
mayed the loving hearts of many a Christian from the days of S. Cyprian 
even to tonlay, and with him, many interpreters of the text have held that 
this scene waa all a vision ; but the more commonly held opinion is that 
JesTis really submitted to these outrages. He Who delivered over His 
Hmbs to the torturers, to be lashed and tortured, to he covered with 
spittle and stretched upon a cross, may well have pemiitted the Piinca of 
Darkness to exercise his awful powers npon Hia sacred Person. 

* The pinnacle whither Jesus was trans[>orted is not clearly indicated in 
the Gospel ; however, it does not seem to mean the summit ot the Holy ot 
Holies, for the sacred text does not speak of the Sanctuary proper (nioi;), 
but of the Temple in general (lepoB). One of the porticos which surround 
the Holy Place seems most likely to have been the spot ; perhaps the Royal 
Portico to the south of the sacred edifice ; or it may have been Solomon's 
Portico, which bordered the torrent of Kedron on the east. The roof of 
this lofty gallery nrojected out over the Courts of the Temple {wTtpiytw= 
ifpar-flpioe, Heaychius) ; it was from this point that James, the brother of 
the Lord, preached to the people, and was precipitated thence to the pave- 



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126 BEGTNmNGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

iiig to the crowds which thronged its courts. He insinu- 
ated that the Saviour might well perform some notable 
prodigy in the sight of His people. 

" If you are the Son of God," he said, " cast yourself 
below ; for it is written that He hath given command to 
His Angels to keep guard over you,^ and they shall bear 
you up in their hands, for fear lest your feet should strike 
against a stoue." 

To descend encircled by Angels, to appear before the 
upturned eyes of men in this celestial pomp, would not 
this be to compel their wondering worship and to draw all 
hearts unto Him ? ^ Satan could not have conceived a 
temptation more alluring to the Messiah than was tliis, 
and that he might rendei' it irresistible he fortified it by 
the very language of Scripture. 

Vaiu and useless wiles ; for Jesus was come to irradiate ' 
the eyes, not of the flesh, but of the spirit, and to conquer 
souls by a grace unknown to the haughty. So He was 
content to add : " It is written also : Thou shalt not tempt 
the Lord thy God." * 

" Then the Devil transported Him to the top pf a tall 
mountain, whence he showed unto Him in an instant all 
the empires of the world and their glory. 

" I will give you all this power," he said, " and the glory 
of these kingdoms ; for I have them in my dominion, and 
I distribute them to whom I will, — all these things shall 
be yours, if, falling down before me, you will adore me." * 

ment below by tlie furioua Si^ribea (Hegesippiis, npud Eus«bium, Hialoria 
Bcclemastica, ii. 28 ; Epiphanius, Advcraus Han-eiu, xiix. i), and Irom 
here too Satan i^ould propose that Jesna shonld descend in the midst of the 
astounded people. 

' Matt. IV. 8 ; Fa. Jtc, 11. 

* " Si Filiua Dei es, raitte te deoranni, — nt to templi et altaria quasi 
domuB tuie dominum Deiimque sacei'dotibus et laicis ostendas, atque ab eis 
JDB adorationis et saciiRcii tibi debitum lepoacaa" (Comeliua a Lapide, 
OommaUaria ib MaWuvum, iv. 5). 

■ Matt. iv. 7. Those words are to be found in variooa parts of the Old 
Testament, but particularly in Deuteronomy (vi. 16), where it is added, 
"As you did oni^e in the place of temptation," that is, at the encampment 
in Raphidim, when the people, dying of thirst, reproached Moses with 
having brought them out from Egypt (Eiod. xvii. 1-7). 

* Matt. iv. 8, S; Luke, iv. 5-7. 



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THE TEMPTATION. 127 

We would DOt attempt to imagine what the surround- 
inga of that last scene in the Temptation were like ; for 
from the summit of the Quarantine, pointed out by the 
primitive traditions as the locality, the view only extends 
from Libanus to the desert of Tekoaj while of course it 
were useless to look for any height whence in the twink- 
ling of an eye one can embrace all the kingdoms of the 
world. But if we are to see Iq the very high mountain 
only a figui-e of that power over the whole face of the 
world which the Demon arrogates to himself, still we may 
ask what is the nature of this his empire, whereof we see 
to-day only too signal proofs/ and what object had he in 
view by thus tendering it to the Christ ? Did he hope to 
see Him prostrate Himself at his feet ? Such blindness 
as this can hardly be attributed to Lucifer. In this as- 
sault of the 'Tempter, there is evidently nothing but de- 
spair at seeing himself overcome by a man, though it be 
the Man-God ; ^ and hence we have this cry of rage and 
madness. Satan asked no more: "Art Thou the Son of 
God ? " For him there was no longer any room left for 
doubt ; but now, made certain of his down^, he sought 
at least to gratify his hate, and so blasphemed openly be- 
fore the Presence. His last speech upon the mountain is 
but an echo of that cry of revolt which of old he had flung 
in the face of Heaven itself. " I will ascend," he had said 
long since, " and I will be like unto the Most-High ! " * 

At sight of this monster of pride, Jesus, so calm until 
then, might well have felt a movement of horror. 

" Begone, Satan ! " He said to him ; " for it is written : 
Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt 
thou serve."* 

1 BosBuet, £Ut!alioni sar fes myslires, ixiii* semaine, y* ilivMoD. 

" It is the teaching of very famoua theologians that the fall of the An- 
gela had its origin in the revelation {vouchsafed to them long ages before 
the fact) of the Mystery of the Incarnation. The thought thiit God should 
ever hecolue Flesh and Blood ahocked the haughtiest of thow Spirits, and 
with disdain thev refased to adore the high connselB of God, and tho* 
their mad pride hurled them down to the depths of Hell (Suarez, De 
AngdU, lib. vii. cap. xUi. 13). 

* Is. xiv. 13, 14. 

' lUtt. iv. 10 ; Dent. Ti 18. 



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128 BSGINyiffGS OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

The Demon bad discbai^ed his last darts. "All the 
Temptation being accomplished, he departed from Him for 
a time,"^ — until the hour of the Passion, until that desola- 
tion upon the Cross, when for the last time he was to at- 
tack Jesus with all the fuiy of despair. Duriug the pubhc 
life of the Saviour we shall see him retaining such a vivid 
memory of this first defeat that he is fain to By distraught 
from His Presence, now grovelling at His feet, while he 
confesses His Divinity, now crying out to Him in his tei* 
ror : " Wherefore comest Thou to destroy us before the 
time ? " now beseeching Him for the bodies of swine, as 
a last and only refuge.^ 

After the tempest, sweeping wildly over the Mount of 
the Temptation, suddenly, after the storm was spent, there 
came a great calm ; " the Ajigels drew nigh unto Jesus, 
and they served Him."^ Jewish legends tell how Moses, 
during his forty days of fasting on Sinai, was nourished by 
a wondrous harmony, — the hymning of the spheres.* Of 
yet more celestial concord was the banqueting of the 
Saviour, since He had for ministers unto Him those Spirits 
of light before whom the stars of the firmament wax pale 
and wan, and are hushed in silence. 

1 Lnke it. IS. 

' Mark iu. 11 ; Matt. viii. 29 ; Mark v. 11. 
. ' Matt, iv. 11. 

' Scbcetlgan, Harm Bebrafem, t, i. p. 87 ; Philo, De Si/mHiU, L 0. 



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CHAPTER IV. 

JOHN BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY, AMD THE FIRST 
BISCIPLE8 OP JESUS. 

John i. 19-52. 

All the while that Jesus was sustaining that, struggle 
in the desert John continued to preach along the banks of 
the Jordan. The gatherings grew everj' day greater, the 
enthusiasm more intense. Very soon it was spread abroad 
that a heavenly Voice had marked out One from among 
the penitents, and that the Baptist had cried aloud to the 
multitudes: "Behold Him of Whom I have said: 'There 
Cometh after me a Man Who hath been set over me, be- 
cause He was before me.' " * 

So, though they had been for a long time indifferent to 
anything said by this mde preacher, who vouchsafed only 
anathemas and rebuffs to the princes of Israel, yet at last 
the members of the Sauhedrin were aroused by these 
rumors which arose from all round about him. Ablution 
was to be one of the tokens of the Mission of the Christ.^ 
They began therefore to question wliether John might not 
be the Messiah, or at least one of the Prophets who were 
to announce Him. In order to clear up this doubt the 
Supreme Council despatched some of its members to the 
Precursor. Those chosen for this office were priests ;^ be- 
cause all that pertained to the ablutions lay within the 
province of the sacerdotal body ;* and the delegates were 
also taken from the sect of the Pharisees,* noted for their 
scrupulous respect for all such observances. Certain of 

' Johni. 16. *Ezech, xxxvi. 25 ; Zachar. xiii. ]. * Jolmi. 19. 



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130 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the Levites ^ acted a3 a sort of escort in order to enhance 
the dignity of the embassy. 

" Who are you ? " asked the ambassadors. 

" John confessed it, and denied it not ; and he confessed 
that he was not the Christ" The Evangelist by this 
repetition shows with what insistence the Precursor reiter- 
ated his testimuny before the Sanhedrin's envoys : ' I the 
Christ i I am not ; no, I am not He.' 

" What, then ? " was the response ; " are you Elias ? " 

" No," answered John. 

"Are you the Pi-ophet ?" they said thereupon, making 
allusion to the Seer of whom Moses had told them.' 

" No," replied John. 

" Who are you, then ? " persisted the members of the 
Sanhedrin, — " iu order that we may render an account to 
those who sent us here. What do you say of yourself ?*' 

" I am the Voice * of one who crieth in the desert : 'Make 
straight the ways of the Lord ! ' as hath said the Pi-ophet 
Isaiah." 

This response, far from touching the Pharisee^,* seemed 
to them incompatible with the right of preaching and of 
purifying by ablution, which John claimed for himself. 

" Why do you baptize," they said, " if you are neither 
the Christ, nor Elias, nor the Prophet 1 " 

John replied ; " As for me, I baptize in water ; but there 
has been One in your very midst Whom you knew not. 
He Cometh after me. He who hath been set above me ; ' 
and I am not worthy to loosen the latchet of His shoea" 

' John i. 19. * Deut. iviiL 15. 

' " What do WB mean by a Toioe ! What is it but a braath vhich fades 
upon the air t I am a Voice, or, if yoa will, 8 Cry. Even to thia extent 
would S. John annihilate his own peraonality." (Bossuet, devotions mr 
les myatiries, xxiv* aemaine, 1" elevation.) 

* John i. 25--37. The corrections with which the Manuscripts are 
covered make it hardly possible to decide whether i,re<na\iiiyoi ought to 
be read with or without the article. Either way the sense is clearly Hied 
by the Vulgate : " Et qui miEisi fuemnt, erant ex Phariaieis." And thus 
there is no reason for regarding this as a new embassy of Pharisees which 
succeeded the first. 



of Sinai and the Vatican. 



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JOBH BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY. 131 

Such steadfastness and humility before one greater than 
himself disconcerted the councillors of the Sanhedrin, who 
turned away, disdaining to interrogate him any further. 
" Tliese things took place at Bethany, on the other side of 
the Jordan, where John was baptizing," ^ — that is to say, 
opposite Jericho, as we have seen, and at one of the fords 
which allow of the stream being crossed near that city. 

The Saviour, on His descending from the Mount of the 
Temptation, would find His way naturally to this same 
spot. Indeed, upon the morrow John saw Him coming 
toward him.^ 

"Behold* the Lamb of God!" he said; "behold Him 
Who beareth the sins of the world ! " 

This was enough to recall to the minds of the Jews who 
surrounded him the oracle uttered by Isaiah : * " The 
lamb standing dumb before his shearers, the Man of Sor- 
rows, Who shall bear the sins of the people." 

" Look," continued the Precursor, " see, and behold Him 
of Whom I have said : ' There cometh after me a Man Who 
hath been set above me, because He was before me.' And I 
knew Him not ; yet I am come, giving you the baptism 
of water, that so He may be made manifest in Israel," * 

Plain as these words were, they did not impel any one 
of those who heard them — on that same day at least — 
to follow Jesus. The impression which they produced was 
soon eft'aced ; only a certain few souls cherished the presenti- 
ment that salvation was close at hand, and began to turn 
their eyes to the Saviour. As for the Baptist, he was so 

1 John i. 28. 

' John i. 29-81. 

''lit ; this word V 
" ISf, tbongh in the ail 

• la. liii. 7. 

^ This testimony seemed of anch importatice in the eyes of the Evan- 
Relist that he repeats it nnder another, longer fono, ex if he rt^retted 
havinR related it too briefly in the former instanoo ; "Then it was tliat 
John bare witness : I have seen the Holy Ghoet descending from Heaven 
in the form of a Dove and abiding upon Him ; and 1 bad not known Him, 
but that He Who sent me to Mptize with water said to me ; He upon 
Whom thou abalt see the Spirit desKerdiiiR and ahiding upon Him, He 
it is Who baptizeth with the Holy Spirit ; and I have seen Him, and I 
have borne witness unto Him, that He is the Son of God " (John L 32-S4). 



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132 BEGINNWGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

used to waiting the divine action that he left all for grace 
to operate upon the people, contenting himself with simply 
showing them the Lord, Who must needs call unto Him- 
self those whom He willed, and at what hour He willed to 
have them come. 

On the following day John was walking with two of his 
disciples when Jesus passed on before them.* The Pre- 
cursor, casting upon Him a glance of infinite meaning,^ in 
which shone deep love as well as wondering awe, thus 
gazing after Him, exclaimed: — 

" Behold the I^mb of God ! " 

Then these two disciples yielded to the prompting of 
those words, which had touched them so nearly the night 
before, and they parted company with John to go after 
Jesus. The Saviour very soon turned about, and seeing 
that they were foUowiug Him, He said : " Whom are you 
seeking ? " 

" Rabbi,* where do you dwell ? " was their reply. 

The title they gave the Unknown and this demand of 
the disciples both declared what hunger and thirst for the 
truth filled their hearts. 

" Come and see," said Jesus, And they went with Him 
and saw where He dwelt. 

The Lord was living in one of the huts which were then 
built along the banks of the Jordan ; perhaps it was merely 
one of those shelters woven from the boughs of turpentine 
and palm trees, beneath which the traveller spreads his 
mantle of haiiy skins. It was about four in the after- 
noon (the tenth hour*) when the disciples entered the 

» John L 35-*0. 

"■B>49W^! (John i. 38, Compare Matt, xbt. 20 -.Lake jol 17; 
Mu'k X. 21). 

* "Babbi;" '3'}, from the root, y^, great, correspondB eKSctly to Magii- 
ler in tha Latin tongue, talien from the words magnus, magis. This 
title of honor waa given to the most famous doctors, to those vhose fame 
coDsiated not only in forming a aehool abont them, but who were also 
potent enough to attract the multitude as well ( Lightfoot, ZTonc HibraJca, 
m MatthiEum, xxiii. 7). 

* John i. 39. The Jews computed the twenty-four hours of the legal 
day aa begioniDg at sunset, — from evening to evening. After the 
Captivity, although the more ancient custom still existed, they had also 



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THE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. 133 

abode of Jesus, and " they passed the rest of the day with 
Him." The Evangelist does not tell us of their convei'sa- 
tioti, which was doubtless prolonged until it came to be one 
of those intimate communions most dear to holy souls, and 
from which they issue forth filled with new strength and 
light, with the unassailable certitude that God has revealed 
Himself to them. When night came on the two disciples 
were gained unto Jesus ; they had recognized in Him the 
Prophet, — a greater than Moses, Him for Whom Israel 
had been waiting for so many ages. 

One of these young men who in this way came to be the 
first to attach themselves to Jesus was Andrew, the fisher- 
man of Galilee, born on the shores of Lake Genesareth. 
The second was no other than Jolin Evangelist, It is 
easy to divine this fact from his characteristic modesty, 
which makes him here, as elsewhere, conceal even his 
name ; beside this, there is the minuteness of the narra- 
tive, which enters into the slightest details, even to making 
note of the hour in which Jesus drew these first disciples 
to Him. 

Simon, Andrew's brother, and a fisherman like him, had 
also quitted the Lake of Genesareth to go down to the 
Jordan, Andrew came across hira.' 

" We have found the Messiah," he said {that is to say, 
the Anointed, the Christ), and he brought him to Jesus. 

The Saviour looked long upon him. In this Galilean 
He saw the immovable Eock on which he would build Hiif 
Church. 

" Thou art Simon, son of Jonas," he said to him ; " here- 
after thou shalt be called Kephas." And this signifies, 
translating the Hebrew names of which the Lord makes 
use : Thou art Simon, — child of a dove,^ feeble and tim- 

coofonued to the method of tiie Chaldeauii, who reGhoned the day as 
commencine at aunrise (sis o'clock in the morning). Thia is what 
S. John ordinarily does ; iv. d, 52 ; li. 9 ; xii. 14, etc. Consequently 
there is no reasoit for adopting; Wieseler's theory thftt the Erangekat here 
counts the hours starting at midnight. 

' John i. 41, 42. 

' Jonas ; HJI', the Dove : or from the root '\i', to be feebla ; lovlinsaa, 
neaknrsa (Furet, B<aul'ui^tirlnich). 



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134 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

orous as she, but hereafter thou shalt be imptegnable as 
the clitf' iu which she finds her hiding-place; or again: 
Thou art the sod of feebleness; hereafter thou shalt be 
firm as a rock, — a play of words made sublime by their 
depth of meaning, and by the effects which followed upon 
their utterance ; for from that same hour there began the 
slow working of a wondrous change within the son of 
Jonas, which waa to discover itself to the whole world 
shortly,^ 

The Church, at its birth, numbered already tliree mem- 
bers eager to spread abroad their faith. Not far from this 
spot there was stiJ! another Galilean, named Philip ; " "he 
was of Bethsaida, the village of Andrew and Peter." The 
Lord encountered him on the morrow, when he was pre- 
paring for his departure to Galilee. 

" Follow Me ! " He said to him, thus inviting him to 
share henceforth His life and His sufferings. 

Philip only vaguely understood what was implied in 
this vocation ; notwithstanding, so docile was he that he 
abandoned himself to grace and followed Jesus. 

There were two ways of returning to 'Nazareth open to 
tlie Saviour. The one made its way through Scytbopolis 
and by the sea of Tiberias, keeping to the banks of the 
Jordan ; but the Galileans only took this road, which 
wound along the river banks, when they wanted to avoid 
the territory of the Samaritans ; whenever the animosity 
of this people had for a time subsided they preferred a 
shorter road, which ascends by Bethel, and thence by 
Sichem and En-Gannim, coming out upon the Plain of 
Esdralon. A few months later we shall see Jesus taking 
this direction on His return to Jerusalem, and stopping at 
Sichem, close by Jacob's Well ; but outside the season of 
Israel's feasts this route was fraught with no perils, and 

' K?i0at, in Arameiili, tt£l''3; ^jS, in HebreiF. signifies n stone. 

' By changing Peter's name in this manner, Jesua, at the very outset, 
parforraed an act which declared His authority over His disciples ; for the 
right of imposing a new name, or even of giving it a difterent meaning by 
snme slight alteration, was a power reserved by law Ui the magnates and 
nw8l«rB of Israel (Gen. xvii. 6, 15; Dan, i, 7, etc.). 

* John L 48-iG. 



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TBE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. 135 

the Saviour would therefore choose it for their journey 
from Jericho to Cana. 

Having reached the heights of the hills of Ephraim 
the little company were passing through Bethel and the 
meadows which had once witnessed the Vision of Jacob,! 
when they perceived a Jew seated beneath a fig-trea It 
was Nathanael,* the friend of Philip, who was to become 
the fifth disciple of the Saviour. 

The son of Tolmai (Bar-Tolnuu),' this newly elect, was 
of a lineage more noble than the other four,* and appa- 
rently he (dways retained something of an air of distinction 
in the midst of the rest ; just as he is represented, in the 
paintings of the Middle Ages, with his purple mantle 
broidered with precious stones. He was versed in sacred 
literature,'' and perhaps he was meditating there beneath 
the fig-tree ; for the Jews were wont to seek the shade of 
this tree at the"Hour of Prayer"^ 

' That allusioit ta Jacob's Ladder which Jeaus makes juat a little after 
this, seems to us to indicats that in the meanwhile they Were crossing the 
heiglita of Bethel, where everything would recall that famous Vision. 

* John i. 45-62. Nathanael ; 7M]riJ, God-given. Thia name, which 
corresponds to that of Theodore, Qebdu/KH, ia found in the Old Testament 

• ISnm. i. 8 ; 1 Poral. ii. 14). 

* In fact, everything leads oa to believe that this new dwciple made 
one of the number in the Apostolic College, and so is no other than Bar- 
tholomew. The synoptic vvnters, it is trae, make no mention of a Na- 
thanael ; but, in their lists of the Twelve Apostles, one of them is always 
inscribed under his family name only, Bartholomew, Bar-Tolmai, that is, 
son of Totmu. Now it has been geaerally held that this Bartholomew is 
the same disciple whom John mentions by his proper name of Nathanael, 
and there are numerous reasons for considering this a justifiable hypoth- 
esis, — the circumstances under which Nathanael was called, which are in 
no way different in solemnity from those connected with the most iUus- 
trioua Apostles ; his presence as one of their number after the Resurrection 
(John xxi. 2) ; the place which the name of Bartholomew occupies in the 
various lists of the Twelve, always in company with Philip, and ne>:t 
a^er him, so preserving to each their rank in the order of their separate 



* "Non Petro vili pisoatori Battholoroasus nobilis antepouitnr, imo pis- 
catorl totius mundl monarchiie traditur principatus " (8. Jerome, EpUiola 
ad EialtKhivm]. 

' 3. Angnstine, in Joan, i. 

' R. Hasa et discipuli eias . . ■ stimmo mane solcbaut surgera et sub 
ficDBtndere" (BerescStiA, fol. 62, 2._ Sec Winer, Seal fVort., Feigen- 
BACU). Nowadays the country-folk in thfse parte avoid even the shadow 



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136 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Philip called to him, telling him: "We have found Him 
Whom Moses in the Law,^ and the Prophete, have an- 
nounced ; 't is Jesus, the Son of Joseph of Nazareth ! " 

Of Nazareth ! This name awoke at once in the mind 
of Nathanael au invincible objection. Was it not -written 
that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem ? ^ What 
was to be expected of a man hailing from an obscure 
village, of ill repute, and in Galilee ? 

" Of Nazareth ! " he replied ; " can anything good come 
from there ? " 

Philip still believed that Nazareth was the birthplace 
of Jesus, and of Joseph, His father ; he did not know 
how to respond to the difficulties made by his friend ; 
but with unshaken faith, all he could say was : " Come 
and see ! " 

They were indeed the very words, of the Master which 
he repeated then ; for he knew what bad been tbeir 
power over Andrew and John, and avaQed himself of 
them as though they were some divine charm to lure 
NathanrwL 

So soon as the Saviour saw the latter coming toward 
Him: "Behold a true Israelite,"^ He said, "a man in 
whom there is no guile ! " 

What a meed of praise those words bestow ! What is 
there more to be desired than to rect^uize within one's 

of this particular tree, declaring that 
reTolution of feeliog in anj matter of 
the EosL 

' Gen. irii. 7 ; xlix. 10 ; Deal, xviii. 16. 

* The difficulty before which Ndthanael halts now ft little later pre- 
sented itself to the minds of the Jews ; bat, less docile than he, they let it 
become a source of scandal and infidelity for themselves. " What, then," 
they said. " shall the Christ come oat of Galilee ! Does not the Scripture 
declare that He shall he horn in Bethlehem, the city of David!" And 
then they turned away in great contempt of the Saviour (John vii. 41, 42). 

* The Jews preferred this name of Israelite to any other ; for, if tht-y 
must needs share the glory of being the children of Abraham and Isaac 
with the sons of Ismael (the Arabs) and of Esaii (the Idumeans), on the 
other hand they were the aole descendants of Jacob, and this liis name 
Israel, as it wa» got by conquest in a struegle where the faith of their 
common father had trinraphed with God, so it ev"- -" — ■""■' '" ■*'■"" "■'" 
as their most splendid title of national glory (Gen 



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THE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. 137 

self this true rigbteousDess, and know that one is " of that 
Israel which is not of the flesh, but of God ? " ^ 

Nathanael, in his surprise at seeing himself already- 
known, replied with quiet candor : " How do you know 
me?" 

" Before Philip called thee," said the Saviour, " when 
thou wert under the fig-tree, I saw thee." 

Evidently Jesus then made an allusion to something 
that had occurred under the tree, before Philip called 
to him, — some action which must be still a secret to 
us, but one which was as well known to Him as it 
was to Nathauael. By recalling it, the Lord revealed 
Himself as the Divine Seer, Whose glance pierces all 
mysteries. 

" Master," cried out Nathanael, " You are the Son of 
God, the King of Israel ! " 

These two titles explain each other. Nathanael did not 
make use of the first as meaning that Jesus was the Son 
of God by nature, equal and consubstantial with His 
Father ; but he recognized in Him the object of His 
nation's vows, the Son of God, the King of Israel* 

1 ICor. I. 18; Gal. ri. 16. 

' The Jews only needed to meditate upon the inspired sayings of Scrip' 
tnre, in order to te convinced that in God there are several Persons (see 
Appendix II. ), and that the Messiah was to be God (Ps. ii. 7 ; xliv. 8 ; 
Is. ii. 6 ; Jer. xxiii. 5 ; Mich. v. 2, etc). Nevertheless, they habitually 
used the term "Son of God," aa though it meant songhip by adoption, 
and hence they attribuWl this title to the Angels {Job i. 6 ; ii. I), to the 
princes of Israel (Ps. Ixxxi. 6) and to men distinguiahed for their pious 
or noble natnres (Gen. vi. 2). This ignorance as to the Mystery of the 
Trinity, and their attachment to the dopna of the Divine Unity, pre- 
vented most of them from believing that the Messiah could be God, as is 
He Who sent Him ; and so we see them, even in the time of the Saviour, 
welcoming mere individuals as Cbrists, only asking that they free Judea, 
ft^m her yoke, without troubling themselves at all whether they were the 
sons of God. Nay more, this title which Jesas took as His Own was a 
most scandalous act in the eyes of His contemporaries. 'When they 
accused Him of blasphemy, when th^ would have liked to stone Him, it 
was always when the Lord declared Bitnself the Son of God, equal to His 
Father and One with Him (John v. 18 ; viii. 58, 59 ; i. 30-36). And 
when the Sanhedrin passes sentence upon Him, they give as their reason, 
"that in accordance with our Law He ought to die, because He made 
Himself the Son of God'' (John xii, 7). The Jews generally did not 
ETpect a Divine Messiah, and there is very little likelihood that Nathanael, 



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138 BEGINNINGS OF THE HflNISTBY OF JESUS. 

Jesus followed out the thought : " Because I have said 
to thee that I saw thee beneath the fig-tree, thou dost 
believe ; thou shalt see things greater still. Of a truth, 
ay, of a truth," He repeated, " thou shalt see the heavens 
opened,^ and the Angels of God ascending and descending 
upon the Son of Man." * 

As we have hinted, the hills of Bethel undoubtedly 
suggested this allusion to the Lord. Therefore, that which 
Israel had once beheld in this very land on which they 
now trod, but had seen only in a dream, this it was given 
to Kathanael, the true Israelite, to contemplate in reality ; 
the heavens thrown open, to shower down grace divine ; 
Jehovah, no longer afar off, on the cloud-hung apex of the 
celestial ladder, but pitching His tent^ in the midst of us; 
earth united to Heaven, by ties not visionary but ever- 
lasting, by the communion of those Angels who ascend 
to God, bearing unto Him the prayers of men, and again 
descend to us, the bearers of His blesaing. And this 
saintly commerce was no far-away hope held out to their 
longing hearts; for from that very hour* Jesus commenced 
His Office of Mediator. He has given us assurance of 
this by the affirmation — the form of which Saint John 

before httng instructed by the Saviour, would have recognized him aa the 
Sod of God, by Nature conaubstantial with the Father. 

1 In the Holy Booka " the heavens opened " was alwaya a figure of the 
overflowing of God'a grace upon man (Gen, xiviii. 12 ; la. vi. 1 ; E^ch. 
i. 1; Mai. iii. 10). 

> This name, which recalls those humiliations which the Incarnate 
Word suffpred for our aalies, is found for the first time in the famona 
Vision in which Daniel describes the glory of the Heaaiah (Dan. vii. 13). 
The Pi-ophet, in order to make the contraat more striking, does not make 
use of the term Ben-Iah or Ben-Adam, but calls Him Ben-Enosh, that is, 
man in all the weakneas inherent in our humanity. It is proper to remark 
here also that Jesua habitually takes this title just when He has called 
Himself the Son of God (Matt. Mvi. 6*) ; or when He asserts some of 
His divine powers, as the right of working miracles (Matt. xii. 2S-S2 ; 
lia. 11) ; or of forgiving sins (Matt. ii. S; xvt 27 ; xix. 38). In this 
manner He proposed to proclaim His human nature and Divine Nature at 
one and the same time. 

^'EaK-i/meatr (John i. 14). 

* 'A*' SfiTi V) omitted in most of the versions, and in the ancient man- 
uscripts. Still we think that this reading ought not to be overlooked, out 
of respect for the Syriac Veraions and the Alexandrine Manuacript. 



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rUE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. 139 

has preserved for us, and which so well befitted Him Who 

is the eternal Amen : " Amen, Aiuen,^ I say unto you : 
You shall see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." 

' This doable Amen occurs here for the first time, and, in its two- 
fold form, is only mentioned bj S. John ; the other Evangelists content 
tbemselv^ with putting the worn "Amen" once in reporting the Saviour's 
ianguttge. We are surely warranted in believing that the beloved disciple 
woald have remembered the nords of his Master more faithfully than did 
any others, and hence we may think that it was a cnstom witu Jesus to 
reiterate this solemn affirmative, so to add importance to the Truths 
which He wished to impress on their minds. 



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THE WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT CANA. 



With these five disciples Jesus kept on along the 
road northwards. As they were journeying without any 
train or beasts of burden, they were able to make their 
camp at Sichem on the first night, taking En-Gannim 
for the second; and from this point, after crossing the 
plain of Esdralon, they soon reached Nazareth. On 
their arrival they did not find Maiy; for "on the third 
day ' there was a wedding celebration at Cana of Galilee, 
and the Mother of Jesus was there." As He also was 
invited to take part in their nieiTy-makiugs, Jesus, in 
company with His disciples, pushed onwards to Cana' 



him to jot dowD thU detail of time. But wjlh us that "third day " hns 
been construed in several different ways ; some by dating from the arriTal 
of Jesus ID Cana ; others take it to be from tbe calling of Nathanael ; 
aometimes it is I'eokoiied from the day following His departure for Galilee ; 
finally it is thought to mi'an the third after His leaving thia first poiot ; 
and the last opinion strikes lis as the most natural suppo^iition. 

' Kefr Kenua is, in fact, only a league from Nazareth to northward. 
This poor little village still possesses the ruins of a church which was 
erected over Oie very spot where the wedding was celebrated, and they 
show you the very fountain which undoubtedly supplied the water for the 
Miracle, since it is the only one in the town. EobtDson contends that 
Kana el-Jalil (located some three hours' journey from Nazareth toward the 
northeast) ought to have the glory of being the ancient Cana ; but all the 
traditions are against this hypothesis, and they have always pointed out 
Kefr Kenna as the scene of the Miracle, while the absence of any ruins at 
Kana elJalil is also against it, for all the travellers of olden days apeali 
of the churches and convents which were raised in this hamlet as a witness 
of the marvel. Hence there is only the closer similarity in the names, 
which might lead us to prefer Kana el-Jalil, Robinson attached great 



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THE WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT CANA. 141 

that same evening.* It was just at the hour when the 
ceremonies of the marriage were about to commence, 
and the Lord, on His arrival, could assist aa a guest at 
the most brilliant spectacle of all, — the procession formed 
by the bridal couple, surrounded by the whole family.' 
Sacred writers allude so often to the nuptial festivals, 
that it would suffice merely to collect the words in which 
they have referred to them, in order to restore for us the 
bright pageant which was enacted before the eyes of Jesus. 
The bride's preparations for this great day were matters 
of the weightiest moment. From the instant she stepped 
from her perfumed bath,^ she shed around her such a 
wealth of fri^rance that Solomon compares her, wrapped 
in her long veils, to a cloud of incense floating over the 
earth.* These veils are a distinctive feature of the be- 
trothed maiden ; not only covering the head, but enwreath- 
ing the whole body,^ and concealing from sight the white 
and gold-embroidered robe,' her jewels,^ the virgin's girdle 
{which no one might unclasp save only the joyous spouse),* 
and the crown of myrtle that encircled her brow.* 



e of Khourbet Kana, and the addition Pl-Jalil would se«ni 1« 
miatalie of the learned American. (See Thomson, 7^ Land and the 
Book, p. 425.} 

1 It was very likely of a Tuesday evening, or, to speak more precisely, 
at an early hour of Wednesday, since it uas an ancient custom among the 
Jews to calcukte the day from night to night; it was by the order of 
Esdraa [Kfiouiol, i. 1) that the marriage fpBst must commence on thia 
day when the bride was a maiden, and on a Tliursday if she were a widow. 

'' Although the oath taken by the bridal pair (Ezech. xvi. 8 ; Mai, 
ii. 14), and the blessings which they then received (Geu. xxiv. 60 ( RuOi 
iv. 10 1 Tob. rii. 16), gave to the marriage its aacreil character, yet the 
splendor of the nuptial procession was so notable a feature, that this latter 
ceremony was popularly regarded as the principal event of a Jewish 
wedding. 

» Ruth iii. 3 ; Ezech, xriii. 40. 

• Cant. iiL 6. 

» Gen. xxiv, 63 ; xxxviii. 14. 



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142 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS, 

The youDg maid, thus attired at the hands of her girl 
companions, awaited the arrival of the bridal retinue. By 
her side the paranymph, or bridesmaid, kept watch with 
the ten virgins, who must needs accompany her with lamps 
in their haads. It was generally at a late hour that the 
cry rang out : " Behold the bridegroom is here ! Come ye 
out to meet him!"^ In those lovely nights of the Orient, 
which well-nigh surpass anything our days can boast in 
the way of soft splendor and delicious balminess, the 
procession advances, led first by a troop of singei's, their 
voices mingling with the notes of the flute and the clash 
of tambourines;^ while, last of all, comes the bridegroom, 
gorgeously clad, his forehead wreathed with a golden tur- 
ban entwined with myrtle and rose. About liim march 
his ten friends, called " Sons of the Groom,"* holding palm 
branches in their bauds ; * while his kinsmen, acting aa his 
escort, bear lighted torches,* and the daughters of Israel 
greet him on every hand with their laughing compliments.* 
The bridegroom and his companions enter within the 
dwelling of the young maiden, and, taking her by the 
hand, he leads her toward the threshold ; and here he 
receives the tables of stone on which is inscribed the 
dowry;' whereupon, in merry marching train, the guests 
retrace their way back to the house of the fortunate youth. 

A banquet is there made ready,* which always lasted lor 
many a long hour, enlivened by gay enigmas and bright 
sallies of wit.^ A whole week, sometimes even two, slipped 
by amid such rejoicings ; "* and so, to put somewhat of a 
check on this immoderate joy, and to recall their minds to 
thoughts of graver things, it was the custom, fi-oui time to 
time, for some one to shatter the wine-glasses of the happy 

1 Matt, XX7. 6. 

' Gen. ixxi. 27 ; Jar. vii. 34 ; xvi. ; 1 Mac. ii. 30. 

» Jnd. liv. 11 ; Matt. ix. 15. 

* Ketoubot, ]6, 17; Sabbath, 110 a; Sola, 49 b. 

• Matt. xxT. 7. 

' Cant. iii. 11 ; Ps. iliv. IB ; Kdoi^l, 15 b. 
1 Ketovbot, 1, 2. 

■ Matt. iiiL 1-10 ; I,nlre kit. 8 ; John ii. 2. 
»Jui5. riv. 12. 
» Ibidem, liv. 12 ; Tob. viii. 23. 



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THE WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT CANA. 143 

pair.^ Tliia was indeed to show forth in action that thought 
of the ancient mime : " Fortuna vitrea est, turn quum 
splendet frangitut."* 

Toute notre Klicite, 

Stijette fi I'instabilit^, 

En moinR de rien tombe par terre ; 

Et coniine elle a I'^clat du verre, 

EUe eualafragilitel" 

In the time of Jesus, were there the same symbolic 
I'ites performed which to-day are peculiar to Jewish mar- 
riages, beside the ceremonies already mentioned, — -the 
long white napkin stretched over the head of the newly 
wed, who sit with their iiauds clasped under the veil, while 
the ring is slipped upon the finger of the bride in token 
of their indissoluble union.* The sacred writings make uo 
mention of these ; they only tell how the guests conduct 
the lady to the nuptial chamber,* where her couch was set 
in state beneath a canopy,* sometimes even (if we may 
credit Jewish authorities)^ under a bower of blossoms.* 

Such were some of the ceremonies at which Jesus was 
a Guest upon " that evening of the third day." In this 
instance the pomp and splendor were indeed of a some- 
what modest degree ; for everything seems to indicate that 
the family which had bidden Jesus as one of their friends 

' Berachot. f. 31, 1. 

" Publiiis Sjrus. 

' ComeLlle, PotyemUe, acte It. sc^ne il. 

* These ceremoniea are also fonnd in Christian marriages, and we are 
juatifled in tielievingthat the primitive Church borrowed them from the 
Ritaal of the Synagoc^e. 

• Jud. XV. 1 ; Joelii. 16. 
« Ps. xviii. 6 ; Joel ii. 16. 
' Keloahet, i, 5. 

~ ' On the morrow, if no cloud bad appeared to obscure tbeir bappinesa 
(Deut. isii. 13-21), the "Frienil of tbe BriiUgtoom" returned thanks to 
God, in tbe name of all. "Lord God," he said, "King of the Universe, 
ThoQ Who hast aet a place in Thy Paradise for this aweet-kernelled nut, 
this rose of the dales, bo tbat no stranger majr ever hold domain o'er 
this sealed fountain — wherefore it is that this fair form of love hath never 
proven false to her plighted faitb: Blessed ba Thou forever, O Lord I O 
Thou Who bast chosen Abraham and his seed to be Thine own 1 " {Hale- 
thoUi gedoleth, Gl b.J 



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144 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

was of as humble a station as He : the fact of the wine 
having given out so early in the feasting ; the air of au- 
thority with which Mary, the wife of a carpenter, gives 
her oiders; the respect shown her Son, who is invited, 
although at the time absent from home. The apparent 
luxury in the details of the banquet do not really con- 
tradict this conclusiou ; for everything which they might 
stand in need of, — ornaments, rich furnishings, service of 
all binds, — these even the poorest people could always 
boiTow of their ne^hhors. 

Mary, who had preceded her Son to Cana, had betaken 
herself thither undoubtedly in order to lend her aid in the 
necessary preparations; thus she was able to notice how 
little wine her friends had to dispose of; and so too she 
was the first to perceive that it was falling short in the 
veiy middle of the repast. It was the unlooked-for arrival 
of the five disciples which had brought down this disgrace 
upon the young couple ; for (according to an ancient wit- 
ness on this point) " it happened that the wine gave out 
in consequence of the great number of guests." ' 

Mary was distressed, and betaking herself to Jesus: 
"They have no wine," she said. 

Used as she was to seeing her Son anticipate her least 
wishes, she continued to treat Him as she had always 
done hitherto, stiil hearing herself as a Mother who is 
all-powerful and always to he obeyed. 

But now the times were changed. 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 Father), 
Jesus refused to pay any heed to her appeal. 

" 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 among sacred writers, sometimes to denote a 
lively objection, sometimes only a simple dissent; both, 

^ " Et factnni est per raultnm turbam vooatoram vinum lonaumnian." 
(Another reading found in the Italic Version. Codex Rhedigeiianus, 
vii uentnry.) 



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TBE WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT CANA. 145 

however, were in perfect consonance with the forma of 
h^heat courtesy.^ Aa for the title "WomaTi," that waa, 
indeed, a term of reapect.^ In making use of it, Jesus ren- 
dered filial homage to her, whom He loved beyond all other 
creatures, and whose prayer it cost Him so dear to deny. 

And, furthermore, we must needs supply to this bare 
refusal some words which John Evangelist either did not 
bear, or at least has omitted to report ; for we see in the 
sequel that the i-espouse of the Saviour, far from dis- 
heartening Mary, gave her yet fuller assurance. 

On the in3ta,nt she gave orders to the servants to hold 
themselves in readiness at His word : " Anything that He 
may say to you, do it" 

They had not long to delay. The last draps of wine had 
been poured out ; there waa nothing now left for the young 
couple except to make a humiliating avowal of their in- 
sufficient stores. Now there were standing close at hand 
six great urus of stone, covered with branches, as is the 
custom in the East, in order to keep the water cool and 
fresh. These vessels, each containing two or three firkins,* 
were kept in readiness for the guests, who were required 
not only to wash their feet before touching the linen and 
drapery of their couches, but even during the meal fre- 
quently to purify their hands. Already there had been 
many of these ablutions performed, and the urns were 
being rapidly emptied. At a word from Jesus, the ser- 
vants filled them with water to the brim. 

" Draw out now," said the Lord, " and bear it to the 
Master of the Board."* This was one of the guests, selected 

iJos. xxii. 21; Jud. xi. 12; 2 Knga zvi 10 3 kings zvii. IS; 
i Kines ill. 13. 

'This is the very style in which A go-t sal te Cleopatra (Dion 
Cossius, SisloricB, li, 12). In a Chorii f E h 1 the title given 

to the Qneen, Clytemnestra, and it is a li ften d f princesses by 
the traj^c poets. 

* The tnetrix ; ^ifrpiTr^!, so called bet se was h tandard measure 
of capacity among the Greeks ; it was th b f t f twentj-seven 
litres. But the Roman 'umphora, which contained but nineteen litres, 
was also known by the name of a metrii, and it may have been this latter 
measure that S. John had reference to here. 

* Some bave thought that this master of the feast was a higher servant, 
hired to overlook the arrangements for the bani^uet, and to set In order 



146 BEGINNINGS Of THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

to preside over the feasting and to keep watcli bo that there 
might be nothing lacking. The serving-men presented 
him with tlie drinking-cup. He tasted the water changed 
to wine, without knowing whence it came. Those who 
had drawn it out were not ignorant; but even so, the 
stupor that had fallen on them at sight of such a prodigy 
now encliaiued their tongues. 

The master of the festal board called to the bridegroom : 
" Every man," suid 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 drinkera who dull the edge of 
their taste by over-much indulgence, — the familiar hint 
anent the usual excesses at other wedding banquets, where 
there is not (just as here there was) permeating the feel- 
ing 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 company 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 dis- 
closed, Jesus had performed His first Miracle. 

He did it to console a few Galileans, whose very names 
still remain unknown, and in order to sanctify the bond of 
Marriage, which was to become, in His Church, a sacra- 
mental union. He did it to teach the world, which gives 
its best at first and leaves the dr^s at the bottom of the 
cup, that the Christ would not so deal with us, — that He 

the wines and the meats, tt is trae the ancienta liad some snch butlers, 
or. as the Latins called thero, "Tricliuiirchse" (Patronina, Sitiyricon, 
22 ; Heliodorus, vii. 27) ; the Greeks called him Tpawt^wouA (Athena, 
170 d) or -rpave^oKi^iH. (Diogenes of Laertes, 9, SO). In this case, was he 
not rather the evii,Troviapxoi, "the arbiter bibendi," who was chosen from 
amoDg the guests (Hermann, Lehrbudt der grieschiicken Privatalterth&- 
mer, par. 2S, 29). A passage in Ecclesiasticus <Kxxii. 1, 2) shows us that 
that office was in use among the Jews, and the familiar freedom with 
which the governor of the feast addresses the bridegroom gives na a good 
reason for fhinkinf; that he oonld not have been his servant, but his equal, 
and consequently one of the invited friends. 



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THE WEDDING FESTIVITIES AT CANA. 147 

would reserve for eternity that wine of the elect which 
will inebriate us with holy raptures. And finally, He did 
it at the prayer of Mary, whose faith, thus tested by a 
first refusal, shone out in its strength only the more 
triumphantly. 

" Here then took place," the Evangelist adds,* " the fii-st 
sign given by Jesus, being given at Cana in Galilee ; and 
thus He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed 
in Him." This word "sign"^ tells us what the Miracles 
of the Saviour were for John, — the manifestation of His 
Divinity. Elsewhere he goes so far as to call them the 
" works " * of the Christ, as if prodigies were but the natu- 
ral Attribute of Him, in Whom resideth almighty powers, 
and that the real miracle would he, not for God, whose 
name is Wonderful, to do wondrous things, but for Him 
not to do them. And so the miracles which Jesus will 
work beneath our eyes should only be for us as signs and 
tokens, as the lustrous rays of His Divinity piercing through 
the veils of the flesh. In those moments which will some- 
times come upon us, when the humiliations of the Word 
Incarnate do well-nigh shake our faith, and force from us 
that cry of bewilderment ; " Why, what is there Godlike 
in all this 1 " then at once the answer should spring to 
our lips: "His Miracles declare His might; and in these 
flashes of power He stands forth revealed, as in the fierce 
white glare of the lightning, the almighty Son of God." * 

1 John iL 11. 

'■Bpra (John v. SB, vit. 21, 
have most in mind the aniazen; 
these «3itraordiDary deeds, spflak of them as "prodigies" 

* Pascal, Peniica, art. xxv. 95. 



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CHAPTER VI. 
GENESABETH. 

What was it that occurred at Nazareth when Jeeus re- 
tamed thither ? The Gospel does iiot tell ; but apparently 
something happened which rendered any tarrying in this 
village either painful or perilous for the Saviour, since 
Saint John adds immediately : " After that, He descended 
to Caphamaum with His Mother, His brothers, and His dis- 
ciples," ^ The uncouth violence of the Nazarenes was pro- 
verbial.' Perhaps they refused to see anything but a 
clever imposture in the miracle of Cana, and so would 
force this "son of Joseph" to take Himself out of their 
country.* 

From Kazareth to Caphamaum is about a day's journey, 
which, as indeed may be inferred from Saint John's ex- 
pression, is only a long descent * down the slopes of the 
hills of Zabnlon, The traveller reaches the end of his 
road, when, on coming out of the Valley of Doves (Ouadi 
el-Haniam), he beholds at his feet the Sea of Galilee. The 
long and narrowing outlines of the lake's formation, with 
the rippling of its waters, su^ested the idea of a harp, 
from which the Hebrews gave it the name Chinnereth.* 
In the time of Jesus it was oftener called the Sea of Tibe- 
rias ; or t^ain, the Lake of Genesareth, from the plain, 
which bloomed and flowered like a garden-bed,* encircling 

1 John iL 12. " John i. 48. ' Luke iv. 22. 

* KUTf^r, (John ii. 12). « Nnm. uxxiv. 11. 

' Genesareth, sccordiog to some sathoritiea, is merely an alMred form 
of the Hehrev H'^j^. the 3 being changed to i, and the D inserted into 
the hody of the word. But it would apiwar to mean rather the Val- 
ley of Plowere, from K^J, "valley" and "m, "a flower" (S. Jerotne, 
Opera, t. xvjt. p. IdZb, MIgne Edition); or again, it may mean the Ontilen 



J Dy Google 



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GENESARETB. 149 

its shores. The Jews, in their admiratioa for this beauti- 
ful sheet of water, hold that the Lord once said : " Seven 
lakes have I created, yet but one of them have I reserved 
unto Myself, — the Lake of Genesareth." ^ But the renown 
of this lake rests not so much upon its beauty as upon 
our memories of Jesus. Here everything recalls the Mas- 
ter, — the waves over which His bark furrowed its way; 
the fertile hanks along which He wandered ; the rich har- 
vest-fields ; the sea-beach where He was so often to be 
found seated, sometimes in solitude, sometimes surrounded 
by the listening _^throngs. In the distance you may still see 
those same bleak, bare mountain-peaks which were the 
lonely watchmen at His hours of prayer. There is uo re- 
gion which was witness to a greater number of His pro- 
digies, nor one that hearkened for a longer period to His 
heavenly accents ; thereby it is too endeared to all Chris- 
tian hearts to pass over without striving to bring up a 
picture of it in our minds. 

The Lake of Qeuesareth is one of the three deep basins 
which are filled by the waters of the Jordan, on its course 
to the south. Though it stretches out to a greater width 
than the Marsh of Houleh, yet it has not the dimensions 
of that sea of pitch into which the Jordan empties its 
waters;^ but in the epoch of the Christ, the two lakes 
formed an astonishing contrast. Everything round abont 
the one was teeming with life, — its clear depths so well 
stocked with fish, its outlying lands lovely with flowers 
and fruit; while over and about the other there lay a 
horror as of death, — with its sluggish sulphurous flow, 
with no living creature in its floods of bitumen, with 
its blasted and riven banks. Nevertheless, each of these 
wide expanses of plain and water, now so different of as- 
pect, had once rivalled one another in fertility. When 

of the Princes, if with Lightfoot we derivB it from *'i, " valley," and "VOt 

1 Midrasek Fillim, f. t, 1 . 

* The Lake of Genesareth is about five leagues long by two in width. 
The dimenstona of the D«a(t Sea, which vary with the different seasoas, 
have never been taken very eiact.ly ; generally it is given as being twenty- 
five leHguea long by four leagues in its btoadeat part. 



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150 BEGINIflNGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JEiSUS. 

from the highlands of Bethel Lot looked down on the 
Lake of Sodom ' and the Vale of Siddim, he found them 
both equally grateful and pleasant to the sight, even as 
the gardens of the Lord and the banks of the Nile,'' 

There were, in fact, the same causes which could not 
but have produced an equal fertility ; for indeed these two 
seas are nothing but craters of extinct volcanoes, sunken so 
far within the burning soil that the Jordan, after entering 
the Lake of Genesareth, ranges to a depth of a hundred and 
ninetyHDue metres below the level of the Mediterranean.^ 

In such low-lying lands the earth, warmed by a sky of 
fire, while it is refreshed with abundant waters, clothes the 
fields with every variety of plant. " The walnut, a tree of 
colder regions, here springs up majestic, while the palm- 
tree bends beneath its load of fruit, as in the torrid zones. 
At their side products of the temperate climes here thrive 
and flourish, — the grape, the fig, and the olive. It seems 
as if Nature had reversed all her laws to gather together 
in these places everything she has to offer which could 
present the most striking contrast, — those which in their 
native habits are the most opposite. The different seasons 
here dispute with one another for the sway, and exert their 
influence simultaneously. Figs and grapes ripen, without 
intermission, during ten months, and the other fruits never 
are damaged by any season of the year." * 

In this picture it is easy to recognize the touch of a 
Galilean, proud of his fatherland and its beautiful lak& 
There is not a particle of exa^eration in it, however; for 
even in our days, only let the Bedouins cease from their 
ravagings for a season, and the traveller will still find the 

' Those twin cities of vice and sin stood in tliat southern part of the 
peninsula of Lisan, in tlie r^on around tlie Dead Sea that sunk in the 
fearful eatastmplie in which Sodom was involved ; in our times the foul 
waters which cover it are but a few feet iu depth. The primitive lake lay 
in the northern part of the present baain ; in fact, soundings made there 
have shown very great depth (thi'oe hundred and fifty metres in certain 
spots). 

" Geo. liii, 10. 

' The depression of the Dead Sea is twice this, — three hundred and 
ninety-four metres below the level of the sea. 

* Josephus, Beltum Judalcuni, iii. 10, S. 



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UENESARETB. 151 

palm-trees overshadowing the lake of Tiberias; in the 
meadows of Magdala he will see the indigo, the lotus, and 
sugar-cane, ^hile all around the lake still gleams a crimaoii 
girdle of laorel-rosea.^ 

With no less complacency does Josephus boast of the 
fecundity of the waters. The fish were so abundant that 
the fishermen living along its banks could be counted by 
the hundred ; there were even two villages bearing the 
name of Bethswida (The Fishery House). Therefore, ever 
since the partition of Judea among the sons of Israel, the 
right of casting nets into the lake had been reserved, as 
the common privilege of each and every inhabitant, by a 
law of Moses.' In the time of Jesus thousands of bright 
sails sparkled over the sea: there were Roman galleys, 
Herod's fine fleet, and fishermen's craft in plenty. To-day 
there are only three boats, which lie almost unused by the 
indolent seamen of Tiberias and Mejdel.^ 

So it was, too, with the cities of the lake ; to-day lying 
in ruins, formerly so busy and populous. They were 
mostly dotted in a close line along the western shore ; for 
on the eastern side the scarped and steep cliffs, rising from 
the water's edge, make the shore inaccessible, except by 
way of the gorges, through which rush the mountain tor- 
rents in the winter season. Of all these towns the city of 
Tiberias was the most famous, Herod Antipas had only 
recently founded it, in honor of his protector Tiberius, and 
with such snmptuosity of architecture and ornament as the 
tastes which he had cultivated during his sojourn in Eome 
now prompted. However, in his contempt for all Judaic 
customs, he had erected his Capitol upon the site of aa 
ancient cemetery ; and hy so doing had closed its portals so 
far as the Jews were concerned, for they could not enter 
therein without contamination.* It was useless for him to 

• Kitto, Cycliip<rAia : Palestine; Murray, Handbook for Syria and 
Palestine, route 28, Magdaln. 

' Baba, Kamma, 81, 1, 2. 

' Two of these barks were pat in use by us when we sailed oyer th« 
lake in 1879, and the third followed in our wake. If what our rowers told 
us was true, there vi&s not another boat on the lake at that time, 

* Num. sis. 11 ; Josephaa, Antiquxiniei, xviii. 2, 3. 



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152 BEGINNINGS OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

multiply his solicitations, his favors, his privileges : he 
never triumphed over the scruples of his people. Tiberias 
still remained, for the most part, a city of foreigners, — 
Greeks and Romans, who were chanued with a residence 
more Pagan than Jewish in tone and aspect, with the 
gilded palace of Antipas, his amphitheatre, and the warm 
baths of the ancient Ammaiis.^ It is more than probable 
that Jesus never entered the gates of this city, and only 
from afar did He look upon its snowy ramparts and pal- 
aces of marble. 

To the north of Tiberias the hill-ranges approach nearer 
to the shores ; and the highway, climbing along a cliff, fol- 
lows its trend for an hour or so, until it comes out upon 
the Plain of Genesareth. There the heights, sweeping back 
from the sea once more, forai a natural amphitheatre en- 
circling those fields, which the Talmud calls the Paradise 
of Earth.^ Genesareth is no longer the fair and fragrant 
garden ® through which Jesus wandered long ago ; yet now, 
in its desolation, it still bears delicate traces of ite former 
fertility, — in the spring-time covered with flowers, with 
thickets of laurel-roses overshadowing its brooks, while 
the thistles round about grow to be a veritable coppice, 
through which it is with difficulty that the traveller can 
tear a passage-way. 

It is to the streams of water which have been so lav- 
ishly granted it, that Genesareth- owes her garment of 
flowers. In the south there is "Round Fountain" (Ain 
Medaonarah) ; in the north, the Spring of the Fig-tree 
(Ain et-Tin) ; in the centre, a stream (which is, in fact, a 
river) falls sparkling from the mill-wheel of Shoucheli, and 
gliding through a thousand channels, moistens the fields 
along their course to the lake. It aeems as if even this 
wealth of waters was not thought sufficient to freshen 
Genesareth, for athwart the barrier cliff which rises over 

' Prabably Emsth, spoken of in the Book of Josliua, xix. 35 (Josephas, 
Bellum Jwlalcutn, ii. 21, 6). 

* ErovMn, f. 19, 1. 

* " Qoare vocatur Genneznr ? Ob hortos principum." (Lightfoot, ffonx 
Hebrafeie, ChorograpWcal Centoiy, chap, Ixidx.) 



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GENESARETH. 153 

the northern part of the plain an aqueduct* has been 
channelled out to divert this way the waters of Aio- 
Tabigah. 

Still ferther on the banks present a different scene : 
here the hillsides slope gently down to the lake, while all 
strong winds are wai-ded off by the thick clumps of caper- 
trees, tamarisks, and laurels. But on the summit of the 
hills and on the farther side of these mountains, there is 
■ nothing beside barren and scant pasturages, where a stony 
surface of basalt stares one in the face. 

Such is the general landscape of the country bordering 
the western shores of the lake. From Tiberias to the out- 
let of the Jordan, it forms a curve of neariy four leagues ; 
and it is here that the towns made famous by the Gospel 
are to be found, — Magdala, Caphamaum, Bethsaida, and 
Ohorozain. 

The first named is the only one of these cities which can 
be easily located. The desolate little village of Mejdel," 
situated at the southern extremity of the plain of Gene- 
sareth, still retains the name of Magdala, — the native 
place of the Magdalene, from whom Jesus drove seven 
devils, and who in gratitude for her deliverance followed 
Him even to the foot of the Cross, 

It is more difficult to discover any traces of Caphar- 
naum, " the city of Jesus." ^ Geographers sometimes lo- 
cate it to the south, in the Plain of Genesareth, close 
by Kound Fountain (Ain Medaouarah) ; sometimes in the 
north, in the vicinity of the Fig-tree Spring (Ain et- 
Tin) ; sometimes even in Tell Houm, near the outlet of 
the Jordan. The latter is only chosen for the reason that 
in its neighborhood are some beautiful ruins, and in its 
name is contained the last syllable of Caphamaum.* Ain 

' Hurray, Handbook for Syria and Palatine, roaUt 2S, Site of Caper- 

' Mejdel Btill preserves the half-rained tower to which it owed its 

primitive name, — Migdfti, ''^JP, "The Tower." 

• Matthew, ii. 1. 

'Caphamaum (Kaphar Nahoum), "The ViUafte of Coniolation." In 
order to believe that thia is the annie name as Tell Houm, we must assume 
that Nahoum has been abridged into Houm, and that the ancient city, 



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154 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Medaouamh,^ on the other hand, is too distant from the 
lake to be regarded as the site of Capharnaum, " on the 
sea-shore ;"* and furthermore, in the neighboring parts 
there are no remains of any such ruiued town. While, 
on the contrary, to the south of Aia et-Tin rise two 
masses of ruins, one of which gives eertaiii indications of 
being a tomb, while far and near as far as Ouadi el-Amoud 
the ground is strewn with stones and ruins. It is in this 
locality that, in harmony with the most ancient tradi- 
tions,^ we have placed Capharnaum ; for this position alone 
(or so it seems to us) answers to the descriptions of it in 
the Gospel, — lyiug in the Plain of Genesareth, close by 

after its destruction, was no longer called the Village (Kaphav, Kefr), but 
tbB WUderness, the Tell ; hence. Tell Kahoum, Tell Houm. Such an 
tttteratioD as tlus, where not only the Towcia but the cansatiants also are 
different, seems little likely to U8. As for the traditions cited by Frfere 
Lievin, aince they are more recent than the evidence of Willibad, of which 
ne shall speak shortly, they are naturally of much leas value. 

> Some geographers believe that Ain Medaouarah is the fountain of 
which Josephus speaks in these terms: "All the land of Genesareth is 
watered by a full-flowing well-spring, which those living in the country 
call Caphai'naUTn " (Josephus, BeHum Judalcum, iii. 10, 8). Thia descrip- 
tion does not answer either to the Round Fountain (Ain Medaouarah) or 
(o tliat of the Fig-Tree (Ain et-Tin) ; for the foi-mer only waters the fields 
in the neighborhood of Hejdel, and the other bubbles up close by the lake. 
May it not be tiiat under this name the Jewish historian referred to the 
abundant streams that separate from beneath the great mill at Schoucheh, 
which lies midway between the hills encircling the plain ! And, in fact, 
.lofephus does not say merely that the fountain of Capharnaum rises some' 
where in the land of Genesareth ; he states that it waters this whole region. 
" " " " ;g Ii'om Ouadi Rouboudieh grows to the size 

oucheh, and after falling fiDn die big mill- 
II the plain, from Ouadi el-Amoud to Ain 

_ , ._. . . ;o say, over the whole plain of Genesareth properly 

10 called. This veiy natural supposition came to my mind at once wheu I 
saw the innumerable little rivulets which, starting from Schoucheh, water 
all the fields down to the lake-side; the more Ihave studied this point, 
the more plausible I consider the supposition to be. 

2 Matt.;,iv. 13. 

9 S. Jerome and Ensebius simply state that Capharnaum was near 
the lakeside ; next to them, the most precise evidence we have comes 
from Willibad, who visited Paleatina in tne beginning of the eighth cen- 
tui7 (722). Starting from Tiberias on his way north, he came to Magdalum 
(Mejdel), next to Capharnaum. then to Betbsatda, Anally to Chorozain, 
where he formed a Christian church ; and after this be encountered the 
mouth of the Jordan. From his description, it appears manifest that the 
]>i1grim was following the shores of the lake, and in this way that be mt^ 



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GENESARETH. 155 

tlie lake, within the borders of Zabulon and Nephthali,' 
and upon the highroad of the caravans which, coming 
from the East and from Damascus, would descend by this 
route into Egypt." 

Yet, after all, it matters little enough what opinion one 
may cherish as to these geographical questions ; for, how- 
ever uncertain we are as to the precise spot whereon the 
Christ made His abode, at least we know in what places 
He dwelt. It is with perfect assurance that we hold the 
Plain of Genesareth in veneration, since Jesus once trod 
its paths ; here His barl? came to land when He left the 
opposite shore ; just here too the little boat was pushed 
out from land at that time when, the crowds becoming so 
great about Him, the Master would so order it that all 

w the Gnt 

J... ^. o .— jJbI »te those which li 

Oiiadi el-Amoud anil Ain et-Tin ; hence, 8 

is the spot where Willihad locates Cap m ae R nsoii, Biblical 

Bexarches, iii. 3*7-380). 

> Matt. liv. 34 ; Mark vi. 63 ; John v 

* This is the way S. Matthew describe l.'apharnaum : 

"Jesus quitted Nazareth, and came to e lea, on the 

frontier of Zabulon and Neuhthali ; then ed saying of the 

Prophet Isaiaa : Land of Zabulon and Ian N in way of the sea 

from beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the G 3-lE). These 

words can only mean that Caphamaum as l«l po the highway 

which stretched along the sea of Tihe aa d p to the Galilee 

beyond the Jordan, following along the fro Z bul nd Nephthali. 

Now the boundary lines of these two trtbe re (Caapari, Ein- 

UUung, par. 6*). Zabulon extended to the >alley of tadralon, along the 
hills which saiTound Nazareth, and caBtwani from Genesareth to the 
Mediterranean. Nephthnii, lying nearly in the middle of Zabulon, was 
bouDde<l on the south by the frontiers of the latter Tribe ; but the western 
bank of the Jordan and the lake also beloiic to it, and from Safad its terri- 
tory reached aa far as the highlauda of Thabor. This last linn of partition 
indicates quite exactly the direction followed by " the way of the sea " of 
which S. Matthew speaks ; and indeed this was none other than the 
great high-road between Damascua and Jemaalom. One of the first achieve- 
ments of Van der Velde was the discovery of this ancient pike beneath the 
debris of the old Roman Road, which still exists. From Thabor it descends 
to the plain of Genesareth, then to Khan Minieh, oue of the great Khans 
of the journey ; then, mounting along the hills which border tile lake, it 
at last reaches the Biidge of the Daughters of Jacob, and there croases the 
Jordan. So then, being lo<ated near to Khan Minieh, between Ai'n et-Tin 
and Ouadi el-Araoud, we fiiiil that Caphamaum answers perfectly to the 
description in S. Matthew, "upon the road by the sea," and "upon the 
frontiers of Zabnlon and Nephthali." 



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156 BEGIN^'mGS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

might hear some one of those Parables over which the 
world will meditate to the end of time. Somewhere, too, 
above those meadow-lands which to-day lie untilled, stood 
ill those days the synagogue where Jesus healed the De- 
moniac ; there too was the residence of Jairus, with that 
of the Centurion to whom He gave back his faithful ser- 
vant ; the dwelling where Simon's mother-in-law lay in all 
the languors and pains of fever.* Matthew the publican 
had his toll-gatherer's office on " the highway which skirts 
the sea," ' close by that caravansary whose ruins are still 
visible at Khan Minieh. 

Past the promontory which shuts in the Plain of Gene- 
sareth on the north, crossing over a sandy beach strewn 
with sea-shells, Jesus would find Bethsiuda, the native- 
place of His disciples Peter, Andrew, Philip, James, and 
John. Ain Tabigah to-day marks its site for us ; for Saint 
Matthew speaks of this village as being on the border of 
the lake, between Capharnaum and Choroza'in;^ and Saint 
Mark,* adds that it was near Genesareth. Now Ain Tabi- 
gah is separated from the Plain only by a little headland ; 
further on, along the shore, there are no traces of any 
habitations until we come to Tell Houm, and we are pre- 
suming that Tell Houm is Chorozain. While, further- 
more, there is no position which could have answered 
better for a fisherman's hamlet. Here they had a bay 
sheltered from the winds ; there are the mouths of number- 
less little streams also, whose fall would draw thither great 
runs of fish ; and there was too a smooth strand, on which 
they could beach their boats. It was here that Jesus was 
walking when he called the sons of Jonas and Zebedee to 
Htm ; it is here that He went aboard of Simon's bark, and 
miraculously filled his nets to overflowing.* 

We have said that Tell Houm appears to locate the 

1 Mark i. 21-26, t. 22-43; Luks vii. 1-11, iv. 38. 
« Mark ii. 13, 14. 

* Matt li. 21-23. Willibaii's Itinenu? agrees perfectly with thU testi- 
mnny from 8. MatCheir, tor he places Betusaida between Capbitniaaiii and 
Chorozain, 

' Mark vi. 46, B8. 

• Matt iv. 18-22 ; Luke v. l-Il. 



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GENE?ABETH. 157 

whereabouts of Chorozaia.' This region, in fact, is where 
we find the ruins most numerous, — great columns lying 
along the ground, the remains of a synt^ogue which was 
without a rival in all Palestine. Big blocks of stone where- 
on the eyes of Jesua rested once are still scattered about 
the foot of the hills, which, from Ain Tabigah to the out- 
let of the Jordan, form a graceful border about the Sea of 
Tiberias. 

Genesareth, Caphaniaum, Bethsaida, Chorozain, — or, in 
a word, the western shore of the lake, in length about 
three or four let^nes, formed therefore the field chosen for 
the Ministiy of Jesus. This region was the most populous 
of all Palestine, and nowhere else would the Saviour have 
found that commingling of races, manners, religions, sects, 
which made it well deserve its name of Galilee of the 
Gentiles. Officers of the court of Herod, Greeks from 
Decapolia, countrymen, fishers, Galileans, courtesans whom 
contact with the Pagan cities had corrupted, Syrians, 
Phcenicians, Orientals, whose caravans were following 
down " the road that runs along the borders of the sea," 
soldiers, Eoman centurions, set to watch over these tumul- 
tuous lands, publicans seated by the highway to collect 
taxes,^ — made up of such a motley multitude was the 
populace through which Jesus passed, and which He was 
soon to draw after Him. 

Then too, as there was no one central point from which 
His renown could have spread abroad so swiftly through- 
out all Syria, so also there was no place which offered Him 
more secure retreats iu seasons either of weariness or of 
danger. In a few hours a boat could bear him to the 
mountain fastnesses of Gaulanitis, amid whose solitudes 
He often consecrated whole days and nights to prayer. A 
■ three hours' walk from the lake in a northerly direction 

' Some recent explorers have thought they could decipher the niime of 
this city from that of Reraseh, it villiige lytog to the north, about nn hour's 
walk from TeU Houm ; but S. Jerome says that Chorozain was on the 
borders of the lake, and but two miles from Caphamitum. So then Eersseh 
is too far from the ahore and the Plain of Genesareth to be confouDd>.tl with 
Chorozain (see Murray, Handbook for Syria and PaUsline, route 38). 

" Matt iv. 2i. 



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1S8 BEGINNINGS OF THE MINISTRY OK JESUS. 

would bring Him into the kingdom of a just and mild 
prince, the Tetrarch Philip. Jesiia bad only to cross the 
frontier, should it be needful to shield Himself from any 
blow from Herod ; and He did more than once take this 
precaution, for that listless mouarch had intervals of blood- 
thirsty activity. On these occasions we shall see Jesus 
taking refuge near to the other Beth said a-in-the-North 
where Philip had taken up his abode,' But these periods 
of absence were of short duration ; as soon as Herod had 
fallen back into liis usual indolent mood Jesus would re- 
turn to His chosen land of Genesareth. 

Thus from the testimony of olden times we have tried 
to rehabilitate that country-aide just as it was when long 
ago Jesus saw and loved it. To-day the traveller coming 
down to the border-lands about the Sea of Tiberias, with 
his fancy filled with such memories as these, would be 
sadly undeceived. The green pastures, the vines, and the 
orchards have disappeared ; the flourishing towns are only 
lieaps of ruins ; jackals slink about the synagogue of Tell 
Houm, where Jesus taught ; the few thorny thickets do 
not suffice to temper the great heats within these hollow 
spaces, and the air which one breathes fairly burns with 
the dry glow. The lake indeed still shimmers in the sun- 
light between the long lines of hills, as clear and as calm 
as it was of old ; it reflects the same horizon and the same 
sky. And yet all that the scene has lost in grace and in 
beauty it has gained in savage majesty, nay more, in elo- 
quence, in sooth ; for this sea aforetime so brilliant with 
life, and now doomed to the desolation of death, must recall 
great thoughts to all who wander about the solitary 
stretches of sand aloug its shores to-day, — thoughts which 
remind us how terrible it is to reject the word of God and 
incur His Anathemas. 

" Woe to thee Chorozain !* woe to thee, Bethsaidal for if 
Tyre and Sidon had belield such miracles wrought among 
them as have been worked in your midst, they would have 
done penance long since in sackcloth and ashes. This is 
why I say to you that Tyre and Sidon in the Day of 
' Matt. xiT. 12. 13; Luke ii. 10, » M«tt. xL 21-2*. 



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GENESARETH. 159 

Judgment shall be dealt with more mercifully than shall 
you. And thou, Capharnaum, wouldst thou lift thyself 
up to the heavens ? Thou shalt be humbled down to 
Hell ; for if the miracles which have been done in thee 
had been wrought in 8odom, she would perchauce be living 
even to this day. This is why I say to thee, in the Day 
of Judgment, the land of Sodom shaU be dealt with more 
mercifdly tluin shalt thou." 



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BOOK THIED. 

riEST YEAR 

op THB 

MINISTRY OF JESUS. 



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KATA mANNHN. 

S'. kS', |tp'. 

AaiT< rScr< SiiBpKmov, &f (lira' fun wavra, & hnKifira. ' /jl-^ n SvriK 
wTTiv'O XPI2T02; 

• ■ • T^ Tc ywojuci IXcyov ■ OuKfri Sui rqf XoXuiv (tov iruTTcvo- 
ficf • a^ot yap liinjKoa/uv, koi oISajMv ^ oSrot jimv iXfj/duit 'O 
XPISTO^ "0 SOTHP TOY KOSUOY. 



€f)e «&c{w$matfc^' Cejfftnump 



" Come, see a Man Who has told me everything that I 
have doTie! Is not this THE CHRIST? 

. . . And they said to the woman : " Not becavse of your 
tale do we now believe ; for we ourselves have heard Him 
and hnow that this Man is truly THE CHRIST, THE 
SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD." 



SAINT JOHN. 
iv. 29, 42. 



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TSook %^ivn* 



FIRST YEAR OP THE MINISTRY OF 

JESUS. 



CHAPTER L 
THE FIBST PASCH IN THE MIHISTRY OS JESUS. 



I. The Hucksteks dbiven from the Temple. 

John ii. 12-25. 

The first sojourn of Jesus at Capharnaum was of short 
duration.^ However at that time He manifested His power 
by the tone of authority which thrilled in His speech and 
by His miracles, insomuch that only a little later we shall 
hear the Nazarenes uttering their reproach : " Do some of 
the great works like those which you performed in Ca- 
pharnaum here in your own country ! " ' We do not know 
what deeds these were, whose I'enown had. been spread 
throughout Galilee ; no one of the Evangelists has given us 
any particulars in r^ard to them, aud we are forced to 

' John ii. 12. 

^ Luke iv. 23. The fella w-citizans of Jesus addressed this remorh to 
Him upon His return to Nazaretb from Jiidea ; hence theniinelea t« which 
they alluded were those performed hy Him during hia first stay in Caphar- 
naum. These, then, were some of the nmrvellous deeds which were so 
numerous (according to S. John's eridetice, xxi. 25) that the Erangeliata 
could not recount them all. 



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164 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

reaigu ourselves to the bare knowledge of their occurrence, 
as mu^t be inferred from Saint Luke's allusion to them. 

Hardly had the Saviour awakened Capharnaum to a 
knowledge of His presence by these miracles when He 
withdrew from their country-side. The caravans which go 
up to the Pasch were being formed just at this time, col- 
lected from all the lands bordering on the lake. Jesus 
joined company with the pilgrims of Galilee, 

Apparently they took the route through Perea, and 
arrived in Jerusalem by way of Bethany and the Mount 
of Olives. There was nothing at that time to distinguish 
Him from the crowd of Jews about Him, — neither the 
testimony of the Precursor, which was almost forgotten by 
this, nor the miracles wrought in Capharnaum, since no 
report of them had up to this date reached Jerusalem ; 
the Saviour entered the holy City unknown, unnoticed, 
and with nothing to mark Him out from the throng. His 
first act was to go up to the Temple to pray ; but it was 
useless for Him to seek any place on the Holy Hill for 
silent adoration ; for He, being a Son of Juda, might not 
penetrate within the porches of the Levitea ; He must re- 
main with His tribe without in the lower courts ; but just 
now and all during the feasts this part of the Sanctuary 
was given over to the merchants, and was thus pro faned 
by an unhallowed traffic. 

This abuse, unheard of before the Captivity, had crept 
in since the period when the Jews, who had been dispersed 
over the whole world, thronged into Jerusalem for the 
Passover. As they could not bring with them from those 
far distant lands the animals necessary for the sacrifices, it 
happened that for a long while the small number of victims 
was in disgraceful contrast with the multitude of worship- 
pers. To guard against this dearth of oblations, one of 
Herod's favorite courtiers, Bava, son of Bota, gathered 
thither great flocks of sheep, and generously offered them 
to the sons of Israel.^ What he had done prompted by 

' ComiDK into the Temple (anya the Tdmud of Jenisalem), He foand it 
destitute ofany sort of offerings. "Oh, mny desolation," Hecried, "befall 
the household of thoae who n&vc so despuled the dwelling-place of Jeho- 



ZiBlVING OUT THE HUCKSTERS. 165 

liberality others coDtinued to do from motives of selfish 
interest. The priests were greatlj' in favor of these enter- 
prises, whence they derived numerous perquisites' Pro- 
tected by their political influence, the sellers soon slipped 
into every avenue of the Temple and all through the 
Porches of the Gtentiles, turning that vast court into a 
market, where was set out for sale every requisite for the 
service of the altars, — ct^es full of doves intended for the 
oCFerings of the poor , herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, for 
richer customers. Indeed, it was not alone the paschal 
lamb which had to be immolated at this season ; the Jews 
of the Dispersion, since tbey came to Jerusalem but once 
a year, were obliged to wait until this visit to make pre- 
sentation of such victims as were required of them, either 
according to the prescriptions of the Law, or in fulfilment 
of some pious vow.' And it must be remembered how in- 
numerable these sacrifices were * in order to conceive a just 
idea of the tumult, which was aggravated by the presence 
of the money-changers. Seated at their tables, these 
bankers of the lower classes provided every one with 
the half-shekel which he must pay " as the price of his 
soul ; " * and this because the greater part of the visiting 
Jews, having come from Eoman provinces, would have in 
hand only moneys stamped with idolatnms images, and 
therefore unworthy of being offered to the Lord. 

Necessary as this traffic may have seemed, it profaned 

vah ! " Straif^htiray he caused a great search to be mitde, as far as Araby 
itnd through th? paAture-lands of Cedar, until he hod three thousand head 
of cattle ; of these he chose out the unblemished ones, and brought them 
to Mount Moriali : " Ye Isnielitfis, my brethren," he said, " let those among 
you who propose to make a Holocaust or any acceptable Sacrifice, offer it 
■forthwith unto the Lord " (Lightfoot, .fforw Hebraicee, in Mat. xxi, 12). 

' S. Jerome, in Mat. xxi. 

" Lightfoot, SorfB BebraictE, i " 

* It was the spectacle of the 1 

t Paach which moved Herod to 
huge dimensions. It was fifteen cubits {l-m. 87) in heicht, and formed a 
square, whose four sides were fifty cubits (26m. 25). while a long ascent 
with a gentle slop gave access to the top (Josephus, Bellvm Ji^fnum, 



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166 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the House of God. Certainly the victims were always 
immolated and the rites celebrated upon the topmost ter- 
races ; but the chanting and the prayei-s were no longer 
audible in the lower courts ; shrill cries, incessant bellow- 
inga, coin rattling upon the traya of the noisy brokers, a 
confused rabble of pUgrims and hucksters, with their beasts 
lying about tlie mosaic pavement of the porches as though 
it were the litter of their stables. This was what Jesus 
must needs hear and see within the very shadow of the 
Sanctuary. 

The spectacle aroused His wrath ; seizing a handful of 
those Hexible nishea which Orienttjs plat together like 
cords. He twisted them into a whip, and advanced, all sud- 
denly, with uplifted arm, beating before Him both buyers 
and sellers, cattle and sheep.^ Nor were the coin-changera 
spared ; He put them aJl without the gates, overturning 
their tables and scattering their piles of money upon the 
ground. The aellers of doves were less rudely treated ; 
forasmuch aa they sold the offerings made by the poor, 
they merited the Saviour's pity ; therefore he did not 
touch their oagea, but waa content to say, simply : " Take 
all these away from here, and do not make a house of 
trafftc out of My Father's House." ^ What must have been 
the astonishment of the first disciples at the sight of Jesus 
in His indignation and the nmltitude flying before Him ! 
Yet some of them i-emembered that it was written : " The 
zeal of Thy House hath eaten Me up." ^ Thus their faith 
waa only the more strengthened. 

As for the throng, it ofl'ered no resistance at all, but 
scattered like the startled sheep before the lash of Jesus. 
More than once in the annals of Israel the Prophets had 
disclosed themselves in like manner, clad in shepherd' garb, 

' nirrat appears to include everythmg which was to be found iu the 
Temple, tlie peddlera aa well as their aniraala ; however, some learned critics 
have held that virra; only refers to the cattle and eheep, of which mention 
ia made dircctlj after (Meyer, KominevJar i&er das Ne'ut TeilameiU, in 
Joan. ii. 15 ; Alford, Oreek TeslaviaU, ibidem). In their opinion, the 
woida rd rt -rp^ra tal toi!! ^j are to be taken in apposition to -rirra^, 
and as liuitinj; its meaning, 

* John ii ]fl. ' John ii, 17 ; Pa. liriii. 10. 



ioogic 



DRIVING OUT THE HUCKSTERS. 167 

or as a hardy mountaineer, or other such man of the people ; 
and further, all the while tliey were dishonoring the Holy 
Places the Jews knew themselves guilty of sin, and hence 
they were the more disposed to receive this Voice, ringing 
out in denunciation of their disorderly conduct, as inspired 
of God. Though the usurera and merchants may have 
cursed the Vindicator of the Temple's sanctity in secret and 
cast upon Him dark scowls of hatred, still none of tlieni 
dared to face Him, Who had driven them out in the Name 
of Jehovah. 

Much less could the Scribes, or even the priests them- 
selves (however much to their interest it was to condemn 
the Galilean), much less could they summon up the neces- 
sary courage, so conscious were they of the righteousness 
of His rage. But as soon as they had recovered from their 
surprise they came to the Christ and demanded: "What 
sign He had to show as His warrant for au action of this 
sort?" 

" Overthrow this Temple," Jesus answered, " and in three 
days I will raise it up again." ^ Tlie thought concealed 
under these words escaped tliem ; they only understood 
them in their literal signihcation, and thus saw simply an 
announcement of the destruction of this sanctuary, whose 
splendor was one source of tlieir overweening pride. The 
enormous blocks of stone, the tessellated mosaics, the 
precioiis metals, the silver, the gold, the brass, now blended 
in beautiful brilliancy before their eyes, — in a word, their 
Temple, the wonder of the world, a Galilean dared to 
talk to them of levelling and rebuilding this splendid 
fabric with so much ease I The work which Herod, hav- 
ing at his disposal all the treasures of Judea, was foity- 
six years in constructing, this royal task a poor Artisan 
boasted that he conld accomplish in three days ! The say- 
ing made such an impression upon the Jews that ever 
after they kept repeating it; in the last hours of Jesus' 
life they related it before the Sauhedrin, as a blasphemy 
and the capital crime of the Saviour ; but not content with 
making a simple accusation of it, they took care to distort 
> JoliD ii. 18. 



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168 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

it after this fashion ; " I can destroy this Temple of God, 
and io three days I will rebuild it," ^ Now note what Jesus 
really said : " Destroy this Holy of Holies " ' (as you have 
done by your faithlessness and corruption), " and in three 
days I will reestablish it." " He spoke of the Temple of 
His body," the Holy of Holies of the New Testament, which 
after three days He would rescue from the tomb. In His 
wording He merely made use of the enigmatic spirit so 
familiar to the Oriental thought when they wish to give 
only a hint of their real meaning. 

No one understood Him then. "What!" cried out the 
Jews, '■ Forty-six yeai-s^ has this Temple been a-buildiug, and 
you say that in three days you will reconstruct it ! " and 
they retired in impatient contempt of such presumption. 
The disciples themselves, without partaking of the Jews' 
incredulity, did not comprehend all that this response of 
the Master implied ; " but after the Resurrection, they 
remembered what He had said, and they believed in the 
Scripture,* and in the word of Jesus." 

1 Matt. xzvi. 61. ' Tit raiy toOtov (John ii. 19). 

* Josephua, in his AniiqaUien, dates the coiistrnction of the Temple from 
the eighteenth year of Herod {Attli^!tiinU>, iv. 11, 1) ; and upln, from 
the fifteenth year of the same reign, in his recital of the wars of the Jews 
{Bellum JudaicJiin, i. 21, 1), This apparent contradiction comes from the 
two ways by wliich he calculatea tlie yeara of Herod's reign, sometimes 
taking the time nhen Rome invested thia nrince with the royal power, 
sometimes making the death of Antigonus the initial event. Now, if we 
reckon the forty-3i;t yeara of which the Jews are siieaking here by making 
the fifteenth year of Herod the starting-point, we ahall find we have twenty 
years up to the birth of Jesus Christ and thirty after ; and in fact the 
Saviour was about thirty years of age at the time of the Pasch here in 

S[ilestioil ( Luke iii, 23). The sum of these two numbers la fifty instead of 
orty-six ; but from the former we must subtract foar, our common reckon- 
ing being set backward by four years, and thus we have the forty-six 
years of which 8. John was speaking. The Temple waa Dot finished until 
64 A. D. under Herod Agriprn II. and the Procurator Albinus ; lience, 
oUoSt/i-^fl here means " is in building." The Greek Aorist has this aense 
in the following passage from the First Book of Esdras (v. 16) : Tin 
Saparairip ixtiyos ^\0t koI tSiMCt dt/uidmn toG ottou to3 BeoS ir'UiMiiaa\'/i/i, 
mil drS rirt lut rai! par 'fHoSoif/fii! tal ofii iTf\iaS-q. 

* John ii. 22. Tg 7pa^ here refers to the Old Teatament ; indeed 
there are many passages in the New Testament which affirm that the 
Kesurrection, that unparalleled Prodigy in the life of Jesus, was foretold 
in the andent Scriptures (John xz. 6 ; Luke xitv. 26, 27 ; 1 Oor. xv. i ; 
Psalm XV.). 



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SICODEMUS. 169 

" While He was " * at this time " in Jerusalem, for the 
festival of the Passover, many believed in His Name, see- 
ing the signs which he did. But Jesus did not confide 
Himself to them, because He knew them all, and because 
He had no need that any one tender unto Him the testi- 
mony of man ; for He, of Himself, knew what there is in 
man." The Gospel does not declare what prodigies the 
Saviour performed during those days. Certainly they must 
have been of a striking character to attract to Him sud- 
denly such a host of disciples ; but their faith was only 
rooted in self-interest and ambition, and thus the Lord 
" did not intrust Himself to them " as he did to the Gali- 
leans. Having read their hearts. He put no confidence in 
these new-comers. 



II. NiCODEMUS. 



Among the Jews, attracted at that time by the word of 
the Lord, there was a member of the Sanhedrin named 
Nicodemus, a rich man, influential in Jerusalem, who was 
possessed of a high order of intelligence as well as the dis- 
tinction of noble rank.* He, without doubt, had been one 
of the few Pharisees who had humbled themselves before 
John the Baptist and received his ablution;^ for we shall 
bear Jesus reminding him " of that Baptism of water and 
the Spirit " foretold by the Precursor.* However, it was 
not what he had seen on the banks of the Jordan, but the " 
wondiTius deeds done in Jenisalein, which had decided him 
to believe in Jesus.^ Prompted by grace, he was mail,; 
desirous of a closer intimacy ; and as he dared not take any 

' John ii, 23-25. 

* Certainly ho could not have been unnwari! of the embftsay which th:' 
Sanhedrin sent to the Rreat Prophet, and he himself, heing a distinguished 
Scribe among the Pharisees, would be very likely to be chosen as one of 
that deputation (John i. 19-24). 

• Lnke riL 30. 



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170 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

swch step openly, he stole by night to the house where the 
I^rd was to be found. 

Nicodeinus opened the conversation' with a tribute to 
Jesus : " Kabbi," he said, " we know ^ that you are a Master 
come from God, for no man can do the prodigies which 
you do if God be not with him." 

However respectful he was in tendering this acknowl- 
edgment, the Scribe only rendered it to Jesus as to a man 
and a doctor like liimself ; but the Saviour knew Nicode- 
mus's heart. He saw that the man was secretly stirred by 
strong feeling, eager to be enlighttued as to that Kingdom 
of Heaven which John Baptist had announced; and so, 
without prolonging his suspense. He made known to him 
at once tliat tlie reign of the Messiah so lar transcends all 
human understanding that nothing less than the putting 
on of a new life can enable man to have part in it: — 

" Of a truth I say to you, if a man be not born anew ' 
he lias no share in the Kingdom of God." 

The idea of the new birth, in the spiritual sense, was no 
novel or unheard-of conception in the doctrine of the 

> It is quite evideat that S. Jolin dws Dot report this conversation in 
fnll or at length, for in the form wc bave in haad it coald not have lasted 
over a few minutes ; and it is hardly to be believed tbat the Scribe would 
hare qaitted tiie divine Master ao brusquely. It is difficult to discovsr 
(he connection between the different thoughts at first, and this fact alone 
indicates that tlie entire dialogue is not reproduced here, ffut that we hftvs 
onlv the headings of their long conference. 

^ John iii. 2. Some critics have snpposed that Kicodemus came on the 

5 art of a majority in the Sanhedrin to get information as to the ulterior 
esigns of Jesus. 3o far as we can see, there is nothing to indicate that 
he had been charged with any Kuch commission. 

^'Ayweei- (John iii. 3). S. Cyril and many of the Greek Father* 
translate this word "from Heaven, from on High ;" but 8. John Cliry- 
sostom, the Vulgate, and the Syriac Version render the meaning more 
exactly by "anew, a second time,' "denuo." And so Nicodemua certainly 
understood it ; lot at once he urges the impossibility of any one who has 
come to man's estate becoming subject to a necond birth. Of course, as 
the theme under diacusaion was the Kingdom of God, there would be 
nothing Improbable in it.wlf in taking SfuBer to have this two-fold mean- 
ing, and thus signify both the being bom again and that by a celestial 
interposition ; but Qrotius calls our attention to the fact that neither the 
Hebrew nor the Aramean tongue have any words which conld comprise 
both these meanings. The Apostles seem to have understood SyuiBtc in 
the sense of "a second time," for the idea of a new birth occurs frequBntly 
in their writings {1 Peter i. 3, 23 l Tit. ii. 6 ; OhI. vi. 15). 



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NICODEMUS. 171 

Scribes; for they had often compared the proselyte to a 
uew-born child.' That a Pagan must first take upon him- 
self a new life in order to be of the seed of Abraham, — no 
idea could be more in conformity with their beliefs than 
this ; but that this obligation extended even to the sons of 
Israel was indeed a strange and new thought to Nicodemus, 

" How," he exclaimed, " can one be bom again when he 
has already grown old ? Must he reenter the womb of bis 
mother to emeige thence once more ? " 

The Saviour proceeded to explain His thought so badly 
comprehended : "Of a truth, aye, of a truth,"' he repeated, 
"if he be not born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot 
enter into the Kingdom of God." 

To be immersed in water in token of puhhcatiou was a 
rite known among the Jews ; and John had abeady pro- 
claimed that though he plunged them in water, which was 
without virtue in itself, yet after him there was to be an 
ablution of the Holy Ghost ; that is to say, the Spirit of 
God would vivify this water of ours, that thus it might 
renew the heart of man. Therefore it was not within the 
womb of his mother, but into the streams of sanctifying 
grace, that Nicodemus must enter in order to attain unto 
the Life which is from on High. 

_ Jesus did not stop there ; from this baptismal regen- 
eration He stripped away whatever the carnal fancy might 
suggest: "That which is bom of the flesh is flesh," He 
proceeded ; ^ " that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ; be 
not astonished, therefore, if you " — bom according to the 
flesh and dead through sin — " if you must be born again." 
Then, in order to give Nicodemus some idea of the workings 
of the Holy Spirit, the Saviour added : " The wind blows 
where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you know not 
whence it comes nor whither it goes; so it is with him 
who is born of the Spirit," 

This similitude was wonderfully apt; for the wind is 
akin to the Spirit, of which it is the symbol. It may be 
at that very hour, while Jesus and Nicodemus were con- 

a Joan. iii. 3. ' John in. S-7. 



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172 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

versing there, the murmuring of the night-wind made itself 
heard; or it may be that the Saviour had in mind those 

light aira^ which spring up even at mid-day in fine weather. 
No one knows aught of their origin ; you can scarcely feel 
their soft hreath on your cheek. They only betray their 
presence by a gentle rustling amongst the leaves. Most 
like to this is the action of the Holy Ghost in the super- 
natural life. It bloweth where it listeth ; without hin- 
drance it worketh, nor is it subject to fixed times nor to 
constant laws. At its first touches we do not know whence 
it conies nor whither it goes ; only it makes na feel its 
nearness, makes us hear its voice, theu suddenly it departs, 
and leaves behind it within our hearts nothing but languor 
and silence, and thus it goeth and retnrueth by secret 
ways. All that the soul may know of it is that some- 
times she feels its Presence near her, and theu she rejoices; 
sometimes slie must weep its absence. 

These workings of the Spirit of God could not have been 
unknown to Nicodemus. He himself withont doubt had 
had experience of them in his inner life, and he had found 
them written down in the Psalms and the sapiential writ- 
ings, where so many pious souls have recounted the ways of 
God within them. Therefore when Nicodemus answered 
once 9%»\n : " How can this be done ? " Jesus showed some 
surprise. 

" Are yon a master in Israel,^ and yet you are ignorant 
of these things ? Of a truth, I say unto you i We speak ' 
that which We know. We give testimony of the things 

' The tenn used by S, Jobn, ryeSfia, appears to have reference to the 
breeze, the gentle and tej^lar breathingB of the air. Whenever they 
sofak of high winds tho Evangelistic make nse of tlie vard inrpas (Matt 
vii. 25, 27, yiii. 28, xiv. 80, 32 ; Marlt iv. 37 ; John Ti. 18, etc.). 

» John iii. 8-12. The artiele gives fffi rf i iiJdtritoXot ToG 'lapai,\ the 
meaning, "Von, above all others, are u master in Israel" (Winer, 0mm- 
miUik, p. Itll). 

* It 19 hardly probable that by the use of this plural Jesus meant to 
designate the Galilean disciples who were with Him. The faint-hearted 
Doctor of the SanhedriD, who dnrst not come save at night and anbelcnown 
to all, would iiot have conversed so freely before witnesses. In oUaiur, 
XaXoEifui', etc., we have simply the plural form, as used in emphatic and 
elevated diction. 



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NICODEMUS. 173 

which We have seen, and Oiii' testimony man is not will- 
ing to receive. If you believe Me not when I speak of 
the tbing8 of earth, how will you believe Me of the things 
of Heaven ? " 

By "the things of earth" Jesus referred to all that He 
had been saying regarding Baptism ; since the sacred lite, 
so tar as its external forms are concerned, has a terrestrial 
side which appeals to the senses. By " the things of 
Heaven " He alluded to the lessons that still remained to 
be given to the world, — His celestial Origin, His Cross, 
raised aloft like the Serpent in the wilderness ^ in order to 
save men, the salvation promised to those who believe in 
Him, the judgment and condemnation of the unbelieving." 

"And behold," the Saviour concluded, " the cause of this 
judgment! It is because the Light is come into the world, 
and men have loved darkness better than the Light, be- 
cause their works were evil. For he who does evil hates 

' John iii. 13-18, The Saviour set forth the reproach of the Cross 
UDd«r imagerj ivhiob was already familiar to this Sciibe, and He chose 
His words so well that the likeness between the reality and the figure was 
made more striking. Hoses lifted the Serpent high in air, in onler that 
they who looked upon it might live again ; thus the Son of Man must be 
lifted up on high upon His Cross, and so also He will restore life in those 
who believe in Him. The Brazen Serpent was but made in the image of 
those which had stung the Israelites ; it had «o poisonous sting, and only 
by its form did it recall the creatures which had spread death in their 
members. So tira Jesus had only takrn upon Himself "the likeness of 
our sinful flesh " (Rom. riii. S) ; " He iiath been made siu for us, though 
without knowledge of evil" (2 Cor. v. 21). In Him, nevertheless, was 
crucified all that He represented in His Humanity, our oruinal sin and 
the death in our members being thus done ana^ with, He having taken 
it upon Himself, nailing it to the Cross (Kom. vi. 6 ; Coloss. ii. li). 

' John iii. 19-21. Very many critics, looking at these last words as 
only a commentary of the Evangelist, would have the dialogue proper end 
at verse 16. In order !« support this hypothesis, they allege (1) that after 
this there is no further allusion made to Nicodemns ; but what more 
natural resolt than that the Scribe, struck with the lofty language of the 
Lord, should have ceased his questioning to listen more intently ? (S) They 
refer to the constant ose of the past tense, from now to the end of the 
chapter ; but here, as in many other places, the Saviour is speaking of the 
work which He is to accomplish as though it were already finished and 
completed (John v, 24, xvii. 4, 11, etc.). (3) The term iioroyiviii they say 
is an individual phrase peculiar to S. John, and yet we find it in these 
last verses ; hut may it not be that the Evangelist's fondness for this word 
rose from t!ie fact that he learned it from his Divine Master ! 



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174 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the Liglit, and he comes not near it, for fear lest his works 
be discovered. But he who doea the truth comes to the 
Light that his works may be made manifest, because they 
are done in God." 

Uttered, as apparently they were, upon the threshold of 
the dwelling, just at the moment when Nicodemus was 
taking his leave, while already the dawn was lighting up 
the eastern sky, these words sound like a last exhortation, 
whereby Jesus would conjure this doctor of the Sauhedrin 
not to draw away from Him. But the Rabbi, though quali- 
fied to discuss with the Christ upon such lofty themes, was 
yet of a cowardly soul ; he would rather steal away from 
the insistent promptings of grace within ; and though he 
believed deep down in his heart, he would still strive to 
let nothing be seen. During the whole period of the 
Saviour's Ministry we shall look in vain for Nicodemus in 
the number of the disciples ; only once ' we shall hear him 
in the Sanhedrin essaying a timid speech in favor of Jesus, 
then, as if this feeble effort had exhausted his cour^, he 
disappears, until amid the shadows of Calvary we meet 
him again, at the very last, close by the lifeless Body of 
his God. a 

' John Tii. 60, 51. ' John jrii. 89. 



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CHAPTER II. 

JOHN BAPTIST'S LAST TESTIMONY 
John iii. 22-36, i 



The interview with Nicodemiis is the only one among 
all the incidents of tliis Passover as to which we have 
any particulars. The faith of the Jews of Jerasalem, ao 
ready and strong in outward seeming, was not to bear any 
fruit ; this Jesus well knew. And so, quitting the town 
shortly. He went with His Galilean disciples into " the 
land of Judea." ^ This name was assigned to all the outly- 
ing territory about Jerusalem, and especially to the moun- 
tainous country which extends to the south. In fact, in a 
northern direction, it is but a few hours' walk to the eon- 
fines of Samaria ; to the east and west the city is sur- 
rounded by wild and rocky ravines, which on one side are 
channelled down to the shores of the Mediterranean, and on 
the other, straight to the uninhabited banks of the Jordan ; 
so then it is principally to the south that we must look for 
the Judea to which Jesus consecrated the first year of His 
ministry.* 

During eight months He travelled over this region ; 
indeed. He went even as far as Idumea, whence, as Saint 

' John iii. 22. 

* From April to the month of Deoamber. In fact, we shall soon liear 
Him saying to His disciples, an He ia passing by Sichem, on the way back 
to Galilee, " Four months more, and the hairest will be upon ua" (John 
iv. 35). Now in Palestine the first crops are taken in during the month 
of April ; henoB Jesus must have prolonged His stay in Judea nntil 
December. 



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176 FIRST YEAR OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Murk relates, He drew after Him some faithful disciples.' 
However, it does Dot follow that we are to conclude that 
the Saviour penetrated into the inouutain-districts of that 
laud ; for the ouadis with their valleys, which reach from 
the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf, Mouut Hor, Fetra, and 
its tombs, — these were now no longer in the land of Israel, 
but in that of Esau. The Idumea of the Gospel, doubtless 
only included that part of Judea which extends south of 
Hebron, and wliich had belonged since the time of the 
Machabees to the kingdom of £dom.^ We do not know 
through what vaiious ways Jesus journeyed in that south- 
ern land, but He could not have failed to visit ancient 
Hebron, where the Patriarehs were buried ; nor the gi-eat 
oaks of Mambre beneath which Abraham pitched his tent, 
and there knew the Presence of Jehovah near unto him ; 
nor the birth-place of His Precursor, the humble village 
of Youttah ; nor Kerioth, from which came Judas who 
betrayed Him.' 

However arid and mountainous were these countries, 
still Jesus could find there, the water necessary for the im- 
mersion of His penitents ; for "He baptized, — not Himself, 
but by the ministrations of His disciples." * For many a 
day has the discussion been prolonged as to the nature of 
this Baptism. Some of the ancient Fathers, assimilating 
it with John the Baptist's ablutions, consider it as a mode 
of initiation, the ordering of which the Christ intrusted to 
His faithful Galileans. But for the most part commentators 
concur in regarding it as the Sacrament which regenerates 
the soul ; and they believe that if Jesus did not administer 
it Himself, it was to denote that the Sacred Bite has in 
itself a divine efficacy." 

> The crowds n'hii:h asaembled round Him on the bsnlis of Lake Gena- 
sareth had followed Him (says the Evangelist) "from Jenisulem, from - 
Judea, and from Idumea" (Mark iii. 8). 

* 1 Mac. iv. 15, V. 85 ; Pliny, v. 13 ; Ptolemy, t. IB ; Josepbus. 
Anlicpiitales, xiii. 9, 1. 

* Judaglscariot, the Man from Kerioth, P^'fp ttf"*- The villagp of Keri- 
oth is mentioned by Joshua (xt. 2S), and lies a little to the south of Hebron. 

* John iv. 2. 

' It may lie too that in this way Jesua sought to put Himselt iti 
the foreground as little as possible, and by this meaua meant to pro- 



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JOHN BAPTIST'S LAST TESTIMONY. 177 

Kememberiug what was the prize which they of this 
New Birth attained unto, we may not suppose that the 
Saviour would make use of it so freely as did John with 
liis ablutions in the Jonian. He enlightened these first 
converts as to the virtues of Baptism, — demanded of them 
au uprightness of heart, and unlimited self-sacrifice, and 
faith in the truths He had revealed to them ; but there 
these first teachings stopped, for though before this Jesus 
had unfolded the plan of Redemption to Nicoderaus, as 
yet He did not deal after the same manner with the 
common people. We know frorji Saint Matthew and Saint 
Mark what was the burden of His sermons at this period, 
and we hear, as it were, aa echo of the Message which 
John had brought them : " Do penance, for the time is 
fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is nigh." ' The design of 
the Christ, by at first simply repeating the words of His Pre- 
cursor, was to confirm the mission of His Prophet, waiting 
the time to disclose His whole doctrine, when He could do 
90 freely in Galilee. Therefore, as He was even then an 
object for the Scribes' jealous suspicions. He was content 
to purify the hearts of numberless sons of Juda, by gain- 
ing them unto the Kingdom of the Messiah which was so 
near at hand. 

In this same interval, apparently, occurred " that differ- 
ence upon the subject of the purification " ^ which Saint 
John recounts. The heats of summer had so far shrunken 
the watere of the Jordan that it became difficult to perform 
any ablutions along the banks of the stream. So John 
Baptist withdrew from Bethbara, and ascending the valley 
as far as the ford of Succoth tarried there, near by the vil- 
lage Salim, at a place called <Enon, because of its copious 
springs.' Beyond the necessity of seeking a spot better 

louff tbs period of His preaching in JeLiisalem and Judea aa long as H« 

'Mattiv. 17; Mark i. 15. 

* John iii. 22, 23. 

• Ateiii-. JEnon is the Greet translation of the ArameBn word \\X^, 
"Tha Springs." S. Jerome locataa this place ahout eight miles from 
Scytbopolis toward the south, and bis testimony U conliTnicd by Euse' 
bius, S. Epipbanius, and tlie Samaritan Cbrouiclu entitled Abul PhaUteh. 

VOL. 1.— 12 



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178 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

adapted for baptism, there was also, animating his thought 
Iq seeking this retreat, a desire to yield place to Him for 
Whom the Precursor had come to prepare the way. 

But although they Hocked around Jesus, they still came 
to Johu ; and the latter continued to baptize, joyfully 
gleaning after the footsteps of the Saviour in fields where 
hitherto he bad harvested all alone. But his disciples, on 
the contrary, incapable of such self-forgetfulness as this, 
saw with secret vexation that their master's glory was 
beiug obscured just as that of the New-Comer increased. 
Something soon occurred to make them give vent to their 
envy. 

It was but a little while before the imprisonment ^ of the 
Precursor : " They had entered into a dispute with a Jew ^ 
upon the subject of purification." Undoubtedly the latter, 
enlightened by Jesus, refused to admit the efficacy of the 
earlier baptism. Up sprung at once a contest which gave 
John's disciples an occasion of manifesting their jealousy. 
They referred to the Baptist finally, and said to him : 



only otpection to it ia tlint if BO Salini would be located ii 
is hardly probable that John would have retired into any lemtorj nosiiie 
to Jndaism. Thia difficulty has seemed so serious to some scholars that 
they have been nioTed to look further afield for Mnon and Salim, among 
the mountains of Jnda to the north of Hebron. Among the twenty cities 
which were in the neighborhood of this latter city, Joshua (iv. 31) men- 
tions Salini and Ain, of which we have discoyered some veatlgea in the 
ruins of Beit Ainun and in the name of Onadi Salim ; however attractive 
this hypothesis may seem at first sight, it has all the traditions against it 
(Sepp, who adopts it, has set it forth in poetical language in his Id/e of 
Jeam, vol. iii. chap. xix.). 

' John iiL 24-26. It is not certain at what date John Baptist was 
taken prisoner; however, it seems more than likely that the Forerunner 
waa seized a little while before the Saviour departed for Galilee, that is, 
about the month of December, and that he was kept in confinement until 
Paschal Time, in the second year of the Ministry of Jeans. 

' The Italic, the Vulgate, and the Syriac of Cureton have the reading 
/wt4 'lavSalim ; the Other Syriac versions and the oldest manuscripts (the 
Alexandiine, those of the Vatican, and Sinai) give /itri 'lovSalav. and thin 
modtm editors generally have adopted. S. Intin would seem to infer that 
the discussion was set on foot by the discijjes of the Baptist ; 'EyiitTo olr 



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JOHN BAPTIST'S LAST TESTIMONY. 179 

"Rabbi, he who was with you beyond Jordan, and to 
whom you rendered your testimony, behold now he bap- 
tizes, and all men are coming to him," 

What sadness underlies these complaints, — the very 
name of Jesus suppressed designedly, as though they re- 
member how the Christ had been drawn from obscurity by 
this very man whose brilliant renown He now has eclipsed ! 
Overcome with envy, and valuing not at all the penitents 
that were still attracted to Oinou : " All men are going to 
him ! " they said. But John, while mitigating the bitter- 
ness of their feeling, did not fail to render homage to the 
divine Master once more, by setting forth more clearly the 
limits of his own Mission, marked out for bim from on 
High. 

"Man," he said, "can have nothing which is not given 
him from Heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that 
I have said : ' 1 am not the Christ, but I am sent before 
Him."" 

Then, in order to explain better what his true position 
was in relation to Jesus, he borrowed from the Prophets 
the figure by which he compared the Saviour to a Bride- 
groom, of whom Israel is the Spouse. What Jehovah had 
been unto His chosen people, this the Word, from that 
hour, has become for all faithful souls.^ The advent of the 
Messiah, the throngs following after Him, typify the mar- 
riage lestival, and the wedding procession which joyously 
conducts the Spouse unto Christ. But as for him, the 
friend of Jesus, he must needs be glad and rejoice in His 
glory. " He Who hath the bride * is the Bridegroom," he 

' John iii. 27. 28. Some Fathers apply these worda to Jesua Christ 
alone : " If Hia works are more wondrous than mioe, if all go to Him yon 
need not he amazed thereat ; this is in the order of the divine decrees" 
(S. John Chrysostom, i« locd). We believe that the phrase has a deeper 
siniilicance, and refers equally to the Mission of Jesua and that of His 
Herald. 

' Ezeeh. xvL passim ; Jerem. xixi. S ; Osee ii. 19, xi. 4. 

* John iii, 2S>. " Who can fathom the graeiousileas of these last words? 
8. John herein reveals a new beauty in the character of Jesus Christ, ten- 
derer and more lovable than any otiier ; it is that of the Spouse. He has 
espoused our human nature, Who \iaa altogether the opposite of it, yet He 
has made it all aa one with Himself; in this uniou He has espoused His 
holy Church, the immortal Bride who bath nor spot nor wrinkle. He hath 



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180 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

said " but the friend of the Bridegrootp, who ia by His 
side, and listens to all, is transported with delight at the 
voice of the Bridegroom; and thus it is that my joy is 
fulfilled. It is fitting that He should increase, and that 
1 should diminish." * Thus the Baptist concludes ; and 
then dwelling upon that brief sentence, he proceeds to 
compare himself to the Saviour, that ao he might the more 
humble himself before Him. 

Jesus comes from on high; John is of this earth.^ He, 
John, has not seen that of which he beareth witness : he 
but accepts and delivers the Message with which he is in- 
trusted. Jesus has Himself seen all things, has heard all 
things, in the heavens; therefore He testifies nothing upon 
the belief of another; and nevertheless His testimony is 
not received, or rather, so pitiful is the number of those 
who accept it that the Baptist, kindling under the pas- 
sion with which the vision stirred him, held this poor 
handful of souls as of no account 1 Then, reverting to his 
own Mission,^ severely straitened, like that of the ancient 

espoused the huly aoula whom Ha h&th nailed, not only to the conimon- 
wealth of His Kingdom, but even unto His Royal couch ; pouring out His 
largesses upon them, all His chaste delights ; rejoicing with them, and 
being glad in their company ; giving them not simply all that He hath, 
but all indeed that He is, His Body, His Soul, His Divinity, and prepar- 
ing them for a Communion incomparably more great in tne everlasting 
life of the future" (Bossuel, M^iialions lur la mystires, xiiv« aemaine, 
viii* ^i^vation ; furthermore, read his admirable Itixouri sur Vunion de 
J€sua-ChrUt avec aoa Spouai:). We will ouly add one remark to tliia com- 
ment, and that is that we are indebted to the moat austere of all the 
Prophets for the loveliest imagery under which pious souls have ever 
delighted to contemplate the Lord Jesus, — those two greatest types, the 
Lamb of God and the Spouse. 

' John iii. 30. Here many expounders of the text would terminate the 
discourse of the Forerunner, and consider the rest as a commentary by 
the Evangelist ; this they do upon the assumption that the eosning 
thoughts are of too lofty a tone to come from John Baptist. To sever the 
connection between the words, which are evidently meant to form a perfect 
whole, would be to surrender the text to any arbitrary division whatever, 
inasmuch as these verses, which they regard as an addition on the part of 
the Evangelist, are simply the natural development of the thought which 
precedes it. The mijihty enthusiasm ot this Poursuivant of the Godhead 
grows in intensity with the bold imagery wherein he depicts the bridal 
festivities of the Word and Humanity, until it attains to that great Vision 
of the Son as Ho abides in the Boeom of the Father. 

» John iii. 81, 32. » Johu iii. Si-99. 



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JOni^ BAPTISTS LAST TESTIMONY. 181 

prophets, John contrasts it with the Mission of the Christ, 
which is all-divine, sweeping over and beyond all bounds ; 
for God, Dieting out His gifts unto His Son in the mea^ 
ure of His love for Him, has lavished all things upon Him. 
" The Father loveth the Son, and placeth all things within 
His hands. He that believes in the Son has eternal lifej 
he that believes not in the Son shall not see life, hut the 
wrath of God abideth on him." 

That Wrath, whose' thunders now threaten these disci- 
ples of the Baptist, reverberated more terribly still over 
the heads of haughty sinners. John never suppressed 
these outbursts. AVe have seen with what hardihood he 
menaced the great men of Israel at the outset of his min- 
istry; and since then his zeal had been only the more 
aroused. No grandeur, no rank nor dignity, could act aa 
a shield against his just rebukes. Herod Antipas very 
soon made proof of this. 

By ascending the Valley of the Jordan, the Precursor 
had drawn near to Galilee ; scarcely had the licentious- 
ness of its prince been made known to him before he be- 
stirred himself to stigmatize it.' We know to what a 
pitch this tyrant had already carried his scandalous dis- 
orders. Casting aside his legitimate wife, daughter of 
Aretas, king of Petra, he lived with Herodias, the wife of 
his brother Philip.^ This princess, famous among the de- 
scendants of Herod, was the daughter of that Aristobulus 
wlio was strangled at Sebaste by his father's ordera ; she 
was granddaughter of Mariamne, whose execution had ever 
after haunted the old king with bitter remorse. Being 
married to her uncle Philip, she found in her husband 
merely a disinherited son of Herod, living like an ordinary 

■ Mark vi. 17, 18. 

^ The Herod Philip here alluded tn should not be confounded with 
Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea. whose ohftracter tind kinffdom we have dis- 
enssed elsewhere. This latter wss the issue of Herod's uniou with Cleo- 
patra of Jerusalem ; while the mother of Herod Philip was Mariamne, 
uauffhter of the High Priest Simon. As for Antipas and his brother 
Anihelaiis, Etlmarch of Judea, they were son.i of Mnlthnce the Samaritan, 
one of the many wires of Herod. The following tabli', while it contains 
only the most celebrated names among the wives and children of this 



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182 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

private personage,^ Such a common-place condition as 
that to wliich this union reduced her seemed insuppoit- 
able to her brilliant nature ; beautiful, fiery, imperious, 
Iioldin^ Judaism and its observances in supreme con- 
tempt, she was one who would rule at any cost.^ And 
so when Autipas, during a visit he once made with his 
brother, saw her and became enamoured of her, he had 
only to promise her his throne in order to ensnare her.* 

Tlie daugliter of Aretas, being warned that Herod was 
about to repudiate her, anticipated his action by retiring 
to the fortress of Macheronte, then among the possessions 
of her father, lying to the east of the Dead Sea. But it 
was all in vain that the king of Petra took up arms to 
avenge the wrong done bis daughter ; in vain also that his 
troops routed those of the Tetrarch : * the monstrous and 
unnatural union of Autipaa and Herodias was consum- 
mated, despite all obstacles.^ 

prince, wili enable the reader to take ID juat Bo much of this genealogy at a 
gknce : — 

UEKOD THE OKEAT had as wives : 

I. DOaia I Antifatbb (put to death during Herod'a last momenta) 

{Herod Aobippa 
1 1. to HiBOD Philip 
Hebodias, mar- < 
ried (2, toAwMp*8 

Albxandbb 
(pnt to death) 

(daughter of I hehod Philip (first hnsbaDd of Herodias) 
Simon, the Hiph ( 
Priest) ) 



6. CLROPATRi pgiLip (t^,trarcli of Iturea) 

(of Jerusalem) ) 

1 Josephna, Bellum Jvdaleum, i. 30, 7. 

* Josephns, AiUiquUaUa, xviii, 5, 4. 

' Josepbns, AtUigTiilates, xviii, 7, 1 ; Bellum /luiafcum, ii. », 6. 
' Antiquilalcs, iviii. 5, 1. 

* Anl-u/uitaiea, xviii. 5, 1. 

* This union was a double crime. In point ot fact, Philip, the husbund 
of Herodias, was still living (Joaephus, Atiiiguiiales, iviii. B, i), as was 



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JOHN BAPTIST'S LAST TESTIMONY. 183 

So sbockiog a traDsgression of the I^w could not fail to 
excite the mind of all Galilee. Did Herod, startled as he 
was, and fearful of some disturbance among his people, 
come to John the Baptist, thinking to obtain from him 
some words of approval and commendation? Some writeiB 
have so int«rpreted the facts. Yet it is more probable 
that the Precursor himself at once took the initiative. 
Pushing his way stra^ht into the palace of the Tetrarch, 
— as of old Elias came before Achab, — he made the 
gilded halls reecho with those words which the Church 
has so often since repeated to guilty princes: "It is not 
lawful for you to have your brother's wife." ' And then 
John reproached him for all the evil deeds committed by 
him; whereupon having fulfilled his mission, he departed, 
leaving in Herod's heart a rankling memory, an incurable 
wound. The prince dared not arrest the Prophet on the 
instant, for he feared the people, who still thranged about 
him ;' but he was only waiting some favorable opportunity 
for laying hands upon him. As soon as it presented itself, 
he had him seized by his satellites, and from the Gospel 
account we may infer that the members of the Sanhedrin, 
always the secret enemies of the Baptist, were not entirely 
unconcerned in this act of violence.^ The prison in which 
John the Baptist was thrown was that same fortress of 
Macheronte where the daughter of Aretas had taken 
refuge.* Josephus has described its strange appearance,'* 

also the legitimate vife of Antipaa ; hence both adultery and incest were 
here involved. ; for Herodiaa, who was sister-in-law to Antipas, had a 
daughter by Philip, named Salome ; now this circumstance rendered any 
union with her brother-in-law unlawful, even after the death of her firat 
boBband (Lev. xviii. 13 ; Denter. sxv. 5, 6). 

' Hark vi 18. 

3 Joiiephus. Antigailaiei, zviii, 6, 1. 

* S. Matthew (iv. 12) relates how. when Jesus was informed that John 
had been thrown into priaon. He retired into Galilee, or in other words, 
to the realm of Herod Antipas. If the Saviour saw reason to fi^ar this 

BiQoe less than He did the members of the Sanhedrin, was it not because 
e bad seen how they had plotted the downfall of John, and in this way 
He would Himself ward off their fanatical persecutions for a time ! 

* Josephus, Bell'U'm Jwiatcitvi, vii. 6, I, 2. 

' Before the time of Herod, Alexander Janneus had built a stronghold 
npon these rock-bound heights ; bat it was destroyed by Gabinius during 
biB war against Ariatobalns. 



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184 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

erected upon one of the mountains which border the Dead 
Sea, while on the east it is surrounded by gorges so deep 
that the eye can scarcely fathom their dark chasms. 
Herod struck with the value of such a coign of vantage,^ 
had encircled the cliff with enormous ramparts, and raised 
upon the heights a town and a palace. Tales of unhal- 
lowed deeds gave the deep defiles which environ it an evil 
renown. The popular imagination, deluded by the vol- 
canic phenomena which are of so frequent occnrrence in 
this region, conjured up numberless prodigies which were 
to be beheld in these parts. The smallest plants (they 
said) here grow to the size of the fig-tree ; great twisted 
root^, red as fire, sending out flames at evening, glide away 
from the profane hand that would grasp them, or strike 
him down in death. From the depths of the valleys, 
and from the summits of the mountains, there burst 
forth springs of most various flavors, — sometimes boiling 
with heat, sometimes pouring out at the same time, as 
from a double vessel, icy streams mingling with the 
warm,^ 

■ Such is the fantastic neighborhood in which Joaephus 
locates the prison of the Precursor. Although held within 
these fastnesses, the latter retained his liberty so far as to 
be able to receive his disciples, and to chaise them with 
divers messages.' Herod himself, during his sojourns at 
Macheronte, sought converse with the captive; for "he 
feared him, knowing that he was a just and holy man, 
and although he kept him in prison, he listened to him 
willingly."* Thus he came " to do^ many things by his 
counsel;" and at the last did really halt for an instant, 

' We are not told what were the eiroumetanceB under which this prop- 
erty of Herod passed into the hands of Aretas ; but it did not long remain 
with its new owner, for Josephus tells as that, after hb unlucky campaign 
aeninst the king of Petra, Antipas was, at all events, once more master of 
Macherants (Josephus, AnliquitaUa, xviii. G, 2). 

' Josophus, Btllum Judafcutn, vii. fl, 8. 

* Matt. xi. 2 et aeq. ; Lnke ni. IS. 

« Mark vi. 19-20. 

' IlaXXtt ^iroffi. This reading is sustfuned by quite an array of authori- 
ties : the Alexandrine Manuscript, the Codices of Ephrem and Beza, and 
nearly all the rersiona (Syriac, Vulgate, Gothic, Ethiopian). 



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JOBN BAPTIST'S LAST TESTIMONY. 185 

undecided,^ in the downward path of siu on which he had 
so tar proceeded. But his wicked paramour was ever on 
the watch : she felt that the influence of John was ruinous 
to her own, and so, making a vow of merciless vengeance 
upon him, she went about procuring his death. For a long 
time Herod protected the Forerunner ; for he was attached 
to him, and feared the people, who venerated John as a 
Prophet. Such half-hearted resistance as this was however 
powerless to withstand Herodias. We shall see very soon 
how, in' a night of debauchery, she snatched her victim 
from the hands which so feebly defended him. 

1 noXXtk 'tir6pti (Mark vi. 20). "He hesitated mucl]." Thia is the 
other reading fonnd iu the maouacripta of the Vatican and Sinai, and in 
the Coptic Version as well. 



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CHAPTER III. 
THE SAMABITAH. 

Lvkeiv. U; John it. 4-42. 

Jesus having learned of the imprisonment of .John 
Baptist, retired into Galilee, not of His own desire, but 
" by the power of the Spirit ; " ^ apparently this interior 
Guide i-evealed some impending danger to Him, for John 
Evangelist states that the Saviour was not free to choose 
what way He would take i " He was of necessity," he says, 
"to pass through Samaria."^ 

The frontier of this country was soon crossed, and 
toward the middle of the day^ Sichem appeared on the 
left, surrounded by rich meadow-lands and gardens. Jesus 
did not push on as far as this ; tired after the long foot- 
travel, He Himself rested at the entrance of the valley 
wherein the town ia situated, and hard by the Well of 
Jacob. The disciples, however, proceeded on their way 
toward Sichem ; for in the haste of their setting out not 
having made any provisions for a long journey, they now 
found themselves obliged to buy the necessities of life 
from Samaritans. 

Jesus, left alone, sought shelter beneath the archway 
overhanging the Well * and from this spot, as He sat gazing 
out over the valleys spread before Him, the scene may 



i about the sixth boar, that is to any, high noon (John 
I OTerhftnging hood, with 



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THE SAMARITAN. 187 

well have brought up memories of many ancient happen- 
ings ill IsraeL Here, under the oaks of Moreh,* Abraham 
had pitched his tent, and raised the first Altar to Jehovah. 
Jacob, on his return from Mesopotamia, had bought this 
very land which Jeaus now trod, and here too he had 
dug this well,^ although there were fountains of water 
round about him, because he wished to be free from any 
subjection to the neighboring domains. Still later, when 
his sons had rashly wiped out the dishonor of Dina in the 
blood of the Siehemites, the Patriarch, though obliged to 
flee, yet always retained such tender recollections of this 
valley that he bequeathed it to his dearly-loved sou.^ 
Here also was the spot where Joseph was to be endowed 
with every blessing, showered upon him from the heavenly 
heights and rising from the depths below, while he him- 
self would be upheld by the blessings of his fathers, whose 
God was foreverniore to be his helper* Here Ephraim, 
mindful of this same precious heritage, laid to rest the 
embalmed body of Joseph,^ and so for centuries made 
Sichem the principal city of all Judea. Over yonder, 
upon the opposite slopes of Ebal and of Garizim, the 
eleven tribes, with solemn anathemas against all trans- 
gressors, had once vowed eternal fidelity to the Law.* At 
the foot of these very hUls, for mSny long years, Israel 
had held her councils and courts of law ; and when Sion 

1 rn^O "^h* IJf : " Dear tlie oaks of Moreh " (Qen. ^ii. 6), words 
wbich the asptuagint trnnsktes by ; 4^1 rifv SpSv t^ fi^i|Xiif. and the Vnl- 

EB by ; "usque ad convallem illustrem." The name Moreh, which has 
n pr^erved by the Tnrgiim of Onkeloa, is apparently that of some 
Chanoanitish Chieftain, who owned this grove of oaks. 

* Gen. xxiil. l»-20. 

» Gen. xxiiT. The Old Testament, without statinR the fact of thia 
donation in specific terms, gives aa to understand that it was made to 
.Joseph. In Geneais (xiiii. 19), indeed, we And -Jacob buyinR a field near 
Sichera, to which the bodv of Joseph was afterwards translated (Josue 
iiiv. 32), becanse thia region waa now part of the territory of his son. 
The Tersion of the Septuagint leaves no donbt upon thia question : "Jo- 
seph was buried in the parcel of ground which Jacob purchnsed from the 
Atnorrheans of Sichem, which he afterwards gave to Joseph to be his por- 
tion," EoJ ituKtv a^V 'lucr^ ^ fxtpiSt- 

* Gen. xlix. 26. 
•Josue iiiv. 32. 

* Dent, xxvii. 12, IB. 



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188 FIRST YEAH OF THE Ml,\l:STRY OF JESUS. 

was become the capital of Judea, we still find Eoboam 
inauguratiDg his reign at Sichem.^ 

But what was there now remaining of these olden splen- 
dors? The hills and valleys of Ephraim had forfeited 
their ancient renown by taking the name of Samaria, — a 
new town of schismatic tribes. The Field of Jacob was 
now an unhallowed region, through which travellers 
passed in haste lest they should come in contact in any 
way with its inhabitants.' How deeply must not Jesus 
have grieved over such sad changes of faith as these ! 
Thus, in weariness of body and of soul, He sank down 
upon the low curb of the well; a divine despair which 
Saint John pictures in one word, which it is impossible for 
na to translate : " He was seated after this manner * by the 
well." The Church standing above the graves which she 
has blessed, loves to recall that mysterious lassitude : — 

QaKreiiB me sedisti lassua. 
Eedimisti crucem paneus : 
Tantus labor nnn sit caasus 1 

And very shortly there came up from the little city of 
Sichar* the woman whom Jesus had come to seek at the 

' Josue xiiv. 1-25 ; 3 Kings, lii. 1. 

* Aa to the Suniaritans, their origin, worship, and ttaditions, see 
Appendix VIII. 

* John iy. 8. In the opinion of Winer {Qrammatik, par. 69, 9), oErui 
doea no more than recall the idea expressed by the participle : ntKortaKiit 
. . . opTuii; "because of this fatigue, He was seated." Meyer objects 
with good reaaon that in that case ottrus would not be placed after the 
verb, but at the beginning of the phrase, as in the paasages of the Acts 
where it haa this meaning (Acts xx. 11 ; xxvji. 17). Hence we rather 
prefer to follow the interpretation of S, John Chrjsoetom ■ iirXws, i^i 
(rvx'^ " naturally, even as He might," upon the bare stonework around 
the ma^D of the well. 

* Sichar appears to be derived from a corruption of the name Sichem, 
which is the modern Naplouse (Np«polis, New Town). Indeed Naplouae 
ia a half-honr's walk from Jacob's Well, but we are free to suppoae that the 
ancient Siehem was still farther removed from this spot. Probably the 
term \eyonfr7iv is nsed to indicate that 9. John regarded the word Sichar 
as a nickname: "the City of Untruth" {Scheker, IP?'), in allusion 
to the schismatic worship of Gaiizim ; or the '* City of DmnkennesB " 
(Shikhor, iSp), in memory of the anathema uttered by leaiaa : " Wo 
to the haughty crown of the wine-lnbbera of Ejibimm 1 Wo to the fleeting 



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THE SAMARITAN. 189 

cost of so great a weartneas. She was a Samaritan, of evil 
life. With her slender jar poised upon her shoulder, she 
passed by all the springs nearer the town, and wandered 
up to Jacob's Well, — drawn thither by the freshness of its 
limpid supply, and by something perhaps of traditional 
respect for the Patriarch. In fact, women of the East do 
not often go out to draw water in the middle of the day ; 
fearing to encounter some insult, they are never seen 
around the fountains, except in little companies, and at 
sunset. But this one had long since lost all timidity and 
reserve, and she approached the well without concerning 
herself about the presence there of a man. 
• " Give Me to drink," ^ was Jesus' quiet request of her. 

The Samaritan ^ looked at the Stranger ; by His apparel 
and His accent she recognized a Judean. 

" How," she said, " do you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, 
who am a Samaritan ? The Jews have no dealings with 
Samaritans." 

It was a refusal, rendered the more offensive by its 
ironical tone ; and to appreciate its hai'shness it must be 
remembered with what readiness even Bedouins proffer 
this blessed service to the thirsty traveller. Nothing could 
show plainer to what extremes the animosity of the two 
nations had been pushed." 

flowers which enwreatlit- with glowing radianca the hrow of tBat rich 
valley, where their feet stumble mid the thick fiim^a of wine ! " (Ib. 
iiviii. ].) Those who regard SLohar as another village, distinct from 
Siehem, lying hetween this town and Jacob's Well (rtijirfo* toO X"!^'"''), 
suppose that by the expreasion Xtyoii^np; "tho apot called Siehar," 
S. John wished to imply that this place waa little known. 

' John iv. 7-B. 

«*H SafioptiTii. This word indicates clearly in what sense we are to 
take the expreasion : Tuvij ix rfli Safiopfla!, employed above by S. John : 
that is, a woman, not of the town of Samaiia, situated some two hours' 
walk from Jacob's Well, but of the country which bore that name. 

' Elsewhere in the Habbinieal literature we find innumetable traces of 
this rancor. Therein the Jews freely expressed their implacable hatred 
of the Samaritans ; launching curses npon them befoi'e all the congrega- 
tion of the synagogue ; I'efusing them the privilege of becoming pros- 
elytes, and denying them the hope of a resurrection ; treating them as 
idolaters ajid devils : heightening the insult by teaching that their bread 
was to he regarded as much unclean an the flesh of swine. On their 
side, the Samaritans sought every possible means to wreak vengeance 



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190 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

To this unmannerly reply Jesus only uttered a gentle 
objection. 

" If you knew ' the gift of God," He said, " and Who it is 
that says to you : ' Give Me to drink,' percliancc you would 
have asked of Him, and He would have given you living 
water." 

This gift of God was grace, but the Samaritan did not 
understand ; the thought of living water turned her mind 
to the streams she had often seen sparkling in the depths 
of the well.2 

"My Lord," she said, "yon have no vessel,* and the well 
is deep. Whence will you draw this living water ? " 

Her language had become respectful; for by the majesty 
of Jesus, and by the nobility of His utterance, she divined 
somewhat in Him above any ordinary Jew. 

" Are you greater," she continued, " than our Father 

apoD all Jewry ; maltreated every Jew caught pasaiog througli their torri- 
tarj ; defiled the Temple hv thrawins the bones of dead men within [ts 
precincts ; disturbed all JuJea Tdj lightiog, ahead of time, the watch-fires 
on Moant Garizim, intended to announce the new moon. Josephus 
relates a fearful exaciple of this ntiiiiiosity. Same of the Jewish and 
Samaritan coloniEts of Alexandria, after many long disputes, finally ap- 
pealed to Fhilopator for bis decision, stipulating that the Tani]ai8hed 
faction should he executed ; and when Phibpa1«r pronounced in favor of 
the Jews, the partisans of Garizim were forthwith put to death ( Josephns, 
Antiquitairt, xiii. 3, 4). 

' John iv. 10-12, 

' M. V. Gnirin has given such a perieet description of this ancient 
memorial that we coald not do better than refer the reader to his "Work. 



(ted, very narrow at its upper orifice, but growing somewhat larger 

as it aescenda. Its actual depth is about twenty-four metres ; it was for- 
merly tnnch deeper, for pilgrims have indulged in an immemorial habit of 
dropping stones to the bottom, to see if there lie any water xtill left. As 
to the authenticity of this trophy of antiquity, no geogmpher has ever 
thought of contesting it (T, Ouerin, Deicripiiim de it Samarie, t. i. 
p. 376 ; Eobinson, Biblical Rexardua, t. ii. p. 2S3). 

*'A>T\ij^ia does not refer to the cruse which the Samaritan had come 
to fill, but the leathern bncket which served to ilraw up the water. All 
wells in Jndea are furnished with one of these vessels, and a long 
cord, woven out of goat's hair. The Samaritan's words seem to indicals 
that these were lacking at Jacob's Well, and that therefore she bad 
brought them with her. The fountains round about Sichem were so 
plentiful that it is veiy likely this distant water was used only on 



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THE SAMARITAN. 191 

Jacob, who has given us this well, aud who drauk tbeiDof, 
■^ he, and his sons, and his cattle ? " 

" He who drinks of this water," ^ answered the Saviour, 
" shall thirst again ; but he who drinks of the water which 
I will give him sliall never thirst. The water which I 
will give him shall become in him a fountain springing 
up^ to eternal life," 

Jesus evidently did not speak of the springs which 
water the earth, but of those which are opened up iu the 
heart, making it pure and fmitful. Under this figure He 
would typiiy His grace, and show her how man may find 
in it all that he can desire, without fearing that this 
bounteous repletion should ever turn to satiety.' 

Not grasping at all the deep significance of the words 
she heard, the Samaritan besought Jesus to disclose the 
whereaboula of this spring of life, as she conjectured it. 

" Lord," she said, " give me this water, that I may no 
more thirst, and that I may be no more obliged to come 
here to draw water." 

The Master was not disheartened ; in the sinful nature 
of the Samaritan he saw only an illustration of the truth 
He had taugh: to Nicodemus,* that the soul which is as 
yet in bondage to the flesh is incapable of conceiving 
things divine, and hence the surest way to enlighten the 
mind is to purify the heart ; therefore He at once turned 
aside the current of her thought, that He might recall this 
woman to a sense of her sins. 

" Go," he said, " call your husband, and come hither." 

"I have no husband," she responded instantly.* 

" You are right in saying, ' I have no husband,' " replied 

»John iv. 13-15. 

'"AXXo^Aiou, "salieotis. Emphasis est in voce aalUt. Solent enim 
ai|uie salire ad altitudinem aaqiie orif^nia siiie " (Grotius, m loco). 

' It was in oat auuli moment of overHowing glailness of soul that David 
sang: — 

" As tbe tblrsty hart panteth after th« vater.broobs, 
so panteth my aonl after Thee, O, mv Qod ! 
My soul ia athirgt for God, — 
for tha strong living God." 

<Ps. 111. 2. 3.) 
* John iii. 20. » John iv. 17, 18. 



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192 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Jesus ; " for you have had five such, and he whom you 
have now is not your huBband ; indeed, you have spoken 
very truly." 

So it had been useless for the Samaritan to seek shelter 
behind that ambiguous answer of liers, " My husband 1 I 
have no husband." Jesus swept aside her feeble defences, 
and throwing open the gates of her soul. He laid bare its 
ill-gotten stores, all the accumulations of a guilty past, — 
divorce, and not death, that had freed her from each of 
her five husbands in a shameful succession ; a faithlessness 
which soon degenerated into debauchery, into scandalous 
connections, no longer protected by any thin veil of legal 
formalities. 

The Sanmritan, in her confusion at finding herself so 
easily exposed, now ceased from any further feigning. 

" My Lord," ^ she said, " I see that you are a Prophet" 

Then, immediately turning the conversation from this 
humiliating theme, she took rufuge in a question of doc- 
trine, such as she thought would be likest to divert the 
mind of a Rabbi of Israel. She i-ecalled the rival pre- 
tensions of Sion and of Sichem; their own traditions, 
which told how tlie ancient Prophets were the ancestors 
of the Samaritans, and so represented them as sacrificing 
upon Mount Garizim. 

" Our Fathers," she said, " have worshipped upon this 
mountain, and do you say that it is at Jerusalem we must 
worship T " 

Jesus, satisfied with having awakened something like 
penitence in the heart of this sinning woman, would not 
refuse to follow her thought upon this new track. 

"Woman," be said to her, "believe Me: the hour is 
coming when you will no longer worship the Father, either 
upon this mountain or in Jerusalem. You worship that 
which you do not know : as for Us, We worship that 
which We know, because Salvation coraeth of the Jews." 

By those last words Jesus recognized the Primacy of 
Juda : to Juda alone belonged the Promises, the sacrifices 
acceptable to tlie I^rd, the revealed Law, and the Ark of 
1 John iv. l»-2i. 



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THE SAMARITAN. 193 

Alliance, oversliadowed by the Glory from on high, lu 
token of the preseuce of Jehovah ; but at the same time 
He announced the end of these prerogativea. 

"The hom- cometh, and It is already here, when the 
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth ; for it is this that the Father wishes of those who 
worship Him. God is a Spirit, and those who worship 
Him must worship Him in spirit aud in truth." 

The Samaritan, drawn to Him by something she dimly 
discerned shining through these words, but dazzled and 
lost in this strange new world of thought, was now vaguely 
reminded of the Messiali, of Whom her fellow-countrymen 
were in expectation. Who was to be unto them for a 
Guide.i 

" I know," she said, " that the Messiah, the Christ, is to 
come, and at His coming He will teach us all things."' 

Jesus made answer to her, " I am He ; I, who am 
speaking with thee." 

He went no further at that moment; for the disciples 
were coming up towards them ; but the woman, forgetful 
of all else beside, leaving her jar lying there at his feet, 
hastened back to the town,^ calling to every one she met, 
" Come, see a Man who has told me everything I have 
done. Is He not the Christ ? " And tlie latter were so 

' This name is that which the modern Samiiritans give tlieir Messiaa ; 
El-Muhydi (RoWnson, Bibliail Researdirs, \. ii. p. 278). Their anoestora 
hod desifpiaCeil Him under other names sIao : ta tiie Converter, the Re- 
itorer. They were fer from having any precise ideas of the Messiah, saoh 
as the Jews had imbibed from the Prophets ; since the Pentateuch, the 
only part of the Sacred Boolis in their possession, only furnished them 
with certain va):ue foreshadowing in His regard (Gen. xlix. 10; Num. 
xxir. 17 ; Deuter. xvili. IS. See Geseniua, De Samaritanw^im th^ologia, 
and especially De Sacy, Correspondanix dea Samaritainn, Noticed et txtraita 
des tiianuaerih de la bihliothiqite da roi, vol. xii. ). 

' John iy. 25, 26. Many scholars regard the words ; 4 XeyiiurM 
XpwTi» B3 introduced by the Evangelist to expluin the Hebrew word 
Messiah, rrsftj). However, there is nothing lo prevent one looking upon 
them as the actual language of the Samaritan. In fact, just b«!ow, 
S. John once more puts this word in her mouth ; TS-fyn oSrit lo-roi i 
Xpiirrit ; the Greek language was at that time so rominonly spoken 
throaghout Judea that the word Hpierbt may have esEuly passed into the 
popular speech. 

> John iv. 27-30. 

TOL. I. — 13 



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194 FIRST YEAS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

thrilled by her words that they hurried out from Sichar 
in througs, taking the way which leads up toward Jacob's 
Well. 

But the disciples had returned, just on the closing 
words of this interview, and great was their surprise at 
seeing tbe Master in private conversation with a woman,' 
— and, of all things, a Samaritan ! Nevertheless, noue of 
them said to Him, " What were you asking of her ? Why 
were you talking with her ? " They offered Him the 
provisions they had brought 

" Master," said they, " eat." But Jesus' mind was filled 
with gladness at having garnered the first-fruits from 
among the Gentiles, in the person of this poor Samaritao ; 
and so deeply replenished with delight was His heart that 
it caused Him to forget all other hunger, 

" I have a food to eat," was His response, " of which 
you know not." 

The astonished disciples murmured to each other, — 

" Has any one brought Him food ? " 

"My food," Jesus replied, "is to do the will of Him 
Who sent Me, and to accomplish His work," 

Thus then the work of God was the conversion of the 
Samaritans, who were now advancing toward Him. The 
swaying crowds, with their white garments fluttering 
through the fields of the valley below, which in four 
months more would he ready for the reapers,* now gave 
them somewhat of the appearance of a harvest ripe for the 
sickle. The Saviour, with a glance, pointed them out to 
His disciples. 

" Were you not just now saying ; ^ ' Four months more 
and the harvest time will be here ' ? And now I say to 
you : Lift your eyes, and look over these plains ; they are 
already white for the harvest" 

iJohn iv. Sl-34. The Kabbia were » 
this point that thej would not converse ii 
lBerac/u>t, f. 43, b). 

' hi Juilea the sowing is done in the month of November, and the har- 
vest is Rt the full in Msy ; four raontha before thix, in December, the 
field 3 nre alreacjy gi-een. 

' John iv. 35. 



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THE SAMARITAN. 193 

Tliose words, " four mouths more," had doubtless beeu 
pronounced by some one of the disciples, looking at the 
fields lying around Jacob's Well Jesua, taking up the 
simple words, turned them in harmony with His thought; 
imaging to their minds a harvest which was ripening 
more rapidly than any of this earth, — the hai'veat of souls, 
now coming towaM Him from Sichar, who were to find 
a resting-place, in the storehouses of Heaven. And from 
this, using the occasion to compare the Apostles' duties 
with the toils of those who rea^:^ Jesus proceeded to utter 
some instructions to His disciples, of which (it would 
seem) Saint John ouly retained the memory of a few de- 
tached sentences.^ 

He explains how* "he who harvests" in the field 
of the Gospel " receives a wage, and garners in fruit 
which is life eternal," Far different is it here upon 
earth, where frequently before the time of reaping, the 
sower is in the tomb ; whereas that Feativ^ iu the 
heavens " shall unite iu one common gladness both sower 
and reaper," 

Again Jesus recalled the proverb: "One man soweth, 
and another reapeth ; " ^ showing them how perfectly appli- 
cable this was to the Evangelical ministry. " I have sent 
you to reap where you have not labored: others have 
labored and you have entered into their labors." By this 
is to be understood not only the Prophets, who had pre- 
pared Israel for the coming of the Messiah ; but it also 
refers to the Chiist and His teachings, of which the Apos- 
tles were to reap the fruits. 

" However, the inhabitants of Sichar* were now gathered 
round the .Saviour; tliey begged Him to tarry in their 
town, and He abode there two days." Many believed in 
Him, upon the word of the woman who had given tliat 
testimony, " He has told me everything that I have done;" 

' This supposition seema to us to savor more of resnent for the sacred 
tojct than the violent eJTorts which some critics would have us make in 
order t« wrest some connection from out the various divisions of this 
discourse. 

" John iv. 88. » John iv. 37, 38. 

* John iv. 89-lS. 



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196 FIRST YEAR OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

but a far greater oumber believed because of His own 
teachings. And these said to the woman, — 

" We believe now no longer because of your story. We 
have beard, and we now kuow of ourselves, that He is 
verily the Christ, the Saviour of the world." ' 

Thus the divine Master needed but two days to capture 
the heart and the faith of the Sumarilans ; and this is to 
be explained not merely by their docility, but rather by 
the idea they bad formed of the Messiah. Though inu(^ 
less complete than those of the Jews, their notions of 
Christ's Kingdom were purer by far ; they were not, like 
the latter's, all directed to the realization of fleshly desires 
and carnal hopes, such as the end of all foreign rule and the 
restoration of the royalty of Israel. Hence, so long as He 
was in Judea, fearing they would make Him King against 
His will, Jesus concealed this dignity of the Messiah.' 
But in Samaria, on the contrary. He proclaimed it without 
reserve, and freely revealed Himself both as the Chnst 
and the Saviour of the world.' 

I Tha Vulgnte does not «t thU first title "ChrUtus" befori! "Salvator 
muudi," aud tbis omission secma to be legitimate; for we fiod the same 
teit in the manuseripls of tlie Vatican and Sinai, as well as in most of the 
Versions. We have introduced the other readin); DOtvithstAnding, out of 
respect for the Aleinndrine Mnaascript. 

^ John vi. 16 ; Matt. xvi. 20, ivii. 9 ; Mark ix. 8. 

* This title of Saviour of the World, which we so often use to designate 
Jeaus, is only found in this one passage of the Gospel and on the lips of 
these Samaritans ; this indeed is due tu the fact that the idea of the 
Christ's having come Ui snvi^ not the -lews only, but all peoples, wa.'i one of 
tliose thoughts which were most shocking to Israelitish nations. But for 
the Saniaritdns it was altogi^ther different ; spumed and execrated by the 
Jews, and yet powerfully attracted by the law of Jehovah and believing in 
Hia promises, they joyously cherished thia assurance that Jesus had brought 
salvation, not to Israel alone but to them likewise, sods of Gentiles though 
they ware. It was the new dawn of hope for their whole race, and in liie 
manner unto the eiitii-e worid. 



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CHAPTER IV. 

JESUS DRIVEN OUT OF HAZABETH. 

John IT. <3-lS i Lube iv. 16-89 ; John it. 1S-S4. 

After two days spent in Samaria, Jesus resumed the 
journey to Nazareth, but He lingered in many places along 
the road. Saint Luke shows Him " teaching in the syna- 
gogues;"' and Saint John says "that the Galileans wel- 
comed Him because they had seen all He had done in 
Jerusalem during the Feast." ^ "He was extolled by all 
men, and His fame was spread throughout the whole 
country." ' 

Jesus knew " that no Prophet is honored in his native 
land," * and that He had nothing to expect from His own 
home ; but He would wait until such time as His Heavenly 
Father saw fit to make known His desires, before He 
would quit it forever. He returned therefore to the little 
town " where He had been bred," and once more appeared 
before the eyes of the Nazarenes, just as formerly had 
been His wont, — outwardly, with the same simplicity of 
demeanor and garb as of old ; wearing a long tunic,* girt 
about His loins with a leathern belt; sandals upon His 
feet; a cloak drawn about Him; for head-covering, a loose 

' Lnke iv. 15. " John iv. 45. ' Luke iv. 14, 15. 

* By thia remwk, S. John evidently ftlludea to the expulsion of Sesae 
from Nazareth ; the episode is recounted by S. Luke (iv. 16-30). 

' Luke iv. 16. 

' From S. John's report, we know that this tunic was without si>am«, 
" and of the same weft from top to bottom," while the mantle was in four 
piecea, which were nfterwarda ilivided among the soldiers (John xix. 23)- 
According to all the teatimony left lis, these garments were white (see 
Martigiiy, Dictioimairt da AiUiqitiUs ch^itnnet, p. S91). 



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198 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

veil bound about the forehead by a cord,^ Nor waa there 
anything in His featui'es which should startle the beholder; 
it was such a countenance as we may trace out among the 
paintings of the Catacombs,^ — an oval face; the- beard 
scanty and very fine, ending in a double point ; the com- 
plexion of austere whiteness; the eye dai'iv and burning; 
His long hair parted over the brow and falling upon the 
shoulders; the expression one of gentleness habitually 
veiled in sadness. Although the exterior of Jesus was so 
familiar to His fellow-citizens, none of them had as yet 
any knowledge of the power of His Word, for always in 
His youthful days He had been one who rather sought 
retii'ement and silence. All were then eager to hear Him, 
and they gave Him a warm welcome, when, on the Sab- 
bath following. He came to the religious services of 
Nazareth. 

We shall so very often find the divine Master in the 
ayn^ogues of Judea, that we shall surely be paMoued for 
delaying the narrative an instant, if by so doing we may 
give some idea of those edifices, and of the ceremonies 
which were conducted thorein. 

Of different degrees of richness and gi-andeur, that va- 
ried according to the importance of their respective towns, 
the synagogues were, however, built all upon the same 
plan, — a long hall extending between two porticos, and 
terminating in a Sanctuary. Here there was neither image 

' Artists always represent the Saviour with His head bared ; but as it ia 
impossible for any one to expose himself in thta fashion witliout risking 
great injuries from the sun in Jude^ Jssua doubtless confonned to the 
customs ot the country, and corered His head with a veil aniple enough to 
protect the brow and the iiecL This head-dress, called CoufBeh, ia still in 
use throughout the East. 

2 We have sketched the figure of the Saviour from a painting in the 
cemetery of Doinitilla ; it certainly dates back lo the third century, and it 
may even belong to the Beeond. This portrait, which was the first to 
reproduce the features of the Master, came finally to be the hieratic type ; 
for WH lind it in the principal sarcophagi of the fourth century, in the 
niosaioa of Ravenna and of Rome, in the Letters attributed to S. John 
Damascene (ninth century), and to I^entulus (twelfth century). From age 
to ago it passed down to Giotto and the artists of the Renascence. Norm- 
cote gives two drawings from this painting in the last edition (1879) of 
his R(rma aoterranea (pp. 21S-S20). (Consult Martlgny, Dictionnaire des 
AniiquiU-a (1877), p. 887). 



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JESUS DRIVEN OUT OF NAZARETH. 199 

nor altar to be seen, but only a casket of wcMjd, covered 
over with a veil and enclosing the Sacred Books of Israel.' 
This part of the structure was held in the highest honor,* 
It was there were to be found "the first seats," much 
sought after by Scribes and Pharisees.^ and the places of 
distinction, to which were conducted such of the faithful 
as were renowned for their wealth.* Near the centre there 
was a raised platform upon which tlie Reader of the Holy 
Books would ascend, with the Eabbi who was to exhoit 
the gathering. As to the faithful, they kept to the nave 
of the edifice ; this was divided by a balustrade into two 
parta,^ one of which was reserved for the men, the other 
for the women.^ 

Every synagogue had at its head a Chief,' who was as- 
sisted by Elders and Pastors.* This body presided over 

* This object, whicli by its form woiil<l remind them of the Ark of the 
Covenant, occupied the place of honor in the Syiia^O){Ue ; so for a long 
time the Church herself jilacetl the Holy Books within the Tabernacle 
alongside the Eucbarbt. " In olden times, according to S. Paulinna, they 
used to have two tiny cupboards side by side within their tabernacles, in 
one of which was the Blessed Sacrament and in the other the Holy Scrip- 
tures ; thus one enclosed the Word Divine confined under the aacred 
species, the other held the Divine Word as manifested to ns outwardly, 
whereby He hath given us to understand what Ho Himself hath said" 
(M. OlW, Mifmrnrei). 

* To draw their eyes, and their hearts as well, toward the one spot 
above all others upon earth where Jehovah wished all men to sdore Him, 
they took care to make this their sanctuary face toward Jerasniem ; con- 
sequently all the synagogues of the West were " orientees." Very likely, 
too, this ia one of the reasons why our ohurahea have been given the same 

» Matt, xiiii. 6. 

* James ii. 3. 

* Philo, De Vila emUnnplttiva, ii. 478. 

' The Jewish synagooue (as is plainly to be seen) in many points resem- 
bled our Christian Basilicas. Like them it had a sanctuary, a tribune for 
the ofKciating ministei's (the p^ita, or ambon of the anuients). and e. nave 
for the faithful. There was a lamp baming night and day before the ark 
which held the Holy Books ; the roof-tree of the edifice must overtop all 
the dwellings of the town, or at least should have a high spire (much like 
the campanile towers on our churches or the minarets of the Orient), which 
should rise above everything round about it. We even recognize our 
modest poor-box hanging close 1:>eside the doora. 

'ThedpKwi™^7iO'<« (Lultf viii. 41, xiii, 14; Actsi "■■ " """ 



8 These officers of the synagogue, if not by their duties, from their 
■ H Hierarchy of the primitive Church : Upeapirtim 



'3 at leaxt, recall the E 



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200 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the religious exercises, passed ju(^meiits, decreed punish- 
mects, excommunicated guilty parties, or sent them back 
in chains to the Sanhedrin. The most active of its mem- 
bers was the Angel or legate of the Synagogue,^ who read 
the prayers and was the representative of the assembly 
abroad. Below all the various dignitaries was an inferior 
minister, the Chazzan,' who presented the Reader with 
tlie Holy Books, guarded the doors and was a general 
care-taker. 

As to the order of the services, it was fixed by rules 
most scrupulously observed.' To the chanting of the Psalms 
succeeded the Prayer, taken from Deutei-onomy and called, 
from its first word, the Schema* (Hearken); "Hearken, 
Israel, the Lord thy God is the One and only God : thou 
sbalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all 
thy soul, and with all thy strength." Then came the eigh- 
teen Benedictions,^ followed by the Instruction, which held 

(Luke Tii, 3) (D'JpT), also called pastors, xoiti^vti (E]jh. iv. 11) ; ohiefe 
and leadera of tie flock, TtpeajSnt^, inoififo, (1 Tim. v. 17; Hebf. 

' Veiy different though thia office was from the mioistrj- of our Pon- 
tiSs, it may be, however, that 8. Joho had the Angel of tlie Synagof^us 
in mind when be gave to the bishops of tlie greater Sees of Asia that title, 
"Angels of the Church" (Apoc. L 20, li. 1, etc.). 

* nn ; spoken of by S. Luke (iv. 20) as innipiT^s, " the attendant." 

* In the ritual of modem Jews it is difficult to distinguish just how 
much they have preserved of the priinitive worship ; hut certain usages of 
the Christian litujgy :n the first three centuries must have been borrowed 
from them, — the ablution before entering the sanctuary, the custom of 
stauding during the prayers with ontstretched arms, the Amen with which 
the whole congregation responded to the invocations of the Elders. 

' The Schema, properly speiiking, comprised the three following pas- 
sages from Numbers and Deuteronomy : Num. xv. 37-41 ; Deut. vi. 4-9, 
xi. 13-21. 

« " Blessed art Thou, O Loiil God, God of our fathem Abraham, Isnac, 
and Jacob ! ■ . ■ Lord, Thou art almighty ; Thou dost recall the dead to 
life in Thy p^at tenderness; Thou dost raise up those that fall ; Thou 
healest the sick, nor hast Thou forsaken them that sleep in the dust. Who 
is there like nnt« Thee, O Mighty God ! . . . Thou art holy, holy is Thy 
Name, and none but the holy do praise Thee every day. . . . Blessed art 
Thou, O Lord, Whose Name is goodness, and unto Whom all praise is 
due ! " (Rosh-luisahmiak, iv. ; Beradwt, iv. 3, etc.) The invocations just 
cited were certainly in use in the days of Jesus, for they are taken from the 
three first and the three last benedietions, which, as all the critics agree, 
are of the greatest antiquity. (See Kitto, Oyctepadia ; Sykagooue.) 



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JESUS DRIVEN OUT OF NAZARETH. 201 

a high place in the religious service of the synagogue. 
From the evidence of Saint James we learn that " Moses 
was read every Sabbath, from the most ancient times ; " * 
and as this reading was given in Hebrew, which the people 
no longer understood since the Captivity,' an interpreter 
repeated the Sacred Text, phrase after phrase, in the ver- 
nacular.* He did the like for the reading of the Prophets, 
which succeeded that of the Pentateuch, Ordinarily it 
was read by a Kabbi, who made a mnnrng commentary 
upon it, and addressed to his listeners " the Word of Con- 
solation." But when some stranger or some Jew distin- 
guished for his doctrine happened to appear in the assembly, 
they would press him eagerly to mount the platform, so 
that they might profit by his instructions.* 

The renown which had now begun to surround the name 
of Jesus merited such honors for Him. The moment of 
His rising to speak was just as the reading of the Law 
was concluded. The care-taker of the synagogue handed 
Him the Oracles of Isaias. The Saviour, unwinding the 
long scroll of papyrus, rolled about a wand of wood or 
ivory, found* the Lesson marked for the day, and read 
these prophetic words : — 

'Acts XV. 21. 

' The poDular tongue in the days of Jesus was the Aramean ; it was a 
dialect whicn had sprung up during and after the Captivity, as the result 
of alterations grafted upon the Hebrew language. 

• Th fi book of Moses were divided in such a way that the read- 
i g w U t d ver tlie whole year; now-a-days, the Hebraic bibles 
d d th La (th t is, all tho Pentatench) into iifty-four sections called 
P rahi h (pi rai f Parshah : HEhD = " Part"). Beside the fifty- four 
P h th th e a corresponding number of Lessons taken from the 

P ph ts, d call J the Hajtaroth, a name of very obscure derivation, 
Th d VI f the Pentateuch into fifty-four pai-ta waa already com- 

m ly pt I t the opening of the Christian era ; however, iu more 
rem t g th La was probably divided inM one hundred and fifty-five 
sections (the Sedarim of the Massorites), and then it took three years to 
read the whole matter. (See Kitto, Cydopadia : Haphtaea. | 

' As to the Jewish synagoguea, see Vitringa, De Synagoga vetere. 

" BSfXi'. The l^w was read from end to end without any tran3[>ositions 
in the order, and the manuscript was wrapped about two rods. Each 
Sabbath the "Angel of the Synagogue " unwound one of the rollers for the 
lesson of the day, and wound np the other as fast as the readiDj^ pi'ogressed ; 
upon iii» Sabbath following he would take it up at the page where they 
had left off. But from the Prophets the lessons were selected here and 



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202 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

" The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me ; therefore it is He 
has consecrated Me by Anointment : He hath sent Me to 
bring good tidings to the poor, to heal the afflicted hearts,^ 
to announce to the captives their deliverance and to the 
blind recovery of their sight, to bring back, as free men, 
those who be brokea beneath their fetters, to publish 
forth the Year of Pardon of the Lord, and the Day of His 
Justice." 

Jesus could not have happened upon a more favorable 
theme. His comments were made upon the Hebi^w text, 
whose full force we may well recall here.' " The Spirit of 
the Lord Jehovah is upon Me ; therefore it is He hath 
anointed Me,* to announce the Good News to the meek;* 
He hath sent Me to heal the broken hearts, to announce 
freedom to the captives, to give unto the prisoners once 
more to see the light,^ and to proclaim the Year of Pardon 
of the Lord." The Vulgate adds the words of the Prophet, 
which are not given in the Greek text of the Gospel : "And 
to announce the Day of His Justice." The Saviour could 

there, and the Voluma waa wrapped about one single cylinder ; hanoe 
they viete obligAl t« look for the place indicated b; the rules of the 
Synagogue. 

• Is. lii. 1, 2. The phrase litraaSm Toit tvurerpiiiiiirovt tijf KapSlav, 
which is nantiug in niauy of the versions and manuscripts, is omitted by 
Tischendorf and Aiford. 

^ S. Luke, who always has his Greek readers in mind, is quoting freely 
from the version of the Septoogiut. 

' Anointed, not by any corporeal unction, but by the Divinity of the 
Word, which baa thus made the Christ our King and Pontiff, — our 
Monarch and High Priest. 

* O'ljjr : "the meek," that is, those who do not withatand antrages, 
but aufTer all thtnga and are despoiled of all things in this world ; this ia 
why S. Luke and the Septuagint call theni the poor, those who are stripped, 
of everything. 

' This meaning is the one adopted by Delitzsch, Bibliacker Commentar 
Slier den Propheten Jesaia. S. Luke felt that the translation of the Sep- 
tuagint did not convey the foree of the Hebrew word nip'nOS (aa to this 
word, see Fiirst, Bebraischis HandwSrlerbuch ) ; hut that here it meant, 
uot merely to open the eyea of priaoners seated in the gloom, but to reach 
their ears and their hearts, mailing their shackles to fall from off their 
limbs. So, too, he adds these words, borrowed from another saying ot 
Isaian (Iviii. 6) : iiriwTfiXai T(e(ia«ait4invi iv i^irti: " He hath anointed 
Me that I may bring them that lie broken under capttvity into the fuinesa 
of freedom." 



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JESUS DRIVEN OUT OF NAZARETH. 203 

not, indeed, deliver the lowly and the desolate, save by 
humbling those who oppress them. 

The reading ftoished, Jesus rolled up the manuscript, 
handed it back to the servant, and, according to the cus- 
tom of the Rabbis, seated Himself and began to exhort 
the faithful. "The eyes of all were fixed upon Him,"i and 
we may easily fancy what emotion thrilled the audience 
on hearing Him declare "that on this day this same Scrip- 
ture is found to be fulfilled." They were the poor, the 
captives, the blind, the sorrowful hearts, to whom He was 
bringing salvation ; and in their own times they had seen 
"The Year of Pardon,"" the Jubilee of the Lord, above all 
others. His langui^e, so full of grace, amazed them at 
first ; it sounded in their ears with all the weight of one 
having authority in the synagogue. " All were delighted 
with the words which fell from His mouth, and they said : 
" Is not this the son of Joseph ? " ^ 

But this wonderment soon turned to suspicion. " The 
■ son of a mechanic, a carpenter himself, whom they had 
seen so many a day working with bis bands in their midst, 
could he be a Prophet, unless indeed be could prove his 
mission by some prod^y, at least ? Certainly he had 
spoken 'of healing souls,'* and there were gossips who 
said that elsewhere he had done such miracles ; then 
why doesn't he begin now and here among his fellow- 
citizens?" 

" Physician, heal thyself!" a mocking voice cried out at 
Him, as though it would say : " Do for yourself and your 
own that which you have procured for others ! " 

"With perfect sweetness Jesus put aside this attack.^ "Of 
a certainty," He said, "you may apply to Me the proverb : 
' Physician, heal Thyself. The great things done at Ca- 
pharnaum which we have heard spoken of, do the same in 

> Luke iv. 20. 

" Lulte iv, 19, This eiprfiesion gave rise to that misooncepWon on the 

Brt of ceHain Greek Falhera, who inferred from this that the Ministry ol 
9US tasted only one year (Clement of Alexandria, StTomata, lib. I, cap. 
xxi. p. 885 ; Origen, Jlepl ipxSir, iv. 6, etc.). 

' Lake iv. 22. < Luke iv. 18. 

« l,uke iv. 23-27. 



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204 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Thy native land.' But in truth, I say to you, a Prophet ie 
not received in his own country. There were many widows 
in Israel in the time of Elias, when the heavens were 
closed during three years and six montiis,^ and there was a 
gi'eat famine over all the earth, and Elias was not sent to 
any one among them, — no, not to any, but only to a widow 
woman of Sarepta,^ a city of the Sidonians. So also there 
were many lepers in Israel, under the Prophet Eliseus, 
and not one among them was purified save only the Syrian 
Naaman," ^ 

At these words a sudden access of fury brought the as- 
sembly to its feet : " Dares he compare them, the sons of 
Abraham, willi Pagan women and lepers ! " 

There were now no longer the mutterings of a few dis- 
satisfied hearers, but cries of rage against Him. All surg- 
ing forward together, they seized Jesus, and swept Him 
along up to the summit of the mountain on which their 
town was built, tliinking to cast Him iieadlong over the 
heights into the rocky hollows below.* 

But His liour was not come ; although it was permitted 
to the Nazarenes to push and thrust Him before them, to 
heap blows and abuse upon Him, yet, when they had 
reached the edge of the precipice, some superhuman Power 
held their arms fast. Helpless, speechless, transfixed, they 
saw Jesus pass through their midst and go upon His way, 
leaving them spell-bound with a sudden stupor. 

He withdrew from Nazareth as He had done from Jeru- 
salem, In great sadness and weariness He climbed the 

' 3 Kings xvii. 9. S. James mentions the same duration for the periixl 
of dryness in the days o( Elias (James v. 17), while the Book of the Kings 
says that on the tliird year the Prmthet announced the return of the rain 
to earth. Undoubtedly both the Apostle and the Evangelist had found 
aome more precise evidence as to the length of the draught among the tra- 
ditions of Jewry, and these they preferred to the vague eipression used in 
the Book of the Kings. 

^ Now called Sourafeiid, a village lying between Tyre and Sidon. 

»i Kiti^T. 14. 

* Luke IV, 28-30. It is not likely that the Nazarenes would have 
carried Jeaua so far along as to the hilltop pointed out by a oertain 
tradition ; for this eminence is an hour's walk from Kazareth, mid far 



heyond the distance which the Jewish law .nllowed them to travel o 
Sabbath day. 

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TBB NOBLEMAN'S SON. 205 

hill which separates it from Cana,^ aod from the wooded 
rii%e cast one last look upon the peaceful valley where 
His youthful days had been passed, on the house which, had 
sheltered Him during those thirty years, and where as a 
poor Laborer He had toiled and suffered, and lived out this 
every-day existence of ours. It had mattered nothing, after 
all, that this village and this people were indeed His own, 
by so many ties of kiuship and acquaintance, — "His own 
received Him not ; " * He must depart to bear unto strangers 
the Halvation which these Nazarenes disdained ; now, at 
last. He must go forth, not having where to lay His head. 

Jesus, driven out of Nazareth, dwelt for a certain length 
of time at Caua, — long enough for the news to be spread 
through all the cities around the lake. We do not know 
His reasons for remaining in this vUlage, but we still find 
Him there when one of the king's officers * hastened to 
Him from Capharnaum, beseeching Him to cure his son 
who was dying. 

Although little was known of Jesus among Herod's 
courtiers, His Kame was always regarded with something 
of respect and awe among them, and cherished with long- 
ing hopes as well, by such as admired Him in secret. The 
Saviour greeted the Jewish nobleman, not without pity;* 
and yet, comparing His self-seeking supplications with the 

> John iv, 46. We nmst sup^oae that this journey spoken of by 
8. John took place inat hare and in this oriier ; for the Erangeliat, after 
alluding to the turbulent ontburst of the Hazarenea jiv. 44), proceeds at 
once to say that Je«nB, on account of this expulsion, withdrew for a second 
time to Cana : ^\etr otr iriXw ils riir Sam. 

» John i. 11. 

• John iv. 45, 47. BaatKutit signifies either a peraon of royal blood or 
on officer of the king. Here the latter meaning ia to be preferred, for the 
historian Josephna, our surest guide in everytiiiog that involves Jewish 
customs, employs this term to distinguish Soman ma^strates, the cour- 
tiers and ollicers of the kinRS of Judea, hut never to designate a member of 
the rwal family (Bellum Judaicum, vii. 5, 2 ; AnHgnilaies, iv. 8, 4). 

* The Evangelist does not rive the name of this pereonage. Some 
critics have suggested that of Manahen, son of Herod s nurse, who, in 
the Acta, ia placed in the ranks of the first Christians (Acts jiii. 1), 
Others, with perhaps bett«r reason (for we know that the officer's entire 
family believed iu the Saviour), have fancied he might be that same 
Chuza, the tetrarch's Intendant, whose wife, Joanna, we find among the 
Galilean ladies who were the first to follow JeSDs (Ijiike viiL 3). 



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206 FIRST YEAR OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

generous forgetfulness of self shown by the Samaritans, it 
made Him grieve the more over the incredulity of Israel.' 
" If you do not see signs and prodigies," * He said, " you do 
not believe." In utteiing tliis reproach, it was not His 
intent to repulse the supplicant, nor to extinguish the 
glimmering spark of faith which He saw in his heart. 
This the oiRcer must have gathered from the compassion- 
ate glance of the Master and from the tones of His voice, 
for he redoubled his urgent suit : — 

" Lord, come down before my poor little one ' dies." 

What a note of terror is sounded in this prayer! — in 
the touching terms in which he mentions the son whom he 
fears he may never see f^in ; but, too, how great was his 
mistake when in his anxiety and alarm he dreaded lest 
Jesus Himself would be rendered powerless if death were 
to anticipate and prevent Him ! This man did not know 
that it is no more difficult for God to resuscitate the body 
than to cure it, and that neither time nor apace can impose 
limits upon His power. The Divine Master took compas- 
sion upon this father's blindness, distraught with grief as 
he was. 

" Go," he said ; " your son lives." 

And at that same moment wherein He healed the body 
of the child He worked so powerfiilly upon the heart of the 
father that the latter rose up to return home, filled at once 
with glad hope and confidence. 

It was one o'clock in the afternoon * when the officer 
parted from Jesus. Even in the shortest days of winter 
he could have reached Capharnaum by nightfall, since 
Cana is not more than a six hours' journey ; but some ob- 
stacle delayed him upon the road ; he slept at some posting- 
place on the way, and did not arrive until the morrow. 

I John iv. 48-51. 

1 Zitpxia KoX Tipara. As to tlie different menniiiKs of these nards, refer 
to pafte H7, and to Treneli, Synonyms of the New Teslamenl, p. 230. 

* IlaiJioi'. This diminntiTe denotes either the axtreme youth of the 
child, or, more likely etill, the great lore of the father. S. John ordina- 
rily employs tliia word when he wishes to use a term of endeannent (John 
xA G ; 1 Ep. John ii. 13, 18). 

* " The seveuth hour " (John xir. 62. See p. 182, note i). 



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THE NOBLEMAN'S SON. 207 

A3 be Deared hia maosioii the servants hurried out 
to greet him mth the aonouDcement that his son was 
living. 

Immediately he asked them at vhat hour the child had 
b^un to revive. 

" Yesterday," they replied,' " at the seventh hour, the 
fever left him." 

He knew then that it was the very moment in which 
Jesua had said to him " Yonr son lives." And he believed, 
he and all hi^ household. 

" This was the second miracle which Jesus had per- 
formed thus far upon His return from Judea into Galilee." * 
By adding these words the Evangelist does not mean to 
ignore the wondrous deeds done at Capharnaum,^ but he is 
thinking only of tlie miracles done by Jesus at Cana, and 
his intention is simply to connect two facts that took place 
in the same locality. The changing of the water into wine 
was the first manifestation of the Saviour made by Him 
on His return from the hanks of the Jordan into Galilee. 
The healing of the official's son was the second sign, not 
less striking than the other, and destined indeed, as well 
as its predecessor, to mark the beginning of a new period 
in the Ministry of Jesus. 

■ Heugatenberg thinks that the officer reBched home ou the evening at 
the same Jaj, but so late at night that the servants would naturally say 
" yesterday, " meaning the day which had just termiuatad at set iol wast. 

* John iv. 54. 

• Luke iT. 33. 



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F1E8T ACTS DURING THE MINI8TBT OF JESUS 
m QAULEE. 



I. The Calung of the First Disciplbs. 

Matt. iv. 13-22 ; Mark i. 14-20. 

Cana, though more hospitable than Nazareth, was not 
to be the centre from which Jesus would extend His 
labors throughout Galilee ; this glory was reserved to 
Oapharnaum ; and Saint Matthew, studious as ever to trace 
throughout the life of the Saviour the fulfilment of Prophe- 
cies, quotes here the famous oracle : ^ — 

" Land of Zabulon and Nephthali ! Border-land of the 
sea ! Country beyond the Jordan I Galilee of the nations ! 
The people that abode in darkness have seen a great Light. 
The Light has arisen upon those who were seated in the 
region of the shadow of death." 

It was the arena of the Ministry of Jesus which Isaias 
had here before his eyes : the Sea of Tiberias, lying along 

1 Hatt. iv. 13-16 ; Is. ii. 1, 2. This difficult text oF balah ha» been 
variously construed. In deacribing the site of Capbamaum, we gave the 
ingenioua interpretation of Caspari (p. 156): here we follow Hie com- 
moner opinion, which makes yVl = via, an adverb aignifying, "toward, 
in the direction of," and then nnderstands y"i(<, land, before the two 
members of the sentence, which in the Greek are translated by these 
words : iSby Baftiirmii and ripar toD 'lopSipov, " the land lying seaward." 
or (in other words) the western banks of the Sea of Galilee ; " the land 
beyond the Jordan " (that is to say), Perea. The Inst expression, "Galilee 
of the Gentiles," in a single plirase embraces all the different countries of 
which the Prophet is speaking. 



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ACTS DURING THE MINISTRY IN GALILEE. 209 

the confines of Zabulon and Nephthali ; the western shore, 
where the Christ ordinarily sojourned ; upon the opposite 
aide, and beyond the Jordan, the Greek colonies of the 
Decapolis,^ — a mingling of races ^ well described by the 
name Galilee of the Gentiles. The first Israelites who 
were carried off into Assyria had been snatched from this 
pleasant " land of Zabulork and Nephthali ; " so to comfort 
them the Prophet tells how a Youthful Liberator shall rise 
up, like a great Light ; and how Galilee, tlie first to be 
plunged in the dark night of slavery, is destined to be the 
first to view the New-born Star." 

This prediction, the theme of long-clierished hopes, was 
accomplished ou the day when the Christ took up His 
abode upon the shores of the Lake and made Capbaruaum 
" His own city,"* He came thither accompanied doubtless, 
as at the beginning of His public life, by His Mother, His 

• Wa sliall see later on {vol. ii. p. 12), that the word "Decapolis" does 
not designate any particular country, but a conrederntion of teu free cities, 
situated to the east of the Jordan, between Damascus and the Mtuutains 
of Galaad. 

• TegUth Phalasar, after camming away the Israelites from ont of Gal- 
ilee, filled all their holdings with Assyrian colonists ; in tike manner the 
Greeks, after the conquest of Alexandria, had spread Ihraugli the wbole 
iMluntry ; hence, as it came to be more and more monopolized \i\ Gentiles, 
it naturally became an object of scorn for all patriotic Jews (John i. 46 ; 
vii. 52; Matt. xxvi. 69). 

• The Prophecy from which S. Matthew cites a few sentences is the one 
which precedes that foreshadoning of the Messiah : "A little Child is 
bom "at us, unto us a Son is given . . . Wonderful Councillor, Mighty 
God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace" (Is. ii. 6). Hew Isaiah de- 
plores the impiety which plunged the IsraeliUa into the abyss of darkness ; 
their country he represents as a land nithout any sunrise, desolated by 
famine, sunk in dark shadows whence arine only cnrses against Achab and 
against God. Still, Assnr is only the scourge of Jehovah ; his mission of 



vengeance once fulfilled, he shall fade away before the comine of Emman- 
" '. Then "there shall be no longer any dimntss over the land which is 
r grievously vened. For indeed Jehovah hath loaded the lands of 



Zabulon and Nephthali with afffietions at the first, yet afterwards He will 
bestow honors upon tbem, ay, even on then, the land lying to seaward, 
on the further bank of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people 
that abode in darkness hsve seen a great Light ; the Li^ht hath risen over 
them that dwell in the land of the shadow of death." The text of the 
Prophecy was so iamiliar to the readers of S. Matthew that the Evangelist 
knew it would be enough to quote a few words, to remind them ot the 
perfect correspondence between the prediction and the reality. 
* Matt. ix. 1. 



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210 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

brothers, and His disciples.^ However, the foremost auiong 
the latter, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, whom He had 
chosen upon tlie banks of the Jordan, are not now found 
with their Master ; and that we know so little of the do- 
ings of the Lord in Judea is due probably to the fact that 
they did nob follow Him into that country. John the 
Evangelist seems to be the only one who made the journey 
througli Samaria with the Lord ; * but he did not go on as 
far as Nazareth ; for the Saviour, upon coming down to the 
shores of the lake, found him ^ain at Bethsaida, iu the 
boat of his father Zebedee* 

It waa Jesus' lirst care to go to this village, that He 
might gather together the Princes of His Church. He was 
walking along the strand when he saw some fishermen 
busy casting their nets from out their boat;* they were 
the two brathers Simon and Andrew. 

Jesus spoke to them : " Come with Me, and I will make 
you t-o become fishers of men," 

At once dropping everything, they followed Him. Hav- 
ing advanced a little further. He saw two other brothers, 
James and John ; these also were in a boat, with their 
father Zebedee. Some accident had caused a breakage in 
their nets, and they were busy mending them. The Lord 
would not wait for the work to be finished ; He called 
them, and upon the instant they followed Him, leaving be- 
hind them their father Zebedee, with his hirelings, in the 
fishing-smack. 

It was not that the Christ chose these humble fishermen 
at random, but it was because the Divine Handiwork must 
needs be supreme in the work of our Kedemption ; and 
therefore it was needful that the ministers of Jesus, though 
unfitted by nature for such great designs, should neverthe- 
less be so devoid of self-confidence, so free from self-love, 
as to let themselves be guided by grace. The first dis- 

' John ii, 12. 

* The precise manner in which all the details set down in thia fourth 
chapter ore recoTded makes it necessary to infer that the nari'ator was an 
eye-witness (John iv. 6, 8, 28, etc.). 

' Mark i. 1ft. 

''Afi^ijSdXXiHTat ip rrl Sakimri (Mark i. 16). 



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A SABBATH DAY AT CAPHARNAUM. 211 

ciplea were men such as this Miaaion required, — simple, 
upright of heart, and of generous inclinations. At the 
call yf Jesus, they followed Him without hesitation and 
without casting a glance backwards ; all that they left be- 
hind was little enough doubtless, — a fishing-craft and a 
few nets ; but that little was their all, and in sacrificing it 
they showed what docile instruments Jesus was to find in 
them. 

Furthermore their trade could not fail to have developed 
in them such qualities as are most suitable to the Apostolic 
Ministry, above all the religious spirit, natural to those 
who live by the sea ; the life of these men, always exposed 
to perils, their powerlessuess to contend with the great 
tempests, with that Breath from on High which stirs up 
storms and calms them t^aiu in an instant, — all these 
things combine to keep before their mind the feeling that 
they are in the hands of God ; at the same time, because 
they are thus inured to danger, their course is of the 
hardiest, and self-denial and devoteduess become as habit- 
ual to them as sturdy prudence. These simple virtues 
were sufficient for the Master ; surely they were as nothing 
in comparison with the sublime Work which He had in 
mind; but thus to construct an Edifice upon nothing is 
manifestly a work of Creation ; it is to perform an Act of 
God. This indeed is why the Saviour, instead of calling 
to Himself the wise and great ones of Israel, chose rather 
for the foundation-stones of His Church four fishermen of 
Bethstuda, — Peter and Simon, James and John. 



11. A Sabbath Day at Capharnadm. 

Luke iv. 31-43 ; Mark L 21-38 ; Mutt. viii. 14-17. 

The first Sabbath after the return of Jesus to Caphar- 
naum is an exceptional day for us ; perhaps it is the only 
one during which we are able to follow the Saviour from 
early morning until evening, and even as far as the dawn- 
ing of the next day ; and so this detailed account shows us 
how, for the most part, Jesus was wont to spend His days. 



iigic 



212 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

The religious service commenced in the moi-ning at the 
synagogue ; ^ there the Lord found an attentive throng about 
Him, for His wondrous deeds were well known in Caphai'- 
naum ; and moreover He could count among that gather- 
ing some faithful hearts, — Mary His Mother, the sons of 
Zebedee and of Jouaa, the disciples who bad followed Him 
from Judea, the officer of the court of Herod with his 
family, who were eager to hear the Prophet whose word 
had already worked such marvels. 

When the prayers were finished the Master ascended to 
take the chair. There He bore Himself very differently 
from the Scribes and the Doctors,^ who were only accus- 
tomed to cite certain texts which would confirm their 
teaching by tlie authority of ancient traditions, or perhaps 
explain those of other tamous Eabbis. But Jesus taught 
as one having power ; He spoke in His own name, inter- 
preted the Scripture with authority, not merely stirring 
over the surface of the soul by subtile reasonings, but 
plunging deep down into the hearts of men, so that they 
felt themselves penetrated witli Hia persuasion. 

" All were in admiration of His doctrine," when a scream 
rent the air of the place ; it was a demoniac in the throes of 
horrid frenzy. He had crept through the crowded doors, and 
at the first had experienced a strange rapture while listen- 
ing to the Divine Word ; but unable any longer to with- 
hold the foul spirit which held him in its clutches, he burst 
into shrieks of horror, perhaps even into unclean actions.^ 
" Let be I " * he cried. " What is there between us and 

1 Mark i. 21. « Murk L 22-26. 

*'At0piiros it rreij/ian &ta6ipTif (Mark i. 23). These worfs seem to 
imply that the unclean spirit had fastened ita hold upoD the misent- 
ble victim so completely that this element of impurity became the eolo 
vital and active principle of his being. Some scholars do not coincide 
with this opinion ; to their mind, the term " impure " applies to all the 
faUen Anfj^ls, and as used here merely reveals the bunting tbiiat they feel 
for whatever is unchaste, since they know uncle]mness is of all things 
most hateful in God's sight ; that it is more than any other vice contrary 
to the angelic purity from vhich they have fallen, and more terrible in its 
effects upon man, since it degrades him, blinds hin>, dulls and hardens 
his heart. 

•Lukeiv.Si. 'En (translated as"SineI"in the Vulgate) is probably 
but a cry of feaj and horror, the eiclamatian, in Hebten', nUK. 



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A SABBATS DAY AT CAPBABNAUM. 213 

Thee, Jesus of Kazareth ? Art Thou come to destroy iia ? 
I know Who Thou art, — the Holy of God !" 

What are we to see id this coufessioD of the Demon ? 
Was it a ruse whereby Satan meant to interrupt the dis- 
course of Jesus and publish prematurely His title of the 
Messiah, or was it an avowal wrung from the terror of 
the fiend, — the fawuing of a slave that trembles befoi'O 
the lash and seeks to mollify the' master about to inflict 
well merited punishment ? Whatever may have been the 
motive of this homage, Jesus disLlained it ; at once He stood 
over the possessed, and threatening the devil which was 
torturing him, 

"Be silent," ' He said to it, "and depart from this man." 

Satan obeyed : one last cry escaped the breast of the 
demoniac, who flung prone upon the ground for an instant 
writhed in terrible convulsions ; then rose up before the 
eyes of ^1, free once more, completely calmed.^ His body, 
which had served as a dwelling-place for the infernal 
powers, now showed no trace of their awful assaults. 

At this sight fright and wonderment quite overwhelmed 
the crowds ; for man can never feel the nearness of the in- 
visible world without a stronger sense of emotion. And 
yet it was not so much the suddenness of the cure which 
astonished the Jews ; indeed they were accustomed to the 
pei-formance and the effects of various Exorcisms, which 
wei-e in fact much like the tedious ceremonials of their 
mi^cians.* But that Jesus, without sprinkling of water or 

^itHiie-riTi {Lukeiv. 85), or, girin^ the full force of the literal mean- 
ing, it might be translated : " Put bridle and curb upon thj iawa." 

» Luke iv. 86 ; Mark L 26. 

' S, Juatiu tells ua hovr the Jewish exorcisms, though laicful at firat, 
came to degenerata into anneratitioias rites {Dialogue eum Tryp/ume, 85). 
Josephus reports an example of this sort of witchcraft, as in vogue among 
hia fellow-countrymen ; it ia enough to compare the acetieH which he wit- 
nessed with the <iuiet manner in which Jesus dealt with the demons, to 
realize how entirely at variance are Truth and Error. The thing was 
done, says the Jewish historian, under the eyes of Vespasian, Titus, and 
the whole army. A Jew, named Eleazar, drove a devil oat of a man, 
making it proceed from the nostrils of the poasesseil ci'eatura by iueans of 
a ring and n magic root. The demoniac was thrown on the ground. 
Eleazar adjured the unclean apirit, in tl'.e name of Solomon, and with 
sundry other Incantationa, to torment hia victim no longer, and b«de Mtn, 



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214 FIRST YEAR OF TEE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

any mystical rite, could expel the demon with a word, — it 
was this that overwhelmed them with wonder. Hitherto 
they had only experienced the eloquence of the Christ; 
this prodigy declared the invincible might of His word ; 
and now their souls must needs tremble in His Presence 
as before the Supreme Majesty, 

" What is this ? " they whispered among themselves ; 
" what new and all-powerful Doctrine is this ? ' He com- 
mands the spirits, and they obey ! " 

In these sayings there is no trace of that bitter spirit 
which, in a short time, would tiy to brand the Miracles of 
the Saviour as a violation of the Sabbath, or as a proof of 
a compact with the fiends. The Galileans harbored no 
such suspicions as these ; they saw, they believed, and their 
faith, spreading ever further and wider, finally penetrated 
throughout all the country-side, 

The marvellous deeds of that Sabbath were by no means 
ended now. Leaving the synt^ogue, Jesus entered the 
dwelling of Simon.^ The son of Jonas the fisherman was 
married to a woman of Capharnaum ; thus he had in 
this city, as well as at Bethsaida, both family connections 
and a home. Here the Divine Master found the mother- 
in-law of the disciple sinking under a raging attack of 
fever,' her anxious kinsfolk grouped about her bed. At 
once all eyes were turned towards the Saviour ; every voice 
was raised to implore His aid. 

Jesus drew near, and rebuking the fever* with the 
same authority which He was only a little later to dis- 
play in quelling the rebellious powers of nature. He now 

in token of obedience to this diifmissiil, to overturn n basin of water net at 
some distance from tlie spot (Josephus, AnHquilaiei, viii. 2, S). When 
describing the site of Mactieronta we spoke of a root with stems of flame- 
color, which was thought to work man^ wonders. Bat in order to pluck 
it a man must resort to certain practices of such an extraordinary nature 
that we refrain from mentioning them here. They are detailed at length 
bj Josephns {Bellum Judalcjim, vii. 6, 3). 

' Mark, i. 27. Eair^ mair be ioined with tar' ^{ouirfav, when it will 
mean " an utterance of new and hitherto unknown efficacy," or it may 
form a distinct attribute of xar ^foMfflac ; " " "»" ="'1 nnu-orful t«i/>hino '■ 

* Mark i. 29. 

' Luke iv. 38. 



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A SABBATH DAY AT CAPHARNAUM. 216 

bade tbe disease to depart; and then, taking the hand 
of the sick woman, He gently raised up bar shattered body, 
by the simple contact infusing a plenitude of health and 
life into her aged body. The fever disappeared, and that 
without leaving behind it any weakness, which is its 
usual sequel. On the instant the mother of Simon's wife 
arose, then, as it was the hour at which they usually dined, 
— for on the Sabbath it was customary to have a noonday 
meal,* — she herself made ready what was needed for 
Jesus and His disciples, set the dishes in order, and herself 
served the guests, 

Capharnaum was still talking of the miracle in the 
synagogue when the report of this other prodigy was 
noised abroad ; the excitement became general, and noth- 
ing but the inviolable quiet of the Sabbath could have 
held the ardor of the multitude in check. But as soon as 
the rays of the setting sun along the distant hills marked 
the end of the Holy Day,* the throngs came hurrying 
through the streets, some bringing the insane and pos- 
sessed folk to the Divine Healer, others bearing pallets, on 
which were laid those too ill to move themselves ; soon 
the whole town had collected about Simon's door, display- 
ing before the eyes of Jesus everj- form of wretchedness 
known to poor human nature, — madness, deformity, and 
every hideous disease. 

Not one of those who besought His help was rejected 
by the Saviour, but without distinction laying His hands 
, upon them. He healed them. As for the possessed, one - 
word from Him was enough to deliver them; trembling 
at the sound of the Master's voice, the devils fled away, 
crying aloud, "Thou art the Son of God."* But with 
threatening words Jesus forbade them to say tliat He was 
the Christ. 

The Saviour's ministrations were prolonged far into the 
night, and to all He showed such touching compassion, 
that in the wonders of that day's doings Saint Matthew 
sees the fulfilment of the words of Isatas ; * " He hatli taken 



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216 riRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

upon Himself our weaknesses and bath borne our infirmi- 
ties." None ever understood so clearly as Jesus did how- 
disease and death have entered into the world through 
sin ;* no one consequently has ever been so keenly struck 
with horror at sight of them. Hence arose that great pity 
in Him predicted by Isaiah ; hence came His tears before 
the tomb of Lazarus ;' and so too, His sighs of sorrow at 
sight of the deaf-mute.* His Heart could never view the 
deptli of our woes without strong throes of sympathy, and 
without reaching out His healing hand to dispel even the 
sin itself, which is its source. 

The last sufferer did not quit the house of Peter until 
the dawning of another day.* Without giving a moment 
to sleep, the Lord rose, and went out into the morning 
streets. The little city of Capharnaum was still all silent 
and at rest when He passed along its narrow ways, and 
reached at length the desert place wherein He wished to 
pray alone. 

But this holy solitude was soon to be brolcen in upon ; 
the crowds, surprised at not seeing the Saviour upon their 
awakening, set to work seeking Him un every side. Peter 
and His companions were most noticeable in their eager- 
ness ; ^ they found the Divine Master absorbed in God. 

" Every one is looking for You," they said to Him. 

" Let us go elsewhere," replied Jesus, " into the neigh- 
boring towns, and into the cities, so that I may preach 
there also; it is for this that I am come."* 

The throngs were coming up, close after the disciples ; 
they wished to keep the Saviour among them ; but He 
withstood them,' and told them, as He had told the rest, 
that His Mission compelled Him to depart for a time, that 
He might carry unto others the Good Tidings of the 
Kingdom of God. 

' Rom. V. 12. * John li. 8S. * Mark vii. 84. 

• Mark L 35. * Hark i. 3S-3S. 

'•'BiijXBor (Mart i. 38), tha f^twral term : "I have come forth," out 
of Caplwmaum, out of My native knd, from My hidden and obscare 
Existence, from the Bosom of Ood, My Father, that so I may fulfil My 
Mission. 

' Luke It. t% U. 



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TEE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 217 



in. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes. — Healing 
OF A Leper. 

Lnke iv. 44, t. 1-lS ; Mark i. S»-46 ; Hatt. iv. S3-25, viii. 1-4. 

On going out of Capharnaiim, Jeaus followed the bor- 
dera of the lake, and striking out toward the North, He 
stopped again at Bethsai'da, the village-home of His first 
disciples. 

So the sons of Jonas and of Zebedee once more launched 
their little barks, and were out fishing all night long ; * for 
they were poor, and the necessity of gettii^ something 
wherewith to buy bread for the morrow forced them back 
to their old occupation. But it was all a useless toil 
dredging and hauling over the sea ; until finally the sun 
rose, and the morning heats put an end to their hopes. 
They had taken nothing, even during those hours most 
favorable for their work.^ 

Greatly discouraged, they returned to the shore just as 
Jesus was coming dowu thither ; there were glad crowds 
surrounding Him, eager to catch His words. But though 
they pressed closely about Him, He straightway espied 
the two boats, and His disciples, who, having landed upon 
the beach, were washing their nets. At once He went on 
board of Simon's boat, and desired Him to draw a little 
away from the land ; then, seated in this first Chair of 
Peter, He began to instruct the people. 

But His longing to spread the Good News did not pre- 
vent His feeling a keen sympathy for the useless and 
tedious toils and disappointment of the fishers; so when 
He had ceased speaking to the people. He said to Simon, 
" Push out into the deeper water ; " and to His companions, 
" Cast over your nets for the fish." 

"Master," Simon responded, "we have labored all the 

»Lukey. l-Il. 

* Indeed, w« knoir that it is towurd sunset, and just before sunrise, 
that the fish ran the freest and are moat easily taken in nets (Ariatotle, 
Hietorim animaliuni, viii. 19 ; Plinj, Eataria naturalii, \x. 123). 



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218 FISST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

night without taking anything, but at Tour word I will 
cast the net," 

They dropped it over the side, and thereupon drew up 
such a great quantity of fishes that the cords were breaking. 
As they were separated too far from the others to be heard 
in the ueighboring bark, they made signals for their cono- 
paniODs to come to their aid.^ When these were come,tlie 
draught of fishes filled the two boats to such a degree that 
they were almost submerged. 

Seeing this, Simou Peter threw hiniself at the feet of 
the Christ : " Depart from me, Lord," he said, " for I ara 
a sinful man." 

By this miracle Jesus revealed Himself as Lord and 
Master over Nature aud her resources. And so Peter only 
yielded to a feeling of terror which was common to all 
Jews, since they believed that to see God was to die ; the 
same dread fell also upon those who were with him, and 
on the sons of Zebedee. 

Jesus reassured them, one and all," saying, "Be not 
afraid ! hereafter you shall be fishers of men." 

It was the second time the Saviour bad spoken these 
words to the disciples, and He showed them, by the mirac- 
ulous draught of fishes, how fruitful the power which He 
would confer upon their souls was to be. This prodigy 
was therefore a figure of their Ministry ; thus they were 
to come out from the plain of Genesareth to launch upon 
the stormy sea of events, to live in labor and trouble with- 
out ceasing, tossed about upon waves more restless than 
those of their little lake. Yet if their duties, hitherto so 
peaceful, were henceforth to be fraught with trials, by 
a just recompense there were the most glorious rewards 
assured to them : they were to exchange their rude trade 
for a celestial Mis.sion ; instead of the rough meshes of 
their old torn and mended nets, they were to have the 
lovely snare of the Gospel, " which kills not that which is 
taken in it, but protects it, and brings up to the sweet 
light of Heaven that which it has rescued from the depths 
of the abyss."' Had the fishermen of Bethsaida any such 

' Luke V. 7. * I.uka v. 0. ' S. Atnbrosa, in iuoain., lib. iv. 12\ 



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THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 219 

full comprehension of this symhol of which He made use ? 
We think not. God, however, let them catch some glim- 
merings of the light ; for their fright gave place to confi- 
dence. They no longer prayed the Lord to depart, but 
rowed their boats back to the shore, and threw everything 
aside, once for all, to go and follow Him. 

Surrounded by these companions, Jeaus traversed all 
Galilee,' " teaching in the syn^ogues, preaching the Gospel 
of the Kingdom, and healing all the ill and infirm among 
the people." The very poorest villages, even those which 
had no synagogues, were not foi^otten. The Lord bore to 
all the Good Tidings ; not waiting, like John the Baptist, 
for them to come to Him, but seeking out such as He 
could save. The days of the Divine Master among these 
little hamlets were passed much hke that Sabbath-day at 
Capharnaura ; the places and the times were different, but 
always with the same patience and never- wearying ten- 
derness He lavished Hia good deeds upon all ; with inex- 
haustible compassiou He cured their souls and bodies, 
healed every malady, and departing, left behind Him, as it 
were, the perfume of His Presence. 

Of that first mission in Galilee we know but one single 
event.' Jesus had come to a town whose name is un- 

' Luke iv. 44 ; Matt. iv. 2S j Mark i. 39. The paasage in S. Lnke 
which mentions this preaching offers one serions difficulty ; the reading 
lit Tit aunaiai-ibii T^t raXtXoios, which is given in most of the veraionB 
(Latin, Peshito, Gothic, Armenian, Ethiopian), is not contained any- 
where else except in the Alexandrine Mannscrint. and the Codex BezK. 
The others, and notably the mannacripts of the Vatican and Sinai, as well 
as the Palimpsflst of Ephraem, I'ead loi^ofoi. From this it seems only 
natural to conclude that Jesus extended the field of that first Mission to 
embraoa all Judea. To choose between thpse two readings, supported as 
both are by sach weighty authorities, seems a difficult task. Is it not 
practicable for as \o accept the two readings as having come from the pen 
of S. Lake I May it not be that the Evangelist, when writing for the 
Greeks, who were more or less straJigers to Palestine, thought it unneces- 
sary to be so precise in the marking out of localities, and was content to 
use the vaguer term " in the synagomies of Jndea," but that afterwards, 
in response to th? qneatiora adareased to him, he changed the word Judea 
to the more exact term Galilee ? 

« Luke V. 12-16 ; Mark i. 10-*E ; Matt. viii. 2-t. Here we follow 
SS. Luke and Mark. B. Matthew puts the healing of the lepers afttr 
the Sermon on the Mount: "When Jesus came down tl 



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220 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

IcnowD, when a man, running toward Him, threw himself 
at His feet, and implored His mercy. The unfortimate 
well merited pity ; leprosy had cousumed his whole body. 
The scourge when it reaches this stage becomes an object 
of horror, for the corruption of death has then actually 
taken possession of a liviug body. No pl^ue was dreaded 
more by the Jews ; they called it the Finger, op the Hand- 
writing, of God ; and in its ravages they saw the counter- 
part of that sin which fastens upon the soul and poisons 
the very well-springs of life within it. The funereal tokens 
always surrounding lepers still further fortified them in 
this feeling. Banished from home, and not allowed to 
enter beyond the city gates, their garments tattered and 
torn to shreds like those of mourners, their heads shaven, 
and their lips covered with a veil, — thus they were noth- 
ing more to tlie eyea of their fellow-citizens than living, 
moving sepulchres, obliged at every approach of man to 
send forth that lugubrious cry, 

" Unclean ! Unclean ! " 

Although the leper of the Gospel had infringed this law ^ 
by overstepping the limits of the city's enclosure, his 
misery was so piteous that at the first glance Jesus 
thought of nothing except to assuage it. 

" Lord," ^ cried the wretched creature, " if You will. Ton 
can heal mel" 

Immediately the Master stretched out His hand, laid it 
upon his body with its repulsive sores. 

" I will," He said ; " be thou healed." 

And on the instant the leprosy disappeared. It was 
because of the sufferer's faith that Jesus granted him so 

side, a great throng followed him, and lo ! h leper came," etc. (Matt. 
villi). Thia would lie M Erant thnt the expression "anil behold, . . ." 
Koi tioi, no often employed Dy 8. Matthew, is used by him consistently to 
mark the order of events ; on the contrary, in the majority of instances it 
ia used with no idea other than that of bespeaking our attention for what 
follows. Hence we are perfectly free to separate Uiese two phrases,— 
looking upon the first, ''Jesus, on coming down, was followed by the 
multitude," OS beine the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount ; and 
taking that which followB, "And lo ! a leper cometh," as the b^jnning 
of another tale. 

' Lev. xiiL 48 [ Num. v. ii » Luke v. 12. 



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HEALISG OF A LEPER. 221 

prompt a hearing, but it was also owing to his sad con- 
dition. No leper ever invoked His aid without being 
heard; the Lord aJways had compassion upon their 
desolate lives, and at once purified them. 

However, after having yielded to the first movement of 
pity, Jesus now saw in this man only a law-breaker. He 
reproached him severely,^ and bade him go out of the city 
which he had presumed to enter unsanctioned. 

" Be careful," He said, " to tell no one of this ; but go, 
show yourself to the priest, and offer in return for your 
cure that which Moses has ordained, in order that it may 
be a testimony unto them." ' 

By this command Jesus not only testified His respect 
for the legal ordinances ; He wished also to cover over in 
silence an act which revealed in Him the Supreme Law- 
giver, able to touch the most dreaded and most uojtious 
impurities without being contaminated, and thus working 
a cure reserved to the power of God alone." A marvel so 
manifestly divine could not fail to excite unbounded hopes 
in the multitudes, hopes which would be likely to interfere 
with the Saviour's Mission. Therefore He spared neither 
commands nor threats in order to insure the silence of the 

' 'E/i/SfH^irfriiiurat (Mark i. 43). "EiippiiiAoimi, tob« indignant, to chide 
one sharply (Wahl, Clavis Novi Teslarncnti). 'Efcftii^ii/itwM ner' AttiKiit 
imeWiiuiioi : issuing a cammund in a thrcateninc; manner (Hrs}'cbina). 

* Leviticus famisliea us with tlie details of this Purification of Lepers. 
The priest must go vith the suHerer outside the lonn, and there sacrifice' 
a spttiTow in an earthen veasel, over a running stream ; then taking n 
living sparrow, a little cedar wood, Bome scarlet and hjssoji, he dips them 
in the mood of the immolated bird, and seven times sprinkles the sick. 
The living sparrow was then set at liberty. But for the leper, he must 
change his garments, shave all his body, and wash in water ; there- 
aiter, for a week, he remained in seclusion ; on the eighth day, after again 
shaving, having washed his clothes and his body, he was to make ofTeiing 
of two unblemished Iambs, with a quantity of fine flour and oil. Taking 
the blood of the victims and the oil mingled with flour, the piiest, fol- 
lowing the mystic ritual, would then touch the right ear of the leper, the 
thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot, and after 
pouring what remained of the oil upon his bare head, proclaimed that the 
sick was at last purified (Lev. xiv.f. 

* At least, this was a general feeling among the Jews. At the sight of 
Naaraan, who besought htm to cure him, Joram cried out, "Am I th^u a 
Cod, to take away and to restore life! Wherefore hast thou sent me a 
man tl^at I should heal him of his leprosy ?" (4 Kings v. 7). 



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222 FTRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

man whom He had just healed. Bui these precautions 

were all thwarted by the indocility of the leper, who, 
remembering nothing but his debt of gratitude, went forth 
and published the news on every hand.^ 

What the Saviour wished to prevent now occurred ; the 
excitement among the people was so intense, their enthu- 
siasm was so overpowering, that He could not enter pub- 
licly into a town any longer, but was compelled to remain 
outside the cities, in the wilderness.^ 

Thither they flocked from all parts, and there Jesus 
pursued His ministry in perfect freedom ; for at such a 
distance from the crowded centres He had not much cause 
for anxiety lest His liearers' ardor should call down upon 
His labors the vengeance of Herod. 



IV. Healihg of a Paealytic. 

Luke V. 17-28; Mark ii. 1-12 ; MatL ii. 1-8. 

The precautions taken by the Saviour had not been 
unnecessary; not many days after the healing of the 
leper, on returning to Capharnaum, He found numbers of 
Pharisees and Scribes gathered together there, — not only 
from Galilee, but from Judea and from Jerusalem.^ The 
hatred shown Him by the Sanhedrin, which had been the 
cause of Jesus' departure from Judea, leaves hardly any 
doubt but that these doctors were commissioned to spy 
upon the new Prophet, in order to detect Him in some 
offence, as well as to try and discover His ultimate 
designs. 

Accordingly as soon as rumors of His arrival began to be 
circulated through the town we see them hurrying along 
with the populace, and the first to enter the house where 
the Saviour was ; there they seated themselves within the 
inmost circle of those about him, bent upon liearing and 
observing everything.* A crowd of citizens, which on 
this day was denser than ever, had filled the dwelling, 



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HEALING Of A PARALYTIC. 223 

and kept sui^ng about the outer doors; so that it was now 
quite impossible to find access to any part of it Jesus, 
Who had remained seated, was teaching them according 
to His custom, when suddenly, above their heads, hands 
were seen making an opening iu the ceiling of earthen 
clods (of which the roofs of houses in the East are often 
composed), and then four men proceeded at once to let 
down a pallet, on which a poor invalid was lying.' It was 
a paralytic, who had seized upon this expedient ao to 
reach tlie great Healer. Those who were carrying him, 
losing all hopes of forcing an entrance through the multi- 
tudes, had drawn him up to the roof, and tearing away 
the rafters with the clay tiling, had by this means man- 
aged to deposit their burden at the very feet of Jesus. 

This deed, more eloquent than any words, and their 
faith, which would not stop to consider any obstacles, 
touched the heart of the Divine Master, and He granted 
to the sufferer even more than he had dared to hope 
for. 

"My son," ^ He said, "take courage; your sins are for- 
given you." 

The sufferings of the paralytic were doubtless the result, 
or perhaps the punishment, of past wrongdoing; and Jesus, 
by His divine power penetrating to the very root of the 
evil, worked the cure of soul and body at one and the 
same time. 

This speech scandalized the Scribes, seated about the 
Saviour; for the power of remitting sins, which He as- 
sumed, belongs only to God. Jesus saw their gloweiing 
countenances and the menace that gleamed iSi their eyes. 
In the bottom of their hearts, perhaps even upon their 
lips, He could easily hear their mutterings, "What does 

• Some eritica suppose that Jesus was aitting in the upper story, in one 
of those high-studded halla which the wealthy Jewa used for their frequent 
gHtherin){a, und that the bearera reanhed the flat roof above by an outside 
stairway. This conjecture seems to us rather superfluous, for the poorer 
dwellings in Jadea are generally very low, and nothing would be easier 
than to climb upon their house-tops ; even to-day, when the farmers of 
Galilee nish to house their crops, they make an opeuing in the dry earthen 
tiling of their roofs. 

^ Mark ii. 5. 



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224 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

this man mean to say ? ^ He la blasphemlDg. Who can 
remit sina except God ? " 

"Why do you think evil things in your heart ?" He an- 
swered them, " Which is easier to say to a paralytic, 'Your 
sina are forgiven you,* or to say to him, 'liise up; take your 
bed, and go into your liouse ' ? " 

The question left them no room for evasion; for if upon 
the first of these claims He could not be convicted of im- 
posture, still they thought it might not be the same as 
regards the second, although it would require a miracle to 
sustain it. Yet to make this avowal before Jesus might 
even be to furnish Him with another weapon against them, 
and they would thus expose themselves to he brought to 
confusion upon the spot. 

The Scribes perceived this, and mistrustful as to what 
might be. the power of the Christ, they remained silent. 

Knowing their thoughts, He proceeded : — 

" Now, that you may know tlie Son of Man has power 
on the earth to remit sins," ^ He turned to the paralytic, 
" I say to thee : Arise ; take up thy bed, and go into thy 
house ! " 

Tlie sick man rose up directly, took the pallet on 
which he had been lying, and threading hia way through 
the swaying masses of people, returned to his home, 
glorifying God. 

Tliose who witnessed the miracle were at first as if 
struck dumb with amazement; but their wondering delight 
soon found tongue and voice, and they said to each other, 
with tremulous lips and bated breath, 

" We ha^^ seen marvellous things to-day 1 " ' 

While others began to glorify God, acknowledging in 
this deed a prodigy such as never before had greeted 
their eyea, and they praised the Lord God for having 
bestowed such power upon man. 

> Mark ii. 6, 7. ^ LukR v. 21. * Lake v. 26. 



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THE CALLING OF LEVI. 225 

V. Tee Calling of Levi. 

Luke r. 27, 28 ; Mark ii. 13, U ; Matt. ix. 9. 

Of the six disciples Jesus had chosen on the batiks of 
the Jordan, only four were now with Him constantly ; and 
all of these were equally poor and of a like simplicity of 
mind and soul. But now it was to be from a class which 
the Jews looked upon as the vilest and the hatefulest 
in society, that the Lord would select His fifth companion, 
in the person of Levi the publican.' 

We know in what esteem that title was held iu Latin 
literature of this age. It was the name employed to 
designate those knights who were engaged in farming out 
the tax-revenue of the provinces." These opulent citizens 
should not be confounded with the publicans of the Gospel. 
The latter were merely agents, of the lowest class, who col- 
lected taxes in the name of the great Roman companies ; 
for iu the course of time these enterprises had become too 
considerable for one knight to underteke the responsibility 
of dischai^ng the duties. And so an administmtor, re- 
siding at Rome, represented his associates, and directed the 
subalterns whom he employed to supervise the incoming 
and outgoing of merchandise, and to compute more or less 
justly the value of the same. Naturally they preferred to 
appoint to this latter office native residents of the conquered 

' The first Gospel Bives this publican the name of Matthew, while the 
two other Sjnoptics have that of Leri. The most ancient Fathers agree 
in regarding Levi as the same person aa S. Matthew, and everything goes 
to support their opinion : (1) The circumstances which surround the call- 
ing of the two are so exactly similar that we naturally regard it as the 
fltory of one man's vocation. (2) The name Levi is not found in any list 
of Uie Apostles ; while, on the other hand, all give that of Matthew. 
Probably it was Jesus who changed the name of this publican, whom 
He then called, from Levi to Matthew (rrno, Gift of God, Theodore). 
Nothing was of commoner occurrence among the Jews than thia taking or 
giving of a new name in token of some memorable event, and Jesns acted 
in like manner with Simon. By the word \tyiiiim]' <Matt. ii. 7), Matthew 
•eems to imply that the name which he takes in the history of hia vocation 
is not that vihich he waa known by at this time, 

* Panly, Real EiicyclnpadU : Pi'BlicasI. 



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226 FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

provinces, whose familiarity with the language, manners, 
and resources of their native laud, would make them 
much fitter for such difficult functions than any foreigners 
could be. 

The disrepute attached to this career was enough to pre- 
vent men who were held in any esteem in the community 
from embracing it ; and the Eoman collectors were com- 
pelled to take their agents from among the lower classes 
of the populace. Delivered into such hands, the power 
delegated to these men by the great syndicates degener- 
ated naturally into abuses aud exactions, which finally ren- 
dered the name publican synonymous with that of robber.' 
Cicero does not hesitate to call them the vilest of men ;^ 
Stobseus looks upon them aa the wolves and bears of the 
human race.^ 

Beside the general aversion felt for such a trade, there 
was, in Judea, an additional reason for holding it in abhor- 
rence.* Every payment of tribute to foreign masters was, 
in the eyes of the Israelites, a forbidden act, a transgression 
of the Law of Jehovah ; the publicans, by helping to con- 
summate this sacrilege, were therefore regarded not only 
as traitors to their country, but as infidels and apostates, 
and for this reason quite as despicable as any criminals, 
courtesans, or pagans." It was, then, from among the out- 
casts of society that Jesus picked out this new disciple. 

Capharuaum, situated just where the great highways of 
Damascus, Tyre, Sephoris, and Jerusalem meet, and through 
which caravans were continually passing, had grown to be 
one of the central points best adapted for the handling 
of custom-duties;* hence there were to be found here 
great numbers of publicans. Jesus, aa He was threading 
his way down toward the shore of the lake, saw one 

1 Xeno, Apvd Dir/xardi. de Vtta Qraee. ; Memeke, Frag. com. iy. 698. 
s Cicfiro, De OffidU, i. 42. 

• StobteuB, Serm. ii. 34. 

' Matt, xviii. 17 ; Dent. nvii. 16 ; Josephus, AntiquHaUa, iviii. 2, 1. 
» Matt. is. II, Kjti. 81, jtviii. 17. 

* It waa probnbly from the fact of Capharuaura's being a centre for bo 
much trade that the name of this town was comroonly taken to mean a 
place where gi'eat quantities of goods are stored up. 



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ACTS DURING THE MINISTRY IN GALILEE. 227 

of them named Levi, the son of Alpheus.^ sitting at his 
toll-ofiice. 

" Follow Me ! " He said to him. 

The publican arose, left all, and followed the Lord. 

We are amazed at this prompt obedience ; but Levi 
knew Who He was Who called him. He could not have 
been all this time an indifferent spectator, since every day 
he must have listened to the travellers repeating, or even 
heard himself, the noble utterances of the new Prophet, 
who was now stirring up all Galilee to higher thoughts ; 
surely his heart must have been already touched, and all 
his thoughts attracted to Jesus. So when the divine Mas- 
ter, far from drawing away His garments in fear of any 
contact with the publican, as was generally done among 
the Israelites, addressed to him that quiet appeal : " Follow 
Me!" Levi, who until now had never met with anything 
but contempt, yielded to the grace which had been long 
time moving within him, and joined the little band of 
followers around the Saviour, never afterwards to be 
separated from Him.' 

1 Mark ii. 13, 14. This Alpheus, father of Levi, sbould not be con- 
founded with another Alpheus who married the sister of the Blessed Virgin, 
and had many children who are called in the OoKpel the brothers and 
sisters of Jesua. 

2 S. Lake and S. Mark proceed to relate the incidents of the banquet to 
which I-evi invited the Saviour immediately after the history of his Voca- 
tion ; S. Matthew coiiuects the two latter events, but he does not mention 
them until later on, after the Sei'mon on the Mount. Following the 
example of the most ancient commentators, we shall separate the Calling 
of the Apofltlo from his great dinner-giving. This fesUva! certainly took 
place at the time marked for it by S. Matthew, because this Evangelist 
(and he is the only one who describes it) connects this fact with the 
raising of Jairue' daughter, and that with details of eo pi-ecise a nature as 
tu make it impossible to reject his evidence. So far as his vocation is 
concerned, we may retain tne order indicated by SS. Luke and Mark ; 
indeed it is hardly probable that the publican would have prepared a 
grand repast and invited a crowd of friends on the day nhen he quitted all 
to follow Jesus. Furthermore, all the Evangeliets put the selection of the 
Twelve Apostlee before the Sermon on the Mount ; so then, in mentioning 
hie own calling at a later date, S. Matthew, as usual, simply disregards the 
chronological order of events. 



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BOOK POUETH. 



SECOND YEAR 

OP THE 

MINISTRY OF JESUS. 



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RATA AOTKAN. 

G'. |>d. 

'Efi^^tTo Si KOI hatfxavta. iiro iroXAufj Kfta^i»ra, (to* X.eyovTa ori 
i tf 'O "YIO^ TOY eGOY. koi Mri/twf ovk <ta ixvTa AaAof, 
n ^Mw TON XPISTON aArof ttwu. 



€1^ Ce^ttmonp of t^ S^sHasi^ 



And Devils went mii from many, (trying out and saying : 
T/um art TEE SON OF GOD! And rebtiMng them He 
suffered them, not to apeak, because they knew that He was 
THE CHRIST. 

SAINT LUKE. 
iv. 41. 



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SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF 
JESUS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SECOND PASCHAL SEASON IN THE MINISTET OF 
JE8US. 



I. The Pool of Bethesda. 



About this time ^ the Saviour was minded to go up to 
Jerusalem for the approaching festival season. The Gospel 
does iiot meotioii this celebration by name ; but the most 
ancient Fathers looked upon it as being the second Pass- 
over Id the Ministry of Jesus,^ and we entirely coincide 
with their conclusions. It was to be the last in which 
He could take part without hazard of His life ; and so He 
interrupted His mission in Galilee, joined company with 
one of the caravans of Pilgrims, and ascended with tliem 

' Just here we hare placed the Feaat mentioned in tlie fifth chapter of 
S. John because we look upon it as another Passover, and because lu Jutlea 
the Paschal Season is coincident with that of tlio hnrtest. Now S. Luke, 
who is as usual our guide in these matters, after ivlating the vocation of 
Levi, goes on to apeak at once of the ri|)e grain which the disciples gath- . 
ered as they wandered through the fields i therefoie, they must We been 
on the verge of harvest-time. 

' Aa to this qneation, see Appendix TIL 



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232 SECOND YEAS. OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

to the Holy City. He went thither in obedieuce to the 
conmiauds of His Father, that He might once again offer 
His ungrateful city the Salvation which they had disdained ; 
and 30 His first thought now, as it had ever been, was to 
seek out the desolate and distressed that He might comfort 
and relieve them. 

" Now there is at Jerusalem,^ hard by the Gate of the 
Flocks, a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda " (The House of 
Mercy).* It was a huge basin, " with five sides surrounded 
by porticos.^ Here, lying upon the ground, was a great 
multitude of infirm, blind, lame, and men with withered 
limbs, waiting for the water to be set in motion. For an 
Angel of the Lord descended at a certain moment into the 
pool and stirred the waters, and the first to enter therein 
after that he had moved upon them was cured of whatso- 
ever malady he lay under." 

In the shadow of these porches a man was stretched, 
who had lain there for now thirty-nine years. He had 
always been expecting to be cured ; hut because he had 
no one to help him, each time was doomed to see some 
other of hia fellow-sufferers forestall him. He was so lonely 
and desolate, his hopes had been disappointed so many 
times, that the wretched fellow was quite cast down and 



Jesus perceived him lying upon the ground, and know- 
ing that he had been ill tor such a long time was filled 
with pity for him. 

" Do you wish to be cured ? " He said to him. 

The paralytic scarcely grasped the meaning of this ques- 
tion ; but he felt that it was a compassionate offer from a 
Stranger, who would perhaps be willing to aid him at the 
favorable moment 

' John V. 2-8. 

'K^pn rc2, "The Hcmsfl of Grace," the Place of Mercy, BijfcuM. We 
have ke^t the name which the Eeceived Text gives for thia spot. The 
Mauuseript of Sinai hag 'Bt.eiaBi ; that of Cambridge, BeXJVfli ; the Mann- 
script of the Vatican, tha Vulgate, and some other versions have another 
form : bifiaiu.M. 

* As to the location of Bethesda and the healing pavers of its waters, 
see Appendix Ylll. 



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TBE POOL OF BETHESDA. 233 

" Sir," he said, " I have no one to carry me to the pool 
■when the water is troubled, and the moment I reach there 
another goes down ahead of lue," 

" Arise ! " said Jesus ; " take up your bed, and walk." 

Instantly the poor creature arose, caught up the mat 
on which he was lying, swung it over his shoulders, and 
started to walk. Beside himself with joy, he looked about 
him to thank his Benefactor; but Jesus had disappeared in 
the shadows under the crowded galleries. 

It was on a Sabbath-day that the Lord performed this 
cure. The witnesses of the miracle were too astounded to 
hinder the paralytic from carrying bis bed off with him; 
but the eldei's of the people,^ whom he met on the road, 
were horriiied at this violation of the holy repose. 

" It is the Sabbath ! " they exclaimed ; " it is not lawful 
for you to carry your bed." 

" He who cured me told me himself : ' Take up yonr 
bed and walk,' " was his response. 

" Who is the man," they demanded, " who said to you, 
' Take up your bed and walk ? ' " 

The poor paralytic did not know ; but the councillors 
of the Sanhedrin, whose deliberations were now constantly 
concerned with the doings of Jesus, detected His handi- 
work in this new prodigy, and they betrayed their hatred 
and their suspicions at the same time by their manner of 
questioning this man, — not wanting to know "Who has 
healed you ? " but, " Who told you to carry your mat ? " or, 
in other words, to break the Law ? 

And so they let the humble offender go, whom under 
other circumstances they would have punished severely, 
and turned their whole attention to the fact that Jesus 
was present in their city. However, the delighted cripple, 
who had been made whole after so wonderful a fashion, 
wished at least to return thanks to God, and at once went 

I John V. 10-13. "The Jewa," saya S. John, Bythis name tlie Evan- 
gelist generally designates the enemies uf Jesus, and particuliirlj tlie 
Scribea, the prominent Pharisees, and others of the Sanhediin who were 
the prime movers id the opposition which the Saviour encountered in 
Judea ftum the very commencement of His Ministi-y. (See Smith, Dic- 
tionary of tht Bible : Jew). 



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234 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

up to the Temple for this parpose.' There Jesus encoun- 
tered hira ; always careful to renew the soul at the same 
time as the body, He said to hira: — 

" I have given you back your health ; hereafter guard 
against sin, for fear lest some worse evil should happen to 
you." 

The man forthwith went in search of the Jews, and told 
them that it was Jesus Who had healed him. 

By this act he did not mean to betray his Benefactor, 
but on the contrary to glorify Him, and give some token of 
his own gratitude.^ The result was not such as to gratify 
hia desires ; for this news only increased the anger of the 
Sanhedriu by confirming its suspicions. In that same 
hour they resolved to put down this Man, who violated 
their observances.^ We do not know whether it was in 
the Temple or in Jerusalem that they found Him ; but 
wherever it may have been, they were overcome with as- 
tonishment, when they heard Him, Whom they had come 
to rebuke, declare in their presence that, as He was the 
Son of God, He had all power over the Sabbath. 

To the casuists who accused Him with having broken 
the Law, Jesus replied,* therefore, that the repose of the 
Sacred Day is not the inertia of death, but a suspension 
of corporal labor, whose excess does indeed wither and 
destroy the soul ; but that it is at all times lawful to 

* John V. 14, 15. 

* S. John Chrysoatoni remarlta with perfect justice that if the paralytic 
had cherished any malicious designs he would have said to the Sanhedriii, 
"It was Jesus who bade me carry my l>ed and desecrafe the Sabbath." 
On the contrary, be thinks only of acknowledging Him as his Benefactor; 
" It was He who cured me \ " is what he really says. 

' John T. 18. 

* John V. 17. The Evangelist givea the Saviour's reply in this concise 
form : " My Father ceaseth not to work, and I likewise work." Did 
Jeans merely utter these worda and no more ? We cannot think that that 
was all He said, for although the Jews were accustomed to speak of God as 
their Father (Ib. kiii. 19. biv. 8 ; Jer. iii. 1 ; Mai. i. 6 ; Wis. siv. 3 ; 
Eccl. xiiii. 1, i), they at once comprehended that the Master did not 
use this Name with the meaning they usually rave to it ; "He has said 
that God was His own Father, making Himself equal to Him." From 
this speech we must presume that Jesus set forth His meaning with- 
out any equivocal expressions, giving them the full development of this 
Truth. 



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THE SECOND PASCHAL SEASON. 235 

do good, and that if God, after the Creation, has made Hia 
habitation withiu an everlasting Sabbath, this His Attri- 
bute is not, so to say, the offspring of sterile sloth; but 
rather He thus conservates the indwelling life of all crea- 
tures by continuing to be, what He is in His Essence, the 
Life eternal, the eternal Quickener unto life. In like 
manner He, being the Son of Giod, and God even as is His 
Father, could not know any surcease of activity in His 
operations : " My Father ceaseth not to work," He said, 
" and I work likewise." 

This response incensed the Sanhedrin Councillors, who 
saw nothing in the Christ but an impious fellow and a blas- 
phemer. Henceforth they were determined to compass His 
death,^ "not only because He had broken the Sabbath, but 
also because He said that God was His ovfn Father, making 
Himself equal to God." But for the present moment, not 
dariug to proceed to extremities, they submitted to listen 
to His word, which like a sword of fire cleaved their spirit, 
piercing to the inmost recesses of the soul;* for Jesus, far 
from concealing His office in the presence of the princes of 
Israel, proclaimed openly Who He was. 

Declaring that He is God as His Father is God,^ the 
Saviour added, moreover, that He possessed three divine 
Attributes of the Godhead, — the power of restoring spirit- 
ual life to those dead in sin,* the power of judging, and the 
power of raising up from the grave unto life all flesh, at 
the last day. To establish such lofty prerc^tives as these, 
the testimony of John was not enough, being that of man." 
Jesus appeals to three Witnesses which come of God, — 
His Miracles, the unmistakable sign of His Mission;" the 

' John y. X8. ^ Hebr. iy. 12. » John v. 19-30. 

* The Eilluaion liere is to veise twenty-five. Pere it is the lieath or sin 
which is refeiTed ta, since Jesus eaid thitt the hour has nlready come when 
the dead are to hearken to the cell of the Saviour ; and He adds that only 
those shall receive lile who liaten to the voice of the Son of God. In verae 
twenty-eight, where the general Resurreetion ia announced. He tells vis 
that all those that lie in the grave shall hear the voice of the Christ, which 
recalls the dead to life ; yet it is not said that the hour of the Resurrection 
is already present, hut that it ia to come. 

s John V. 31-35. 

« John V. 38, 



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236 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Voice of the Father which at the Jordan had proclaimed 
Him His well-beloved Soa ; ' finally, the Authority of the 
Scriptures. 

" Search them," * He said, " since you think you find 
eterual life therein; they themselves give testimony of Me. 
And you will not come to Me that you may have life I . . . 
I know you ; I know that you have not the love of Grod 
in you, I am come in the Name of My Father, and you 
receive Me not. Let another come in his own name, him 
you will receive." 

These reproaches show that the Saviour was not content 
to enlighten the Sanhedrin as to the Truth, hut he sought 
to move their hearts as well. Yet this effort was to be all 
in vain ; the great men of Judea were too haughty to adore 
the Sod of a carpenter as the Christ. Though they did not 
dare to give vent to their hatred and contempt, they pre- 
served a perfect secrecy as to what He had said to them ; 
for His claim that He was the Son of God, confirmed and 
justified as it was by so many miracles, would have caused 
the people to proclaim Him as the Messiah. On the other 
hand, as Jesus had transgressed the Pharisaic precepts 
by healing a man within the limits of the Sabbath, they 
directed all their public attacks upon this one point, and 
accused Him of contemning the Day of the Lord, assuring 
themselves that the people would side with them in any 
quarrel which involved the sanctity of the Day of Eest. 

Indeed there was no institution more holy in the eyes 
of the Jews. They looked upon it as the one individual 
characteristic which distinguished them from all other 
nations, and esteemed themselves as chosen by Jehovah 
solely to guard its observance.* The ancient dir^tions 
were far from satisfying their scnipuloaity. After the 
Captivity, the Great Syns^ogue had drawn up a list of 
Thirty-nine Articles, called "Aboth,"* or Principal Prohi- 

1 John V. 37, 38. 

' John V. 39-^7. 

' We know that thay went Go fur in their fanaticism as to gubmit to be 
slaughtered ratlier than defend their life oti the Hairrcd Day. 

•Literally, the "Fathers," Ahoth, from the Hebrew, 3H "father;" 
and the " Deeoendanta," from finSl/l "generationa, deaceiil." 



ioogic 



THE SECOND PASCHAL SEASON. 237 

bitions. These, in turn, had given birth to an infinite 
number of "Toledoth," or descendants; and these second- 
ary restrictions, embracing every detail of daily life,^ did, 
so to speak, really render any action imposaible during the 
Sabbath Bay. 

We can see how the Pharisaic customs must have hin- 
dered and hampered the ministry of Jeaus; and how easily 
the Sanhedrin, by exaggerating each least infringement 
upon its edicts, gradually so prevailed over the general 
mind that at last popular indignation demanded its "Victim 
that had been thus made ready for the Sacrifice.* 



II. A Sabbath Walk through the Fields. 

Lnks n. 1-6 ; Hark ii. 2^-28 ; Matt. xii. 1-8. 

As we procefld hereafter, we shall find the hatred of 
the princes of Israel evermore pursuing and annoying 
the Saviour. Everywhere — along the roads, in the fields, 

' There was a law which forbade the blind man to use his staff on the 
Sabbath day ; every Israelite was forbidden to carry even the smallest 
article, were it only a fan, a false tooth, or a ribbon not sewed to the gar- 
ment. There was a law which forbade the writing of two letters of the 
alphabet i[i succession ; or the killin);; of an insect which worried one with 
its stinp ; the rubbing of a rbeumatic limb ; or to bathe an aching tooth 
with vinegar, unless one swallowed the liquid immediately afterwards. 
They forbade one to throw any more grain into the [loultry-yanl tlian the 
fowls could eat, for fear that the rest might sprout and take root that same 
day ; forbade the belated traveller, whom Saturday night overtook on the 
roadside, to parsue his way, even were he in the woods or in the open 
fields exposed to winds and rain and the attacks of brigands. Sharamu, 
that strict Rabbi and Formalist, who has left the imprint of his character 
upon ^any of these prescriptions, — Shammat durst not entrust a letter to 
any heathen alter a Wediiraday, for fear it might not be delivered before 
the Sabbath ; moivover he spent all his time in meditating further regula- 
tions by which he might observe the sacred repose more rigorously. Thesi; 
Sbarisaic customs are detailed more at length by Othn (Lexicon Baibitiieum : 
abbathum), and by Buntorf (Zte Synagagii JudaUa). 
" A glance over the public life of the Saviour is enough to demonstrate 
that the nnjuat comnlaints m»de against Him and the opposition which 
He met with, not only in Judea, but in Galilee and Pevea, ai* ofteneat to 
be laid to the fact tliaC He had neglecteit some Pbarianic Law concerning 
the Sabbath (MaU. sii. 1, 2 ; Mark ii. 24, iii. 2 ; Luke xiii, H, itiv, 1 ; 
John vii. 23, 11. 14, etc.). 



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238 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

and in the wilderoess, even when He seemed to be alone 
with His disciples — He was shadowed by spies who were 
stirring up the crowd against Him, From the firet day, 
we find traces of this persecution. The Lord, as He was 
returnir^ to Galilee, on the Sabbath which followed the 
Passover,^ happened to be walking through a corn-land, 
now ripe for the harvest. The disciples, moved by hun- 
ger, broke off some ears of wheat;" rubbing it in their 

» I,uke Ti. 1. "On the Seooad-Firat Sabbath," says S. Luke, This 
singular expression is not found in any passage of the Gospel other than 
this; the most various interpretations of it have been proposed. Grotius 
looks upon it OS the second of the Great Sa)ibaths ; that is, the great 
Feasts of the year, which were the Paach, Penteoost, and the Feast of the 
Tabernacles. Wieseler takes it to mean the tii^t Sabbath in the second 
year of the septenary cple; astheJews couuted by weeks of years (Dan. ii,), 
the learned Chronologist supposes that the first Sabbath of the tirst year 
was called "ikejlrai First Sahbath;" the first Sabbath of the second 
year, " the second First Sabbath," and so on. The most likely hypothesis, 
to our thinking, is that of Scaliger and Father Petau, irho regard it as a 
time-hallowed phrase used to designate the first Sablath which followed 
the second day of the Pasch, sixteenth of Nisan. This day was the start- 
ing-point from which Leviticus conimanded that they should compute 
seven full weeks unto the Feast of the Pentecost (I^v. iiiii. 15, 16). The 
Sabbath of the first of these weeks was called the McOTtd First because at 
once the first Sabbath of the seven weeks and the second Sahbath as remrcis 
the Sabhatic day of the Passover, which was used as the point from which 
they counted those same seven weeks; indeed we know that the first two 
days of the Festival were regarded as Sabbaths. Caspaii has proposed a 
new solution too clever for us to pasa it over in silence. He recalls the 
state of uncertainty wherein the Jews were as regards the exact duration of 
their lunar months, which contained sometimes twenty-nine, sometimes 
thirty days ; and hence he would have us suppose that, in order to assure 
for tha holy month of Nisan its full complement of days, they celebrated 
two Sabbaths in succession, one being called First Sabbath and the other 
Second First Sabbath (Caspari, Eiiildl.ung, par. 102). The word Sctrripo- 
TTpiirq) is omitted in some versions, and in the manuscripts of Sinai and 
the Vatican. 

2 Meyer translates the words of S. Mark thus : " The disciples began to 
clear a way across the com-iields by plucking away the ears. We could 
not adopt this interpretation ; for (1) iSie roitir does not necessarily mean 
"clear a path," but often means " to make one's way." The Septuagint 
makes use of it in translating the Hebrew, l^^ ^P?< "iter faoere;" and 
although the Greek of the classics in this case would be more likely to read 
iroiEHTdai, the active rottir is still in common use. (See examples quoted 
in the lexicons of Wahl and Robinson.) (2) By tliis interpretation 
Meyer deprives the rest of the narrative of any intelligible meaning ; for it 
this be so, what is the upshot of that reply of Jesus : " Have you never 
read what David did when he was put to it by necessity and when be W(ui 



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A SABBATH WALK THROUGH THE FIELDS. 238 

hands and blowing away the chafT, they began to eat th( 
grain. In this there wa3 nothing which was not lawful 
Moses had permitted it in definite terms ; ' and from agt 
to age in the Orient the custom has always been cherished 
of never refusing the wanderer this charity, which costs 
so little. But although the Law allowed one to take a 
few ears, it forbade all reaping and gathering and thresh- 
ing of the harvest on the Sabbath Day ; but the Scribes 
had decided that to pluck an ear, and to bruise the grain 
between youi' palms, was the same as " to reap, to gather 
in, and to thresh the crops." ^ 

Some Pharisees who were following the little band had 
no mind to let such an infraction of their Bules pass unno- 
ticed. They approached the Saviour, and said to Him : — 

" Look ! your disciples are doing that which is not 
allowed upon the Sabbatli day." 

Jesus walking before His disciples, had taken no heed of 
their action, nor participated in it; but far from disowning 
the responsibility, He covered their innocent indulgence 
with the mautle of His benign approval. To these Coun- 
cillors who reproached Him with having broken one of the 
Precepts, He quoted the Law as opposed to them, and with 
something of irony confessed His surprise that men so 
deeply versed in the Scriptures should be ignorant of their 
teaching on this point. 

"Have yon never read, then," he said,^ "that which 
David did when he was compelled by necessity and 
ui^ed on by hunger, he and those who were with him ? 
How he entered the House of God, in the time of 
the High-Priest Abiathar,* and ate the Loaves of Propo- 

a-hungry! . . ." and that memorable addition fonnd in 8. Mark : "The 
Sabbatli ia made for man. " 

' Deut. ixiii. 25. 

' " Vellere apicaa eat species niBssioiiis" {Maimonides, in. Shabb. cap. 7). 
Certain Pharisees went to the absurd extreme of teaching that to walk 
upon the grass was to perform the act of threshing grain, and to catch a 
tij WHS an illef^l sort of hunting. 

» Mark ii. 25, 28. 

* The Book of the Kings calls the Pontiff who harbored Dayid, Achime- 
lech, and not Abiathar ; the latter was the son of Achimeleoh, and dwelt 
with him (I Eiuga ziii 20). Id the family of the High-Priests the father 



.v.CioogIc 



240 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

sition,' which it 13 not permitted to any one to eat except 
the priests, and gave to those who were with him ? " 

If David, in his extreme need, might lay hands upon 
the Sacred Bread, and so transgress the precepts of the 
Iaw, bow could tliey hold it criminal for His hungry 
disciples to have pulled a few handfuls of wheat, that 
they too might sustaiu their strength ? Furthermore, the 
Pharisees themselves acknowledged that the Sabbatical 
observances must have their exceptions ; for this maxim 
was generally received among them ; " In the Temple 
there is no Sabbath." Even on this Day of Rest, the 
Priests might cut the wood, kindle the altar-fires, re- 
place the Loaves of Proposition, and sacrifice a double 
holocaust;* the sanctity of the Temple itself kept them 
blameless. 

Jesus pleaded with them for this generous reading of a 
law whicli His adversaries insisted upon as being so inflexi- 
ble, and He admonished them that their exceptions applied 
to Him as much a.'^ to the Temple. Indeed, had He not 
just now proclaimed before the Sanhedrin that He was 
the Son of God made man, and hence rightly to be re- 
vered as a Sanctuary of Jehovah ? These lawyers who 
were hounding His steps must certainly have known this ; 

did not necessarily exercise tbe supreme fanctions ; henee tt is very prob- 
abla that evao during tbe life of Acbimeleob his son Abiathij was HigU' 
Priest ; and in this case the Book of tbe Eini^ would mentiou Acbimelech 
because he wsa the head of the Sacerdotal Family, while Jesus speaks of 
Abiatbar because he was actually invested with the Sovereign Priestbood. 
This hypothesis has been learnedly supported by P. Patmi (be Evangeliis, 
lib. iii. dissertatio xxviii. 38-10). Other critics prefer to admit that both 
father and son bore the two names together (a common occurrence among 
the Hebrews), or finally, that there has been some confusing of the names 
in the Book of the Kings. 

■ We know with what veneration they preserved theaa loaveo. They 
were ranged in order upon a table of acacia-wood overlaid with gold, and 
sot in the Holy Place, where, by their number, they represented the 
twelve Tribes of Israel ; by tbe incense with which they wen covered 
they inured forth the perpetual consecration of the Jews to their God. 
Wherefore when the priests came to put fresh loaves in place of those 
which had lain all the week in the preseuce of the Lord (for this was done 
each Sabbath), they must needs regard the offerings which they took away 
with them as hallowed, and must consume them in the Sanctuai; itself. 

" Num. ixviii 9, 10. 



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A SABBATH WALK THROUGH THE FIELDS. 241 

but once more He recalled it to their mind in these 
words : ' — 

"But I say to you, there is here a greater than the 
Temple." 

The Master longed to gain his persecutors to the Truth, 
much more thau He desired to confound them. Therefore 
He sought to enlighten their minds by showing that "the 
Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath." ^ 
The Sabbath instituted by God to lighten the burden of 
man's labors, the offspring of his sin, is, in the divine order, 
for a pledge of a never-ending rest and peace. During this 
day of mercy, to forbid the hungry from gathering a i'ew 
grains of wheat were to change our heavenly Father into 
a Tyrant, and to turn His loving commands into hateful 
restrictions. Jesus mourned over these blind and stolid 
Interpreters of the Law. 

" If you but knew," He concluded, " what is the mean- 
ing of those words : ' I love mercy better than sacrifice,' you 
would never have condemned the innocent."* 

This response scarcely touched these men, stubbornly 
clinging to their mistaken views ; and though at this mo- 
ment they did not venture to move against the Divine 
Master, they decided to scrutinize His actions more nar- 
rowly than ever. 

' Matt. xii. 6. 

« Mark ii. 27. 

' Matt. xii. 7 ; Oseo, vi. 6. By defending His disciples tha Saviour 
did not intend to authorize every violation of the Sabbath, and if we may 
credit a curioos reading in the Manuscriiit of Beza (Luke vi), on that 
same day Jexus explained His thought beyond the reach of misunder- 
standing: "On that very Sabbath," we read iu this ancient Codei, "Ha 
passed an Israelite who was laborinK at some handiwork ; 'O man,' he 
aajd to hini, ' if thou knowest what thou art doing now, thou art ble^ed ; 
but if thou dost not know, thon art oondenined, for then thon dost trana- 
ffreas the Law.'" That is to say, if yon tmderstaad how far I transcend 
the law, you are not blameworthy in acting as yoo are doing ; but it 
indeed self-interest or caprice alone have moved you to this, you have 
drawn down on your head the divine anathema. This reading, which ii 
not found in any other manuscript, is evidently apociyphal ; still it shows 
n what sense Antiquity interpreted this answer which Jesus made to the 

-le 



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242 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

III. The Man with the Withered Hand. 

Luke vi. S-11 ; Mark iii. 1-B; Matt. xii. 9-21. 

It was on the journey from Jerusalem into Galilee 
that the incident of the plucking of the wheat occurred. 
The Evangelists do not tell whereabouts on the journey 
Jesus tarried ; but ou one of the Sabbaths following ^ they 
make mention of His being in the synagogue of a little 
town. Now there was a man present whose right hand 
had all siminken away. According to the " Gospel of the 
Nazarenes," it was a poor mason, who had been hurt in 
some accident.* 

I beseech you, be said to Jesus, restore me to health, so 
that I need no longer beg my bread in shame and sorrow. * 

His prayer was overheard by the Pharisees, who were 
sharply watching these deeds of the Christ, " that they 
might have cause to accuse Him." They whispered among 
themselves these words, which came to the ears of the 
Master : * — 

" Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day ? " 

Jesus did not keep them long in uncertainty. " Arise," 
He said to the cripple, " and stand there in the midst," 

Then turning to the Pharisees, seated, as was their wont, 
in the Seats of Honor, 

'■ I ask you," he said,' " Is it allowed upon the Sabbath- 
day to do good or evil, — to save or to destroy a soul ? " 

' MtmiSit inWa, saya S. Matthew (xii. 8) ; it Mpif aafifiirui, accord- 
ioR t^ S. Luke (vi. 3). All tha testimony seema to ur of too precise a 
nature for us to allnw that the man with the withered hand was healed at 
the same time, aud on the yery spot where the Apostles plucked the com. 

'^'^■HfioixixMii' (Mark iii. 1) ; "non ex utero, sed morbo aut Tiiluere ; 
hsec vis participii" (Bengel. Onomoa, in loco). 

* Ctementarins emm, manibus rictum quteritans. Precot te, Jesu, ut 
e turpiter mendicera oibos." Fragment from 
quoted by S. Jerome {in Matt. xii. 13). 
fatthew says that the Pharisees put this question ; irtipiirrirat 
- . ; S, Luke, on Che contrary, says that the Saviour knew it because 
He fathomed all their thoughta ; ■gSei toIh SiaKoyiaiioii aln-uv (vi. 8). 

" t tna quest 



the Gospel of the Nazarenes, quoted by S. Jerome (in Matt. xii. 13). 
'S. Mattl ■' ' ■' "■ ■ -' -" ■' • 

0) ; .'}, 

-thomed _. . _ . , , 

inoBt natural solution of this difficulty is to suppoie that tne question, 
though uttered in a low tone, came t« the ears of Jear- 



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THE MAN WITH THE WITHERED HAND. 243 

Such (^uestiouing aa this disconcerted them ; they had 
only come to listen to His discourse in order to surprise 
Him in some error ; confused at being anticipated in this 
way, they held their peace. 

The divine Master attempted to draw them out of their 
silence by recalling their own teachings on the subject. 
" What man is there among you," He pursued, " who owns 
ouly one sheep,' if it fall into a pit on a Sabbath-day, 
will he not take hold on it and draw it out ? ^ But how 
much more is a man worth than a sheep 1 Therefore it is 
lawful to do good ou the Sabbath-day." 

His reasoning admitted of no reply ; this the Pharisees 
saw clearly enough, and they closed their hps the tighter. 
The Lord waited for their response ; as His glance passed^ 
from one face to another He saw reflected there nothing 
but dumb rage, obstinate dislike, and bitter spite. At the 
sight His heart swelled with deep indignation ; it seemed 
to all the by-standers that in another moment He would 
surely overwhelm these hypocrites; but almost immedi- 
ately He recovered His habitual tone of compassion, and, 
grieving for their blindness, He merely said to the cripple, 

" Stretch out your hand." 

The man obeyed. At the word of the Saviour life 
revived in the withered limb, and at once it was become 
whole like the other. 

Thus, not content at having discomfited His enemies in 
argument before the whole synagogue, the Lord would 
also manifest His power before their eyes ; without hand- 
ling, even without touching, the cripple, without perform- 
ing any external act, one single word had been sufticient to 
effect this prodigy. Would they dare to say that one 

I Sfii^rar h (Matt, xii. 11). "Ev is lure taken in an emphatic sease, 
and aigniiies "only." 

^ In the evf.nt, the Rabbis did not accord this pennisBiou Bave only 
wh'en the animal was in danger of being drowned ; in defanlt of BDch 
extreme peril, it was enough to lay a plank for it, or to throw it soma 
food. In like manner, a man's life most he actually threatened before one 
cQutd offer bim any asaiatance : " Pericalum vitse tnllit sabbntum " (Jama, 
vii. 6. See Seland, AntiguUalea Eebraiea; Lightfoot, Hora EAraiax, 
in Hatt. xij. 11). 

« Kai Tfpi^e.),i!ieraf [MHrk iii, v). 



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244 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

word, one single word spoken in kindness, was a violation 
of their Sabbath ? 

That they were so powerless against Him was a mad- 
dening thought tor them ; they went away from the place, 
beside themselves with rage, and took counsel together " as 
to what they might do to Jesus." ' 

But nowhere ebe were their evil plottings destined to 
encounter so many obstacles as in Galilee ; for the people 
of this Province, upon whom the Saviour had lavished every 
good gift, drawn to Him by His gracious doctrine, and 
much less imbued with the Pharisaical superstitions than 
were the Jews of Jerusalem, would not have permitted any 
assault upon their Prophet. More than this, the Sanhe- 
drin had only a liitaited authority in this land, for here it 
could not stir without the sanction of Herod. 

It was necessary, then, in the first place, to come to an 
uaderstanding with the ministers and partisans of that 
prince.^ Hitherto the Pharisees of Jerusalem had dis- 
played the most insulting scorn for these courtiers, alluding 
to thetn as " Herodians," and " the Apostates," taunting 
them with having borne the Roman yoke quite willingly, 
and with imitating the manners of Gentiles, as well as the 
impiety of the Saddncees. But with their hatred of the 
Christ they now brushed aside every one of their scruples, 
and the emissaries of the Sanhedrin only considered how 
they might lure their former enemies Into these schemes 
of vengeance. 

In this they succeeded without any trouble ; for the 
austere morality which Jesus taught, the mastery He held 
over the hearts of the people. His claim that He was the 
Son of God, — all these seemed to this king, so jealous of 
his authority, a perpetual menace. 

The Saviour, seeing so formidable a storm brewing over 
Him, sought the other side of the lake, which is close by 
the territory of Philip, in order to evade His pursuers if 
they should become too relentless in their attacks.^ These 
safeguards having been taken, He did not cease to receive 
kindly those who followed Him into this retreat, and to 



ioogic 



THE MAN WITH THE WITHERED HAND. 245 

heal the aick ; but He did not do so without caution, warn- 
ing thein not to make it known.' So He waited, before 
taking up Hia ministry again openly, until Herod's change- 
able nature should be diverted to some other more absorb- 
ing subject. 

The obscure existence which for prudence' sake Jesus 
led during this threatening period astonished and shocked 
the first converts among the Jews. Doubtless they re- 
coiled from the idea that the Messiah should be forced to 
bide Himself and ta work in the darkness ; for we find 
Saint Matthew reminding them that these humiliations 
had been long since set down in the oracles of Isaiah : * — 
" Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen. My Beloved, 
in whom My Soul hath been well pleased! I will send 
My Spirit to rest upon Him, and He shall publish My 
judgments^ unto the N^ations. He shall not be conten- 
tious. He shall not cry aloud, and no man shall hear His 
voice in the open streets ; the bruised reed He shall not 
break, and the smoking flax He shall not quench, until He 
triumphs in the strife." * 

» Matt xii. 16, 18. 

* Mutt, iii.17-21 ; U. ilii. 1-*. 

3 BflBftS: righteousness, law, judgment. 

• Even snch would He be, bo gentle, meek, and sUent, until the day 
wherein He would cease to strive that He might show Himaelf v:' ' ' 



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CHAPTER IL 

THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 
Mark iiL 7-15 ; Luke vi. 1^1» ; Matt. x. 2-1. 

Ddking this retirement of the Lord the fury of His 
pursuers slackened ; soon He was free to appear openly 
among men. "A great throng followed Him out of Galilee, 
Jerusalem, Idumea,' and from the country beyond the Jor- 
dan ; and others from round about Tyre and Sidoo, having 
heaiii what things He did, came to Him in great numbers. 
Then He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him, 
so that He might not be overwhelmed by the multitudes ; 
for He had healed so very many that it resulted in all 
those who had any illness pressing upon Him to touch 
Him ; and the unclean spirits when they saw Him fell at 
His feet crying out : " Thou art the Son of God ! " And 
He charged them, with great threats, that they should not 
make Him known." 

Here we find the Lord in His Ministry bearing Himself 
just as we have seen Him hitherto at Caphamaum, conse- 
crating His days by turns to the instruction of the people, 
to the healing of the sick, and to the deliverance of the 



After one such day of wearisome labor, Jesus " witlidrew 
to a mountain, and there spent the whole night in prayer." ' 
Certain traditions single out a hill lying between Caphar- 

> Mark iii. 7-12. Here S. Mark means to remind m of the many 
countriea tom which the Tarions diaciplea nov ^thered about Jesna bad 
come. Wa have seen (p, 176) how He evanRdized Judea and Idumea 
during the flcBt jtat of His Ministry. Since that timr^ some of the 
dwellers in those regions had folionea the divine Master. 

« Luke Ti. 12. 



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THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 247 

naum and Tiberias a& the scene of this night-watch aud of 
the Sermon which followa upon it. The Christians call it 
the Mount of the Beatitudes ; the Arabs' name for it is 
Kourn Hattin (The Horns of Hattin), in allusion to the 
two peaks which rise above the village of that name. To 
the west the hillside slopes gently up from the rolling 
meadows ; to the east, on the contrary, its steep cliifs over- 
look a level stretch of ground, big and wide enough to hold 
a great multitude.' In the hill-country bordering this 
side of the Lake we might seek in vain for any other high- 
lands worthy the name of mountain. So, then, this is the 
spot to which we must follow the Lord. 

At all times Jesus loved the lonely heights, the quiet of 
evening, the midnight sky with its glittering array of heav- 
enly hosts ; in the stillness His glance could pierce the 
depths until it was absorbed in the Vision of the Father; 
here unhindered His soul could taste of that mysterious 
rest which is born of prayerful ecstasy. Yet this one night 
out on the hill-tops had, in truth, something of a more 
solemn glory in it ; we feel by the very words in which 
Saint Luke speaks of it that it was to be the forerunner of 
a great day. In the dawning light Jesus called to Him 
His disciples, who were slumbering, as we may fancy, 
at no great distance, and " from among them He chose out 
twelve, to whom He gave the name of Apostles." * 

The Master by this act, to all outward seeming so 
simple, there and then laid the massive foundations of a 
Work which was destined to be seen of all men and to 
withstand the fiercest onslaught of the foe. • Growing ever 
more majestic upon our vision as we watch her progress 
down through the ages, we must recall to mind the while 
how this Heaven-sent Church, built up under the Master- 
Workman's hand, had for its mighty base simply these 
Twelve Apostles. At that time there was nothing about 

'Ukevi. 17. 

^ Lnke vi. 13 ; Harlc iii. li. 3. Matthew doP9 not record the election 
of the Twelve Apostles, properly speaking ; he contents faimsslf with men- 
tioning their nnmr'H when he is giving an accoant or their mission (Matt. 
X. 2-4). S3. Mark and Luke, on the contrary, agree in putting this 
solemn selection after the healing of the man with the withered hana. 



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248 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

them to mark them from the magsea ; we have seen, and 
we have still to see for a long time to come, how iguoraot 
they were, how ambitious, so much more engrossed in the 
thiu^ of the flesh than in the things of the Spirit. But 
the Hand which had gathered together from out the dark 
quarries of Earth these rough and heavy blocks by the 
same supernal strength could cut and polish them. So 
Saint John once saw in the bulwarks of the Heavenly 
Jerusalem ,just such huge bulks of stone, hewn liom the 
shapeless rock ; and these same were become twelve pre- 
cious stones,^ whose glowir^ depths of color now uphold 
the glorious city of our God, our holy Habitation in the 
Heavens. 

Was there any thought in Jesus' mind of the symbolic 
significance in the number He had chosen ? Did He mean 
in this way to recall those Twelve Tribes of Israel, just as 
the High Priest used to bear upon his breast twelve great 
gems as a memorial of them ? Many such conjectures 
have been hazarded,^ and indeed there is good ground for 
similar concepts when we think how much stress was laid 
on the hidden meaning of numbers in olden times. The 
Pagans were not alone in their belief that strange proper- 
tiea were to be found in such combinations ; the Jews, 
and the first Fathers of the Church as well, scrutinize 
them with careful curiosity ; and it is impossible to deny 
that very many of the numbers in Scripture itself have a 
mystic purport.^ So that we have in this way really a 
secret language, highly prized by those who are versed in 
its unique charms, — like the full harmony which sustains 
the song by setting its pure melody in higher relief. Why 
should Jesus have scorned this feeling? Rather He 
deigned to make use of it ; and thus, in this point as in so 
many others. He availed Himself of every usage of the 
world about Him. We may willingly grant, not only that 
He did not choose this number without a purpose, bnt that ' 

1 Apoc. iii. IB-21. 
s See Cornelius a Lapide, in Xatl. x. 

' Tbia fact in incoQt«stab1e, so far as the Apocalypse and unmeroni 
pasBages in the Propliets are concerned (see Smith, Dietionary of Ike Bible : 



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TBE TWELVE APOSTLES. 



249 



He attached so much importance to it that His disciples 
felt that their first duty, after the Ascension, was to com- 
plete the roU of the Apostolic College by the election of 
Saint Matthias.^ 

Of the twelve Apostles seven had been chosen already. 
These were : Peter and Andrew, the two sons of Jonas ; 
then the sons of Zebedee, James and John ; Philip, who 
came from Bethsaida, like the iirst four ; Bartholomew, 

' Acts i. 15-26, The Gospels theuiselves, in giving the natDes of the 
Apostles, observe such au unvarying and precise order as to siiegest the 
idea that everything about their vocation was symbolic, — the rankof each, 
as w«11 as the whole number. As a matter of fact, we possess foar lista 
of the Apostles ; now all have this much in common, that they distribute 
them in three series, in each of which the names are always the same, 
though hei'e they differ somewhat in arrangement ; but, in all of them, 
three Apostles invariably occupy the same position. The first group has 
Simon Peter at its head ; the second, Philip ; the third, James, son of 
AlpheuB. In the last place, in all the lists, we find Judas Iskarioth. 

Matt, n, 2-4. Mark iii. 16-lB. Luke vi. 14-16. Acts i. 13. 

/ 1. SIMON PETER 



Abdbbw 



1. Bartholomew 
'. Thomas 
(. Matthew 



LBGBErs 
mm. Theddeus) 

Simon 
(the Cananean ) 
JrBAS Ibkabi- 



Baktholombw 
Matthew 
Thomas 

JAMES (son 
Thamieus 

(theCananean) 

JrnAS ISKABl- 



Bartholomew 

MAITflEW 

Thohab 

of Alpheus) 

Simon 
(the Zealot) 

(bro. to James) 
JuDAB Iekabi- 



TnoHAB 
Bartholo- 

Matthbw 



Simon 
(the Zealot) 

(bro. to James) 



We shall not look for the mystic purport of these divisiona, since the 
sacred writers have not divulged it ; we simply call attention to the fact 
as one of the interesting peculiarities of the Gospel. 



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250 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

from Cana io Galilee ; * and Matthew, the Publican.' Jeaus 
now called tive othera : His two cousins, James the Less 
and Jiide (Lebbeus, or Thaddeus) ; the Galileans, Thomas 
and Simon the Zealot ; finally, the traitor, — the man 
from Kerioth in Jndea, — Judas, son of Simon. For the 
most part we know little enough of these Apostles, — their 
names, some few words spoken by them, certain deeds of 
theirs mentioned in the Gospels or the Acts, a number of tra- 
ditions as to their after life, — altogether hardly enough to 
furnish ua with materials for a sketch of each one of them. 

Bartholomew is the least known of all. It has been 
i^reed upon that he is the Nathanael whom Philip found 
meditating under a fig-tree, and led to his divine Master.* 
Truthfulness and godliness were the keynotes of his char- 
acter; undoubtedly with these he combined modesty, for 
from the hour in which he obeyed the call of God we 
never see or hear anything more of the son of Tolmai. 
There is a tradition which tells of his having evangelized 
the Indies ; that he was burned alive, and crucified with 
his head downwards.* 

His friend Philip was among the first of the Galileans 
who were moved to seek John the Baptist, hoping to find 
in him the longed-for Messiah. The Gospel speaks 
of his gentle spirit, readily responding to Jesus' appeals,* 
sympathizing with the distress of the throngs that followed 
the Master into the desert, but slow to believe that a few 
loaves would be enough to satisfy them ;* slower still to 
fathom the Mysteries of faith, for even at the Last Supper 
he begs the Saviour to let him see the Father, of whom He 
is always speaking.^ Polyoratus, Bishop of Ephesus, in- 
forms us that Philip had been married ; his daughters were 
numbered among the first Vilnius ; and he himself slept in 
the Lord at Hierapolis, in Phrygia.* 

1 John xxi. 2. " Sea p. 225. » John i. 47. (See p. 135.) 

* Easpbius, ff'sloria eccleslastka, v. lOi S. Jerome, Dt VirUilhatr^v* ; 
Assemaiii, Bibliotheca OrienliilU, Hi. 2, 20. 

• Join i. 43. 
' John Ti. 7. 

» John liT. 8. 

■ Rusebins, HUloria teeUHatUea, iii Sl> 



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THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 251 

As to Simon, we merely know that he was called the 
Cananean, a name which Saint Luke translates as the 
Zealot;^ and this term was also used to distinguish him 
from Simon Peter. Can it be that this Apostle belonged 
to that famous Sect which revenged every tran^ression 
of the Law, not simply with burning reproaches, like 
the Prophets of old, but like Phineas, with unsheathed 
sword ?^ We know what part these Zealots played in the 
last days of Jerusalem ; how they became the terror and 
scoui^e of the whole country-aide, making it reek with 
blood, spreading ruin and death on every band. Would 
Jesus have called one of these fanatics to Him ; would 
He have thought it wise to admit into equal fellowship 
this Jew, Simon, who rebelled against every tribute ex- 
torted by the hated foreigners, and Levi, collector of the 
Koman taxes ? Yet in this there would be nothing re- 
pugnant to the plans of the Master, for He made little 
account of human prudence in His works, and "chose 
that which is foolishness in the world's eyes to confound 
the wise, so that no man should glorify himself before 
Him"B 

Matthew has left behind him more than a name, — a 
divine Book, his Gospel In it he speaks in one single 
instance of himself, and that is only to tell us that he was 
a Publican, a butt for the contempt and hatred of Israel, 
but that nevertheless Jesus chose him. 

Thomas's character* may be more clearly deciphered. 
With a frank, practical spirit, which was easily bewildered 
by the Mysteries of faith, he declared with perfect sim- 

> Luke, yi. 16. From the Hebrew nKJp, zeal. The real reBding, both 
in S. Mattbew and in S. Mark, would seem to be Kowkhoi, and the form 
of this woi-d indicates that it refers to the member of a Sect. Ewald calls 
. our attention to the fact that if Cananean meant one who lived in Cana, 
we should have the (onnation Kawifliiidi. 

» Num. KV. 7. 

• 1 Cor. i. 27. 

* Thomas, in Hebrew ttSit]1, means "a twin," and ia bo transkted in 
S. John's Gospel ,- ObV'ai i \rf6)itros AlSv/un (John xri, 2). Eusebiua 
says that his real name was Judas (ffuSoriiox/egiiMtioo, i. 13). AccordinR 
to Tradition he was bom at Antioch, and had a twin sister named Lydia 
iPatres JpoaMici, CoteL edrs., pp, 272, 501|. 



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252 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

plicity, even in the very midet of the Last Supper, that he 
conld not understand the words of the Lord.^ 

" Master," said he, " we do not know where you are 
going, nor which way the road lies." 

After all Jesus' Ministry was finished, after all His 
miracles, Thomas had not become grounded tn the firm 
faith that He was God ; after the Resurrection we see him 
still unable to put trust in this new wonder, — dejected, 
despairing, demanding that the Master permit him to 
touch His wounds with his hands before he would believe.^ 
And notwithstanding, he had a generous heart ; for when 
Jesus braved the wrath of the Jews faj^e to face, that He 
might raise up Lazarus from the dead, it was Thomas who 
incited the Apostles with those words which all our Mar- 
tjrrs have repeated after him : — 

"Come, let us also go and die with Him '"^ 

James and Jude, tlie two sons of Alpheus and Mary, 
we have already seen at their home in Nazareth.* Through- 
out the whole ministry of Jesus they continued to be just 
what they were then, — hard-working mechanics, whose 
minds were filled with longings for earthly goods. It 
needed the descent of the Holy Gliost upon the day of 
Pentecost to transform these kinsmen of the Lord into 
Apostles, to inspire Jude with that mighty Epistle of his, 
and to make of James the Less one of the most illustrious 
Bishops of the new-born Church. 

As Pastor of Jerusalem during nearly thirty years, the 
latter fostered and strengthened the perfect good-will 
which bound the P^an and Jewish converts together ; at 
the first Council he suggested the wisest resolutions, and 
it was he who protected Saint Paul against the unreasoning 
and. fanatic partisans of Judaism. All Jews who became 
Christians held this servant of God in veneration as their 
leader, and cherished with deep respect his Epistle, 
addressed " to the twelve tribes dispersed throughout the 
world,"' in which the Apostle scourges the vices of his 
fellow-countrymen, their strifes, their haughty and grasp- 



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THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 253 

ing character. The later years of .lamea were passed in 
prayer; kneeling whole days and nights together in the 
Temple, he delayed by his intercession the ruin which 
overhung Jeruaalem like a dark storm-cloud ; indeed, he 
was " the Rampart of his People," ^ according to a common 
saying among his contemporaries. His death was worthy 
of such a life. At the Festival of the Pasch, the High 
Priest Ananias and the Council of the Sanhedrin com- 
manded him to exliort the Jews to give up their faith 
in Jesus. The holy old man allowed them to lead him 
out upon one of the galleries of the Temple, and promised 
them he would speak to the people, but it was only that 
he might seize one last chance to glorify his Master, 

" Wherefore would you question me concerning Jesus ? " 
he cried out. " He is seated at the right hand of the 
Almighty, and will appear i^in upon the clouds of 
Heaven." 

His furious persecutors fell upon him and threw him 
down upon the pavement below, and tliere they stoned him. 
As he was dying, the E^ed Apostle drew himself up, and 
remained kneeling long enough to beseech God to forgive 
his executioners ; whereupon a man who had armed himself 
with a fuller's mallet strode up and put an end ta his suf- 
ferings. His people buried him close by the Temple. Eight 
years later, Jerusalem was only a charred heap of ashes.^ 

And now we have still to speak of the most illustrious 
of the Apostles, — Simon and Andrew, sons of Jonas ; 
James and John, the sons of Zebedee. These four fisher- 
men of Bethaaida form a group by themselves, and at their 
head we always find the Prince of the Apostles, Simon 
Peter. The least known one among them is Andrew, 
whose personality is, as it were, overshadowed by his 
brother's brilliant renown. After having brought Simon 
to Jesus,^ he disappears in the background. But if his hfe 

'"His mre virtues had won for him the BUmame of OWiaa ['O^Xtm). 
the Rampart of the People," Oy-hsy (Eosebina, HUloria eceUaiaslica, 
lib. ii. cap. zxiii.). 

* Fra^maiia Segeaippi (Migne, Patrologie gneqw, t.v. p. 18071. 

» John, i. 41. 



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254 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

was hidden, his death shed such radiance about it, that 
the priests and deacons uf Achaia sent tidings of the glo- 
rious event to the whole Church. Their narrative enables 
us to follow, step by step, every act of the Martyr, — the 
examination, the replies of Andrew, and his protracted 
tortures. He died upon the cross, uttering sucli cries of 
love for Jesus as thrilled the heai-ts of those through 
whose soul the sound reechoed, while they wept in 
silence.^ 

Beside Andrew, there are Peter, James, and John, who 
are always the chosen ones among the chosen few, the 
intimate companions whom the Master admitted to His 
confidence and familiar friendship. We see them, the 
only ones present at the raising of Jairus's daughter ; 
the only ones at the Transfiguration ; the only ones at the 
Agony of the Saviour. Jesus has told us what made Him 
80 particularly attached to the two sons of Zebedee ; it 
was because their great hearts burned in fierce flashes, 
like the lightning; whence it was that He gave them that, 
beautiful name, — "Sous of the Thunderbolt," — Boaner- 
ges.^ They had something of its resistless mah, and some- 
times, tflo, its destructive wrath. Witness the day when 
they called down the fire of heaven upon a Samaritan 
village which refused to harbor them. They bad inherited 
this unbounded zeal from Salome, their mother. Having 
devoted herself to the Saviour's cause, faithfully following 
Him even to His Cross, the wife of Zebedee the fisherman 
dared to dream of a place for her sons at the side of the 
Christ, and upon His Throne.^ Jesus tried to curb this 
ambition by reminding them that His glory was to be 
bought at the price of suffering. 

" Can you drink of My Chalice ? " He asked. 

"That we can," instantly replied the sons of Salome. 

This confidence touched the Lord ; and it was then He 

' la the Bitrologk greeque of M . Migne ; see Acta et MaHyrium S. 
■ ■ 'i (t. ii. p. 1217). 

'■ Vfy ']^ The Sckeva is changed to On in the Aramenn 



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TBE TWELVE APOSTLES. 255 

granted to James that, before all others, he should not only 
drink this cup of sorrow, but that he should drain it in a 
single draught. His zeal marked him out for a victim to 
the sword of Herod Agrippa, and he in fact was the first 
of the Apostles to meet the Martyr's death.' 

The other son of Salome was to survive them all. 
Soaring above the earth, to the inaccessible heights of his 
lieavetily home, he led a hidden life so long as Peter and 
Paul held the Christian world in the bonds of faith. But 
at the end of tlie first century, when the Witnesses of the 
holy Word had vanished one by one, and when heresy 
threatened the youthful Church, the voice of John pierced 
the cloud. His Gospel, the Epistle which announced it, 
and the Apocalypse, were like so many sheets of lightning, 
now dazzling our sight, now thrilling us with peals of 
thunder, now blinding our eyes when we would descry the 
outlines of his awful visions : tlie showers of fire and of 
blood ; the Cups of gold overflowing with Wrath ; the 
Steeds, with serpents for their manes and tails, having 
breastplates of fire, breathing out flame and brimstone ; 
the Bed Dragon, with the seven heads and the ten horns, 
drawing tt^ether with his tail a third part of the stars of 
the sky, and hurling them down upon the earth.^ Thus 
it was, with a loud voice, that the Seer of Patmos was 
constrained to reveal the great matter of his ecstasies. 
Christian Art has been prone to sink these raptures of the 
Apostle into the shadow, and so we are too apt to foi^et 
them ; painting has rather accorded him every grace of 
youth, with his eyes lifted up to the heavens, often with 
an almost virginal timidity. Undoubtedly " the disciple 
whom Jesus loved " " had great tenderness of heart, bnt it 
was a heart which throbbed in unison with a soul of fire ; 
and it was this latter trait which won for him the Master's 
love when He called him, "Son of the Thunder;" and in 
like manner it moves us most strongly when we see the 
Apostle drawing away in honor from the heretic Cerin- 
thus, and filling the Apocalypse with those terrible and 

> Acts lii. 2. » Apoe. viii. 7 ; xv. 7 ; ii. ir-18 ; lii. 8, 4, 



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256 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESVS. 

mysterious images. John's rightful emblem is not the 
Dove, but the Ei^le. This passionate ardor, penetrated 
with deepest tenderness, drew to him the Heart of Jesus, 
and made John the Beloved Discipla 

The character of Simon, son of Jonas, presents no such 
opposite traits. It is all summed up in the name which 
Jesus bestowed on him : " Thou art Peter, and upon this 
Rock I will build My Church."' The great AposUe, there- 
fore, was to serve as the Foundation of the Church, — was 
to be for his brethren as a Guide and infallible Head. 
And after the election of the Twelve, the Lord made 
known these prerogatives of Peter so publicly and so em- 
phatically, in order that all might bow before him. Ever 
after this day we find liim speaking and acting in their 
name. At Capharnaum, when the Master demanded sadly, 
"And you, — will you too go away ?"^ it was he who 
responded, in the name of all the rest, — 

" Lord, to whom should we go ? You have the words of 
eternal life ! " 

It was he who, at Csesarea, in the land of Pliilip, once 
t^ain proclaimed the faith of the Apostles, — 

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."S 

This lofty dignity conferred upon him became the 
occasion of his fall ; it puffed him up with vain-glory, 
turned his energy into presumption, his firmness into blind 
obstinacy ; it went so far as to make him openly contradict 
his Master, and drew down upon hint that severe reply, — 

"Get thee gone, Satan I thou art a scandal unto Me, for 
thy thoughts are not of God, but of mau." * 

At the close of the ministry of Jesus, Simon, son of 
Jonas, is not any longer the immovable rock, but like a 
loose stone in the road, which a woman's hand may fling 
aside into the ditch. Yet even then it was not all over 
with Peter, since after his overthrow he but made for him- 
self a surer abiding place, and in his sorrow found lirmer 
foundations. Overwhelmed with his humiliation, he nev- 
ertheless rose up in " the greatness of the power of God." ' 

I Matt. ivi. 18. » John vi. 88-70. * Malt xvi. IS. 



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THE TWELVE APOSTLES 257 

Henceforth, neither his faith nor his mighty courage wei* 
ever to fail hiui ; we encounter him everywhere at the 
head of his brethren, the first to grope his way within the 
tomb of Jesus, and to gaze upon his Eiseu Lord ; the first 
to get into the little sliip at that last mimculous draught 
of fishes; the first to caat himself into the sea, to go to 
meet the Saviour; first, too, to drag up on the shore the 
net, which had not broken beneath the weight of its one 
hundred and fifty-three fishes.^ 

Before He went away from their sight into the skies, 
Jesus laid upon Peter the Charge of pasturing His flock, 
to feed His sheep, as well as His lambs.^ The Apostle 
fulfilled the command of the Lord, stood at their head, 
ordered their manner of teaching and the form of their 
government, and by stamping the new-born Faith with his 
sea], gave it the character wliich it was to bear unto all 
future ages, making tlie flist acts of the infant Church the 
Acts of Peter, 

In the Apostolic College there is still one gloomy figure 
left, which each of the Evangelists thrusts down to the 
lowermost rank, — Judas, son of Simon, the man from 
Kerioth. Jesus asked only one Apostle from Judea, and 
Judea gave Him a traitor. All that we know of him, 
apart from the tale of his treachery, is that his skill in the 
management of money won him his position of trust as 
Treasurer of the Apostles.^ Hence he must have gained 
their confidence from the outset ; and indeed he retained 
it up to that last Passover, for it was at his instigation 
that .they murmured against the Magdalene, as she poured 
out her perfumes upon the head of Jesus. Though he 
grew ever more depraved and desperate, the man from 
Kerioth had always succeeded in blinding their eyes; so 
that on the night of the Last Supper, when the Lord fore- 
told the crime in whose shadow they sat, no one dreamed 
of charging Judas with it; only the calm glance of Jesus 
could read the heart of the thief. How many were the 
words spoken by the Saviour to the multitude which in 



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258 SECOND YEAR OF THE MimSTRY OF JESUS. 

the ears of this faithlesa follower must have resounded in 
tones of appeal ur reproach I fTow He is urging them to 
true charity : " Do not heap up treasures upou the earth. 
. . . There, where your heart is, there is your treasure 
also. . . . You catiDot serve CJod and Mammon." ^ Now 
He gives utterance to His feeling of horror ; " Have I not 
chosen you Twelve ? And there is one among you who is 
a devil ! " ^ The divine Master could not resolve to 'aban- 
don " this son of perdition." ^ At Gethseniani, once more. 
He kissed him, and called him His friend.* 

Composed of such different characters, the College of 
the Apostles stands before us, from all we can know of its 
members. Henceforward they were to form a little band 
of chosen ones about the Saviour, journeying with Him 
throu<;hout Judea, sharing His labors and His repasts ; 
like Him, they had not where to rest their head, and often 
laid themselves down by His side without other roof than 
the starry heavens, with no shelter save the providence 
of God their Father. 



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CHAPTER IIL 

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Matt, v., yL, To. ; Luke vi. 20-49. 

Christian orators have always delighted ia contrasting 
Moses upOQ cloud-cspped Sinai with Jesus prouiulgating 
the New law upon the Mount of the Beatitudes. On the 
one hand we see Jeliovah wrapped in dazzling mists, that 
flash and thunder before His awful Presence ; and on the 
other, in the quiet of early morning, we hear a Voice whose 
beloved accents thrill the people's heart. Of old there waa 
the dread hush of the desert ; no water was there, nor any 
green thing, — only the red-litten peaks rising high above 
desolate mountain crags ; but here we have every charm 
of a spring-time in Galilee, the soft slopes of a little hill 
looking down upon sunny pasture -lauds, while the spark- 
ling lake of Genesai-eth ripples along the shore ; in a word, 
yonder was the Law of death, delivered to a disobedient 
and awe-struck nation ; here the law of grace is announced 
to the believing and joyous throngs. 

Beneath such poetic parallels is there really any un- 
derlying truth ? Can the Sermon on the Mount be set 
side by side with the Tables of Stone, graven by the hand 
of Jehovah, or in point of fact, did Jesus actually present 
it to us as a Code of Christianity ? There is nothing to 
prove that this discourse, as preserved by Saint Matthew, 
had any such distinctive character; that the Evangelist 
made choice of this one in particular was because no other 
seemed to him better fitted to convey an idea of the Mas- 
ter's teaching. Indeed Jesus could not have found any 
more favorable opportunity for disclosing His doctrine. 



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260 SECOND YEAR OF TEE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Up to this time He never bad had gathered about Him an 
audience having knowledge enough of heavenly things to 
enable them to understand Him ; later on, being sun'ounded 
by spies, He had not the same liberty, and was often forced 
to use mystical language and to apeak in parables. But at 
the time of the Sermon on the Mount the Saviour's ene- 
mies were not tracking His footsteps so closely as to hound 
Him through every secluded spot like this ; they were con- 
tent to keep watch upon Him in the towns and 3ynag(^uea. 
Freed for the time being from the hunter's pursuit, and 
speaking to people who were wholly devoted to Him, 
Jesus could ease His overflowing heart, and reveal in its 
fulness the light He had brought into the world. The Ser- 
mon on the Mount, although quite similar in form to other 
of the Saviour's instmctions, has been chosen, however, for 
very good reasons, as being the completest expression of the 
doctrine of Christianity and a brief epitome of the Gospel. 
We possess two accounts of it,' — Saint Luke's summary, 
written for the Pagan converts, which contains no allusion 
to Judaic customs;^ and the text of Saint Matthew, in which 

' We connect the Sermon reported by S, Matthen (t., vL, vii) with the 
une which 3. Luke {vi. 20-19) Hummarizes after the calling of the Apoattes. 
Thia conjunction, tttougli rejected bj certain conunentatara, appears per- 
fectly Intimate to us. In tact, the renonn of Jesu», which seems now to 
h&ve spread throughout Syria, the multitudes coming from far-away 
places, all the facts recited at the close of the fifth chapter of S. Uattbew, 
would imply that His work was already far advanced. Further on, in the 
body of the Sermon, these words of the Saviour ; " Do not believe that 
r am come to abolish the Law . . ." would also infer that His preaching 
already had excited some suspicions. Hence Jesus did not deliver this 
discourse at the beginning of His ministry. But then, why need we distin- 
suish between this and the one we find in the sixth chapter of S. Lake ? 
They have many manifest and indisputable points of similarity, — the 
same opening, the same sequence of ideas, the same illustrations, the same 
couclasion. The principal variance between the two is in that the dis- 
course was deltvei^ upon a mountain according to S. Matthew, in a plain 
and smooth place according to S. Luke. To do away with this difficulty, 
WB only have to suppose that, on the mountain side, there was a lofty 
plateau, and that Jesus came down from the higher peaks above to apeak 
to the people who were gathered in this place. And indeed this is 
precisely the configuration of Koum Hattin, where, if we are to believe 
Tradition, the Lord pronounced the Sermon on the Mount, 

'"Lucas in transcribendis Christi eermonibua et orationibns, quas 
habent pHora Kvatigelia, ea quie in ceteras gentes dicta ease videntur. 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 261 

the Master's words are reflected as in a clear and spotless 
mirror. In tbe latter record the whole scene about Him 
as He preached lives again before our eyes : the meadows 
dotted over with brilliant lilies, the thornbusb thickets, tbe 
rich greenery of tbe vinea, flg-treea growing alongside tbe 
tbistles, birds flitting across the clear blue sky, while over 
yonder, around the doors of those humble cottages, you 
can see the cattle grazing, or at rest ; there are fishermen 
coming up from the neighboring shores of the lake, — men 
who would be horrilied at the thought of giving their chil- 
dren a serpent instead of a iisb.^ From the highlands of 
Kourn Hattin, at one time, tbe Saviour could point out on 
tbe distant horizon some city built upon a hill;^ then 
again, close at band, in tbe little hamlets among the moun- 
tains. He could remind these village-folk how tbe savorless 
salt is thrown out into the street,^ or He would picture 
them a scene within the walls of their farm-houses, recall- 
in{^ tbe single flaring torch which they were accustomed to 
light at evening, banging it over the heaps of grain so as 
to measure them oft' bushel by bushel ; and from this He 
took occasion to say : " You are tbe light of the world ; no 
one lights a lamp in order to put it under a bushel, but to 
set it within its socket, so that it may illumine the whole 
house; thus let your light shine before men."* 

By describing time and place so minutely Saint Mat- 
thew lets us know that be was one of the listeners to tbe 

prarsiia resecat, aat eonim severitat«m mitigst aliquo modo " (Patrizi, Dt 
EvangdiU, lib. ii. unp. iii. .'il). 

■ Matt. vi. 28, rii. 18, vi. 26. yii. B. vii. B. 10. 
« Matt, V. 14. The t< 
Safed ; iodeed it can be 
tudes, and its niina attest that it existed iii the time at the Christ. The 
fact of a town bein^ built upon the heights is of as rare occurrence :n 
Galilee aa it ia cnmmati in Judea : it would be very natural for Jesus to 
. Dse it as a striking figure of the Church and the influence irhich she was \o 
exercise upon the world. 

• Matt. r. 13. Thomson chanced to aee a merchant in Sidou whose 
Btock of salt had lost its flavor from being left on the ground ; thp man got 
rid of it in the same fashion ns is hei-c mentioned in the Gospfl, — scatter- 
ing it under the feet of the passers by, anil beneatb the beasts of burden 
(Tliomson, The Land and the Book, y. 881). 

* Matt. V. 16, la. 



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262 SECOND YEAH OF THE MimSTRY OF JESUS. 

beaveuly discourse on this occasion ; but need we couclude 
from this that he haa given us every word uttered by the 
Lord on that great day 1 The moat learoed expouudera 
have always held the opposite opiuion,^ and everything 
sustains their theory, — the concise expression of the ideas, 
the abundance of maxims, the brusque transitions, the par- 
ables and the aimibtudes but barely suggested ; indeed, the 
divine Master was not accustomed to sjieak in such style. 
Suiting His words to the comprehension of the simple, 
earnest minds of His hearers. He would I'epeat one thought 
over and over again, putting it before them under a new 
form each time until it was fully grasped ; thus He fol- 
lowed no order, save only such as was prompted by a 
Heart which would sacrifice everything to its one longing 
to be known and loved. For Saint Matthew to recount 
these Homiliea word for word would have been to go be- 
yond the acope of hia Gospel, since we know that Jesus 
was never too tired to prolong His instructions while there 
were soula who needed His help. The Evangelist has 
chosen rather to select such sayings of the Master as he 
deemed best adapted to represent His teaching. 

Of all the words that fell from Hia lips on that day none 
were more strange and surprising in their tenor, than the 
Beatitudea proclaimed by the Saviour; for every prejudice 
of Israel was overthrown by them. In truth, Moses, by 
making use of material images to move this worldly 
minded people, had thought to reach their hearts by setting 
before their eyes the earthly rewards of righteousneaa, and 
had promised Israel that its glory or its ahame would 
finally depend upon its faithfulness to Jehovah. The Jews 
had concluded from this that prosperity always attends 

1 " Ego jam monui non esse anxle qu»r«ndam in evangi^lUtis GSDtenti- 
arum conneiionpni, quia res non eo online scribere voluenint qoo lacts a 
Christu vel dietx sunt. Quod prscipue iti ejus coucionibus obserratur, iu 
qaibus nec oniniBi quffi dixit, nee eo qao dixit ordine rfF^naent, content! 
pnecipua qua doctrinte capita cotumemornre " (Maldonatua, tii MaU. vii. 
I). "Campertntn habemas ab evangelistic, quum alicujus dicta litteris 
eoDsignabant, nan ipsa verba, sed rerborum tiensuin relatum esse qnam 
aapissime. Sic verba quibus Chriatus Eoehariatiam instituit, aliter Hat- 
thKiis, alitor Marcus, aliter I.uoaa retulere" (Patrlii, Of Eean^liia, lilj. 
tii. diss, xlrii. 22). 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 263 

Upon the godly man ; that wealth being a mark of God's 
favor, sorrow and trouble are sure tokens of His wrath. 
Hence arose, despite the spirit of charity which breathes 
throughout the Law, that scorn of poverty and their harsh 
us^e of the unfortunate and sick, whom they regarded as 
sinners meeting with a just punishment ; hence too they 
imbibed their mistaken ideas as to the Messiah, who 
was to raise up their natiou to the pinnacle of gloiy and 
riches. 

Few were the words which Jesus used to dispel such 
dreams as these. Instead of wealth He set before these 
Jews the happiness of the poor ; to the passionate spirits 
whose visions are all of great victories He speaks of meek- 
ness ; tells the hearts in love with pleasure that there is 
joy in the gift of tears ; to the hungry and thirsty He says 
that righteousness shall sustain them ; preaches mercy to 
the pitiless uatures, the loveliness of purity to the sensual 
man ; teaches the blessedness of the peaceful and long- 
suffering to a people writhing beneath their yoke. What 
a disenchantment for the mighty ones of this world ! " 
for the poor and the lowly of earth was there ever rev- 
elation so unhoped for? Only consider for a momen 
how dreadful their destitution was, even here in larael 
think of the oppressions endured by the weak and gentle 
imagine the despair of those whom misfortune had ovei' 
come, who had no one to wipe away their tears ; and 
remembering this we can understand the joy of wretched 
and weary soula when they heard the Christ speaking these 
words to tliem : ' — 

" Blessed are the poor in spirit,' because to them be- 
longeth the Kingdom of Heaven.^ 

1 Mfttt. y. 3-12. 

* That 19 to sfty, happy aie those hearts which are not bouiid down by 
the care of riehes, who, if they havp wealth love not vain pomp nor over- 
bearing conduct, and da not crave to get everything for themselves I 
Happy too are the poor, who, though actually despoiled of all, are resigned 

■ The Kingdom of Heaven is the name which Ihc contflni]xirnries ot 
Je»nB always used in alluding to the reign o( the Messiah ; In the Bab- 
binical langnt^ the word "Heaven" is frequently used as a synonym for 
"God." So in places where S. Matthew, writing for Jewish readers, 



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264 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

"Blessed are those who weep, becattse they shall be 
comforted.^ 

" Blessed are the meek, because they shall posaess the 
land. 

" Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, 
because they shall have their fill. 

" Blessed are the merciful, because they shall obtain 
mercy. 

" Blessed are the peace-makers, because they shall be 
called the Children of God. 

" Blessed are those who are pure of heart, because they 
shall see Gfod. 

" Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice' 
sake, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." ^ 

Seeing the Master destroy so many of their illusions, the 
Jews might well believe he wished to revolutionize all 
Israel ; and indeed this is why He was so careful to add that 
His Mission was not to abolish the Law, but to elevate it to 
the point of perfection.^ Moaes had said : Thou shall not 
kill ; Jesus would even forbid angry words and feelings of 
hatred.* Moses denotiuced adultery ; Jesus condemned an 

employs this phraae, with which th«y were oil rnmilior : "The Kiogdoiu 
of Heaven ; " 3. Luke prafera to give a form which monld b« clearer to the 
minds of the Gentiles, — " The Kinffdom of God." 

1 The Vulrate and the Syriac of Cureton place the beatitude of the 
meek before that of the sorrowing ; they are supported by the anthority of 
the Codex Bezie. But a majority of the manuscripts (notably those of 
Sinai and the Vatican) and nuinerous verEioiis (Peshito, Coptic, Ethi- 
opian, etc) invert thia order. 

' It would seem as though the Lord feared that He might not be clearly 
comprehended ; for we learn from 8. Luke (vi. 24-26) that He reinforced 
His blessed promises with these terrible oiiatheniaa : " Wo unto you that 
are rich, for you have your consolation 1 Wo unto you that are filled, 
for yau shall hunger I Wu unto you that laugh now, for yon shall weep 
and mourn some day I Wo to you when all men ehall praise yon, for it 
waa tbos that their fathers did to the false prophets ! " 

'Matt V. 17-19. 

* Matt. V. 21-26. To eive some idea of the pnniahments which God 
has reserved for cruel and merciless men in the other life, Jesus recalled 
the three forms of capital punishment then in vogue amid the Jews. The 
sword was the weapon of tne legal tribunal which was established in every 
city {xpfirei); atoning wa-t the penalty inflicted by theSanhedrin {aanSpliti), 
burning was reserved tor notorious criminals Iriji' V*.*™*). Therefore 
angry feelings nill deserve the lirst degree of punishment, which was death 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 265 

impure glance or an evil thought.^ Moaes tolerated divorce ; 
Jesus restored Marrit^e to its primitive sanctity.^ It was 
written in the Law, " Thou shalt not perjure thyself, but 
thou shalt perform thine oaths unto the Lord." ^ 

" And now," apoke the Christ, " I say to you : Do not 
swear at all, neither by Heaven nor by the earth, nor by 
Jerusalem.* Let your speech be : ' This is so,' ' That is not 
so,' — ' Yes,' ' No.' Everything which is more than this 
comes from an evil source." 

" You have heard that it has been said : ' Eye for eye, 
tooth for tooth,' ^ And now I say to you, Do not withstand 

by the aword. If they go further than this, — if thia hatred dispIajB itseli 
outwardly by aame furious expi-ession, as it would be to treat one's brother 
as an "empty-headed feilow " (Raca, Cp'l), — this would be to draw 
down upon the speaker a sentence aa etem as that of the Sanhedrjn, — the 
Supreme Tribunal from which there was no appeal ; but for him who would 
j/p further in his wreti:hed passion, so far as to treat his brother as a 
"fool" (ULapi) or "infidel" (rno, Num. xx. 10), upon him would befall 
a fearful viKitation, which Jesus compares t« the abomination of Gehenna 
(Ge-hinnom ; DlJil 'J), thus they had named the low-lying valley which 
surrounds Jerusalem to the south and west, where the corpses of con- 
demned criminals were abandoned without burial, and the great fagots 
consecrated to Moloch had once smouldered and failed in ham. 
' Matt. V, 37-30. 

> Matt. y. 31, 32. 

> Matt. V. 33-37. 

* The Law forbade peijury ; but the Jewish doctors evaded this pro- 
hibition by teaching that one was not bound by his word unless he for- 
tified it by an oath in the Name of God Himself. To call Heaven, earth, 
and the holy City to witness one's lidelity was not an oath, they said, aud 
so they took advantage of this technical distinction in order to deceive the 
Pagans. Jesus restored to Truth its sacred rights. He declared that in 
every promise there is something of the divine which may not be despised. 
Surely the heavens are the throne of Jehovah ; the eaitn is His fcotstool, 
and Jerusalem the city of the Great King. Then, lifting the minds of 
His hearers to a higher plane of thought, He reminded them that sin alone 
has begotten lying upon the earth ; sin has imposed upon us the humili- 
ating necessity of calling on God's Holy Name if we would have onr word 
acfepted as sacred and inviolable instead of donbtful and untrustworthy. 
Man. in his natural state of rectitude would he believed upon his simple 
affirmation, and the Christian's first duty is to recover that primitive 
sincerity. 

' Matt. V. 38-42. This was the spirit of the ancient Covenant, as it 
was the Rule laid down in the tribunals of Judca. Tbeie was a eertain 
kind of justice shown in this desire not to go beyond the measure of exact 
I'etribution, and to proportion the punishment to the actual injury done by 
the crime.. 



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266 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

violence ; but if any one strike you on the right cheek, 
turn to hiin the other.' And if any one wish to enter into 
judgment with you, and contend witli you for your tunic, 
let him' take your mantle also.' And if any one force you 
to go one mile,' go with him two milea more. Give to 
whoever aska, nor rebuff him who would borrow of you." 

Stilt these divine instructions lacked somewhat of ful- 
filling the ancient Law in its perfectness. To completely 
develop its germ of life, and to make it bear the fruits of 
grace, it was necessary that Jesus should shatter the close 
and narrow circle within which the Jews had confined it ; 
therefore He must first work a change in their feelings 
toward other nations. Moses, knowing the weakness of 
His people, had prohibited any commerce with Idolaters ; 
the Jewish Doctors had turned this precaution into an odi- 
ous precept, looked upon every foreigner as an enemy,* and 
wrote down such ruthless dicta as were afterwards to find 
a place in the Talmud : " Have no pity upon Gentiles." * 
" The Pagan is not our ueighbor." * Against this Law of 

> Hei-e it is not so much a literal precept tbat Jesus would have os fol- 
low ; rather, He va nrmng ua (<> show that willingness of heart which is 
glad to endure all things out of the pure love of God. Discretion, pru- 
dence, charity itself, oft^n compel iis to rebuke those who attack na, and 
even to withstand them. Jesus anil Hb .Iposlles have given ns sundry 
examples of this (John xviii. 22 ; Acts xxiii. 3). 

' 1 1 a creditor would seize his tunic as a pledge, he must abtuidaD not 
only this less costly garment to his greed but the outer mantle as weU, 
which was more valuable, and served for a covering in the night-time 
(Exod. xxii. 26) ; that is to sny, he must suffer himaelt' to be robbed of all 
rather than indulge in petty recriminations or harbor a spirit of ill-will and 
retaliation. 

*'&.yyat>f6(ifi; from "Angar," a Persian word which is defined as a 
"Courier." Herodotus recorfs (viiL 98) that the kings of Persia, in order 
to insure the efficiency of their postal service, had decreed that no indi- 
vidual ahonld withhold his horses at the demand of these Messengers of 
State ; from Persia this law passed into all the Oriental Codes. Among 
the statute labors which were laid upon the Jews by their Boman task- 
masters, it wonld seem that this was one of the most repugnant to the 
vanquished people ; for Demetrius, hoping to pacify their uneasy spirit, 
promised that no forced levies upon beasts of burden should be made 
among the inhabitants of Judea (Joaephus, AnliquUiUes. xUi. 2, 3). 

* "Apud ipaos (Judieos) fides obstinata, misericordia in promptn, sed 
adversna omnes alios hostile odium" (Tacitns, Historias, v. 5); " Non 
monstrare vias eadem nisi sacra colenti" (.Tiivenal, Sntirae, xiv. 103). 

^ See Lightfoot and Schmttgen, HoriB H^ralae, in loco. 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 267 

Hate Jesus pleaded for Charity, which finds its brothers 
in all mankind, and in God their common Father,^ 

" Love your enemies ; do good to those who bate you ; 
pray for those who maltreat you and slander you, in order 
that you may be the children of your heavenly Father, 
who makes His sun rise upon the good and upon the 
bad, and sends down rain upon the just and unjust. For 
if you love those who love you, what reward shall you 
merit? Do not the publicans as much? And if you 
greet your brethren only, what more are you doing ? Do 
not Pagans the same ? Be you therefore perfect as your 
heavenly Father is perfect."* 

How differently the Law sounded, listening to the Lord's 
simple reading of it, and contrasting it with the hypocriti- 
cal practices which the Pharisees had miscalled the Law ! 
Jesus denounced these sectaries, zealous to preserve a 
decorous outside, but caring naught for the corruption and 
malice seething in their own hearts,^ sounding trumpets 
when they gave alms to publish their virtues before the 
world,* disfiguring themselves to make a show of their 
fasts before men, naughtily standing up and praying with 
a loud voice iu the synagogues and on the comers of the 
streets. 

■ Hatt. V. 43-4S. 

* We have oulv to compare the accounts of 8. Lube and S. Matthew to 
note bow the Saviour, in order t« make Himself more clearly understood, 
repeated the sane thought under various forma : " Do to another as you 
would have him do to you. . . . And if you lead to those from whom you 
hope to receive a return, what thanks do yon deaerve ! Sincera too, lend 
'ii order (o receive aa much in return. But aa for you, love 



your enemies; do good and lend, hoping for nothing in letnm. And you: 
reward shall be great, and von shall he called the children of the Moat 
High ; for He is kind to the thankless and the wicked. Be merciful. 



therefore, as your Father is merciful " { Luke vi. 31-36). 

« Man. vi. 1-8, 

* Some commentators suppose that the Pharisees diil really blow upon a 
trumpet to gather the poor about them, anil so dislribute their alms in this 
ostentatious fashion ; but l.iglitfoot, who ia so perfectly conversant with 
Rabbinical literature, declares that he has not been able to hnd the slight- 
eBt sign of any such usage. Hence, we can only regard this as part of the 
figiirative language of Hia discourse : " lis BODtenX'tnemes leur troropette, 
tant ils craignent de n'etre paa vua" (Bosauet, Mediiaivma hut L'ivan^lt: 
Sermon svr la Montaghe, xx* joum4e). 



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268 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

"Do not imitate them," said the Saviour, "for your 
Father knowa of what you have ueed before you aek it 
of Him. As for you, pray thus:' — 

" Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy 
Name; 

" Thy Kingdom come ; 

" Thy will be done on earth as it is Id Heaven ; 

" Give us this day our daily bread ;* 

" And forgive us our debts,* as we foi^ive our debtore ; 

" And lead ua not into temptation ; 

" But deliver us from evil." * 

Nothing could show better than this prayer how Jesus 
would change the sons of Israel into a new people by 
diverting their desires from earth and raising them to 
Heaven, by proposing nobler ends as tlie rewards of right- 

1 Matt. vi. 9-13. 

a 'BxioilffMB'. This word is peculiar to the Evangelists (Matt. vi. 11; 
Lnke xi. 3). It mav i^nme from Irl Unu, or, to be more exact, frotn the 
feminine participle i) ^loAro, witb -riiUpa onderetood, "the comioK daj." 
'H rapouaii, q upaaviiaa are itt &ct phraHs conimoiily iis«d by the Septua- 
giiit as well as by JoaepliuB to designate the morrow, aod S. Jerome lound 
" Mahar: iriO, quod Jicitur crastinos," iostead of iwtaiavir in the Gospel 
wliicli vas written for the Hebrews. Tim tprov rir iTioAauir, thenfore, 
may be construed as meaning "Our bread for the morrow." Still, this 
interpretation seems iljffieult to leconcile witli the precept uttered by Jeaus 
immediately afterwards ; "Be not auiioua about the morrow." Hence it 
seemM mora natural to think that this word comes from M flrat; hci olmla, 
" the bread from which we have our being," which is our subaistence, our 
bread of each day; and this wonld imply not only the food of the body, 
but all things which in like manner nourish the soul, auch as the divine 
word, the SacramRiita, and above all things else the Holy Eucharist. This 
ia the thought of very many Fathers, and S. Jerome was moved thereby to 
alter the Vulgate (Matt. vi. 11) which had "qnotidianam " in the ancient 
version, placing in its stead the woeJ " snpersabstantialem," "the Ttread 
that is ainve all substance." However, in S. Lnka (li. 3) he has lelt 
" quotidian iim." 

' 'O^iXiinaro, "our debts," our omissions, our sins, aa well aa what we 
have left undone ; in mil . . ., "even as," not "in the same measure 
as . . . " (Hartung. Patiitellehre, i. p. 460). 

* I.ightfoot baa collected from the Babbinioal writings all the formulaa] 
of prayer which correspond in any way to the "Our Father." Such a] 
coinpaiisoii makes us realize more keenly, if ponsible, how ori^nal and 
veritably divine is tliia Prayer which onr Lord has taught us. So for the 

Eiiyer of man Jesns did what he had done for the whole Law of God. — 
V. completed it, and bestowed upon it the perfectnesa of an altogether 
heavenly grace. 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 269 

eousness. Undoubtedly Heaven existed for the Jew just 
as it does for us to-day, yet he never lift-ed his eyes on 
high, but looked for his recompense here below. The dis- 
ciple of Jesus, taught to long after celestial goods, spurns 
such as are the creatures of time ; for his thoughts are all 
fixed on incorruptible and eternal things. In this new 
realm of the Spirit he does not fail to fulfil all the duties 
of life, nor to endure its trials. He fasts as formerly,' but 
with a serene couutenauce, seeking to attain by morti- 
fication to a real detachment from worldly feelings, and 
to a completer union with God. He prays, but it is in 
secret he communes with the Father ; he distributes alms, 
but without letting the left hand know what the right 
hand is doing. With toil and trouble he seeks his daily 
bread, yet without uneasiness or anxiety, without clinging 
to the treasures which rust can corrode and thieves, filch 
away ; not, like the Jews, seeking to share his heart be- 
tween God and Mammon,^ but rather putting all his trust 
in the Providence of the Father, be relishes, through all 
their loveliness, something of the holy Truth of his Master's 
words :' — 

" Be not harassed about your life, what to eat or what 
to drink, nor for your body as to how you shall be clothed. 
Is not the life more than the food, and the body more 
than the raiment? 

" Look np at the birds in the sky ; they neither sow nor 
reap nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father 
feedeth them. Are not you much more than they ? 

" And which one of us by disquieting himself can add 
another moment to his life's allotted span ?* 

1 Matt vi. 16-2*. 

* Ma/i^uSwi, from the Chaldean ttM'3'3, "riches." "Congniit etpunicum 
nomen, naTn Incrum panice Mammon djcitur" (S. Augustine, tn loco). 

• Matt Ti. 26-34. 

*'H\tiEJi»' may mean the length of life or that of the body. The Vul- 
pite takes it in the latter sense, "Quia potest adjicere ad statniam suam 
cubitum UDum J" but for the most part modem critics have, for Tery good 
reasons, preferred the iirst cnnstructinn. Indeed, Jesas intended in this 
manner to remind man of his powerlesaness lo do any stint by himself, 
howsoever small it might be ; now a cubit (t**" feet end a half) added to 
the height of a man would surely be something grtnt and unheard of. So 



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270 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

" Why are you solicitous as to your raiment ? Con- 
sider the lilies of the field,' how they grow. They toil not, 
neither do they spin, and nevertheless I say to you not 
Solomon himself in all his glory was ever arrayed like one 
of these wild flowers. 

" If then, this grass of the fields, which is to-day, and 
to-morrow will be cast into the oven,' God doth attire after 
this sort, how much more shall He do unto you, ye men 
of little faith 1 

"Do not be troubled therefore, saying, ' What shall we 
eat ? ■ or ' What shall we drink ? ' or * Wherewith shall we 
he clothed ? ' The Pagans seek after these things, but your 
Father knows that you have need of them. 

" Then seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice, 
and all these things shall be given you, added unto them.^ 

" Be not anxious concerning the morrow. The morrow 
shall be anxious for itself. Unto each day its own evil 



To these instructions, which were the striking features 
of the discourse. Saint Matthew adds certain precepts, 
given by the Saviour at the same time. It is difficult to 
find the link which bound together these thoughts and 
images of widely different nature ; probably it is useless to 

then, it behores tw to understand "the duration of life"lw ijXiriar, and 
then translate TJixiff"" as "a moment." The Oreelu in order to measure 
time, often made use of ideas and images wliicb properly belong to con- 
siderations of space. tlij^niMo* ^1 XP**** I'*""' Wv* TtprbiitSa (MJm- 
nermuB ; see Stobnus, xcviii. 13). 

, to understand the flower which we 
.nnmones and tulips which in spring- 
is of Jndea. During this season we 
intrj-aide, and across the foot-hills of 
w the fields fairly corarwl with 
es of crimson and gnld --'-'-•- 
1 purple of OrientsTmoi 
(Judges, viii. 26'; Cant. vii. 5 ; Esth, vii'i'. 16 ; Dan. v. 7, 16, 29). 

'* An Eastern oven is no mora than an earthen vessel in which they 
enclose their hresd, spreading over it dry herbs, which, while blazing, 
produce an intense heat. 

- ' There is a saying which Tradition attributes to Jesus, in development 
of this thought : " Ask for the greater things, and you shall receive the 
less together with them ; ask for heavenly things, anil the things of earth 
shall be given yoa beside " (Fabiicius, Cndex apocryphus, i. 326). 



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TEB SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 271 

seek any connectioQ of the kind, the design of the Evange- 
list being, not to present us with a body of doctrine, but to 
preserve such few sentences as still lingered fresh in his 
memory. 

" Judge not, and you shall not be judged. . . . Give, 
and it shall be given to you ; a good measure, pressed down, 
shaken blether, ranniog over, they shall pour into your 
bosom." ^ Hereupon the Lord speaks of the two blind men, 
one of whom cannot lead the other without both falling 
into the ditch ; of the mote and the beam ;" of the pearls 
put before swine ; ^ of the Door opening wide to whoso- 
ever knocketh earnestly. " Who is the man among you 
who gives his son a stone when he asks for bread ? And if 
he ask for a fish, will he give him a serpent ! If you, then, 
wicked though you be, willingly give to your children of 
the good things which are given you, how much more will 
your Father who is in Heaven give truly good gifts to them 
that have recourse unto Him!"* Then, as the Master's 
thoughts follo'w one upon the other in swift sequence, we 
see the smooth and spacious highroad which sweeps on to 
perdition ; the little gateway and the narrow path' which 

1 Matt. Tii. 1-2 ; Luke vi, 38. 
" Matt. Tii. 3-8. 

* Pearls have sometliing of the appearance of lintele, wbjcli make the 
usual food of swine ; yet because these beast* are unable to gviess the 
worth of pearls, and are enraged st not being able to turn them tu their 
own base uses, they trample them under foot, and turn to rend those who 
offer them a nourishment so little auited to their nature. 

* Matt. vii. 9-12. 

' Matt, vii, 13, 11. Was the Door of which Jesus speaks the gate of 
entranee, or the goal of the journey ! It makes little difference which 
hypothesis we may adopt, for in either case the real sigtii6cance of the 
figure remains. In the famous Cebes' Tablet we fin<l au allege^ very 
like to this, and there the gateway lies at the end of the road: "Do you 
not see a small door-way and a path leading up to this door! it is not 
much rrequented. few wander that way. ... It is the way which leadeth 
nnto True Knowledge " (chap, ivi, ). This thought is not the only one of 
tie maxima uttered by ancient philosophers which greatly resemble the 
words of the divine Master ; but does that warrant us in believing that 
Hia doctrine was borrowed from them ! Long ago S. Augustine eloquently 
refuted this opinion, which has been repeated by the incredulous of aU 
ages : "Dixit hoc Pythagoras, dixit hoc Plato. . . . Propterea al inven- 
tus fuisaet aiiquis eomm dixiaae quod diiit et Chrietus, gratulanmr Uli, 
non sequimur illuin. Si qnis vera loquitur, prior est quain ipaa Veritas 1 



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272 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

lead to life ; there are the false prophets clad in sheep's 
clothing,' whom you may recognize as you test a tree by its 
good or bad fruits. Finally we find the true and the false 
disciples of the Christ, — "All those who say, 'Lord! Lord !' 
shall not for that reason enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; 
but he who doeth the will of My Father who ia in Heaven 
he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."' 

Jesus terminated these teachings with a striking figure. 
He had before His mind one of those sheltered ravines 
which had cut deep into the flanks of some mountain-side, 
while its floor is strewn with rocks and sand. For the 
Oriental there ia every temptation to build here iu the bed 
of dried-up toiTenta : he has little more to do than to stoop 
and collect together the smooth stones ; it coats but a little 
labor after that to level away the sand and erect his home. 
And yet, woe to the imprudent fellow who lets himself be 
seduced by the seeming security and safety of this shelt- 
ered spot, where no toil is needed to the making of bis 
dwelling ! Beneath those southern skies storms burst forth 
in an instant, emptying streams of water down upon the 
mountain-tops ; then of a sudden these parched channels 
which wind through the gorges are transformed into raging 
tori'ents once more. Before the mighty on-rush of the 
waters everything is crumbled, crushed, and whirled away 
in confusion. It were wisdom to dig one's solid habitation 
deep and strong among the higher rocks ; there, raised upon 
its firm base, hia home can defy the fury of tempest and 
floods. 

"Whoever," said the Lord,^ " hears these My words and 
puts them in practice I will show you to whom he ia 
Uke. 



' Matt. vii. lg-20. This may be nn allusion to the custoniary garb of 
Prophets, whose outer ganneiit waa the skin of an animal hung over their 
shouldera : however, in all probability, Jesus wished to remind them that 
the false prophets, the better to deceive them, would bear the outward 
semblance of a lamb, 

^ Matt. -riL 21-23. 

8 Man. vii. 2i-2r. 



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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 273 

" He is like to a man who builded a house, and haviug 
dug deep beforehand, sets its foundations upon the rock. 

"The raina fall, the floods come, the winds blow and 
beat about this house ; but it has not fallen, because it is 
founded on the rock. 

" And he who hears these words which I speak and 
does not put them in practice is like a foolish man who 
has built his house upon the sand. 

" The rain falls, the floods come, the winds blow and 
beat about this house, and it has fallen, and its ruin has 
been great." 

Such was the Sermon on the Mount. With deep re- 
spect we may thus gather together all that Saint Matthew 
and Saint Luke have remembered and recorded ; but there 
is that which they were unable to set down here, — the 
heavenly accents of the Master and the grace which ex- 
haled from His lips. The listening throngs were touched 
with wondering rapture.^ That which charmed them more 
than all besides was that He spoke and " taught as one 
having authority, and not as their Scribes." Never before, 
indeed, had Israel hearkened to language like this ; they no 
longer heard teaching Uke that of their Doctors, — a dry 
and heartless code of ethics, unending disputes about 
trivial subjects ; here was no strained or tedious interpre- 
tation of the Law, no slavish attachment to the dead letter. 
Everything about Jesus bespoke the sovereign Master 
of the hearts of men, lifting them up toward the Truth, 
yet without wrenching them away from earth; the lof- 
tiest subjects were set before them in such homely phrases 
that the lowly folk and their little ones could grasp His 
meaning. He spoke to the villagers of life in the open 
fields, of trees in fruit or with barren boughs, of wild- 
flowers and of the mountain-torrents ; to the fishermen He 
spoke of their lake or of their nets ; to all He told of what 
they knew and loved, and they all, bending forward with 
rapt and breathless interest, followed the Word in wonder 
and delight. 

1 Matt. rii. 28, 38. 
vol. I. — 18 



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CHAPTER IV. 

CAPHABNAUM AND NaIM. 



I. The Centurion of Caphaenaum. 

Luke Tii. 1-10; Matt. viiL 1, 6-13. 

Accompanied by a great concourse, Jesus descended the 
mountain and returned to Capharnaum,^ He went thither 
to experience t!ie joy of welcoming the first Pagan who 
waa to come to Him, — one of the noblest souls of whom 
the Gospel makes any mention. He was a Roman Cen- 
turion, commanding the detachment of legionaries stationed 
\ipoii the borders of the lake." Galilee, though it was 
under Herod's rule, remained nevertheless under the over- 
lordship of vigilant Roman governors ; and Gapharuaum 
was too important a position for the masters of the world 
to neglect to occupy it. The officer chained with repre- 
senting the Empire here was worthy of that trust, — reso- 
lute in his biddings, keeping his soldiers under perfect 
discipline, at the same time he was not so much the over- 
seer as he was the protector of Capharnaum. We know 
that he had been more than a little drawn toward the wor- 
ship of Jehovah ; for this Pagan, who had remained upright 
and clean of heart in the midst of Roman corruption, 

' Matt. viii. 1 ; Luke Tii. 1. 

^ Some scholars interpret this as nieaaiog that the Centurion waa one of 
the Samaritan ofBcials under Herod Autipas ; but the Samaritans, though 



n which the Centurion was held at Capharnaum can hardly be 

reconciled with the mortal hatred which the Jews cherished against the 
schismatics of Samaria. 



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THE CENTURION OF CAPHARNAUM. 275 

could Qot have known the religion of the Jews without 

being touched by its pure morality, and to this he had 
himself borne witness publicly, by having a synagogue 
biiilt ill the town.' With this high tone of mind he com- 
bined certain feelings of humanity, which were certainly 
rare enough at that period. There is no one who does not 
know what sort of a position the slave held in ancient 
days ; he was a machine with a human voice, — a beast of 
burden, taken care of only in order to obtain a few years' 
longer services.^ Should he grow old and sick, it were the 
wisest course, according to certain most illustrious philos- 
ophers, " to sell hirii along with the old cattle and rusty 
scrap-iron." * Yet this Centurion, when we see him first, is 
leaning over the pillow of his old servant, watching and 
weeping ; " for he loved him much." * 

His grief, being known throughout Capbamaum, had 
moved his numerous friends to come to him, and they 
were gathered about the sick man, who was now racked 
with fierce agonies ;'• death was drawing near. In this ex- 
tremity the Centurion learned of Jesus' return, and recalled 
all he had heard said of Him ; yet, not daring to hope that 
Israel's Benefactor would listen to a Pagan, he turned 
toward the Ancients of Capharnaum,*' and asked them to 
intercede for him. 

The latter, remembering only their debt of gratitude, set 
out in search of the Saviour, and besought His aid. 

" This man deserves that you should assist him," they 
said, " for he loves our nation, and has built us a syn- 



2 " lustnimenti genus vocale" (Varro, Dt Be nutieA, L 17) ; "Serrus 
vel animal aliad " (Ulpian, Digesle, vi. 1, 16, par. 8). 
■ Cato, De Se rusticd, iu, 

* Luke vii. 2. 

' This " paralysis " (Matt, viil 6) was not the ailment which we know 
by tliat name, for the eHect of the latter is to annihilate all feeling, while 
this slave sujfered veiy sensible paina. By Ihia name the ancients des- 
ignated quite different illneases, such as rheamatism, tetanoa, which is 
so common in hot climates, etc. 

* Probably the Ancients here alluded to are the elders of the pe6ple, 
and not those of the Synagogue, who are generally spoken of in S! Luke 
by the name of ii/(xiffuwt7i'yoi (Acts itiii. 16). 



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276 :SKVOHD YEAH Of THE MimmTBY Of JESUS. 

Jesus seceded immediately to their request. 
" I will go," He replied, " and I will heal him." ^ 
He followed after tliem, and as He was Hearing the 
house they informed the Centurioa of His approach. The 
Roman's surprise was great, for lie had never expected to 
receive Him in his home, knowing that in the eyes of the 
Pharisees one who entered a heathen's dwelling was de- 
filed. Desiring to spare the youthful Prophet such dis- 
grace, he despatched some of his fiends, bearing this 



" Lord, do not give yourself so much trouble, for I am 
not worthy that you should enter into my house. It was 
for this reason I dared not go to you ; but aay only one 
word and my servant shall be healed." 

Then he himself, if we follow the text of Saint Matthew,' 
came forward to meet the divine Master, and upon the 
threshold of his mansion besought Him, as his only gift, to 
vouchsafe one single word from His mouth. Accustomed 
to command, he knew the power of a word. 

" I, who obey another," he said, " have nevertheless 
soldiers under me, and I say to one, ' Go ! ' and he goes, 
and to another, ' Come ! ' and he comes, and to my servant, 
' Do this,' and he does it." 

Hearing him speak, Jesus was filled with admiration. 



1 I.onl, that waa a most powerful 
plea, th&t this niau loved Ood'H chosen NMiun, So the Jevriah Senatoi'S, 
who would constrain Him to restore the ebbing life of this servant who 
waa M <tcar to the Centurion's heart, besought Jeans eagerly, di^cs 
tbat ' He deserves to be assiaCed by you, for he loves oar people, and 
has built us a synagogue ; ' and straightway Jesus went with them and 
healed the aerving-maa " (Bossnet, Poliliqite tirA <U I'ScrUure, livre L 
article vi. proposition 2|. 

* In fact, this Evangelist puts the same words into the mouth of thft 
Centurion which S, Luke tella na hia frienda uttered to the Lord. Ordi. 
narily these two versions of the story are recoDciled by aaserticg that 
8. Matthew might justly attribate to the Centurion those words which 
were spoken in his name. But without straining the simplicity of the 
aacred text so far as this, would it not be perfectly natnral to suppose 
that the olGeer, meeting his Guest upon the threshold, noa1d repeat the 
same words with which he had told his frienda to address the ilivine 
Uaster ! Looked at iti this light, his humility seeoja the more impressive 
and touching. 



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THE CENTURION OF CAPHARNAUM. 277 

aud turning to the company who had followed Him, He 
said : — 

" Of a truth I have not found any so great faith, even 
in Israel." 

Praise like this, which exalted a Heathen above the 
sons of Abraham, probably gave rise to some bitter mur- 
murings of disapproval ; it may even be that the Lord had 
discerned some of the Sanhedrin's spies mingling with the 
crowd, for all at once His language grew threatening. The 
Jews had pictured for themselves the reign of the Messiah 
as it were a banqueting-board spread before them, and 
them alone ; and they were fond of representing the con- 
fiision of the Gentiles, doomed only to gaze from afar upon 
their sumptuous repasts.' 

The divine Master recalled this haughty dream in order 
to destroy it, and declai-ed that Pagans coming from the 
East and from the West would sit down to table by the 
side of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the heavens ; while 
the Jews, though children of the Kingdom of Heaven, 
would be cast without the festal hall into the blackness of 
night. " There shall be weeping and grinding of teeth." ^ 

Turning then to the Centurion, " Go," He said, " and may 
it be done unto you even as you have believed." And the 
servant was healed. 

The Centurion of Capharnaum remains unto this day as 
the consummate, copy set before every soul that seelta 
God. By praising his humility and faith the Lord has 
shown us that thus it behoves us to come unto Him. Of 
this the Church has been ever mindful ; and since that 

' "In mundo futaro (dixit Deu9), mensam ingenUm vobia sternBio, 
quod gentiles videbunt et pndeGeat " (Schiettgeii, Horx Htbralca, In 

' Matt. viii. 11. That is to say, outsidn the circle of celestial light, 
in Hell : "There they shall weep aud gnash their teeth, for, fiom afar 
off, they shall behold the high seats which they were 1« have had for 
their own, the crowns they were to have worn upon their heads ; and 
all this so clearly that they shall even descry hon those fair thrones 
are now filled by others, and those resplendent crowns upon others' 
. brows. Then they must needs groan without avail ; thnn will their race 
force them to grind their teeth in fruitless a^ny olsoul'' ( Rosauet, J/iai- 
tati(M3»ur I'ilvangile, demiire semaine, iviiia journee). 



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278 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

time no one drawa near the Table where Jeaua gives us 
Himself to be our Bread of Life without first rekiadliLg in 
his heart the feelings of this great Captain, murmuring 
with reverent lips : — 

" Lord, I am not worthy that Thou sliouldst enter under 
my roof, but speak only one word and my soul shall be 
hotled." 



II. The Son of the Wumw of Naim. 

Luke vil 11-17. 

Jesus lingered only a little while at Caphamaum ; ou 
the next day, — so runs the record of Saint Luke,' — He 
had travelled some nine leagues thence, and had come to 
the town of Naim. There was nothing unusual about this 
rapid journey ; for, by starting in the evening, a boat could 
soon brii^ Him over to the southern shore of the lake, 
and leaving there about sunrise He woiild reach the place 
for which He was bound easily before nightfall. 

Nmui of to-day — a poor little village — has preserved 
no tokens of her past, except her girdle of tombs ; there is 
nothing now to justify her name, — "The Beautiful,"" — 
beside her site, upon the slope of a high hill, from which, 
in a glance, one can sweep the plain of Esdralon, and far 
away to Mount Tabor, But in the days of the Lord she 
was glowing with life, and by her faith was made worthy 
of receiving the Good News, and beholding His wondrous 
works. 

At that time, the most glorious period of His Ministry, 
the Master walked always attended by an eager array of 

' 'Bv T^ ^f^t (jiijAp^). TiBchendorf retains this reading, which is that 
of the Sinaitic Manuscript, and the Palimpsest of Ephrem. 'E* rji iiHt 
Ixpinf), which is fotind in the Aleiandrine ManiiBcript and in that of 
Sinai (correction by a third hand), would mean that JeiHU betook Himself 
to Nairn upon some one of the following dsya. 

"Naim, O'S), the Beautiful, the Chamiing City. S. Jerome (Ono- 
maaticon) locates this town some two milea soath of Tabor and near 
Endor. The present village lies upon the northerly flank of Little 
Hermon. _ 



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TBE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAlM. 279 

faithful souls. In this manner He was making the ascent 
of the steep pathway which still leads up to Nairn, when, 
from out the gates of the city, there came a funeral pro- 
cession ; it was advancing directly in the path of Jesus, 
moving toward a tomb which had been made without the 
walls. There is no sadder sight than a burial train in the 
Orient ; cei-tain of the kindred bear the body, resting on a 
litter and swathed in perfumes and linen bands ; at their 
head march the flute-ptayers, who draw shrill, plaintive 
notes from their pipes ; the mourners send up a chorus of 
cries and wails, now beating their breasts, now tossing 
their hands to heaven, or tearing their dishevelled hair. 
And on this day their demonstration of woe must have 
been more wild and clamorous than ever, for they were 
seeking to give uttei'ance to sorrow such as no tears can 
wash away. The Gospel with one word makes ns feel 
how great was that grief: "he was his mothei-'s only son, 
and she was a widow," ^ This weeping woman followed 
the body with a large company of the town's-folk.* 

Jesus could not look upon this piteous sight without 
being moved. 

" fto not weep," He said to her ; and forthwith, coming 
closer, He touched the bier. 

The bearers understood His gesture, and stood still. 
The throng waited in suspense for wliat was about to 
happen; the flute-players and the wailing women were 
hushed and still; through this e^ipectant silence they 
heard the voice of the Saviour, — 

" Young man, I say unto you. Arise ! " 

Instantly the dead sat up and began to speak. And 
Jesus restored him to his mother. 

In this deed, who could help recognizing the Prince of 
Life, handling at His sovereign pleasure the keys of the 
tomb ? Elias bringing back to life the son of the widow 

' Luke vii. 12. 

' From this concourse of people we caanot draw any concluaiona as to 
the social standing of this family, nor as to the public esteem which they 
had won from the citizens of Nairn, for it was a time-honored ouatoiii 
among the Jews to accompany any funeral train which they chanced to 
meet by the way. 



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280 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

of Sarepta, Eliseus restoring her cbild to the weeping 
Sunamite woman,^ were evidently in every one's mind. 
But what a difTerence between Jesus, breaking the bonds 
of death by a word, and these Prophets, who must needs 
throw themselves upon the corpse again and i^ain, while 
they revived it with their breath. Here, instead of the 
prolonged and laborious efforts of a restricted power, there 
is the simple Authority of the mighty Master I " They all 
were seized with fear, and glorified God, as they said, ' A 
great Prophet has been raised from amongst us, and God 
has visited His people!'"' 

As for the child thus called back to life, and this wid- 
owed mother, assuredly it was not fear that moved them, 
but indeed a living faith which well-nigh overwhelmed 
their hearts ; for it was not Jesus' custom to cure the 
body without renewing the soul ; nor can we believe that 
He would have awaked the dead youth from his funeral 
couch, that so He might restore in him the life of the 
senses, without, at one and the same time, inspiring the 
breath of Immortality within his soul. 



III. The Message sent bv John the Baptist. 

Luke vii. 18-35 ; Matt. si. 2-19. 

For more than six months now John Baptist had been 
held as a captive by Herod, but from bia frontier prison 
he still followed the course of Him for Whom he had 
made ready the road ; and this he could do the more easily 
since his disciples were permitted to visit him, and could 
thus keep him informed of all the doings of the Christ. 
So, just at this juncture, he selected two from their 
number, and despatched them to the Saviour with this 



" Are you He who should come, or t 
8ome other ? " ^ 



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JOHN BAPTIST'S MESSAGE. 281 

What is tbe meaning of these words ? Amidst the 
weariness and dejection of his confinement, did John feel 
his course siuking? Did he begin to lose faith in the 
Christ?* For US to harbor such a supposition would be 
to misjudge his character entireiy. The Precursor's only 
design was to direct hia disciples' minds by this means 
eti-aight to the only Teacher Who could fully instruct 
them in the way of life. The Saviour, who at once fath- 
omed John's motive, made answer by letting them witness 
certain deeds in which His almighty powers were mani- 
fested most strikingly. " In that same hour He healed all 
those who came to Him, curing them of all their diseases 
and wounds, and of evil spirits ; and to a blind man He 
restored his sight."* 

Then turning to these envoys. He said, " Go, and report to 
John that which you have both heard and witnessed, — the 
blind see, tbe lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf 
hear, the dead rise again, and to the poor the Good News 
is announced." 

Isaias, whose words Jesus borrows here, had foretold 
that such marvels would mark the coming of the Messiah.^ 
He indeed had not spoken of any resurrection of the dead, 
but the Lord could not be silent concerning that which 
all Nairn was now pubhshing abroad, and therefore He 
alludes also to that sovereign might wherewith He holds 
the powers of death at His will, adding yet another sign 
of which the Prophet had spoken : " the Gospel delivered 
unto the poor."* 

In making this humble duty the culminating note in an 
enumeration of His most striking miracles, Jesus designed 
to set the true character of His Mission in highest relief; 
because He had come, not so much to do glorious deeds, 

' This interpretation is given by some of the Fathers (TertuHian, De 
Baptismo, x. ; Contra MarsioTi^m, lib. iv. 18; Qiueaiio nxiviii. ad OrOw- 
doxox, S. Justini Op. spur.) and it hns been adopted by many Protestant 
Bcholara, but to Qs it aeeaia entirely incansiatent with eveiythinc whiuli 
we are told concerning ".the greatest of tbe children of men (Matt. 

« T.uke vii. 21, 22. 
' Is. lUT. 5, e. 

" la. Ui. 1 ; xax. IB. 



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282 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

as to teach and to comfort all such aa the world de- 
spises. And yet this marvellous blending of grandeur 
and meekness shocked the disciples of the Baptist. 

The Lord, seeing them draw away from Him, uttered 
that solemn warning, before their withdrawal : ' — 

"Blessed is he who is not scandalized in Mel"' 

In their astonishment at this unceremonious departure, 
it would appear that the people conceived an unfavorable 
idea of these messengers, and were even fain to suspect 
the fidelity of him who had sent them, for at once Jesus 
spoke out in his defence. 

He reminded the Jews of those reeds which they bad 
seen waving in the wind along the banks of the streams 
where John was baptizing, and with these he contrasted 
the strong, unshaken faith of the Precursor, taking the 
thin and tremulous stalks as the symbol of inconstancy. 
Then, aa His gaze fell upon certain men among them who 
were clothed in splendid garments,* He eompai-ed the lazy 
luxury of gay courtiers with the austerity of the Prophet, 
saying ; * — 

" What went you into tfie desert for to see ? A reed 
shaken by the wind ? 

"What, then, went you out for to see ? A man clothed 
in soft raiment ? 

"Nay, those who have rich robes and live in luxury do 
dwell in kings' houses. 

' "Non Joannem, a*d discipulos ejus percutit" (S. Jerome, Epiit. oU. 
ad Algatium, qaeatio i.). 

' Luke Tii. '23. 

' These were probably some of the Scribes who were come from the 
court of the Tetrarch, for, since their recent reconciliation with the 
Sanhedrin (Mark iii. 6), the Herodiaus aliarod in the latter's espionage 
on the Saviour's actions. Among them it miiy be that Jesus recognized 
some membeni of the Sect of Manaben (father of the person of tjiat name 
mentioneit already, p. 205, note 4), who had yielded to the sductive 
charms of court life in the splendid palaces of Herod the Great, though 
at firet he hail lieen a rival of Hillel in the austerity of his life. His dis- 
ciples had followed his example only too faithiully ; throwing off the 
restrictions of religion, together with all zeal for the Law, they appeared 
in public clothed in sumptuous miment and glittering with omamenta of 
gold (see Ghngiga, foL 16, 2 ; Jost, Geachtchte dea Judcntkiimt, i. 259). 

* Lnka vii. 34-28. 



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JOH^i BAPTISTS MESSAGE. 283 

" What, then, went you out for to see ! A Prophet ? 
Yea, I say to you, and more than a Prophet. 

" This is He of whom it is written : Behold I send 
Mine Aiigel before Thy face,' to prepare Thy ways before 
Thee." 

Was it not enough to have exalted the holiness of His 
ForeruDDer so strikingly ? Yet Jesus went on to say 
that under the ancient Law " No one amoDg those bom 
of women has ever risen who is greater than John." 

Still, such is the superiority of the Church over the 
Synagc^ue, that Jesus adds: "And, notwithstanding, the 
least of all in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than 
John the Baptist;" whereby He would teach ua that the 
lowest place by His side is to be preferred before the 
highest rank among the disciples of Moses. 

It is this new reign of the Christ on earth " that all 
the Prophets had foretold, until John," and for which 
John himself, "the new Elias," had made ready all things 
witii such lofly zeal His toils and trouble had not 
been in vain, for at this very hour aU Judea was flock- 
ing to Jesus. "Already men were taking this His King- 
dom by storm, and in dense throngs were hastening to 
the assault."^ 

This declaration surprised the listeners, and was quite 
differently received. " The people and the publicans, bap- 
tized by John, acknowledged the justice and the wisdom 
of these divine counsels ; but the Pharisees and the 
Doctors of the Law, who had disdained the baptism of 
the Precursor, now gave token of their contempt for the 

' npi Tfrtwi&rou ff-ou. Here Jesus alters the wonUnR of the Prophet 
Malachy (iii. 1), in which Jehovnh, sp«iiking of Himself, says, "I send 
My Angel before My face." By thna ai)p7yinK to Himself what was 
spoken of the Almighty, the Chriet proclaims that He is co-equal nith 
Him. Thia change in the Text has heeii studiously recorded by all three 
Evaugelists when repeating this utterance of the Saviour (Matt. xi. 10 ; 
Msrlt i. 2 i Luke vii. 27). 

'Matt. ri. 12. 'H paaiXfla r& oipainiv jSntffTai ; "vim patitur. 
Ti factH inraditur, significatnr partiin ardor ac studium properantium 
. , . partim multitude coufluentium" (JaiineniiiB Yprantiua, TetrofeueAui, 
in loco). " Vim ^titur . . . vi invsditur . . . quia magna mnltitadice, 
studio, aviditate, impetu ... ad illnd rapiendum homitiea concuirunt 
(Cornelius a Lajride, in MatOumtm, xi. 12). 



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284 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

designs of God in their regard." ' Wliereupon Jesus ad- 
dressed to them these reproachful words:' — 

" To what shall I compare the men of this generation ? 
To what, indeed, can they be likened ? " He added. 

"They are like children seated in the market-place, who 
cry to their companions, ' We have played for you on the 
flute, we have sung aud you have not danced. We have 
chanted sorrowful hymns, and you have not wept, you 
have not even beat your breasts.'* 

"John has coine among you neither eating bread nor 
drinking wine, and you say, ' He is possessed by the devil ; ' 
the Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say, 
'This is a fellow who loves good cheer and wine, a friend 
of publicans and sinners.'"* 

These words of the Master must have made the Phari- 
sees and the Scribes wince and writhe under the justice 
of the mortifying rebuke ; for it was in the presence of all 
the people that He thus chained them with cherishing 
childish caprices, and of insisting pettishly that everything 
must bend to suit their humors, — at one time complaining 
of John because, in their hours of pleasure and happiness, 
his life seemed too stern and austere ; and then again, dis- 
pleased with Jesus, Whose condescension and chsoity was 
a scandal in their eyes.^ 

■ Lnke vii, 28-30. "Not* h«c verba videri poHus Lncte quam 
Chiiati. Nam pauto post seqaitar : " Ait autem Dorainus. . ■ •" Ita 
Janseniu» et alai, licet Mnldonatua oeuseat esse verba Cbristi " (Oomelins 
a Lapide, in loco). 

'Xukevii. 31, 32. 

' We caD easily picture the scene called u(i b^ these wotda of the 
Saviour. Who has not seen children at play mimicking all that they have . 
seen enacted by their eldera 1 Jesus called to mind those little groups of 
yonngsteis, seated in a circle in the public squares ; at such times some 
of them will pretend to be e^joyinff a concert at a grand wedding, or play 
at being mourners at a fnneral ; while there are always a certain few of 
their companions who will not ent«r into their fancifDl sports, in apite of 
all the persistent teasing of their playmates. 

* Luke vii. 33, 84. 

* It is commonly supposed that Jesus was referKng to all the Jews, as 
being like auch fretful and peevish children. If Heaven offer them a 
Protinet of austere character, who urges them to do penance, and thunders 
forth bis songs of mourning for their sins, they refuse to weep with him, 
bnt rather spurn him as a madman, overwrought by dwelling too long on 



THE SINFUL WOMAN AT NAtM. 286 

After this severe censure, tlie Lord proclaimed that 
although such was the state of this unbelieving genera- 
tion, yet a time would come, and it was even now upon 
them, when " Wisdom would find her children, who would 
both defend and justify her." ' 

He might indeed have pointed out such sons of the 
Eternal Wisdom, as they stood there in the presence of 
His enemies. They were the Apostles, those lowly and 
humble men who surrounded Him, and who were yet to 
become the triumphant apologists of the New Eeign. 



IV. The Sinfdl Woman at the Banquet given by 

SiMOH. 
Luke vii. S6-60. 

On that same day at Nairn the divine gifts of grace 
were again bestowed upon maukind. While still excited 
by the raising of the dead youth and by the coming of 
John's messengers, this little city was to be the scene of 
one of the most touching incidents in the whole Gospel 

A Pharisee, named Simon,* invited the Saviour to a 

Huch gloomy thoughts. Tli^n if it send them a tender and merciful Mes- 
siah, whose wards are gentle as ninaic, a Saviour who lives their daily life, 
eating and drinking with them, they acorn Him as a fellow of vulgar 
manners ! However natuml this interpretation may appear, it is, never- 
theless, at variance with the sacred text ; it is enough to read the sequel, 
noting the words used by the Lord, to be convinced that it was the Phari- 
aees whom He is comparing to children, aometlmes playing the flute, 
sometimes intoning their lugubrious chants, but always insisting that 
every one else must yield to their capricious humors. 

' The text of S. Matthew, in the Manuscript of Sinai, and in some 
versions, has tpyuir, instead of riicmr ; "Wisdom is justified by her 

" The Pharisee Simon must not he confounded with Simon the leper, of 
Rethony, who only a few days before the Passion gave a great dinner in 
honor of Jeaus. It is true that in both instances the hosts are of the same 
name, and each time a woman comes to bestow her meed of perfumes upon 
the Master ; but despite the resemblance in both these points, it seems to 
us absolutely necessary to separate the two events. At Nairn a sinful 
creature casts herself at the feet of Jesoa, and bathes them with her t«ars ; 
nothing of the sort happens in Bethany. At Nium the woman hardly ven- 
tures to anoint the feet of the Lord ; while at Bethany she pours out her 



286 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

baiiqutit. Curiosity, and the pleasure of entertaining an 
extraordinary personage, — perhaps, too, a secret sense of 
the majestic character of this Prophet, — had induced hiin 
to tender this courtesy to Jesus. However, from pride, 
or from fear of liis Sect, he affected an air of contemptuous 
coldness. The usual polite ceremonials were omitted : 
there was no one to bathe the feet of the Stranger,^ nor 
did any one kiss this Guest upon the cheek,^ nor offer 
Him perfumes for His hair." 

Jesus made no complaint at meeting with so cold a 
greeting in the house of one who had bidden Him to a 
formal feast. He entered the banquet-hall and took His 
place at table. In the primitive times the Hebrews used 
to partake of their repasts, after the manner common among 
the Orientals of to-day, seated upon mats with their legs 
crossed;* but ever since the Captivity, they had dropped 
this custom in order to follow the prevalent fashion among 
the Greeks and Komans, — slipping off their sandals at the 
threshold, they reclined upon couches, which were ranged 
about the boai-d, and helped themselves to the dainties, 
while leaning on the left arm, the body lying with the feet 
extended to the outer circle.^ 

When the great banquet-hall was thrown open to all 
comers (as was now the case) it was customary for a crowd 
of onlookers to surround the feasters with perfect freedom. 
In this interested circle of spectatora there stood a woman 



death ; at the fonner repast we hear no mention of any sad forebodings, 
nor any talk of a kindred nature. There was no ceremony of more fre- 
quent occurrence in Judca thiin that of scattering coatly perfDmes orer the 
guests, and it would not be strange if Jesns received this token of respect 
and love oftenerthan the two instances here noted (Eccl. in. 8 ; Cant. iv. 
10 ; Amos vi. 6, etc. ). As to the name Simon, we know bow common it 
was among the Jews, In his Commentary upon S. John, Hengstenberg has 
tried to prove that the two accounts refer to the one same hanqnet ; but 
his long and scholarly argument does not strike as as successfiilly estab- 
lishing nis paint. 

iGen. xviii. i; Jud. x\\. 'l\. 

' Gen. xixiii. i ; Eiod. xriii. 7. 



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K 



THE SINFUL WOMAN AT NAJtHf. 287 

knowQ tbiTjuyhout the whole town for her disorderly life,^ 
Upon heariug a rumor that the Christ was coming to this 
quarter of the city, she had hurried thither, clad in her 
usual rich garments, and clasping a vase of perfumes in 
lier haud. She had pressed forvrai'd until she reached the 
Lord, and there she remained listening to Him in silence. 

Very soon, indeed, the words of the Son of Mary found 
their way to her siu-stained soul ; she threw herself weep- 
ing at the feet of the Master, humbly kissing them, drying 
them with her hair, and then, breaking the alabaster vase, 
she covered them with the fragrant incense.^ 

Simon looked across the table with haughty disgust at 
this woman who had prostratetl herself before Jesus. 
Neither the woful shame nor the great wretchedness of a 
heart torn by repentance could move him to pity; he could 
see in this sinful woman nothing but a disgraced and 
odious creature, whose least touch would leave an ugly 
stain.^ His only surprise was that Jesus did not repulse 
her, as he or any other Pharisee would have done, in scorn 
and horror. 

"If this man were really a Prophet," he mused, "he 
would know what sort of a woman this is who is touching 
him ; he would know that she is a sinner." These worde 
were not uttered aloud ; but the Pharisee, if only by his 
silence and his contemptuous manner, let his disdain he 
plainly seen by all. 

Jeans answered his thoughts. 

"Simon," he said, "I have somewhat to say to you." 

" Well, Master, say on ! " replied the host, 

"A creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hun- 
dred denarii, and the other fifty. As they had not where- 
withal to pay him, he remitted each one's debt Which of 
the two now loves him most ?" 

1 Trench, JVoto on the Parables, 299. 

' The alabasMr casket'! destineil to hold such perfumes were very fragile 
affairs ; all that was needed to break tb«m in pieces was b. slight pressure 
upon the long and slender neck of the vase (Pliny, Siitoria naturalii. 



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288 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Simoii replied, without seeing what the Lord desired to 
prove from this, " Undoubtedly it would be he to whom 
he remitted the greater amount" 

"You have judged rightly," answered Jesus; and then 
He turned His eyes full upon the sinner before Him. 
Huddled at His feet, she was shedding bitter, burning tears, 
— tears which Saint Augustine has called the heart's blood. 
But because she was humble, and was therefore more en- 
lightened than Simon, at the very mention of debt she 
knew that He was alluding to Her. The Master pointed 
to this penitent figure, continuing atill to address the 
astonished Pharisee. 

" Simon, do you see this woman ? 

" I entered your dwelling ; you gave Me no water for 
My feet, while she indeed has washed My feet with her 
tears, and has wiped them with her hair. 

" You gave Me no kiss ; while she indeed, ever since I 
entered here,' has not ceased to kiss My feet. 

" You have not anointed My head with oil, while she 
indeed has bathed My feet with ointments. 

" And so, for this reason, I say to you, many sins shall 
be remitted unto her, because she has loved much. But 
he to whom less is remitted loves the lesa,"^ 

The Heart of the divine Master overflowed in this for- 
giveness which he now granted to one who was looked 
upon as the vilest object in all humanity, the very sym- 
bol of lost and depraved womankind. Not like Paganism, 
which would have devoted her to a life of shame beyond 
the slightest hope of escape, Jesus cast upon her a look of 
such deep and pure tenderness that the Pharisees them- 
selves dared not wrong Him by an evil thought. He raised 
her from the earth, and though He did not lay upon her 

' The Vulgate has clirij\$ey, " intrarit ; " but nearly all the Greek manu- 
scripts give the reading flaijMoi', which impliea that the penitent sinner 
ei^teii;!! the hall at the same time with Jesus. 

' " Dictum est hoc propter pbarisxam ilium, qui vel nulla vel panea se 

Sutahat habere peccata j uon enim Dominutn invitaret, nisi sUguantulom 
iligeret. . . . O Pharisee, ideo parum ciiligis, quia parum tibi diniitti 
suspicaris ; nnn quia luiriim dlniittitur aed qnia parum putaa eeae quod 
dimittitur" |S. Augustine, Sermo Jtcix. 6). 



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i 



TBE SINFUL WOMAN AT NAIM. 289 

brow that flower of innocence which once blighted never 
blooms again, He crowned her with a glory far more 
austere, — the halo of repentance, and the great love of a 
pardoned soul 

And this divine fire blazed so brightly and ao strong 
within this poor sinner's heart that it was purified at 
once of every ugly stain ; " ao much of sinfulness was 
forgiven ber, because she had loved so much." And there- 
fore Jesns had only to make manifest the miracle which 
grace had worked within her^ by saying to the sobbing 
woman, — 

" Your sins are remitted unto you." 

Language like this, which had once roused the members 
of the Sanhedrin to a fury of indignation, here, among the 
Pharisees of Naim, only excited mingled emotions of fear 
and awe. 

"Who is this man," they said among themselves, "who 
even remits sins ? " " 

But as for Jesus, all intent upon comforting the peni- 
tent, His only thought was to complete her conversion by 
making ber know His infinite compassion, and so reviving 
her courage, 

" Your faith has saved you," He said ; and then He 
added, " Go in peace ! " 

Forthwith, in the peace of the Lord, the pardoned sinner 
went away, never again to seek happiness in carnal pleas- 
ures, destined rather to amaze the world by the unfiinching 
rigor of her expiation. 

This woman, whose name Saint Luke does not mention, 
is no other than Mary Magdalene. Although there is 
nothing in Scripture distinctly to settle this fact,' there 

' "Negari non potest qnin prius etiam tempore quam Chrtiitus ilia 
Terbn profeiret, Mt^dnletia perfecte et saper omnia amareC, quia. Christtia 
per ilia verba non contulit aniorem ad reiniBsioaem pecoatorum suffid- 
entem, sed ilium sapposuit. et illi testimonium perbibuitC illumque afiectum 
deolaravil" (Suarez, De QratiA, lib, vii. cap. x). The whole chapter la 
an admirable commentary upon these words of Jesus. 

^ In none of the passages in which the Evangelists speak of this repent- 
ant sinner, of Mbtj M^plalene, anil of Maty of BeUiany, do tbey say 
whether or not these three names belon^d to the one person. The critics 
who have contended for this interpretation, as well as those who combat it. 

VOL. 1. — 19 



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290 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

are very venerable traditions of the Church which aasert 
it ; and Jewish writers add their testimony in confiraiatiou. 
According to all these authorities the pardoned siniier ol' 
Nairn, Mary of Magdala, and Mary the sister of Lazarus 
and Martha, are one and the same person. 

Of her sinful past we have no knowledge heyond a 
few legends in the Talmud, which speak of the beauty 
of Mary, the fame of lier lovely hfur, her wealth, and 
her intrigues.' Her husband was a doctor of the Law, 
Pappus, son of Juda, whose jealousy was so great that 
he was wont to keep her closely imprisoned whenever 
he left their home. The high-spirited Jewess soon broke 
away from this hateful restraint, joined fortunes with a 
gay officer of Magdala, and accompanied him to that 
town, where she led a life of such brilliant but unbridled 
indulgence that she has always kept the name of "The 
Magdalene." 

And doubtless it was there that Jesu^ saw her, and so 
awakened in her stained and blighted heart the first seeds 
of a passionate regret for her lost soul. The few words 
at the banquet-hall in Naim were all that was needed to 
' bring her weeping to the Saviour's feet; and ever after 
that day the Fathers (whose opinion we are following now) 
delight in discovering tokens of her presence, as she follows 
the footsteps of the Master. She is among the Oalilean 

ha™ supported their theoriea from the different HBrradves, and ottan arrive 
nt an equal dwree of historical likelihood (see Haldonatus, in Mat. xivL 
7, zzrit. &e ; Uubliii Review (July, 1S72), S. Mary Magdalene in tlit Oo$- 

5 els J Hengatenherg, injoan, xi. 1 ; Smith, Dict'UmaTy of the BiiU : Maby 
[lODALENE, etc. ). In a controversy where the probabilities are so nicely 
balanced, it would seem as though Tradition must be the only reliable 
resort for further light ; and certainly no one deniea that the most numsr- 
ous and the nwst imposing array of witnesses have testified that under all 
three namea the Qoapel ia apealcing of one single woman. This has been 
the general feeling in the Latin Church (Tertnlliou, Ik PudidCid, li. ; 
S. Cyprian, De D^liei Mariyrio; S. Jerome, in Oaee Prologus; S. Aogos- 
tine, De Oaneeneu Suangel. li. 79 ; S. Gregory the Great, in Mat. iiv. and 
xxxiii. ; Clement of Alexandria, Fteditgagjui, ii. 8 ; S. Cyril of Alexandrik 
in Joan. xi. 1 ). True enough, some of the Greek Fathets have combated 
thie opinion ; but even in the East Origen observes that in his time many 
Christiana shared this sentiment (Coinmentaria in MaUhaum, Higne, 
Patrologie grfcqitc, t. xiii p, 1721). 

I Lightfoot, Hurce Hebraicm, in Matt xxvii. SS. 



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TBB SINFUL WOMAM AT NAIM. 291 

ladies who went with Him, and waited upon theii- Lord. 
At Bethany she is seated at His feet, in deep, speechless 
contemplation; then too, close hj the tomb of Lazarus, and 
afterwards at the feast given by Simon the leper, finally 
upon Calvary, and at the Holy Sepulchre, — everywhere 
whither she could tread in the pathway of Him Who had 
saved her. 

These are the broad lines in the Magdalene's portrait, 
as she is depicted by Tradition, which has thus filled out 
the shadowy sketch left ue by the Gospel. Modern critics 
remark very truly that there is nothing in the sacred text ■ 
to necessitate such a construction of the events ; but 
surely they make a two-fold mistake when they disr^ai-d 
Tradition, which supplies facts omitted by Scripture, while 
without any sufficient proofs of their own, they contend 
that these three women were of different dispositions, 
whose like could never be combined in one person. Such 
writers feel sure that the noble ladies of Galilee, among 
whom Saint Luke mentions the Magdalene, would never 
have associated with an infamous character ; and that 
Mary, the Contemplative of Bethany, has nothing allied to 
that impetuous ardor which Saint John attributes to the 
Magdalene upon Mount Calvary. These difficulties will 
not be stumbling-blocks to those who know what changes 
repentance can work in the soul. Conversion does, in 
truth, bestow a title of nobility which no companions of 
Jesus ever fail to recognize ; it turns the thirst for pleas- 
ures into such passionate longing for heavenly delight that 
the most illustrious penitents have buried themselves in 
a life of contemplation. And thei'efore we feel no more 
surprise at finding the brilliant courtesan sitting silent and 

1 Bossuet has written a curious opoEOnle on this subject, and he eon- 
eludes by saying " that it is more congHuial with the spirit of the Gospel to 
rec<^ize these women as three different B«xa^" (Sur lea trois Uaddeine), t 
xxTi. ^ition Viv^). In the eighteenth century this idea had acquired so 
much weight that very many OnTtlcan Breviaries revised the legend in the 
Roman Breviary where it only speaks of the one M^alene. The time- 
honored conviction of the Church has, notwithstanding, always had, and 
has still, many illustrious champions, — Baronius, the Sollandista, Maldo- 
natus, Lightfoot ; and in onr own times 3epp, Schegg, Pusey, Farrav, P6re 
Laconlaire, M. FaiUon, eta. 



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292 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

subdued at the Maat6r'8 feet, than when we see her still 
clinging to her dyii^ Lord, or disputing with the tomb for 
the body of the Incarnate God. And bo we are still con- 
stant to ancient beliefs, when we prefer to think of the 
three Marys of the Gospel as the one Magdalene, ever 
venerated throughout the Church. 



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CHAPTEK V. 

THE PAEABLE8. 



The Public Life of Jeaua might be divided into two peri- 
ods: one would be that in which the Jews did not directly 
interfere with His Ministry; while during the latter epoch 
they actively attacked Him. Tip to this time the Master's 
glory had known no diminution of its growing splendor in 
the eyes of the people ; although Judea rejected Him at 
the command of the Sanhedrin, He found a warm welcome 
awaiting Him in Galilee, and each succeeding day saw the 
throngs about Him increase in number and enthusiasm. 
For a long time the efforts of the Sanhedrin'a emissaries, 
who strove to stir up the populace against Him, were 
altogether fruitless ; we have noticed at the banquet given 
by Simon how the power and popularity of Jesus then 
overawed the Pharisees themselves. But now the hour 
had come for a complete change in the aspect of events ; 
and hereafter the authority of the Lord begins to wane 
slowly and surely, until at last His enemies are i^ain 
masters of the situation. 

This reversal of affairs became most apparent during a 
second mission which the Saviour began in Galilee. It is 
Saint Luke^ who tells us of these new jounieyings, when 
Jesus travelled again through towns and hamlets spread- 
ing the good tidings of Salvation ; but he does not relate 
any particular occurrencea He simply notes the fact that 



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294 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the twelve Apostles were with Him, aud also certain Gali- 
lean women, of whom the greater number, if not all, " had 
been delivered by Him either from evil spirits or from 
other maladies. These were Mary, called the Magdaleue, 
Joanna,' the wife of Chuza, Herod's Steward, Suzanna, and 
many others who aided Him with such goods as they 
had." 

These saintly companions of the Christ were evidently 
of distinguished character, both on account of their rank 
and their riches. Of Suzanna' we know nothing more than 
her name, — the gracefulest name of any borne by the 
daughters of Israel, since it recalls the whit« cup of the 
lily-flower. As for Joanna, her husband's title would lead 
us to believe that she had been at the court of the Te- 
trarch before she set out to follow Jesus ; yet having once 
devoted herself to the Lord, she never was unfaithful to 
her vows. We shall find her again-at the Sepulchre, still 
by the side of Mary Magdalene,^ with whom Saint Luke 
associates her here. 

Among all the followers of the Christ, this last-named 
figure is known and loved the best. We have seen how 
Tradition regards her as the penitent sinner, who came to 
the feast given by Simon. This opinion would seem to be 
confirmed by Saint Luke himself, for he speaks of seven 
devils being driven out of the Magdalene ; and seven 
may very reasonably be considered as a symbolic number, 
chosen to denote the depth of degradation from which the 
Saviour rescued this sin-soiled creature.* 

The Holy Virgin is not named among the women who 
accompanied her Son ; and hence we must presume that 
she was now living in retirement at Caphamaum. During 
His sojourns at different times m that city, it would ap- 
pear that Jesus did not always take up His abode with 
her ; for after this second mission-journey, we find Him in 
, wMwrdiug to many nuuiiucripts. 



' Luke viii 


.2.3. 


Joanaa: 1 


I lamina, 


, njiffiB 


; "«Iily." 



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THE PARABLES. 295 

a dwelling which certainly was not shared by any of His 
family,^ 

Ab always happened about this time, the multitude 
would besiege Him in such numbers that Jesus and His 
disciples could " not even find time to take food." ^ His 
kindred, hearing of this, entirely lost all selt^ontroL " He 
is growing mad," tbey said, angrily, and thereupon took 
sides with the party who were abusing Him. Though in- 
deed there were two of their number chosen by the Christ 
to he among the Twelve, who were now bearing their share 
in His toils and His glory, yet the other children of Alpheus 
— whether from jealousy, or from dread of being involved 
in some trouble with the vindictive Sanhedrin — shut their 
eyes to the light, and not satisfied with simply treating 
Jeaus as a madman, they resolved to lay hold upon Him, 
and keep Him confined in their own house. 

" So they started out from their home, and came thither 
to seize Him;" but they could not force their way into 
His presence, so densely packed were the masses of town's- 
folk about him ! Just at this moment, too, there was ad- 
ditional cause for excitement; for some one had brought 
Him a possessed fellow, who was blind and dumb as well,' 
and Jesus cured him, so that the man spoke and saw,* 
And all the people were amazed and said, — 

' S. Mark Bays that tliey left their own home ('EJ^Xflof) in order to go 
to find and seize Jeaus in the dwelling whither He had retired (Mark iii. 
20, 21). 

s Mart iii 21. 

* After having spoken of a mission which Jesus fulfilled in Galilee, and 
after giving the names of the holy women who accompanied Him, S. Lute 
passes at once to the Parable of the Sower ; however, it is quite plain that 
before taking up this one of the Master's lessons we ought to notice the 
interference of tlie kinsfolk of Jesus (for here we are following the more 
detailed order of time set down hy S. Mark), and besides this, two other 
incidents which are reported by 8. Matthew. In fact, the latter Evan^l- 
iat remarks in piecise terms that the healing of the demoniac, the interview 
which the Saviour had with some of His kindred, and the Parable of the 
Sower, tj>ot place upon the same day ; 'Br( a^oB XaXoiVrot Toit flx^o". 
ttod-qii'^p . . . jtTX(Matt. lii.ie). 'Be rg ij^t^p^ ^KfliTj^leXfltii' i'lijooiw 
. . . tT\ (Matt, iriii 1). 

* Matt. xii. 22, 23. The demoniac jiiat now delivered by Him is not 
the one whose cute S. Luke narrates among the events which happened 
during the following year in Feiea, and not in Qalilee (Luke zi 14), 



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296 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

" Is not this the Son of David ? " 

But there were some Scribes from Jerusalem present. 
Though for au instant they were discoucerted by the cries 
of delight and wonderment, almost immediately they pro- 
ceeded to whisper ely hints as usual, and began to dispar- 
age the miracle. 

Why need any one be surprised, said they, that this man 
should' cast out the devils ! " He is himself possessed by 
Beelzebub ; ^ he therefore commands them in the name of 
their Prince."^ 

Well knowing all their underhand dealings, Jesus sum- 
moned them to come nearer, and then said i* — 

"Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made 
desolate ; every city, every family, so divided shall not 
endure. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided, gainst 
himself ; how then shall he endure ? " 

By this the Lord does not deny that the kingdom of 
Hatan is a state of Anarchy, but He rather insists upon 

Many do not discriminate between these miracles, allowing themselves 
to be misled by the resembluice in the Lord's words od both oceasionB. 
However striking tlia similarity niay seem to us, it does not necessarily 
follow that they alluded to the same deed, for Jesus healed similar maladieu 
more than once ; more than ODce too did He repeat the same leaaouB in the 
facfl of the Phariseea, who persisted, bo Btobbomly in their evil thinking. 
Yet more, we should note that the two currs were performed under vary 
different circunistances, and that the demoniac of whom S. Matthew speaks 
(xii, 22, 23) is dumb and blind, white the one in S. Luke is dumb only. 
We may believe that the latter ia the same as that posaeased man who was 
damb as well, whose healing S. Matthew relates in his ninth chapter, 

' Beelzebub is the name the Jews gave the prince of devils ; it signifies 
"Lord of the Dungheap," 4*31 by3; " Prinee of Abomination," We 
find this word 7l3I in fi'equent use among the Talmudistit when referring 
t« idols, which in their eyes were veritable devila. According b) some 
soholara, h\3J should he taken in the sense of " house ; " and in that case 
Beelzebub would mean " the Master of the Household," tliat is, of this 
world, which is his dwelling-place. The Septuagint (4 Kings, 1, 2) and 
Josephns, {Aiiliguilales, ix. 2, 1 ) translates this word by BiioX nutar, " Lord 
of the Flies," and Hag has ingeniously conjectured that this is the demon 
which was worshipped by the Philistines at Ekrou, under the likeness ot 
one of those beetles which live in heaps of mock, — the Scambtmu Piilu- 
lariva, for example. 

> Mark iii. 22. 

■ Matt. zu. 26, 26 i Hark iiL 28. 



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THE PARABLES. 297 

the truth that it is from this single point of agreement — 
their hatred of God — that the tuvisioiis of Bell draw the 
principle of their existence ; were tbia their one Note of 
unity to be lost (which ia impossible), there would be at 
once an end of the Kealm of Darkness. By the fact of His 
rescuing the poor victim from the infernal powers Jesus 
showed that He was no minister of Satan ; for " No one 
can enter a strong man's dwelling and bear away his goods 
without first having bound the man of might ; only then 
can he pillage hia house." ' 

Again the Master letorts upon His enemies that their 
own disciples exorcised spirits in the name of Jehovah, 
just as He did, and hence their sons * would be their judges, 
since they could testify that Hell yields obedience to other 
orders beside those of Beelzebub ; wherefore if He, the 
Christ of the Lord, in His own Name and by the Spirit of 
God, put the fienik to flight, this indeed is proof that the 
Kingdom of God has really come." ' 

Then, in couclusion, Jesus called His faithful followers 
about Him. " Whoever is not with Me," said the Lord, 
"is against Me, and whoever gathereth not with Me 
scattereth."* 

The Scribes bad also accused Jesus of having " an un- 
clean spirit." ' What did they mean by this term ? Was 
it in aUusioQ to His contempt for Pharisaic Ablations or 
to His tenderness toward sinners ? It is quite impossible 
to say ; but we know that this calumny aroused His wrath, 

1 Mark iu. 28, 27. 

3 Matt. xii. 27. The sotu of the Pharisees, or in other vords, their 
disciples, practised certain exorcisms according to a Ritual (or so sajs 
Joaephus) which wfis prescribed by Solomon [AniiquilaUa, vjii. 2, 6) ; see 
p. 213. S. IreuFeua gives it as an undoubted fact that, even in Lis t^me, 
the Jews exorcised spirits in the name of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob : 
' ' Judiei osqne nunc hac ipeH advocatione dcemonas effngant " { Cordra 
Hrereta, iL 6, 2). S. Ohrjsostom, 8. Jerome, and S. Hilary understand 
that by " yonr sods " is meant the Ajmstles, \a whom the Lord apportioned 
His empire over the powers of Hell ; indeed His adversaries could not deny 
that the Twelve were all descendants of Israel, tbeir sons and their brothers 
according to the flesh. 

* Matt xii. 28. 

* Matt. xii. 30. 
'■ Hark lii. 30. 



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298 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

since it called from biin that dreadful waraing of eteroal 
death,^ — 

" I say unto you, every sin, every blasphemy, shall be 
forgiven men ; but blasphemy ^inst the Holy Spirit 
s\\Si\ not be forgiven.' And whoever shall have spoken 
against the Son of Man it shall be foi'giveu him ; but the 
man who has spoken against the Holy Ghost shall not be 
foi^iven, either in this world or in the other." " 

In Saint Matthew's account the reply of the Lord is re- 
ported more at length.* He told His slanderers that they 
ought at least to be consistent with themselves, and should 
judge the tree by its fruits. If He did actually drive out 
devils, why did they not acknowledge the fact \ The tree 

1 Matt lii. 81, 33 ; Mark iii. 28-30. 

* JeBUS could see into the wicked miads of HU enentiee cleari^ eaou^h ; 
it was not rrolD any ignorance of the Truth that thej strove agauut Hun ; 
but they were now boldly bla^heming, recognizing the Presence of Qod 
and of His Christ, and face to lace with His wondrous works so manifestly 
divine, and consequently seeing the enonnity of their blasphemy, yet per- 
sisting in it ni>twithstan<lLng. This, then, was that dreadful Ein a^nst the 
Holy Ghost which cannot obtain pardon, because of itself it dnes up life 
at the fonntain-liead, and withstands every movement of the Spirit of 
Grace which strives to quicken it again to a right feeling. In order to 
save the heai't so bent upon evil, it would be necessary lo force man's free- 
dom of will ; but God always stops at the threshold of that inviolable 
sanctuary of the soul. 

* The expression cdiir aiTK, and others tike it, a riii' idiiv (Tit. ii. 12), 
aliir T«0 Kbanov toOtou (Ephes. it. 3), etc., aa well as the other, aiUw lUWur, 
were IVeqnently employed by the Jews to designate the times which were 
to precede and those which should follow the Messiah. But in the New 
Testament they signify {as all critics agree) the present life and the fature 
life ; so then, according to the doctrine of the Master, there are sins which 
are only remitted in the other world, and consequently there is a plaoeof 
purgation where this remission takes place. 

* The commencement of the discourse as it reads in 8. Matthew is re- 
[loi-ted by S. Mark under the same circumstances (Matt. xii. 24-32 ; Mark 
lii. 22-30). The endiue, which is not now found in the second Ooape], is 
in evBiT particular simihr to the reply whicb S. Lnke puis in the month 
of the Lord after the heating of another demoniac (Matt xii. 38-42 ; Luke 
xi. 17-32). It appears very likely to us that S. Matthew, following hia 
usnal method, is here collecting diflerent speeches of the Master whicb bear 
upon the same subject. The matter given here, which is peculiar to him- 
sdt (Matt rii. 38-37) with tliat whicb he gives in common with S. Mark, 
was apparently pronounced at the time which we are now describing. As 
to the close of the discourse, which is also found in S. Luke, there is eveiv 
reason to believe that it ought to be transferred to the epoch marked for it 
by the latter Evangelist. 



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THE PARABLES. 299 

is good which bears good fruit. And yet, after all, no one 
need be amazed at their blaspliemies, tor the moutli speaks 
from the fulness of the heart ; and assuredly these crea- 
tures, this brood of vipers, could not fail to poison their 
speech with the venom of malice.* 

Jesus was still speaking when a man pushed liis way up 
to Him. 

" Your Mother and your brethren ai^ without," he said ; 
" they are seeking for you." ^ 

The Lord's kindred, hopeless of making any headway 
against the crowds, had probably turned to Mary for aid ; 
and the Virgin, startled by their wild tales, had left her 
retreat to go with them. Used to seeing Him yield to the 
lightest wish of Mary, they thought He could not i-esist 
an appeal coming from her. But the Christ could no 
longer be subject to His Mother. Hereafter He belonged 
to God and to the souls whom He had come to save. 

" Who is My Mother and who are My brethren ? " was 
His reply to the one who had informed Him of their arrival. 
And as the man was silent, Jesus' glance fell upon the 
disciples seated in a circle about Him ; ^ He stretched out 
His hands toward them, — 

" Behold My Mother and My brethren ! " He said ; " for 
every one who does the will of My Father Who is in 
Heaven is My brother. My sister, and My mother." Then 
rising, the Master left the house, and took the road leading 
to the lake, where He seated Himself by the beach.* 

The insulting chaiges which we have just noticed, the 
efforts made by Jesus to enlighten the people, the uneasi- 
ness shown by His kinsfolk, — all indicate what great 
changes had taken place in Caphamaum during this second 
mission into Galilee. The creatures of the Sanhedrin had 
profited by the absence of the Saviour to disquiet public 
opinion ; and though most of the citizens were still loyal 
to their Benefactor, the number of His enemies had so far 

1 Matt. xii. 33, 34. 

» Mfttt. xii. 46. 

' Kai TtpiOXfM^AtyiH Toil wepl ai>T4i' ml«\ui iia0i]udroM {Mark iii. 34). 

* Matt. Bli. 1. 



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300 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

increased that Jesua thought best to forego any further' 
teaching in the simple and direct style which He had 
hitherto used. However much He may have differed with 
tlie Scribes, He would, notwithstanding, auhmit to the limi- 
tations of their forms, and hence He determined to present 
Hia doctrine hereafter in Pambles, as was their custom.^ 
But while these masters of Israel only employed allegoiy 
in order to hide from the public the treasures of wisdom 
which they wished to confine to their disciples, the design 
of Jesus in using these veiled figures of speech was to gain 
the time which was necessary for the completion of His 
divine instructions ; for He had yet to disclose the chiefest 
portion of His work, — the establishing of His Church, 
her Constitution, her Hierarchy, ■ — an everlasting object 
of undying distrust and hatred to the great ones of 
earth. 

Such a sudden change in His manner must naturally 
have caused some surprise ; we shall see, however, that it 
was not at all displeasing to their tone of mind, nor did it 
repel them. For, in fact, the Oriental genius, which is so 
different from ours, loves the. mysterious, and takes no less 
delight in piecing together stray hints of meaning than we in 
firmly grasping the thought in its fulness. Hence it is that 
we have so many allegories and proverbs in the Old Testa- 
ment ; such too are the enigmas in the stories of Samson, of 
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba." Even to-day, if an Arab 
chance to hear some fable or apolc^ue, he will spend whole 
hours in turning it over in his mind, — like a child, or for 
that matter like every creature in whom the imagination 
rules the other faculties, he fiuds most pleasure in fanciful 
reveries, whose dreamy and indefinite forms he much pre- 
fers to the cold precision of our ideas. This fondness for 
mystic and figurative language, common to the Eastern 
mind, was an invaluable advantage for Jesus, because 
during the last year of His Ministry it allowed of His 
giving the Jews just such glimpses of His meaning as 

' yAnng^ De SynagagS, p. 878 ; Schcettgen, Hora Hebraiax : CnmsTTii 

BABBINOKUM SUHMVfl. 

= Jud. riv. II ; 3 Kings x. 1. 



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THE PARABLES. 301 

vere desirable for them, while it also permitted him to 
display His thought even more clearly before the eyes of 
His Apostles and intimate disciples. These were the cir- 
cumstances which prompted the Master to take up with 
this new tbrm of preachii^. 

Jesus was not left long alone on the lakeside. Out of 
Capbarnaum there came a great throng who crowded all 
the open space around Him, and stood about the beach in 
little knots, waiting such time as He might choose to speak.' 
There was a boat drawn up on the sand, and in this the 
Saviour found a seat from which He could be seen and 
heard. Over the heads of the people who covered all the 
strand His eyes could rest upon smooth fields sloping to 
the water's edge, beaten paths winding through rich mead- 
ows, while here and there a huge rock' or clump of cactus- 
like thistles would give a sterner aspect to the pleasant 
harvest lands. 

" Listen ! " said Jesus,^ stretching out His hands toward 
those familiar shores of Genesareth.^ "The Sower went 
out to BOW, and while he was sowing some grains fell into 
the roadway, and the birds of the sky lighted and con- 
sumed them ; other some fell upon stony ground, where 
there was not much earth, and it sprung up immediately, 
because it had no depth of soil ; but when the sun was up 
it was scorched, and as it had no roots it withered away ; 
still others fell among thistles, and the thistles grew up 
and choked them ; others, finally, fell in good earth and 
bore fruit, some a hundred, others sixty, and others thirty 
fold. He who has ears to hear let him hear J " 

There He stopped, leaving His listeners to fathom the 
meaning hidden beneath the Parable. There was nothing 
to help them to an understanding of it; it remained a 
riddle not only to the Jews who were strangers to His doc- 
trine, hut even to the Twelve as well. The latter pressed 

1 Matt. liii. 2. 

« Man. xiii. 3-8. 

' The Imidscape describi^d in the Parable of the Sower is precisely thitt 
of the hill-countty whose fertile slopes border the lake from Ain et-TJn as 
far an Tell Houm ; therefore, when He left Capharnanm the Master must 
have taken the road that mns along (he coaat towaid Bothsaida. 



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302 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

about Him, and upoD their asking why He spoke in this 
way, Jesus at once explained His conduct. If He con- 
cealed the mysteries of the Kingdom of God under the 
form of an allegory, it was only that His enemies might 
" behold without perceiving, might heat without under- 
standing," and thus, aided by this obscurity. He might (as 
we have said before) gain the necessary time for the .devel- 
opment of His doctrine, wliich was to make out of these 
lowly disciples a Holy Church, the Household of the most 
High God. The same truths were delivered to every hearer 
of His Parables, but they were not fully revealed to any 
hearts which were not docile enougii to beg more light- of 
the Master Himself.^ As for the mass of the Jews, the 
Oracle uttered long since by Isaias ^ was now fulfilled in 
them, — " You shall hear with your ears, and you shall not 
understand; you shall behold with your eyes, and you 
shall not see. For the heart of this people is waxed gross ; 
they have grown dull of hearing, they have shut their 
eyes, in such wise * that they may no longer either see or 
hear or understand in their hearts ; neither can they be 
converted nor be healed." 

" But as for you," continued Jesus,* " blessed are your 
eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 
In very truth, I tell you, many Prophets and just men 
have desired to see what you are seeing and have not seen 
it, and to hearken to what you are hearing and have not 
heard it. Therefore listen to the Parable of the Sower." 
But the minds of the Apostles were not yet suffi- 
ciently clear-sighted to grasp the meaning of this alle- 
gory; and for the moment Jesus was amazed at their 
blindjiess. 

" Do you not understand this Parable ? How, then, will 
you be able to understand all the test?"' However, He 

> Mfttt. itiit lft-16. 
" Is. vi. 8. 

^ Hi^Torr, Tith the future of the iodicaiive, indicates that one is appre- 
hensire of something, and at the same time regards it as very liable to 
occur (Wilier, Grammatik, par. 66, 2). 

< Matt. liii. 16-18. 

» Mark iv. 13. 



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THE PARABLES. 303 

took pity upoD their weakuess, aod eKpoimded His own 
words. 

The Chuich is a vast Field/ through which Jesus walks 
scattering the graia from an unstinting hand ; for the gifts 
of God are without measure. The seed falls everywhere 
in an equally generous shower, — upon hearts aa cold and 
hardened as those worn, beaten pathways, which offer it no 
resting-place or nourishment ; upon light and superficial 
souls, wherein the strength of the seed, spending itself in a 
sudden show of growth, sends down no deep roots, and so 
withera beneath the first wind of temptation ; upon the 
creatures of worldliness, who no sooner receive the gift of 
grace than they proceed to stifle it " beneath a weight of 
earthly cares and the deceitfulness of riches." But those 
true followers of Him are " the good ground, — they who 
hearken to the Word, wlio receive it, and bring forth fruit 
bearing thirty, sixty, and an hundred fold." Such was the 
first rough draft of the Church drawn by the hand of the 
Master Ai-chitect, — a Field wherein the heavenly seed is 
sown with exceeding plentifulness, and yet it will bear no 
fruit if 30 be that man's evil passions place an obstacle in 
its way, 

Jesus dwelt more strongly still upon this last point by 
showing what perfect Freedom of action He would bestow 
upon His earthly Heritage, the Church. He likened it to 
a laud which, being once oversown, "produces its fruit of 
itself, — first the blade, then the ear, then the grain en- 
closed in the ear. And when it has borne its full crop, 
immediately they put sickle to it, because it is now the 
time of harvest." ^ What matters it whether the workman 
sleeps or watches, will not the harvest still come round ? 
The grain takes root of itself, and grows up while he is 
dreaming ; when once the soil is planted, there is no need 
of him until the time of reaping is come. In like manner 
the Saviour has dealt with the Kingdom of Heaven in our 
hearts. He came to sow, but He need never more return 
onto the end of Time, — until the Harvesting ia come. 
'. 13-20; Lukeviii 11-lG. 



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a04 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Strong, Bbarp, and clear though these first outlines 
were, they did not sufficiently prefigure the future de- 
velopment of the Church. And so Jesus cast about for 
new simiUtudes. 

" Unto what shall We compare the Kingdom of Heaven," 
He saiil, "and under what imagery may We describe it ? " 

In order to depict the persecutions which were in store 
for it He gave the Parahle of the Cockle,^ — " The King- 
dom of Heaven is likened to a man who has sowed good 
grain in his field. Now while his people were sleeping his 
«nemy comes and sows cockle through the midst of the 
wheat, and goes his way.^ Tlie blade having sprouted and 
borne its fruit, the cockle also began to appear. 

" And the servants of the father of the family came to 
him, saying, ' My lord, did you not sow good grain in your 
field ? How comes it that there is cockle also ! ' 

"'It is mine enemy who has done this,' he said to 
them. 

" ' Will you have us go and weed it out f ' the servants 
replied. 

" ' No,' he answered, ' for fear lest in gathering up the 
cockle you might uproot the wheat at the same time. Let 
them grow up together until the harvest, and in the time 
of harvesting I will say to the reapers, Firet tear up the 
cookie and bind it in bundles to cast into the fire ; but 
gather the wheat into my barns.' " 

Over against this picture of the Church's sufferings 
Jesus set forth the scene of its Day of Triumph in even 
more striking contrast. He showed how humble its be- 
ginnings, how slow its growth, but at the same time how 
mighty is the seed of life within it ; and so He called it a 

1 Matt. xiii. 24~30. Cockle (loliwm, Unrnlentuin), dnrnel, or tare, is % 
opeciea of grass, which comes ap with the wheat snd much resembles it, 
so long ss the ear is unformed ; it owes its name (I'ivraie, drnuhen rya- 
gniBS, drank rnaa) to the intoxicating properties of its grain, which are 
also extremely poisonous. 

* The savage feuda, by which tribes and families are split up in the 
Orient, are strikingly depicted in this Parable. The foe, the avenger, i* 
here implacable ; yet, feausp he is loo icesk to resort to vinlence, he 
lurks in the ikrkiieaH and wreaks his vengeance, without exposing himself 
to the consequeiicea. 



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TBE PARABLES. 305 

Mustard Seed,* — the tiniest of all seeds, which becomes a 
tree ' in which the birds of heaven find a resting-place ; or it 
is the Leaven which a woman mixes in three measures^ of 
meal, and wluch ferments the whole lump. 

" All these things," adds Saint Matthew,* " He told to 
the people in Parables, and He no longer spoke to them 
save in parables. Thus was fulfilled what had been said 
by the Prophet,^ — ' I will open My mouth in Parables ; I 
will lay bare things hidden from the foundation of the 
world.' " 

Nevertheless the divine Master was careful, amid all 
this "great number of similitudes," to say nothing "which 
could not be comprehended " by docile hearts, and " in 
private He explained everything to His disciples." * 

To them, indeed, was committed the great trust of treas- 
uring up the truths which were denied to incredulous 
Jews ; not that they were always to hoard this wealth in 
secrecy, but that they might bring them forth at a fitting 

1 Matt. xiii. 31, 32. Tbe Mustard of the Piirable is the sane plant 
which we designate by this name, whose very miimta seeds produce the 
large, black mustard-plant. In the warmer latitudes it attains a height 
unknown in northern countries. When riding over the rich plain of 
Akkar, Thomson saw the black-mustard growing wild, and the shrubs 
were higher than tho horseman's head {The Land and the Book, p. 414 j 
along with this compare Travels, Irby and Mandes, March 12). Hooker 
t«3tine3 to the fact that on the bonks of the Jordan, its bole often meas- 
urea ten feet in height. And hence, comparing it with any other plants 
□f the garden {Xd^^ovDv, "olus," Matt. xiiL 82), the Mnatard may well be 
called a " creot tree," and it is entirely unnecessary for us to supjKJse {as 
Dr. Royle haa sugg^ited), that Jeaus is not speaking of the Mustard-seed 
here {Sinapis Nigra), but of the Sai-oadora Persiat. (See Jaamal of the - 
Royal Asiatic Society, March, 1S44, and along with this consult Lightfoot, 
^oro; Hdiralcce, in Matt xiJL) "CauliH erat sinapis in Sichem, e quo 
enati snnt rami tres, e quibus onus decerptus eoiiperuie teutoriolura Ggoli. 
. . ■ Caulia sinapia erat mihi in a^^ meo, in quam ego scandere aoli- 
tus sum, ita ut scandere solet in ficum" (Talmud of Jerusalem, Peah, 
fol 20, 2.) 

* Matt. riiL 33. 

■ XiTm (nttO, in Aromean ; Mi^D) IS the third part of an Ephah (a 
little more than 18 litres). Three of these measures made up the qoan- 
tity of wheat which they were accustomed to mix for a baking of bread 
(Gen. iviu. S ; 1 Kings i. 21). 

' Matt liii 84, 85. 
' Ps. l]C]cvii. 2. 

■ Mark iv. 33, 3*. 



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306 SECOND YEAH OF THE MINISTRY OF JESl/S. 

hour to be the Light of the Church, — to be as a torch, 
which is not put beneath a couch, but is set within its 
holder that it may light all those who euter the house ; 
" for there is nothii^ hidden " in the Master's doctrine 
" which must not be revealed, nothing done in the shadow 
which shall not be brought to the light."' This is why 
Jesus so earnestly beseeches His Apostles to listen to His 
worIs. 

" I'ay heed to what you are hearing. Whoever has eara 
to hear let him hear ! " 

And again this is the reason of His solemn warning that 
this great gift of wisdom is not bestowed upon them alone, 
hut that it is to be for all ; hence He threatened to take it 
back from such as failed to guard it faithfully, — " for it 
shall be given to him who hath," to him who preserves 
the words of the Master, " but from him who hath not, even 
that which he hath shall be taken away." ^ 

Towaixi evening Jesus dismissed tie throngs, and re- 
turned to His dwelling.^ Thither the disciples accom- 
panied Him, and begged Him to enlighten them as to the 
Parable of the Cockle. Thereupon interpreting the alle- 
gory word by word. He showed plainly how the Devil is 
the Enemy who sows the cockle ; yet at the end of the 
world the Angels shall gather tc^ether all the scandals, to- 
gether with the evil-doers, from out the Church, casting 
them into the furnace of fire ; while the just shall shine 
like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. 

To these parables Saint Matthew adds three similes 
which the Saviour tittered about the same time;* and with 

I Mark iv. 21. 22. « Mark iv. 23-25. » Matt. iliL 86-48. 

< To U3, it seems scarcely probable that the seven parables, as collected 
together here by S. Matthew, were pronounced in presence of bnt ona 
audience, and all oo the same day. Jesus had too intimate an acquaint- 
ance with the sordid and groTclling dispositions with which he had to 
deal, to overwhelm and fatigue their minds in this manner without giving 
them leisure to meiUtate upon the truths concealed beneath those mystical 
words. Furthermore, S, Matthew informs ua that the Master uttered a 
great number of parables nt this time (Matt. xiii. 34} ; so the seven now 
connected in this chapter ai'c probably those which struck the writer as 
being more forcible thnn the regt, —those which would give us , the 
clearest notion of "the Kingdom of God." 



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TBE PARABLES. 307 

these He completed tlie figurative deacription of what His 
• Church was to become. For some 't is a Treasure buried 
iu a field which the toiliug laborer turus up with the 
ploughshare ; " having found it, the fellow hides it, and iu 
his joy goes out and sells all he has that he may buy the 
field." For others it is the Pearl of great price which falls 
into the hands of a merchant who is seeking rare gems. 
For all of us it is a Net which dn^ the very depths of the 
sea, letting nothing escape its meshes, bearing mankind 
from out the fierce waves of the world up to the peaceful 
shores of eternity. " As fishers seated on the strand col- 
lect tc^ether the good fish and cast away the bad, even so 
shall it be at the end of the world. The Angels shall come 
and shall separate the wicked from among the righteous, 
and shall cast them into the furnace. There shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." ' 

" Have you understood all these thii^ ? " added the 
divine Master. 

" Yes, Lord," the Apostles replied ; for now indeed their 
dazzled eyes were beginning to have glimpses of the truth, 
despite the surpassing splendor of His speech. Little by 
little they were still to descry new and lovelier verities, 
as the divine Light grew in glory, until the time should 
come for all to be made partakers in the heavenly day. 
This was to be their Commission ; for, unlike those Doctors 
of the Law who communicated their doctrine only to a 
handful of disciples, the Apostles of the Glad Tidings were 
to spread the good news over all the earth. Just as a 
bountiful father will plunge his band deep down in hia 
coffers, bringing to light the boardings of long ago as well 
as of to-day that he may lavish them upon the children of 
his household, even so the true Scribe, who has knowledge 
of the Kingdom of Heaven, must needs find in the Old 
Testament as well as in the New treasures of wisdom 
which shall become in his hands the noble Heritage of all 
mankind.* 

' Matt. xiiL 44-51. ' ^ Mutt. ziu. 52. 



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CHAPTER VL 

TH£ HIBACLES DONE IN GtlBGESA AND CAPUABNAUIL 



I. The Possessed Creatdbes of Gergesa. 

Luke viii. 22-30 ; Hark iv. 3&-41 ; T. 1-20; Matt. viii. 18, 3S-S4. 

The crowds which Jesus had dismissed after the dia- 
course by the lakeside had now gathered about Hi ft 
abode once more. The Saviour, seeing that any needful 
repose was not to be hoped fot inside the city walla, re- 
solved that same evening to seek the lonely highlands of 
Perea. " Let us pass over to the other side," He said to 
Hia disciples.^ And they, after sending away the citizens, 
went aboard a boat ; with them was the Lord, who made 
no preparation whatever for the voyage ; for Saint Mark 
says " they took Him into the bark just as He was." Sev- 
eral other craft sailed along in company with them, each 
one, amid the rustling night-winds and under the starlit 
sky, making quiet headway toward the opposite bank. 

Jesus, seating Himself in the stem, rested His head 
upon the pilot's pillow ; very soon He was sleeping, wearied 
with the toils of the day. But hardly bad His eyes closed 
in slumber when the whole outlook overhead and round 
about them changed. It is with surprising suddenness that 
the storms burst over the sea of Galilee ; from the icy 
peaks of Hermon the tempests precipitate themselves upon 
the lake, and in an instant whip its waters into wild and 
seething waves.^ Caught in one of these furious cloud- 



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THE POSSESSED CREATURES VV UERGESA. 309 

bursts, the little vessels were scattered far and wide, while 
that of the Master was left alone, with the waters beating 
into it on every sida 

And now the fierce floods threatened to engulf them at 
every moment ; yet all the time Jesus slumbered on, while 
the Apostles dared not waken Him. But when they felt 
the boat b^inning to settle beneath their feet fear dis- 
pelled every other thought ; they threw themselves about 
Him, calling upon Him with desperate eagerness,— 

"Master! Master! save us! We perish I" 

The wakening of Jesus was as tranquil to all seeming as 
His repose had been ; and Hia first care was to calm their 
hearts rather than the angry waters. 

" Why do you fear 1 " He said, " men of little 
faith I " Only after this did He arise and rebuke the 
winds ; ^ then speaking to the sea as if it bad been a 
furious beast, 

" Be quiet," He said to it ; " curb thy rage." ' 

And immediately the winds ceased, and there came a 
great calm. 

At sight of the unclouded plains of heaven, and the lake 
once agAin silent and placid, it was borne in upon the 
Apostles' minds how Jesus miglit well complain of their 
little faith. No matter what extreme of peril they might 
encounter, it were too trifling to notice in His Presence; 
while He is with us we have nothing to fear. Their won- 
dering awe was shared by the sailors who were with 
Hira.« 

" What manner of Man is this ! " they said one to an- 
other. " He commands Jhe winds and the waves, and they 
obey Him." 

The cry of these men of Galilee has been repeated many 
times since then; for the miracle performed upon the 
waters of Gencsareth is but a type of those marvellous 
mercies which God has never ceased to operate by means of 
His Church. She likewise is sailing over blustering seas ; 
often in the awful vortex of the whirlwind it will seem as 

1 Matt. riii. 28. * Zi.^n, rf^/Mao (Mark iv. 89). 

' 01 a»epirt-oi (Matt. Tiii. 27). 



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310 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

though the Master were sleeping in forgetfulnesa of Hi8 
own ; but from age to age, at the very moment when all 
seems lost, the Christ awakes and with one word saves the 
Bark, Tossed aud battered though she be, so long as Jesus _ 
rests upon the Pilot's bench she is upholden by a promise 
which caunot fail of fulfilment, — Hia promise to bring us 
all together to the further shores of Eternity. 

Jesus did not find the quiet aud rei>ose which He had 
come to seek in the country of Perea. He had scarcely set 
foot upon the land of Gergesa ^ when His glance encountered 
a mournful object. From one of tlie hills which rise 
above the lake a possessed creature had descried the land- 
ing of the little ship, and, emei^ng from the caves hol- 
lowed out of the cliif, he rushed down toward where the 
Lord stood.* 

In ancient times there was no place of refuge where poor 
huinan beings could be kept when subject to such horrid 
atflictions as this ; driven out of the towns and away from 
all houses, they must seek shelter in some mined hovel or 
in the caverns which were used as graves. The horror 
overshadowing such an abode, in which no Jew could 
enter without being contaminated, would naturally but 
increase the fury of the demoniacs. 

This possessed man of Gei^esa was so terrible of aspect 

1 The natue of the country where their bark came to land has been the 
Bubjeot of numerous alterations, in the different Versions of the Gospel. 
Was it called Gadara, Gerasa, or Gergeaa ! Tischendorf, relyins mainly 
upon the authority of his Manuscript of Sinu, thinks we should read in 
S Mark TtpairT)ywy, in S. Luke rtpyKriiVM; aud in 3. Matthew raSafnp'Ca: 
But Gerasa, which lies upon the bordera of Arabia, is too far distant Co 
be the place referred to here ; so too with SaJara, whose ruins have been 
discovered on the outskirts of Hieromai, a three hours' walk from the 
lake (Um Kreis). Hence we prefer the tradition, recorded by Origen, 
that a town named Gergesa stood somewhere near the shores of the kke, 
opposite to Capharnaum. Both Eusebius and S. Jerome make mention of 
i^ adding that in their day a monntaiu near the water-side was pointed 
out to them aa the scene of the Miracle. To-day, too, in the same renon 
(in the Ouadi Semafch), there are some mins which the Bedouins call by 
the name of Keria or Gerza, while numarous tomb-cave.s are still to be 
seen hallowed out of the monntain-side ; thus ererythine seems to con- 
firm the testimony of Origen (See Thomson, 2^ Land and the Book, 
pp. 375-S7S). 

' Mark 7. 2-5. 



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THE POSSESSED CREATURES OF GERGESA. 311 

that no one dared so much as to cvors his path. It was 
now a long time since he had torn to pieces what few 
shreds of clothing still hung about him. And so he 
roamed night and day among the lonely rock-tombs, stark 
and naked, uttering wild shrieks and tearing his flesh with 
sharp stones.' They had tried in vain to fetter his limbs ; 
he would rend his shackles with their iron chains ; and 
after this no number of men could get the mastery over 
him. This was the frenzied spectre which confronted the 
Lord almost as soon as His foot touched the land. 

According to Saint Matthew's report of the scene,^ tliis 
possessed being was not alone ; another such wretched 
mortal came running up to Jesus with him. Frantic and 
violent tliough they were, yet (as all the others before them 
had been), these two were quelled by some divine charm 
in Him, and cowering in the dust before the Christ, they 
shrieked wildly ^ : — 

" What is there between Thee and us, Jesus, Son of the 
Most-High ? Art Thou come hither to torment us before 
the time ? " 

For Jesus had said to one of tlje demoniacs, " Fold 
Spirit, depart from out this man!" And as Satan was 
loatli to obey, the Saviour added, " What is thy name ? " 

The fiend answered by the mouth of the possessed man, 
" I am called Legion,* because we are many." 

Then shuddering and writhing before the Lord, this liost 
of demons besought Him not to dismiss them forever from 
the country-side, but to allow them some place of refuge. 

Now there was a great herd of swine feeding far away • 

' One of the anociTpbdl writtnga gives it that the demoniacs gnawed 
at thflir own flesn ; aapKO^yoSn-at tSk ISlwr fuXOp (Thilo, Codex Apoe- 
ryphua, i. p. 808). 

• Matt. viii. 28. 
» Mark T. 6-S. 

* The presence of the Roman aimies In Palestine had made the word 
" Legion ' familiar to the Jews ; by this expression the possessed man 
sonRht to give some idea of the multitude of evil spirits whose movements 
he felt warring within him ; in point of fact a Legion was made up of five 
or sii thousand men. (See Lightfoot, fforcc Hebraiixe. in Marc, v. 9.) 

' Matt. viii. 30. TAoKpAv, which is ineiactly translated in the Vukato 
by "noa long*," "near here," indicntes, on the contrary, that the herd 



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312 SECOND YEAR OF THE AflNISTRY OF JESUS. 

Upon the mountain-aide ; and t)iu devils begged and cried, 
saying,— 

" If Thou wilt drive us hence, let us enter into yonder 
herd of swine." 

" Go ! " He said to them. 

And the uncleaa spirits, nisliing forth, seized upon the 
swine, who were carried headlong into the lake, and were 
stifled with the sea-waters to the number of nearly two 
thousand. 

At sight of their herds borne in unmanageable fury to 
destruction, the men having chaise of them at once con- 
ceived that those mad outcasts were the cause of this new 
misfortune ; so, fearing any encounter with such ghoulish 
wretches, they took to flight, and spread the news as they 
passed along by quiet farm-houses and through the busy 
streets of the little city. The town's-folk eilied out at 
once to see what had occurred ; and what must have been 
their surprise, on hurrying up to where Jesus stood, to per- 
ceive at His feet the much-dreaded demoniac, now quietly 
seated, clothed, sane of mind, and whole, — without a 
scream and without a single mark of recent struggle! 

" And when those who had seen the thing related to 
them all that had happened to the possessed and to the 
herds," ^ so sudden a transformation overwhelmed them 
with alarm ; they never thought either of denying or 
explaining the fact ; they were simply seized with such 
terror that they began to beseech Jesus to leave their 
shores. 

How can we account for this overpowering fear, the like 
of which was never produced by any of the Saviour's 
miracles in Judea, — unless perhaps for the reason that this 
eastern shore of the lake was a very different territory, with 
a population far more Pagan than Jewish iu thought and 
feeling ? The ten cities which gave the name of the De- 
capolis to these parts were Greek, both by their origin and 

of pigs were browEing in Bome place rather remote rrom the spot on which 
the poxBessed creature waa delivered; "upon the moiitltnin," "in the 
gorgea," say the other two Evangelists : Qpht t^ ipti {Mark r. 11 ) ; ifTit 
ap« (T.nke Tii, 32). 
' Mark t. 15-17. 



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THE POSSESSED CREATURES OF GERGESA. 313 

in their manners. Gadara (which was the native place of 
the demoniac, according to very many manuscripts) could 
boast of some famous poets, among them Meleager, ^ — a 
singer of light love songs, — and the Epicurean Philode- 
mus, whose renown had reached Eorae iteelf.^ 

Keen in its enjoyment of earthly pleasures, this land 
had no desire to hear of the Kingdom of Heaven. And so, 
bowing to the wishes of the agitated citizens, Jesus re- 
embarked at once ; but He did not quit their country with- 
out taking care that the Good News should be published 
among them. 

As the man who had been healed presently supplicated 
to be taken along with them, the Saviour, not consenting 
to this step, bade him however, — 

"Eeturn to your home, to your brethren, and tell them 
what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He 
has had pity on you." * 

The man obeyed, and thus became the first apostle of 
the Decapolis. "He announced everywhere the works 
of the Christ, and all men wondered." 



II. The Banquet arvEN by Levi. — The Woman wtth 
THE Issue of Blood. — The Daughter of Jairos. 

Matt ix. 10-28 ; Luke v. 29-39, via 40-68 ; Mark ii. 16-22, v. 21-48. 

It was in the morning that Jesus delivered the two 
demoniacs of Gei^sa, and by pushing out to sea without 

' Gadftm was in the neighborhood of Oergesiu Heleager, author of the 
AiUkology, was bom there, fifty years before Jeaus Christ. We have a 
graceful elegj of hia, wherein he celebrate! the charms of his home coun- 
try, the ioyoufl apring-time in Phcenicia, the distant meadow-laDda veiled 
over with the fine bine miata of the East, and swaying beneath their 
fragrant freight of purple blossoms: — 

" L'alcyon sur les mera, prSs des toita ThinjiideUe, 
Le cygne an bard du lac, sous lea bois Philomile;" 
(AndrA CbbniAr) 
translated from these lines in Meleager's " Spring-time; " — 

Kitpot It &xfiausai tdto/ioB, tad bw AXirof tifiiir. 
t Cieero, 7b Pinmem, 28. » Mark v. 20. 



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314 SECOND YEAR OP THE MINISTRY OF JESOS. 

delay He could reach the fertile land of Crenesareth again 
tliat same day. A long time before they hove to and 
dropped anchoi in the little bay eager crowds had spied 
the vessel which had borne Him away, and hastening 
down along the banks, they waited to greet Him.' 

But none welcomed Him more gladly than Levi. Evi- 
dently this Apostle had remained behind in Capharnaum, 
and having in the interval called together a number 
of His friends, — publicans and sinners, like himself,' 
— he be^ed the Lord to partake of a great feast, which 
he immediately prepared for this assemblage.^ Jeaus 
showed no hesitation about accepting the invitation, and 
in good time sat down to the banquet, surrounded by His 
disciples. 

That the Lord was present at this feast soon b^an to be 
noised throughout the town. Tlie Scribes and Pharisees 
were the first to make their way into the great hall, thrown 
open wide to all comers. There they saw, enacted under 
their very eyes, this sad scandal, the rumor of which had 
so shocked them. 

Verily ! ay, true enough ! there sat a Master of Isniel, 
at the same table with publicans, and familiarly talking 
with such low company ! 

They were too wary now to grumble and mutter in the 
Saviour's hearing ; but feeling that they might act more 

■ Luke viil 10. 
' Lake v. B9. 

* After telling db tba story of his vocation, 8. Matthew proceeds to 
deeuribe the great banquet to which be invited the Lord, the cure of a 
woman with en issue of blood, and the resurrection of Jairua's daughter 
(Matt ix. 10, 26). SS. Mark and Luke put the first two events Ht the 
beginning of the firat year of Hia Ministry (Mark ii. lS-22 ; Luka v. 
29-39), and the latter two they place after the deliverance of the denno- 
niacs of Gergesa (Mark v. 21-43 ; Luke viil. 40-S6>. We shall make 
only one deviation from the order indicated by the two latter Evangelists : 
considering the culling of Levi to have occurred at the same time set for it 
by them, we shall connect his banquet with the miracles which are to 
follow ; for S. Matthew, on this point, speaks as an eye-witness, and he 
distinctly statfs that the three last-named events happened one after 
another, on the same day, and of course we cannot disregard thia pre- 
cise evidence. Elsewhere (p. 227) we have shown that it is impossible 
to suppose that the calling of Levi look place after the selection of the 
Twelve. 



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THE BANQUET GIVEN BY LEVI. 315 

freely with the Apostles, they gave vent to their distrust 
and horrar in their ear. 

" How comes it," they said, " that you and that master 
of yours eat and drink with publicans and sinners ? " 

Censure such as this, coining from men they were ac- 
customed to look up to with reverence, could not fail to 
disturb these simple minds, little versed in controversy. 

Jesus, knowing every movement of their sonls, discerned 
tbeir trouble, and Himself replied to the formalists, " that 
He was not come to call the just, but sinners. For men 
in good health have no need of a physician, but only the 
sick."' Then, borrowing an expression common among 
their Rabbis, He added, — 

" Go, ye, and learn ' the meaning of those words : ' I will 
have mercy, and not sacrifice ! '" ^ — that is. Charity rather 
than mere stickling for observances. 

Such precepts as this uttered by the Prophet Osee con- 
ferred upon the Law its only true dignity, by penneating 
it with the real Spirit of Christianity before the time. 
But the Pharisees of Capharnaum had not so construed it ; 
and now they refused to comprehend more than that Jesus 
undertook to defend His friends, and so for their part, they 
would refrain hereafter from all disputes with Him ' 

Some of John's disciples,* attracted thither by the 
hurrying throngs, had also entered the great hall. At 
sight of Jesus seated there, taking His part in the good 
things of the feast, mindful too of how the Baptist " would 
neither eat nor drink," * and even now was languishing in 
the dungeons of Macheronte, — these sad memories quite 
broke down all their hopes. So then, the Christ had al- 
ready forgotten His Precursor ! Far from spending His 
time in fasting and tears, like these mourners over the 
downfall of their great Prophet, He was actually enjoying 

1 Luke V. 31, 32. 

' Mutt. ix. 13. XiopnSivTfs fiASftf U eqiiivnleot to the eiprnssion 
which we flnd so frequeatly in the Talmud: 'ib^l 1^. 

■ Osee V. 6. The Prophet is quoted according to the Hebrew text, 
which the Septuagint transUted thus : " I love nercj better than uenflce." 

• Matt. ix. 14. 

* Lnke riL 3S. 



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316 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRT OF JESUS. 

rich banquets, and diverting himself in the company of 
sinners ! 

Such a spectacle embittered their minds the more 
against Him, and made their disappointment over their 
own master's fate all the harder to bear. Finding that 
the Pharisees were ready to make common cause against 
Him, they joined them in reproaching the Lord anew. 

" Why," they began, " should we and the Pharisees mul- 
tiply our fasts,' while you and yours eat and drink ? " 

Jesus forgave their presumption, because their zeal 
made it excusable; but He recalled to the minds of John's 
disciples how their master had compared Him to the Bride- 
groom amid the marriage festivities, and continuing the 
figure, He said, "Would you have the sons of the Spouse' 
fasting and weeping while the Spouse is with them ? " 
It is be&tting for us to fast in seasons of mourning only ; 
now John had foretold that the coming of the Kingdom of 
God would be like a wedding festival, wherein the Christ 
should celebrate His espousals with Humanity; and there- 
fore, on this day of gladness, to demand that the Apostles, 
the friends of the Bridegroom, should abandon themselves 
to grief, would be to discredit the testimony of John 
himself. 

" But a time will come," He added, " when the Spouse 
shall be taken from them, and they shall fast in those 
days." 

1 The Hoeaic Law only cosiinanded the people to fast upon the Day of 
Solsmu Expistian, which occurred four days before the Feast of the Tab- 
ernades, about the fifteenth of September (Lev. xri. 29 ; Num. iiii. 7). 
After the return from CBptivity, the Scribea had inaugurated four faating- 
days in the year, occurring in the fourth, the fifth, the eeventh, and the 
tenth montha <Zachar. viii. IB). The PhanseeH, with their uaual ostenta- 
tion of piety went atill further, fasting twice every week, — on Thursday, 
in memory of the day on which Moses, accordine to Tradition, ascended 
Mount Sinai; and on Monday, to commemorate his return thence (Luke 
iriii. 12 ; Baha Kamjna, f. 82 a). However, the Prophets do not appear 
to have approved of these novelties (Zaohar. viL 1-12 ; viii. B). 

* These Sons, or Friends of the BrideKroom, are the companions of the 
Paranymph, "the gentlemen of honor," the Best Man with the Grooms- 
men. This term Son is ordinarily employed in sacred literature to denote 
any tie* which are considered as being as intimate as thone of kinship ; 
"The Sons of the Kingdom " (Matt. viiL 12) ; "of Hell" (Matt, iiiii. 
IB); "of Peace" (Luke X. 6), etc. 



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THE BANQUET GIVEN BY LEVI. 317 

For the first time ^ Jesus allowed the multitude to have 
some inkling of the violent death which awaited Him; but 
He did not dwell at any length upon this dark foreboding ; 
indeed, He rather made haste to restore happiness and 
peace among Levi's guests, who had been disturbed by 
these ill-timed questionings. 

Hereupon changing the tone of their talk, and looking 
round Him upon the gay furnishings which decked the 
board, the joyous company in their bright-colored festal 
robes, the tankards &oni which flowed sparkling wines, He 
began to speak in a Parable, which had now come to be 
His usual manner of teaching. 

Under this figure He propounded a truth which would 
be most apt to shock the Jewish mind ; for He wished to 
have them know that in His Kingdom the ceremonies of, 
the Mosaic worship were to be abolished, — the bloody 
sacrifices, tlie symbolical ceremonies, cii'cumciaion, and 
everything else which in the Law was but a shadow of 
future things, would now fade away under the clear light of 
the Gospel. The Lord knew, were He to announce abruptly 
that the Ancient Covenant had already passed away, He 
would arouse all Judea gainst Him ; hence He must needs 
prepare men's minds, as usual, with gentle condescension. 

"No one," He began,^"puts a piece of unworn cloth 
into an old garment ; otherwise the new," when damp and 
shrunken, "gathers up the old, and the rent is made the 
worse. And no more does any one put new wine into old 
bottles ; otherwise the bottles break, the wine flows away, 
and the bottles themselves are lost, Eather you put new 
wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." 

Mysterious and little understood though they were, these 
words could not fail to excite some surprise in the minds 
of His audience ; perhaps they even caased renewed mur- 
murs of disapproval Jesus fully realized how strong the 

' Heretofore Ha hail alluded to it bat once, — in the conTeraation with 
Kicodeniiui (John iii. 11)> "Bene non dictt : Abibit ab eie aponans, quod 
alitniScasset amoris in aponso imperfectionem, sed : Auferetur ab eis aive 
per mortem a vobja inferendam, aive per ascensjonem, a PatM" (Jan 
of fihent, Concordia Evaagdico., wxiii.). 

» Matt, ii, 18, 17. 



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318 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

attachment to time-honored observances can be, and so He 
added, — 

" He who is wont to drink old wines does not at first 
relish the new, but finds the old better," • 

As He was speaking in this way, one of the great men 
of Capharnaum entered the happy circle.^ It was J^rus, 
Chief of the Synagogue, — one of those notable men of the 
city who had very lately sought out Jesus to implore His 
aid in behalf of the Roman Centurion ; but this time he 
was come to entreat help for himself. He fell down be- 
fore the feet of the Saviour, pouring forth his prayer ; and 
in every word of it one can note how uncontrollable and 
distracting was his grief.* 

"Lord, my little child, my only daughter is dying, — 
she is dead, — but, come I lay your hands upon her and 
she shall live." 

Jesus rose up at once, and followed Jairus* The Apos- 
tles accompanied Him ; behind them suited an excited 
throng of publicans, Pharisees, those disciples of John, and 
the people of the town, all eager to see what was about to 
happen.* 

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 humili- 
ation for any daughter of Israel ; because it was looked 
upon as a scoui-ge that was only laid on women of wicked 
character, and hence those afflicted with it were avoided and 
despised. The poor sufferer had paid out all her means in 
fees to the physicians," hut still in vain. She had under- 
gone, without any benefit, all that peculiar treatment as to 

1 Luke V. 3fl. ' Matt. ii. 18. 

» S. Matthew {ix. 18) puts these words in the father's mouth ; " My 
daughter ia even now dead," while 8. Mark (v. 23) makes him saj, "My 
little daughter is at the j>oint of death." There is no inconsistency here, 
since both these eitpressiona might have come to the lips of the distraught 
father, who had but just Bow left hia child in her last agony, and so knew 
not whether she were yet alive or dead (S. Auguatine, De Conaejiaa Evan- 
gelMarum, ii. 66). 

'Bfatt XT. 19. 

• Mark V. 24. 

• Mark v. 26, 26. 



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THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD. 319 

whicli the Talmud gives us some curious details,' yet the 
disease grew greater every day 

She had now givea up all other hope save in Jeaue; but 
she was still held back by her timidity and shame, both 
because she had iiothiug at all to offer Him, aud 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 and 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 Himself.* Feeling at once that power had gone out 
from Him, He halted and turned toward the people. 

" Wlio 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 
answered ; " some one has touched Me.* " 

And as His eyes fell upon the throng He fixed one of 

' Lightroot, Hor(E Hebraiae, in Marcum, v. 26. 

' Thia sort of ornamental pendant was a sacred object in the Jews' eyes ; 
they were commanded by the Law to alGx tasaels to the four corners of 
their mantle, attaching them to the seam of the eirment by a blue cord. 
Moses intended to remind them, by meana of tbia omanient always set 
befora their eyes, that they were a Chosen People, and therefore conse- 
crated to the Eternal. Two of these pendants were attached to the front, 
and another of them hung down below the waist, when a fold of the broad 
wrap was thrown baolt over one shoulder ; probably this was the fringe 
which the poor woman managed to grasp. 

» Mark V. 30. 

* Luke viii. 46, 



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320 SECOND YEAH OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

those grave and piercing glances which tathom the depths 
of the heart upou her whom He had healed. Tlie womau, 
seeing herself discovered, began trembling, then tottered to 
Him and fell at His feet, declaring befom all the people 
for what cause she had touched Him, and how on the in- 
stant 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.' 

" While He was still speaking comforting words to her, 
some members of the household of Ja'irus came hurrying 
toward them. 

" Do not trouble the Master any longer," they said ; 
" your daughter is dead." ' 

The \infortunate father had uttered no complaint at seeing 
Jesus make so long a wait by the road-side. Great and 
importunate as was his grief, it could not make him grudge 
this suffei-er the happiness of being healed ; for tlie noble- 
man's charity equalled his faith. The Master now turned 
back to him, and seeing him bowed in speechless sorrow, 
He spoke to him very gently, 

" Do not fear, only believe ; slie shall he saved." And 
still followed by the throngs, He proceeded once more on 
the way. 

At the house Jesus found the mourners already gather- 
ing, upon the first tidings of the child's death.^ The deli- 
cate body, ready to he wrapped in its winding-sheet and 

' The "Gospel of Nicodemus" gi res Veronica as the name of the sick 
woman, and tradition aays that after her cure she relui-ned to Cffiaareu 
Philippi, her natiTe land, 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 thnt a llowerino; ahruh grew up close by the 
statue, and that it was immediately endowea with the power of healing all 
aictneases, from the moment that its stem once touched the hem of 
the Statue's mantle. During four uenturies the Church venerated this 
touching memento of the loving.ltindnesa of Jesus. Ensebius saw it atill 
standing, and it wan not hamied until the time of Julian the Apostate, 
who dtatroyed it, with bo much beside (Ensebius, Historia ecclesiattira, 
vii, 18 ; Sojomenus. HUtoria ecd^Haslica, v. Ill, 

* Luke viii. 49. 

n the East to commence the funeral 



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THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. 321 

linen bands, was lying on the cold ground ; round about 
it the women were moaning and wailing, while the shrill 
keening of the tlutes made their cries the more dismal. 

" Weep not ! " Jesus said to them ; " the child is not 
dead, she sleeps." ^ 

The mourners, hearing this speech, thought that He was 
mocking them, and would have continued their wail, but 
Jeaus forbade them. He made tbem pass without the 
darkened chamber, and allowed only the mother and the 
father of the child, together with His three most intimate 
Apostles, Peter, James, and John,^ to remain in the 
room. 

In their presence He took the hand of the young girl, 
and called to her, — 

" Talitha, Koumi ! " ^ " My child, arise ! " 

At once the httle maid rose and started to run, in high 
glee, for she was only twelve years old. The pai'enta were 
beside themselves with joy, and the Lord had to remind 
them of such things as were necessary for the child, telling 
them to give her something to eat 

In working this new marvel of resurrection' Jesus had 
yielded to his boundless love; but may He not have feared 
that so wonderful a sign of His Christhood would arouse all 
the enthusiasm of the people, and reawaken Herod's jeal- 
ousy ? He had not confined Himself, therefore, to merely 
commanding them to keep silence concerning the matter,* 
but had taken every precaution to conceal the deed before- 
hand. His first words had been, " The child is not dead, 
she sleeps ; " and although, these words were meant to 
signify that for Him it was as easy to recall her soul to 
life as it would be to awaken her from slumber, yet this 
sense of the words would be sure to escape the minds of 
the common people. The wondrous deed being accom- 
plished. He probably remained in the house until the 

1 Mart T. 38 ; Matt, bt, 23. ' Luke viii. 51. 

» Mark v, 41. "P'p •tTI-'jIJ. S. Peter, who was one of the eye- 
witnenseg of this miracle, treasured up the memory of tbose two words, 
' ~ ■ '"-' ^'-■-ti to Mark, his Evangelist. 



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322 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

people outside, ignorant of what was going on within doors, 
gradually dropped away. 

Thus JKius avoided the first outburst of excitement; 
but the secret could not be kept for long. The sight of 
the little girl, brought back from death to life, the gieat 
gratitude of her parents, the wonder and awe of the Apos- 
tles, — all these soon betrayed the fact, "and the fame 
of the miracle was noised abroad through the whole 
country-side." * 

> Hatt. ii. sa. 



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CHAPTER VII. 

THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES. — DEATH OF THE 
PBECUKSOB. 



I. The Missioh of the Apostles. 

Matt. xiu. 54-68, ii. 35-38, x. 6-42 j Mark vL 1-11 ; Luke ii. 1-6. 

When Jesus left the mansion of Jaitus it waa in order 
to undertake a new mission through Galilee. It waa the 
third (and it was to be the laat) of those jonrneyings of 
His during which He preached in every little hamlet of 
that land. First of all, this time. He wended His way up 
to His old home in Nazareth,^ and on the Sabbath began to 
preach in the synagogue ; but He met with as cold a 
reception aa on a former occasion a year ago ; the Nazarenes 
were as hard and dull to the words of their fellow-Towns- 
man as they were before. 

" How does he come by his wisdom and his power ? " 
they kept on saying. " Is not this the carpenter ? Is not 
hia mother called Mary, his brothers James and Joseph, 
Simon and Jude ? And ai-e not his sistei's all here amongst 
US ? " And they were scandalize^ at Him, — were shocked 
at His presumption ! 

1 In this way we would mark a distinction between the two Tisits which 
Jeaus made to Nazareth, — one being ths one of which 5. Luke speaka in 
hia fourth chapter ; this took place at the outset of His public life. The 
other, reported by S. Mark (vi. 1-6), is this instance, when he tells us 
that .leans liade farewell to the hoasehold of Jaii-us, at Caphamauni.*aud 
started out for Nazai'eth j Kal ii^^fftr ialBa, ml ffix""* •'' ^'V rarplSa. 



324 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Their phlegmatic bigotry and coarseness were well un- 
derstood by Jesus ; nevertheless on this particular day it 
would seem to have even surpassed His expectations ; for 
Saint Mark tells us ' He " was astonished thereat," as though 
He would indicate how entire and hopeless their incredu- 
lity was by the use of this striking expression, which 
sounds strangely enough when used in reference to God. 
The Lord grieved over their blinduess, and, comparing the 
coutemptuousness of the Nazarenes witli the docility of 
their brethren in Galilee, He repeated what He had said 
of them once before, — 

" A Prophet is not without honor save in his own coun- 
try, and in his own home, and in his own family." 

This was perforce the divine Wayfarer's farewell to that 
ungrateful city, where his boyhood and early manhood had 
been passed ; now all He could do here was to heal some 
few of their sick folk by laying His hands upon them; 
then He departed from the mountain valley, uever more 
to return. 

" He went through the towns and villt^es,' teaching in 
their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, 
and curing every sickness and all infinnitiea" The dwel- 
lers in these lands touched His fieart with a great pity, — 
they lived so far from Jerusalem and in the very midst of 
Pi^ana, " lying uncared for and spent with fatigue," pant- 
ing for breath •' like a ilock of sheep attacked " by wolves, 
" who have no shepherd to lead them." ^ However, they 
were all ready to receive the Good News; for Jesus, 
speaking of them to the Apostles, called them a rich 
and plentiful harvest, which only waits the coming of 
the reapers. 

" The harvest is great," He said ; " but there are few 
workmen. Therefore beseech the Master to send workmen 
into His harvest." 

' Mark vL 8. _ « Matt. ii. 85-38. 

* Matt. ix. 36. '^Kv\iiivoi, literally, fleeced atid flayed liy tbe Scribes 
and Pharisees. 'Epi^ui^poi, not merely abandoned, but spent tcitli fatinie 
(jacentea, Vulgate). Perhajis the appearance of the wayworn multitude, 
resting on the ground all around Him, may have sn^oiesUd to Jesus the 
idea of a stray Hock, poor wanderers, homele^ uud eitEauated. 



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THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES. 325 

The Twelve Apostles were to be the first to enter these 
fields, which had been made ripe for the coming of their 
Lord. Soute time before Jesus had finished His own 
wanderings through the length and breadth of Galilee He 
called them about Him, " gave them strength and dominion 
over all devils, with the power of healing diseases, and sent 
them ont, two by two, to preach the Kingdom of God and 
to restore healtli to the weak," ^ Pefore entrusting them 
with so lofty and august a commission He laid down the 
simple and severe duties of their Ministry. 

For the present He wished to send them, " not to the 
Samaritans, nor to the Gentiles, but rather to the lost sheep 
of Israel." ^ All the burden of their message was to be this 
" announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at 
hand," confirming the glad tidings by miracles performed in 
the name of the Christ. 

"Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse the 
lepers, drive out devils ; freely you have received, freely 
give." 

A holy indifference to earthly cares was to be the 
peculiar feature of their ministry ;^ they might not make 
any preparations, but must be ready at all times to set 
out, in whatever circumstances they might chance to be, 
taking neither gold nor silver in their belt, nor victuals 
in their wallet, having neither a change of raiment nor 
travelling-shoes in the place of the sandals they ordi- 
narily wore;* it would even be useless for them to get 
themselves a staff for the journey.' Having arrived in 
a town, their first care must be to seek out some hos- 
pitable household, which they were to accost with that 

> Luke iz. 1, 2 ; Murk vi. 7. 

2 Matt. X. 6-8. 

" Matt. X. 9, 10. 

* They must start out shod with sandals only (Mark vi. 9), without 
buying or carrying witli them the leathern buskins with which traTellerti 
onlinarily protected their feel ; these S. Matthew designates by the word 

' "Do not purchase a staff," says S. Matthew (x. 9, 10). "Let that 
which you have iu your hand suffice yon," is S. Mark's wording (vi. 8). 
Mi^jp alpiMir . . , <l ixri ^i^iof uhvav. The evidence of these two, so far 
from being contradictory, is simjily explanatory of each other. 



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326 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

ancient greeting, " Peace be to this house '"' Thb peace 
of theirs should precede them and abide upon the inmatea, 
if tliey proved worthy of it ; if otherwise, the heavenly 
gift would rather return aud rest upon the Heralds of the 
Good News. Should they be rejected and repulsed, they 
were merely to shake tlie dust from off their shoes * without 
the dwelling, thereby proclaiming that they were not 
chargeable with the judgment, more terrible than that of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, which should one day befoll its mis- 
guided occupants. 

Up to this point the Lord had been speaking to the 
Twelve concerning their present mission only ; but now, 
as though He would explain the duties of the Apostolic 
Ministry more generally, He began by marking out ita two 
principal characteristics. 

"Be prudent as serpents, simple as doves. Mark how 
I am sending you forth like sheep in the midst of 
wolves," * 

Just at this moment (according to a tradition of the first 
century) * Peter interrupted His Master. 

" But if it happen," said he, " that the wolves devour 
the sheep ? " 

"When the lamb is dead," replied the Lord, "it no 
longer fears the wolf. Even so fear not those who can 
only kill the body and have no power over the soul But 

' Matt. I. 11-lS. This invocatioi] of pence ia tbe invariable greeting 
in Oriental lands ; ^^ D^Sb7 ; in the Arab's tongue, "Shalam aloik," In 
these countries the guest is always welcomed with eourteaj and respect ; 
if an Apostle, he is bidden to a seat at the family board and m the 
hearth's side, where, from such familiar intercourse »s this, he Gnda his 
opportunity to convert those who are about him. 

' Because the Jews considered any Pa^n territory as contaminated, 
they were accustomed, on returning to their own lands, to brnah the 
dust from off their feet, as though it were an impori^: "All dual 
from a Gentile country must be to our eyes like tbe dry rot of the 
tomb" (Bartenora, in MUchna Tnhiirnlh, i. 6. See Sepp, Leben Jem, 
B. iv. k. xcii.). 

' Matt. I. 16. 

' The testimony of S. Clement, by whom this saying was preserved, is 
so decisive and important that we cannot cast any doubt npon the authen- 
ticity (rf these woMs of Jesua [EpiUoia II. ad CorvUkios, v. Funk, Opera 
Pairum apoitolieorum, vol. L p. 150). 



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THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES. 327 

rather fear that which can send both soul and body down 
to Gehenna." ^ 

Then the Master forewarned them that they would be 
draped before the judgment-seats, flowed in the syna- 
gogues ; while still in the face of the magistrates of Judea, 
as in the presence of the praetors of Rome, they were to 
bear testimony, even to the shedding of their blood for His 
sake ; but that during all their tortui'es the Holy Spirit would 
be with them and would make answer for theiu.^ Yet the 
Lord did not command them to go out to seek such im- 
pending perils ; rather, on the contrary. He exhorted them 
" to fly from one town to the other," and to persevere in 
the faith ; for in very truth " they should not complete 
their tale of wanderings through all the cities of Israel 
ere yet the Son of Man would manifest Himself on His- 
return." * 

The future, then, had only gloomy things in store for 
the Apostles ; therefore, in order to strengthen and inflame 
their courage, Jesus reminded them of the obstacles which 
opposed His own Mission.* 

Like Him, they must be calm and fearless ; the heaveidy 
Father " Who numbereth even the hairs of their head. Who 
lets not the littlest sparrow ^ fall from the skies upon the 
earth without having care thereof," — their Almighty Father 
would be with them, "would acknowledge those as His 
own children whom His Son claimed as His disciples, and 
would reject all such as He disowned." ^ 

Then He added that He had come to cast a drawn 

' Matt I. 28. For tho expresaion Gehenna see p. 264, note 4. 
' Matt. X. 17-23. 

• This He munirest^d iu innumerable ways, not only by the Apparitions 
which succeeded the Resurrection, but by the full of Jerusalem, and the 
triumph of the Church. NeTerthelesa, it is not until the end of the 
world that this Prophecy will have its perfect fulRlment ; the Utter.day 
ApoBtlea shall not hare completad the conversion of that last remnant ot 
the tme Israel, when already the Son of Man "'ill show Himself in His 
gloT- 

« Matt. I. 2*, 26, 

* One of those tiny birds which cold, hunger, and tempests have struck 
to the earth ; such creatnres are tied together and sold for a paltry price 
in the cities of Palestine. 

" Maa X. 29-39. 



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828 SECOND YKAB OF THE MINISTRY OF JESVS. ■ 

sword Upon the earth ; that very soon they should see 
their fathers and their children in league vith the world, 
and eager to deliver them up to death. In the midEt of 
raging war and of unbridled passions He bade them remain 
steadfast, " publishing upon the housetops that which the 
Master had spoken in their ear," ' preferring Jesus above 
all whatsoever they held most dear and glorious, " losing 
their life to find it again "' in Heaven, — in a word, they 
were " to take up their cross ' and follow Him." 

After this mystic allusion, by which He foretold His 
Crucifixion, the Lord uttered only words of loving con- 
solation and splendid promise. He told His Apostles 
that they should stand in His stead in the eyes of the 
world;* "that to receive them as Ambassadors of trod* 
would be to receive the Christ, — would indeed be to en- 
tertain God. Himself and to merit the rewards laid up for 
the just and the Prophets." 

Then, with one hand pointing to the poor folk and little 
children, who crowded about Him now as always. He con- 
cluded with those touching words : — 

" Whosoever shall give but a cup of cold water to one of 
these little ones to drink, as unto one of My disciples, I 
say to you that indeed he shall not lose his reward." 

Such were the instructions with which Jesus prepared 
this College of the Twelve. It may be that all were not 
delivered on this particular occasion, and that, following his 
usual custom. Saint Matthew has here collected counsels 
which were actually uttered at various times.* But whether 

' M«tt. X. 26, 27. « Matt. %. 37-89. 

' To our thinkiag there is do Deed to consider this sajiog of Jesus na 
faiinded upon a proverbial allusioti to the old custom of making con- 
ilemned cnmlnaU citrrr their owd crosses to the place of execution. Cru- 
cifixion had only lately been introduced in Judea, during the era of the 
Roman dominatEon ; hence it is hardl; probable that the popalar speech 
would have adopted it among its colloquial figares so soon. 

*MBtt. I. 40, «. 

' Ed iniia, is a Hebraism, which sipiifies " in the name of some one," 
" because he is such and such a person." To receive a Prophet becanse 
he is a prophet ; a righteous man because he la righteona, as a token of 
respect for his justice and holiness. 

* According to S. Lake, one part of these instnictions was addressed 
to the Apoatfia, and the other to the aarenty-two disciples. It may be 



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THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES. 329 

Jesu3 spoke the whole discourse before this one audieuce, 
or whether the Evangelist, divinely inspired, baa connected 
maxims scattered through many lessons of the Master, 
none the less Saint Matthew's work stands as a finished 
and complete model for every Apostle of the evangelical 
Ministry ; and indeed, though every priest of the I^rd 
Christ he not bouuden hy the letter of these instructions, 
it does hehove aU to he quickened by their spu-it. Truly 
every one is not bidden to press forward to the prize of the 
martyr's crown, yet all must follow the Master in the paths 
of sacrifice ; the Lord God does not demand of each one of 
us a complete renunciation of all things, for He Himself 
has declared that " every workman is worthy of his meat ; " ' 
and yet, in proportion as zeal in the hearts of His Apostles 
hums higher, and the holy Same waxes purer and whiter, 
by so much the more joyously do they strip themselves of 
everything in the race unto their h^h calling which is in 
Christ Jesus our Lord. Saint Paul converted the nations 
of the earth while he himself toiled at tent^making for 
his day's bread;* Saint Francis Xavier took with him 
nothing but a cross of wood wherewith he went foith to 
conquer the eastern world. 

Obedient to the commands they then received, the 
Apostles departed, going two by two.^ Without doubt the 
intimate friends and the brothers would bear each other 
company in this sacred comradeship.* Pet«r of course 
would associate himself with Andrew ; those two whom 
He had called " Sons of the Thunderbolt " would forthwith 
start out together, with all their characteristic impetuosity; 
Philip would join Bartholomew, whose two lives had been 
heretofore so closely linked together; then would come 
Thomas and Matthew; while the two cousins of Jesus, 
James and Jude, would naturally be companions ; and 

that the Loid repeated to the latter what He had already said to the 
Twelve ; but to us it semis much more probable that S. Untthew, who 
does not mention the seventy-two disciples, has here simply collected 
these counsels of the Lord, in the same manner as he had already done 
with the Miracles and the Parables. 

1 Matt. X. 10. -' Acts xriii. 3. ' Mark vi. 7. 

• Matt. I. 2-4. 



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330 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTHY OF JESUS. 

finally, it was probably Simon's sad and unenviable for- 
tune to have for his fellow-laborer in the harvest Judas. 



II. Death of John the Baptist. 

Mark. tL li-3a j Matt liv. 1-13 ; Lake ix. 7-10. 

Jesus, left alone in His own field, continued to preach 
in all the cities of the lake country, when the news sud- 
denly reached them that John the Baptist was dead ; his 
head had been struck off in the dungeous of Macheronte.' 

After being for twelve mouths imprisoned in that "dark 
fortress," ^ John etill displayed the same spirit which had 
made him so terrible to sinners upon the Jordan's bank ; 
neither caresses nor threats had moved his stalwart cour- 
age one whit, and though they did not heed him, his stern 
voice fell upon the ears of the tyrant in no less unsparing 
denunciations. Herod trembled as be listened, torn in the 
strife between remorse and passion. Too weak to rid him- 
self of his fearless accuser by a crime, yet too deeply cor- 
rupt at heart to subject his will to duty, he made shift to 
compromise with his conscience by simply shielding the 
Baptist from the insatiable hatred of Herodias. The 
struggle between these two was prolonged and stubborn ; 
for the rancor and venom in the heart of the adulterous 
woman embittered her the more against her victim the 
longer she was thwarted and balked in her schemes of 
vengeance. This creature being determined to compass 
the Prophet's ruin, was ever on the watch for some oppor- 
tune moment ; it came soon enough. 

After the fashion among the Boman princes, Herod and 
his sons always celebrated certain memorable epochs in 
their lives with the greatest pomp.' The anniversary of 

' Joaephus, AntiquitaUs, xviii. 5, 2. 

^ ThU is the name the Rabins gare to Macheronte (Sepp, LAen Jem, 
B. iv. K. Ixviii.). 

* The pomp BDd pageantry of this prince had become proverlrial, even 
at Rome : — 

Herodis veaere dies . . . 



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ij 



DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 331 

his birth ' chaDced to occur while Aatipas, with his court, 
was at MacheroQte ; there he made high festival, gathering 
about him all the courtiers, ri^ch officials, aud nobles of 
Galilee, From what we know of the wealth of the 
Herods, their lordly extravagance, and their goi^eous 
pageants, we are warranted in fancying the grandeur 
of the ceremonial and the brilliancy of their sports, to- 
gether with the bright hangings which adorned the rugged 
walls of that gloomy old castle, as being altogether beyond 
anything ever seen among those desolate hills. Yet, be- 
side all this, Herodias had devised for the king a night of 
revelry, which was fitted to intoxicate him even more 
surely than the fumes of wine, and would thus be likely to 
place him completely at her mercy. 

All wanton dances brought over from Italy were well 
known to her ; she knew which of the movements in those 
horrid orgies would be most apt to hold him in besotted fas- 
cination.' Such shameless pastimes had for some time been 
of common occurrence within the palace of the Tetrarch;^ 
but on this evening it was Herodias' will that her own daugh- 
ter should be one of the damsels taking part in those unmaid- 
enly carousals. This young princess, descendant of Herod 
the Great, sprung from the seed of the Machabees, and 
later on destined to Ije the wife aud the mother of kings 
on this night appeared in all her brilliant state, the central 
figure in a circle of dissolute companions. By her dancing, 
she so transported the prince with delight that, as the 
wild applause of the revellers died away, he swore that he 
would give her whatever she might desire of him, were it 
even the half of his kingdom. 

• Mark vi, 21. The woiii yrriaia in the New Teatainent and in Hel- 
IcnUtic Greek, bad come to mean the anoiveraaiy of one's birth. In 
Claasic Greek, on the contrary, it is to be translated aa '' 
a death (Paaly, Real Encyelopiedie : FUNVs). 

* Motus doceri gsudet lonicos 
Matarn virgo, et ftnttitur Brtnbna, 
Jam nnac et inceetos anorea 
De tanaro nieilitatur ungnL 

HOSACK, IIL Od. V 

* Joaephua, AntiqaitaUt, it. 8, 1 ; xii. 7, S. 



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332 SECOSD YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

Salome ' sped quickly to her mother. 

" What shall I demand of him ? " she said. 

The royal harlot had a ready respoose for this her 
moment of triumph : — 

" The head of John Baptist." 

Not even a shudder stirred the drapery of the young 
dancer ; tripping back to the king, she repeated her 
mother's woids, without a touch of pity or a thrill of 
shame. 

" 1 will that you give me at once and on this very 
trencher,' the head of John Baptist." And as she spoke 
she caught up one of the great dishes with which the 
tahle was loaded. 

On this request Herod was strack sad at heart ; he was 
just wakening from the madness of passion, only to see 
the snare into which he had been led by his blind, brutish 
nature. But the vanity of the Tetrarch was proportion- 
able to his weakness ; he saw the looks Iiis high-bom 
guests were fixing upon him, and he had neither the cour- 
age to excite their satirical remarks, nor did he dare to 
brave the anger of those two unscrupulous women, who now 
claimed their promised prey; seeking to shield himself 
from any responsibility by pleading the sacredness of his 
oath, he gave the fatal order. The headsman ' (according 
to the usage of Oriental courts) was standing behind the 
person of royalty, ready for the deed; a few moments later 
John Baptist was no more. 

That very obscurity in which the Prophet had desired to 
be eclipsed * has in fact completely overshadowed his mar- 

' JosephiiB informs us that the daugtiter of Herodias bore tbe name of 
Salome ; that she finit married her uncle Philip, Tetrarch of Itnrea, and 
afterwards Aristobulns, King of Chalcis, by wham she bad three eons 
(Joaephua, Jtntujuitates, iviii. 5, i). 

^'Qit, just hei'e, on this very trencher (Matt. liv. 8). 

) 'Lrtt!o\i\ATwp is tbe I^tin word " npeculalor, ' and refers to one of the 
body.guard which surrounded the person of a prince, and often exBreieed 
the office of headsman. See Forcellini : Specuialor r\ Spiatilaior. Under 
the latter name thia officer is alluded to in that valuable passage from 
Julius Firmicns, viii. 28 L " Spieulatorea . . . qninudatogladiohominnm 
ampiitant cervices." 

> John iiL 30. 



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DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 333 

tyrdom. No witness has ever related how he received the 
iniquitous decree, or with what tokens of inward peace he 
faced death. The executioner returned very shortly, bear- 
ing upon that charger the reverend bead of the Nazarite ; 
he handed it to the royal dancer, who carried the bleeding 
trophy to her mother. If we may credit certain traditions,' 
Herodias pierced with needles the tongue whicli she had 
been powerless to check in life, and then commanded that 
his torn and disfigured body be thrown into the chasms 
around Macheronte, so to become food for the dogs and 
I'oul birds of prey. But the disciples of John were keeping 
watch at every point ; gathering together the remains of 
their master, tbey piou&y buried them, and then sought 
out Jesus to tell the sad tale to Him.^ 

God's vengeance fell upon the slayer of His Prophet 
without delay; from the moment when the head of the 
Baptist was shown to the conscience-stricken Tetrarch, 
there was never another hour of quiet repose for the tyrant. 
Always thereafter he would see now and again the tables 
spotted with blood, and the Prophet's cold brow, seeming 
more severe than in life, so drawn and white in death, 
while the thin lips appeared as if just about to open and 
rebuke the guilty adulterer. 

Now, instead of his former habitual indolence, he lapsed 
at once into a wretched humor, fluctuating restlessly be- 
tween horrid fright and vague suspicions. The fame and 
power of Jesus had moved him scarcely at all heretofore ; 
but now he grew suddenly wroth at the tales which his 
couriers brought him. 

Only a few days later, a rumor reached Macheronte 
that the Saviour was drawing still greater concourses of 
people, and that every day He performed new and more 
wonderful prodigies. At this Herod shuddered in great 
terror. 

" 'T is he ! " he cried out. " It is John Baptist who has 



' S. Jerome, Contra Rufinum. iii. 42 ; Nicephorns, i. 19. 
^ Mark ri, 20; Matt. xiv. 12. 



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334 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

It was useless fur the prince's ^tmiltars ' to endeavor bo 
<|uiet bis alarm, — some assuring bim that Jesus must 
rather be £has, once again returned to earth from bis 
flaming chariot ; others asserting that He was merely one 
of tbe Prophets ; while the more sceptical among them 
would have it that He was but a Seer, like those who wei* 
common enough in the time of their forefathers. But for 
Herod, whose vision was continually haunted by the grim 
spectre of his victim, his trembling lips kept repeating, "It 
is John ; it is the man who baptized ! He has been raised 
up from the dead ; that is why he can work such miracles." 
And et^r to ascertain the truth of his forebodings, he cast 
about for some means to see Jesus for himself.' 

The Lord would have incurred the greatest danger from 
any such encounter with the furious and terrified Tetrarch ; 
unquestionably He would have been constrained to suspend 
His ministry at once, at least in Galilee, while He would 
have been forced to forego His Paschal pilgrimi^e for that 
year, and the time for the caravans to start was already 
drawing near. The return of the Apostles finally decided 
Hlra to pass over into tbe realm of Philip without delay. 
Whether their mission had been finished just at this time, 
or whether that also was interrupted by the death of the 

' Tiki rowl* oftroB (Matt. xiv. 2 ; Mark vi. 15 ; Luke ix. 8). 

' Luke ix. 9. Aa for Herodias, her presence beside tbe tbrone of Anti- 
pas odIj resulted ia the destruction of that prince. Some years later, ber 
jealousy aroused by seeing Caligula favor her brother Agrippa L, she forced 
her husband to visit Rome with her, in the hope of obtaining the title of 
king Ug him. Antipas, tbougb too feeble to resist her schemers, foresaw 
the dangers to which he was exposing himself by yielding to her whima. 
Tbe event prored lluLt he vras right. On bis very arrival he was assailed 
with accusations by Agrippn, and as he could not clear himself, was ban- 
ished to the frontiers of S]>ain, to Lyons (probably Lugdunum Convena- 
ruin, S. Berti'and of Comiuges). (Josephus, Antiquilaies, xviii. 7, 2 ; 
Betlam Jitdaieiina, ii. S. 6.) In misfortune Herodias showed something 
of Uie noble spirit of a daughter of the Maoliabeea ; she demanded to be 
allowed to share the exile a? Herod, and both together ended their days in 
obscuiity. According to the story left us by Nicephorua, the fate of 
Salome was even more terrible. Aa she was crossing a frozen stream the 
ice opened under her feet, and she was held fast up to her neck in water, 
her shoulders pinioned in the crevice. Very soon the cold paralyzed her 
limbs, and a mass of ice striking her head, Mvercd it from the body 
(Nicephorus, i. ao). 



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DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 335 

Forerunner, at any rate the Twelve bad now returned to 
their Master, and at oue and the same time. To Him they 
rendered their report " of what they had done aud taught;" 
" liow they had cast out devils, anointed very many sick 
folks with oil,^ and cured their illnesses."^ Tired and spent 
with their long journeyiogs, and saddened by the fate of 
John, they came to seek rest and comfort by the side of 
Jesus ; but the Lord could offer them no quiet relief, be- 
cause of tbe crowds " which came and went, and left Him 
not even time to eat." 
And therefore He said to His way-worn little hand : — 
" Let US go apart by ourselves * into some desert place, 
and there you may rest yourselves for a little time." 

Tbe sea of Tiberias was not far off from where they 
stood ; at the Master's bidding they sought out a boat 
for tbe passage, and speedily shook out ^il, heading for 
the north. 

' This oil did not possess tbe BUpematviial virtue of Extreme Unction ; 
it was bat a figure of the Sacnuuent instituted by Jesus later on, for the 
help and comfort of tbe sick ; " Sacrametituiu a Ohristo apud Marcuni 

?uidem inainuatum, per Jacobum antem apoatolum . . . promuleatum " 
Concilium TrideDtmam, Sessio xiv. De E^rema (Mctiont, cap. i.j. 
» Mark vi. 13, 30, 
■ 'T/u(( airai : yourselves j you alone and no one else (Mark vi. 31). 



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CHAPTEE VIII. 

ia& BHEAD OF UFE. 



I. The Mpltipucation or the Loatib. 

Luke ii. 10-17 ; Mark vi. 30-56 ; Matt. xiv. 13-38 ; John ti. 1-21. 

In the Dorthwestern region of the lake, and near the 
spot where the Jordan empties its waters into the little 
sea, there stood a flourishing town. Its name of Bethsaida,' 
which it bore in common with that other village in the 
neighborhood of Gaphamaum, would indicate that at no 
very remote time it had been but a lishermen's station ; 
but in the time of Jesus, Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea, had 
transformed this little settlement into a city, and had called 
it Julias,* in honor of the daughter of Augustus. Bound 
about this young and vigorous town stretched great tracts 
of moorland, bordered on the east by hills, which were as 
bleak and lonely then as to-day they are ; it was toward 
this wilderness that the Lord fixed the course of their little 
ship.^ Here His disciples counted upon finding that re- 
pose of which they stood greatly in need ; but their hopes 
were destined to be disappointed. 

1 Bethsuda : rn';t n'?. The Fishery House. AD the geognphers since 
the discoveries of Reland agree as to the fact that there were two Beth- 
saidag on the lakeside, —one on the western shore, which nlwaya remniaed 
a village of Hsberaien ; the other, at the northwestern end of the lake, 
became a celebrated town and was given the name of Julias. 

'Joaephus, Anliquilal^ xviii. 2, 1; Bellum Judafcum, iii. 10, 7; 
Pliny, Siskria TKUuralw, v. 15. "In iBCiim se fundit quern glares 
(Jenesamm vocant . . . ; amaiuis ciroumseptum oppidig, ab onente, 
Jatiade," etc. 

' Luke ix. 10 ; John vi. 1. 



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THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES. 337 

Despite tbe privacy and quiet with which Jesus had 
screened their sudden departure, some wituessea had marked 
the sail being hoisted and the boat drawing away from 
land.i But aa they met with only contraiy winds, little 
progress could be made ; hence their arrival was anticipated, 
and Jesus, coming to land dose to the river-mouth, found 
there a multitude as great in number aa that which they 
had tried to escape. Besides the inhabitauts of the neigh- 
boring villages, there were many pilgrinia among them, who 
had come from distant lands ; for it was now close upon 
the Paschal Season,^ and caravans were being collected all 
along the seaboard. 

Yet the Saviour would not swerve from His first design; 
setting out inland. He led the way to a lonely and retired 
hill, and there seated Himself with the weary little circle 
of Apostles.^ But hardly had He done so, when on raising 
His eyes, He saw the multitude coming toward Him, — a 
fatigued and huddled throng, " like sheep without a shep- 
heri"* Something in their forlorn and uncared-for con- 
dition so touched the Heart of Jesus that at once He foigot 
His own weariness and gave all His thought to them. 
" He spoke to them of the Kingdom of God, and healed 
all their sick." ^ 

The sun was sinking over the distant hills of Zabulon,* 
yet still the Saviour continued His blessed office of charity ; 
then in a few moments (for twilight lingers for such a little 
while in the East) night was come upon them, surprising 
this foot-sore and fainting flock far away out here in the 
wilderness. At last the disciples began to show signs of 
uneasiness, and gathering about the Master, finally spoke 
out their fears. 

"This place Is a desert," they said, "and the hour is 
late ; send away the people, so that they may go into 

1 Mark yl 34 ; Matt. wt. 13 ; Luke ii. II. « John n. i. 

» John vi. 3. « Mark ri. 8i. 

»Lukeut. 11. 

•Luke a. 13, IS, '0^(a (Matt. liv. 16) denotes the tima when the 
sun in sinking to the horizon, frum three to six o'clock ; the Greeks called 
it iV'" i*(^1. In versa 33, i'fiia, means the hiter evening, commencing at 
six o'clock, and lasting until sunset. 



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338 JSECOND YEAR Of THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

the nearest farm-tiouses and villages, where they can find 
lodging and victuals." 

" They liave no need to go " replied the Lord ; " do you 
yourselves give them to eat." 

And as the Apostles stood staring and speechless at 
such an astounding proposition, Jesus turned to Philip ^ 
and said, — 

" Where shall We buy bread to feed all this multitude ? " 
{He spoke in this way to try him, for He Himself knew 
what He would do.) 

"Two hundred denarii,"^ Philip answered, " would not 
buy enough bread for each one to have even a small portion." 

"How many loaves of bread have you?" was all Jesus 
daid;* "go and see." 

Andrew, Simon Peters brother, returned immediately 
saying, " there is a young lad here who has five loaves of 
barley -bread * and two fishes;* but what is that among 
such a crowd as this ! " 

Jesus bade them bring the loaves and the fishes. 

" Make the men sit down," He said to the Apostles. 

They obeyed His behest ; and the people sat down upon 
the long glass, in companies of hundreds, and fifties. It 
was still spring-time. The fierce heats of the sun had not 
yet robbed the Galilean hills of their soft garment of green ; 
and thus the groups of friends and companions, ranged 
about in oi-der, made a happy and charming scene, which, 
together with the glowing tints of their oriental robes, left 
such a vivid picture upon the memory of Peter that in 

> John vi. 5, S. Here S. John is more precise in his details th&n 
are the other Evangaliata ; Le attributes to Philip Mid Andi-ew certain 
wonis which the Sjnoptio writers ascribe to all the ApoatleB, without 
discrimiaatioD. 



» Bariey-bread was much coarser than wheat«n bread, and was the 
fltspte food of the lower classes (Smith, Dtdionary of the Bible . Barley). 

' In place of tx^ias, S. John employs the word iif/dpta, which signifies 
"any food which we eat along with bread." In a country like Greece, 
whei-e the sea is accessible from every part, fish was the food most com- 
monly eaten with bread ; thin is how, in later time*, iif^ui came to be 
uaed as a synonym of fish, 



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THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES. 339 

after years he described it to Mark the Evangelist as being 
like goryeoua beds of flowers ^ exteudiug along the rich 



His holy and venerable hands, and with His eyes lifted up 
toward Heaven, He gave thanks to God, blessiug the bread, 
brake, gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the people; 
with the fishes He did likewise. Whereupon, in the hands 
of the Lord, the brokeu bread and the portions of fish 
multiplied without ceasing;' and so He continued to give 
unto these His ministers until all were satisfied. Then, 
to mark more clearly still how plentiful are the gifts of 
Heaven, yet at the same time to guard against any squan- 
dering of His bounties. He said to his disciples : — 

" Gather up what fragments are left, for fear they should 
be lost." 

Each one of the Apostles, taking up his wicker pack,' 
threaded his way through the orderly bands ; on their 
return, the twelve baskets were filled with the leavings. 

In the eyes of the Evangelists this Mimcle assumed the 
greatest importance ; for each one gives us an account of 
it, and Saint John, by proceeding at once (as though it were 
the only natural sequel) to record His promise of "the 
Bread of Life," shows us what a lofty meaning Jesus 

' ' knHifaiui tpasmk xpamal (Mark vi. 40), " they hid apread themselves 
about like a flower-bed." The original expression of S. Mark cannot ba 
translated except by developing lus thought ; this meaning, however, ia 
neither uncertain nor faociml. According to the definition of Theopby- 
lactus (in loco), Tftfual signifies, "the ribbon-like plots in which garden- 
plants are set out." The repetition irpaaiai wpaauti is a, Hebraism, and 
gives the expi-ession a distributive sense : in clusters ; areoialim. It is 
the same with the words irutiirlKria tufirliaa, in the preceding Terse : in 
groups of companions, (xUematim, 

' Mark vi. 41. The aorist KaTiaXaaty indicates that the act of breaking 
the bread lasted only an instant ; the imperfect, fiiSov, ahows that the 
distribution consumed a much longer time. 

' Judieis, quorum copbluue, fienumque supellei. 

Juvenal, Satircc, UL 14. 
The Jews, because they regarded everything which a Pagan had touched 
as tainted, on tbeir journeys carried with them osier baskets, which con- 
tained eattiblea, with enough straw to serve for a couch. In Galilee of the 
Oentiles these precautions were almost as neceEiaary as in n foreign land. 



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340 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTMY OF JESUS. 

attached to thia prodigy of love. The sight of the pilgrims 
wending their way up to Jerusalem, the nearuess of the 
holy festival, at which He might no louger take part with- 
out great danger to Himself, the thought of the Last Sup- 
per, whereat, just oue year hence, He was to substitute for 
the paschal lamb an Immortal Food, — aU thoughts like 
these impelled Jesus to declare at once and forever the 
great Mystery of His love. 

The primitive Church was so assured of the truth of this 
interpretation that during five centuries, when she would 
figure forth the Eucharist, she represented, not the Last 
Supper,* but the Multiplication of the Loaves; and this 
scene she set over against the very Table of the Lord, to- 
gether with the Fish, which is the symbol of the Christ,^ 
and the baskets^ ovei^owiDg with fn^ments gathered up by 
the Apostles. 

And thus we know that by working this prodigy Jesus 
sought to prepare their minds for the reception of higher 
truths ; but far from responding to the lofty designs of the 
Lord, the emotion now stirring the excited throngs had 
sprung from the belief that their dreams of earthly happi- 
ness were at last to be realized. 

" This is He ! " they exclaimed to each other. 

" This is surely the Prophet who ia to come into the 
world I " * 

And so without doubt they had understood the promise, 

1 8fe Martigny, DuUionnaire da Antiquith iJtTfiiennai : EoCHAHiaTlB. 
RepTeseoUtioas of the Last Supper, which are eo common since the 
BenawieDce, are rarely ever fonnd in the Catacombs. 



' " If from the five Greek words, 'Ii^aSt, Xpurrbt, BfoS, TUi, Zair'/jfi, 
;oa takn the initial letters, by unitiii); them you will bare IX9TS, a Fi«h, 
uader which name the Christ ia sJgniHeJ in > mystical nmtiner " (S. Au- 
gustine, J)e CivUale Dei, xviii. 25). There was no symbol more freqiietitly 
employed by the primitive Church to desienuU the Saviour (see Martigny; 
DicHonnairc dsa AnliquilUa chr/tUnnea: Poisson). 

■ The baskets are always seven in number : therefore it was to the 
second multiptication, where tbe Apostles collected not twelve bnt seven 
baskets of bread, to which the Christian artifts had reference. In this 
second prodigy, which, like the hrst, was a foreahadowing of the Enchariat, 
Instead of barley.bread Jeans multiplied the wheaten bread, which Is tbe 

E roper matter of tbe Sacrament : thia ia one reason for their choice 
elween the two events. 
* John vi. It 



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THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES. 341 

thiDkiug that Jesus would stretch forth that sceptre which 
Balaam had foreseeu,^ whereupon at ooce their oppressors 
would crouch before Him. He would be like to Eliaa de- 
aceudiug from Hia chariot of fire ; - another Jeremy, who 
should restore the Mosaic Worship in all its olden splendor; 
aud unto the Temple He would be the Ark, which, since 
the days of Babylon and the Captivity, had been hidden 
from the eyes of the faithful.* 

The Saviour knew these passionate aspirations, as He 
kuew well that they were already planning to bear Him 
along with them, and by force of arms proclaim Him 
King* He saw, too, that the hearts of His disciples were 
beginning to burn high as they listened to these visions 
of glory, while they were gradually being filled with these 
ardent hopes of their fellow-countiymen. It was indeed 
time to forestall an uprising wliich would have drawn 
down upon Him and upon His Mission the wrathful ven- 
geance of Herod, the Sanhedrin, and Rome. 

Immediately he called the Apostles, bidding them follow 
Him to the beach. There He commanded thein to embark 
forthwith, and to head for Bethsa'ida in the vicinity of 
Capharnaum ; then as they were loath to obey, the Master 
obliged them to set sail at once, leaving Him there upon 
the shore.* 

When they had disappeared over the darkening waters, 
Jesus dismissed the crowds attending Him, and, profiting 
by the shades of night, He sought the lonely heights of 
the monntain,* unseen by any man. He went thither to 
fortify His Soul against the onslaught of other and sadder 
trials, for on the morrow Capiiarnaum would reject Him, 
even as Nazareth had done ; nor was it to be long before 
all Galilee would follow their example ; and so on, during 
all that last year of His Ministry, until His eyes could 
discern before Him only one unbroken succession of base 
desertions and thankless perils. 

In the meantime, with the midnight, a tempest had de- 
scended upon the valley of the Jordan ; beaten upon by 

' Niim . xniF. 17. « 2 Macbab. ii. B, 8. • John vi. 16. 



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342 SECOND YEAH Of THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

wild winds, the waters rose in tbeir might aud broke over 
the little ship of the Apostles.' The whole night long 
they struggled against the storm, rowing with all their 
sti*ength, in the hope of making the port of Capbamaum ; 
but the gale, wrenching the bark from its track, kept 
them tossed and buffeted amid the great seas. 

At the fourth watch of the night,^ they had gone barely 
half-way ^ on their coui-se, and were still fighting against 
the wrack of the storm, when of a sudden they saw some 
one afar off, walking over the waves ; it seemed to them 
as though He were making toward them, yet so as to 
cross before their bows. Believing that this which they 
saw was a phantom, they were filled with dismay, and in 
utter terror cried out aloud. But at once the calm voice 
which they knew so well came over the {"aging elements, 
quieting all their alarms, — 

" It is I, fear not ! " 

And, indeed, it was Jesus, who had taken pity upon 
their troublous toils. Tliey felt sure of His divine help, 
and eagerly made ready to welcome Him ; but Peter im- 
petuous aiui fiery of soul as ever, cried out, — 

" Lord, if it be Thou, bid me to come to Thee upon the 
waters ! " 

" Come," replied the Lord. 

Straightway the Apostle sprung from the vessel's side, 
hastening to meet the Master. And at first he trod the 
waves with unfaltering footsteps ; but when he felt the 
fury of the whirlwind about him, terror clutched at his 
heart-strings, and he began to sink. 

" Lord ! " he cried, " save me ! " 

Jesus, reaching out His hand, upheld and sustained 
him. 

" Ah, man of little faith ! " He said to him, " why hast 
thou doubted ? " 

1 Matt. xiT. 34 ; John vi. IS. 

* John vi. 19. Like the Romans, the Jews &t this time divided tlii; 
night into four watches, from six in the eveniog to six Id the moiiiiiig ; 
the fourth watch extended from three to six o'clock. 

'"They had rowed ahont twenty-five or thii-tj fnrlonga," sflv-s 8. 
John (vi. 19). 



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THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES. 343 

Meanwhile the others besought the Saviour with all 
manner of prayers ^ to come to them, certain that the. 
Divine Pilot would bring them safely into the haven. 
Nor was their faith disappointed. Scarcely had Jesus en- 
tered with Peter into their ship when the winds fell ; and 
presently they found that their vessel had reached the 
harbor toward which they had been so long fighting their 
way. 

The effect which this sudden stilling of the tempest had 
upon the disciples' minds was altogether difl'erent from the 
enthusiasm caused by the multiplying of the loaves. 
" They had not understood the latter miracle at all," says 
Saint Mark, mournfully,^ " because their heart was blinded." 
Too dull and too sordid of soul to conceive of any spiritual 
Kingdom as yet, their fancy filled with flattering dreams 
of high fortune awaiting them, they had met the brave 
hopes and resolutions of the excited people with daring 
encouragements; for they hoped that the Master would be 
moved by such zealous courage, and with a word establish 
His throne upon earth. Accordingly, when they saw that 
He meant to refuse the sceptre now offered Him, they 
were so sore at heart and so dissatisfied that they quite 
forgot the almighty attributes of their Lord, and dared to 
resist His commands. It required a night of anguish and ' 
terror, like this through which they had passed, to bring 
them to a knowledge of their fault. But this trial tore 
the veil from their eyes ; as they heheld Jesus bidding 
the roaring floods be still, and holding the powers 
of nature beneath His feet, they recognized "Him 
Who spreadeth out the heavens and walketh upon the 
waves of the sea."^ Throwing themselves on their 

' 'HeeXiw oBji Xa^dV (John vi. 21 ) : they wisheil to take Him into their 
boat, and actually did so. Indeed, 6t\(ir ia oft^n used in the New Tes- 
tament with the sense of wishing to do a thins and doing it. So 
S. Matthew aays that a king " wished to look over his accounts with his 
servants " (Matt, xviii, 23), and "e see that he did so do. Again, S. John ■ 
says, " Jesus wished to depart for Galilee " (John i. 43), and so in fuct He 
did. "The Scribes desire to walk abroail in long robes" (Mark lii. 38), — 
meaning that this is what they actually do. 

' Mark vi. 52. 

» Job ix. 8. 



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344 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

faces before Him, they worshipped and adored Him, 
saying : — 
" Truly, ay, truly Thou art the Son of God ! " ^ 
No sooner had Jeaus descended from the vessel than He 
was known and greeted ; and instantly the rumor flew from 
lip to lip, until the land of Genesareth was made aware 
that he had returned. The multitude which was just dis- 
persing now collected together once more, and hrought 
with them other ill and maimed folks, beseeching Him to 
let them only touch the hem of His robe." This prayer re- 
called the faith of the poor creature with the issue of 
blood, and Jesus healed all who approached the Diviue 
Presence with such simple hearts of faith ; afterwards He 
reentered Gapharnaum, welcomed on every hand with cries 
of delight and gratitude, — the last which it was given to 
Him to hear in this " His city " by adoption. 



II. The Promise of the Euchaeist, 

John ri. 22-71. 

The crowds they had left behind them on the other side 
of the lake, in the neighborhood of Bethsaida, had watched 
the ship of the Apostles making off from the shore, and 
knew that Jesus had not embarked with them. Somehow 
in the night they had lost all trace of the Master, but at 
dawn seeing that no other ship had quitted its moorings 
they made sure of finding Him speedily. So all the morn- 
ing they searched over fields and plain, but of course in 
vain ; then they concluded that He had proceeded by 
land, intending to rejoin His companions by some un- 
frequented road. In the meantime several other craft hail- 
ing from Tiberias, but now flying before the storm, had 
put into this harbor ; and many of the Jews availed them- 
selves of this opportunity to reach Gapharnaum. 

On their arrival they found the Lord seated in the syna- 
gogue, instructing the people. 

1 Matt. xiv. S3. « Matt. xiv. 31-86. 



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TBE PROMISE OF THE EUCHARIST. 345 

" Master ! " they exclaimed, " when did you come 
here ? " 

Jeaua looking deep down into those hearts that yearned 
80 after earthly goods, now plainly told them the nature 
of their longings. 

"Of a truth, yea, of a truth," He said to them,' "you 
are seeking Me because of the loavas with which you were 
fed. Do not toil for the food which perishes, but for that 
which endures in the life of Eternity. This the Son of 
Man will give you, for on Him the heavenly Father hath 
set His seal" 

By these last words Jesus quickened and ennobled the 
hopes of the Jews, by lifting them from thoughts of earthly 
refreshment, setting before them that immaterial nourish- 
ment' which is of the spirit. Hence He declared that it 
was not His design to establish a temporal kingdom, but 
rather to reign in the souls of men-; it was to this end that 
God had imprinted a divine character upon His Holy One, 
the Christ, confirming His Mission by miracles without 
number. And therefore this food of which He spoke was 
a certain spiritual food, which He alone would impart. 
This the Jews comprehended, though they were too stub- 
born and settled in their own notions of their Law to be- 
lieve that God Himself could confer upon it any more 
perfect dignity. 

" What shall we do," they said in their amazement, " in 
order to labor for the works of God ? " ' 

" This is the work of God," replied Jesus, " to believe in 
Him Whom He hath sent," 

Nor does this faith, to which the Master here reduces 
all His precepts, imply merely a belief on our part in the 
word of the Christ ; it means that we mnst likewise give 
ourselves to Him without a shadow of reserve- It is Faith, 
quickened by Charity, fastening mightily upon the Object 
of its love and diffusing through all human-kind the 
gracious gifts of God. 

It is evident that the Saviour repeated this explanation 

more than once, and that in even clearer and simpler 

1 John vi. 26, 27. » John vi. 38-81. 



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346 SECOND YEAB OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

terms than would appear from thia short summary of Saint 
John ; for we know that His listeners understood well 
enough that He demanded of them a devotion and self- 
sacriflce which was unlimited and well-nigh unparalleled ; 
He would have them follow Him aa blindly as of old Israel 
followed Moses, leaving Egypt and its pleasures behind 
them. 

" Our fathers," they begun to say, " ate Manna in the 
desert, aa it is written : (He hath given them bread ftom 
Heaven to eat.) But what Miracle will you work, so that 
we may see and believe in you ? What will you do ? " 

Had not all the traditions asserted that the second Be- 
deemer would renew the wondrous deeds of the first J* 
And besides, how could anybody compare those loaves of 
barley-bread, multiplied so simply under their very eyes, 
with that nourisbmeut which long ago fell about the plains 
of Sinai ? If He would prove Himself in deed and in 
truth the Messiah, it were needful that He too — the 
Christ of the Lord — should bring down from the skies 
that Manna which David had called " the Bread of Heaven 
and the Food of Angels." ^ 

These objections Jesus accepted very graciously ; only 
He explained to His listeners that it was not Moses, but 
God Himself who had rained down Manna in the desert;" 
telling them, too, how those perishable meats were called 
in a figure the bread of Heaven. While yet f^ain to-day 
God, by the hands of His Christ, tendered them the very 
Bread come down from Heaven ; and so divinely did He 
speak of this celestial Food, and of the life which it would 
diffuse throughout the world that the Jewa cried out in 
their delight, — 

" Lord, give us this bread always ! " 

"It is I," continued Jesus; "I am the very Bread of 
Life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he 
who believes in M.f, shall never thirst." 

' " Redemptor prior descendere r«cit pro eis manna: sic et Redemptor 
posterior descvndere faciei manna" {Midrash CoAeltl/i, I. 86, i; Light- 
t'oot, fform SebraioB, in Joan., yi. 81). 

»P8. Ixxvii. 24, 26. 

'Johnvi. 32-35. 



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THE PROMISE OF THE EUCHARIST. 347 

Certainly this answer was Dot so mystical but that the 
Jews might have easily grasped its ioner meaning ; indeed 
they had often read in their sacred Books ^ that " man 
lives not alone by bread, but by every word which pro- 
ceedeth from the mouth of God ; " often they had heaid 
the voice of Wisdom calling to their souls in words like 
these : " Come, eat the bread which I will gi\'e you ; drink 
the wine which I have prepared for you." ^ Thus to eat 
and drink the Truth, to sate one's heart with the taste and 
fulness of holy words, and by study to assimilate and digest 
the teaching of the Master, — this was a figure as famUiar 
to their way ol' thinking as it is foreign to oura. 

So they at once comprehended that by calling Himself 
the Bread of life Jesus offered them His heavenly Doctrine 
as the gamer wherein is stored every good gift that they 
could desire ; and this promise once more made their 
hearts beat high with brave hopes. But what was still to 
follow did not accord with their preconceived ideas. Pro- 
ceeding at once to develop His thought,^ Jesus declared 
that hitherto they had only beheld Him with their eyes, 
without understanding Who He was. Because He had 
descended from Heaven, He can have no other will except 
that of His Fatlier, and therefore He receives only such as 
come to Him from God. Now the will of the Father is 
that all those who believe in the Divinity of His Son 
should partake of that Bread of Life (which is the Christ 
Himself), and thereby have part in the life everlasting. 

At this new revelation of His Godhead the syn^ogue 
broke out into murmurs of stern disapprobation ; more 
than all else those words, " I am the living Bread ■which 
is descended from Heaven," aroused the deepest antagonism 
and disgust of which they were capable. 

" Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph ? " the town'a-folk 
of Caphamaum exclaimed. " Have we not known his 
father and his mother ? Then how does he dare to say 
that he has descended from Heaven ? " 

Jesus did not stop to answer these malcontents ; as was 
His wont. He deemed it enough to reiterate what He had 
> Dout. viii. 3. " ProT. ix. 6. ' John vi. 3fl-i2. 



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348 SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

commuDicated to them already, only with a more lumiuous 
simplicity, leaving it for the indwelling Truth itself to 
quicken and eiilightea their souls.' Again He told them 
that faith is a gift of grace; and He repeated that no one 
can come to Him who is not prompted by the heavenly 
Father, — "taught of God, using the language of the 
Prophets," — which means that they must be touched 
from on high, their souls drawn by a secret influence 
inherent in the truth of His Word. 

Still more clearly did He disclose the mysteiy of His 
Incarnation, showing them that God is too High, too 
Holy an Object for our earth-bound senses to encompass 
through human wisdom ; for truly " no one can see the 
Father save Him alone who liveth in God ; " yet this 
Divine Seer, this Holy Thing, Son of the Father, has be- 
come Man that He might unite Himself to mankind for 
love of humanity, — His Divinity taking upon Itself a 
dwelling of mortal flesh in order to communicate Its own 
life unto all men. 

This was the Master's exposition of the Divine economy, 
whereby He sought to show us the way of Faith which 
leads us unto salvation. And in order to engrave this 
lesson within the hearts of those who hearkened to Him, 
He condescended to put forth the same great thoughts over 
and over again, reproducing them under such manifold 
phrases that it would seem He did but hesitate in His 
speech, as though He were striving to utter the language 
of Paradise before this wondering throng of earth-bound 
mortals. This is why the evangelical text contains so 
many repetitions, and hence arises the difficulty which we 
experience in tracing the connection between the various 
ideas. 

Nevertheless the Master had one more Mystery to unveil 
on that same day. When the Son of God was made Man 
the wonder was not wrought among us that He might dwell 
in a human body merely for the time of His earthly pil- 
grim^e ; rarfier it was His will to apply the fmits of His 
Incarnation unto all mankind, thus being made flesh for 
' John-vi. 43-61. 



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THE PROMISE OF THE EUCHARIST. 349 

each one of us, by nourishing us with His Blessed Body. 
It is, therefore, when we feast upou His Flesh that Jesus 
takes possession of these bodies of ours ; it is by the mys- 
tic union of all that He is in His Humanity with all His 
Divinity that salvation is assured unto us of the faithful 
Jesus only asked these people of Capharnanm that they 
love Him enough to enti-ust themselves implicitly to His 
guidauce, aud then, through the thick clouds which must 
ever shroud this Divine Mystery, they should walk for- 
ward encompassed by the Presence of tlieir Guide and 
Friend; and so, led onwaid by the Christ, they would 
surely find the life everlasting in Faith, — Faith which 
reveals the gracious fact of the Eucharist as being in a 
marvellous manner inherent in the Incarnation Itself.' 
" The Bread which I will give," He added, " is My flesh * 
for the life of the world." 

At this surprising announcement that they should eat 
the flesh of the Christ there was a louder murmur of dis- 
sent arising from all parts of the synagogue ; on every 
hand the Jews began to dispute with each otber,^ the 
majority aiguing, " How can this man give us his flesh to 

' John vi. 53. We believe that in interpretlDg the vorda of the 
Master we could not rollon a. surei guide than Bosauet. According i/t 
that greut Commentator, the burden of the vhole discourse is the question 
of real Faith in Jeeus ; up to verse 15 it deals with fiiith in Jesug ae the 
Incaruste God, and thereafter with faith in Jesas as He gives Himself to 
us in the Eucharist (Bossuet, Midilaliom: La CfcHK, 1" partie, lEiiii* 
joumeel. 

* All that fallows that ward "flesh" is nnqaestionably intended as 
specific promise of the Gncbarist : for althooRh the expressions which 

B recede, such as " I am the Bread of Life, uiat has come clown from 
ieaven," "He that eateth of this Bread shall live forever," are figurea 
of speech common enough to the Hebrew tongue, and might naturally 
be taken io the sense of a master nlfering his doctrine to disciples, who 
receive it and nourish their souls with its virtues ; jret this explanation 
does not apply to the eipreasion, "eat the flesh of any one." The schol- 
arly investigations of Cardinal Wiseman have proved beyond a donht that 
these woi'ds, in Hebrew and in all other Semitic tongues as well, have 
only the one metaphorical meaning, — that of calumniating, backbiting, 
rending a person's fair fame with foul words (Ps. xxvi. S ; Job xix. 22, 
etc.). But in S. John the context certainly renders this figurative sense 
untenable, and consequently we are obliged to take the woids in their 
literal sense (Wiseman, Conferaittt o» the Btal Praenae). 
' John vi, 53-60. 



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350 SECOND YEAR OF THE MTNTSTRY OF JESUS. 

eatl" Evidently they could oidy comprehend that they 
were bidden to take a buinan body and least thereon, that 
they must shed human blood and drink thereof. 

Yet, far from abating this literal interpretation by one 
whit, Jesus saw fit, on the contrary, to enforce it by a 
double oath : — 

" Amen, Amen, I aay to you, If you do not eat the flesh 
of the Son of Man, and do not drink His blood, you shall 
not have life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and driuks 
My blood has life everlasting, and I will raise him up on 
the last day." 

He well knew what horror the Jews felt for any such 
idea of blood, and how strictly they were forbidden the use 
of any such food ; ' and notwithstanding. He did not hesi- 
tate to assail and overiiurn every most cherished belief of 
their lives, if by so doing He might more surely establish 
the reality of His Body, which is eaten by the faithful, and 
His Blood which is their drink. 

" My flesh is truly meat, My blood truly drink, and he 
who eats My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me and 
I In Him.^ Whosoever eateth Me shall live by Me." 

> Ut. vii. 27 ; 1 Kings ziv. 33 ; Judith, xi 

" "All tbu — do you say) — is only a *' 

' ■ " believe; toeatthe flep ._. _^ 

■o consider them as they were divided Tor us upon the 
Cross, and hence ve are to look Tor life within the wounds oF our Saviour. 
ir this be all, my Sariour, why didst Thou not tell us so in plain and 
simple words, and why didst Thoii allow Thy listeners, even then, to 
murmur thereat, to take offence and to be shocked, and finaUy even to 
desert and disown Tbee, instead of giving them Thy thoucht'ln direct 
and open t«rms? When the Saviour utterpd His Parables, although they 
were much less involved than the long All.>gory which i« here attribated 
to Him, He explained their meaning so clearl;^ that there was afterwards 
no room left tor any cavilling or questioning about them ; and though 
sometimea He did not vonchsafe to explain Himself to the Jews, who, 
because of their pride, deserved to be given the symbol only, and not the 
reality, He did never yet refuse to give His Apostles a straightforward 
and natural explication of His words, so that no one of them thereafter 
could be mistaken as to His meaning (Matt. xv. 11 ; xvi. 6-12 ; John iii. 
4-7; iv. 10, 11, 13-afl; vii. 38; xvi, lS-201. But now, the more His 
disciples and friends mnrmur against Him, the more pained and horrified 
they show themselves at such strange words, all the more does He persist 
in repeating those words, and so much the more does He hide His thought 
(so to say) in the depths of obscurity. It needed but one word from His 



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THE PROMISE OF THE EUCHARIST. 351 

And now, having so clearly set forth the meaning of the 
Eucharist, He spoke to them of its effects ; for though an 
ardent faith could make eternal life certain for the soul of 
man, aud for his body obtain a glorious resurrection, yet 
it is the Eucharist alone which unites Jesus with the 
Christian who receives Him ; in one only Body and one 
only Soul commingles the lives of two under one form, and 
thereby in each one of us is consummated that Union of 
the Christ with Humanity, even as aforetime by the Incar- 
nation " He dwelt amongst us." 

The earnestness and persistency with which Jesus re- 
affirmed a Doctrine so shocking to the notions of His 
hearers resulted in open expressions of their impatience 
aud dislike. It was not loi^ before the citizens of Caphar- 
naum were joined by the pilgrims and all the rest, while 
even the disciples themselves finally uttered strong protests.' 
" This is a hard saying," they said ; " who can hear it ? " 

And certainly, after the fashion in which they under- 
stood it, it would be an unbearable thought ; for they 
imagined that they were bidden to tear the body of the 
Master limb ^m limb, and make a horrid feast of its 
members. 

Jesus strove to drive away this unholy vision from their 
mind by adding that, though He was to give Himself to be 
their Bread of Life, yet would He none the less rise with 
glory into Heaven, even in such wise as He had descended 
to our eaith, clad in this His living tabernacle of flesh ; He 
said, too, that " His flesh," broken and dispersed among us 
for our Food, " would avail us nothing, if we do not partake 

lips ; " Why are you troubled at this f To eat My flesh means to believe 
in Me ; to drink My Mood is simply to remember Me, and all that I have 
just said to you means merely Oiat you are to ever meditate upou My 
Death." This done, their faintest doubt and all uncertainty would have 
been swept away, together with every shadow of trouble. And yet this 
was ejtactly what He did not do ; He permitted His own disciples to suc- 
cumb Xo the temptation and the occasion of stumbling, for lack of one 
single saving word from His lips. Tliat was not Thy way of dealing with 
men, my Saviour ; no, of a truth, that was not Thy way ! Thon didst not 
come to disqniet the soul of man with sounding words which were mean- 
ingleBs, and without grave import, signifying nothing" (Bossuet, MidU. 
suTFEvaitgile: La CSne, l" partie, xxxv* journie). 
UohnvL 61-64. 



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352 SECOND YEAR OF TBE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

at the same time of the Spirit " and the Godhead, which 
qiiickeneth the flesh and diffuses its life through our souls. 
As to the manner and the mode which He would take in 
order to communicate this gift to us, being an Otdioaace 
far beyond the ken of sensual man, He saw fit to await 
some future day for revealing it more fully. So for the 
present, it was enough to prepare their minds by repeating 
that " His words were spirit aud life," whereby He would 
teach them that His faithful followers must find the spirit 
of holiness and the life divine in the surpassing Mystery 
of the Communion, wherein His flesh is really eaten, though 
in a manner more spiritual than material. 

These explanations did not dispel all disquietude fronk 
the hearts of His disciples, and among those who rebelled 
against this truth Jesus must have marked one of the 
twelve, Judas Iskarioth ; for " from the b^inniug He kuew 
those who did not believe in Him, and He knew him who 
was to betray Him." ' The sight of these obstinate mortals 
still muttering against Him, so easily shocked at His Word, 
and already prepared to declare their outspoken disbelief, 
was very grievous to the heart of Jesus. 

"There are some among you who do not believe," He 
exclaimed, " and it was for this reason I said to yon, ' No one 
cau come to Me, unless it be given Him by My Father.'" 

And yet this last appeal to their nobler feelings was 
rejected; still they would not understand this urgent warn- 
ing to ask their heavenly Father for the faith which comes 
from Him. Humility and obedience for them were at an 
end. " After this many of His disciples drew away from 
His company, aud walked no more with Him," 

However, the Apostles were still left Him. Turning 
toward the Twelve He said,^ — 

" Will you too go away ? " 

Peter loved his Master too well to doubt His words, 
however incomprehensible they might seem ; indignant at 
the very thought of deserting Him, he straightway replied 
for all: — 

" Lord, to whom should we go ? Thou hast the words of 
1 John Tj. 85-67. ^ John vi. 08-72. 



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.THE PROMISE OF THE EUCHARIST. 353 

Eternal Life. We believe, we know, that Tliou art tlie 
Holy of God"! 

Dear aud comfortable as this confe^iou was to the Heart 
of Jesus, it could uot i^uite console Him nor distract His 
thoughts from the traitor in their midst. 

" Have I not chosen you Twelve ? " He said, " and one 
of you is a devH" 

" By this He meant Judas, son of Simon, the man from 
Kerioth, who was to deliver Him up, even while he was' 
still one of the Twelve." It is evident from these words, 
as we have noted before, that Judas took some part in 
these murmurings of the citizens and Pilgrims. Long since 
the struggle between greedy avarice and his heavenly vo- 
cation had been going on within him, and hence every 
allusion to a spiritual Kingdom filled him with vexation 
and anger; for it all seemed to him more visionary aud 
foolish every day. The discourse just now delivered in the 
synagogue of Caphamaum completed the destruction of his 
faith. Hereafter, though he remained in the intimate com- 
panionship of Jesus, he had already betrayed Him in bis 
soul. By this rebuke the Saviour graciously sought to stir 
the soul of the thief. Finding He could only get silence in 
return. He wended His way sadly from out the synagogue. 

•The VulRate and the Syriac versions have "Tu eaChristus, Filius 
Dei ; " bnt this reading ia not fonnd in any of the more ancient niana- 
icripts, notably that of Sinai, the Vatican, or Bern's Codei, whicli all 
haTe the leading b 'Ayioi tov QttO. 



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APPENDIX. 



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UiANNOT A. 

Has o TTurrtvviv trri ItfTOW icnZr 'O XPI2T0£, tx T<m 0^ 
y«yhvt[Ttu, KoX wa« i iy/uruiv Toi" Fci'i'ijinuTa iyar^ tov Ttytwif- 
fiivav ii avrov. . . Tavra lypasva v/uv, tkU ti&^ Sn (.unp' 
i}(m atowiov, tihs vurrtvoixrw cie to '©►opt TOY YIOY TOY 
eOEY. 



Cetftimonp of f^ fix0t C^rtjCtian^. 



Jff'PCTy one who helieveth that Jems is THE CHRIST is 
bom of God, and every one who loveth Sim Who begot loveth. 
Sim. Wlio is begotten of Him. . . . These things I have 
loritten to you, that yov, may hww you have Eternal Life, 
you who believe in the Name of THE SON OF GOD. 

SAINT JOHN'S FIRST EPISTLE. 
V. 1, IS. 



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APPENDIX. 



JBRD3ALEH AND THE TEHPLB. 

Wb have noticed already how the hiU-rangea of Judea run 
along in lines parallel with the Jordan, starting from the plain 
of Esdralou and coming to an end at fiaraaba> Near the middle 
of this chain are two valleys, which are eeparated only by a few 
miles at first, but after a little they trend apart, one to the east, 
the other to the west, and thus enclose the plateau on whose 
summit Jerusalem is situated. The ravine over which you see 
the sun rise is called Kedron, and that through which its last 
beams glow is Hinnom ; the latter, after cutting a chasm from 
north to south, branches oil' to the east, and again joins Kedron 
not far from the fountain of Silog. 

Girt on every side with these deep gorges, Jerusalem rises 
above the surrouoding region like a lofty promontory. A tract 
of low ground, running parallel to Kedron, divides it into two 
ranges of steep bluffs of unetiual height ; to the west rise Sion 
and Akra ; on the cast are Ophel, Moriah, and Bczetha. In 
this city, where the primitive soil is often hid underneath a 
mass of refuse and ruins eighty feet in depth,* this valley 
(called Tyropceon) is the only landmark we can easily recognize 
from its general contour. But the testimony of Josephus, and 
that of many recent discoveries, establish almost beyond ques- 
tion the fact that formerly there was a gully or viaduct, start- 
ing at the present Gate of Jalfa, which connected the Tyroposon 
with the Temple heights and separated Sion from Akra. 

I la the sODthwestem extremity of Mount Moriah Li«iit»DU)t Warren 
discovered foandationa of tlie Temple resting on the sohd rock, at a depth 
of about S6 feet below the actual surface. 



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358 APPENDIX. 

Such were the geueral outlinea of ancient Sion, aocordiug to 
the opinioii of our geograpLera.' It ia difficult enough to trace 
them in the coniiguratiuu of the modem city, which ia only aii 
unshapely heap of aslies and ruins ; crumbliug walls of aucieut 
edttices, scattered over the hillti and choking up the glens and 
hollows, make it impossaible even in fancy to reconstruct teom 
out thia wreck of time the Jerusalem of David and of Jesus. 
It ia harder still to rehabilitate the feUen city, as it now stands ; 
for the town itaelf, in days of old endowed " with an unblem- 
ished loveliness," * is to-day a dreary spectacle : and Chateau- 
briand himself, skilled as he was at making his landscapes glow 
with color, could only give us this gloomy picture of Sion : — 

" Viewed from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem seerne to lie alon<; 
a Hteep slope, whose descent is from east to west. A baitlemented 
wall, fortiiied by towers and with a Gothic cnstte, encloses the town 
on eveiy aiilu, leaving Mount Siuu however outside this boundary 
line, dlthough in former times it also included that eminence. 

" In the region lying to ihe west and in the centre of the town, 
toward Calvary, the houses are crowded somewhat closer together ; 
but to the west, following along the valley of Kedron, there is noth- 
ing to be seen but empty Btretches of CTotuid ; among others of thi» 
description there is the enclosure roundabout the Mosque which now 
crowns thai huge pile of ruins where the Temple once stood ; then 
there is that other almost abandoned piece of land over which the 
Citadel of Antonia rose of old. The nouses of Jerusalem are heavy 
square blocks, uuite low, without either chimneys or windows ; they 
are finished oif in flat terraces or are surmoonled with domes, and thus 
they much resemble prisons or sepulchres. The whole effect upon 
the eye would be that of a great field of snow, were it not for the 
cloclf-towets of a few churches, the minarets of the mosques, the 
dark tops of the cypresses, and occasional clumps of fig-trees, which 
kre:ik the monolony of the prospect. After gazinj; long upon these 
stolid squares of stone immured within a land orcnimblmg stone 
and rock, a strong feeling conies over one that those buildings over 
yonder are only monuments and tombs long since foigotlen, out here 
in the midst of the wilderness."* 

Very different indeed was the Jerusalem of Herod. We 
possess numerous descriptions of it, and though they are incom- 

1 As to the topography of Jerusalem, see Tobler, Topoffraphit von Jtni- 
aalem: Robinson, Bihlical Buearckpsi Barclay, The Oity of the Great 
King ; Williams, The Boly dlij ; Porter, Baiwlbook for Syria ,- Lt Guide 
indienttur du F. Li^vin de Hamrae. 

' Lnment. ii. 15. 

* Cliateaubriand, Ititiimire, l" partit. 



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JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. 359 

plete and confusing as regards many points, they all describe 
the city as Bhiniiig with a veritable splendor. Its walls sur- 
rounded the entire hill of Sion ; frum the present Gate uf JaH'a 
the battlements rose up along the crest of a mountain (nn- 
donbtedly Akra) ; then, after dipping down again into the 
valley which separates that eminence from the Temple, they 
ascended ^ain to the Gate of Saint Stephen ; then skirting 
along the cliffs of Kedron Valley, they encircled Mounts 
Moriah and Ophel. 

Above all these hilltops rose the clitfs of Siou, crowned with its 
radiant palaue ; to the south was the home of the High Priests ; 
to the north, facing the heights of Akra, was a line of muiparts 
flanked by strong towers, which bore the names of Hippiens, 
Phaaael and Mariamne. Near the Gate of Jaffa was the new 
palace of Herod, whose glories Josephus details at length ; not 
far from this was the residence of the Asmoneans, which was 
connected with the hill of the Temple by a bridge that spanned 
the narrow valley of the Tyrgpoaon. 

Mount Moriah was even richer in monuments of antiquity. 
The porticos, the courts, and the Sanctuary of the Temple ex- 
tended from Kedron to the Tyropceon, and on the northern 
side of the mountain the Fortress Antonia, with beetling towers, 
frowned down upon the sacred porches. 

The dwellings of the citizens occupied all the open spaces 
along these heights, as well as the lower lands lying between 
them, and to the south of the Temple they covered Mount 
Ophel as well. But these bounds, in the time of Herod, came 
to be too narrow and straitened. So, in one direction, houses 
and gardens spread around the base of Calvary (which was an 
elevation of Mount Akra, outside the walls) ; while, on the 
other hand, to the north and in the direction of Mount Moriah 
there had grown up a new town, called Bezetha, which a little 
later Herod Agrippa encircled with bulwarks of its own. A 
deep moat had been dug about this snbnrb in order to separate 
it from Antonia, and thus it stood by itself, " like an isolated 
mountain," ' — so much so that Jerusalem appeared to be 
raised upon fonr hills : Sion, Akra, Bezetha, and Moriah. 

Despite these repeated enlargements, Jerusalem never cov- 
ered any great territory ; then, as now, it took no more than 
an hour to walk all round its limits;' and its population 



ioogic 



360 APPENDIX. 

Dsver exceeded seventy thoueaud bouIb. The various Capitals 
oloug the frontier, — Tyre, Damascus, Heliopolis (Baalbek), 
Antiocb, — even certain towua in Jiidea, far surpassed it in the 
number of their inhabitantB and the vast spaces encompassed 
b; their walls. Located at a distauce from the great high- 
roads of commerce, without either harbor or water-way, difficult 
of access, and perched high among these barren crags in lonely 
splendor, Jerusalem bad none of those attractions which soon 
increase the activity and wealth of cities. The particular feature 
which won for the town its nnique position in the history of tlie 
world's achievements is the Temple, erected by Solomon on 
Mount Moriah. It had been Hetxxl's ambition to restore it in 
all the beauty of the olden times, and he had so vigorously 
pushed this work to completion that in less than two years the 
Sanctuary was finished, while the outer porches were all done 
in eight yetkrs ; only certain accessories of the Temple had still 
to be supplied in the time of Jesus.' The edifice which was 
constructed by this Idnmeau prince is too well known to re- 
quire any detailed description at this writing; it will be enough 
to recall the general aspect of its plan. 

The plateau of Mount Moriah on which this monumental 
edifice was built looked to the traveller like a succession of 
storied terraces, three in number. The Temple crowned the 
loftiest, and with its pinnacles of gold towered high above the 
whole city. 

The lowermost terrace encircled two others, and formed a 
court called the Porches of the Gentiles, and it eitended further 
to the south and east than on the two remaining sides ; for the 
Temple is not in the middle, but to the northwest of these 
porches. The enclosure whs bounded by rows of porticos ; 
on the east was Solonion's Gate, standing over against Brook 
Kedron ; on the south was the Royal Portico, three times 
as spacious as the others ; all the rest were of equal magnifi- 
cence, for their columns of marble were each a solid white shaft, 
twenty-five cubits in height. Pagnus were allowed to frequent 
the first court, but there were inscriptions written in various 
languages forbidding them to venture any further, and a balus- 
trade of carven stone besides, to prevent them from overstep- 
ping the prescribed limit. 

Beyond this barrier, a second terrace, elevated some twenty 

I Josephna, JnUquitatti, iv. 11, Gfl. 

I., ..i.v.GoogIc 



JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. 361 

cubits above the first, was i-eserved for the Jews, and was 
called the iBraelites' PorcheB. From this second eiicloBure there 
was a last stairway of fifteen steps leading to the uppermost 
platform, which the Levitts only might ascend. 

Upon this third terrace the first object to meet the eye was 
the Altar of the Holocausts,^ rising in the centre of the court 
which was called Porches of the Priests ; passing through this, 
you came upon the Temple, built of white marble. It was 
quite different from the l^^auctuary planned by Solomon, iuas- 
niuch as the latter rather resembled the temples of Egypt, 
while the monumental structure reared by Herod was of Oreek 
architecture,* and of the Coriathian order.' From the exterior it 
had somethiog of the appearance of a basilica ; but the interior 
was divided into three parts, ■ — the Veetibule, the Holy Place, 
and the Holy of Holies, The Vestibule was a large hall, its 
walls resplendent with gold on the side nearest to the Holy 
Place ; a glittering vine, of this same precious metal, was fes- 
tooned over the entrance-way, and, according to the testimony 
of Joaephus, the clusters of grapes hanging from it were equal 
to a man's stature in length. Before the huge door of the 
Golden Gate, always standing open, heavy tapestry hung, with 
shimmering veils waving before it, aU of Babylonian &bric and 
glowing with brilliant colors which represented the high arch 
of heaven. 

After the Vestibule came the great hall, called the Holy 
Place, which contained three sacred objects, — the Altar of 
Perfumes, on which the sacrifice of incense was offered; to the 
north of this Altar, the Table of the Lonves of Proposition ; 
and in the middle space between the two, the Seven -branched 
Candlestick of gold. A double veil separated the Holy Place 

• The sacred roeJt of the moeque of Omar probably marks the location 
of thiB altar (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, chap. lit. p. 180J, 

^ "Jud^c Art in Herod's epoch was miich like the Greeco-Boman Art 
of the age of Augustus, with some traces of au orieotal influence and a 
vegetal style of ornamentation which was its peculiar individuality " (De 
Togiii, U Temple de JhiisaUm, p. 48). 

" To speak exactly, Josephus does not state in so many words that 
the temple of Herod recalled those of Borne ; but (1) be saya that the 
colonnades were of the Corinthian order (AnliquHates, xv. II. G) ; (2) the 
Golden Gate, the only part of the mins M'hlch dates from that epoch, still 
displays the capitals with their acanthus leaves ; (S) Berod's fondness for 
anything which amacked of Greece and Rome gives tiB good reason for 
believing that he would have chosen no Other style of archiMctiire but 
theirs when erecting the most magnificent of all his monuments. 



..CJooi^Ic 



362 APPENDIX. 

from the Holy of Holies, — that unapproachable Sanctuary 
where, in the old days, once rested the Ark of the Covenant. 
Ever since the ('aptivity, this portion of the Temple had been 
lefl bare and empty, with only a huge stone to mark the spot 
left vacant by the Ark. 

The priests alone entered these sacred precincts, and only 
they could describe its grandeurs ; but tjie heathen, as well as 
the Jews, could behold ita external magniticence ; for from every 
part of Jerusalem the eye could descry the dazzling walls of the 
Temple overlooking the whole town from ita high-terraced 



iDg with needle-points, set 
■ a eaves or sullying ita 
overspread with gold, 



throue. Its copings were all glitteri 

there to keep the birda from neating ' 

purity ; and the entire roof-work, b< _ 

burned like a furnace from tlie moment it caught the first 

beams of the morning until the last rays of the Betting sun 

faded over the city. 

This magnificent exterior was all that Jesus saw of the Sanc- 
tuary of Israel ; for since He belonged to the Tribe of Juda, 
He could not enter either the Holy Place, or even the Porches 
of the Priests. At all times when He visited the Temple He re- 
mained in the Jews' Porches, and oftener still in the Srst court, 
for that was free to Pagans and Jews alike. 



THE WOBO OF SAINT JOHN. 

Wb know the meaning of the word " Lc^os " in theol<^oal 
language. When we speak of the Word it is to signify God's 
inward Utterance, His substantial Thought, His Intelligence, 
His Wisdom, — that is to say, it is His Speech spoken unto 
Eteniity, wherein all things were spoken etemnlly, which, in 
the infinite play of His Attributes and by an Act (so to say), 
by a Sentence, forever pronounced and nevermore to cease, 
God has encompassed and embodied the living Truth, has 
manifested Himself visibly and actually as the Truth Itself, 
No term is more frequently employed by theologians to desig- 
nate the Second Person of the Trinity ; and no wonder, since 
there is none which more clearly declares the unspeakable and 
limitless Being of the Son of God. 

How does it happen that this expression is found only in the 



THE "WORD" OF SAINT JOHN. 363 

Fourth Gospel f Furthermore, how did it come to be so famil- 
iar to the ChristiauB of Ephesiig that their Apoatle oould make 
use of it without auj explanation or commentary? In fiue, 
what was the origin of this doctrine of the Word ? These 
questions are all too intimately bound np in our euliject to be 
passed over without attempting to give them a satisfactory 
anBwer. 

Ephesus, in the time of the Evaugeliet, was one of the prin- 
cipal cities of the Eastern world. All vessels coasting along 
the shorea of the Archipelago put in at this port; from all 
parts of Asia Minor the great roads of travel centred at this 
locality. Hence John and his flock were in constant intercourse 
with striingers of different races and of various religious opinions. 
The Xystus — the Philosophers' Hall of Ephesus — was a noted 
meeting-place for the learned of those parts, who were the 
more strongly attracted to this ceiitre of culture because of its 
great numbers of intelligent auditors and the perfect freedom 
of speech accorded them.* May it not be surmised that Saint 
John owes his doctrine of the Word to some one of these mas- 
ters of philosophy T Did he not find it set down iu the sacred 
books of the Persians, or in the writings of Plato 1 None of 
these ingenious guesses, as we shall presently see, have been able 
to stand the test of historical investigation ; and in order to 
clear up the difficulty we must have recourse, not to the profane 
authors of the day, but to the Brst Fathers of the Church. 

They tell us that, in writing his Gospel Saint John's object 
was to confute Cerinthua.' This Jew (who thus became the 
fitther of Gnosticism) had endeavored to establish certain gen- 
eral principles, which he considered were the foundation of 
those beliefs always held by his ancestors, as well as of the 
dreams of the Platonists. In this way he was merely continu- 
ing what the Alexandrians and Philo had commenced ; like the 
latter, he Imrrowed the idea of the Word from the Scribes, but 
he nlteied and disfigured it so materially as to render it well- 
nigh unrecognizable. In order to silence this innovator, it was 
only necessary that the pure Doctrine, as held by Israel at all 
times, should be lucidly set forth, and this Saint John set him- 
self to accomplish. 

The Holy Books, from the very first, had always given man 
to understand that in Jehovah there existed a Second Person, 

i. 7. 
: Teitiilliaii, Dt Prm^cHpti-me, 33. 



364 APPENDIX. 

equal to the Most-High God ; the inspired writers of later ages 
and the interpreters of the Law h&d deaigiiated this m^-sterious 
Being under the name of " Wisdom," and often as " The Word ; " 
and BO the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel is, as it were, the 
reverberation of tiiis ancient teaehing, reveahng in its awful 
purity and brightness the perfect meaning of this Mystery, long 
since vaguely announced by the Prophets and Doctors of Israel. 
Such, it appears to us, were the circumBtancea which induced 
Saint John to enunciate his doctrine of the Word. From this 
one may easily enough fancy the nature of the answer we would 
mnke to any questiuns like those we have quoted above ; how- 
ever, let us give the principal theories a just consideration. 

I>ut at the outset we may state that there is no need to 
question whether the Evangelist drew any of his teaching from 
the Persians. The Zend-Avesta, which was unfaithfully rendered 
by Anquetil-DuperroD, has found in M. Spiegel an exact inter- 
preter. In the latter translation any one will look in vain for 
a doctrine analogous to that of the Word. It is true that in a 
fragment of the Vendidah, of doubtful authenticity, there is 
mention made of a "Word " of Ormuzd; but a glance at the 
passage itself will be enough to convince an impartial reader 
that between the so-called Mazdean Word and Saint John's 
lucid teaching there is not even any slight connection ; — 

" Then Ormuzd replied : Tell the gloiiea, Zoroastre, of the Mai- 
dean Law, 

" Tell the glories, Zoroastre, of the Firmament, which itself las 
produced ; tell of limitless Time, and the high regions of oir. 

" Tell the glories, O Zoroastre, of the Wind, — the swift wind cre- 
ated by Orraiizd, Speiita Amiaiti, lovely daughter of Ormuzd. 

" Tell the glories, O Zoroastre, of'^ my Ferouer (my invisible 

" The grandest, the beat, the most beautiful, the mightieBt, tie 
most wise, the most holy, 

" Whose holy Word is my soul. 

" Tell the glory, Zoroastre, of this creation of Ormuzd. 

" And Zoroastre replied : 

" I tell the glories of Mithra, with his vast domains, Vanqniaher 
of vanquishers. 

" I tell the glories of Shraiwha, the holy one, the mighty, who has 
armed himself 'gainst the Devas. 

1 The Feroiiers, in the MazdPMi doctrine, 
idMs, crested by Onnuid, snd Boattered o 
Hway Ahriman, the Genius of EviL 



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THE "WORD" OF SAINT JOHN. 365 

" I tell the glories of the holy Word, that ahines so blight: 

" I tell the glorifia of the Sky, gelf-formed of itselt, the infinite i^es 
of Time, and the netheroiost Air. 

" I tell of the (jloriea of the Wind, the Bwift wind created by 
Orniuzd, and I tai of Spenta Armtuti, his fairest and loveliest 
daughter. 

" I tell the glories of the Mazdean Law, the Law of Zoroastre ' 
against the hosts of the Devas." > 

It is not difficult to see that the Word iu question here is not 

said to be a Son of the Supreme Being, but is mther the soul of 
a creature of Ormuzd, one of those innumerable Ferouers, or 
invisible ideas of visible objects which were created by the 
Principle of Good at the beginning of time. So that there is 
nothing in all this which is in any way akin to what Saint Jobu 
attributes to the Word made flesh. There is neither the divine 
nature nor the creative power which is reserved to Ormuzd ; in 
fact it is placed on an equality witli Mithra, — one of the 
twenty-eight chieftains of the celestial hosts which watch over 
the world ; it is of a like dignity with Sliraoaha, the holy ooe, 
with the Sky, the Wind, and in line with all creatures begotten 
of Ormuzd. 

So the student will find it a profitless labor to search the 
writings of Plato for traces of the Word of Saint John. M. 
Michel Sicolas has displayed much learning as well as critical 
acumen in the consideration of this theoiy. " The partisans," 
he says, " who claim that the Jewish doctrine of the Word owes 
its origin to the Platonists, are accustomed to cite in their sup- 
port a passage from the Epinomis (Plato, Cousin's translation, 
t. xiii. p. 21), and the phrase with which the sixth of the 
Letters attributed to Plato concludes (ibiden), t. xiii. p. 74). 
These two quotations have no real bearing on the argument. 
The passf^ from the Epinomis, by being detached from the 
context, has been given a meaning which is not in the origi- 
nal. As soon as it is read in connection with what precedes 
and what follows it, any one will see at once that the word 
Logos is to be taken in the ordinary acceptation which it 
had iu the School of Plato, and that thus it simply signified 
Reason in the general sense. As to that passage in the Sixth 
Letter, how can any one appeal to it in the present discussion 
when, as we all know, it has been satisfactorily demonstrated 
that this Sixth Letter is subsequent to the Christian Era? 
' Fargad, lix. v. 42-57. 



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366 APPENDIX. 

And whatever analogy there may be between Plato's Logos 
and that of Philo, we muet always bear id mind that it was 
a tenet held as commonly among Greek Philosophers as by 
the Alexandrians and the Chaldaic Paraphrasts, that there is 
an Intermediary Being between God and the world, but this 
Intermediary Ueing is very different from anything ever held 
among the Jews. It is in the Tiniisns that this theory finds 
its completest exposition. Let us note its essential pecu- 
liarities. Before the creation of contingent beings, God be- 
gan by forming the world, which He animAted by setting 
within it a Soul, which purtook of a threefold essence, — one 
essence invisible, pertaining to the Divine ; another, which was 
visible, proceeding fl^m disordered matter ; and a third, derived 
from a mingling of the two preceding. The world of life and 
soul constitutes the harmony of the celestial bodies, the heav- 
enly household of the visible and contingent gods. . . . Thns 
was the world commanded by God its Author to busy itself in 
the production of perishable creatures, . . . Now it seems im- 
poBsible for any one to deny that the Intermediary Being of 
Jewish Theology is entirely different from Plato's concept. The 
Soul of the world, begotten with sucli Btrennous effort, is after 
all nothing more than a contingent being ; it is not in itself 
either immortal or indissoluble. . . . The Jewish Word, on 
the contrary, is a Divine Power, proceeding without any limi- 
tations from God, partaking solely and simply of His Nature, 
and only to be distinguished from Him as thought and action 
can be considered as distinct from the person who thinks and 
acts." ' 

Though the Evangelist is in no way indebted to the religions 
of Persia and Greece for his doctrine, it is however evident that 
he found the idea of the Word set forth in the traditions of 
Jewry. This last point is agreed upon now-a-days by all sides ; 
there are many, nevertheless, who hold that Saint John bor- 
rowed bis teaching, not from the true sons of Israel, but from the 
Jewish neo-Platonista of Alexandria, and from Philo in particu- 
lar. Tet it seems to us that no reasoning could he more mis- 
leading than this. Certainly no one will deny that the doctrine 
of the Word exists in the writings of this philosopher, or that 
it even occupies an important place in his teaching. An Israel- 



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THE "WORD" OF SAINT JOHN. 367 

tte by birth, Philo had been instructed in the pure traditions 
b; his early masters ; but in hia passion for Platonism, he al- 
tered tliem, in order to make the Jewish dt^mas bear as great 
a resemblance as possible to those philosophical epeculations of 
which he was so enamoured ; his Word was not that which was 
taught in the schools of Jerusalem. And so when Cerinthus 
brought to Ephesus those doctrines which had been so dis- 
figured aud deliled at Alexandria, John felt that he must first 
purge out the dross from these conceptions, which had been 
profaned by Cerinthus and his master, if he would restore any 
health to the pure doctrine of the Truth. The initial page of 
the fourth Cospel is undoubtedly only an abridgment of his 
teachings upon this subject. 

Philo had conceived of the Word as the " Shadow of God," 
but not God Himself. It was "a Divinity of the second order," 
which did not coexist in God, but was " between Him and the 
creature, the mediator between these two eitremes.'" In 
strong contrast to this fanciful Word, John set forth iu a few 
short sentences the Word which had its being before the begin- 
nings of time, existing on that first day when the universe was 
not, and there was naught save God, and the Son, the only be- 
gotten of the Father. He tells us of this Word, consubatantial 
with God, dwelling in His Bosom, never to he separated from 
Him, nor to depart from Him, God even as is the Father, by 
Whom He is begotten. And behold, be concludes, this is He 
Who from the beginning liveth in God. 

Philo made of his Word " an instrument by whose aid God 
worked upon Primordial matter," preparing if, forming it,* 
qnickening it into life. And notwithstanding that this Word 
comprised all creation in itself, and ruled all the power and 
thought of God, it was after all only one of these same divine 
ideas. Itwas "the first-born of the Angels;"' it remained their 
brother, and though perhaps one might not eay of it " that it was 
bom like the other creatures, still it was not uncreate in the same 
measure as is the Supreme God."' Very different indeed is the 
Word which Saint John adores. It is the Increate Creator ; 
all things are made by Uim, and nothing has been made which 
has not proceeded from His hands, for it is He who bestows life, 

1 FMIo {Manga/ edUiim), i. 6 t i. 106 ; ii. 626 ; i. 683 ; i. 501. 
«Id. i. 108,162, 437. 
" Ibidem. 437, W. 
< Philo, i. 601. 



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368 APPENDIX. 

which He derives from ooue other than Himself. In Him life 
is, Who is the Source of life. 

In this way the EvaDgeliet sets himself to the task of declar- 
ing the pure doctrine of the Word, and cleansing it of foreign 
error. To restore it to its first and legitimate sense, — the one 
which it has ever since retained in Oliristian theology, — be 
had only to supply certain links in the chain of Jewish tradi- 
tions, which Philu had broken, and to make use of the writings 
of those Scribes, disciples of Esdras, who had long since compre- 
hended under the title of the Word all that the Old Testament 
has revealed concerning a Second Person abiding in Jehovah, 
Who thus is God even as the Father is God. But in order ti) 
conceive any just idea of this Revelation, one must needs follow 
it fiiithfully from Moaea to Jesus Christ 

Commencing with the first pages of GenesiB, we find vague 
indications of a plurality of Persons in the Divine Essence, The 
terms which Moses employs to describe ttie creative acts of God 
have this peculiar characteristic, that ttie word used to denote 
the action is in the singular, and yet it has a plural noun for 
its subject : (D'H^'f* K^a) literally translated this would be " the 
Gods has made," a peculiar phraseology wliich seems to indicate 
several Persons (Elohim, the Gods), not only working together, 
but really acting as one single Agent and Author of being. 

Certain writers iiave thought that this use of the plural form 
Elohim is a custom borrowed from the language of some poly- 
theistic people, or a manner of speaking which was intended 
by the writer to lend more majesty to their conception of the 
Almighty. But how could Moses, knowing the evil propensities 
of the Jews so well as he did, dreading too their prouenese to 
idolatry, and uncompromising aa he was therefore in his zealous 
efforts to unite them in an imqualitied belief in the One and 
Only God, — how would he have dared to prefer this plural 
form, which would naturally recall all their paat errors, and 
this too when the Hebrew langu^;e could furnish him with the 
singular of the same word : El, Eloah % Could the advantage to 
be gained by thus bestowing a more subtle dignity upon the 
Name of God make him forget how fraught with dangers to his 
restless flock any such phraseology might bel We prefer to 
believe that Moses, divinely inspired, designed to inculcate 
a great Truth by this striking combination of plural and sin- 
gular, — that in fact he meant to teach a distinction of Persons 
in the innermost existence of God. 



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THE "WORD" OF SAINT JOHN. 369 

Furthermore, that this was the intention of the great Prophet 
appears even more clearly fi'om such words as these, the lan- 
guage of Jehovah Himself: "Let Us fashion mau after Our 
own image. . . . Behold, how Adam hath become like to One 
of UH. . . , Come, let Us go down thither, let us confound their 
speech ; "* and again in the Blessing, the form of which is set 
down in the Book of Numhers,^ wherein tiod commands that for 
three distinct times the M^ame Jehovah is to be invoked upon 
the heads of His people. Such rites and such expressions as 
these, if they were not uttered as mystical foretokeninga of the 
Trinity, cau in no other way be made to harmonize with the 
plans of Israel's great lawgiver, or indeed with the ethical status 
of the people. 

Uncertain and obscure though this revelation was to the 
contemporaries of Moses, yet in the days of Isaiah it had 
come to be more clearly understood. That Hymn of the 
Seraphim, which the Prophet heard, ia an utterauce of hom- 
age to the Trinity, ho express and formal that tlie Church 
has ever since repeated it, as being the most perfect praise 
wherewith she may celebrate this great Mystery : " Holy, holy, 
holy, is Jehovah, the God of hosts; all the earth is full of His 
glory." 

Though we need not conclude from these evidences, as some 
theologians have done, that the doctrine of the Trinity is obvi- 
ously aod unmistakably taught in the Old Testament, it is, 
however, hardly possible not to note therein the first foreshad- 
owings of a plurality of Persons in the Divine Essence. 

The actual manifestations of God to man, which are so fre- 
quent in the history of the people of God, all contributed to the 
propagation of the same belief. And indeed they all partake of 
this one peculiarity, that Jehovah appears oftenest to mortal 
vision, not in His own Fersou, but as a mysterious Being Which 
Scripture calls the " Angel of the Lord." This Angel is cer- 
tainly distinct from Jehovah, and nevertheless it bears his in- 
communicable Name, exercises the divine power, reoeives honors 
due to the Supreme Being, and at all times speaks and acts as 
a God. Staying the WTn of Abraham, as he is about to sacrifice 
his son, the Angel says to him : "I know that thou fearest Ood, 
and that thou wouldst not have withheld thy son, thine only son, 
from Me."* .By these last words He makes Himself one with 

> Gen. i. 2G ; iii. 22 ; li. 7. " Num. vi. 23, 26. • Gen. Xiii. 12. 



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370 APPENDIX. 

God the Creator, to Whom Abmham was ready to offer all that 
he held moxt dear. He promises the Patnarch that in his seed 
all the nations of earth shall be blessed, because he has obeyed 
His Voica. He appears in a dream to Jacob : " I am the God 
of Bethel," ■ He e&ys to him. But this God of Bethel, Who 
dwells upon the cloud-huug summits of the dream-ladder, is 
none other than Jehovah, the God of Abraham and the God of 
Isaac' So also Jacob, after he had striven long in that great 
wrestling at Phanuel, cried out, "I have seen God face to 
fane ! " * And at the hour of his death, when he would bless 
the sous of Joseph, he called not oulj upon the God Who had 
been the Strength and the Sustainer of his youth, but upon 
that Divine Angel also Who had been his Safeguard in all evil 
days of his life.* 

And later, in the desert of Madian, this same Angel appeared 
to Moses in the burning bush.* In this Presence the Prophet 
sees only Jehovah, hearkens to the Voice as to that of Elohim ; 
he covers his face, not daring to look upon this manifestation 
of the Godhead, while the words which came from the flaming 
thicket proclaimed the Speaker to be the God of Abraham, of 
Isaac, and of Jacob.* Israel accepts the commandment to obey 
this Divine Messenger, for they are told that "the holy Name 
of God is in Him.'" 

After their adoration of the Calf of Gold, God declares He 
will no longer walk in the midst of this stiffnecked people of 
His; yet nevertheless He will leave with them His Divine An- 
gel to be their Guide.* And although there is some distinction 
in the mauner of speaking of the Lord and of Hia Messenger, 
yet tlie latter ia still a Presence, in Whom Jehovah has His 
habitation." And this Manifestation of the Most High con- 
tinues thereafter to act, not as a creature but as a Divine Being, 
demanding of Joshua the same homage which He had received 

I Gen. XTM. 18. 

'Ibid. ixiL 11; xxriii. 13. 

•iWixxxii. 1.80. 
* Ibid, xlviii. 15. 

•The Vulgate lias trauslated the Hebrew text inexactly, as" Dominoa" 
where we read "the AnRel of Jehovah," Tlffl" ^It'jp (Exod. lit 2). 
« Eiod. iii. 6- ' ' 

' TWrf. xxiii. 20, 21. 



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THE "WORh" OF SAINT JOHN. 371 

from Moses. Joshua obeys Him, and adores Him as the Gtod 
. of Israel, Thrice He appears in the Book of the Judges, — 
thrice most like iinto Him Whose Name is Wonderful, girt 
about with strength and shining with such heavenly splendor, 
that Manoah cried aloud, " Surely we shall die, because we 
have seen God."' 

Who waa this Angell It was the Word of God, is the 
answer givea by the first Fathers,* while Saint Augustine adds 
with more exactness that this was some Created Form,' uuder 
which the invisible Word was manifested even as was also God 
Himself;' and in tlib manner He condescended to accustom 
mortals to seeing a visible Entity, His handiwork, dependent 
upon Him, and nevertheless made substantially One with Him. 
" Thus He was preparing men for the great mystery of the 
Incarnation ; in some such fashion He did make a beginning 
thereof, and so it was given ua to behold Him, as it were in a 
kind of apprenticeship, He making trial of us after this fashion. 
. . . All these appearances of the Son of God were a certain 
pledge to mankind that God did not look upon humanity as 
altogether abhorrent to His Own Nature, since He had resolved 
aforetime that the Son of God, equal in all things to His Father, 
should be made man like unto us." * 

With their minds made ready by lessons like these, the Jews, 
little by little, acquired the habit of regarding God not ua an 
Abstract Power, isolated in barren and unprofitable majesty, 
but as a fruitful and omnific Nature in Whom resides, as in 
its Source, all light and life and love ; wherein Wisdom, the 
sublimest of God's attributes, is quickened into life, becomes a 
Person, and holds intercourse with Jehovah. We can follow 
this progress of Revelation all through the sapiential writings. 
The Author of the Proverbs' was content with showing how 
Wisdom is coetemal with Jehovah, and assists Him in the work 
of Creation. The Son of Sirach goes a step further ; he personi- 
fies Wisdom, and attributes language like this to the Heaven- 
horn One : " I am come forth from the mouth of the Most High, 

> Jm. t. 14 ; Jud, v. 13-lE ; vi. 11-22; siii. S-22. 

^ S. IreuEeua, Adversjis Hterests, iv. 7, 4 ; Clement of Alexandriit, Pied- 
agogus, i. 7; Tertullian, Adveraua Praxeam, 18, 14, IE; 8. Cyprian, 
Advtratis Judaos, ii. fi, 6, etc 

' S. Angustinc, De TrinitaU, passim, 

* Botsuet. Mitalwia «w Ua m,ysUre$, ^l^vatioa vi., x* semsioe. 

*ProT viii. 



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372 APPENDIX. 

begotten of Him before all creatioo. I it is Who have made 
a light to blaze iu the ekj which ehall uever be extinguished, 
and Who have covered the whole earth in a vapor. I have 
dwelt in the high places, and My throne is in a pillar of cloud. 
I alone have encompassed the high arch of heaven, and I have 
fathomed the lowermost depths of the abyss. I have walked 
upon the waves of the aea, and I have wandered over all the 
lands. I have held sway in every nation and among every 
people of earth. And amongst all these I sought a resting- 
place; and I chose for Myself a habitation amid the heritage of 
the Lord. Whereupon the Creator of the Universe hath made 
Me to know His will; He Who hath created Me hath rested 
within My Tabernacle, and He hath said unto Me : ' Dwell with 
Jacob ; let Israel be Thy inheritance,' " * 

The Book of Wisdom more clearly still declares the relations 
which exist between this divine Wisdom and Jehovah, and His 
movements upon the face of the earth. In respect to Grod, 't is 
"a Vapor of His almighty power and a most pure emanation 
of His glory ; 't is the Brightness of et«mal light, the spotless 
Mirror of God's mr^esty, and the Image of His goodness." * 
There is no one of God's wondrous doings with the world 
which may not be attributed to it. This it is Which created 
the first man, and still draws us away from sin ; Who saved the 
just from the Deluge, watched over the Patriarchs, made the 
Israelites to pass through the Red Sea, and guided them through 
all their devious wanderings.' In a word, everything that the 
liiatorical books of the Old Testament had ascribed to the Angel 
of the Lord, the sapiential books no longer impute to a vague 
and mysterious Being, but to a personified Attribute of Omni- 
poteni:e, — that is, to the Wisdom of Jehovah. 

Now it only remained to change this term to that sublimer 
title, the Word of God. And this was to be the work of those 
Jewish doctors who, after the Captivity, gathered together the 
traditions of their nation, and composed from them, in the 
Aramean tongue, those paraphrases of the Holy Books called 
Targums.* The most ancient of these commentaries (that of 

1 Ecnlestast. xxiv. 
» Wis. vii. 26, 28. 

^Targnm, 0'J"in from ^i")^: "to explain, to mterprBt." The 
TarKum of the Pentateuch, attributed to Onkelox, received a definite form 
iu the third century of oor era ; the others are of n later <Ute. 



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THE GKNEALOGIES OF THE GOSPEL. 373 

Onkelos) teaches fully and iinmiBtakably the doctrine of the 
Word ' of the Lord. The Word it ia Which once protected 
Noe, Which nttilied the ancient alHance with Abraham, Which 
accompanied Isrnel into the desert, wae with Isaac amoug the 
Cnnaaneans, and with Joseph in Egypt. At Bethel Jacob made 
his solemn covenant that tlie Word of the Lord should he his 
God, and again at Sinai the people fall with faces to the ground 
before that breath of his nostrils Which is His Word. It would 
be easy to continue this enumeration through all the bookfl of 
the Old Testament, for the Targums everywhere speak of the 
Word in places where the Historical Writings tell of the Angel 
of the Lord, and where the Sapiential Scriptures discourse of 
the Wisdom of God. From this it is evident that John had 
only to collect these familiar traditions, and thus from the 
ancient Faith prove his doctrine of the Word. And undoubt- 
edly this was the source whence he drew the Truth ; he found 
it in the teachings of that very 8ynag<^e which, albeit with 
darkened vision and enfeebled speech, was none the less the 
Guardian of a deposit of true Religion and pure Belief. 



THE OESBALOOIE8 OF TEE QOSPEL. 

A GREAT number of writers have endeavored to conciliate the 
genealogies of the Gospel, but there are only two esplauations 
which seem to us of sufficient value to merit the attention of 
the reader. 

One of these considers the genealogy in Saint Matthew as the 
lineage of Joseph ; while Saint Luke's, they tell us, is that of 
Mary.* This solution does away with every difficulty, and 
might be adopted at once were it not that it has against it not 
only Tradition, which has always regarded the two genealogical 
tables as belonging to Joseph, but there is also the text of Saint 

' In tile Paraphrases the Ward is sometimes called M^^'O, BOtoetimea 

' This explication has been adopted tr/ D. Calmet, Yosaius, Lightfoot, 
Mtchaelis, Kninoal, Bengel, Olshauseu, Wieaelcr, Ebrard, Kurtz, Lange, 
Greswell, Kitto, Robinson, etc. The contrary opinion has been held, 
among modem oritios, by Hug, P. Patrizi, Meyer, Mill, Loid Harvey, 
EUicott, ete. 



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374 APPENDIX. 

Luke, which must be twisted aud deprived of itg natural 
meuiilDg ill order to make it read an if it were the desceut 
of Mary. 

The other explaaation admits that the two geuealogies are 
those of Joseph, and, as a cotisequeuce, it undertakes the task 
of recoiiciliug us to accept their coatradlctory statements, which 
would appear to be cousiderable. After having given the same 
series of generations from the origin of time as far as David, 
the coluroua separate, — one list following the line of Nathau, 
eldest son of the Prophet-Kiug ; the other, that of Solomon ; 
while further on they both unite, in the time of the Captivity. 
under the tno uames of Salatbiel and Zorobabel ; then, starting 
from this point, there is another divergeuce, until we come to 
Joseph, who. Saint Luke says, is born of Heli, while Saiut 
Matthew tells us that he waa the sou of Jacob. 

The interpretation generally adopted is that there had been 
two leviratical marriages between the two branches of David's 
family. This Jewish custom is well known : when a son of 
Israel dies without children, his nearest male relative must 
espouse his widow, and the first-bom of this new union, the 
natural son of the second husband, is thereafter treated as the 
legal son of the first. Therefore the view which we are now 
occupied with would have it that this Law of the Levirate was 
twice brought in question in this instance, — first in the time of 
Salathiel, and later in the time of Joseph ; each of them having 
had two fathers, one natural, the other legal. These were, re- 
spectively, Neri and Jechonias, Jacob and Heli. And although 
this explanation does not suffice to enlighten us as to every ob- 
scure point, it does however shed a great measure of light upon 
the question ; and hence we shall avail ourselves of it, for it is 
sustained by such an imjKwing array of traditions that we need 
only call attention to their number and nature in order to give 
it all the weight of authority. 

Trom the first ages of the Church the genealogies were the 
object of grave discussion. Origen, when answering the attack 
of Celsus, reproaches him for having ignored the labors of 
Christian writers upon this matter.* 

One hundred years had not passed over the world since the 

' Origen, Conlra Celaum, ii. 32. Celsus wrote in the reign of Hadrian 
(120). Hence the words used by Origen imply that before this time the 
Christians had aheady experienced some difficulty in reconciling the 
genealogies. 



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THE GENEALOGIES OF THE GOSPEL. 375 

death of its Saviour, and already Hia earthly origin was oh- 
Huured and forgotten. But how was it that those first Christians, 
living almost in the same epoch with the Apostles, did not 
make haste to examine the authentic aourees of information T 
We shall have no room left for any surprise on this score, if we 
think for a moment upon those disasters in which Jerusalem 
was overwhelmed only forty years after the death of Jesns. 
Everything was annihilated and blotted away from this City 
which had sacriticed its Cod, and with the rest all the Genea- 
logical Tables which were there preserved ' became involved in 
the universal ruin. So that only certain traditions survived, 
by means of which the obscurities in their family pedigrees 
could be cleared up ; and indeed this source was held sufficient 
by the Jewish converts who had thus kept alive the memory 
of their own family archives ; and so, from Tradition and their 
own knowledge they could explain the genealogies of the Christ. 
But of course this state of ali'airs did not exist in the Churches 
founded in the various provinces of the Roman Empire. By 
the year 70 almost all the ministers of the Word who had heard 
and seen the Saviour had gone to swell tlmt first great harvest of 
Martyrdom ; the Wshops and the doctors who I'eplaced them had 
no longer the aid of their vivid memories of the Divine History ; 
and there was no intercourse between the Christians of Judea 
who had taken refuge in Pella and their brethren in the East, 
in Greece, and in Asia Minor. In many of these last-named 
Ciinrches the genealogies of the Christ soon became the theme 
of much unsatisfactory discussion, and oftentimes they arrived 
at solutions of the difficulty which were more ingenious than 
they were veracious. In the second century an opinion began 
to gain ground (in spite of the vigorous stand made against it 
by Julius Africanua) that the genealogies were imaginary lists 
of names put together with the hope of setting in higher relief 
the great Truth that in the person of Jesus there was the most 
perfect union of a lineage which partook eqiially of Priesthood 
and Royalty." The only way to prevent their being looked 
upon as fanciful inventions was to refer to the authentic tradi- 
tions of the Church ; this waa not done until the middle of the 
third century. 

' Josephna, Cojiira Apiontm, i. 37. 

^ The theoriPs proposed in later times were no leas plentiful. Auniua 
of Titerbus did not soniple Rt malting use of this curious sohition, — that 
nil the KuceBton of the Saviour, after David, had a double name. 



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376 APPENDIX. 

JuliuB Afrioanus, tbe friend of Origen, wae born at Nioopolia.* 
He had acquaintance with certain of the faithful there who 
furmed the only living remnant of the family of the Lord, and 
for this reason were called DeepoByuea." From them he learned 
that Esther, wife of Matban, of the branch line of Salomon, at 
tbe death uf her first husband wedded Melchi, of the branch 
line of Nathan ; and from these successive unions she had two 
sons, Jacob and Heli. When Heh died without isBne, Jacob 
married his widow, and was father of Saiut Joseph in the course 
of nature, while in the eyes of the Law Heli was his father.' 
This tradition, thunks to the high esteem in which Julius 
Africanus was held, came to have much authority in the 
Church ; the Fathers welcomed it gladly, and Saint Au- 
gustine, who at first had resorted to another explanation, 
afterwards, in his Retractions,* conies hack to this simple clew 
given him by Julius Africanus, and confesses that tbe Letter 
written by that Father to Aristidea was unknown to him at the 
time he wrote his Treatise against Faustus. 

Bnt does it follow that, if we grant this, we must accept 
everything in the accounts left us by tbe Desposynesl We do 
not think so, for what they tell us of Herod's having destroyed 
the records of the Eoyal Family in order to conceal his own low 
origin contradicts the statements of tbe historian Josephus, who 
quotes from the geneali^es of the Levites which were preserved 
at Jerusalem in his own time.' Certainly there was at bottom 
a foundation of truth in this tradition, and that is what vre 
must try to disentangle from such apocryphal details as have 
gathered about it duriug two centuries of oral transmission. 
And indeed that is just what was done by Saint Jerome and 
the other Fathers. In their eyes tbe impoitant point in 
the testimony of the Desposynes is that Joseph was bom 
of a leviratical marriage ; hut they are no longer unani- 
mous iu their opinion wbeu the question is mooted whether 
it was Jacob or Helt who was his natural father. Julius 
Africanus holds that tbe spouse of the Virgin Mary was born 

1 Now-a-daya called Amouas, twenty-two milea from Jerusalem, and ten 
from Lydda (Antonini August! Itinerariv/m). 

* AeffxiiriwDi, " belonging to, related to tbe Lord." 

° Julioa Africanus, Eputola ad AriMideJa. (Migne, Patrologit grecgm!, 
t. x.p. 51). _ 

* S, Augustine, Retrattumes, v. 7. 

' Epiiiola ad ArvUiiUm {Patrologie grecgue, t. x. p. 51). Joaephns, 
Contra Apionem, i. 87. 



THE GENEALOGIES OF THE GOSPEL. 377 

of Jacob; S^nt Ambrose, on the coatraiy, gives Hell as his 
father.' 

In the uncertain state in which these confused traditions 
leave us, is it possible to get any help toward clearing up the 
difBcnlties from the genealogies themselves 1 This has been 
the animating thought of some learned critics,* and so, atoning 
from the individual point of view takeu by each of the Evange- 
lists, they infer that Saint Matthew gives the royal ancestry of 
Jesna,* Saint Luke His natural deaoenL 

The latter, as being the companion of Saint Paul, the Apostle 
of the Gentiles, and a Gentile himself, naturally would be 
less zealous than Saint Matthew was to make it apparent that 
Jesus, the Son of Abraham and David, was rightful Heir to the 
Kings of Israel. Saint Luke had referred to the Jewish tables 
of birth with the sole idea of proving that Jesus la the Man, 
the Second Adam, in Whom God is made incarnate for the 
redemption of the world. So, without stopping at Abraham, 
he goes back to the beginnings of time, and hence he deolares 
that the Christ is Son of Adam, " who was the son of God." 

Saint Matthew, on the contrary, is entirely engrossed with 
the thought of establishing his claims that Jesus is sprung of 
the royal stock of Israel : B(/3Ao« ytvitrtios 'Iijo-oC Xpurrov v'tav 
ilaueiS, mov 'A^padfi. And as a natural consequence he looks for 
that lineage for Jesus which will assure Him Hia lofty dignity 
as the Chriat, the Messiah, the Anointed of the Loi-d; un- 
doubtedly He is the Son of Abvabam, and Heir of the Promises 
made to the father of all true believers ; but he is still more 
particular to announce that Jesus is the Son of David, destined 
to lift up anew the Throne of His fathers upon the earth. 
Among all the titles which combined to render the Son of 
Jesse so dear to Israel, the kingly dignity is that which prin- 
cipally attracts Saint Matthew's attentive consideration. " David 

' 8. Ambrose, in Lucam, iii. 

^ Grotiua, De Marco, Lama, Uill, Lord Hervey, etc. 

^ Some acholaj^ look upon thi» term iyinntat, which 8. Matthew em- 
|)loy9, 03 a proof that he is giving the imtural ^nerstioD of Joseph ; but 
this eipreasion, like the equivitleat Hebrew word lS", is not to be un- 
derstood as meaning a mere carnal descent, since it is also employed 
frequently to indicate succession by law or adoption. The Septnagint 
takes it with this wider acceptation, and S. Matthew follows their exsmple 
in his genealogical table IwpV dt iyivrriae rit 'Ottar, where three genera- 
tions separate Osias from Joraai. 



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378 APPENDIX. 

the King," he repeats twice,' and the genealc^cal list, which he 
unfolds after David is uothing else than an historical succession 
of the moiiarchs of Juda. Now Jechouias, the last of these 
princes, died without iasue.* Yet Saint Matthew, despite this 
well-known fact, continues the line of David down to Joseph. 
Must we conclude from thia that Neri, the &ther of Salathiel, 
according to Saint Luke, espoused the widow of Jechonias and 
had a son by her ; or, without resorting to this hypothesis of a 
leviratioil marriage, is it not even more reasonable to believe 
that Jechonias, when he was condemned to see his own branch 
of the royal Household become eitinct with him, adopted Sala- 
thiel, grandson of David and son of Nathan, and that be trans- 
mitted his rights to the throne to bis sou 1 Then the series of 
otherwise uukuown names which follows in Saint Matthew's 
record of the royal race in that of the sons of Salathiel who 
should have occupied the throne, had the legitimate monarcby 
been perpetuated, and who thus by right of descent were the 
lawful kings of Juda, though in fact they never any of them 
mounted the throne. After eight generations the branch of 
Abiud, eldest son of Zorobabel, in whom resided by birthright 
this title to the tliroue of David, now in turn saw his house- 
hold end with Jacob ; and thus it was that Hell, a deecendant 
of Rhesa, another son of Zorobabel, contracted that leviratical 
marriage with the widow of Jacob, of which Tradition has 
preserved a record ; the frait of this union is Joseph, who 
is consequently the natural son of Heli and legal son of 

1 Id fact the received text gives leaml ii tyirtifao' rhv Aawi! ric ^aa- 
i\ia, davtli Si 6 paaAfu! tyirrquir, kt\ . . . This reading ia to be foimil 
in very many Manuscripts (notably that of Ephrem), and in a majority 
of the Versions. 

* The malediction thnt fell apon Jechonias, or Couiag, xon of Joakini, 
doomed him to end hia life in exile, and childless <Jer. xiii. 80) ; hence 
he either could not have had any offspring, or must have lost aiicb aa he 
had, before liis death, for the woiil which the Prophet uaea, 'T^^, has hut 
one meaning in thi^ Old TeatHment, " without children " (Gen. jtv. 2, etc ; 
Lightfoot, Hrn'Oi Hfbralcm, in Matt. i. 12). The Rabbis suppose that the 
repentance of Jei'honias had assuaged the divine wrath, and that this 
prince left behind him the descendants whom we Dnd quoted in the First 
Paralipomenon (iii. 17), — Asir, Salathiel, Melchirara, Phadala, eta." But 
this hypothesis ia not necessary in order to conciliate the two Sacred 
Books ; it is enough to suppose that Jechonias adopted the entire family 
of Iferi, and thna became father by adoption of the seven Bona named in 
the Paralipomenon. 



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TBE GENEALOGIES OF THE GOSPEL. 



The following table will enable one to see at a glance all that 
we have so far considered concerning the two genealogies — 



SOLOUON, 

Jbckohiib (without issae), 
lather by adoption of 



SALATHIEI^ 



DBtaral father of 



JOSEPH. 

This solution, while it respects the ancient traditions, since 
it gives Joseph (according to the teachings of Julius Afrioanus) a 
legal father and also a father according to the Law, has the ad- 
ditional advautage of not multiplying the leTiratical marriages 
unnecessarily. And finally, whether this theory be adopted or 
whether the generally received hypothesis he preferred, the dis- 
cussion has at all events successfully proved that the contradic- 
tory statements in the geueologies are susceptible of several 
plausible explanations. 

The only remaining difficulty concerns Saint Matthew,^ whose 
genealogy is manifestly incomplete, siuce, in the period between 
David and the Captivity, he passes over three kings. — Ochosias, 
Joas, and Amasias. Their names are sacrificed designedly, in 
order to give a certain symmetry to the arrangement, and to 
thus divide the list into three groups of fourteen names. In 

' In the second period of S. Matthew them itppeRra 
wanting, but S. Jerome long ago pointed out that we 
between Joncbim, son uf Joaitts, and Joacliin, who was 
in 8. Matthew Ihey both bear tjie name Jechonias. In Hebrew. Joachi 
is written as D'p;'l7V^ : Joschin is j'^ipn^; from this we see that tlie 
words are quite ditTerent. 



t generation 
uistingnJEih 
although 



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380 APPENDIX. 

doing tilts the Evaugelist aimply follows the general cnstom 
among the Jews, who when writing dowu their family pedigree 
were not so careful to inseribe the names of all their ancestors 
as they were aniioua to give harmonious proportinns to each 
genealogy. The memory retained the names better when dia- 
trihuted in this way ; and the "mystical properties" of those 
numbers seven and ten, which were the usual factors in this 
division, conferred a higher dignity to the records of a house- 
hold, which were preserved after this fashion. In the Jewish 
writers we find uiimerous examples of this arbitrary ordering 
of the lists. It is in this form that Pbilo sets apart the genera- 
tions which lived between the time of Moses and the Creation 
of the world into two groups of ten and one of seven, in order 
(as he says) to display the perfect stems crowned with fruit of 
equal peifectness, — NoS, Abraham, Moses.* And therefore Saint 
Matthew was only consulting the popular tastes of his age when 
he inscribed the Genealogy of Jesus in a conventional style. 

We are not now speaking of the attempts to harmonize the 
Gospel lists with those which we find in the Books of the 
Chronicles; for there are some almost insurmountable ditii- 
culties involved in the task. Among the seven sons of Zon>- 
babel, of whom mention is made in this record, there was none 
called Rhesa, nor is there an Ahiud ; and we look in vfun among 
their descendants for the names of Eliakim and Juda, which 
the Evangelists give as sons of Rhesa and Abiud. Lord Hervey 
has endeavored to solve this problem in his learned work en- 
titled " The Genealogies of Our Lord." He calls our attention 
to the fact that Rhesa, in the Chaldean tongue, is the title of 
the " princes of the Captivity," who, in the first and second 
centuries after Jeans Christ were the Chiefs of the people (as, 
in fact, Zorobabet was at Babylon) ; from this lie concludes that 
probably the word " Rhesa " was placed in the margin, as a 
comment on the text, by some Jew who had become a Chris- 
tian, in order to recall the fact that Zorobabel was a prince of 
the House of David. From the margin this annotation passed 
into the test. If this be so, then Joanna, according to Saint 
Luke, is made the son of Zerohabel ; now, Joanna is the same 
name as Hanauiah, son of Zorobabel, if we follow the Parali- 
pomenons (1 Far. iii. 19), In fact Hanauiah, n'jjn, is a word 
composed of nm, "grace," and n'^ an abridged form of Jehovah. 

' Philo, De PosUritate Caini, edit. Msngey, t. i. p. 26B. 



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TBE GENEALOGIES OF TEE GOSPEL. 381 

Joanna, pnV, contains the same roots, with this difrerence, 
that 'y, another shorter form for Jehovah, is put at the head 
of the compound, and pn is at the end. We are therefore 
justified ia considering these as only two fornas of the same 
word, lu the opinion of Lord Hervey Saint Matthew omits 
this generation. He takes Abiud, ^^^"3I*, whose name occurs 
in verse tliirteen of this Gospel, to be tliat same Juda of Saint 
Luke's Gospel (in Aramean, iin\ Jud), and also as the Ho- 
daiab, in;nin, of the Books of the Chronicles (1 Par. iii. 24). 
The complete development of the theory regarding these names 
ia clearly explained in Lord Hervey'a Volume. 

Yet, after all in said, is it necessary to recur to these very 
subtile hypothesea t Are not the incomplete lists which we pos- 
sess, the fact of there having been so many offspring, thea too the 
frequent unions between branchesof the same family, the babit 
of giving the same names for generation after generation, the 
quite different designs animating the two Evangelists and the 
Author of the Paralipomenons, — are not alt these sufficient to 
account for the fact that after two thousand years we find some 
difficulty in making these two genealogical tables correspond 1 

The same considerations are enough to deter us from any 
long investigation as to nhy Saint Luke (iii. 35, 36) places 
Gainan between Sale and Arphaxad, a name which Is only found 
in the Greek Version of Genesis (Gen. x. 24), and is not in the 
Hebrew text. Apparently this is an error committed by the 
Seventy, and so it has passed from their version into the text of 
Saint Luke. lu fact this second Cainau is not found either iu 
the Samaritan text or, for the most part, in the other Versions 
(Vulgate, Targiim, Peshito, etc.), and the Fathers have never 
made any mention of the name. 

As to the contradiction which appears to exist between the 
Evangelists, who give Salathiel as the father of Zeroliabel (Matt. 
i. 12, Luke iii. 27), and the Paralipomenons, which say he was 
the son of Phadaia (1 Par. iii. 19), only a superficial difficulty is 
involved ; for the Alexandrian Manuscript, as well as that of 
Cambridge, gives us Salathiel and not Phadaia. Father Patriai ' 
prefers to admit that the Zorobabel of the Gospels is another 
personage from the one mentioned in the Paralipomenons.^ 

> De Evangdiia, lib. iii. diss. ix. 16, 2. 

' As to the KenB»l<^e3, sec Lord Arthur Hervaj, On the Genealogies of 
Our Lord ; Mill, Obseroalions an the attempted application of pantheistic 



THB STAR OP THE lUOt. 

It was the opinion of Kepler that the Star of the Maf^ was 
only a sidereiil pbeDomeaoo. Having witnessed the conjunction 
of Jupiter and Saturn in 1603, whiuh included Miirs in the 
followiog spring, this Astronomer observed a star of the first 
inagnitude, and hitherto unkuown, which Buddenly shone ont 
in the vicinity of these planets. The remarkable splendor of 
this apparition iu the heavens — for it blazed with such great 
brilliancy that it could be seen at high noon — struck the illus- 
trious AstronomeF forcibly ; and he began to question whether 
the Star of the Magi might not have been some such pleiad. 
His calculatioua resulted iu the discovery that a conjunction of 
Jupiter and Saturn had in fact taken place, in the year 748 of 
Rome, and that the nearest point of contact for the two planets 
was the Sign of the Fishes. So he concludes thnt a star, simi- 
lar to the one which be had studied, must have appeared at 
this period, and that this unexpected union of celestial lumina- 
ries composed the constellation seen by the MagL As we have 
said, it appeared in 748, the date which Herod took so much 
care to ascertain, and which induced him in 750 to slaughter 
all the children in Bethlehem under two years of age. The 
thoroughly scientific methods of Kepler have established bis 
calculations beyond any question ; furthermore they have been 
verified and adopted by our modem astronomers.' 

But does thia phenomenon correspond with what Saint Mat- 
thew tells us of the marvellous Starl It is not sufficient to 
assert that the conjunction of two planets had produced in the 
sky a Star of more than ordinary brilliancy ; but over and above 
this, it must be explained bow, by any natural means, this Star 
could have conducted them from their native country to Judea, 
thereafter from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and finally, in this 
village, indicate the dwelling-place of Jesus. After all, the 

princi/rfel to the iKcorif and kuUorit crituyam of He Ooapsta; Patrirf, De 
Evamieliis, li1>. iii. diss, ix, 

' Kepler, De Jem. Christi anno natalttio ; Ideler, Bandbaeh, ii. 899 ; 
PfniT, Schumacher, Schalnrt, Miinter, Encke, etc. Mr. PrJtchard has 
given us a r^sum^ of the objections which modern scienco has raised 
Bgainat Kepler's hjpotheaU ; his summiug up of the matter ia as powerful 
as it is luminous {Mejrunra of Jioyai Adi; Society, vol. xxv.). 



..CJooglc 



THE BRETHREN OF TBE LORD. 383 

wisest plan ia to admit that all the circuinatances surrouDdiiig 
tbis heavenly Visitant were part of a minuiulous dispeoBation. 
In aucient times GliristiaDity never entertained any other idea 
on the subject. Antiquity always looked upon the Star of the 
Magi afi a flaming meteor, upholdeu iu the heavens as a Sign 
by the hand of God ; and hence it must have moved iu an 
Urbit which was uot traced out for it by astronomical laws, but 
by the untrammelled Will of Him whose Messenger it was. 



THE BBETHBBN OF THE LORD. 

At several different stages of the Narrative, the Gospel 
speaks of the Lord's brothers. Saint Matthew and Saint 
Mark ' make known their names : " Is not His Mother called 
Mary, aud His brothers James and John and Simon and Judel 
And are not His sisters all here among usi" Later on three 
of the synoptical writers tell how they strove to push their way 
through the crowd.* In Saint John we see them coming down 
to Caphamaum with the Mother of Jesus, and all the time they 
show such disbelief in the Mission of the Christ that, six months 
before the Passion, they insist that He should manifest Himself 
to Jerusalem by some stupendous deed.* However, the death 
of the Saviour evidently opened their eyes, for we meet them 
once more in that upper room, where, with Mary and the 
Apostles, they awaited the coming of the Holy Ghost.* 

Among these different texts there is not one which gives us 
to understand that these " brethren of the Lord " were actually 
the children of Mary and Joseph. On the other hand, we know 
that the Hebrew term nit, which ia always translated by us 
as " brother," has a very much wider meaning, and denotes at 
times a distant relative ;° sometimes it means they are of the 
same race, or from the same native city,° and ^i^in it is even 
need to indicate simple associations of friendship.' In order to 

1 Mfttt. xiii. 56, 66 ; Murlt vi. 3. 

s Matt. xii. 46-50 ; Mark iii. 31-35 ; Luke viii. 19-21. 

» John ii. 12 ; vii. 3-10. 

* Acta L H. 

' Oen. xii, S ; xiil. 8 ; xxix. 12 ; Num. viii. 26. 

• Gen. ii. 25 ; Num. xx. 14, etc. 

1 2 Kings i. 20 ; 3 Kings ii. 13, etc. 



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384 APPENDIX. 

determine wbat meaning the Gospel intends to convey by the 
expression " brethren of the Lord," we must not rest upon the 
received reading of the texts cited above, but must look else- 
where for whatever information the holy Books can furnish us 
withal concerning these kinfolk of the Lord. 

One of them, the Apostle James, by word and deed, has 
made himself so illustrious in thu Church that his name has 
always been considered an ample dignity of itself; aod hence 
he is mentioned without pretis or title, whereas the other Janies 
ia always called " son of Zebedee."' Consequently there is no 
question but that the Bisbop of Jerusalem is the one alluded 
to in the various texts wherein the Gospel speaks of the father 
and mother of James. v 

The details which bear most directly upon the question in 
hand are to be found in the recitals of the Passion. Among the 
Galilean women who were present at the death of Jesus, Saint 
Matthew names " Mary H^dalene, Mary mofker of Jamet and 
Joiepk, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee." Further on, 
be adds, "that those who remained at the tomb were Mary 
Magdalene and tke other Mary," and that these two women, 
on the first day after the Sabbath, returned to look upon the 
sepulchre.^ Saint Mark,* in relating the same events, calls "the 
other Mary" " mother of James the Less' and of Joteph"^ in 
one place, " mother of Joseph" in another, and again "mother of 
Jantei " in still another. Who ia this woman who is thus dis- 
tinguished from Mary Magdalene by the names of her sons^ 

' Nothiog could be more natural than this preeminence, for Jainea waa 
the first Bi^ap of Jerusalem, one of the pillars of th» Church, and so 
always associated with Peter and John (Gal. i. 19 ; ii. 9), and he was the 
venerated Leader of those Jews who were converted to Christinnity. His 
authority was strikingly evidenced on many occasions . at the Council of 
Jerusalein, when all yielded to his advice (Acts IV. 13-22) ; in liifl Letter 
addressed to those Hebrews, scattered over the world, who were converted 
to the Gostiel (.lames i. 1) ; in the reverence which the Jews, even the 
infidels among them, diajJayed toward him (Eusebius, Sialoria ccdai- 
adita, iii. 23) ; finally, in the pride which his brothers took in coupling 
bis name witli theirs, as a glonooa title (Luke vi. 16 ; Acts L 13 ; Jud. i). 

s Matt XKvii. 56, 61 ; xxviii. 1. 

» Mark iv. 40, 47 ; kvi. 1. 

* The title of " The Less," as applied to James, son of Alphens, appar- 
ently indicates that this Apostle «as either younger or smaller of stature 
than the son of Zebedee, whom Tradition alludes to as James the Greater. 

* In S. Mark most of the manuscripts have Joses instead of Joseph, 
bat the latter name is preserved fay the Vulgate, in the second as well as 
in the first Gospel 



. CiioqIc 



THE BRETHREN OF THE LORD. 385 

Saint John answers this:' "The mother of Jeaus," he says, 
" and His Mother's deter. Mart/ wife of Cleophas, and Mary 
Magdalene were standing by the Cross." This passnge in the 
Fourth Gospel clearly explains the testimouy given by the Syn- 
optical Writers, and shows that "the other Mary, Mother of 
James and of Joseph " and " wife of Cleophas," was a sister of 
the Holy Vii^iii, and called like tier Mary." It is true that in 
the lists of the Twelve Apostles," James is named as the son of 
Alpheus and not of Cleophas, but it is easy to remove this last 
difficulty; for these two names, though apparently different, 
are only two modes of pronouncing the same Aramaic name, 
KsSn, one form beiug with, and the other without, the as- 
pirate n." 

We can only conclude from the texts compared thus that 
the father of James was Alpheus (Cleophas) ; that his mother 
was Mary, sister of the Blessed Virgin ; and that his brothers 
were Jude, Joseph, and Simon ; consequently the " brethren of 
the Lord " are only the cousins-^rman of Jesus. Such was the 
opinion, even in Apostolic times, according to a tradition at- 
tributed to Papias;^ such it has remained until now, and it 
is the construction commonly held by modem commentators. 
Some of the Fathers,^ indeed, believed that those kinsmen of 
the Christ were the children of Joseph by an earlier marriage ; 
hut this conjecture has no better basis than certain legends 
contained in the apochryphal gospels.' Under the more trust- 
worthy guidance of Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine, the Latin 
Church has triumphantly vindicated the interpretation which, as 
we have seen, is amply supported by the text of Scripture.* 

1 John x\x. 25. 

^ It was not an unusual thing among the, Jews for brothers and «Utera 
to bear the same name; thus among the children of Uerod the Great we 
find two Philips, two Pliasaels, two Herods. 

■ Matt. :. 3 ; Hark iii, 18 ; Lnke vi. 15 ; Acts i. 13. 

* Compare the two Latin forms, "Aloysius and Ludovinus" from the 
same Frank word : " Ludwig," Louis. 

"Migne, h ' ' ' _.. _ _ 

* Origen, E 
Barhebrrens. 

' Thilo, Codex Apoerypkus Novi TestamenU, t, L p. 228 ; ComtitutxoMs 
ApostotioE, vi. 12. 

* See ies Friret de N.S. Jents-Chrial, par ie P. Corlny; Smith, 
Didionary nf (Ae 5t6f< ; Jambs ; Mill, Oa jfythieal ImteTjirttation. of Ike 
OogpeU, pp. 219-274. 

VOL. I.— 25 



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THH BAMABIIUIB. 

This little nee of people, maaters of the Mountaios of 
Ephraim fVom the valley of Eedralon as far as Bethe),' formed 
an independeat nation right in the heart of Palestine, and was 
composed, for the most part, of a race of strangers, with whom 
were mingled a fe« Israelites,' who had remained in Judea Eifter 
the withdrawal of the Schismatic Tribes. The latter, when 
carried off into captivity by Salmanasar (721 a c), left Samaria 
so deserted and ditsolate that Asbar Addon was minded to send 
colonists thither.* So they came from Babylon, from Cutba, 
from Ava, from Emath, and from Sepbarvum. Gathered to- 
gether from the remote comera of Persia and Media,' these 
Cutheans, as Josephus calls them, took the name of Samaritans 
from the country they had invaded ; but at first they retained 
their old religions, and thus they defiled tbe holy soil of Israel 
with this new worship, — a monstrous union of all sorts of 
idolatry. Tbe Lord, Who was wroth at their blasphemies and 
pollutions, sent up lions from the Jordan, that ravaged the whole 
land and forced the terrified Cutheans to cease from troubling 
the Almighty Deity of tbeir new country ; thus they became, 
according to a mocking pfamse commoD among tbe Jews, "Lions' 
Proselytes." But they were to look in vain through all that 
lonely wilderness for some one who would instruct them in the 
religious rites of this ravaged land. Although a few Israelites 
had escaped that terrible levy of Salmanasar, still such a scanty 
remnant as this could not restore the ancient majestic Faith 

1 " Samaria," says Joseplms, "commeiicee at the village Ginea [Djen- 
nim), lying in tbe Great Valley, and terrainatea on the frontiers of the 
Acrabat<ine country" {Beltum JuAcfcum, iii. 8, 4). This latter territory 
extended from Sichem tu Jericho {Aniiquiiala, ii. 2, 4 ; iii. 3, i, 6). Tbe 
southern boundary of Samaria inay be regarded as following a line drawn 
from Jaffa to Bethel, and thence to the Jordan. 

' The Israelites were so few in number that they were almost lost in 
the midat of the Samaritans. This is why Antiquity always spoke of tho 
latter aa an entirely foreign race, within the confines of Israel. Consnit 
the mass of evidence on this point collected by Suicer, TTitMums ■ Zo^u- 
ptlTjfi. S. Luke calls them ii\\<n'CNri (xvii. IS) ; Josepbos, iXhotertit, 

* 4 Khga xvii. 24. 

* Josrplius, Anliquitatea, x. 9, 7. 



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THE SAMARITANS. 387 

among these barbariaoH, who knew nothing of the Truth. Prob- 
ably some one of the captive priests was brought on from Baby- 
]ou, and thus tliey learned to revere Jehovah. But instead of 
the pure Law of the Lord, he taught them the schismatic rites 
which had growu to be so powerful in Israel just before the 
Captivity. His firat care was to reestablish the High-places 
upon Bethel, where Jeroboam had once raised up the Golden 
Calf. The Assyrian colonists uow followed the idolaters' exam- 
ple ; "each of them kept his own god, and they set them up, 
oue and all, in the high-places which the Samaritans had built; 
each oatiou had also its own god in the city which it inhabited. 
The Babylonians made Sochothbenoth to \m their god ; the 
Cutheans had Nergel; the people of Emath took Aaima; the 
Heveans chose Nebahas and Tartac ; those from Sepharvaim 
caused their children to go through the tire, and thus burned 
thein in honor of Adramelech and Anamelech, the gods of Seph- 
arvaim. . . . And though these peoples adored Jehovah, they 
served their own gods at the same time, according to the 
custom of the nations from whose midst they had been trans- 
ferred into Samaria. And to this day, these peoples still follow 
their ancient manners. . . . They fear not Jehovah, neither do 
they keep His ceremonies, nor His ordinances, nor His laws, 
nor the precepts which He has given to the children of Jacob, 
whom He sumamed Israel." ' 

These were the characteristics of the Samaritans during the 
period of the Captivity, — a mixture of races of foreign origin, 
with only a faint conception of any worship of the true God. 
And so, when these profiine adorers of Jehovah demanded of 
the Jews, who had returned from Babylon, that they be per- 
mitted to participate in the recon struct ion of the Temple, 
they found that they were regarded as enemies of Juda and 
Benjamin,' and, as such, their offers were scorned and rejected. 
Thereafter the angry Samaritans never ceased to hate the Jews, 
and on all occasions sought to thwart their undertakings. 
Darius, son of Hystaspus reduced them for a time to a state of 
powerlessuess (519) ; but after his death the old grudges and 
hostilities of the two peoples continued to grow in bitterness 
until n culminating incident brought it to a head. 

During the reign of Darius Nothus (424-404) a Jewish priest, 
Manaasah by name, and a near relative of the sovereign Pontiff, 

» i Kinga xrii. a9-il. ^ 1 Esdras, iv. L 



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388 APPENDIX. 

niamed a daughter of Sanballat, the Pemiau governor of Samaria. 
Nehemiab, who was an ardent reformer of the prieHthood, wished 
to break off tbia union - to this Manaasah refused to consent, 
and hence he was forced to flee from Jerusalem, and took refuge 
with his father-in-law, Thei-e he made every effort to purify 
the Samaritan religion from the Buperetitions which defiled it, 
and he succeeded iu establishing certain forma which were almost 
the same as the Jewish ceremonial; for, under the reign of 
Alexander tbe Great,* there was a sanctuary erected upon 
Mount Garizim which even rivalled that of Jerusalem. 

This last act of the schismatics put an impassable gulf be- 
tween the two peoples. Finally this temple of Garisinn, tbe 
refuge of apostates from Sion, and an object of horror and detes- 
tation to Israel, was destroyed by John HyrcanuB(129); but all 
ia T^n, for the Samaritans continued none the less to worship 
in that place and to look upon this mouutain of theirs as the 
holiest spot on earth. In their eyes it was everything sacred ; 
it was the ancient site of the first earthly Paradise ; it was 
Ararat, where the Ark once rested ; and Bethel, where Jacob 
saw the mysterious Ladder with its shining Angels. They still 
showed the places where Adam, Setb, and No£ set their burnt 
offering before the Lord ; here too (they said) was the Altar 
where Abraham offered his sou as sacrifice, and even the thom- 
tree thicket wherein the ram was caught which was to he a 
substitute for Isaac was likewise showu. 

These traditions, which we have borrowed from the modem 
Samaritans of Naplouse, may have been altered in the course 
of BO many centuries; ' but, though we may judge them to be ever 
so disfigured, they none the less shed some clear and su^estive 
lights upon the creeds of this nation. As they had no other 
Sacred Books except those of Moses, their faith was always of a 
primitive sort, and their beliefs incomplete ; they had only a 
vague idea of the Messiah, invoking Him (as He was revealed 

' Josephns {Antiq-uitata, xi. 7, 2 ; viii. 4) ia so precise apon this latter 
point that it is diftirnlt not to aucept his vviilence ; the hi$t<iriaD does - 
not, havever, seem to b« ns exact aa usoal in deaignatlQg the time nhen 
Manassah was driven from Jerusalem. Here he probably confounAi DariuB 
Codomui with Darios Uothus, who lived eighty years earlier. In fact, 
Neheoiiah tells us that they banished the sod of Joiada, the High priest, 
from Jerusalem, because he had married the daughter of Saoballat the 
Horonite (2 Esdnts, :iii, 28). Now Nehemiah lived during the reigns of 
Arliixertes the Loiig-haTided ami of Darius Nothus. 

* See the Article Sahakia iu Herzog's EncyelopMU, liii. 87. 



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TRE FESTIVAL IN CHAPTER V. S. JOHN. 389 

to them iu the Pentateuch) as a Converter and a Guide,* 
promised to the world, unto them who were of heathen ances- 
try as well as to the children of Israel. These meagre outlines 
seem cold and comfortless indeed, when ne compare tlieir feeble 
imitation with the magnificent work of Inspiration which the 
Prophets had filled out and made to live in the sight of the 
Jews ; yet the latter interpreted the glowing imi^ry of their 
Seers in such a gross and material sense that in the end the 
confused hopes of the Samaritans came closer to the truth than 
the greedy cravings and gaudy dreams of the Israelites. So 
we have no reason to wonder why Jesus, whose Mission was to 
convert and guide the lost sheep of Israel's household, should 
still turn aside, by the wayside, to labor in these harvest-lands 
among strangers. For indeed He saw that they were ripe for 
the Kingdom of Heaven. 



THE FESTIVAL IN THE PIPTH CHAPTER OF SAINT JOHN. 

Ought we to how to the opinion of the majority of modem 
commentators and. agree with them that Saint John here in- 
tends US to understand the Festival of the Purim 1 ^ We think 
not, indeed ; for that solemnity had nothing about it that was 
likely to attract the divine Master, It was celebrated one 
month before the Pasch, and was almost entirely devoted to 
profane amusements and observed as a sort of Memorial of 
Vengeance. The reading of the Book of Esther (tiie only 
religious act performed during the whole feast) was interrupted 
by shrill cries of hatred every time that the name of Haman 
was heard. At the same time the children clapped their hands, 
shook wooden rattles, and smote thin boards together on which 
the persecutor's name was written, as if to annihilate his mem- 
ory forever. The rest of the festival was only a gay round of 
dancing, banqiieting, and concerts, and everywhere unbounded 
license was condoned or encouraged ; in fact it was customary, 

' The Hushab, "the Converter," El Muhydi, "the Guide." 

' la this woi'd of Persian origin ? Pitrih, in Hebrew us ; allied to 

Cri, part. It means " a Lot," and recalls the event of Anian casting 
1 lot on the day when the Jews were t« have been niaaaacred (Esther 
ix. 21-26}. 



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390 APPENDIX. 

if we may believe the Talmud, to reach suoh a state of intoxica- 
tion aa not to be able to djatiiiguish tlie anathemas henped upon 
Haman from the blessing showered upon the name of Har- 
dokai.' Kepler was the first to suggest that these public re- 
joicings might be the festival which is mentioned so vaguely by 
Saint John. But, however much of weight this hypothesis 
may have attained ' from its scholarly adhereiits, we are content 
with merely asking the question : — Is it reasonable to believe 
that Jeans would have come up to Jerusalem to countenance 
such satumalian revels by His Holy Fiesencel Certainly He 
was not unaware that this institution had been censured at the 
outset by eighty-five Aucienta of the people, of whom thirty ' 
were venerated as Prophets.* Furthermore, it was never a 
custom of the Jews to repair to the Temple on Mount Sion 
during this festival; it was celebrated in the synagogues, 
sometimes even in private residences.* Then how are we to 
explain the fact that, beatdes Jesus, such crowds should have 
been attracted to Jerusalem as Saint John describeB surround- 
' ing the Pool of Bethesda 1 * 

Antiquity, with clearer insight, and better informed on this 
subject, always regarded the Feast in Saint John's fifth chapter 
as one of the three great Jewish solemnities, — either the Pass- 
over, the Pentecost, or the Feast of the Tabernacles. But there 
can be no question as to the two last named, for they were 
celebrated one of them fifteen days after the Pasch, the other 
in the month of September, and wo have seen that Jesus re- 
turned to Galilee, passing through Samaria, in the month of 
December, and consequently sometime after these two festivals. 
It appears most reasonable to suppose that by this vagne ei- 
pression Saint John was nlhiding to a second Passover in which 
Jesus took part. That festival waa peculiarly " the Feast of 
the Jews ; " * and the Christians of the first ages so understood 

» Megilla, 7, 2. 

^ It has been defended hy Lamy, F^tau, Ho^ Keander, Olshansen, 
Tholuck, Meyer, WieBeler, Winer, Anger, Alford, Ellioott, etc. 

• Megilla, 70, 4. 

• Joseplius, Antiquitatei, li. 6. 

' It IB proper to add thnt the Fenst on which the paralytic was h«aled 
was a Sabbath (John v. 1, 2, 10, 13). Now the Purim ivhs never c«le- 
bral«d on the Sabbath day (Roland, Aniiqiiiiaies Sacra, iv. 9). 

• The true readinj; of this first verse seems to ua to be, 'H ioitTii rSr 
'loi/Saiur. In fact, the artiolo is left out in the mRnuwiipts of the Vat- 
ican, BezA, and Alexandria, but Ihe Sinai'tic Codex and that of Ephram 
Tetain it, Tisehendorf haa restored it in his last edition. 



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THE POOL OF BETBESDA. S91 

the term, for Saint IrenEeus * (the most ancient of the Fathers 
who have treated this question) asserts that the festival 
mentioned is to be regarded as that greatest of all Israelite 
Solemnities. 

It follows from this that Saint John alludes to four Paschs 
during the course of Jesus' Ministry. In the first the Lord 
drives out the hucksters from the Temple ; the second is the 
one of which we have just been speaking ; He passed the third 
away from Jerusalem, for it occurred about the time when He 
performed the miracle of the loavea ; the fourth Passover was 
that which witnessed His death. Therefore the public life of 
the Saviour lasted the three years and a half which was the 
" Half-Week of Years " foretold by Daniel * after which the 
Christ waa to-be put to death; and it was the three years 
allotted to the Fig-tree in the Parable, wherein it was to bring 
forth its fruit.* 



THE FOOL OF BETTHESDA. 

Thb Pool of Bethesda must have been in the near neighbor- 
hood of the Temple, for it was by the Gate of the Flocks,* as 
Saint John declares, while Kehemi&b, who mentions this gate,* 



^ Daniel ix. 25-27. 

» Luke liii. 7. 

* 'EtI t^ npo^TiK^ (John V. 2). Although it waa not by snj means 
usual to understand the woi-d for " Gate " before an adjective, and though 
Eusebiiia, S. Jerome, and the Itinerary of Jerusalem all speak ot a Pool 
called Probatica. or Pool of the Flocks (lIpoiSaTiitij icoXuf^ijepa, Pro- 
batica piscina, Vulgaie), yet the text of the Himk of Eadras scarcely per- 
mits a doubt as to the fact that S. John is here refeiring to the Gat« of 
the Flocks, an called, without doubt, either because it was a market for 
live-atock, or because the cattle were driven in by this entrance. With- 
out being able to settle the location of this gate exactly, we are told that 
at the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem it was built by the priests 
(2 Esdras, Ut. 1) ; that it was near the Tower of HananeS, erected in 
the eastern quarter of the city (Zach. liv. 10, and the comments 
made by HengstenhelT; in bis Christologie). Hence it is quite prohable 
that this Gate of the Flocks was in the immediate vicinity of the Temple. 



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392 APPENDIX. 

speaks of it as being doee to the Sanctuary. The local tradi- 
tions of our day have given the name of Bethesda to two pools.^ 
One, located between the site of the Temple (The Haram) and 
the Snint Stephen's Uate, is only a huge basin, now drained 
and dry ; the other is not far distant, lying a little to the north- 
west of the Church of Saint Anne. It was discovered b; 
M, Mausa, a French architect who had chai^ of the restora- 
tion of the moiiuuieut of Saint Anne, and there seemed some 
very good reasons for supposing it to be the ancient Bethesda.^ 

These two basins were fed by springs which form a great 
reservoir under the Mount of the Temple. Antiquity always 
diaooursed of tliem as one of the far-famed marvels of Jerusalem ; 
and indeed they were a precious resource for the Holy City 
during the protracted periods of heat which it had to endure.* 
To-day, having no longer any well-built ohaiinels to r^^ulate its 
flow, the waters sink beneath the soil ; but if only some few 
feet of earth be removed streams are still to be found beneath 
all those masses of crumbling stone and dry refuse which now 
cover the ground. Quite recently the " Ladies of Sion," while 
laying the foundations of their Orphanage of Ecce- Homo, brought 
to light several ancient cisterns still plentifully supplied with 
water, which comes through a perfectly preserved aqueduct 
from the neighborhood of the Temple. Barclay, who has care- 
fully examined the subterranean parts of the Haram, thinks 
that the mountain is hollow, and that (to use his expression) 
below the surface there is a hidden underground lake.* The 
copious outflow from these fountain-heads was a well-known fact 
nmong the Jews in all ^^s ; for the Psalmist speaks of them as 
of a river the streams whereof shall make glad the City of God.* 

* This was the case eren in the time of Eoaebins. According to the 
description which we find in the OnomastKon, the Pool of Bethesda was 
composed of two reservoirs (ir raEi Xf/vaii Siiil/uHi), one being supplied 
by rain water, the other v>"ilh water of a reddish hue (rt^ny/Unir). Thia 
fact is confirmed by the "Itinerary of the Pilgrim of Bordeaux," who 
visited Jerusalem in 333. 

^ See ill La Palestine, by M. le baton Lndovic de Taus, the note relative 
to the Pool of Bethesda, Appendix, v. — xxvi. 

' "Templnm in modnm arcis . . . fona perenniB aqnte, cavati sub 
teni montes, et piacinie cistemteqae aervanis imbribus (Tacitus, Sis- 
torim, V. 12). 

* Barclay, City of (he Great King, p. 293 ; Tholnaon, The Land and 
the Booh, pp. 656-662! Murray, Ifaad-liook for Syria and Falentine; 
Jerusalem, § 47. 

* Ps. rlv. 6. 



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TBE POOL Oi- BETSESDA. 393 

The imagery arising from these well-spriogB of the Temple con- 
tiiiueB to increase in strength until, as Ezechiel ^ aees them, 
the Kiver becomes a great torreat, which dashes down over the 
sacred Kock, and from thence the risen waters flow to eastward 
and to westward, pouring through Kedron and through Hiunom, 
ever widening and deepeaing until it is a mighty stream wbioh 
brings fruitfulness and beauty to the wilderness of the Dead 
Sea. 

The marvel of this Fool was the coming of the Angel who 
was wont at intervals to move upon the waters and communi- 
cate to them a miraculous power. In our times many seek 
altogether to do away with the idea uf any supernatural inter- 
vention ; so they call in question the authenticity of the verses 
that speak of it;* while very many expounders of this passage 
(among them some Catholic critics *) would attribute its health- 
giving properties to certain mineral substances which it con- 
tained. To justify their view, they remind us of the abundant 
supply of medicinal waters in Jiidea,* and of the ruddy tinge of 
this one, of which both Eusebius and Saint Jerome" speak, 
which certainly indicated the presence of femiginous particles 
in the waters of Bethesda Pool ; hence they compare its action 
to that of certain gaseous waters, or hot springs, whose curative 
qualities are most efficacious at the moment they commence to 
seethe and bubble. 

In the opinion of these commentators the Jews, who were 
but little versed in the operation of similar natural phenomena, 

» Ezechiel, xlvii. 1-12. 

^ Verse i, and the words preceding it, in verse 3, Sex'l'^'''^ i^ t 
tSaroi tiiniiiir, are not found in the Mauusci ' '■■"■■ ■ "- 

nor in the Syriao Version of the Cureton, ti 
very miiny differeut conatruotiona in ' 
them. Tiifchendorf and Tregellea re] 
hae cr«)it into the text. However, w 
words, for we find them in the Codflx AleMandrinus and in many mann- 
seripts. The Vulgate, the Peshito, and a majority of the Veraiona have 
preserved them, Farthermore, how are we to aciwunt for the presa of 
sick folk, all thronging about the Pool at the same moment, if we reject 
the words which eiplain their preaence there: "They were awaiting n 
movement of the waters, for the Angel of the Lord descended at a. certain 
time npon the Pool " (see Pire Corluy, Inligritg des £vaHgUea, vii., 
viiL, ii). 

' Jahn, Scholtz, Sepp, Maier, Schegg. 

* To the west of Haram, we find, even to-day, "Healing Baths:" 
Hinnrndm esk-Ske/a. 

' Eusehius, Oiiomasticim, " Mimm in modnm rubens " (S. Jerome). 



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394 APPENDIX. 

attributed the wonderful powers of the Pool to the iDterventioD 
of ail Angel, and Saiut John aimplj' records a generally accepted 
belief of the people. This interpretation of the sacred lext is 
not that of the Fathers, nor of the reverend Doctors of the 
Church ; on the contrary, all agree in considering this fact as a 
supernatural prodigy. 

Indeed, some among their numlier have apparently preferred 
to extend the marvellous properties of Bethesda to all streams 
. which sprung from under the Mount of the Temple, and par- 
ticularly to those of Siloti. We know that the springs which 
supply the latter basin, rising from the hill of Ophel, first filled 
the Fountain of the Virgin, and then sunk once more under- 
ground, finally reappearing at 8ilo& Both these fountains are 
equally intermittent, and local legends attribute this fact to a 
dragon hidden under the Mount, who sometimes drinks up the 
streams at the wellhead, while at other times he permits them 
to flow unchecked. Frudentius, who drew his knowledge from 
traditions which were not quite so fabulous as this, regards 
the movement of its waters as the visible token of a divine 
power which heals all evils, and thus he confounds its mar- 
vellous properties with those which the Gospel recounts of 
Bethesda: — 

Variis SiloS refiindit 
Momentis latices,i)ec fluctum semper anhelat, 
Sed vice distincta largos lacus accipit hauetus. 
Agmina languentum sitiunt spem tontia avari, 
Membrorum maculas puro abluitum natatu; 
Certatim interea roranti pumice rjiucaa 
Expectant scatebras, et bic.co margine pendent. 

Prcdbntius: Apotheom, 680. 



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